Chapter Twenty Two
Charlie decided to bite the bullet and ask Joey the question that had been on her mind since she saw Joey and realised that they still shared the spark they had years ago, she knew it wasn't in her head from the way Joey had reacted to her on the two occasions they had nearly kissed.
"Joey, what is this thing between us...Are we friends or something more?" Charlie nervously asked, her hands nervously shook as she waited for Joey to answer
Joey looked at the floor, she knew what she felt inside but she also knew what it felt like to be cheated on by someone and she didn't want to admit her feelings to Charlie, it wasn't cheating technically but she felt dishonest she decided that instead of declaring her feelings she would try and hide them
"Joey I'm not asking for a declaration of your undying love for me, but I'm not imagining this everytime I'm near you I get these butterflies in the pit of my stomach and I can't make them disappear no matter how hard I try to" Charlie pleaded softly taking Joey's hand in her own
"Charlie..." Joey paused as her eyes meet Charlie's the spark between them igniting a fire in the pit of her stomach she knew 100% what Charlie was talking about and she wanted to confess everything to Charlie jsut like she had to an unconcious Brooke but she knew that Charlie wouldn't give up until she dumped Frankee and right now none of the family needed the chaos that came with a break-up, ignoring what her heart and common sense were telling her she replied "I have no idea what your talking about...We are friends Nothing more and nothing less...especially after what you put me through" As she said the last part of the sentence she immediatley regretted it
"That's fair enough" Charlie replied Joey's comment stinging her ego slightly "But I know you get what I'm talking about, you know that theres still something between us" Charlie protests not wanting to give up on Joey like she would have when they first meet, she knew from being apart from Joey that Joey was her soulmate no matter how hard she tried she couldn't forget Joey.
"Don't you get it Charlie you broke me and no matter how much you wanna change it you can't. I don't even remember why I wanted to be with you because you were a bitch to me before and after we got together" Most of that sentence was completely untrue and Joey knew it but she needed to say something that would stop Charlie pushing her even more
"Thank Jo, nice to know that me taking you in when your no good pig of a brother threw you out was appreiciated" Charlie angirily responded, she knew what Joey was doing but the last comment stung deep down and she couldn't stop herself from responding in anger, as she finished her sentence she stood up and began walking away.
Joey felt the shame raising inside her, as she watched Charlie walking away from her she knew that what she said was out of line, apart from cheating on her Charlie had always been good to her even when her own family weren't. Before she had a chance to stop herself she stood up jogging after Charlie and gently grabbing her wrist as she reached the gate, Feeling the grip around the wrist Charlie turned around to face Joey, who she could see was full of shame at her comment
"I'm sorry you didn't deserve that" Joey honestly replied, moving her hand from Charlie's wrist to her hand gently holding Charlie's hand in her own she smiled when Charlie gently squeezed her hand "This is why we can't be friends Charlie"
"What do you mean?"
"I've told you before Charlie, I can't be around you Charlie it's too confusing" Joey paused as a flashback to their first kiss played in her mind "I was happy with Frankee until I got here and realised"
"I don't understand what you mean, Realised what Joey?"
"That I was just using Frankee to move on from you" Joey paused for a second "She was a distraction to my feelings, I thought I was finally over you but I knew deep down that nothing would compare to the feelings I have for you"
"Have?" Charlie asked not sure she'd heard Joey correctly
"I can't help it, I don't want to feel like this" Noticing Charlie's expression she explained "It's nothing to do with what you did Charlie its to do with the fact that I'm not available and I shouldn't have allowed myself to get into a relationship when I knew I wasn't over you"
"And now that your back & you know how you feel whats gonna happen?" Charlie replied she really wanted to just kiss Joey and show her how much she loved her that no matter how long they had been apart the spark was still there between them, she just wanted to prove to Joey how much she wanted to be with her
"I don't know Charlie, this is all so confusing. Frankee doesn't deserve to be cheated on" Joey paused looking into Charlie's eyes "But I can't stay in a relationship were I'm not in love"
"So what does that mean for us?"
