Chapter Three Hundred and Fifty Two

Monday morning hit hard and Charlie and Joey were both reluctant to get to work. They made a point of reminding themselves that they got to go away for a few days at the weekend, even if Charlie was still refusing to tell Joey where they were headed.

"Meet you at the Diner for lunch?" Charlie asked when she stopped outside the bait shop to drop Joey off.

"Yes, please!" Joey agreed, leaning over to kiss her goodbye. "And maybe as a special lunch treat, you could tell me where we're going for the weekend?"

"Nice try," Charlie giggled. "But you'll just have to wait."


Leah was relieved to get to the Diner that morning. Once again, she was struggling with Lijuan who was demanding that they work together that evening to cook a big family dinner. Honestly, it was the last thing Leah wanted to do but she was desperate to play nicely and make a good impression on her in-laws. She loved Elijah with all her heart and she couldn't bear to lose him because she couldn't cope with his mother.


Joey was merrily setting up the bait shop for the day when she felt a presence behind her. For one horrible moment, she thought Brax might have come to annoy her again. She hadn't mentioned his second visit to Charlie and she wanted to keep the River Boys as far from her mind and her life as humanly possible.

"Hey, Romeo," she said with some relief when she turned around. "Uh oh. You don't look very happy."

"Do you have time to talk?" he asked.

He was in his school uniform, which was encouraging. For a boy that was repeating his senior year, his attendance really hadn't been all that great so far.

"Sure," Joey said. "What's up?"


Angelo thundered into his office and slammed the door so loudly that the whole building vibrated. At reception, Charlie and Watson both jumped and exchanged worried glances.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" Charlie suggested.

Watson nodded and on the count of three, they made different shapes with their hand.

"Ha!" Watson said triumphantly. "Scissors cut paper – you've got to go and face him."

Groaning, Charlie hauled herself to her feet and tentatively knocked on the office door.

"Fuck off!" Angelo yelled through the wood.

"Charming," Charlie remarked, opening the door anyway.


Joey chewed her lip and attempted to pick her words carefully.

"Maybe you should just leave this alone, Romeo," she suggested.

They were sat on the step outside the bait shop, indulging in the sunshine.

"But Gina and John should be together," Romeo protested. "They were happy before my Mum showed up. And after everything Gina's been through with Hugo and everything…"

He trailed off and sighed.

"If Gina and John are meant to be, they'll find their way back to each other," Joey said. "Maybe you should just let them be. I mean, Gina doesn't seem so sure about the plan, does she?"

Romeo shook his head. He'd gone to Gina with his plan yesterday but she had been uncertain.

"It's not just for them though," he said. "It's for my Mum too."

"How?" Joey asked.

"Because she's trying to get clean and sort her life out," Romeo explained. "She can't do that while she's in a relationship. It's the men she dates that always turn out to be her downfall. And John's a nice guy when he's with Gina but if he and Mum hook up, they're going to be poison."

Joey sighed and put her arm around him.

"Look, far be it for me to tell you want to do," she said. "But I think you need to think seriously about your next move. You don't want to interfere and have it rebound on you."

Romeo nodded but they both knew he was going to continue to try and break John and Jill up.


"Are you serious?" Charlie asked, shocked.

"No, Charlie, it's a fucking joke," Angelo snapped back, his voice full of venom and bitterness.

When she had finally convinced him to talk to her, he had explained that he was being investigated for his involvement in Hugo and Martha's escape.

"I'm sorry," Charlie said earnestly, although she had her own suspicions about what had happened that night.

She still didn't want him to be punished for it.

"Yeah, me too," Angelo said unhappily.

He leant back in his chair and rubbed his temples but nothing was going to take the stress away.

"What happens now?" Charlie asked, hovering beside him.

"I wait," he said. "They haven't suspended me… yet. But they're pretty convinced that I let them escape on purpose."

He looked up into Charlie's eyes and she was surprised to see that he looked like he had given up already.

"Aren't you going to ask me if I did or not?" he wondered.

"No," Charlie replied. "I don't want to compromise myself. If I don't know the truth then I can defend you and insist you didn't do it."

Angelo nodded, sighing heavily.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

Charlie nodded awkwardly and left him alone.


