Chapter 24
"She'll come around..." Joey wrapped an arm comfortingly around Charlie's tense shoulders and pulled her close on the couch.
"I don't think she will..." Charlie responded softly "She's really pissed at me"
"She's not..." At Charlie's disbelieving look Joey paused "Okay maybe she is a little bit mad...But she's more upset than angry. I promise"
"She won't even talk to me" Charlie pointed out sadly.
"She just needs some time..."
"It's been almost a week" the older girl murmured "And she still hasn't talked to me Joey"
Joey remained silent, unsure of how to respond.
"I knew it was a bad idea to tell her..." Charlie continued slowly "I should have just kept this to myself"
"And kept lying to her?"
Charlie sighed disdainfully "It would have been better than...This"
"Would it?" Joey questioned "You were a mess before when you were lying to her..."
"I've managed it well since she was born" Charlie leaned into Joey's embrace and entwined their hands in front of them "I guess I'm quite good at the lying thing..."
Joey pressed a soft kiss to Charlie's temple and tightened the hold she had on her unsure as to how the other girl would react to her question "Charlie?"
"Mmmnh?"
"Can you...Tell me what happened?" Joey bit her lip nervously when Charlie tensed in her embrace "I mean...You don't have to. It's just that it might make you feel better. I know it did when I told you about Robbo but...If you don't want to tell me I completely understand..."
"Joey" Charlie said quietly, interrupting Joey's rambling "I'll tell you...Are you sure you want to hear this?"
"I'm sure" Joey squeezed Charlie's hand supportively.
"Okay..." Charlie took a deep breath and focused on their joined hands in front of them "There was this guy...I think he worked for my Dad or something because he was always at our house. My Dad was out somewhere one night and he was there. I don't know why. It's all...Fuzzy. So anyway he came into my room and pinned me down onto the bed and...He raped me. He said that if I told anyone about it he would kill me..."
"Did you tell anyone?" Joey questioned, blinking back tears at her girlfriend's pain.
"No" Charlie shook her head slowly "Not at first but I started getting morning sickness and I had to tell them...Or they would have noticed that something was going on" she finally looked up into Joey's dark brown eyes "I guess that's why I was so determined to help you press charges against Robbo..." Joey nodded understandingly and Charlie continued in a low voice, her gaze returning to their hands "When they found out...My Dad was really angry at me. He said I was too young to be sleeping around...But I told him the truth and he believed me...He told me that I wasn't old enough to be able to cope with a baby and that I should give her up to them. I didn't know what else to do Joey; I had to do what they asked...You believe me right?"
"Of course I believe you..."
Charlie glanced up at Joey "Really?"
"Really" Joey confirmed firmly.
"Do you think Ruby will ever talk to me?" Charlie questioned hesitantly "Is she ever going to stop being mad at me?"
"You know Ruby" Joey smiled reassuringly "She can never stay mad at you for too long"
"Yeah, but that was before..." Charlie cut herself off and gazed at Joey guiltily "I'm sorry about all of this Jo...I know that you probably didn't expect all of this drama and you really shouldn't have to deal with it all"
"Don't apologise Charlie. There's nowhere else I would rather be than here with you even with all of this stuff...especially with all of this"
"Thanks Jo" Charlie shifted slightly and placed a quick kiss on Joey's lips before pulling away by a fraction of an inch "I love you"
"I love you too" Joey smiled pulling Charlie back to her into a deeper kiss.
---
"Ruby, would you please just talk to me?" Charlie pleaded trailing after the teen"Ruby?!" she sighed heavily when Ruby didn't respond "I just want to explain..."
"I don't want to hear it!" Charlie jumped slightly at the younger girls' loud exclamation having not even expected her fto reply. Her hand twitched at her side as she suddenly craved for Joey's comforting touch.
"Ruby, I'm sorry..."
"Stop apologising!" Ruby said firmly "It doesn't mean a thing Charlie and I don't want to hear your explanations, okay?!"
"So what?" Charlie pushed back tears which were beginning to cloud her vision "You're just never going to talk to me again?!"
"That seems like a good idea right now..." Ruby nodded "I don't know...All I know is that right now I can't even be around you let alone talk to you..."
"But..."
"No!" the teenager exclaimed loudly "You lied to me! You've been lying to me my whole life! You can't just expect the truth and an explanation to make it all better!"
