Hi guys. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Just to let you know that in a couple of weeks (12th April) I am going into hospital for a week to eight days so my last update for a while will be on 11th April. I hope to start updating as soon as I get back but that week could pretty much change my life – for good or bad – so I have no idea what will happen when I get out. But I will update again after 18th/19th as soon as I can. For now, I hope you enjoy the next few updates! Love, IJKS xxx
Chapter Eighty-Seven
Ruby reluctantly returned to school, feeling completely paranoid that people were looking at her, talking about her and judging her for what had happened with her family. She and Xavier walked side by side towards the school building with Annie in awkward silence. They'd both decided to try and ignore their argument, forget about it and move on. But it wasn't proving to be easy.
"Jai!" Ruby hollered, making her boyfriend jump.
Their friend turned around and smiled, waiting up for them. Ruby and Xavier were both relieved. Annie wasn't providing a good enough distraction and things felt so difficult between them that they needed help. Annie however, attempted not to frown. She and Jai were still friends after their breakup but it wasn't the same. Jai and Ruby immediately began chatting. Inevitably they got onto the subject of Ruby's time away with Geoff, which only served to worsen Xavier's mood. He hated to think of what his girlfriend might have got up to with Annie's brother behind his back. He couldn't help but panic. He loved her so much and before everything had kicked off with Charlie, they had been closer than ever. It broke his heart for it all to be destroyed now.
***
"See you at lunch time?" Joey checked when Charlie dropped her off at work.
Charlie nodded and leant in to kiss her goodbye. With Ruby back, everything felt that little bit easier although things were far from fixed. Mother and daughter were awkward around each other but at least Charlie felt like she had something to work with. And she knew Joey was by her side through everything. She hadn't made a huge deal out of it, as Joey had bee shy over how strongly she'd stood up for Charlie, but it meant the world to the police officer to know just how much she cared.
"I'll pick you up at twelve thirty," she promised.
Joey nodded, stole one more kiss and then climbed out of the car. Charlie watched her head towards the trawler, unable to stop herself from checking her out as she walked off. Finally tearing her eyes away, she drove off towards the police station to start work.
***
By lunch time, Ruby was frustrated. She was more paranoid than ever that people were talking about her. The looks she was receiving her unmistakable. And Xavier had hardly stepped up to protect her. She suddenly felt lonelier than ever. She suddenly wished Geoff was still at school. He would have looked after her.
"Hey," she said, approaching Jai.
The schoolboy looked at her curiously.
"I was wondering if you could do me a favour."
"Depends what it is," he said.
"I need some help on the Internet."
Last night, she had been awake until the early hours trying to work out the way to track Grant Bledcoe down. She figured the Internet, and specifically Facebook was the best way to go about it but unfortunately, she didn't know how she'd start. With one of her best friends being a techno-genius, however, she was sure he'd be helpful.
"Sure," he said.
"Can I treat you to lunch and talk about it?" she asked. "Bring your laptop. We'll go back to Irene's."
She wasn't quite used to calling it home yet. It didn't feel right, although she had no intention of living with Charlie again, at least not at this stage. But still, whenever she thought of home, she thought of her. As they had grown up, she'd believed her sister was the most amazing woman in the world. She'd loved her, taken care of her, she'd been the best thing in her life. Beyond boyfriends, Ruby had always ranked Charlie as her top priority. They'd been best friends. Charlie had been her home, regardless of where either of them had been living. She was sad to know that all of that was over and ruined now.
"Okay," Jai agreed, closing his locker.
They began to move out of the corridor together.
"Ruby!"
She stopped when she heard Xavier call her name. He caught up to her and invited her and Jai for lunch.
"We've uh... kind of got a thing planned," Ruby said awkwardly.
"Well, could I come?" he asked, not caring that he sounded desperate.
"Not today but... maybe we could hang out after school?" she suggested.
Xavier looked completely deflated as Ruby and Jai walked away from him.
***
"Hey, Charlie," Angelo said conversationally as he fell into step beside her as she headed towards her car.
She smiled politely and continued walking.
"Off to lunch?" he asked, not so secretly hoping for an invitation.
"Yeah," Charlie replied. "I'm picking Joey up."
He tried and failed not to look disappointed. She reached the car and unlocked it. He paused and she looked at him expectantly.
"Maybe you and I could go for lunch one day?" he asked.
"I don't think..." she began to protest.
"Charlie, I thought we were friends," he said. "We used to have lunch together all the time before... before."
"We are friends," she said, feeling awkward. "But things have changed."
"I just... I was hoping for your help with something."
"What?"
"It's not really a casual topic," he said. "It's more of a sit down and talk about it confidentially."
"My diary's on my desk," she said. "Let's make an appointment."
He sighed quietly. She ignored him by smiling and climbing into the car.
***
Joey jumped ashore when she saw Charlie's little blue car pull up. She smiled and headed over and climbed in, kissing her girlfriend hello.
