Hi everyone. Sorry for my absence the past few days. Time kind of got away from me. I won't be updating tomorrow, as I have to go to the hospital but I'll be back on Tuesday. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Thirty Seven

It had been a long few weeks but finally, Joey's exams were over and she could hardly contain her excitement at the prospect of heading to the city with her mother and Romeo in order to visit Charlie and to check out the University she had hopefully done enough to get into in the New Year.

"If you go today then don't even think about coming back!" Mr Collins shouted.

They were the first words Joey heard when she arrived home from school for the last time. She found her parents stands in the middle of the grand hallway.

"Suits me," Judy replied. "I consider myself finally free of you."

They both turned to see Joey standing there looking unsure.

"How was your last exam, Joey?" Judy asked, her tone changing to kind.

"Yeah, I think it went well," Joey replied. "I did enough to pass, anyway."

Judy hugged her and told her well done.

"We're leaving in half an hour so go and finish getting packed, okay?" she said.

Joey nodded but hesitated, making eye contact with her father, who glared at her and stomped off to his office. Joey caught hold of her mother's hand.

"Mum, I don't want you to destroy your marriage, everything you've worked for, just for me," Joey said.

Judy took her other hand.

"There is no just for you, Joey," she said. "You're all that matters to me. And I should have put you first a long, long time ago. We're doing this – assuming you still want to."

Joey nodded.

"Then get yourself packed and ready and you'll be seeing your girlfriend tonight," Judy told her.

Joey hugged her tight and then dashed off to her room.

Charlie was nervous and excited all at the same time. She had taken the day off work and spent most of it cleaning and tidying. She was more than eager to see Joey, of course, but she was very aware that her mother, Judy was coming, as was Romeo, and she was eager to impress. Particularly Judy.

She and Joey had talked at length over the past few weeks, thanks to Romeo, and she was aware that essentially, the Collins family had broken up. She felt guilty. But she felt happy too that the love she and Joey shared had won out.

Her own family was also broken. Her mother and her sister were barely talking to her father, who in turn hadn't spoken to her since the day he had turfed her out on the street. But now, knowing that Joey was on her way to see her, that she truly wanted to be with her and make things work… it made everything worth it.

"Breathe," she told herself in the mirror, as she applied her makeup.

She was desperate to look perfect, have a pristine apartment and have everything go absolutely wonderfully.

"Not that you're asking much, Buckton," she added.

She froze when she heard a knock on the door. They had arrived.

Back in the mansion, Mr Collins was unhappy. Judy and Joey were gone. They'd taken Romeo and headed off to the city to be with Charlie and he felt absolutely sick about it. He hated that his daughter was fixated on a woman. He hated that his wife was permitting and actually encouraging such disgusting behaviour. It infuriated and outraged him to the point that he wanted to charge after them and drag them back. He wanted to lock them away and force them to stay here with him forever.

But the overwhelming feeling inside him was loneliness. He looked around his office, full of books and papers, representative of everything he had achieved and earned in his life. And suddenly it meant nothing. What was the point of having a big house and lots of money if his wife and daughter and son were all gone?

He shook his head. His pride kicked back in. There was no way he was going to grovel and beg his ignorant wife and lesbian daughter to love him. He wasn't going to degrade himself. No way. He was going to make them pay for leaving him.

Charlie took three breaths and pulled open her front door. Joey didn't waste a moment before she threw herself into her girlfriend's arms. Charlie closed her eyes and held her tight, kissing the top of her head and breathing in her scent. Judy and Romeo held back, giving the couple the moment they had been longing for.

"I've missed you so much," Joey whispered.

"I've missed you too," Charlie replied.

They kissed tentatively, aware that Joey's mother was standing just behind them. They drew away and Charlie welcomed all three of them inside her apartment.

"I'm so happy you're all here," she said. "Thank you for coming."

"We're happy to be here," Judy said sincerely. "Honestly, Charlie."

"Thank you, Mrs Collins," Charlie said, her voice cracking just a little. "Thank you for making this possible."

"I'm glad to make it happen," Judy said. "This is the right thing. And please call me Judy. I'm not your employer anymore, Charlie. I'm just… me."

She smiled. Charlie smiled back. She started what was a very small tour of the flat and then set about getting drinks for everyone.

"Mum, can we go and visit Charlie now it's the holidays?" Ruby asked over dinner.

Ross clenched his jaw, immediately irritated. He was furious with his eldest daughter for breaking up the family. As far as he was concerned, everything that was wrong in his life, was her fault. He wished Elsie and Ruby would just forget about her. Or that he could just fix her and all her mistakes.

"I'm sure we can, Ruby," Elsie said. "Christmas is coming up, after all."

"You're not spending Christmas with her," Ross interjected.

"You're not stopping me from spending Christmas with my daughter," his wife said. "However, I'd prefer it if we could all spend Christmas together."

Ross shook his head.

"I don't want to see her," he said.

"Would you just get over yourself?" Ruby snapped.

Both her parents stared at her.

"I'm sorry for being rude," the youngest Buckton said. "But this is ridiculous. So she made a few mistakes? So what? Does it matter that much? Really? Can't you just move on and focus on the fact that she's your daughter and she's a brilliant person? Can't you just love her like you're supposed to?"

She stood up, pushing her dinner aside.

"You actually disgust me."

Shaking her head, she left the room and went upstairs.

Charlie was still a little nervous, mostly because Judy and Joey were used to being accommodated in a posh mansion and were now eating a Chinese takeaway in a tiny, one bedroom flat. Romeo seemed right at home though, and Charlie was glad he had come with them. In all honesty, she felt that this was the happiest day of her life. She could hardly believe that Joey was really here, sitting beside her, snuggled up and happy. There was nothing to stop them being together now. This was it.

Next time… the couple spend their first night together…