Chapter Three Hundred and Two
Having left Ross at the day centre near their house, Morag arrived in Summer Bay rather sooner than she'd expected to. She and her husband tried to visit their family every few months but today, she was here for a more specific reason. Once again, Aden had got himself into some kind of legal trouble and it was up to her to help him and his brother find their way out of it.
"I'm so glad she called to check in with us," Ruby mused.
She was at the Diner before school, waiting for Xavier to show up in order to walk with him.
"Yeah," Irene agreed. "I was worried about her struggling to adjust but she sounds well."
"Are you talking about Annie?" said a voice behind Ruby.
The teenager jumped and whirled around, awkwardly coming face to face with Romeo. She glanced anxiously at Irene.
"Uh... yes," Irene said. "She called last night."
"Nice to know she's keeping in touch with someone," Romeo said bitterly.
With that, he stormed out of the Diner feeling like nothing but a fool.
At the police station, Charlie and Watson sat in a small interview room with Aden, Justin and Morag. They had managed to contact the shop who had been rather lazy about getting round to fixing the phone of a customer who hadn't put any pressure on them. Fortunately, it was now working perfectly and everyone in the room just hoped that Justin's voicemail was retrievable.
"Ready?" Charlie said, glancing at Aden and Justin.
The boys nodded. Everyone in the room seemed to be holding their breath.
"I am not babysitting your surf board for a third time, Romeo Smith," Joey remarked when she saw the teenager approaching the bait shop.
He surprised himself by laughing. Up until then, he'd felt like he would never laugh again.
"I'm boardless," he said, holding up his hands. "I promise."
Joey glanced at her watch.
"Boardless and bordering on late for school," she remarked.
"I'm not going," Romeo replied simply.
"You're very lucky I'm not your mother," Joey said. "Ruby gets into a lot of trouble when she skips classes."
Romeo chuckled and nodded.
"I'm glad you're not my mother," he said. "Although you'd probably do a much better job than my real Mum. But firstly, it would be biologically impossible. And secondly, the fact that I think you're one of the hottest women I've ever met in my life would be completely inappropriate."
Joey snorted with laughter.
"I think that might be inappropriate anyway," she remarked.
"Nothing wrong with window shopping for things you can never have," Romeo said. "Wait, Charlie isn't around, is she?"
Joey laughed loudly at how nervous he sounded.
"She's working," Joey said. "You're safe."
"Phew!" Romeo said. "Hey, I don't suppose you want help or anything today, do you? Because I really, really need a distraction."
"Annie?" Joey asked.
"Where?" Romeo said, looking sharply around.
He winced when he realised that she had just been asking if the Annie situation was upsetting him.
"Yeah," he said, sighing heavily. "Annie."
The first thing they heard on the speakerphone of Aden's mobile was rustling and heavy breathing. Then Larry's voice sounded, broken but clearly identifiable.
"Aden, it's Dad," he breathed anxiously.
Aden swallowed the bile that rose up in his throat.
"We've been in an accident. Your brother and me. We... we swerved to stop ourselves from hitting a kangaroo and..."
He broke off. Everyone in the room hung on the deceased's every word.
"I don't... I don't think I'm going to make it," Larry said. "I... I'm hurt pretty bad but I'm going to do my best for Justin. He's in shock but... but I think he's going to be okay. I got him out of the car and... and we... we made peace, Aden. He forgave me for the past and... and now I'm asking you to forgive me too. I don't think I'll see you again but... but I love you."
Then the phone went dead.
"Maybe you need a hobby," Joey suggested.
Romeo was helping her fix up another boat for one of Alf's loyal customers.
"I have a hobby," he said. "Surfing."
"And if that's providing you with a decent distraction then why aren't you doing it?" Joey asked, sounding very much like a smart arse.
"Because you're pleasant company?" Romeo asked hopefully.
"Surfing is too easy," Joey said. "For you, anyway. I have trouble staying up on those things. But... maybe you need something that will challenge you. Like a new skill or something."
"What kind of skill?" Romeo asked.
"I'm not going to fill in all the answers for you!" Joey chuckled. "What kind of things do you like doing? And if you say surfing, you're out of here."
Romeo chuckled and paused in his cleaning.
"I like anything on the water really," he said. "I like swimming and... well, I've always wanted to learn how to sail."
"Well, there you go then," Joey said. "Learn."
