Chapter Nineteen
Joey was a little bewildered when she woke up in a king size bed with a very warm body beneath her. Awkwardly, she extracted her hand from where it had inadvertently come to rest on Charlie's right breast. Her mouth had also been pretty close. Sitting up, Joey rubbed her eyes and gazed into her girlfriend's perfect face. Sometimes, she could still hardly believe that she was really with such an amazing girl. They hadn't exactly hit it off to start with and the bet she'd made with Brax still tugged on her conscience but as soon as she lost that, she hoped for a happy future with the woman that she was falling in love with.
"Morning," Charlie mumbled, smiling and stretching a little before her eyes finally fluttered open.
She and Joey smiled lovingly at each other for several long moments before Joey leant into kiss her gently on the lips.
"That was the best night's sleep I've ever had," Charlie admitted.
"Me too," Joey said. "I've never snuggled with anyone before."
"Nor have I," Charlie said. "Obviously. I've never done anything with anyone before."
She smiled a little shyly, still nervous that Joey thought she was weird for her lack of experience.
"Then I'm very touched to be your first," Joey said sweetly.
Charlie beamed at her and sat up, pulling Joey closer and kissing her. They broke apart when the door opened and a particularly excitable Ruby barged into the room. She paused at the end of the bed, eyeing them curiously. Then, with a shrug, she clambered up and sat cross legged in front of them both.
"Morning!" she said cheerfully. "Can we play?"
Charlie chuckled and ruffled her hair.
"I think we might need to get dressed and have breakfast first," she said.
Ruby pouted but agreed. She jumped up and suggested they went downstairs immediately.
"Fine," Charlie giggled, moving to climb out from beneath the blankets.
Ruby turned to Joey who followed suit.
"Do you love my Mum, Joey?" the five year old asked bluntly.
Joey froze and glanced at Charlie.
"We're best friends," Charlie told her daughter.
Ruby looked a little puzzled, trying to work them out. Then she shrugged again and bounced off the bed and towards the door. Charlie put her dressing gown on and handed a spare to her girlfriend as Ruby hurried out of the room and towards the stairs.
"She's kind of astute," Joey remarked.
"Yeah, she's pretty much a genius," Charlie admitted. "I probably should have mentioned that."
"No kidding!" Joey laughed.
Charlie chuckled.
"She's mentally a lot older than she is physically," Charlie explained, leading the way down the stairs. "And if she asks more questions then I'll explain things to her. But I won't rush into it."
"Okay, good," Joey said a little nervously.
After breakfast, Ruby took Joey into the lounge to show her every single DVD she had and explain which ones were her favourites.
"She's really taken to your friend," Patricia remarked, alone in the dining room with her daughter.
"Yeah, they get along great," Charlie agreed. "It's nice."
Patricia nodded, observing her.
"She's not just your friend though, is she?"
Charlie blanched and busied herself with collecting plates together.
"She didn't sleep in the spare room like we told her to," Patricia continued, standing in Charlie's way.
"That was my fault, not hers," Charlie said.
"I know it's not like you can get pregnant by her, Charlie but I'd appreciate it if you didn't have sex with her under my roof," Patricia said.
"We're not sleeping together," Charlie insisted.
"Don't lie to me."
"We're not," Charlie said. "Honestly. We shared a bed but nothing happened. I'm not... well, I mean, after what happened... I'm not ready."
She frowned. Patricia narrowed her eyes.
"Not that I'm eager for you to do it, Charlie, but you really ought to be over what happened by now."
Charlie visibly deflated at her mother's harsh words. She dumped the plates and headed into the lounge to see Joey and Ruby, suddenly very aware of why she was so glad to be living away from home, aside from missing her daughter so much.
"Are you okay, Charlie?" Joey asked a little worriedly.
They, along with Ruby, had taken a drive to a huge park nearby where they had a picnic and played incessantly in the trees and apparatus. With Ruby having made friends with a little boy, Charlie and Joey had let her go off and play on the swings with him while they kept an eye on them both.
"I'm fine," Charlie lied.
Joey narrowed her eyes, trying to read her.
"What's up?" she asked. "Have I done something wrong?"
"What? No! No, you haven't done anything," Charlie assured her, putting an arm around her shoulders. "It's just my mother."
"What did she do?" Joey asked. "If you don't mind me being nosy."
"Well, she knows we're an item," Charlie admitted.
"Does she mind?"
"Not really, although she said she doesn't want us... you know."
Joey nodded.
"Well, we're not doing you know anyway so it's fine," she said brightly. "Right?"
Charlie nodded but still looked troubled.
"Joey, do you think I'm a freak?" she finally blurted out.
Joey looked utterly bewildered.
"Sorry?" she said.
"Because I'm not ready to jump into sex and stuff like everyone else seems to?"
Joey shifted so that they were seated opposite each other, holding hands.
"Charlie, I respect you for that," she said honestly. "You shouldn't do anything like that if you're not comfortable with it. And especially after what you went through..."
"But shouldn't I be over it by now?" Charlie asked, quoting her mother.
Joey looked horrified.
"I can't even begin to imagine what you went through, Charlie, but no, you shouldn't be 'over it' by now," she said. "It doesn't work like that. You were subjected to violence that nobody should ever have to deal with, especially not so young. I doubt it's the kind of thing anyone truly recovers from. But you do your best. I'm really proud of you for the way you carry yourself. You're amazing and I don't want you to let anybody tell you anything different."
Relieved, Charlie pulled her into a hug. Joey had told her exactly what she needed to hear and it meant the world.
Next time… Ruby gets to the bottom of her mother's relationship with Joey…