Hi, everyone! I hope you enjoy the chapter today. Just to say that I won't be updating again until Thursday. Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Four Hundred and Thirty Eight

Enraged and panicked, all at the same time, Alf immediately set to tearing all the pictures down. He was breathless by the time he had finished. He felt like his whole world was crumbling down around him. The one skeleton he had in his closet was bursting to get out.

Downstairs, the residents of the house were worried about Alf. Irene had phoned Miles, fretful that she had made things worse and Nicole and Romeo had both escaped to do homework, leaving Marilyn and Mitzy to discuss the situation and the journey that Alf was on right now.


Charlie and Joey arrived home and walked up the stairs to their apartment together, arriving on their floor at the same time as Watson and Kerri came out of the lift. They had been in deep discussion about Alf the whole way home, both desperately worried about their friend and wondering what, if anything, they could do to help him.

"Oh, hey guys," Charlie greeted. "How are you?"

"Yeah, we're good thanks," Kerri said. "You?"

"Yeah, good," Joey said. "Although it's been a very long day!"

She leant against Charlie, suddenly aware of how tired she was.

"What have you been up to?" Kerri asked. "Working?"

"Yeah," Joey said. "And fretting about friends. Lots of fretting."

"Ah, you could be in the same club," Watson said. "Kerri's been fretting too."

"I have not!" Kerri said.

Charlie chuckled, wondering what she had been fretting about.

"I'm thinking of renting my spare room out," Kerri explained. "But I'm carefully weighing up my options. Not fretting."

Watson smirked. Charlie and Joey exchanged glances.

"What kind of person are you thinking of?" Joey asked.


Summer Bay House was busy the next morning, with everyone getting ready for work and school.

"Morning, Alf," Marilyn greeted with her usual, sunny disposition. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Alf said gruffly.

"Aren't you stopping for breakfast?" she asked.

"No," he said. "Now will you all stop hassling me about everything and leave me alone?"

He strode out of the house. Marilyn was wounded.


Charlie and Joey had good news for Ruby when she called that morning and they were pleased to hear her so over the moon. Kerri had very much liked the sound of Claire when they had described her the night before and she had been eager to meet her when she came out of the clinic to see whether they got along. And if they did and she wanted the room, she would be more than welcome to move in. That way, she and Ruby could also stay close to each other and Charlie and Joey could keep an eye on her, as Ruby had requested.


Xavier was stressed. He launched into angry panic mode as soon as he and April started walking to school together that morning.

"I'm serious!" he snapped, when she dismissed him. "John's going full steam ahead with this, April! He's contacted his accountant. He thinks this is a sure thing. And he thinks it because you told him it's worked in other places. It's not fair. You can't let him walk into this under false pretences."

"But it'll work, Xavier!" April insisted.

"Why? Because you said so?" Xavier sneered. "That's not good enough."

"Xavier…"

"No!" he yelled. "I'm not going to be part of this, April. Either you tell John the truth or I will. Before it's too late."


Charlie and Joey stopped off at the Diner before they were due to go to their respective work places that day. It was nice to indulge in breakfast and coffee they didn't have to make themselves.

"Oh, you ladies are very much the people I wanted to see," Bianca announced, approaching their table the moment she entered the venue.

Charlie and Joey beamed at her.

"Would you care to join us?" Charlie asked.

"I'd love to but I have to go straight into work," the blonde said. "However, I am so desperate for a girls' night out. What do you think? Weekend? Us three? Leah? Kerri and Watson? Anyone else you can think of?"

"Sounds good," both women agreed.

"Great!" Bianca said enthusiastically.

She hugged them both and dashed off, narrowly avoiding bumping into Marilyn and Mitzy on their way in.

"Someone's excited about something," Marilyn remarked to Charlie and Joey.

"She's possibly overcompensating," Joey admitted.

"Healing heartbreak?" Marilyn asked.

Charlie and Joey nodded.

"We're going on a girls' night soon if you fancy it?" Charlie invited.

"Oh, that sounds nice," Mitzy eagerly agreed.

Joey silently objected. She was not keen on Mitzy after the whole Dex incident. But she liked Marilyn so she supposed she had to accept her friend too.


