Chapter Three Hundred and Eighty Nine

Breakfast at Gina's house was rather hectic. She wasn't entirely sure how she had gone from living not quite peacefully with her partner and her son, to having two bickering young women in the spare room. April was nice, although Gina was sceptical about allowing Xavier to essentially live with his girlfriend. She knew he wasn't a virgin and she knew that he was growing up but it was all happening faster than she wanted and having April around was a concern. But at least she was better tempered than her sister, and Gina's employee, who took far too long in the shower, left a mess everywhere and generally spent a lot of time snapping at everyone else.


At their apartment, breakfast for Charlie, Joey and Ruby wasn't any easier. The teenager was unhappy and bordering on rude as she refused to tell her parents what was upsetting her. They'd tried to convince her that a problem shared was a problem halved but she didn't buy it and escaped the flat as soon as she could.

"It'll be okay," Joey assured her girlfriend who looked upset at her daughter's departure.

"Every time I think I'm getting somewhere with her, something happens to convince me otherwise," Charlie said unhappily. "We take two steps forward and three steps back."

She sighed heavily, prompting Joey to hold her.

"It's not about you," she said gently. "It's just Ruby being a teenager. Can you remember how angst ridden it is to be a hormonal teenage girl?"

Charlie chuckled and nodded.

"It's a nightmare," she agreed.

"A total nightmare," Joey said light heartedly. "But she'll come back soon enough and tell you all about it. She always does."


"Have you told Gina yet?" Bianca asked Liam, getting right to the point.

The two of them had arranged to meet up on the beach as they continued to try and figure out if they were having a relationship or not.

"No," Liam admitted.

He cut her off when she looked set to yell at him.

"If I charge on in, it will destroy Ruby," he said. "I have to be careful about this."

"And all the while you're trying to protect her, you're risking yourself," Bianca pointed out. "This life that you've built up, all the hard work you've put in to rebuild yourself after everything you went through… You're putting it all at risk for some kid."

Liam sighed heavily, wanting to say how important Ruby was to him without making himself out to be doing something he shouldn't. He just couldn't find the words.


Charlie and Joey collected Marilyn and Miles from home and went to the farmhouse to see Sid. Concerned about Penn and how his strange behaviour could affect Nicole.

"He just seems to be trying to wind everybody up," the Doctor mused. "I just can't figure out why."

"So, he told you that Nicole has feelings for you?" Charlie asked, trying not to go too much into cop mode.

"Right," Sid agreed.

"But she doesn't," Marilyn added.

"And he's apparently told her that you have feelings for her," Charlie clarified.

"Which I don't," Sid replied quickly. "I never have."

He looked at Marilyn, the only person he was truly falling for.

"Then why is he going around making all this stuff up?" Joey wondered.

Nobody had any ideas.

"Whatever the case, we need to tell Nicole what's going on," Miles said. "After everything she's been through, the last thing she needs is to be hurt again."

Everybody agreed with that one.


That night, Ruby accepted the bottle of vodka she had convinced an older kid from school to buy from the Surf Club. Thanking him, she trudged down the beach in the dark. She had been listless all day, unable to focus on anything and anyone but Liam. She had spotted him and Bianca holding hands and heading into the Diner, probably for a romantic meal and it made her feel sick. She needed to escape.


"I really think you should go and talk to them," Bianca said.

She and Liam had long since finished their meals but stayed to keep chatting and enjoy their evening. Across the room, Charlie and Joey were doing the same, deep in conversation about something.

"It doesn't need to come to that," Liam said.

Bianca had been nagging him for most of the evening to tell Charlie and Joey what was going on with their daughter.

"Of course it does, Liam!" Bianca exclaimed.

Liam shook his head, adamant that everything would blow over without anyone else needing to find out what had happened.


At home, Marilyn and Miles had sat Nicole down but so far, the conversation wasn't going well.

"I don't understand why you're trying to turn me against him," she said. "He's a nice guy."

"He's a liar," Miles said a little too emphatically.

"Look, it's probably just a misunderstanding," Nicole insisted. "I really like him. I didn't think I'd feel like this about someone again but I do and I'm happy about it. So why don't you just leave me to it?"


Having shared nothing more than a brief kiss goodnight, Liam and Bianca had gone their separate ways. At home, Liam was fretful. He attempted to play music but now that Ruby was such an important part of that, it didn't seem to be the correct way to forget about her. Standing up, he paced his lavish home, wondering what to do for the best.


"Hey, Nic," Charlie said when the blonde came thundering past.

She and Joey were just about to walk home but their friend's face worried them.

"Hey," the blonde said unhappily.

Charlie and Joey exchanged glances.

"Marilyn and Miles just sat me down and said Penn was evil," Nicole said

"Well, that's not what…" Joey attempted.

Nicole glared at both of them.

"You're both in on it too, aren't you?"

Joey apologised for putting her foot in it.

"What is it with you all?" Nicole demanded. "Why are you trying to wreck my life?"

"We're not trying to do anything like that," Charlie assured her. "We're just worried about you."

"I'm fine!" Nicole insisted.

"He's been trying to turn people against each other," Charlie said gently but firmly. "Aren't you concerned about that?"

"How do you even know he's doing that?"

"Because everyone has been honest about what's been said – apart from him," Charlie told her.

Nicole sighed heavily. She didn't want to be suspicious of her boyfriend but she knew she could trust Charlie, Joey, Miles and Marilyn with absolutely anything.


Liam's heart lurched as he opened the door to Ruby, very drunk and uncoordinated.

"Ruby, what are you doing here?" he asked, not entirely sure what to do.

"I came to see you!" the teenager slurred. "Is Horrible Bianca here?"

"No," he said. "And you shouldn't be here either. Go home."

"I can't go home!" Ruby insisted. "I can't do anything! All I want is you!"

She stumbled forward and tried to kiss him again. Jumping out of the way, Liam cringed as she promptly fell flat on her face.


Charlie and Joey were a little puzzled to find all the lights off at home.

"I guess she went to bed," Joey mused, looking at Ruby's closed bedroom door.

Charlie opened it just a little and peered inside. It was dark but the moonlight showed a lump under the covers that she presumed was her daughter.

"She's asleep," she said, closing the door and turning back to Joey.

"Hopefully she'll wake up in a better mood," Joey replied hopefully.

Charlie smiled and drew her girlfriend into her arms, kissing her tenderly. After their day of teenage angst, they were both grateful they didn't have to deal with things like that themselves anymore. Forgetting to double lock the front door, they headed into their bedroom.


"What are we going to do if we can't get in?" Liam hissed.

He had phoned Nicole in panic and she had rushed over to help him clean up Ruby's bloody nose. She was likely to have a very big bruise on her face in the morning.

"Let's deal with each disaster as it happens," Nicole suggested as they held Ruby between them and convinced her to come up the stairs.

"I feel sick," Ruby complained.

"Well let's get you to the bathroom before you act on your feelings!" Nicole told her.

She just hoped Charlie and Joey would never know anything about their daughter's latest escapade.


Next time… the trial opening night at the restaurant arrives, Liam performs without Ruby and Angelo asks Joey for a job…