Chapter Two Hundred and Thirty One

The next morning, Charlie and Joey drove over to the farm to see Martha.

"I'm not so sure this is a good idea," Charlie said, cutting the engine when they pulled into the drive.

"It'll be fine," Joey assured her. "It might help to give you both some closure."

Charlie nodded. Taking a deep breath, she climbed out of the car. Joey walked with her to the front door and knocked before her girlfriend could back out.


With a decidedly brighter smile on her face than she was feeling inside, Ruby went round to visit Geoff. He greeted her with unusual warmth and kissed her tenderly. Ruby smiled with genuine joy.

"You seem happier today," she said.

Geoff nodded. He took her hand and they sat down on the sofa together.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking," he said. "I'm so sorry for the way I've behaved recently and I want you to know that in no way do I hold you responsible for the riot. I was just shooting my mouth off. I didn't mean it."

Ruby nodded.

"Thanks," she said.

"My head has been such a mess lately," Geoff continued. "I feel like I'm wandering around, lost and with no direction in my life. I feel like everything is spirally out of control."

"Like what?" Ruby asked.

"I didn't finish school," Geoff said.

"But that was your choice..."

"I know," he said. "And I think it was the wrong one. Especially now that I don't have a job. And I haven't had one for a while. Joey and Aden have started work at the bait shop. A few months ago, they were my colleagues and I feel like they've left me behind."

"So... you want to work in the bait shop?" Ruby asked, confused.

"No," Geoff said. "I want... I want to be a missionary."


"Hi!" Martha said in surprised when she pulled open the door to find Charlie and Joey waiting for her. "How are you both? I haven't seen you for a while."

Charlie nodded and swallowed.

"Sorry about that," she said. "I should have come by sooner. I'm sorry."

"You don't have anything to apologise for," Martha told her. "You haven't done anything wrong."

Charlie swallowed again. Joey kept hold of her hand.

"Do you want to come in?"

"Thanks," Charlie said.

Martha led the way into the kitchen.


"A missionary?" Ruby asked. "How are you going to do that in Summer Bay?"

Geoff sighed and looked at their joined hands. Uncertainly, Ruby withdrew.

"You're not going to do it in Summer Bay, are you?" she realised.

He gazed up at her and apologised.

"Geoff, what are you saying to me?" Ruby asked, needing clarification.

"There's a project out in Africa that needs volunteers," he said. "I'd have to leave tomorrow but it would be great experience. I've realised these last few weeks that the reason I feel so empty and lost right now is because I'm not doing anything of value with my life. I'm bumming around the Bay – no job, no education... nothing."

"You've got me," Ruby said quietly.

"And I love you," he said sincerely. "But..."

"It's not enough," Ruby concluded.

He apologised again.


Charlie, Joey and Martha sat around the kitchen table a little awkwardly.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you, Charlie," Martha said. "For what Hugo did."

Charlie nodded. She twisted her fingers together anxiously.

"That's why I'm here," she said.

Now it was Martha's turn to look anxious.

"I've been having nightmares ever since New Year," she said. "And I've had to go to counselling to try and deal with it. My therapist said that maybe I should come and see you, talk to you about everything. He thought maybe it would help me find closure. Then maybe I can find a way to move on. And... if I can... maybe I could help you too."

Martha sighed. She wasn't sure anyone or anything would help her deal with the second love of her life being gunned down.

"It's been pretty hard to deal with everything these last few weeks," she admitted. "Especially now that Bambang has gone back to his father. I miss him. And I know you'll probably hate me for it but I miss Hugo too."

"Of course I don't hate you for it," Charlie said. "Regardless of what he did, he was your partner and you loved him. And I do think that he loved you. He told me so... when he kidnapped me. He told me he was doing it to save you. He said Suzy was threatening your life and his only choice was to go away with her. I think... I think you meant more to him than anything."

Martha didn't know whether to feel happy or sad but she was grateful for the information.

"And that kind of leads me to my apology," Charlie said.

She glanced at Joey who offered a gentle smile of encouragement.

"Apology?" Martha asked.

"Angelo and I had been investigating the case for months," Charlie admitted. "And he told me pretty early on that he believed Hugo was involved. I was honestly trying to do right by you. There was no point telling you our theories until we had proof. And there was no way we would have been able to bring the operation down if we'd told Hugo that we knew what he was up to. But I feel... I feel guilty. I feel like I should have warned you. I knew you were falling in love with Hugo and I... I let you get hurt. I'm so sorry."


Ruby hurried out of the house with a broken heart. Geoff was leaving for Africa in the morning and in the process, he had broken up with her. Tearfully, she hurried to the beach, wondering why life had brought them together and made her feel so strongly for him, if he was only going to walk away after a couple of months. It wasn't fair.


