Chapter Thirty Eight

June 2012 (Age 30)

After a day and a half of joy, Joey and Charlie were back to square one. Joey's head was a mess. Still on the beach, Joey sank onto the sand. Charlie sat down beside her, holding her hand.

"What do we need to do?" the police officer asked quietly, calmly.

"I don't know," Joey said, her voice full of pain.

Charlie closed her eyes, hugging her girlfriend closer, wishing she could just make everything better somehow. But she knew it was a silly dream. Nothing short of a miracle could get them out of this mess.

"Do you want to see him?" Charlie asked, trying to tread carefully.

"Yes," Joey said. "No."

Charlie chewed her lip anxiously, not quite sure what to say next. Joey sighed heavily.

"I want to see him," she ventured. "I want to be a good friend. I want to support him and love him. That's what I'm meant to do. I'm the reason he's in there in the first place. But I'm scared. And selfish. And…"

She sighed again. Charlie leant over and kissed the side of her head.

"You need to remember that none of this is your fault," she said as gently as possible.

Joey turned to look at her, deep into her eyes.

"Then why does it feel like it is?" she asked, genuinely longing for an answer.

"Because you've spent a lot of years being taught that everything is your fault," Charlie pointed out. "That's a lot of pain to unlearn, Joey. But Aden has said it himself. He made the decision to kill Robbo."

"But because of me…"

"Because he loves you, yes," Charlie said. "But you were unconscious. You didn't ask him to do it. It wasn't your fault."

"But…"

"But nothing," Charlie said firmly but kindly. "Look, all we can do now is our best for him. We just need to work out exactly what that is."

"I need to see him," Joey decided. "I know he hasn't asked for me but… well, maybe that nurse guy could help me find out how to…?"

Charlie nodded, ready to get up and head back to the Diner. She stood and helped Joey get back to her feet. They dusted sand away from them and headed back towards the road.

"Another thing I think we need to do is work on getting a proper lawyer," Charlie said seriously. "I know it'll cost a lot but I do have savings and I'm prepared to spend them. We can start looking for one and…"

She trailed off when she realised that her partner had stopped stock still, staring ahead at someone who had just glided by.

"Joey?" Charlie nudged. "Joey are you okay?"

Joey shook herself back to attention.

"Yeah, yeah," she lied.

She was not okay.

"What's wrong?" Charlie asked worriedly.

"Nothing," Joey said again. "I just… thought I saw a ghost."

She walked back into the Diner with Charlie. Back out in the fresh air, Hayley smiled to herself. She hadn't even had to speak to Joey. She'd just had to look at her and everything had been said. She'd absolutely hit her target.

Aden was still in his hospital bed, where he was destined to stay until at least the end of the week, when Dex arrived at the prison for his shift. The nurse felt a little bit awkward but he was determined to face his patient.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. "Any better?"

"No," Aden replied honestly.

He didn't really mind either. The less time he spent on the wing, the better, as far as he was concerned. He was much safer in the hospital ward.

"I can give you a little bit more pain relief if you need me to," Dex offered.

Aden nodded and winced, feeling grateful.

"I um… I need to tell you something," Dex said, setting about helping him.

"What?" Aden asked cautiously.

"You know I said I live nearby?" Dex ventured.

Aden held his breath, suddenly aware of where he thought this was going.

"I um… I ran into your friend… Joey?"

"Please tell me you didn't tell her what happened," Aden begged.

His whole body felt tight. This was the last thing he needed. He didn't want Joey to know what had happened to him. She would panic and then they would be back to square one.

"She overheard me talking to my fiancée," Dex said, wanting to ensure that his patient knew it had been an accident. "I was worried about you, and April, my partner, was trying to help. I didn't know who your friend was, what she looked like. I certainly didn't realise that she was sitting at the table next to me. But she was and she heard me talking. She asked me about you and she was so upset, Aden. I couldn't just ignore her. I'm so sorry."

Aden sighed heavily. He was upset but he could hardly be angry. The nurse had done nothing but his best for him.

"She left in a state with her friend but she came back again and asked if she could come and see you," Dex continued. "I told her how she could apply for a visiting order but you're the one who has to grant permission so I said I'd talk to you."

Aden closed his eyes and leant back on the bed. He wanted to see Joey. He'd see her every second of the day if he could. That would make his time here much more bearable. But he knew what he looked like. And he knew it would upset her. He didn't what the state of him to be the thing that pushed her over the edge, that pushed her back towards Hayley.

"She seemed pretty desperate," Dex said, administering pain relief through a cannula to his patient. "What do you think?"

"Only if you're here to play everything down to her," Aden agreed. "I don't want her thinking she has to… make any kind of sacrifice for me."

Dex looked confused.

"Aden, what kind of situation are you two in?" he wondered.

"It's… complicated," Aden sighed. "And I thought it was over. I thought I'd saved the day but… I guess it's not that simple. Not even now."

Hayley was in a good mood when she arrived at the Braxton house.

"I take it you've heard from Joey?" Brax said when he opened the door to her.

"Not exactly," she said, as she sauntered in. "But I have seen her. And that bitch of a 'girlfriend' of hers. She's a mess though. Everything worked out even better than I'd hoped. She ran into the nurse that's treating Aden in the prison and ended up grilling him about everything. She's going to visit him today and I reckon by the time she's seen the state of him, she'll be ringing me to make a deal to save him. Job well done, even if I do say so myself."

Brax shook his head and sank onto the sofa. He wasn't entirely sure why having Joey back was so important to Hayley. It wasn't even as if she loved her or liked her that much. It was more like she was a possession, something for her to control. Personally, he didn't think he would be so bothered with something like that. But he guessed it was a case of each to their own.

Joey was nervous as she and Charlie arrived at the prison that afternoon. Outside the hospital ward, Joey held onto her girlfriend tightly. She was nervous about seeing her friend, the boy she had loved so much since they had been teenagers. He had been through so much and it had all been for her.

"I'll be just outside," Charlie promised. "I love you."

"I love you too," Joey replied.

They kissed briefly but with meaning before Joey took a deep breath and entered the room, leaving Charlie and the prison officer outside. She found Aden in a small bed, alone in the room but for one nurse, Dexter Walker, the one she had met at the Diner earlier in the day.

"Aden!" Joey gasped almost inaudibly, hurrying towards him.

"Hey, Jo," he said, trying not to sound as weak as he felt.

They held hands.

"How are you?" Joey asked worriedly. "What happened? Are you okay? Are you being looked after? Aden, I'm so sorry."

"I'm fine," Aden said. "Just a few bumps really."

He knew he was lying. Dex knew he was lying. But neither of them were prepared to let onto Joey just how badly he had been beaten.

"But what happened?" Joey asked. "Who did this to you?"

"Just some guys on the wing," Aden said. "I think it's kind of a rite of passage kind of thing."

He felt uncomfortable at the way Joey was staring at him. He suddenly remembered the way that she could read him like a book.

"You're lying," she accused gently.

He swallowed, looking helplessly at Dex.

"Jo…"

"Tell me the truth, Aden," Joey demanded

"Jo…" he said again.

"Please…" she begged.

That night in bed, Joey couldn't sleep. She lay in the dark, looking up at the ceiling and listening to Charlie's soft breathing beside her. Aden had broken under her gaze and told her everything. He'd been beaten within an inch of his life and she now suspected that it would happen again and again. There was no way that she could just let it happen. She knew what she had to do. She felt sick about it but she had no choice. She was devastated.

Next time… Charlie is oblivious to Joey's heartbreaking decision while teenage Angelo is in love with Charlie…