Chapter Five Hundred and Sixteen

Marilyn awoke with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Today was the last day of her life. It didn't help that she knew it was coming. It didn't help that she had prepared her goodbyes. She wasn't ready. She wanted to stay.

Beside her in bed, Sid had hardly slept for worrying about his girlfriend's mental state. He didn't believe that she was going to die. But he was scared for her feelings and her anxieties and where those would lead.


Charlie, Joey and Ruby very reluctantly left Ross and Morag later that afternoon. They had helped to bring Ross home and settle him in and it had been lovely to get to spend time with him and Morag at home. He seemed a lot happier in his own environment than he had been at the hospital. All of them wanted to stay. But work meant that Charlie and Joey had to get back and Ruby hadn't wanted to stay by herself. She was still a little unsure of his bouts of not recognising her. She needed the protection of her parents, although she wouldn't admit that out loud.

"We'll miss you, Dad," Charlie said, hugging her father goodbye.

He smiled, trying to reach for her name. He hugged her tightly instead.

"Bye, Dad," Ruby said, hugging him.

Joey said goodbye to Ross and Morag, thanking them for having them.

"It's always a pleasure to have you all here," Morag said sincerely.

She and Ross waved them to their car.


Marilyn paced the living room floor. On the strict advice, which had seemed more like an instruction, from Dex and Sid, she had been at home all day so far. Their intentions were good but it was hard. It was hard for all of them. On the one hand, she wanted to listen to them. They wanted her to stay at home where it was safe and hope this day might pass and she would live beyond it. However, inside, she was certain that no matter when she did, today was the end. She wanted to enjoy the place that she had lived and loved. She wanted to be with the people who had made her world special. And she wanted to be free.

"I think I'm going to go out and post the DVDs I made," she finally decided.

"What?" Sid balked. "I thought we were going to stay here?"

"No, I… I can't stay indoors all day," Marilyn said. "I can't spend my last day all cooped up."

"Okay… let's go," he said.

She hesitated, wondering if she needed to be on her own. But then she smiled and agreed. If this was her last day then she wanted to spend as much of it with the man she loved as she could.


Charlie and Joey left Ruby at home in order to pop into the restaurant and make sure that everything was still running smoothly. Joey wasn't concerned, being that she had left Alf in charge. But she did want to make sure.

Walking through the doors, everything seemed to be fine. Alf was behind the bar and Angelo and Claire were waiting tables, just over half of which were full. No disasters seemed to have occurred.

"Oh! You're back!" Alf said happily, noticing them.

Charlie and Joey both grinned and approached him, pulling up stools on the happy side of the bar.

"How's Ross?" Alf asked immediately.

Charlie filled him in on her father's progress.

"I hope he continues to improve," Alf said. "And whenever you need to go up there, you know that between us all, the restaurant is taken care of, okay?"

Joey placed a hand on his, thanking him.

"Charlie! Joey!"

They both turned to see Bianca approaching them, looking harassed.

"I am so glad you're back!"

She pulled up a stool. Alf moved away to give them space to talk.

"We missed you too," Charlie said.

"How's your Dad?"


Ruby was glad to be home. She felt guilty to be glad to be home as she felt she should want to be in the city with her poorly father. But she had been anxious there, worried about when he would forget her and when he might have a burst of anger or distress. She wanted to be a good daughter but there were times when she was scared she didn't know how.

She was just trying to find a TV show to watch when there was a knock on the door. Assuming it would be Nicole or Claire, she got up and opened the door. She was surprised to find Jackson standing there.


Having updated Bianca on Ross's health status, Charlie and Joey wanted to know what was on their friend's mind.

"Well, April had quit being a bridesmaid on me," the bride-to-be revealed. "And she showed up to the bridal shower in a Liam Murphy t-shirt. And Vittorio decided to drop by on the same night."

"And um… why might she have a bee in her bonnet about Liam again all of a sudden, Bianca?" Joey asked curiously.

She already knew the answer. Bianca blushed.

"Well, um…"

Joey raised her eyebrows.

"It was just a kiss, okay?" Bianca finally said desperately. "And I've already told him that it was a mistake."

"And was it?" Charlie asked.

"What?"

"A mistake?"

"Of course…"

"What she means, was it really a mistake or are you just doing what you think you ought to and sticking to this wedding?" Joey said bluntly.

Bianca sighed. She hated it when her friend hit the nail on the head like that.

"I'm doing the right thing," she said firmly. "But anyway, it's just you two as bridesmaids now."

"Do I still have to wear the…?"

"Yes!" Bianca cut in with a laugh.

"Just asking," Joey said with an amused shrug. "And also just reminding you that this is a real mark of friendship. I would not wear a dress for anyone but you."

"What about at our wedding?" Charlie smirked.

