Chapter Two Hundred and Sixteen
It was a sunny Sunday, a couple of days before Charlie and Joey were due home. Ruby had kept in touch with them at their request but she had also been keen for them to have some time and space away from everything in order for Charlie to heal. Ruby desperately hoped that her mother would come back home refreshed, happy and without nightmares. She deserved some peace.
And with the school holidays soon coming to a close, the teenager was also eager to spend as much time with her boyfriend as she could. She had agreed to the rule about no sleepovers but it didn't mean they couldn't be intimate in the day. It felt good to be with him. She loved and trusted him and hoped that something long term would work out for them. She hoped to share the kind of love with Geoff that Charlie and Joey shared with each other.
Sitting at the Diner and indulging in milkshakes, Ruby sat with Geoff, flicking through the local paper.
"This is disgusting!" Ruby announced.
Worried, Leah raced over, wanting to know what the problem was.
"The milk isn't off again or anything, is it?" she asked.
"No," Ruby assured her quickly. "I was talking about the paper."
"Oh," Leah said, interested. "I haven't seen it yet."
She sat between Ruby and Geoff as her housemate showed her the front page, upon which was an article claiming that the illegal immigrants should be sent back home immediately and that they didn't deserve the medical treatment that the local hospital was providing.
"That is disgusting," Leah agreed unhappily. "After everything those poor people have already been through..."
Geoff nodded.
"I wish there was something we could do to help them," he said.
Ruby studied the front page again for a few moments.
"Maybe there is," she said thoughtfully.
"Joey, I'm not sure this is such a good idea," Charlie said hesitantly when they reached the docks.
She stopped walking abruptly. Joey approached and held her hands.
"We don't have to do it if you don't want to," she said kindly. "Although we have paid the deposit now."
She grinned. Charlie couldn't help but smile back. She took a deep breath.
"I guess with you as my girlfriend I'll have to get used to such things sometime," she decided. "Let's do it."
"Are you sure?" Joey asked. "I don't want to force you..."
Charlie smiled a little more bravely than she felt.
"No," she said. "I'm game."
Holding hands, the approached the boat they had rented for the afternoon and hopped on board.
Hazem entered the Diner and approached Leah a little shyly. They had kissed at midnight at New Year and seen each other around since then. They had exchanged numbers and texted a little but nothing concrete. Both of them had been trying to figure out if the kiss had been because they liked each other or because of the New Year spirit. Today, Hazem was determined to find out. Walking further into the restaurant, he almost collided with two teenagers charging outside in high spirits.
"Who were they?" Hazem asked, approaching Leah.
He thought he recognised them from the party.
"That's Ruby and Geoff," Leah chuckled. "They're launching a campaign to stand up for the human rights of the poor souls the police found in that shipping container."
Hazem nodded. He'd heard about it all and read a lot of newspaper reports. It all sounded rather horrific.
"How are you doing?" Joey asked, her hands on the wheel and her eyes on the sea.
Charlie sat beside her and smiled. Despite her anxiety about being on a boat again, when she was with Joey it was almost impossible not to feel happy. She made her feel peaceful and as if anything was possible.
"I'm good," she replied honestly. "I'm glad you convinced me to come out today. It's nice."
She stood, positioning herself behind her partner and nuzzling into her neck.
"Even with everything that happened at the beginning of the year, I still feel like the luckiest person in the world," she said softly. "That's what you do to me."
"Well, I'm honoured to be with you," Joey replied. "I feel like there's nothing we can't face as long as we're together."
Charlie kissed her cheek.
"Me too," she said.
"Hey, do you want to practice your skills?" Joey asked, gesturing for her to take the wheel.
Feeling confident, Charlie agreed. They swapped positions, with Joey helping Charlie to guide them further out to sea.
"Woah!" John said when Ruby nearly ploughed into him.
She had been wandering merrily along the road, chatting to Geoff at a mile a minute.
"Sorry!" she said politely, although she didn't really like him.
"Where are you two off to in such a hurry?" he asked.
"We're going to start fundraising for the people that Hugo's gang nearly killed," Ruby explained.
She was surprised when John pulled a face and told them that they were wasting their time. Folding her arms over her chest, she glared at him.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm sorry for everything they've been through," John told her. "But they never should have come over to the country in the first place. They certainly don't deserve people digging into their pockets to support them."
"How can you say that?" Geoff snapped. "What happened to those people was terrible!"
"I agree," John said. "But it wouldn't have happened if they hadn't illegally tried to get into our country."
"Well, maybe they needed to come here," Ruby pointed out.
"Then they should have applied for a visa, the same way everyone else has to," John stated firmly. "I'm sorry but whatever they've been through, they brought on themselves."
Sensing that Ruby was about to launch into a particularly viscous verbal attack, Geoff told John that they should agree to disagree and then marched his girlfriend onwards.
Having arrived at a deserted island that one of the girls in the hotel had told them about, Joey and Charlie stepped off the boat and onto the perfect, untouched sand. They'd brought a picnic with them and were looking forward to spending another happy day together. They were going home on Tuesday and were fully intent on making the magic last as long as possible. Although Charlie was still struggling at night, she was more relaxed and happy than she thought she could be, given what had happened at New Year. And although she felt like a bad person for feeling it, she was a lot calmer knowing that Hugo was dead and buried. She was relieved to know he wouldn't be able to hurt her again.
