The bad storm kept Charlie awake, she wasn't afraid of the thunder and lighting, she was afraid of Joey out at sea with this monster of a storm. The boat she was on wasn't that big and the swells might capsize the boat, she kept calling her on her mobile, but as she predicted Joey wasn't getting a signal that far out. She went to the living room to watch the news, that only made her worry more. The reporter kept saying how it's been decades since a storm this big hit the area! She tried texting Joey, maybe she would get a signal and text back.

JOEY WHERE ARE YOU?!? I HOPE YOU ARE OUT OF HARMS WAY...AS SOON AS YOU GET THIS PLEASE CALL OR TEXT ME. I'M WORRIED AND I LOVE YOU AND I MISS YOU!!! XOXOX

A bolt of lightning came crashing down, not to far away from the house. VJ screamed and Leah rushed to comfort him.

"How's he doing?"

"OK, I guess. This is really a wicked storm. I've been tossing and turning."

"Yeah, that last lightning strike fell near by."

"I'm surprised Ruby can sleep through all this."

"That girl can sleep through anything. Leah, I wanted to thank you for how supportive and understanding you have been with me, Ruby and Joey for the past couple of months. I..."

"Oh, Charlie don't even mention it. You would have done exactly the same thing. I also wanted to tell you about Roman sooner, I just didn't know how to go about it."

"Roman is part of my past, he's a friend and I hope that the two of you can get back together. You seemed really happy, so I hope it all works out for the two of you."

"Thanks, Charlie that really means a lot to me. What about you and Joey? What's going on with the two of you?"

"I really messed it up! On the day of the Brett incident...as the day went on it got worse and worse. The kids at the school knew about the car spray painted with the word QUEER on it and the gossip spread like wildfire all over school, Brett filed a sexual harassment complaint against me saying that I was the one that seduced Joey, my colleagues questioned me about Joey and how I crossed the line and then I was to keep away from Joey until the investigation ended."

"Oh, Charlie that was a day from hell for you!"

"The worst part came later that evening, when I made the biggest mistake of my life...I had a lot to drink and headed down to the beach to get away from everybody. As I sat there Hugo came along and...and he kept saying the word GAY, he understood why it didn't work out between us because I was GAY. I got so upset and yelled at him that I wasn't GAY and the next thing I remember I'm sneaking out of his room the following morning with Martha, Xavier and Brandon as witnesses to my debacle."

At this point, Charlie breaks down and cries all the tears she hadn't realize she was still holding in. Leah, was kind and told her that not all hope is lost and that soon Joey would make her way back to her with open arms and they would start over again.

"I'm sorry for pouring all this on you, I'm sure you must be tired and in need of sleep."

"I can't sleep with all the racket that this storm is making, at least we can keep each other company."

"Joey, being out in this scares me to death and it's my fault that she out there to begin with!"

"Don't say that, Charlie. You have to have faith that everything will be alright. Keep a positive mind and heart."

"You're right. I just want to know that she's OK. That she is out of the storm and safe somewhere along the coast."

"I know you do, we all do."

At that moment Charlie's mobile starts to ring. JOEY appears on the display! One text message from Joey, she quickly opened the the message that read. I'M OK. JUST GOT OUT OF THE STORM, VERY ROUGH & SCARY. I HAVE VERY BAD RECEPTION, TRIED CALLING SEVERAL TIMES WITH NO LUCK. I HOPE THE TEXT GETS THROUGH. I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU, TOO. XOXOX

Charlie was crying hysterically, knowing that Joey was safe made her happy and she started to breath again. She felt the huge knot she had in her stomach start to slowly come undone. Joey's been only gone for a couple of days and to Charlie it has seemed an eternity. In two days, she's understood that Joey has left a void that no one else could replace and that she truly is lost without her. If only, she could fall asleep for three months and only wake up to Joey's soft tender kiss on her lips and just like a fairytale they would live happily ever after, if she were able to do that, she would!