Hi everyone. I know Joey is being pretty mean in this story but thank you for going with it anyway. She will soften. It will just take a bit of time. And I'm rather proud to have made some of you feel sorry for Charlie after what she did! Thank you for reading! Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Eight

It had been a desperately long few days. Angelo had returned to town, working for marine area command on the shark attack case. Nobody was pleased to see him and Charlie had had to intervene in an argument between him and Watson for daring to come back to Summer Bay. He had already got into an argument with Tony, Martha had also laid into him and someone had started slashing his tires on a daily basis.

Charlie's first instinct had been to get him transferred back out of the Bay but her boss had said that Angelo was here for the duration of her investigation. She had settled on telling him that they were not friends and she didn't forgive him for what had happened to Jack and nor did anyone else. However, she knew that the quickest way to get rid of him was to support him and help him with his case so that is what she would do. He had thanked her a little rigidly and things remained tense. But for all intents and purposes, Charlie was being as friendly as she could while making sure that Martha knew she was on her side.

At lunch time, on her break from work, Charlie headed into the Diner to get lunch. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Joey nursing a coffee and reading a book. She dared not hope that it was the one she'd got for her a few weeks before. As if knowing she was being watched, Joey looked up. They locked eyes for a moment before Joey stood to leave.

"I'm not staying," Charlie said.

Joey swallowed and nodded. Charlie approached the counter for an unintended takeaway with the idea of going to sit on the beach. Joey watched her over the top of her book, which was indeed the one that Charlie had presented her with not so long ago. She felt guilty that they couldn't even be in the same room together anymore. As she watched Charlie take her food and head out, a big part of her wanted to follow, although what she would do when she caught up with her, she had no idea. Therefore, she decided to stay put.

Outside in the fresh air, Charlie caught sight of Angelo perched on a bench with his head in his hands. Against her better judgement, she approached.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

He looked up at her and sighed heavily before explaining that he'd had to leave the Surf Club because Martha and Hugo had come in to see Alf.

"I know the feeling," she admitted, sitting beside him and offering to share her lunch.

"Who kicked you out?" Angelo wondered.

Charlie shook her head and said it was a long story.

"I've got time," he replied. "And nobody else to talk to."

He almost managed a laugh.

"I've fallen out with someone who meant a lot to me," Charlie ventured. "So I'm not very welcome around her."

"Sorry to hear that," he said. "I hope you sort it out."

"Me too," Charlie said. "It's unlikely but I live in false hope."

"It's a sad place to live," Angelo replied.

Having finished her coffee and knowing that she had to go back to work, Joey read the rest of her chapter as quickly as she could and then stepped outside. She paused when she spotted Charlie sitting on a bench with Angelo. They were both laughing. Bitterness took over. There she had been feeling guilty about Charlie, heavy hearted and lost. And here Charlie was, enjoying her lunch with the man who had killed one of her colleagues. She moved to creep past them, wanting to return to work and continue to do everything she could to forget the woman she was still desperately in love with. Unfortunately, as she passed, Charlie saw her out of the corner of her eye. She turned, offering a longing look. Joey glared.

"Good to see you're keeping the right kind of company," she commented.

Angelo frowned. He didn't even know this woman and she was giving him grief, and insulting Charlie in the process.

"I might not be the most popular guy in town but Charlie doesn't deserve that," he said defensively.

"Aw, you've even got him fighting your corner," Joey commented, her eyes still fixed on Charlie. "Lucky you. I dread to think what you're giving back to him."

Charlie merely gazed at her as she walked away, uncertain over what to say. Joey was likening her with a killer and insinuating that there was something going on between them. Dumping her lunch packaging in the bin, she hurried back to her car, locked herself in and tried not to cry. Angelo remained confused on the bench. Feeling guilty over being too harsh, Joey cast a glance back at Charlie, just about able to make out that she was wiping her eyes. She wondered, not for the first time, if Charlie cared that much about her, if she affected her that much, then why had she broken her heart in the first place? It didn't make sense. And it only made everything hurt more.

As the second half of her shift gathered pace, Charlie had no time to feel stressed over Joey's words. There had been a mayday call from a boat and Angelo had led a team out, only for one officer to get shot by the woman they found. And the woman was none other than Irene Roberts. She was drunk and out of control, in a desperate state of distress. Lou was nowhere to be found and despite Charlie's accusations of Angelo being hasty, he had charged Irene with attempted murder. The charge would be upped if the officer died. And she couldn't even begin to explain where Lou had gone and what had happened to her out on the water. With the arrest, came the end of what Charlie considered to be an absolutely terrible day.

Next time... Charlie notices Crystal's attraction to Joey and makes the mistake of standing up for Hugo...