"I don't know Charlie, I can't think properly right now. I just need to think about this before I make a decision"
"I completely understand and anything you need from me its yours"
"Does that include a hug?" Joey asked nervously giggling
"Of course" Charlie replied gently pulling Joey into a hug
As they pulled out of the hug their eyes meet the spark between them ignitting between them with a fury neither of them expected, in both their minds they knew they should pull away now why they could but their bodies didn't listen they inched closer and closer together until their lips were a mere centimetre apart, both of their breathing was shallow as their bodies reacted to the feelings shooting through them.
Joey blocked out all the feelings of guilt that were rushing through her, her feelings for Charlie were completely over powering her senses as well as her control of her own body. Just like Joey inside Charlie was fighting against herself, she had wanted Joey back for so long that the sense of relief that Joey still wanted her along with her love for Joey were overpowering her senses and her body. As they both fought against their emotions their lips locked, igniting the spark between them even more, as the reaquianted themselves with each others mouths they forgot just where they were, Charlie snaked her arms around Joey's waist pulling her closer into her Joey responded to her action by throwing her arms around Charlie's shoulders. All the thoughts running around in their minds were silenced for now...
In Brooke's Room
While Joey and Charlie were outside 'reconnecting' out in the peace garden of the hospital, Taylor had successfully snuck into Brooke's room, as she entered she closed the door turning to find her older sister sitting up in the bed smiling at her she offered a smile back then sat down on the side of the bed and began kicking her legs backwards and forwards in the air, now she was sitting there with her sister she didn't know what to say, After a few minutes Brooke spoke,
"Did you come in here just to sit on the bed?" Taylor shook her head "Then what's up Tay?" Taylor shrugged her shoulders not knowing what to say "Is it something to do with me being hurt?" Taylor stopped swinging her legs and looked over her shoulder and nodded "Wanna talk about it?"
"I don't want to upset you" Talyor said turning her body so she was facing Brooke
"You won't I promise, Talk away"
"Its all my fault"
"What is?"
"You getting hurt"
"Tay that was nothing to do with you"
"But..."
"No buts Tay, someone wanted to prove a point and they did it the stupid way and attacked me"
"If I didn't get sick then this would have never happened"
"Yeah it would have, You being sick wasn't something that made me get attacked I was attacked because there are still bigits in the world no matter how accepted we think we are"
"But..."
"Have I every been wrong about anything I've told you?"
"No"
"Exactly and I'm not wrong now. Trust me you have nothing to feel guilty about, none of this is your fault" Looking Taylor in the eyes "Ok?"
Nodding towards Brooke "Ok"
"Now come and give your big sister a hug" Motioning for Taylor to move towards her which she did, as Taylor engulfed Brooke in a hug she squeezed as tight as she could. As she gripped onto Brooke tears ran down her cheeks, Brooke noticed the tears and pulled back asking "Whats wrong?"
"Nothing, I just miss you that's all its not that same at home without you" Making Brooke smile widely
"Let me guess Maxine is being a pain in the bum" Taylor nodded and went to speak but then changed her mind as she was about to speak seeing this Brooke asked "What were you gonna say?"
"Its silly"
"Nothing is silly, tell me"
"Could I stay with you tonight? ,Mel can look after the others and I want to stay with you"
Brooke now noticed the slight bags under Taylors eyes, bags that shouldn't be visable on a sixteen year old "Have you been sleeping?"
"Kinda, Livi and Lily don't sleep properly because their not used to the new house. I know I should look after them but..."
