Chapter One Hundred and Fifty Seven
"I really can't get anything right, can I?" Charlie said unhappily.
She was lying face down on the bed with her head wedged between the pillows on either side. Joey moved to lie beside her, having just about understood her through the muffle. She gently coaxed her into her arms.
"You haven't done anything wrong," she said.
"She's pissed off with me," Charlie pointed out.
"She's just dealing with her diagnosis, same as you," Joey said. "This was as much as surprise to her as it was to us and she's working through it. Badly, but she's working through it."
"And I'm not helping," Charlie said sadly.
"Of course you are," Joey said affectionately. "You were just being nice. You were caring. That's not a crime last time I checked."
Charlie nodded, glad that Joey was there. She had no earthly idea what she would do without her.
Ruby sat on the beach, gazing out at the ocean and feeling guilty for how she had snapped at Charlie. Her mother had only been trying to help, after all. And she knew that Joey would have said if she thought Charlie had been fussing too much. She was nothing if not fair but it seemed that if there was a side to take, on this one, she had chosen Charlie. That only made Ruby feel worse.
"Hey," said a voice.
She looked up to see Geoff approaching her. She smiled.
"Should you be out here by yourself?" her boyfriend worried. "I mean..."
"I'm fine," Ruby snapped. "I just needed some air."
"What's wrong?" Geoff asked. "Why do you need air? Has something happened?"
Ruby groaned loudly, wondering why everyone couldn't just leave her to deal with this by herself.
"You two really are very similar, you know," Joey commented.
She and Charlie remained in each other's arms. Charlie was snuggled into her partner and appreciated the way Joey was stroking her hair.
"You think?"
"Yep," Joey said, keeping her fingers moving. "You both speak before you think, you're both stubborn as hell and neither of you are any good at letting others help you!"
"Hey!" Charlie protested.
They grinned at each other.
"I let you help me," Charlie sulked.
"Yeah, now!" Joey laughed. "How long did it take for you to really let me in?"
"A surprisingly short amount of time, I'll have you know," Charlie pouted.
Still giggling, Joey kissed her.
"Well then I count myself very lucky," she said.
"And so you should!" Charlie replied.
"I went out and got a book on Diabetes," Geoff said, pulling it out of his bag. "I've only flicked through it but I think it'll be really helpful. It'll teach us to handle your condition better and..."
"Geoff!" Ruby snapped. "Can we talk about this later?"
"Well, I think it's important to talk about it now," Geoff said, still offering the book out to her.
"Just... please give me a chance to figure it all out in my head," Ruby requested.
"That's why I bought the book," Geoff explained. "So we can figure it out and..."
Ruby was just about to explode when she spotted Xavier charging towards them with Romeo. She didn't know if she was horrified or grateful. The last thing she wanted to do was lose her temper with Geoff the way she had with Charlie.
"Aw, isn't this cosy?" Xavier remarked, approaching them.
"Mate, why don't we leave it?" Romeo asked, clearly not wanting to become involved in a confrontation.
"No," Xavier said.
"Xave..." Ruby tried.
"You know what? You two deserve each other," the teenager snapped. "I hope you have a long and miserable life together."
Ruby burst into tears.
"Now look what you've done!" Geoff snapped, standing up and feeling protective.
Xavier was surprised.
"I never pegged you as so weak, Ruby," he commented.
"She's not weak!" Geoff yelled. "She's diabetic!"
"What? Since when?"
"Since yesterday so why don't you leave her alone?"
Xavier glanced at Romeo and the two boys hurried off on their way.
Charlie woke up feeling a little confused. She hadn't remembered falling asleep and yet here she was, resting happily in Joey's arms. Turning her head, she saw her partner also sleeping quietly. She sat up when she heard the door.
"Charlie?" Joey mumbled, also waking up.
Charlie leant in and kissed her before heading into the lounge, relieved to see Ruby arrive home with Geoff.
"Are you okay?" Charlie asked, hoping her daughter wouldn't bite her head off again.
"Better," Ruby said. "Sorry."
Joey appeared behind Charlie with her hair in disarray. Ruby laughed.
"Do you two ever exercise self control?" she remarked, sitting down on the couch.
Geoff sat a little awkwardly next to her.
"What?" Charlie asked.
She blushed.
"No! No, we were sleeping!"
"Is that what you call it?" Ruby teased.
"We were!" Charlie said, looking helplessly at Joey who giggled and pulled her into a chair.
Ruby continued to smirk.
"Seriously, the one time we weren't doing anything!" Charlie complained.
Next time... John threatens Joey's livelihood while Ruby, Charlie and Geoff try to adapt to Ruby's new situation...
