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Chapter 53

Ruby glanced sidelong at her friend as they walked in relative silence "Hey Sum?"

"Yeah?" Summer glanced at Ruby questioningly.

"Is there something wrong with you?" Ruby asked hesitantly as they came to a stop "You seem kind of off today...Unusually quiet" she watched intently as Summer shrugged and sat down on a nearby rock.

"Nothing more than usual Rubz"

"See?" Ruby frowned as she sat next to the slightly older girl "You always say things like that...Like there's something wrong with you but you won't tell me what."

"I've only known you for a couple of weeks" Summer said as she pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them "I'm not just going to throw all of my dark secrets at you..."

"So you don't trust me..." Ruby said as hurt registered in her eyes.

"It's not that" Summer sighed sadly "They're just not my secrets to tell, okay? If I tell you it's like I'm betraying her...She trusts me to keep her secrets"

"Cameron?" Ruby guessed as she leaned back. She continued at Summer's subtle nod "You know if you want to tell me anything else that's okay, right? You don't have to tell me what the secret is...I could help you"

Summer gazed intently at Ruby seemingly searching for truth in her eyes. Although slightly unnerved at the intense gaze Ruby gazed back sincerely. After a moment Summer dropped her gaze to the Rock they were both sitting on "Cameron's worrying me. She's been really distant lately. She doesn't even talk to me anymore...Not like she used to before we ran..." she tensed suddenly as her mind registered what she had said.

"Ran?" Ruby asked in alarm "Ran from what?"

"It doesn't matter" Summer shifted uncomfortably under Ruby's worried gaze "It's not important..."

"It is important!" Ruby exclaimed anxiously "What are you running from Summer? If you tell me I can help you or...or Charlie can!"

"It doesn't matter..."

"If something's wrong you should..."

"SHUT UP!" Summer yelled causing Ruby to trail off and gaze at her in pure shock "I don't want or need your goddamn help! You don't really give a flying fuck anyway..." at Ruby's hurt look Summer stopped, the harsh meaning of her word sinking in "I'm...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that..." she turned away slightly as tears filled her eyes "I'm sorry"

"Hey, It's okay..." Ruby reached out and placed her hand atop the other girls. She found herself slightly surprised when Summer flinched slightly "Summer?"

"I didn't mean to snap at you" Summer said tearfully "I'm just..."

"I know" Ruby interrupted as she shuffled slightly closer "Sum? Will you look at me? Please?" after a brief moment Summer raised her teary blue eyes to meet Ruby's.

"I'm your friend" Ruby said seriously "Which means I care about what happens to you...I care about what you're feeling and I'm not going to just get up and leave because you yelled at me." She smiled softly "As for what you said before...I give many flying fucks about you Sum" her smile faded slightly when Summer's tears continued rapidly "Hey...C'mon" she reached forward and hugged the older girl tightly. Summer tensed slightly before she relaxed and returned the hug just as tightly as sobs wracked her body.

"It's okay..." Ruby whispered comfortingly though fear was knotting tightly in her stomach "its okay Sum..."

After a couple of minutes Summer pulled away and coughed embarrassedly as she wiped quickly at her falling tears "I'm sorry..."

"you have nothing to be sorry fo..." Ruby began to say before the other teenage interrupted her.

"I have to go" Summer stood up and hesitated for a moment "I'm sorry Rubz" with that said she turned and rushed away.

"WAIT...SUMMER!" Ruby yelled at the girl's rapidly retreating back. She sighed when she was met with silence "Damn..."

---

Charlie sighed in relief as she slumped down onto the inviting warmth of the couch behind her and stretched slightly to relieve her aching muscles.

"Hey" Joey's voice sounded from the doorway causing the older girl to look up and smile brightly "You're back"

"So it seems" Charlie chuckled as she watched Joey approach her slowly. When she was within touching distance she reached out and pulled the younger girl gently down next to her.

"Where have you been?" Joey asked curiously "You weren't here when I woke up this morning..."

"I had to get some paperwork from the station" Charlie sighed with a dramatic eye roll "Something about having to finish my reports"

"Oh" Joey nodded and wrapped an arm around Charlie's waist "I missed you this morning"

"I missed you too" Charlie beamed before she kissed the other girl softly. After a moment they pulled back and sank into each other's embrace basking in the unusual peace and quiet.

"It's quiet" Charlie observed thoughtfully after a moment "Unusually quiet"

"Not anymore" Joey laughed softly at Charlie's announcement "I should have known you couldn't stay quiet for long"

"Are you calling me loud?" Charlie turned slightly and smiled softly at her wife.

"No. Well..." Joey grinned suggestively "Definitely in some ways. But that's not a bad thing. Not at all..." she couldn't help the laugh that escaped her as Charlie blushed brightly at the insinuation.

