So, I have been writing a massive backlog of chapters for all of you to keep me sane while I come to terms with everything that's happening here. I had five chapters of this and Third Time's a Charm, four chapters of Interwoven, eight chapters of Forbidden and twelve chapters of The Waiting Game, all perfect and written out. Then my damn USB stick broke and I have lost everything. I confess I cried. My Mum had to give me a big hug. My brother has taken the stick work to see if his tech team can retrieve the files but the likelihood is that they're all gone and so I am now writing everything all over again. I still want to cry! Especially over The Waiting Game. But anyway, I have written two chapters of A Different Way and I will get working on the others. Thoughts, prayers and good wishes to the tech team are greatly appreciated! I'm desperately hoping they can save the day! IJKS xx

***

Chapter 67

Charlie's hands trembled as she dialled her father's phone number. The last thing she wanted to do was tell him what happened but she knew she had to. It would be terrible if Ruby were to charge round to see him and Morag, demanding answers. He didn't need that kind of stress.

"Hello?"

"Dad, it's Charlie," she said, her voice trembling.

Joey stood close by and held her hand, comforting her just with her presence.

"Charlie, what's wrong?" Ross asked, sensing his daughter's tone.

"Ruby knows the truth."

She was met with silence on the other end of the line. She squeezed Joey's hand a little too tightly as she waited for his response.

***

Ruby arrived at Xavier's house with a couple of bags of her stuff. Her boyfriend opened the door and gathered her into his arms. She fell against him and wept. Kicking the door shut, Xavier picked up Ruby's bags and held onto her, taking her to his bedroom where they could talk in private.

***

Charlie wept quietly in Joey's arms. Her father had been concerned and worried but calm and not angry, which was a relief.

"Charlie, it's getting late," Joey said softly. "It's been a horrible and long day. Why don't we go to bed?"

Charlie nodded and let herself be guided into the bedroom. Completely numb and empty, she sat on the edge of the bed. Joey silently began to remove her clothes, tucking her into her pyjamas, keeping her movements slow and loving and gentle, not wanting to disturb her. Charlie's tears continued to fall as she felt all her energy drain from her soul, complying with Joey's quiet guidance in order to make it easy to put her clothes on. When she was done, Joey eased Charlie back down on the edge of the bed. She parted her legs and snuggled in between them in order to wrap her arms around Charlie's waist. She kissed her tear stained cheeks and held her close. Finally able to move of her own accord, Charlie clung on tightly.

***

Ross and Morag sat at the kitchen table, still reeling from Charlie's news. Overwhelming guilt washed over Ross as he thought back to the worst time in all their lives. His little girl had been barely thirteen when, trembling, she'd approached him and her mother. She'd burst into tears at a kitchen table much like the one he was sitting at now, and explained that something bad had happened with her ex-boyfriend, Grant and now she thought she was pregnant. Ross had turned to stone as he listened to Charlie's tale. His first instinct had been to rush right round to the Bledcoe house and kill the boy for what he'd done. He hadn't been a fan in the first place but Charlie had insisted that he was nice and he was the most popular boy in school. It was doing lots for her social status and then, when she'd dumped him, surprising both her parents and all her friends, she had been even more popular. The girl who was better than Grant Bledcoe was obviously someone very cool. But Charlie hadn't taken to her post-Grant popularity as well as anyone would have expected. He remembered her being quiet and frail, void of her usual feisty strength. She'd become the shell of the girl she'd once been to the point that even Ross, who was always working, had noticed. He and his wife had worried terribly about her and considered taking her to a Doctor but neither of them had expected the words that came out of her mouth when she told them the whole, horrifying truth.

***

"Do you think we could stay in the same room tonight?" Ruby asked.

She was perched on Xavier's bed with her bags on the floor. He was sat beside her, holding her hand.

"Would Martha and Hugo mind?"

Xavier shrugged. At this point, he didn't care. All he wanted to do was hold her and keep her safe. He could hardly believe what she had been through and the way her life had changed in a matter of hours. Just today, after school she'd been happy and assumed that this dinner she was having with Charlie and Joey was just a normal catch up. Nobody could ever have guessed that it would be so dramatic.

"It doesn't matter what they think," he said. "If you need to stay in with me, you're staying in with me. I want to look after you, Ruby."

