Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty Six

Before school, Xavier walked over to the farm to collect some more of his stuff. He paused in the driveway when he saw Martha seeing Angelo out. His eyes narrowed at the look on the police officer's face. He looked smug but awkward. And he was most definitely doing the walk of shame back to his car. Martha looked less happy as she shut the door. Xavier ducked out of the way as Angelo drove off, but he was seeing red.

"What is with you two this morning?" Ruby wondered as Charlie and Joey giggled over breakfast.

"Nothing," Charlie said, a happy smile playing on her face.

"Seriously," Ruby said. "You've been so serious for the last few days. What's changed?"

Charlie just smiled.

"Seriously!" Ruby said again. "A roll in the hay is the solution to all problems? Are you sure you want to teach me that?"

Joey snorted but Charlie looked horrified.

"It's not about the sex," Joey assured her. "It's about the love."

"I'm about to throw up my cereal," Ruby said pulling a face.

Her phone beeped. She looked immediately concerned.

"What's wrong?" Charlie asked worriedly.

"Nothing," Ruby lied. "But I've got to meet Xave before school. Love you! Bye!"

With that, she dashed out of the apartment.

"What was that about?" Charlie wondered.

Joey moved to straddle her lap.

"She'll tell you if she needs to," she said. "We're doing the trust thing, remember?"

Charlie looked unconvinced.

"Do you think you could skip work today?" Joey asked, kissing Charlie's shoulder.

"I wish," Charlie groaned, closing her eyes and enjoying the sensations Joey was offering.

"Tonight," Joey said. "We have tonight."

"We have Martha tonight," Charlie reminded her.

"Afterwards."


"No way," Ruby said.

She and Xavier were seated on a bench by the beach.

"No way," she repeated.

"I saw it with my own eyes," Xavier said.

"Maybe he just slept on the couch or something," Ruby suggested hopefully. "I mean, Joey said that he was going round there last night to cheer her up. Maybe he..."

"He was doing the walk of shame," Xavier insisted. "And he was pleased about it."

"But... Well, I mean, I know they made friends at New Year but... but he still killed Jack, even if it was an accident. How could she even...?"

Ruby sighed heavily and shook her head.

"He took advantage of her," Xavier said firmly. "She's so vulnerable at the moment and he just swooped in and..."

He looked utterly disgusted.

"Are you absolutely sure, Xave?" Ruby asked. "If we tell someone about this and it turns out not to be true..."

"I know what I saw," Xavier said. "And someone needs to put the bastard in his place."


Nicole felt unwell as Britt walked into her design class at the beginning of the day. Following advice from last night, she had told the rest of the class about their teacher stealing her designs. Everyone had been furious and everyone was ready to confront her.


Ruby had hardly been able to concentrate on school all morning. Lunch finally arrived and she raced out with Xavier in order to meet up with Charlie and Joey at the Diner.

"What's wrong?" Charlie asked. "Your message sounded kind of serious."

The foursome sat around the table. Ruby glanced at Xavier who nodded.

"Xavier thinks he saw Angelo and Martha together," Ruby ventured.

"I know I saw them together," Xavier corrected.

"Well, he visited her last night," Charlie said, not quite catching on. "I mean, we're doing a bit of a rota..."

"I don't think that's what they mean, Charlie," Joey said anxiously, understanding quicker for a change.

It was normally Charlie who had to explain such things to her.

"What?" Charlie squeaked, looking utterly bewildered.

Everyone looked uncomfortable as realisation suddenly dawned on her. She opened and shut her mouth a couple of times.

"No way," she finally said. "Martha would never..."

"Not in her right mind, she wouldn't," Joey said darkly. "But she's not in her right mind. And he knows that."

"What are you going to do?" Ruby asked, a little unnerved by the look on Joey's face.

"For starters, we'll find out the truth," Joey said, standing up and marching out the door.

Ruby and Xavier looked a little helpless as Charlie chased after her.


On the beach, Romeo and Annie were eating packed lunches together. Enjoying the sunshine and their usual playful banter, neither of them wanted to discuss the prospect of Annie's return to Japan. But it was on both of their minds.

"Romeo, there's something I need to tell you," Annie ventured.

He blanched, certain that she was about to say something bad. But he waited politely for her to speak.

"I love you," Annie said.

She looked a little nervous when the words were out there. But nerves became relief when he smiled.

"I love you too," he replied sincerely.


Having spotted Angelo's car in the Surf Club car park, Joey charged on in. Charlie chased after her, begging her to calm down before she confronted him. By the time she caught up with her, Joey was already towering over Angelo.

