Chapter Two Hundred and Thirty Eight

The evening rolled around and most of the Bay turned out for the party at the Diner. Arriving early, Charlie and Joey entered the kitchen to see how Leah was coping.

"I'm good," Leah lied.

Inside, she was trembling.

"It's nice to be back in the swing of things," she said. "Sort of."

"Let us know if you need any help," Joey said. "Otherwise, we're going to check this place out! It looks great!"


Arriving back in the main restaurant, the couple saw that lots of people were filing in. They spotted Xavier and Ruby sitting together in one corner, looking terribly shy and cute. Their daughter had bounded home in a fit of joy earlier in the evening to get ready for her first official post-break-up date with Xavier. It was nice to see her putting her life back together after the hole Geoff had left behind. On the other side of the room, Angelo was talking to Watson but he didn't fail to keep one eye on Charlie. It annoyed Joey no end but she could see the shift in his expression. He didn't seem to gaze at her girlfriend with lust anymore. It was more like suspicion. Joey wasn't sure if she objected more or less to that but Charlie certainly found it hard to deal with.

"You look cheerful," she commented when Romeo slumped in a chair beside them.

She and Charlie both sat down too.

"What's up?" Charlie asked.

"I'm thinking of dropping out of school," he told them.

"Already?" Joey said. "You've only just started."

"I know," Romeo sighed. "But... well, Mink says..."

"Mink's wrong," Joey interjected.

"She wants us to go off travelling," he said. "She's been offered a deal to get back into surfing professionally and she wants me to be her manager."

"And what do you want?" Charlie asked.

"Part of me thinks it would be fun but... I want to get qualifications, you know? I don't want to be a high school dropout. I..."

He rubbed his temples.

"Then you should stick with it," Joey said. "There's nothing wrong with going back to school, Romeo. I mean, look at me. I'm twenty six and I'm back in education, catching up with everything I missed out on the first time."

"But you're back in college," Romeo said. "You're not in school, in uniform, you're not older than everyone else in your peer group. Mink says what I'm doing is lame."

"Only you can make a decision about your future," Charlie said reasonably. "If you want to stay in school then there's no shame in it. It's a wonderful thing to do, not to mention brave. And if you feel settled here, if you're happy, then don't change your life just for her. You need to follow your own dreams, nobody else's."


In the kitchen, Leah struggled. She had nearly finished making all the food and she was dreading the end. She wanted to hide away in the kitchen and avoid people. She didn't want to have to play hostess. She couldn't cope. Pressure mounted as the seconds ticked by.


"Woah, you look like death!" Romeo remarked when Miles arrived.

"Funny you should say that," his guardian replied, sinking into a vacant chair.

Charlie and Joey exchanged worried glances. Bags were taking over his eyes, he was pale and still looked like he hadn't slept in weeks.

"What happened?" Charlie asked.

She had been worried about him ever since the other day when she had seen him on the beach and he'd been so strange.

"A ceiling fan nearly decapitated me at school this afternoon," he said.

"What?" Joey squeaked. "How?"

He shrugged and then looked at Charlie.

"I told you something bad was going to happen, didn't I?" he said.


"You really have to get over her, you know," Watson commented.

Angelo looked immediately guilty and just about managed to tear his gaze away from Charlie.

"I am over her," he said.

"Well, you're doing her head in," Watson said. "And being that she hasn't spoken to you in days, maybe you should start changing your behaviour."

"I'm not doing anything wrong!" Angelo insisted. "She's the one who should feel guilty."

"Why?"

"Let's just say, her perfect life with Joey might not be so perfect after all."

Puzzled, Watson gave up on spending time with him and headed over to join her friends.


Ruby and Xavier sat side by side, eating some of the buffet food that Leah, Irene and Colleen had set out for everyone.

"Thank you for inviting me tonight," Ruby said.

Xavier blushed and looked at the floor.

"I like spending time with you," he eventually said.

"I like spending time with you too," Ruby replied. "I feel like I haven't been myself for a long time but I hope things are settling down in my heart and my head now. Charlie feels more like my Mum every day and I love that she's so happy with Joey. And being friends with you again... it means the world."

"I've missed you," Xavier admitted. "I've missed you every day."


"I'm going to swing for him in a minute," Joey warned.

Charlie glanced behind her just as Angelo looked away and busied himself with chatting to Martha and Liam who, despite Martha's earlier misgivings, had allowed to accompany her to the party.

"Don't give him the attention," Miles advised. "I guess he can't help how he feels."

"I can help how he feels," Joey replied.

Charlie shifted closer and hugged her.

"If it helps, I don't think he's in love with you anymore," Watson put in.

Charlie pretended to look offended, which made everyone but Joey laugh.

"He seems to think you've done something," Watson explained. "I think. I mean, I don't really get it. He keeps talking in riddles."

"He's pissing me off," Joey said.

"Really?" Charlie teased. "You hide your feelings so well."

Her girlfriend pouted. Charlie leant in and kissed her.

"Sweetheart, I think we've gone through a hell of a lot worse than him being irritating," she said. "I wouldn't get stressed about it."


"Leah, why don't you come out and enjoy the party?" Irene said, noting that her colleague had been hidden away in the kitchen all night. "People are asking after you."

"I will," Leah said uncertainly. "Just give me a sec."