"What are you thinking about so seriously?" Joey wondered, as she lay a blanket down on the ground.
Charlie smiled a little guiltily.
"Charlie?"
"I was thinking about Hugo," the police officer admitted.
Joey sighed quietly, feeling compassionate. Taking Charlie's hands, she guided her onto the blanket.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.
For however close they were and however much they shared, Charlie hadn't yet quite been able to open up about her experiences on that fateful night.
"I feel stupid for feeling so messed up about it all," she shared.
"It's not stupid, Charlie," Joey told her. "The man knocked you out, abducted you, tried to throw you overboard and then nearly left you to die. It's a big deal. No wonder you're stressed out."
Charlie nodded. She sank against her girlfriend and closed her eyes.
"For a moment there, I really thought that was it," she said. "I really thought that my body was going to be found in the water somewhere, half chewed by a shark or something like poor Lou DeBono."
Joey hugged her a little closer and kissed the top of her head.
"And I just kept thinking about everything I was going to miss," Charlie continued sadly. "My chance to be a Mum to Rubes. I feel like we've just got things back on track and I hated to think I'd never see her again. And you... There were so many things I would never get to say to you."
Shifting them into a lying down position, Joey faced Charlie and gazed into her soulful, blue eyes.
"Tell me now," she suggested.
"So, um, yeah, the reason I've been hanging round like a bad smell for the past hour is... um... well..." Hazem struggled.
Leah smiled, offering him her full attention and hoping that he was about to say what she wanted him to. She hadn't been the luckiest woman when it came to love. Vinnie had 'died' and then Dan had actually passed away. Things had looked promising with Roman for a while there but he had shut her out after the accident and now he was facing life in prison. Robertson had been the one to restore her faith in relationships and she knew it was thanks to him that she was even considering Hazem. She just hoped that he was considering her too.
"Would you like to go on a date sometime?" he asked nervously.
Leah couldn't help but look ecstatic.
"I'd love to," she said honestly.
"Really?"
Leah nodded. They both ignored Colleen who was blatantly listening to their conversation.
"You!" said a voice behind Hazem.
He turned, surprised to see John charging up to him.
"I want my money back," John declared.
"What are you talking about?"
"You did a lousy job on the gym," John told him. "And I want my money back so I can give it to someone who deserves it. I don't know why I even considered hiring you people."
"You people?" Leah demanded.
"Your firm," John said quickly. "You're a waste of space."
"Take me to the gym," Hazem instructed. "And tell me exactly what's wrong with the work I did."
"Fine," John snapped, marching back out of the Diner.
Hazem glanced helplessly at Leah and then followed him.
"You've brought so much light into my life," Charlie ventured, holding Joey's hand. "When we first met, I could feel how much pain you were in and all I wanted to do was protect you and make it better..."
"You did," Joey said gently.
"I was determined to save you but in the process, I realised you were saving me too."
They smiled lovingly at each other.
"You make me so happy, Joey," Charlie continued. "Happier than I ever thought I could be, happier than I ever thought I deserved to be. I have never come anywhere near this far in a relationship before. We're coming up to a year soon and I can hardly believe it. I was always so bad at relationships and I really criticised myself for it. But I guess you get good at them when you're in the right one."
Joey lifted Charlie's hand to her lips, kissing it tenderly.
"I feel so lucky to have you," Charlie said. "Thank you for loving me."
Leaning in, Joey brushed her lips against Charlie's. The familiar tingle shot up between both of them as they shared a passion they knew would never go away.
"For the record," Joey whispered against Charlie's mouth. "I'm honoured to be allowed to love you. You changed my life in every single way. I never thought I would ever be lucky enough to share my life with someone, and certainly not someone as incredible as you, Charlie. You make my life complete."
They kissed again, wrapping their arms around each other.
Xavier and Romeo sat in Xavier's bedroom. It had been a while now and Xavier still couldn't get his head around the idea that he was in possession of so much money. And he dreaded to think how it had been earned. Thinking about his brother's shady double life made him feel insecure and unwell. He worried that the rest of the Bay were judging him for what Hugo had done. Ruby had exonerated him but he was nervous about seeing Charlie around when she got back from her holiday with Joey. And he couldn't even bear to think about the poor people that were still in hospital.
"How much is there?" Romeo finally asked.
"A hundred grand."
Romeo exhaled and shook his head.
"What are you going to do with it?"
"I have no idea," Xavier admitted.
Night had fallen and Charlie and Joey were walking back to the hotel together. They'd cut it a little fine when it came to the time they had to return the boat and then spent the rest of the afternoon on the seafront, grabbing a light snack to eat on the beach.
"Thank you for a perfect day," Charlie said as they strolled along, hand in hand.
"Thank you," Joey said. "It really has been amazing."
Next time... Gina and Xavier tell Brendan about Hugo's death, Charlie considers counselling and Liam is upset to learn on Aden and Nicole's fledgling relationship...