"Do you have a problem?" he asked casually.

"What happened with you and Martha?" Joey asked.

"Well, that's not really any of your business," he replied, settling back in his chair.

Charlie stopped trying to defend him when she saw just how cocky he was being.

"It's our business when we think you're taking advantage of one of our friends," Joey said, eyes blazing.

Angelo shrugged.

"I haven't done anything wrong," he said. "She was consenting."

"She's vulnerable!" Joey bellowed.

Several people turned to look at her, including Alf, who approached quietly.

"She wanted it!" Angelo yelled.

"Who wanted what and why are we yelling about it?" Alf asked.

Charlie gently took hold of Joey's hand, feeling her pulse race. Joey fixed Angelo with another glare.

"If you're innocent, then you'll have no problem telling him," she said.

Angelo blanched and shifted uncomfortably.

"What's going on?" Alf demanded.

"Um..." Angelo faltered. "I uh..."

"It looks like Angelo and Martha spent the night together last night," Charlie said as diplomatically as she could.

She just about managed to drag Joey safely out of the way as Alf lunged forward and knocked Angelo to the floor.


"I hope you're happy," Britt snapped as she gathered her belongings.

The whole class had ganged up on her and she'd had no choice but to resign from her position.

"Ecstatic," Nicole said sourly. "It's a dream come true to have one of my heroes use me and exploit my work."

Britt offered one last glare before she stalked out of the building.


Angelo groaned as he came to. His mouth felt like it had swollen to double the size. Wincing, he looked around and saw Charlie putting ice on Alf's hand.

"What are you looking after him for?" he asked before he could stop himself.

Alf charged forward again but Charlie stopped him.

"Nobody wants any more trouble, okay?" she said firmly. "I can turn a blind eye once but not twice."

Alf grimaced as Angelo dared to step closer.

"What the hell do you think you're playing at?" the older gentleman demanded. "Taking advantage of my granddaughter like that?"

"I didn't," Angelo insisted. "She wanted to as much as I did."

"She doesn't know what she wants right now," Alf snapped. "And we all know why that is."

Charlie studied Angelo's guilty face. If she had suspected anything yesterday then she now knew for sure that there was something that she hadn't been told.

"Maybe I should just tell her exactly who you are and what you've done," Alf threatened.

"What do you mean by that?" Charlie asked.

Angelo and Alf continued to glare at each other.

"Nothing," Alf said finally.

He sighed heavily and changed the position of the ice bag on his hand.

"Where's your little girlfriend anyway?" Angelo asked, noting Joey's absence.

"Someone had to go and make sure that Martha was okay."

"Of course she's okay!" Angelo said. "I didn't force her! She was just as up for it as I was!"

Alf started forward again. Charlie gripped his wrist and forced him to halt.


Joey sat a little awkwardly as Martha curled up in her arms, crying.

"I've forgiven him for what happened to Jack but I should still never have..."

She trailed off, crying harder. Joey tenderly stroked her hair.

"I can't believe I did it," Martha said. "I was drunk and lonely and sad and... I just... It should never have happened. I feel so ashamed."

"Try not to beat yourself up about it," Joey said gently. "He should have known that you weren't in the right state of mind to make that kind of decision."

Martha nodded but continued to weep.


It was the end of a very long day. Having spent most of the afternoon with Martha, Joey had waited for Alf to come and spend the evening with her so that she could go home to Charlie. Ruby had gone to her room to study, leaving Charlie and Joey reclining on the sofas, pondering the day.

"I can't believe Alf punched him," Joey mused. "That was cool."

Charlie snorted at Joey's wicked grin.

"I can't believe they slept together," the police officer admitted. "I mean... how could he ever think that that was okay? We were all putting together a roster to look after her. He went round to help her, not..."

She shook her head sadly. Joey snuggled closer, brushing their lips together.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," Charlie replied.


Sitting in his office, late into the night, Angelo struggled to know what to do. Having had a terrible day already, this was the last thing he needed. He felt sick and like the world was spinning too fast around him. He'd been yelled at and punched and been treated like the town pariah again. It felt like when he'd first come back to the Bay and now, he wondered why he had ever agreed to stay. There was nothing here for him now. Any friends he had were likely to be gone now that the news about his night with Martha was being spread around. And now, things were even more serious. Not only had he upset everyone, he'd now had a phone call confirming his worst fear – Hugo Austin was missing from Witness Protection.


Next time... Ruby's stunned to learn she has to sing in the school play, Xavier finds a new place to hide Hugo's money and Angelo struggles to hunt Hugo down...