At school, Liam spotted Bianca walking through the doors. He immediately turned in the opposite direction in order to avoid her. He had made a decision that until she had decided who she wanted to be with, he wasn't going to go anywhere near her.


In the same corridor, students were gathering, ready for their first classes of the day. Dex was hanging around with Indi, Romeo and Nicole.

"I'm sure Alf will be okay," Indi said, trying to sound reassuring. "I mean, he's Alf, right?"

"Yeah," Romeo sighed.

"I'm going to go and see Joey at lunch time," Nicole decided. "I know she didn't get any further with him yesterday than anyone else did but she just makes me feel better about everything."

Dex allowed himself a small, dreamy smile but then brushed it away. He was smitten but there was no way he was going to let himself go down the same path he did with Marilyn. Joey was a lesbian and she was taken. And she was Ruby's step-mother. He would admire her from afar and he was pretty sure she wouldn't object to that. But his crush must never go any further than that.

"What's that look for?" Indi asked her brother.

"What look?" Dex asked, shaking himself out of his thoughts.

"You were away with the fairies," Indi accused mildly.

"I was just concerned about Alf," he lied. "Wondering if there's anything we can do to help."

"That's sweet," Nicole said, taken in.

Indi remained suspicious.

"Anyway, it's usually you that's away with the fairies," Dex fired back. "Now that you're all in lurve."

Romeo looked shocked. Indi looked mortified.


Charlie stopped off to buy flowers for Joey and took them to her on her lunch break in a bid to make her smile. It worked.

"You really are the loveliest woman in the world," Joey said happily. "I have no idea what I ever did to deserve you and I am not dumb enough to question it but I am never ever going to let you go."

"I'm glad to hear it," Charlie said, as they settled at a table for Joey's break. "Because if you ever tried to let me go, you know I'd just hang on and refuse to leave."

Joey grinned and kissed her.


Still upset with April, Xavier caught up with John at lunch time.

"John, I need to talk to you about this transport project," he ventured.

"No time, Xave," John said. "We're ploughing ahead already. I've spoken to my accountant and arranged planning meetings and everything. We're good to go."

"But John…" Xavier tried.

"Got to go," John said.

He rushed out. Xavier felt trapped in yet another mess.


Thanks to her nightmare brother, Indi felt extremely anxious and she didn't know what to do or say. She and Romeo had finally got into such a good place but now things were awkward between them. The L word had been mentioned and now neither of them knew what to do say.

Sitting on the beach, they were both waiting for the other to speak.

"About what Dex said earlier…" Romeo eventually said. "Was he right? Do you?"

"No, I…"

Indi looked helpless at him.

"Okay, yes," she admitted. "I do. A little bit. I might love you a little bit."

He stared at her, panicked.


Nicole approached Charlie and Joey at their table in the restaurant.

"Sorry to interrupt your lunch," the teenager said hesitantly.

"Don't be silly," Joey said. "Pull up a chair."

Nicole paused, not wanting to bother them too much. But then did as she was told.

"What's up, Nic?" Charlie asked. "Are you okay?"

"I've just been worried about Alf, like everyone else has," Nicole said glumly.

"We're working on it," Joey said. "Sort of. We're… working on working on it?"

Nicole managed a laugh. They were interrupted by Paulie entering the restaurant rather loudly, immediately irritating his brother and then approaching them.

"Hello, ladies," he said.

"Hi," Charlie said stiffly.

For all his charm offensive, after all the trouble with Angelo and the money, she and Joey had rather gone off him. However, they had made a vow to play nicely as best they could.

"How would you two like to come out for a day at the races with us?" Paulie asked.

He turned to Nicole and offered his most dazzling smile.

"And you if you can make it?"

Angelo hurried over.

"Really, none of you need to feel obliged," he said, glaring at Paulie.

"No, that sounds fun," Charlie said, after silent consultation with Joey, who nodded.

"Me too," Nicole said. "As long as you don't mind me crashing the party. I love a chance to dress up."

She grinned.

"Cool," Paulie said. "Then it's all set. Saturday. The five of us. A day at the races."

Everyone looked happy apart from Angelo. The last thing he wanted was for his friends to get dragged into yet another of Paulie's schemes.


Next time… Charlie, Joey, Nicole, Angelo and Paulie have an interesting day at the races…