"It's not easy, I know I virtally brought you all up and Alexis isn't the easiest person to control. So Yes"
"Yes? I can stay with you"
"Sure you can as long as Mel knows. I think you've deserved your break don't you"
"Thanks B" Jumping into a hug and squeezing Brooke tightly, then pulling out of the hug and jumping of the bed and skipping to the door with a wide smile on her face "I'm gonna go tell Mel now"
"No problem" Replied smiling to herself, she loved seeing her sister so happy
In the Cafe
Alexis, Seb, Lily, Olivia and Mel where all still sat in the cafe, Mel had brought them all glasses of Milk to keep them occupied while they waited for Charlie, Joey and Taylor to turnup, Joey had sent her a text message saying that Taylor was outside in the gardens and was going to see Brooke then meeting Mel and the others in the cafe.
"When Brooky is better can we go in the ocean Melly?" Alexis said slowly making sure she got all the words right
"Oh course but remember that the ocean is dangerous so you have to..."
"Be SAFE" Alexis replied clapping when Mel nodded that she was right "Is Melly living with us again?"
"We're not sure right now Lexi, Brooke has to get better first then we can see" When Alexis' smile disappeared she continued "But we can still hang out" Alexis smiled again, Mel knew it was hard for her to understand and ignoring her wasn't the way to go even though it killed her being around Brooke when they weren't together she knew she deserved it but the fact that Brooke didn't know the full truth made it harder to accept.
Olivia, who was sitting on Mel's lap, pulled on Mel's top grabbing her attention, she pointed towards the milk on the table, Mel picked the glass up and carefully gave the little girl some to drink wiping her mouth when she was finished. She placed the little girl on her chest so that her head was resting on her chest, she softly rubbed her hand up and down Olivia's back knowing she needed to be burped before she drank or ate anyhing else.
Seb and Lily were sitting down on chairs next to each other as they always did, they were talking away in their special twin lanuage their little hands moving all around in the air as they talked, Seb suddenly stopped talking when he saw Frankee walk into the cafe, He quickly jumped down from his chair and quickly hid under the table between Mel's legs wrappig his arms tightly around her right leg taking her by suprise as she looked around the cafe she then noticed Frankee walking towards them she sighed deeply, Seb had reacted to Frankee like this on many occasions but nobody knew exactly why.
"What do you want?" Mel asked not even looking at Frankee, she was the last person Mel wanted around her at the moment
"That's not really nice is it Melaine?" Frankee smuggly replied sitting in the chair Seb had been seated in "I just came to see how your holding up?"
"I'm fine not that its any of your business"
"We're still in the same band and we need to be a solid unit to help Brooke get back to 100% so she can lead the band forward in our tour" Pausing then grinning as she continued "Well that's what Carl told me and what I'm gonna tell Joey to keep her on side"
"You a sick bit..." Forcing herself to stop before the full word came out of her mouth "Your a peice of work, Joey deserves better than you"
"No she doesn't, She's related to Brooke after all. That's a curse in itself"
"You pathetic you know that" Mel replied looking away from Frankee in disgust
"No I'm honest. Brooke can never love you the way I do"
"Your right she can't because she's not delusional, with her it really is love, She's not doing iit to get one over on her best friend for something that happened more than a decade ago"
"She stole you from me. Thats not a minor thing I loved you first" Reaching over and grabbing Mel's hand forcefully holding onto it so she couldn't move it away "She deserved what happened to her, if she really loved you she would have tried to make it work no matter who you slept around with She couldn't forgive what you did because she knows she stole you"
"You have got to be kidding me right" When Frankee shook her head Mel spoke again "Your crazy, I'm not yours I'm Brookes and She did forgive me and we went back to normal we were happy again which is exactly why you blackmailed me into continuing to sleep with you, you knew I didn't tell her that I went to see my family and you used I don't even know why I hid it from her because I had to lie and say that I was straight and Brooke was a mistake. You used it against me, and because I didn't think she'd be ok with it I left you use me. I left you touch me, badly might I add, I don't know if Brooke will ever forgive me now and thats because your emotionless and hell bent on getting what isn't yours"
"Listen to me, Your MINE, nobody elses MINE, you and me are meant to be together and I'll do anything to prove it to you. Brooke doesn't love you as much as I do because she only cares about her family, and your not it anymore" With that Frankee stood up and stormed out of the cafe, leaving Mel slightly shocked at what she had said to her. She gently rubbed her resting looking down at it she noticed that there was now a red mark from where Frankee had been holding her wrist so tightly. As she watched the door anguishly hoping that Frankee didn't come back into the room a thought flashed in her mind, if Frankee loved her so much and if she was 'her's' what would she do to make sure she didn't have any competition for her...
