This chapter is for jensy25, just because your review made my day! I WISH I was as cool as Joey is in this fic! Love, IJKS xxx
Chapter Two Hundred and Twenty Eight
It had been an interesting week. Joey had been making a point of spending time with Leah and trying to get her out of the house. Charlie had been helping and it seemed like she was getting back on her feet again. Work was going well for Joey at the bait shop and she was continuing to enjoy her catering course. And for Charlie, everything at work was going well aside from Angelo seeming to hang around her like a bad smell. It was different to normal. He looked more suspicious than anything else and she beginning to wonder if she really had done something wrong.
Ruby was struggling immensely and seemed to spend a lot of her time complaining to her parents and generally feeling down in the dumps about Geoff. Gone seemed to be the days when they were love's young dream. He seemed to have completely shut down after the riot and everything she said and did was wrong. Suddenly she felt more empathy for those around her, including Geoff, that she had snapped at about her diabetes. It was not nice to be on the receiving end.
That morning, Charlie was grabbing a juice with Watson from the Surf Club during her break. A silence hushed over everyone when Mink walked through the door. She promptly stormed back out. Thanks to Xavier, word had got round that Mink had recently been released from prison for killing her abusive step-father.
"I'll just be a second," Charlie said to Watson, following the young woman out of the bar.
Joey was singing to herself as usual, much to the amusement of Aden who couldn't stop teasing her.
"I can't help being happy!" Joey told him, poking her tongue out.
"What is making you so chipper these days anyway?" he wondered.
"What's not to be happy about?" Joey replied. "The sun is shining, the sky is blue..."
"You got laid this morning," Aden teased.
Joey stumbled.
"Maybe," she conceded.
Grinning and looking a little swoony, she hopped up on the counter.
"Everything is just so great right now, you know?" she said. "I just feel so happy. And for once, I feel like this without immediately panicking that it's not going to last. I really think this is going to be a beautiful year."
"Good," Aden said. "That's nice. Any particular reason you're feeling so good?"
"Me and Charlie are in a really good place," Joey said.
"Evidently!" Aden smirked.
She hit him playfully on the arm.
"We get along so perfectly. I feel like we're really a family now. And it's like, even with all the hell that happened last year, we pushed through it and it only made us stronger," Joey continued. "And my catering course is going well, I love working here with you, Brett and I are close again... Everything's so perfect."
She hopped off the counter when she spotted a customer approaching.
"Especially the Charlie parts," she added.
Aden slung his arm around her.
"Feel free to talk about Charlie's parts any time you like," he smirked.
"Aden, behave!" Joey squealed.
Charlie moved to sit beside Mink on the beach.
"I don't want any hassle," the blonde girl stated, staring hard out to sea.
"I'm not here for hassle," Charlie assured her. "I just wanted to check you're okay."
Mink turned to face her, eyes blazing.
"Look, I don't give a shit what people think of me," she said. "The only reason I came to this dire little town was to see my brother, only to discover he's turned into one of you people."
"Us people?" Charlie asked.
"A perfect little cookie cutter, always doing the right thing..."
"Because he's gone back to school?"
"I gave up my life to protect my family," Mink said, staring back out at the waves again. "And I'm always going to be judged for that now."
"I'm not judging you," Charlie said.
Mink glared at her.
"You're a cop," she said. "Of course you're judging me."
"Now who's jumping to conclusions?" Charlie asked with a hint of a smile.
"You're seriously telling me you don't think I'm a bad person for killing someone?"
"I think it's not my place to say what happened," Charlie told her. "But from what I gather, there were extenuating circumstances. And also, you've paid for your crimes. It's nobody's place to give you a hard time, Mink. And I'm certainly not going to, okay?"
Mink studied her face. Charlie was surprised by the vulnerability she saw.
"Okay," she said quietly.
Charlie nodded and stood to walk away. She caught the quietest 'thank you' as she left.
School finished and Ruby hurried round to see Geoff, parting ways with Nicole as she headed out to see Aden at the bait shop.
"Hello?" Ruby called, knocking and entering.
She found her boyfriend watching television on the couch. Her heart sank when he didn't look pleased to see her. Pushing forward, she kissed him anyway and asked him how he was.
"Same as ever," he replied.
Ruby sighed, uncertain of what to do or say.
"How was school?" Geoff finally asked.