"Rubz..."
"I'm going to my room, okay?" Ruby muttered moving past Charlie "I think Joey will be home soon anyway..."
Charlie allowed her tears to fall freely as Ruby walked out of the room. She wiped them away roughly when she heard the younger girls' door slam shut "Damn I need a drink..." she glanced quickly at the clock to see that it read '10:12 pm'. She was halfway out of the door when she paused suddenly "Joey..." she quickly moved back into the house and scribbled a note to her girlfriend which read: "Joey, Gone out, be home soon, don't worry. Love, Charlie xxxx" before she rushed out of the house and towards the surf club.
"Hey Alf" she panted slightly when she finally leaned on the bar.
"Charlie" Alf greeted her with a nod "In a hurry?"
"No" Charlie managed a weak smile "Just needed a drink. It's been a long day..."
"What can I get you?" Alf questioned.
"Uh...A double Whiskey and a JD?" Charlie responded.
"Okay..." Alf seemed confused but got the drinks anyway, placing them in front of her a moment later.
"You must have had a really bad day" he observed in concern as Charlie slammed the whiskey back. She coughed slightly when the drink burned the back of her throat.
"It was" she nodded picking up her beer "The worst...Thanks Alf" Alf nodded and Charlie made her way over to a seat in the corner of the room.
"I really shouldn't be doing this..." she whispered to herself. She took a sip from the bottle in her hand and leaned back closing her eyes "Yeah...This is a very bad idea..."
---
"Charlie?" Joey called quietly when she entered the house "Charlie?!" she spotted a note on the kitchen table and read over it quickly.
"I think she went out" Ruby said from where she was leaning against the doorway "Or she could be in her room..."
"Ruby!" Joey jumped slightly "Is it really necessary to sneak up on me?!"
Ruby shrugged "Sorry. So anyway I think Charlie's gone out. I might have upset her a while ago..."
"What?!" Joey looked up sharply "What did you say to her?"
"I told her that I couldn't talk to her and that I didn't want to hear her apologies or explanations because they were meaningless...I may have also suggested that I was never going to talk to her again..."
"Great" Joey muttered allowing the note to drop from her fingertips onto the kitchen table "Just Fucking Great!"
Ruby frowned at Joey's sudden expletive "What?!"
"Have you ever wondered..." Joey began tightly "What you would have done if you were in Charlie's position?!" Ruby opened her mouth to respond but Joey continued firmly "She was fourteen Ruby! She was only a kid herself and not only was she raped which is traumatic enough for anyone but she fell pregnant! Is it really so bad that she thought it was best to listen to her parents?!" The teenager once again attempted to interrupt but it appeared that Joey's anger and concern was still fuelling her rant "How was she supposed to look after you anyway?! What would you have preferred? That she had given you up for adoption and that she hadn't been in your life at all?!"
"It still doesn't change the fact that she lied to me for my whole life" Ruby said though her tone was shaky.
"And I don't condone that" Joey stated "But she did what she thought was best for you at the time and treating her like this is not going to fix anything! It's just going to destroy your relationship with her..."
"But I don't know what else to do!" Ruby responded tearfully "What am I supposed to do Joey?"
Joey instantly felt guilty at the site of the teens tears and moved over to her enveloping her in a warm embrace "I'm sorry Rubz...I didn't meant to upset you"
"I know" Ruby nodded tearfully against Joey's shoulder before she pulled back slightly "But I don't know what I'm supposed to do Jo."
"I don't know" Joey said quietly "But you can't keep pushing her away Ruby...You have to talk to her!"
Ruby sighed sadly "I can't talk to her...I don't know what to say or how I'm supposed to act around her now..."
"Rubz..."
"I need time to think" Ruby stepped away from Joey.
"How much time?" Joey asked softly "I know from experience that you'll regret it if you waste too much time..."
"The three months away?"
"Yeah...The three months away" Joey nodded.
"I don't know" Ruby murmured despondently "I just need..."
"Time?"
"Time" Ruby confirmed. She turned around to walk away but stopped at the doorway "Joey?"
"Yeah?"
"Will you let me know when Charlie gets back?" Ruby asked quietly "So I know that she's okay? She's been gone for about an hour and a half so she'll probably be back before it gets too late..."