"Thank you, Xave," Ruby replied sincerely.

She moved into his embrace, leaning against him. His heartbeat against her ear was reassuring. She clung onto his hand.

***

"She's never going to forgive me," Charlie said sadly.

Joey moved to look into her eyes. She wiped Charlie's cheeks tenderly with her thumbs.

"This has all been a massive shock," she said. "She probably feels like her whole world has been turned upside down. In the light of day, I'm sure she'll come back and talk to you about it all, Charlie. She just needs some time and space."

"Do you really think so?"

"I'm certain. Ruby loves you. And you love her. You'll find your way back to each other."

Charlie nodded with a heavy heart.

"Let's get you tucked in, okay?" Joey suggested.

Charlie nodded again and watched Joey get to her feet. Joey took her hands and pulled her up, moving her round to her pillow. Pulling the blanket back, Joey let Charlie climb in. She moved round to the other side of the bed and pulled out her own pyjamas, undressing and dressing again quickly. She slipped beneath the covers and pulled Charlie into her arms, stroking her hair and kissing the top of her head.

***

"I mishandled all this from start to finish," Ross sighed.

Morag held his hand across the table.

"I'm sure you did everything you could," she said. "I'm sure you did your best."

He shook his head.

"I convinced her not to press charges," he admitted, looking directly at his wife and noting her surprise. "There was no evidence. It was just Charlie's word against his and it was four months after the fact. I didn't want to put Charlie through all the trauma if there was no certainty of a conviction."

"And how did Ruby come to be raised as yours?" Morag asked.

"Charlie couldn't cope. Naturally, she had terrible post-natal depression. I mean, you would, wouldn't you? We woke up one morning and she was just gone. She end up at her aunt's house and wouldn't come home for a whole year. We were literally left holding the baby and Ruby got to know us as if we were her parents. Charlie was devastated when she came back. She had no relationship with her daughter and her daughter worshipped us. We all sat down and talked about it and this seemed to be the most logical option. Within a couple of months, Ruby had been officially adopted as ours."

He brushed tears from his eyes, certain that he had got everything wrong at that time. He'd failed to get justice for his little girl and then he hadn't worked hard enough to help her bond with Ruby. If only she had been able to heal a little from her ordeal, things might have turned out different.

***

Charlie eventually drifted off to sleep in Joey's arms. Unbeknown to her, Joey stayed wide awake, needing to keep an eye on her and keep her safe. Joey worried that Charlie telling the truth had been a terrible mistake and she felt ever so guilty. If she hadn't believed the truth was the right option, then Charlie might never have told her. They could have all gone on living happily together without any of this upset. Now Charlie looked more broken than Joey had ever seen her. When they had first met, Charlie had been the strong one. She had been Joey's hero, always saying and doing the right things. She'd looked after her and now it was Joey's turn to be brave. She was determined to guide Charlie through this and be whatever she needed her to be. She would love and protect her and let her know that she was the centre of her universe.

***

Ruby and Xavier got ready for bed. Even though they had slept together before, the teenagers felt suddenly shy. They turned away from each other to get into their night clothes and then slipped into Xavier's bed. They reached for each other immediately and cuddled up close. Ruby sought and found comfort in the boy she loved so much. She needed someone she could rely on now. Charlie had always been the person who took care of her. She had been more than a sister but she had been somewhat less than the mother she should have been. Ruby felt cheated and betrayed and she wondered if she would ever be able to find forgiveness and acceptance in her heart. This felt like one lie too many.

***

"I should have done things differently," Ross said. "I should have helped more, been more understanding. I should have followed my instincts and gone round to the boy's house when I wanted to. But I didn't. We never spoke to him or his family again. We moved out of the neighbourhood and attempted to start our lives again where nobody would know that Ruby wasn't ours. If I'd have gone round there, at least I would have proved my anger to Charlie. She would have known that I hated him just as much as she did. She should have seen her Dad protecting her. But I didn't. I let her down. I let her down so badly."

Morag leant in a little closer, her heart heavy.

"Darling, I'm sure she knows how you felt," she said. "And I'm sure she knows you did what you thought was best at the time."

"I should have done more. The only reason..."

He sighed heavily and rubbed his temples.

"The only reason I never spoke to the boy was because I would have killed him."