"Fine," Ruby told him. "Boring. I wish I could have spent the day with you instead."
Geoff managed a weak smile before telling her she would have been bored.
"I'm sure we could have found something fun to do," she said with a smirk.
He didn't acknowledge the innuendo and pulled away when she reached for his hand.
"Geoff, what is your problem?" Ruby finally snapped.
He looked a little startled.
"I don't have a problem," he insisted.
"You've been awful to be around for weeks, Geoff," she accused. "I know you're hurt and I know you're struggling after the riot..."
"You don't know anything!" Geoff snapped.
"I was there too!" Ruby yelled, losing her temper. "I was just as scared as you were..."
"But it was your damn fault!"
Geoff stunned her into silence.
Joey arrived home from work and once more found Leah in a state. Hurrying over, she hugged her, wondering what was wrong and what had happened.
"Hazem's mother came round," Leah explained. "She wants me to go to the city to visit and I just... can't. He could have died. He was so broken that night, Joey, and I can't even bring myself to leave the house and..."
"It's okay," Joey assured her.
"It's not!" Leah said. "I'm so damn selfish. I..."
"Leah, you don't have to do anything you're not ready to," Joey insisted. "Stop putting so much pressure on yourself. You can't take care of somebody if you're not well yourself. Right now, you have to focus on getting yourself better. Then you can do the rest, okay? You can visit Hazem if you want to. You can get involved in the refit at the Diner. You can do all of that. It'll just take a little time."
"I just feel so useless," Leah admitted.
"Well, you're definitely not useless," Joey said. "Look, Charlie and I are going for a quiet drink with Brett and Amber tomorrow night. Why don't you come?"
Leah looked stricken at the suggestion but Joey pressed on.
"It won't be heavy and we can leave any time you like. You won't have to do anything you don't want to and we'll be with you the whole time. You won't have to do anything on your own. But I think it'll do you some good to get out for a bit."
"I don't know..."
"At least just think about it, okay?" Joey requested. "Please?"
"Okay," Leah agreed.
"Now," Joey said decisively. "Are you going to help me make dinner or what? I have to make this dish for my class on Monday and I want to practice first. I bought the stuff yesterday. Are you game? You only have to sit, watch and keep me company."
Leah grinned.
"And maybe steer me if I go wrong," Joey added. "You know, what with you being the professional and all."
Leah had gone for an early night, leaving Charlie and Joey to try and console a particularly distressed Ruby. She'd arrived home an hour or so before, breaking down and telling them every detail of her argument with Geoff. Apparently he blamed her for causing the riot. She'd been arguing with John a lot and calling him a racist. She'd been delivering care packages to the hospital and keeping the dialogue going when he felt the issue of the asylum seekers' rights should have been left alone. And now Hazem was in hospital, Geoff was injured, Leah was a mess and Ruby had taken on the responsibility for it all.
"We could always go round and kick his arse," Joey offered with a grin.
Ruby managed a laugh. She was wedged between them on the sofa and was slowly starting to feel happier.
"It wasn't your fault," Charlie told her firmly.
"How do you know?" Ruby wondered. "You weren't even there – not at the start anyway."
"Because you didn't hurt anyone," Charlie said. "Whatever debates were happening, whatever issues were being raised, it was those thugs that decided to beat Hazem up. It was them that decided to terrorise you. You can't blame yourself for other people's actions. And Geoff shouldn't blame you either."
Ruby nodded, feeling a little relieved. She knew Charlie wasn't shy about pointing out her mistakes so if she genuinely thought well of her, then it was easier to believe somehow.
"You really don't think so?" she asked meekly.
"I don't think he even blames you," Charlie said.
Ruby looked confused.
"He's messed up over everything that happened," Joey explained, knowing exactly where Charlie was going with her statement. "And he's lashing out. But people say things in the heat of the moment that they don't always mean."
"He'll probably apologise to you in the morning," Charlie agreed. "Just give him some time. If you love each other then you'll get through this."
"I keep hoping that it's like my diabetes," Ruby ventured. "Like, I wanted to shut people out of it because I couldn't cope. But eventually, I listened, didn't I? I dropped the attitude."
"You definitely did," Charlie assured her, giving her a hug. "Everything will be okay. Just give him some time to come to his senses."
Next time... Charlie and Joey go for a drink with Brett, Amber and Leah while Geoff has a run in with a River Boy...