"A suit," Joey said. "A really nice suit. Wait! Our wedding?"

Her eyes were rather wide.

"Hey, you don't have to look so alarmed!" Charlie laughed.

"I'm not alarmed," Joey assured her. "Just… there are nicer ways to propose, you know."

She nudged her. Charlie rewarded her with a kiss. Bianca watched them wistfully. She so desperately wanted to feel about Vittorio the way that they felt for each other.


"I haven't seen you around," Jackson said. "Not since the Informal."

"I've been visiting my Dad in the city," Ruby said, not letting him into the house. "He's sick."

"Oh," Jackson said, a little frustrated by the lack of warm welcome. "I didn't even know you had a Dad. I thought your parents were lesbians."

"It's complicated," Ruby said stiffly. "Anyway, what do you want?"

He shrugged.

"Just… to see you," he said. "Our date didn't really work out."

"Well, my friend said that you hooked up with another girl as soon as I left so…"

He blushed, looking guilty.

"So, I don't think we have much more to say to each other, do we?" Ruby continued.

"Fine!" he snapped.

"In fact, delete my number," Ruby added.

"I will," Jackson told her, turning to leave.

"I don't trust you," she accused. "Give me your phone. I'll do it."

He hesitated, glaring at her. Then he pulled his phone out of his pocket, unlocked it and handed it over. She scrolled to her name and deleted it. When she pressed the back button, rather than going to the home page, she landed on Jackson's photo album. And the first shot on display was actually a video. It was of Liam and Bianca kissing on the beach. Her stomach tensed. Without pausing, she quickly sent the video to herself. Then she deleted it from Jackson's phone.


Having left Bianca, Charlie and Joey went for a walk along the beach. A lot had happened over the past few days and they felt like they both needed some space to clear their heads before they would both have to go back to work and get on with their normal lives.

"So, how are you doing?" Joey asked, holding Charlie's hand as they walked along the sand.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm okay," Charlie said. "It's all a lot to get my head around, you know. Dad and everything. But at least Ruby is doing better. That's a relief. I actually think we're all closer than we've ever been."

Joey nodded in agreement.

"And we'll be there for your Dad and Morag," she said positively. "We can fit work and everything in and get up there as much as possible. We can make it work, okay?"

Charlie stopped walking and pulled Joey into her arms. They kissed.


Ruby had also gone out for a walk. Her head was spinning after her encounter with Jackson. Walking along the road, she smiled when she saw Marilyn walking the other way. Her smile faded when she noticed that the older woman didn't look very happy.

"Hi," she greeted. "Are you okay?"

"Oh… um…yes… I'm… I'm fine…" Marilyn said hesitantly. "How are you? I heard your father isn't too well."

"He's getting better," Ruby said, not entirely sure it was true.

Physically, he was recovering. But really, he would never be well again.

"That's… that's good."

"Marilyn, are you sure you're okay?" Ruby asked, concerned.

"I'm just distracted, today," Marilyn said. "I think I'm just going to head down to the beach and meditate. I might do my cards and just… trying to breathe."

Ruby suddenly had an idea.


Charlie had gone to the station. She couldn't help herself. She had to just check in and make sure everything was alright in her absence. She was aware that Robertson had taken a lot of joy in her departure. She wanted him to know that she was back and he couldn't take over just because she had had to leave for a few days.

Joey had therefore headed back up to the restaurant. She too had a compulsion to ensure that everything was running smoothly. The restaurant was her baby and she was very protective of it.


On the beach, Ruby and Marilyn were sat down together. Marilyn was glad to be doing something she felt was productive. She had left Sid chatting in the Diner. She hadn't been able to join in.

"So, what does that mean?" Ruby asked, staring down at the cards.

"Well, from my understanding, I would say that this card shows someone that you have known for some time," the blonde replied. "He's a 'hero' for want of a better word. He's sacrificed something and has recently been abandoned. He's going to be very important to you and your future."

Ruby chewed her lip thoughtfully. Maybe life wasn't going to be so bad after all. Maybe she wasn't going to be alone after all. Not if there was going to be someone out there who needed the love and support that she was so willing to give.


In her office, Joey examined her diary. Then she logged onto the Wicked website. Within a few clicks, she had rebooked tickets to the show. And this time, nothing was going to wreck it. She was going to make it a night to remember. Charlie deserved a special night out more than ever right now.


Ruby had a lot of things swirling in her head when she left Marilyn. She had thanked her profusely and carried on along down the beach, with no particular destination in mind. She couldn't help but wonder who her mystery hero would turn out to be.

She thought about what had happened with Jackson. She felt like a fool for the lengths she had gone to just to go to the Informal for him. She could hardly believe that she had fallen out with her amazing parents for someone like him. He was certainly no hero!

