Just carrying on from the last chapter! Thanks to the people who are still with this! =)

Enjoy xo

Chapter 42

Brax's Point of View

I got out of there as fast as I could, as soon as I seen Heath standing there. What was I thinking? I should have dropped her off and gone straight home! I got to my front door only to find Hayley standing there smiling. I hadn't seen her since Heath's court case and I was hoping that's the last I would have seen of her. "Hayley…what you doing here?" I asked before realising how unwelcoming I was sounding.

"Oh I was just in town. Thought I'd drop in. See how the family was. I actually came over last night but you weren't home… your car was next door though" She spoke.

"Um yeah, Heath borrowed my car. He was staying over at Bianca's house" I quickly came up with an excuse before nodding my head. She gave me a small smile and nodded back before I went to open my front door. "I actually have to get ready for work now, so if that's it?" I questioned if she had any other motives as to being here. First time we met a couple of years back we had a bit of a fling, but it was nothing too serious. I could tell she had been trying to go back to that time, every time I seen her.

"Um, yeah…that's it. I suppose I'll see you round…I've got a few clients in Yabbie Creek, so I'll be around for a while" She gave me a smile that put me on edge before walking off towards her car. I don't know what it was about her, but there was something that I didn't trust about that girl, perhaps the fact that she was a lawyer.

Charlie's Point of View

As soon as I closed my bedroom door I realised what a mistake I had made, letting Brax stay over last night. There was no way in this reality that we could be together again. There was too much at risk. My career, his family, my daughter, the cons were starting to outweigh the pros and I don't know how I didn't see all this before. I suppose the excitement of sneaking around with a gorgeous man clouded my better judgement. But right now it was fully clear and making me realise what a mistake coming to summer bay had been. I quickly had a shower before sitting on my bed thinking about the past couple of months. "Charlie?" A soft voice dragged me back from my thoughts. I looked up to see Ruby staring at me from the door.

"Hey…what's up?" I pushed out a small smile.

"Are you ok?" She asked, walking in and sitting on my bed next to me. She was dressed in her school uniform, obviously getting ready to leave.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I nodded, looking into her eyes. She was the one thing in my life that I had done right. Giving her up was the right thing for both of us, no matter how much it hurt me then and how much it would hurt her in the future. "You know I love you right?" I looked at her before seeing her smile.

"Yeah I know" She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly.

"Good" I kissed her forehead before she pulled away.

"What I wanted to ask Charlie, admin at school called me up to the office yesterday, apparently they don't have a copy of my birthday certificate and they need it to put on file" She told me seriously.

"Oh yeah sure" I got up from the bed and opened my wardrobe, pulled down a small file box and opening the lid. I sifted through it before pulling out a file marked birth certificates and important documents. Pulling Ruby's birth certificate out, I looked at it before noticing...

'Mother: Charlotte Buckton. Age: 15 Occupation: Student.
Father: Unknown'

"Actually Ruby, its not in here. This is mine. It could be in another box. I'll find it for you today" I nodded.

"Oh ok" She smiled. "I should get going then. I'll see you this afternoon. Love you" She kissed my cheek before heading out. I could help but cry as soon as she left. Her birth certificate would only hurt her and I couldn't do that to her right now. A knock on my window scared me, before Brax climbed through. I quickly put the files away and wiped away my tears before he walked over and smiled at me.

"Um, you could have used the door" I chuckled.

"Ah yeah" He rubbed the back of his neck, like he did when he was uncomfortable. This body language along with the grinding teeth he did, let me know something was up. "I just wanted to clarify that last night, was nothing, ay. I was just meant to drop you home and that's all I should have done" He nodded.

"Yeah I totally understand. I shouldn't have drunk that much. Sorry. You were just being friendly and neighbourly and I appreciate that. Its not like we slept together" I nodded back.

"Well we did sleep together…just not…sleep together" He chuckled slightly. I looked at him seriously. "Well I should go…leave you to it. Have a good day" He jumped back out the window, nearly as quickly as he came through it. That would have to be the most awkward conversation I had ever had with Brax and I didn't like it one bit. After spending the rest of the day cleaning the house and trying to push Brax and Ruby to the back of my mind I went for a walk to clear my head completely. Looking out towards the beach I noticed the dark clouds rolling in quickly, along with the waves crashing in fiercely. A storm in Summer Bay; I thought I'd never see the day. The sound of the waves brought me some solace but there was no way any of the mistakes I had made were shifting anytime soon. I could feel the rain starting to sprinkle as I started to head home. Walking through the door I noticed Ruby's school bag at the front door.

"You home early Rubes?" I yelled out before walking into my bedroom only to find Ruby sitting on the bed crying. She seen me before standing up and waving a piece of paper in my face before screwing it up and throwing it at my feet.

"HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME?!" She was hysterical. I picked up the balled paper and pulled it apart carefully, looking at the words I had seen earlier in the day. "HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME…MUM!" She screamed.