"Of course" Joey smiled at Ruby's inability to stop caring for Charlie "I'll let you know"
"Thanks" Ruby said gratefully before she walked out of the room and towards her own. Joey grabbed the note and moved into the living room where she slumped tiredly onto the couch.
"Joey..." Joey read slowly for the second time "Gone out, Be home soon, Love Charlie..." she smiled softly as she traced Charlie's name with her fingertips "Where are you Charlie?" she jumped slightly as the phone rang and she lunged to pick it up, worry washing over her.
"Joey Love?" Alf's voice sounded.
"Alf?" Joey questioned her concern only rising "Is something wrong?"
"Not really wrong" Alf answered in a low voice "But I've got your Charlie her and she's quite drunk. I've stopped serving her alcohol. I was wondering if you could come and pick her up?"
"Yeah" Joey was already grabbing her jacket "I'll be right there. Bye Alf"
"Bye" Alf's voice sounded before Joey hung up and flung the phone onto the couch.
"Ruby?!" Joey yelled "I'm going out!"With that she rushed quickly out of the house.
---
Charlie giggled quietly to herself as she drank the water Alf had ordered her to drink. A noise from above her caused her to look up.
"Hugo" she laughed "Just the person I didn't want to see tonight!"
"Are you okay Charlie?" Hugo questioned in feigned concern "You're drunk. Do you want me to take you home?"
"I most certainly am drunk" Charlie slurred poking him in the chest "But no I don't want you to take me home...I want Joey"
"Joey's not here" Hugo gestured around "So maybe I should just take you instead..."
"Let's get something straight Hugo" Charlie prodded him once again in the chest "I'm not" she burst into uncontrollable giggles at her own joke, almost falling off her seat.
"You have something on your shirt" Hugo grinned flirtatiously motioning towards Charlie's shirt "How about I help you out of it?"
Charlie shook her head "Go away Hugo..."
"I think it would be best if you backed off" Alf informed Hugo as he walked over to them "Joey's going to be here soon and if she sees you harassing Charlie she isn't going to be happy..."
Hugo huffed before standing up and stomping off.
"Thanks Alf" Charlie smiled drunkenly at the man.
"Its fine" Alf shrugged "Now Drink...It'll make you feel better" he motioned towards the water in front of Charlie before he turned and walked away. Charlie leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. She opened them when somebody sat next to her, ready to tell Hugo to back off again.
"Joey!" she exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around the younger girl in a drunken Hug "Hey!"
"Hey yourself" Joey pulled back and raised an eyebrow at Charlie's drunken stupor. Charlie merely grinned up at her innocently. Joey stood up and helped Charlie up from her seat "C'mon Honey, let's go home"
"Uh-huh" Charlie allowed herself to be pulled up from her seat almost dropped back down.
"Whoa!" Joey exclaimed wrapping an arm securely around Charlie's waist to hold her up "God you're really wasted...Just lean on me okay Charlie?"
"Mmmnhm" Charlie mumbled drunkenly. She wrapped her right arm around Joey's shoulders and allowed herself to be led from the bar though she didn't register much.
"Oh God" Joey muttered when Charlie began to sing a drunken rendition of 'You were always on my mind' By Elvis Presley as they walked down the beach.
"Maybe I didn't love you, Quite as often as I could have, little things I could have sssaiid and done I just never toooook the time, You were always on my mind...." Charlie stopped her drunken singing for a moment to look at Joey "Hey Jo?"
"Mmmnh?" Joey questioned her attentioned focused solely on getting Charlie to walk in a straight line.
"Nothing..."
Joey rolled her eyes and they fell silent for a few minutes. Charlie spoke up contemplatively as they approached the house.
"This is all such a mess. I don't know what to do..."
"Ruby will come around" Joey said quietly without looking at the other girl.
"I know...You've said that already" Charlie responded quietly "But I was actually talking about the stain on my shirt...I think I spilt something on it"
Joey glanced down at Charlie's shirt as she led her into the house to see that it did indeed have a dark stain on it. She moved them quickly to their bedroom and deposited Charlie gently on the bed.
"Okay" she stepped back and looked closely at Charlie "We should get you out of these clothes..."
Charlie shrugged and Joey gently tugged the older girls' shirt over her head. She got her changed quickly into a t-shirt and shorts.
