Hey guys here's the next chapter! Thanks again for all of your reviews. They really mean a lot to me. Hope you enjoy this one! :)
Chapter 80
"Honey, I'm home!" Charlie called jokingly as she walked through the door and tugged her jacket off. She paused for a moment expecting a reply but frowned when she didn't receive one "Heeelooo?" she walked idly through the kitchen to the living room, stopping abruptly when she found nobody there.
"Hey"
Charlie jumped slightly as a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and she whirled around quickly only to come face to face with Joey "Joey..."
"Jumpy much?" Joey smirked before she planted a soft kiss on Charlie's lips "Who else would it be?"
Charlie shrugged "It didn't seem like anybody was here...Where were you anyway?"
"Upstairs" Joey sighed, her expression darkening quickly.
"Ruby's still in her room?" Charlie asked in concern as her gaze flitted briefly to the ceiling.
"She went straight up there when she got back from school" Joey answered quietly "She didn't look so great"
"So exactly the same as the past week and a half" Charlie muttered as she stepped back and sank onto the couch "I really don't know what to do" she reached up and rubbed her shoulder painstakingly.
"Long day at work?" Joey asked, slightly worried as she perched on the arm of the couch next to her lover.
"You could say that" Charlie winced "Some guy we were tracking knocked me over and I hurt my shoulder"
"Is it bad?" Joey tentatively laid her hand on Charlie's shoulder.
"Just bruised I think" Charlie shrugged though the movement caused her to release a soft whimper of pain "Ow"
"Maybe you should go to the hospital" Joey suggested nervously "You might have really hurt it"
"It's fine" Charlie offered Joey a small smile "Anyway I think Rachel's kind of sick of us after all of the time we've spent there in the last year" sensing Joey was about to continue she continued slightly more seriously "Plus we have too much going on around here for me to be going to the hospital"
"Ruby?"
"Yeah" Charlie confirmed sadly "Ruby"
"Well if you're not going to the hospital..." Joey said as she stood up from the arm of the chair "I'll be back in a minute"
"Wha..." Charlie trailed off looking perplexed as Joey walked out of the room "Okaaaay" she rubbed idly at her throbbing shoulder for a moment before Joey walked back into the room with a first aid kit in her hands "What's that for?"
"I'm going to fix you up!" Joey grinned as she sat back on the arm of the chair "Which means you'll need to take your shirt off"
"Yeah?" Charlie smirked suggestively as she began to unbutton the shirt "I think you're just trying to get me naked Collins"
"Well you could be right there" Joey grinned though her expression instantly turned to alarm as Charlie's shirt dropped from her shoulders "I thought you said it was 'Just a bruise'?!"
"It is just a bruise" Charlie turned her head slightly to look down at her injured shoulder "A big bruise but still just a bruise"
"A very big black and blue bruise" Joey said as she reached out and touched Charlie's shoulder with her fingertips. Despite the tentativeness of the action Charlie winced as soon as her skin was touched "Ouch!"
"Sorry" Joey apologised as she pulled her hand back "Charlie..."
"No hospitals" Charlie interrupted quickly "I'll be fine. It's just a bruise"
"Okay. Fine" Joey sighed and opened the first aid kit at her side. She pulled out a tube of cream and glanced regretfully at Charlie "This is going to hurt like hell"
"I can take it" Charlie grinned jokingly "Just...Be quick"
"Right" Joey nodded and squirted the cream onto her fingers "Hmm...Pretty Cream"
"What?" Charlie looked at the cream which was white with pink fragments "Oh, right..." she shook her head in amusement.
"Okay, ready?" Joey asked as she lifted her hand. She waited for Charlie's nod before she placed the cream on Charlie's shoulder and rubbed it in as quickly but as gently as she could.
"That wasn't so bad" Charlie said as Joey removed her hand "The pressure hurt a little bit but it didn't hurt too much. I thought you said it would hurt like hell?"
"Just wait a minute" Joey advised knowingly.
"What do you...Oh" Charlie's eyes widened in sudden pain "Okay...Ow, Ow, Ow...That Burns. Ouch, Fuck OW!"
"Language" Joey chuckled as she dropped a kiss on Charlie's head "I told you it would hurt"
"You didn't tell me it would burn!" Charlie exclaimed painfully.