"Joey!" Charlie nudged the younger girl gently as she felt her cheeks warm up slightly "You're...Am I really loud?"

"I'm only kidding" Joey smiled reassuringly "Sort of" at Charlie's questioning look she continued in a quieter voice "You have your loud moments"

"I guess you bring that out in me" Charlie said as she leaned slightly closer "Because I've never been 'loud' before"

"Well why don't I bring it out in you right now?" Joey pressed a soft kiss to Charlie's lips "To test that theory?"

"That's the best idea I've heard all day" Charlie responded with a soft laugh before she pulled Joey close and kissed her slowly. Joey shifted position slightly so that she was leaning more towards Charlie who tugged her even closer so that she was practically straddling her. After a moment they pulled back for air and Joey began to place teasing kisses on Charlie's neck eliciting a small moan of pleasure from the older girl who tilted her head slightly to grant more access.

"Joey..." Charlie gasped out loud as Joey nipped playfully at her pulse point.

"Hmmnn?" Joey hummed softly as her fingers traced their way down Charlie's chest "I..." she trailed off suddenly and sat up straight as the door slammed shut. Mere seconds later Ruby stomped angrily into the living room and Joey fought a groan as she shifted so that she was sitting next to Charlie instead of on top of her. Charlie's expression fell slightly when Joey moved and she glanced over at her daughter.

"Ruby?" she frowned in concern when the teenager dropped onto the couch next to her "what's wrong?"

"Nothing" Ruby answered darkly "It's just...Today's been terrible. Really terrible"

"Why?" Joey asked as she sat forward slightly "What's happened Rubz?"

"I was arguing with Xavier" Ruby answered in a hushed voice as she glanced at Charlie. As if reading her mind Charlie lifted an arm and motioned for her daughter to move closer. Ruby moved into Charlie's half embrace and leaned her head against her shoulder before continuing "It was a stupid argument really...He was saying that I'm always ignoring him and I spend too much time with Summer...Like I have to spend all of my time with him or something!"

"Oh" Charlie nodded in understanding and squeezed the younger girl gently "Did you break up with him?" she tried as hard as she could to keep the hopeful tone from her voice.

Ruby shrugged "I don't know...But that's not all"

"It's not?" Joey frowned "What else is there?"

"I was with Summer today..." Ruby started quietly, worry forming on her features as her anger faded slightly "And she seemed really weird. I asked her about it but all she said is that there's something going on with Cameron. I don't know what...and when I tried to press the issue she snapped at me. But then she apologised and she kind of...Burst into tears. She wouldn't tell me what was wrong"

"That's weird" Charlie noted slowly "She didn't say anything?"

"No" Ruby answered shaking her head "She just rushed off..." the teenager's expression turned pensive for a moment "Wait...She said that she was running from something with Cameron. She wouldn't tell me what though..."

"Maybe I should talk to Cameron?" Joey asked Charlie hesitantly.

Charlie nodded and offered a small smile of reassurance "Yeah...Maybe you should" at that moment the doorbell sounded, startling them all for a moment.

"Uh...I'll get it" Charlie said quietly as she got up off the couch. She walked out of the room and opened the front door.

"Hey Charlie" Summer smiled lightly though tear marks were obvious on her cheeks "Um...Is Ruby here?"

"Yeah" Charlie nodded though her expression was worried "Are you okay Summer?"

"I'm fine" Summer said quietly "I just...really need to talk to Ruby"

"Okay..." Charlie looked over her shoulder and raised her voice slightly "RUBZ!" a moment later Ruby appeared from the living room. When she reached the door she stopped in surprise as her eyes fell on Summer "Sum...."

"Hey" Summer smiled weakly at her friend "I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute?"

"Oh...Sure" Ruby nodded quickly "Of course we can talk"

"Charlie?" Summer questioned as she glanced at the older girl "Have you seen Cam at all today? I haven't seen her since last night..."

"No...I haven't seen her" Charlie answered in concern "Is something wrong?"

"No...She probably just left early or something" Summer said quietly.

"Hey!" Joey smiled lightly as she appeared from behind them "Charlie...We're going out"

"We are?" Charlie asked in confusion "Why? What for?"Joey tilted her head subtly at Ruby and Joey and Charlie's expression cleared "Oh"

"See you guys later" Joey said before she pulled Charlie out of the door.

"So..." Summer said awkwardly as she shoved her hands into her pockets "Um..."

"Come on" Ruby smiled gently before she turned and walked towards the living room with Summer following her.

"I'm sorry for yelling and running off before" Summer said sincerely "I just needed some time...It wasn't you"

"I know...its fine" Ruby smiled reassuringly "Just forget about it"

"Thanks Rubz" Summer smiled weakly though her mind was still obviously on other things.