"Diner?" Charlie said.
"Sounds good," Joey replied.
Charlie pulled out and drove towards their destination.
"How was your day?" the police officer asked.
"It was fine," Joey said.
She studied Charlie's face and began to gently stroke her thigh. Charlie looked at her out of the corner of her eye.
"And what do you think you're doing?" she teased.
Joey just smirked and continued stroking her leg. She leant in as far as her seatbelt would allow and placed a delicate kiss on Charlie's neck.
"Joey!" Charlie protested. "I'm trying to drive!"
Joey kissed her again and raised her eyebrows. Charlie promptly turned the car around and headed home.
***
"Ruby, I really don't think this is a good idea," Jai said.
Far be it for him to make any kind of moral judgement on his friend's life and decisions but he felt it necessary to point out that inviting Charlie's rapist to be part of their lives, wasn't going to leave any of them unscathed.
"I know," Ruby said tiredly. "Geoff's lectured me, Joey seriously laid into me about it but I just..."
She sighed heavily.
"I need to do this," she said.
"Okay," Jai agreed uncertainly. "It's up to you."
"Will you help me?" she asked.
"Of course I will," he replied. "You're my friend."
***
Nicole waited impatiently down at the docks. She tried phoning Aden again but it went straight to voicemail. Now, she was worried and waiting for Joey to show up back at her job in order to try and get her to help her track their friend down. He'd been particularly moody when she'd seen him the night before and when she'd been back to the house, it didn't look like anyone had been home all night. She couldn't help but worry about him.
***
Giggling, Charlie and Joey fixed their clothes and skipped happily out of their bedroom.
"That was a good lunch!" Joey grinned.
Charlie blushed and pulled Joey into her arms, kissing her softly.
"It was," she agreed. "Although, we haven't actually achieved anything resembling sustenance."
Joey shrugged and kissed her again.
"Wasn't it worth it?" she asked.
"Definitely worth it," Charlie confirmed.
Joey grinned and then frowned when she caught sight of the time.
"I am so late!" she realised.
Charlie took her hand and pulled her towards the door. Joey grabbed a couple of apples out of the fruit basket on their way. It felt good to indulge in each other spontaneously, to feel happy and settled even though their world was so confusing right now.
***
"What was so important with Jai?" Xavier asked when everyone had returned to school and he'd finally managed to catch up with his girlfriend.
"Oh we just had some stuff we needed to do," Ruby said vaguely.
She didn't feel ready to tell him her plan. He'd felt sorry enough for Charlie before she'd run off with Geoff. She doubted he'd be supportive of her latest decision.
"What kind of stuff?" Xavier asked.
The bell rang.
"I'll tell you about it later," Ruby promised.
She kissed his cheek and headed into class. He watched her go feeling utterly deflated.
***
"Joey!" Nicole said when the person she'd been waiting for, climbed out of Charlie's car.
"Where's the fire?" Joey asked.
Nicole looked out of her mind with worry. In the car, Charlie was just about to pull away when she noticed Joey and Nicole. With her curiosity getting the better of her, she climbed out of the car and approached them.
"Is everything okay?"
Nicole sighed.
"I'm probably overreacting," she said, suddenly feeling foolish. "It's just..."
"What's wrong?" Joey asked.
"I can't find Aden anywhere," Nicole said. "I don't think he went home last night."
Joey frowned. She looked over at her colleagues who were waiting impatiently for her.
"Let me just talk to my boss and then we can go and look for him," she said.
"I'll help," Charlie promised.
She pulled out her phone and called the station, explaining what was happening. Nicole waited patiently, feeling a little calmer that at least she had help. Joey returned looking distinctly unamused.
"What's wrong?" Charlie asked worriedly.
"I'm on a warning," Joey said.
"What for?"
"Being late and then skipping off the afternoon," Joey said.
"That's not fair," Charlie said. "I'm going to give them a piece of my..."
Joey pulled her back before she could get very far.
"It's not worth it," she said. "I'll deal with that later. We need to track Aden down now."
Charlie nodded reluctantly, feeling ever so protective of her girlfriend. She led her and Nicole into the car to begin driving around and formulate a plan as to how to find their friend.
***
Ruby sat in class not really paying attention to what Miles was saying. Xavier's eyes were boring into her and it was making her feel uncomfortable. She knew she wasn't being as nice to her boyfriend as she ought to be but she wasn't entirely sure how she could fix it. There was just an indescribable part of her that didn't feel they could connect anymore. And she had no idea how to tell him.
***
Charlie had left Nicole and Joey at the beach so that she could go and see if Aden had gone home. Pulling up outside the house she had once spent so much time in, she climbed out of the car and let herself in with the key that Nicole had given her.
"Aden?" she called.
Silence was all she was met with.
"Aden, it's Charlie!"
Silence.
"Aden?"