Irene nodded and headed back out of the kitchen. Leah took a deep breath and followed. Catching sight of exactly how busy the Diner was, she panicked and fled, locking herself in the store cupboard.


With drinks orders from Charlie, Miles, Romeo, Watson, Aden and Nicole, Joey headed up to collect them. She promptly bumped into Angelo.

"Having fun?" the policeman asked.

"Yes, thanks," Joey replied tightly. "You know, minus some guy refusing to look away from my girlfriend."

"Who?" Angelo asked, genuinely confused.

His first instinct was that Charlie's boyfriend might be in attendance and Joey might have clocked him. Her look of disbelief made him realise.

"Seriously," she said. "Are you that deluded? Why won't you leave her alone?"

"I haven't been near her all night," Angelo pointed out.

"You also haven't looked away from her all night," Joey said. "I know Charlie wants to give you a chance and everything but quite frankly, I don't. No matter what, you will always be the man who has spied on us and tried to manipulate Charlie into bed on more than one occasion. And I'm never going to be comfortable around you while you're clearly trying to steal Charlie away from me."

"Well, you've got nothing to worry about," Angelo said. "Unless you think she could be swayed."

"Of course she can't be swayed!" Joey snapped rather loudly.

Across the room, Charlie spotted them and stood in order to head on over.

"Look, from what I've seen, you should be spending less time worrying about me and more time figuring out exactly where your precious girlfriend is and what she's getting up behind your back."

He left the building before Charlie approached.

"What did he say to you?" she asked, noting Joey's expression.

Joey shook her head and told her it didn't matter, that he was just spouting his usual brand of crap.

"Help me get the drinks?" she requested.

"Of course."


Wanting to compliment Leah and not having seen her all night, Martha poked her head around the kitchen doorway, surprised to find the space empty.

"Leah?" she called.

She was certain that she wasn't out with all the guests.

"Leah?" she called again.

Still there was no answer. She decided to investigate.


"Are you sure you're having a nice time?" Xavier asked.

Ruby had had a smile plastered on her face for most of the night but it didn't quite meet her eyes.

"I'm fine," she said.

"Are you sure?"

"It's just kind of hard being back here," she admitted. "You know, after what happened."

Xavier nodded. He'd been hiding away that night, not wanting to face the crowds so soon after everything that had gone on with his now dead brother.

"Well, we can go if you want," he offered. "I could walk you home if it's too much for you."

"It's just kind of hard to deal with the memories," Ruby said. "We all thought we were going to die here that night."

"Well, you just let me know if you want to go," he said. "I don't mind."

"Maybe we could go back to mine and watch a DVD or something?" she suggested, eager to leave.

"Sounds good to me."


Charlie and Joey followed Martha through the kitchen and towards the store cupboard. She'd heard Leah crying through the door but when her friend refused to speak to her, she'd had no option but to get help. Aware that Charlie and Joey had been doing a great deal to help her over the last few weeks, she believed them to be the best option.

"Leah?" Charlie called through the door. "Are you in there?"

Silence.

"Okay, ready or not, we're coming to get you!" Joey said, pulling open the door pulling the door open.

They found Leah sitting on the floor in the dark, struggling to catch her breath. Tears cascaded down her cheeks.

"Oh dear," Joey said in the same cheery tone. "Nobody told us that the party was in here."

Leah laughed softly as Joey sat down, cross legged beside her and gestured for Charlie and Martha to do the same.

"So, what's going on then?" Joey asked.

"I just... panicked," Leah admitted. "Sorry."

"No need for apologies here," Charlie said gently. "We all just care about you. No matter what."


Xavier and Ruby sat side by side on the sofa watching a movie. They'd found some microwave popcorn in the cupboard and decided to indulge. Xavier studied his ex-girlfriend's face as she laughed at the rom-com she had persuaded him to watch. Spontaneously, he reached out and held her hand. She accepted happily.


"It's just something to think about," Charlie said. "It's helping me and you know I never thought it would."

Leah had broken down and explained in more detail her tendency for panic attacks and her struggles with being out of the house, feeling vulnerable. This had prompted Charlie to admit that she was having counselling after everything that happened at New Year and that she thought some of the same might help her friend.

"It's genuinely helping you?" Leah asked.

"It is," Charlie said. "I mean, I only get nightmares once or twice a week now."

She smiled at Joey before explaining that she wasn't allowed to stop therapy until she'd had a nightmare free week in its entirety but she knew she was getting there. They held hands.

"I'm sorry for everything you've been through," Martha said quietly.

"None of this is your fault," Charlie pointed out. "You have nothing to apologise for."

"I just feel guilty," Martha said. "He was my boyfriend, I was in love with him..."

"We really are a sorry little foursome, aren't we?" Joey giggled, lightening the mood.

"What do you mean?" Charlie teased. "I don't see a single thing wrong with four women hiding away in a store cupboard for the duration of a party!"

Leah laughed and wiped her eyes.

"Should we go and join the others?" she asked a little nervously.

"We don't have to go anywhere until you're ready," Martha said. "Personally, I've got all the time in the world."

"Me too," Joey said.

"Me three!" Charlie added.


Next time... the bait shop is hit with graffiti, Leah agrees to self defence classes and Angelo makes peace with Charlie...