CHARLIE'S POV

When I got out of the shower, both Brax and Heath were gone. A note had been left on the fridge by Brax, telling me he'd be back soon, but there was no other information than that. After everything that's happened recently, I can't help but be worried by his vagueness.

With the boys gone, though, I decide I might as well get started with the arduous task of telling the world about mine and Brax's relationship. I know at first that I wanted to keep it as low-key as possible, but it's blatantly obvious that that has since done more harm than good. Secrets are what got us hurt, and what ended the lives of 2 people, and mine and Brax's child. I touch my stomach absently, thinking about what could have been.

I push the thoughts aside just as quickly as they come to me. Even after everything, these thoughts are the most painful.

'Hello?' a familiar voice calls out from the porch. I head into the kitchen to see Bianca standing in the doorway. She got here faster than I thought she would.

'Hey,' I greet her. 'Come in.'

'I wanted to stop by sooner but I wasn't sure if you'd be up for seeing anyone,' Bianca says, taking a few awkward steps forward. I realise she doesn't actually know everything that's happened, and I wonder if I should tell her the whole truth, or just about Brax and I. I suppose that if I do the latter, she'll have a thousand questions relating to the former that I won't be able to ignore. With all of this running through my mind, I almost miss what Bianca says next.

'So how are you?' she asks, leaning on the countertop.

'Aaah, I'm okay now,' I tell her. 'Tea? Coffee?'

'Tea would be lovely...' I busy myself with this, and there is silence between us, until Bianca finally says, 'I'm guessing you didn't just call me over here for tea, though. On the phone you sounded as though you had something really urgent to tell me.'

I turn around to finally look at her. 'I do,' I say. 'I actually have a whole lot to tell you. And you're probably not going to want to hear most of it. But I need to tell you.'

Bianca looks slightly afraid, but nevertheless, she smiles and says, 'No matter what, I'm here for you.' I smile at her, and after I've finished making tea for the both of us, we head into the lounge room and take a seat. Bianca sits at one end of the couch and I sit at the other, both of us with our shoes off and our legs bent up, resting against the back of the couch.

I don't even know where to begin.

'I'm afraid I haven't been completely honest with you,' I say slowly, struggling with even those words. 'About what's happened to me in the last three months...I actually haven't been particularly honest with anyone, and I've been expecting other people to keep up with my dishonesty, and it's just ... I need to stop being so unfair.'

'Charlie...' Bianca says, sounding concerned.

I press on. 'For a while now...I have been seeing Brax.' Her eyes widen as I deliver the blow.

'Darryl Braxton?' she asks.

'Yes.'

'Darryl Braxton,' she says again, her eyebrows raised. 'River Boy, Darryl Braxton...'

'Not anymore,' I say quickly. 'He quit, for me.'

Bianca laughs. 'Yeah, right.'

'I was a bit sceptical at first too ... but after everything that's happened, I really don't think he'll ever go back to his River Boy ways.' It is at this point that I start telling her the truth about everything that's happened to Brax and I - the kidnapping, Tegan, Riley, Brodie's death, Hammer's involvement, Jake's revenge, the shootout...the baby. While none of it really makes any sense, I have to believe that, to her, the reasons behind my being in a mental institution for three months made slightly more sense. I explain that our being together was the primary reason behind all of it, and that we can't risk putting ourselves or anyone else in danger by keeping it a secret anymore.

Bianca is lost for words, and who would blame her?

'I can't...' she says, struggling with herself. 'I don't...I don't understand...Why – How could you have kept this a secret for so long?' she asks finally.

I realise that I don't really have an answer for her.

'Not just the relationship...everything...' I realise she hasn't drunken any of her tea since I began to recount the events of the last three months. '...Does Ruby know?'

'Yes,' I say. 'Ruby's known for a while. So have Casey, Heath and Leah.'

'Hmm...Well thank God for that.'

'Please don't be upset with me for not telling you...I don't think I could take it.'

'I'm not upset, Charlie...but what did you expect? When you said you hadn't been completely honest...I mean, I never could have guessed...'

'I guess I was just kind of hoping for your friendship and your support,' I say, feeling my voice shake as tears well up in my eyes. 'I mean, you did say not thirty minutes ago that you would be here for me no matter what.'

Bianca takes a deep breath. 'And I am here for you. Just not one hundred percent.'

BRAX'S POV:

I am driving in my newly repaired ute, worrying about how everyone will take the news of our deception. What troubles me more is the question of whether or not Jake's gang knows about mine and Charlie's relationship, and whether they would act as Hammer and Jake had if they found out the news. The suspense is truly killing me. I speed up a little bit, hurrying to get to the house of the only one that will be able to set my mind at ease.

I wonder if Charlie will be mad at me for not talking to her about my concerns, about the threats that Heath told me about, or about where I'm headed. Sure, I left her a note, but I know it's not really enough.

Soon, I arrive at my destination. I get out of the car, but for some reason I become hesitant. Is this really the best thing to do? Will it help? After a few minutes of standing out the front of the house, I decide that this is my best option. It's really my only option.

I walk up to the door, knock on it, and wait for an answer. I know for a fact that this is not going to be a pleasant conversation. The door opens slowly, and a guy I'd once called my friend stands there, bewildered, apparently shocked to see me. Here we go, I think to myself...

'Can I come in?' I ask.