"Charlie, I don't blame you for anything," Martha said sincerely. "I don't even blame Angelo. He saved my life that night. Well, I guess we saved each other. And after over a year, I feel at peace with what he did to Jack. I understand that it was an accident. And I understand that he's spent the last year desperately trying to make it right."

Joey tried not to grimace. It was good that Martha was letting go of her hate and hurt. It was good that she was trying to move on from the pain of loss. Joey didn't want her own dislike of Angelo to get in the way of that.

"So, if I can forgive him for all that he did," Martha continued. "Then it's not even a question that I forgive you. I lived with and loved Jack long enough to understand that some things are confidential. It's the nature of being a police officer. And I know that, regardless of how you did it, you and Angelo were both just trying to keep me safe. And that you were trying to rescue the asylum seekers from Hugo and Suzy and Derrick and whoever else was involved."

"Thank you," Charlie said, breathing a genuine sigh of relief. "I can't tell you how much of a weight is off me now. I feel like I've been dragging this burden around with me for ages. It's nice to be free."

Martha stood and pulled her friend into a hug.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Charlie," she said. "If anything, I should be the one saying sorry to you, sorry for what Hugo did. My experience of that night was scary enough but from what I've heard, you really went to hell and back."

"It wasn't fun," Charlie admitted with a self conscious laugh.

She and Joey were both surprised when Liam walked into the room in just his underwear. He paused and apologised.

"I didn't know you had company," he said.

"It's fine," Martha said. "If you're making a coffee..."

She grinned at him. He smiled back and put the kettle on.

"Well, we should be going," Charlie said decisively.

"Don't leave on my account," Liam said.

"It's fine," Charlie said. "We've got a tonne of stuff to do anyway."

Liam turned back to the kettle while Martha showed Charlie and Joey out.


When Charlie and Joey arrived home, Leah was quick to inform them that Ruby had hurried to her room in tears only five minutes before. They headed up the stairs and knocked on her door. Leah returned to the magazine she was reading.

"Sweetheart?" Charlie said, poking her head round the door.

She found Ruby face down on her bed, sobbing. Entering the room, Charlie and Joey sat on either side of her. Ruby mumbled something into the blanket. After struggling to understand her several times, Charlie hauled her daughter up and into her arms.

"Geoff and I broke up," the teenager sobbed.

"What? Why?" Charlie asked, genuinely upset for her.

"He wants to go to Africa to be a stupid missionary," Ruby said. "He's leaving tomorrow."


That night, having indulged in a takeaway curry, Leah left Charlie, Joey and Ruby to it and headed up to bed.

"Hey, Rubes, we were hoping to talk to you about something," Charlie ventured, glancing at Joey who nodded.

"What's that?" Ruby asked.

It had been a nice evening and she was feeling a hell of a lot better than she'd expected to, considering what had happened during the day.

"Well, Joey and I have decided to move out into an apartment together," Charlie began.

"Without me?" Ruby almost yelled in sheer horror.

"No!" Charlie said, laughing softly. "Of course not without you. With you. We thought it would be nice to live together as more of a family. Rent a place that we can call our own. What do you think?"

"I think it's an awesome idea," Ruby said. "Although, I will miss Leah and Veej. When?"

"When Leah's feeling stronger," Joey said. "She's pretty vulnerable right now so the last thing we want to do is abandon her. But when it feels like the time's right, we're going to start apartment hunting. And we just wanted to check that it's okay with you."

"I think it's a nice idea," Ruby said.

Relieved, Charlie hugged her.

"Hey, can we get a dog or something?" Ruby asked hopefully.

"One step at a time, okay?" Charlie chuckled. "One step at a time."


Leah paused at the top of the stairs. She'd intended to come down to get a glass of water but, having overheard the conversation, all she wanted to do was hurry to her room in tears. Not only were Charlie, Joey and Ruby leaving her, she had become the kind of burden that was holding up their plans.


It was midnight. Martha lay beside Liam in bed, wondering how it had happened. They'd spent a few happy days together since he'd moved in, having bonded just before New Year. But somehow, they'd ended up taking things further. It was a shock. Only a few weeks ago, she had been sharing this same bed with Hugo. Hugo, the monster. Hugo, the man she'd buried only a few weeks before. Hugo, the second relationship that hadn't been built to last.


"I don't want to go to work tomorrow," Charlie complained as she lay in the dark beside Joey.

"Nor do I," Joey said. "Hey, maybe we should skip town and have a naughty week away!"

Charlie giggled and pointed out that they had only just got home from the same kind of week.

"True," Joey conceded. "Still, we could make the most of tonight..."

She grinned, meeting Charlie in the dark with a kiss.


Next time... Charlie and Joey reassure Leah, Angelo irritates Charlie, and Geoff leaves town...