Xavier was immediately furious. He had overheard Romeo, a boy he considered to be his best friend, plotting to get John and Gina back together.

"What the hell are you doing?" he snapped.

Romeo whirled around from where he had been talking to Ruby about his plans.

"Uh…"

"You're already sick of John Palmer hooking up with your Mum so you're trying to pass him off on my family?" Xavier accused.

"It's really not like that," Romeo tried.

"I don't care," Xavier told him. "What a couple of weeks it's been, hey? I lose my brother, my bitch of a girlfriend…"

Ruby looked immediately crushed.

"And now I've lost my best mate too."

"You haven't lost me…" Romeo insisted.

"Well, you've lost me," Xavier replied, storming away from him.


"You have to help me!" Leah begged, rushing over to serve Charlie and Joey at their table.

"With what?" Joey wondered.

"Please come over for dinner tonight," the Diner owner requested.

Both Charlie and Joey looked amused and confused.

"Because having a nice meal is such a big chore?" Joey asked.

Leah pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Lijuan is insisting we cook a big family meal together, which is bad enough," she explained. "But if I have to spend the whole night at a table with her then I need my best friends and a lot of wine."

"Some of our favourite things!" Charlie grinned. "What time do you want us?"

"Thank you!" Leah squeaked. "Come round at seven?"

"Sure," Joey agreed happily.

They both looked up when Angelo appeared, looking utterly depressed.

"What's with him?" Joey asked.

Charlie quickly explained the situation to her and Leah both.


Feeling down but determined not to get trashed, Jill arrived at the Surf Club. She was pleased when she spotted John there also.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked.

He gestured for her to sit down.


By seven thirty that night, everyone was crowded around the table at Leah's. With Leah and Lijuan acting as hosts, their guests consisted of Song, Elijah, Charlie, Joey, Angelo and Miles. At the Diner, once she had heard about Angelo being in trouble at work, she had taken pity on him and invited him for dinner. He had just looked so sad and empty. Even Joey was starting to feel sorry for him, although and Charlie were still both convinced that he had done exactly what he was being accused of.

"So, what's going on at work, Angelo?" Lijuan asked, getting straight to the point.

The police officer looked startled and shook his head. The investigation was the last thing he wanted to talk about.

"Perhaps now isn't the time to discuss it," Elijah said as diplomatically as possible.

"Nonsense!" Lijuan exclaimed. "This is a family meal and if Angelo has been invited then he must be considered family."

Charlie and Joey both exchanged horrified looks. They felt sorry for Angelo but not that much!

"And families share their pain," Lijuan continued. "So, Angelo… tell us everything."

"This really isn't the time," Leah interjected when Angelo remained silent.

Angelo's heart sank further as Lijuan began to argue and Leah began to snap at her.

"Angelo doesn't look ready to discuss things," Joey tried. "So why don't we just enjoy the delicious meal you two have cooked us?"

Leah readily agreed. Lijuan hesitated.

"Joey's right," Song decided. "Let's all enjoy our food and talk about something else."


Forgetting all about Gina, John took Jill back to his apartment, more than ready for a repeat performance of the night before. If Gina really wanted him then she had to let him know. He couldn't carry on being held at arms length, not when there was a woman who really wanted him.


Charlie offered Angelo a lift home. He'd walked over to the house and had planned on walking back but after seeing how pitiful he had become, she didn't have the heart to send him on his way. Joey couldn't help but notice that he hadn't been rude to her all night and he didn't even complain when she took the front seat.

"Thanks for… everything," Angelo said from the backseat.

"It's no problem," Charlie said, glancing at him in the rear view mirror. "It's only a couple of minutes out of the way."

"No, I mean everything," Angelo said. "Both of you. Thank you for not asking questions about what happened that night and for not condemning me. Thank you for being supportive and kind."

Joey was more than a little surprised.

"That's okay," she said. "We're trying to be friends, right?"

"Right," Angelo nodded. "I'm glad. I think I need all the friends I can get right now. I think I'm about to lose everything."


Next time… Ruby falls out with Nicole, Xavier fights with Romeo and Charlie and Joey prepare to go on holiday…