She was moved from her thoughts when Taylor entered the cafe as she did Mel shook her head softly shaking all the thoughts out of her head. She smiled brightly at Taylor and watched on as Seb, Lily and Alexis rushed over to Taylor and hugged her. She slowly stood up careful not to disturb Olivia to much with her movements. She walked over to Taylor and carefully hugged her, "How are you holding up?" She asked as she, Taylor and the others walked back over to their seats.
"I'm actually really good now..." When Mel looked at her questioningly at her she explained "I just saw Brooke and she made me feel better" She said smiling
"The nurses let you in" Mel asked confused, the nurses had said to her that no more visitors were allowed
"No, I kinda snuck in after they checked on Brooke, they didn't see me" She confessed smiling brightly
Mel grinned widely "You are so much like Brooke its unbelievable" When Taylor looked at her confused she continued "When we were teenagers Brooke used to sneak into my bedroom when my parents were asleep, and well you don't need to know the rest" Winking at Taylor
After a few minutes silence Taylor nervously started a converstation "Ummm...Mel?"
"Yeah"
"Brooke said that I can stay here with her tonight, so I was wondering if maybe..."
"Of course I'll look after this lot" Mel replied knowing what Taylor was gonna say and also knowing that Taylor deserved some time to herself after the events of the last few weeks. She had seen the change in Taylors behaviour lately, maybe spending some type with just Brooke would help her get back to her old self.
"Thanks Mel" Hugging Mel carefully across the table "I'll see you in the morning" She beamed brightly getting up and walking towards the cafe door, she turned back and waved at Alexis, Lily, Seb and Olivia...
In the Hallway (At the same time)
Frankee stormed down the hallway back to her car when she noticed two people in the garden locked in a passionate kiss she stopped and looked out the window when she noticed that one of them was in a police uniform. The smile evapurated from her face when she noticed the clothes that the other person was wearing were the exact same clothes that Joey was wearing earlier, she was about to storm down there and pull them apart when she noticed Alexis skip past her, turning her attention in the direction Alexis had come from she saw Mel walking towards her with all the other kids in tow.
"Need a lift" She asked knowing full well that Mel hadn't got a car yet so her getting around was fully dependant on Brooke or someone else giving her a lift to places
"No, We'll get a taxi" Mel bluntly stated not stopping to talk to Frankee
"No Taxi will have room for you all will they" Grabbing Mel's wrist again forcing her to stop in her tracks and turn her attention to Frankee
"What and you do?"
"You know I have, I have Brooke's people carrier. Look its just a lift...I'm sure Brooke won't mind"
"Yes she would plus I d..." Mel was just about to finish her sentence when she noticed Joey in the garden kissing someone who looked like the police officer she was with earlier, she knew it was Joey from her apperance Joey only resembled one other person that Mel knew of and that other person was in a hospitial bed unable to move. Thinking to herself quickly she knew that Frankee couldn't find out not because she cared what Frankee went through emotionally but because right now Joey didn't need to be fighting with Frankee when she was already worried about Brooke and about the upcoming court case. So she made a small sacrifice so that Joey could take time to work things out for herself without anyone else bothering her.
"What? plus you what Mel?" Annoyed that Mel had lost her line of thought while talking to her
"Nothing" When Frankee went to look where Mel's attention was Mel quickly spoke "Actually a lift would be great...thanks"
"Great...Let's go then" Frankee smuggly replied walking towards the exit, maybe Mel was ready to admit her feelings for her finally, she didn't care about Joey or any of Brooke's family right know she just wanted what was hers (in her mind)...MEL