Chapter Two

"Joey!" Charlie called, catching up with her.

She fell into step beside her but Joey refused to slow down. Charlie put a gentle hand on her arm to try and get her attention. Joey flinched but turned to face her.

"Charlie, I really appreciate you wanting to help," the younger woman said. "But I'm fine, really."

"Joey, you've been assaulted," Charlie pleaded. "You can't just ignore it."

"Really, I can," Joey insisted.

She tried to walk away again but Charlie couldn't bear to let her go. There was no way she could go home tonight knowing that this poor woman was suffering. She couldn't help but feel compelled to comfort her, take care of her and keep her safe.

"Joey, please don't walk away," she said.

"It's so kind that you care but I can't talk about this, Charlie, especially not to a cop," Joey said, standing still again.

"What if I didn't have to be a cop right now?"

Joey smiled.

"Something tells me you never stop being a cop," she said.

Charlie shrugged and offered her own smile.

"I can try."

Joey yet again felt her resolve faltering. What was it about Charlie that made her want to talk about the thing that she swore she'd never mention? And Charlie had seemed so upset when Joey just thought she'd been hit. How would she react if she knew it went deeper than that? Would she be disgusted to know what had happened to her? Would the only person she felt she trusted, reject her? Joey shook her head. She couldn't bear it. If she didn't get away from this angel soon, it would be too late.

"I swear, no recording devices, no notes, nothing," Charlie promised.

Joey couldn't help but laugh lightly. It surprised her. She never thought she would laugh again. She looked at Charlie. Maybe vaguely sharing would help her organise her thoughts? Maybe that would help her get over it? Charlie saw that she had almost given in.

"Shall we go for a walk?" she asked.

Joey nodded and they headed down the beach together.


Charlie and Joey had strolled along the beach in silence together before settling on the sand near the water's edge. Joey sat with her knees clutched to her chest. Charlie sat in the same position but her posture was a little more relaxed.

"So, this guy was a colleague?" Charlie ventured, breaking the tension.

Joey nodded.

"And a family friend. He and my brother went to school together."

"Right."

"He'd been giving me a hard time since my first day. He's one of those guys who doesn't think women belong on boats."

"So he's been bullying you?" Charlie asked.

Joey nodded again.

"And then what happened?" Charlie nudged, trying to be as gentle as possible.

"He kept making threats," Joey said, sighing heavily. "Then he attacked me, I quit and now I'm here."

The last sentence was hurried and she didn't want to talk about it anymore. Charlie sighed. This was going to be even harder than she thought.

"And when you say he attacked you… he hit you and grabbed your throat?"

Joey nodded. It wasn't a lie. She had just omitted parts of it.

"How did you get away?"

The police officer in her was doing the questioning. She felt bad. She should just let Joey talk but she didn't think she would open up by herself.

"He left first. I cleaned myself up and left in my own time."

"And you haven't talked about it with anyone?"

"No. I quit my job and I've been hiding out at home until today," Joey admitted. "Aden keeps trying to hang out with me. He got me the job at the Surf Club."

"That was nice of him," Charlie said.

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a few moments.

"You must think I'm completely overreacting," Joey finally said.

"Of course I don't."

Charlie knew it was more than Joey was making out. For some reason she could read her like a book.

"He hurt you," she added.

"He raped me," Joey suddenly blurted out.

She blanched and sat up straighter, glancing at Charlie. She hadn't had any control over her voice. Charlie stared back at her, surprised but not shocked. She offered only compassion to the pale, frightened face that stared back at her. Joey began to shake and got to her feet, ready to run. Charlie stood too and held onto her.

"Joey," she said.

"I wasn't meant to tell you that!"

She tried to flee.

"Wait!"

"I have to go!"

"Please!" Charlie begged, holding as tightly as she could without frightening her more.

Joey looked into her face tearfully, breathing hard. Charlie guided her back down to the sand.

"Okay, Joey, this is more serious than you said it was," Charlie said gently.

"Now do you see why I can't talk about this?" Joey asked.

She couldn't stop looking at Charlie, waiting for the moment of disgust to appear on her face at the thought of what had happened to her. Joey was disgusted with herself so she was sure Charlie would be too. So much for them being friends.

"I know it's painful, Joey. What you've been through…"

"I feel so ashamed," Joey admitted.

"That's a normal reaction but Joey, you have done nothing wrong. Not one thing. All of this is that monster's fault," Charlie insisted.

"But what if you're wrong?"

"I'm not wrong."

"I answered him back all week. I kept standing up to him," Joey said.

"That doesn't give him the right to rape you," Charlie said. "Non-consensual sex is never okay, Joey."

"Maybe I asked for it though," Joey said, sounding defeated.

"I can promise you now that you didn't."

Charlie kept hold of Joey's hand. Joey held on tightly, feeling comforted as she tried to regulate her breathing.

"Can you talk me through it?"

"He'd been making sexual comments to me for days and derogatory ones too," Joey explained. "I stupidly said something about the fact that he could never have me and he basically said that he could if he wanted me. And then one day after work, he… he proved it."

Joey closed her eyes but the tears still flowed. Charlie slipped an arm around her and Joey allowed herself to rest into her shoulder. It felt so strange to trust someone, especially a stranger but she felt a connection with Charlie and she wasn't in a position to let that go.