"Besides..." Ruby smirked in an attempt to cheer the other girl up "You're kind of shrill when you shout...You sound a bit like a banshee"

"Hey!" Summer laughed and playfully hit Ruby with a pillow. A matter of seconds later the gesture was returned and a full on pillow war broke out.

---

"What was that about?" Charlie asked curiously as she straightened out her clothing before taking Joey's hand in her own.

"We were making her shifty" Joey answered with a soft smile "She get's kind of nervous around too many people"

"She was okay before though" Charlie said as she looked back at the house "What changed?"

"I think it's just when she's talking about something serious" Joey responded "She obviously wanted to apologise to Ruby and she was feeling guilty so it would have been awkward for you to have been there"

"Oh" Charlie nodded thoughtfully and shot a warm smile in Joey's direction "How did you get so perceptive?"

Joey shrugged and grinned at her "It's a gift"

"Hey" Charlie said as she stopped suddenly causing Joey to stop too and squinted at the beach "Isn't that Cameron? Who's that guy with her?"

"I don't know" Joey too squinted to see against the brightness of the sun. She frowned when she noticed that the man with her ex had a tight hold on and obviously panicked Cameron's voice. Even from her their current position they could faintly hear the man yelling "What the hell is..." she trailed off and gasped in shock when the man backhanded Cameron sending her flying to the ground.

"HEY!" Charlie yelled furiously as she pulled her hand from Joey's and sprinted towards the man "Get the hell away from her!" she frowned as the man glanced at her before he turned on his heel and ran away, not even looking back.

"Cameron?" Joey gently helped the girl off the floor and winced when she noticed her bloody lip "Are you okay? Who was that guy?!"

"Nobody" Cameron winced and sat back down on the ground "That was just...A guy"

Charlie frowned at the girl's unsteadiness and knelt down next to her on the sand "Cam? Look at me" when Cameron looked up at her hesitantly Charlie gazed closely at her trying to discern whether or not the guy's hit was enough to cause concussion "Are you okay? Do you feel dizzy at all?"

"A little bit" Cameron said quietly as she turned her gaze back to the sea "that's normal though"

"Normal?!" Joey questioned in alarm as she sat on the other side of her ex "What does that mean Cam? Has he done this before?!"

"Once or twice" Cameron shrugged forlornly "It was a warning after the first though..." she turned her teary eyes back to the sea "I can't believe he's found us again..."

"Who is he?!" Joey asked anxiously as she took Cameron's hand gently "What was he warning you about?"

"He said I have to stay quiet" Cameron responded tearfully "I should have known better...I'm a cop for God sake!"

"What did he do to you?" Charlie asked softly as she reached out and placed her hand on the other girl's shaking shoulder "Just tell me what he did Cam...I'll fix it"

"You can't fix it" Cameron sobbed "I keep remembering it...That night. His hands on me..." she shuddered slightly as she recalled the memory "I can't get rid of him"

"Cameron" Joey said slowly "You have to tell us...Did he....Did he rape you?" she closed her eyes for a fraction of a second hoping against hope that it wasn't true. She opened her eyes and her heart sank in her chest when Cameron nodded slowly.

"I was drunk..." Cameron sniffled softly "This was just after Marissa had..." she paused as her tears began to come thicker and faster "I went out to forget. To drown my sorrows...I got drunk and he followed me home. He attacked me in my own house and I couldn't do a thing about it. I didn't stop him because Summer was in the next room...She would have come running and she w...would have been hurt too...I betrayed her. I betrayed Marissa..." her free hand strayed to clutch the ring tightly.

"You didn't betray anyone" Charlie said soothingly as she noticed Joey was unable to answer and instead had tears tracing down her cheeks "It wasn't your fault. None of this is your fault Cam. It's his and only his. You know we have to report this, right? I can't let him hurt you again..."

Cameron nodded, her tears slowing slightly "It's like I can't get away from him. I thought running would help but it hasn't. He just followed...I don't know what to do Charlie. I see him everywhere. In my dreams and in reality...I keep hearing his voice taunting me as I begged him to stop...I remember he was laughing at me because he said I was "Crying like a sukie little kid..."

Charlie's breath caught in her throat and she recoiled slightly in horror at the statement "W...What? What did you just say?"

"Um...A crying like a Sukie little kid?" Cameron turned her tearful eyes to gaze at Charlie in confusion.

"Oh God..." Charlie slumped backwards onto the sand as her breathing sped up slightly and tears formed in her eyes "No..." she clenched her hands into fists around the sand and clamped her eyes tightly "No..."

"You're crying like a sukie little kid!" a dark amused voice echoed through Charlie's head.

TBC