Chapter Six
Ten minutes later, Joey had ordered her food as a takeout and left the Surf Club feeling cheerful. She paused when she spotted Charlie sitting on a bench in floods of tears. Joey hesitated, torn between not wanting to care and feeling deep compassion. Feeling eyes on her, Charlie turned round. She rubbed her face and stood up quickly. Without thinking it through, she marched right up to her ex-girlfriend.
"Nice to see someone's happy!" the cop shouted bitterly.
"Excuse me?" Joey said in surprise.
"I saw you!"
"Saw me what?"
"Having a high old time with that girl," Charlie accused. "All this time I've been trying to make things right with you and you didn't even care! You've moved on already!"
"Firstly, how dare you speak to me like that?" Joey snapped. "Secondly, I don't have a clue what you're talking about. I haven't 'moved on' but if I had, you can rest assured that at least I would have done it after you and I finished rather than banging the first person I ran into while my girlfriend was completely oblivious!"
Fury raged within both of them as they stepped closer to each other in confrontation.
"Well clearly you don't care that much about what happened or else you wouldn't be so damn happy right now!" Charlie yelled back.
"Do I look happy to you?" Joey scoffed. "Really?"
"You looked bloody ecstatic when you were in there holding hands with some blonde bimbo!"
Joey stepped back and folded her arms, looking mildly amused.
"Well now, that's discrimination against blondes," she remarked.
Charlie stared at her for a few moments before mirroring her position.
"I'm glad you're finding all of this so amusing," she said.
"I haven't found anything amusing since the day the one person I trusted, betrayed me," Joey informed her. "And for the record, I was just talking to Crystal. I'm not as heartless as you and I wouldn't involve an innocent party into our fucked up situation."
"You're not seeing her?" Charlie asked a little hesitantly.
"Not that it's any of your business but no, I'm not seeing anyone."
With that, Joey turned and left. Charlie watched her for a moment before racing to catch up.
"Joey!" she yelled desperately.
"What do you want, Charlie? You said you'd leave me alone!" Joey hollered back without pausing in her stride.
Charlie ran to keep up with her.
"I got you a present," she said.
"I don't want anything from you," Joey said. "And if you don't stop trying to give me stupid gifts, I'll ask one your colleagues to legally keep you away from me!"
"Please?" Charlie begged. "One second?"
She reached out and took hold of Joey's arm. Angrily, Joey turned and glared at her furiously.
"If you don't start listening to me when I tell you not to touch me," she warned. "Then I will touch you. Hard."
Charlie jolted back, shocked by the threat. Anxiously, she handed over a book, explaining that she'd seen Joey's favourite author doing a book signing in town so she'd got one for her. Joey studied the book and then Charlie for several moments. Despite her anger, she was touched.
"I don't want it," she said, her voice shaking a little.
"I'm not trying to get you back," Charlie said. "I just saw that the signing was going on and I knew you'd like something like this."
Joey's hands hovered over the book. Images of Charlie and Hugo together invade her brain. She repeated that she didn't want anything Charlie offered and began to storm away, pausing only when she heard a distraught shout and then a thud. Turning back, she saw that Charlie had thrown the book against the wall of the Surf Club and then collapsed in a heap on the grass. Swallowing, Joey moved back, picking up the book and crouching down in front of Charlie.
"You like Eve Haywood too," she said more gently. "And you haven't read this one so why don't you...?"
She offered the book out to her. Charlie shook her head and said that the autograph had already been personalised. Opening the book, Joey read the inscription:
Dear Joey,
Don't underestimate the power of love.
Eve Haywood xx
She closed the book again and sighed, studying Charlie as she visibly fell apart before her eyes.
"I'll take the book," she said quietly. "Thank you. It was a really sweet thing to do."
Charlie looked up and stared at her with wide eyes, wondering where the sudden compassion was coming from. I must really be a wreck, she thought sadly. Tentatively, Joey reached out and touched Charlie's hand, smiling weakly. Charlie smiled back although all she wanted to do was cry again.
"It was kind of you," Joey said.
Standing up, she headed into the Diner, asked Leah to go and make sure Charlie was alright and then, clutching her book and her lunch, hurried back to work.
Charlie was still sitting on the grass when Leah appeared. The Diner owner sat down opposite her and held her hands.
"Is it fun down here?" she asked.
Charlie gazed at her and managed a half hearted laugh. She shook her head.
"I have no idea how this happened," she said. "Just last week I was an upstanding member of this community. I wore my uniform with pride. I was sane. And now... now I keep collapsing in a heap of tears every day."
She laughed again, bitterly this time.
"It'll get better," Leah encouraged. "Of course you're hurting now but it will get better."
"How will it?" Charlie asked, desperately seeking an answer. "Joey hates me."
"She loves you enough to come and get me when she knows you're in a state," Leah pointed out. "And she loved you enough to get Ruby yesterday."
"I think she's just nice," Charlie said sadly. "I don't think it means anything. Although... she did accept my gift."
The police officer just about managed a smile.
"Gift?" Leah asked, prompting Charlie to explain the signed book.
"I don't know what the future is going to bring," Leah ventured. "But my belief is that if you and Joey are meant to be then you'll find your way back to each other. And I for one, hope that you do."
That evening, Joey was lying on her bed reading the book that Charlie had given her when there was a knock on her door.
"Hello?" she said, surprised that her somewhat anti-social new housemates would be coming to see her.
She grinned when Aden poked his head round the door.
"One of your housemates let me in," he said, entering the room properly.
"What's with the bag?" Joey asked, noting that her friend seemed to have all of his worldly belongings with him.
"I'm kind of homeless," Aden admitted.
"What?" Joey squeaked.
She knew that Roman was in a constant bad mood these days but she was surprised that he would kick his tenant out.
"I slept with Nicole," Aden added meekly.
"What?" Joey squeaked in a much higher pitch.
Aden hung his head in shame.
"When?" Joey asked. "What about Belle?"
"Belle's with Liam now," Aden pointed out. "I saw them together on my way home last night and then Nicole came onto me and we just..."
He shrugged.
"And Roman's thrown you out?"
"Belle came round this afternoon and started shouting the odds. Apparently she saw Nicole and I mucking around together this morning. But while she was shouting, Roman came home from lunch with Miles and... He flipped. And here I am."
He looked at her hopefully.
"You want to crash with me, don't you?" Joey realised.
"Just until I figure out what I'm going to do," he replied.
"Okay," she agreed.
He smiled, surprised at how readily she had said yes.
"Do you have to check with your housemates?"
"To be honest, I don't think I'm going to be staying here too long anyway," Joey admitted. "I'm not comfortable."
"Have I got to move you again?" Aden groaned dramatically.
"Do you want a bed for the night?" she countered.
"I will help you move however many times you like," he promised, shifting further up the bed and resting against the pillows beside her.
Suddenly he had an idea.
"Why don't we get a place together?" he suggested.
"Me and you?" Joey said.
"Well, I don't see anyone else in the room!"
Joey grinned, turning the idea over in her mind. Now that Charlie had betrayed her, Aden was officially the person she trusted most in the world.
"Actually, that sounds fantastic," she said. "Count me in."
Next time... Joey almost admits she still loves Charlie, VJ makes a gruesome discovery and someone makes and unwelcome return to the Bay...