"Joey?" Charlie asked softly apparently having sobered up a little bit. She continued when Joey looked up at her "I'm sorry that you have to do this. I know that I'm being a bit of a pain and I'm really not worth..."
"Charlie!" Joey cut her off loudly "Stop it...I don't mind this. You're hurting right now and I understand that. I love you more than anything else so don't even think about telling me that you're not worth it okay? I mean it..." she trailed off as she choked on her words.
"I'm sorry" Charlie murmured tearfully as she moved a hand to Joey's cheek and wiped falling tears away "Please don't cry Jo..."
Joey moved forward and engulfed Charlie in a loving embrace as her tears continued to fall "I hate seeing you in pain..."
"I'm sorry..." Charlie whimpered into Joey's shoulder.
"Its okay" Joey smiled weakly when she pulled away "Just...Get some sleep okay?" she guided Charlie gently down onto the bed and lay down next to her "It'll be okay..." she leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the other girls lips.
"Okay" Charlie whispered as she snuggled close to Joey "I love you Jo..."
"I love you too..." Joey replied softly.
---
"Joey?" Ruby questioned when she walked into the kitchen "Did Charlie get home okay last night?"
"Yeah she did" Joey nodded slowly "I was going to tell you but you must have fallen asleep and I had to stay with her last night anyway...It was a bit rough for her"
"Oh" Ruby nodded. She looked up sharply when she took in Joey's word "Wait! What happened? Why was it rough?!"
"She got drunk" Joey answered quietly "So I had to go get her...Then she was having nightmares..."
"Oh" Ruby repeated sadly "Is she okay?"
"I think she's fine" Joey nodded.
"What do I do?" Ruby asked suddenly "To make it better?"
"I don't know" Joey sighed "like I said last night you have to talk to her..."
"I'm not even mad at her anymore" Ruby said quietly "I'm just confused. I mean...How am I supposed to act around her now? Like she's my mother? Or my sister? What do I even call her?"
"I don't know" Joey walked over to Ruby and wrapped a comforting arm around her "You'll have to talk to her about this. I'm sure it'll be fine"
Ruby nodded silently.
---
Ruby walked nervously into the living room later that day to see Charlie sitting on the couch with Joey at her side "Uh...Can I talk to you?"
"Oh" Charlie muttered sadly "Do you want me to..." she motioned towards the door.
"No" Ruby answered softly "It was actually you I wanted to talk to..." she glanced at Joey who looked like she was about to leave "You're fine too Jo..."
Charlie stood up apprehensively "So...What is it?"
"I'm not mad at you" Ruby confessed "And I don't hate you...I'm just so confused right now..."
"I understand that" Charlie nodded.
"I hate not talking to you..." Ruby admitted tearfully "I just need you to help me understand things right now Charlie..."
Charlie nodded as tears welled up in her own eyes "I hate not talking to you too..."
"I just...I need..." Ruby moved quickly forward and threw her arms around Charlie surprising her slightly. Charlie however hugged her back just as tightly.
"I love you" Ruby murmured into the older girls' ear "Nothing could change that"
"I love you too" Charlie whispered as her tears fell.
Ruby pulled back to look at Charlie "I'm sorry about how I've been treating you for the last week or so..."
"It's oka..."
"It's not okay" Ruby shook her head firmly "You deserve better than that...Especially from me"
Charlie shrugged silently.
"Can we talk about this later?" Ruby questioned softly "No yelling or anything I promise" she smiled weakly at the older girl.
"Of course" Charlie nodded "Whatever you want..."
Ruby turned around to leave the room but paused and turned back "Uh, hey?"
"Yeah Rubz?"
"Do you mind If I still call you Charlie?" Ruby asked nervously "I mean I'm not in denial or anything I just can't imagine calling you anything else"
"Yeah...You can call me Charlie" Charlie smiled.
Ruby hugged Charlie quickly before she walked out of the room.
"See?" Joey questioned when Charlie sat back on the couch next to her "I told you it would be fine"
"What did you say to her?" Charlie smiled.
"I may have yelled at her" Joey shrugged "But other than that she did it all by herself" she moved forward and kissed Charlie quickly "I can't help but be proud of her..."
"Me too" Charlie nodded "Thanks Joey. For being here. I don't know what I would do without you...I just....I love you more than I can even say"
"I love you too" Joey beamed before Charlie leaned closer and kissed her passionately.
TBC