"Aren't lessons for that kind of thing pretty expensive?" Romeo asked.
"Not if I provide them for the price of a coffee now and again," Joey told him.
Romeo looked surprised.
"You'll teach me to sail?" he asked. "Really?"
"Sure."
"What's in it for you?"
"Have you not heard how obsessed I am with boats?" Joey asked. "I thought Charlie had warned everyone in the near vicinity not to talk to me about them in case they die of boredom!"
Romeo laughed.
"I didn't get the memo," he said. "But if you'd like to teach me, I'd be eternally grateful. And I'll buy you all the coffees you want. I could even throw in a few surfing lessons if you'd like to stay on your board."
"Sounds like a deal to me," Joey said, shaking his hand.
Aden exhaled loudly. Justin felt tears trickle down his cheeks.
"It sounds like the whole thing was one big mistake," Morag said hopefully.
Charlie nodded. Technically, she should still charge them with unlawfully burying Larry's body and holding up a police investigation but she didn't want to. She'd do everything not to.
"We can tentatively drop all charges," she said. "We'll have to discuss where to go from here but we certainly won't be charging anyone with murder or conspiracy to commit."
"What happens now?" Aden asked quietly.
Charlie stood up.
"Now, the pair of you go home, chill out, do whatever you need to do to try and heal from everything that's happened," she said. "And we'll be in touch."
Joey was watching the clock eagerly. Tonight, she had the final practical exam for her course and tomorrow, she would get the results. To say she was nervous would be the understatement of the Century but Charlie had promised to try and get out of work in time to take her for a bite to eat and then to college.
"Are you okay, Joey?" Romeo asked.
He had hung around the bait shop in his school uniform for most of the day.
"Yeah, I just have an important evening ahead of me," she replied, locking up the shop for the day.
"Charlie related?" he asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
Joey laughed and shook her head.
"I have my final college exam," she said.
"Seriously?" Romeo asked. "You've got a huge exam ahead of you and you let me ramble and whinge all day? You should have told me to shut up!"
"What can I say?" Joey giggled. "I'm a saint!"
She looked up and waved when she saw Charlie approaching. Secretly, she still couldn't quite help but lust after her in her uniform.
"Ready to go?" Charlie asked. "I've convinced Leah to give us priority at the Diner."
Joey grinned and nodded.
"You're welcome to join us if you like," she offered, turning back to Romeo.
"Nah, I've bugged you enough today," he said. "I think I'm going to head home. But thanks. For everything. And good luck tonight."
"Thanks!" Joey said, skipping off with Charlie.
Having eaten very little due to sheer nerves, Joey sat in the passenger seat with Charlie who was driving her over to college.
"Are you feeling more settled now that Morag's helped you change your will?" Joey asked.
"Yep," Charlie said. "Now I can be murdered at any time and I'll know I've left you and Ruby well."
Joey paled and looked like she was going to throw up. Charlie quickly reached out to squeeze Joey's hand.
"Sorry," she said. "That was inappropriate and unhelpful."
"You think?" Joey squeaked.
"Sorry," Charlie said again. "Listen, are you going to finish on time? I don't want you to have to hang around waiting for me if you finish early or something so should I just wait for you?"
"I could be ages," Joey pointed out. "It's not fair to make you sit in the car."
"I brought a book with me," Charlie said.
Joey gazed affectionately at her.
"Just come back at nine and hopefully I'll just be finishing," she said.
"You've all got an hour and a half to make your perfect plates," the course teacher told them.
Taking a deep breath, Joey closed her eyes.
"Please, God, let this go well," she said, hoping it wasn't cheating to pray in an exam.
Her heart raced and her fingers trembled as she set to work.
Charlie was just heading home when her phone rang. Grateful for speakerphone that tuned itself in with the car speakers, Charlie answered.
"Charlie, I need help," Angelo said by way of greeting.
"Well, I know that," Charlie remarked.
It seemed like every time they tentatively made friends, something went wrong. First, Angelo had stalked her and then she'd found out that he'd faked Hugo Austin's death.
"I'm serious," he said urgently. "Martha's here. She knows everything and she's livid."
"I'm on my way," Charlie sighed. "But I am leaving at twenty to nine on the dot and no arguments."
Next time… Miles has another vision about Elijah and Leah, Joey finds out if she passed or not and she and Charlie do their best to support Martha…
