Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty Three
"Are you sure you're happy for me to come in with you?" Joey asked a little nervously.
"I invited you, didn't I?" Charlie pointed out, killing the engine as she pulled into Michael's driveway.
Today was hopefully the beginning of her winding down her therapy sessions. She was still having nightmares but not as frequently and both Michael and Joey had suggested that those were more about anxiety over whether she would have one or not. It could also be due to her anxiety over having them in the first place. It was March now and Charlie was convinced she should be over what happened, although again, both Michael and Joey had pointed out that healing took time and couldn't be forced.
"I just don't want to intrude on your 'you time'," Joey said.
"I want to share it with you," Charlie said honestly. "If I'm going to start winding the sessions down then it needs to be a joint decision. And you and Michael both seem to think pretty similarly about what's best for me so it makes sense for you to join us."
"I don't tell you what to do, do I?" Joey worried, pausing in her attempt to get out of the car.
Smiling affectionately at her, Charlie stole a quick kiss.
"No," she assured her. "You just know me better than anyone. And you're very wise!"
Joey grinned triumphantly and agreed with a giggle. Charlie pressed for one more kiss and then they headed towards the front door.
Just over an hour later, the couple headed back out of the house, both rather more cheerful than they'd expected. Charlie found it very difficult to talk about her feelings, especially when things about Hugo or worse, Grant, came up. But she felt like she was handling things better with each session and the three of them had agreed that after five more sessions, therapy would come to a close. Charlie was relieved to have an end date and she was encouraged that both Michael and Joey believed that she was a lot better.
"Do you have to go straight to work?" Joey asked.
It was a Saturday so there were weekend staff members to run the bait shop. Joey was glad to do a Monday to Friday nine to five. But Charlie wasn't always so lucky with her shift patterns.
"Nope," Charlie beamed. "I'm not due in until lunch time so I get to spend a happy morning with you."
"Yay!" Joey enthused. "I suggest the beach."
"Absolutely!" Charlie agreed.
Strolling along the beach, hand in hand, Charlie and Joey soon happened upon Nicole and Aden, sunbathing on their weekend off.
"Hey, ladies," Aden greeted cheerfully.
Nicole sat up and pulled her sunglasses part way down her nose.
"Want to join us?"
She noted Charlie's uniform.
"Or are you working? I swear I haven't broken the law!"
Charlie laughed and assured her that she was off duty until lunch time.
"So yes, we will join you," Joey said, flopping down on the sand and pulling her girlfriend with her.
"How are things?" Aden asked.
"Really good," Charlie smiled.
Therapy wasn't something she liked to talk about so she didn't elaborate but she was happy to share her good mood.
"Any news on the apartment?" Nicole asked.
Charlie frowned and shook her head.
"We've paid our rent and our deposit and everything," she said dramatically. "But they said we can't move in for a whole month! Something about damp..."
"Well, we don't want to move into somewhere damp," Joey pointed out. "That leads to mould, which leads to me pulling this face."
She pulled a horrified, if slightly constipated face, which only succeeded in making the others laugh.
"Okay," Charlie said. "You're right. I don't want to live with that."
"See? Mould is bad!"
"Yeah, I was talking about the mould," Charlie smirked.
Joey protested loudly and pouted, smiling only when Charlie kissed her.
"Anyway, how are things with you guys? Nic, Joey was telling me about some internship you're doing," the police officer said.
The blonde sighed.
"It's not quite what I hoped for," she admitted. "I thought I was going to get to do proper design stuff but it's not quite working out like that."
Aden put a protective arm around her and tried to enthuse that it would get better.
"I hope so!" Nicole said unhappily. "Because currently, it sucks."
That evening, once Charlie had finished her shift, she arrived home eagerly to put hers and Joey's new plan into action. Tired of seeing Leah and Miles so unhappy now that they weren't speaking, the girls had decided that they had to help them make up. As predicted, Joey was busy cooking when Charlie walked in through the door.
"Something smells delicious," the police officer enthused.
"I made a bit extra for you and me," Joey said. "And it's a new recipe so hopefully it tastes good too. I'm a bit nervous about it."
"Everything you make tastes good," Charlie assured her. "I just hope Leah and Miles stop yelling long enough to enjoy it."
"Yep," Joey agreed. "Here's hoping."
An hour later, Miles showed up at the house, expecting to see Charlie and Joey but was shocked to find that Leah was home. They'd assured him that she was working all evening at the Diner.
"Is this a set up?" Leah demanded.
"Little bit," Joey admitted, offering her cutest apology smile.
"Joey, I am not sitting down to a meal with Miles," Leah said sourly. "He humiliated me."
She turned to her ex-best friend.
"You humiliated me!"
"I didn't mean to!" Miles protested. "Plus, he likes you too! I haven't done anything wrong!"
Leah stared at him. Charlie sighed heavily.
"Except... tell you that," Miles finished quietly.
"He likes me too?"
"We think so," Charlie admitted. "But he said it was complicated so he couldn't act on his feelings."
"But that's a good thing, right?" Joey asked hopefully. "I mean... that's less humiliating."
"And even more frustrating," Leah said. "Thanks."
"Look, why don't you both just sit down, have nice food, drink nice wine...?"
"I don't want to eat with him!" Leah insisted.
Miles turned to leave but Charlie grabbed him swiftly by the collar.
"Joey has gone to a lot of effort to cook you a delicious meal so the polite thing to do is eat it."
"Fine," Leah said grumpily, sinking down at the table.
Miles escaped Charlie's clutches and sat down too. He looked across the table at his friend.
"Leah, if you knew how sorry I was..." he began.
"How sorry?" Leah asked.
"Sorrier than I could ever tell you," Miles replied. "You mean everything to me – you and VJ. I hate fighting with you. I love you! I mean, well, not like that, but I do love you. Please forgive me? Please can we just forget all about this?"
Leah look at him and then at Charlie and Joey who smiled their encouragement.
"Fine," she sighed. "Let's forget it."
Charlie and Joey high fived before serving dinner triumphantly.
Next time... Angelo stalks Charlie, Ruby and Xavier skip school and Marilyn and Justin show up in the Bay...