She wandered through the untidy lounge and into the kitchen. It was also rather messy. She was about to turn back and explore the rest of the house when she spotted a discarded piece of paper on the floor alongside some drops of blood. Instinctively turning into cop mode, Charlie crouched down and examined the drops. She picked up the paper and sighed when she realised that it was a letter from Belle.
***
"Will you get into trouble at work?" Nicole asked as she and Joey scanned the beach.
"I don't know," Joey said. "I'm not happy there anyway."
The revelation surprised her. It wasn't something she'd consciously thought about before. She hadn't even discussed it with Charlie.
"How come?"
"I just..."
She sighed, not knowing how much Nicole knew or how much she ought to tell.
"I don't feel that comfortable there," she said. "They're all very manly men and... I don't really fit in."
"Maybe you should start looking for another job?" Nicole suggested.
"I think a trawler's a trawler to be honest," Joey said. "I doubt I'll feel comfortable on any boat so I'll just have to grin and bear it. My love of the sea pretty much outweighs my dislike of colleagues."
Nicole nodded.
"How are things with you anyway?" Joey asked.
"I have a ridiculous crush on an older, married man."
The words just came out. Nicole looked startled.
"Nic..." Joey squeaked.
"I can't help it!"
"Who is he?"
"Sid. You know, the new Doctor guy?"
"I've seen him around. Doesn't he have kids your age?"
"They're a couple of years younger," Nicole said a little defensively.
Joey stopped and turned to her, looking very serious.
"Nic, be careful," she warned. "You can't..."
"Help who you fall for?" Nicole challenged.
Joey sighed. She supposed she had a point. She'd certainly not had any control when it came to falling for Charlie. She could still remember those tentative moments while they'd been getting together. It had been frightening and exciting all in one go.
"I just don't think pursuing anything with him is a good idea," Joey told her, beginning to walk again. "And now I've put in my two cents worth and I shall leave you to make your own decisions."
Nicole grinned and kept pace with her.
"You're like the best big sister ever!" she laughed.
***
Charlie drove back down to the beach to find Joey and Nicole who had exhausted themselves searching for Aden.
"Anything?" Nicole asked when the police officer approached.
"I found blood in the kitchen," Charlie revealed.
"What?" Joey squeaked.
Nicole looked equally horrified.
"It's not a lot," she said. "Just a tiny bit. And a letter from Belle."
Joey audibly exhaled and looked out at the ocean. She took in the view of the boats in an attempt to feel peaceful. Suddenly, she was struck with an idea.
"I think I might know where he is," she said, hurrying towards the car.
Charlie and Nicole followed.
***
Aden moaned when sunlight hit him. He looked up, squinting and complaining as Joey frowned over him.
"We've been looking for you everywhere!"
He'd read a letter that Belle had left for him, punched the wall and stormed out the night before. He'd headed for the trawler that wasn't allowed to run anymore and fallen asleep there with a bottle of vodka.
"I didn't know you cared," he said sleepily.
"Of course we care!" Nicole snapped, appearing behind Joey.
"Any more of you?" he asked, pulling himself into a sitting position.
Charlie appeared behind Nicole.
"Let's get you home, shall we?" she said, extending her hand to him to pull him up.
***
The evening couldn't have arrived too soon as far as Charlie and Joey were concerned. They'd gone for dinner with Morag and told her everything that had happened with Aden during the day. She'd decided to move in with him in order to keep an eye on him. At least for the foreseeable future, she wasn't able to be with Ross as much as she'd like so she was keen to be useful wherever she could. Arriving home for the night, Charlie and Joey headed straight to their room to crash out.
"What's going to happen for you at work tomorrow?" Charlie asked.
Joey shrugged.
"Don't you care?"
Charlie could hardly imagine anything worse than getting into trouble at work.
"I'm thinking of looking for a new job anyway," Joey admitted, sinking onto the bed.
Charlie looked and felt concerned. She came to sit beside Joey on the bed and took her hand.
"Aren't you happy there?"
Joey shook her head.
"But it's a boat!" Charlie laughed. "You're always happy on a boat."
Joey smiled and leant against her.
"I'm starting to think trawler work isn't so hot," she admitted. "I'm not comfortable with... ever since..."
She sighed. Charlie put her arm around her and kissed the top of her head. She felt guilty for having had no idea.
"Joey, if you want to quit, it's okay," she said. "We can cope on my wage until you find your feet."
"It's okay..."
"Joey, I want you to be happy," Charlie insisted. "If you're uncomfortable there, if... I don't want you to be unhappy, okay?"
Joey tilted her face towards Charlie and kissed her.
"You know you're the most amazing woman in the world, right?" she asked.
Charlie grinned.
"I know!"
She chuckled and kissed Joey back.
"Well, actually, I think it's you who's the amazing one but..."
They kissed again and fell back onto the mattress. Joey moved to straddle Charlie's hips.
"Twice in one day?" Charlie giggled. "I am a lucky girl!"