"It'll go away in a minute" Joey smiled "Anyway imagine how my fingers are feeling right now"
"Imagine how they're feeling where?" Charlie bit her lip flirtatiously.
Joey chuckled despite the blush that crept up her cheeks at Charlie's suggestive tone "I'm sure you would be in a hell of a lot more pain if what you're thinking about was actually...Y'know"
"Yeah" Charlie grimaced at the thought "I think I'm going to go and get changed then check on Rubz"
"Okay" Joey nodded unsurely "I don't really think she's in the mood for talking though. She pretty much ignored me"
"This isn't like her" Charlie sighed dolefully "She hasn't come out of her room for a week and a half...Apart from going to school obviously"
"She's hurting" Joey whispered thoughtfully "More than we know"
"I had no idea that Summer leaving would affect her this much" Charlie admitted sadly as she looked up at Joey "It's like she's completely shut down"
"They were really close" Joey shrugged "You know that"
"But...How Close?" Charlie questioned in frustration "Close to the extent that Ruby can't even function without her?"
"They were best friends" Joey frowned "It's understandable that Ruby would be hurting"
"I'm going to check on her" Charlie said as she stood up from the couch. She hesitated for a moment before she leaned down and kissed Joey "I know it may seem like I'm being really insensitive right now but I'm just worried"
"I know" Joey nodded slowly "It's okay"
---
After Changing into Jeans and a loose shirt Charlie walked to Ruby's door and knocked hesitantly "Rubz?" she paused for a moment but when there was no answer she continued in a slightly louder voice "Ruby?"
"Come in" Ruby's voice sounded quietly from behind the door.
Charlie opened the door and stepped into the room surprised to see it was pitch black. Through the darkness she could just barely make out Ruby sitting in bed, wiping tears from her cheeks "Wow, its dark"
"I have a headache" Ruby answered hoarsely "Was there something you wanted Charlie?"
"Um...I just came to see how you are" Charlie said in concern as she moved over to the bed and tentatively sat next to her daughter.
"I'm great" Ruby snapped sarcastically "Absolutely freaking fabulous"
Charlie looked slightly shocked at the teenager's sharp tone "Ruby..."
"I'm sorry" Ruby said monotonously "I just don't feel like talking to anyone right now, okay?"
"Well that's too bad" Charlie frowned as she watched Ruby flop back onto the bed "I want to know what's wrong with you. You haven't come out of your room for more than a week except for school. You haven't been eating properly, you won't ta..."
"Do you know that she hasn't called me yet?" Ruby asked. She bit down hard on her lip to keep her emotions at bay before continuing, her gaze fixed on the ceiling "She won't answer my calls or texts. What does that tell you?"
"Um..."
"It shows that she doesn't care" Ruby said miserably "That as soon as she left she forgot about me or something" she laughed bitterly "Out of sight out of mind right?"
"That's ridiculous" Charlie said instantly "You know that Summer cared about you"
"Cared as in past tense" Ruby muttered.
"That's not what I meant Rubz" Charlie sighed and began to reach out to her daughter. She stopped suddenly however and winced "Ow..."
"What is it?" Ruby asked looking genuinely concerned as her gaze moved back to Charlie.
"I have a sore shoulder" Charlie moved her loose shirt slightly to reveal her bruised shoulder "It hurts like hell"
"Ouch" Ruby muttered as she touched the slightly heated bruise "Looks painful"
"Joey fixed it up" Charlie shrugged before grimacing at the discomfort "It's better than it was before"
"Oh" Ruby nodded and dropped back onto the bed "So...Was there anything else you wanted?"
"I'm worried about you" Charlie murmured softly "I know you're hurting but...You need to look after yourself Rubz. Staying locked up in your room doing nothing isn't good"
"I just want to be alone" Ruby whispered as she turned onto her side to face away from Charlie "I need to be alone right now"
Charlie sighed but nodded anyway "If you need me you know where I'll be" she dropped a kiss on the side of Ruby's head before she stood up and walked towards the door. She stopped however when she reached it "Rubz?" there was no response apart from soft sniffles but Charlie knew her daughter was listening "You know I love you right?"
"I know"
Charlie hesitated for a moment before leaving.
---
"I'm still worried" Charlie said as she walked along the road hand in hand with Joey "She didn't come out of her room at all last night"
"I know" Joey nodded "What do you think we should do?"
"I don't know" Charlie answered sadly "She's just...I've never seen her this depressed before. It's really scary" she glanced at her lover who looked suddenly thoughtful "What is it?"
"I'm just thinking about Summer" Joey responded softly "About why she hasn't called or answered Ruby's calls...It's really weird. I can't imagine Summer ignoring her like that"
"You don't think something's happened to them do you?" Charlie asked in concern "And that's why Summer hasn't called?"
"I don't know" Joey said quietly "I hope not. For Ruby's sake"
"She's hurting" Charlie whispered more to herself than to Joey "I wish I could do something to stop it"
"I know" Joey whispered as she squeezed Charlie's hand gently "All we can do is wait until she's ready to talk to us"
"I guess you're right" Charlie sighed as they approached the door to the house "I'm just scared she's going to end up hurting herself first, y'know?"
"I know" Joey said as they entered the house.
"Rubz?" Charlie called cautiously as she walked towards the kitchen "Ruby are yo..." she stopped suddenly, her eyes widening in surprise when she reached the kitchen doorway only to see the unexpected sight of her daughter lying unconscious on the kitchen floor "Oh Fuck...JOEY!" she rushed forwards and quickly dropped to her knees next to Ruby "Shit...What did you do to yourself Rubz?" she placed her fingers on Ruby's pulse point and sighed in relief when she felt a steady pulse.
"She's bleeding" Joey observed softly as she moved a hand to Ruby's head where a cut was visible "I'll phone an ambulance"
Charlie nodded tearfully before she took Ruby's hand in both of her own and squeezed it tightly "Damn it Rubz..."
---
"You know..." Rachel said thoughtfully as she stopped in front of a frantic looking Charlie and a slightly alarmed Joey "You three are here more than I am"
"Is she okay?!" Charlie exclaimed as she jumped up from the seat "Is she awake? What happened Rachel? Was she atta...?"
"Charlie" Joey whispered as she placed a soothing hand on Charlie's arm.
"She's fine" Rachel offered a small smile of reassurance "she collapsed from low blood sugar and hit her head on the way down. She's awake now so you can go and see her. But there is something else..."
"What is it?" Joey and Charlie asked in unison.
"Have you notice Ruby seems...Different?" Rachel asked carefully "Maybe slightly down?"
"Um...Summer left recently" Joey informed the doctor "She's feeling kind of...Down"
"Right" Rachel responded quietly "Well...You can go and see her. Just follow me" she waited for their nods before she turned and walked away with Joey and Charlie right behind her. She came to a stop outside the door "I'll be back soon to talk to you about what you need to do to prevent this and so forth, okay?"
"Okay" Charlie whispered before she entered the room with Joey at her side.
"Hey" Ruby said miserably as they walked in.
"Are you okay?" Charlie asked as she walked over to the edge of the hospital bed "Rachel said you collapsed"
"I'm fine" Ruby shrugged listlessly.
"Rachel noticed you were a bit down" Joey attempted quietly "Maybe if you talk to us..."
"I'm fine!" Ruby said again in a slightly harsher voice "I don't need to talk to anyone"
"We're worried" Charlie persisted "Whatever's going on with you is hurting you physically Ruby. This is serious"
"I know that!" Ruby snapped as tears began to fill her eyes "but I don't care, okay?!"
"Summer wouldn't want this for you..." Charlie whispered sadly "She wouldn't want you to dwell on what's going on. She would want..."
"How do you know what she would want?" Ruby questioned "Why do you even think she would care?!"
"She does care about you!" Charlie stated strongly "I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding..."
"If she cared about me..." Ruby sniffled "Why is she hurting me?!"
"It's going to be okay" Joey spoke up comfortingly "Summer will phone soon. You just need to hang on and look after yourself Rubz. That's the most important thing"
"What's the point?" Ruby asked tearfully. She turned her head away from Joey and Charlie and closed her eyes causing unshed tears to fall "Why should I care when she doesn't?"
TBC