Then she thought about the video she had taken from his phone. She thought about Liam. The source of what had been deemed her 'mental health' problems. She sighed heavily. She turned and headed towards the caravan park.


At Summer Bay House, Romeo was in his room. He hadn't come out for most of the day. He was absolutely gutted that he had messed up his exams. It had been such a stupid decision. He felt like such an idiot now. Why had he thought that was the right thing to do? Why had he believed Indi's obvious exaggeration over her exam failure? He had worked so hard all year to finally complete his school year and now he had ruined everything. Indi was going to move on up to University and leave him behind.


Liam opened the door. His heart lurched as he hoped it might be Bianca, having come to tell him she had changed her mind. It sank when he saw Ruby standing there. Ever since her obsessive crush on him, he had not felt comfortable being alone with her.

"Um… hi," he said.

"Hi," she said.

She obviously felt awkward too.

"I just… I found this video…" she said, getting right to the point. "Of you. And Bianca. From the Informal. I thought… you might want it. Need it. If… if you were going to fight for her… before… before she married that guy."

She held up her phone to him. Confused, he took the phone and watched the ten second clip of him and Bianca kissing on the beach. His heart lurched all over again at the memory of that night. Running his hand through his hair, he handed the phone back hurriedly and asked her to delete it.

"Really?" she said. "But you could…"

"No," he said. "She's marrying Vittorio. She's chosen him. If she doesn't want me, she doesn't want me. I can't manipulate her into it."

"Okay," Ruby said, respecting him for the decision.

She deleted it in front of him, showing it to him to prove it. She knew he didn't really trust her anymore. He forced a smile, nodded and thanked her. Then he closed the door. Ruby sighed heavily and tried not to fit Liam into the description that Marilyn had just given her. A hero. Recently abandoned. Made a sacrifice. But no, she knew that a fixation on Liam did not lead anywhere good. She just couldn't go there… She needed to see Claire.


"You are not on shift!" Watson scolded when Charlie walked through the doors of the police station.

Charlie grinned and approached her colleague.

"I know," she said. "But I'm back now so I just wanted to check in and make sure that everything is running smoothly."

"All fine," Watson said. "I mean, Robertson has been a complete pain in the arse but…"

"Well, everything is normal then," Charlie remarked.

Watson snorted.

"How's your Dad?" she asked.

"Well… you know…" Charlie said sadly.

Watson nodded and patted her hand kindly. Charlie smiled gratefully. Her friend always seemed to understand her.

"Oh, Sergeant Buckton!"

Robertson's voice went through her.

"Detective Robertson," Charlie replied, standing up straight. "Always a pleasure."

"I didn't think we'd see you for a few more days," Robertson said.

"I'm just popping in to say hi," Charlie said. "But I'm heading off again now."

"See you first thing tomorrow?"

"Of course. Bright and early."


On her way to the restaurant to see Claire, Ruby spotted Bianca. She told herself to ignore her. She told herself to walk on by. But she just couldn't help it. She marched on up to her.

"Bianca!" she yelled.

The teacher turned abruptly, surprised by the level of anger in the voice calling her. She sighed when she saw Ruby marching up to her.

"What is it, Ruby?"

She had genuinely thought that in recent weeks, the pair of them had turned a corner.

"What are you playing at with Liam?"

Liam, she thought. Of course.

"You just don't deserve him!" Ruby yelled.

"There's nothing going on between Liam and I," Bianca said calmly.

"Well, I just watched a video of the pair of you that tells me different," Ruby snapped.

Bianca coloured.

"What… what video?"

"Don't worry, it's been deleted," Ruby said coldly. "And it was Liam that deleted it. He adores you. You have no idea what you're throwing away with him."

"Look, I know how you feel about him but…"

"I don't like Liam anymore!" Ruby snapped.

She wasn't entirely sure if it was true or not. An hour or so ago, it was definitely true. But Marilyn's prediction had confused her.

"Well, whatever you feel, Liam and I are definitely over," Bianca told her.

"Then you're an idiot," Ruby said. "He adores you. He loves you much more than that other guy ever could. I don't understand why you're throwing your life away for some guy who cheated on you at your own engagement party."

She stalked away, desperate to get to Claire.


Charlie was in the car, heading towards the restaurant from the police station. The car in front of her was frustrating her. She suspected that they were paying less attention to the road and more attention to a phone or some other such device. Then everything happened very quickly. It happened before she'd even registered it. The car in front screeched to a halt. A blonde woman jumped back onto the pavement and then stumbled and fell over. Thankfully, Charlie reacted in time and had been driving at a safe distance, already wary of the driver in front of her.

She slammed on the brakes, cut the engine and jumped out of the car. The driver in front didn't move. Charlie ignored him and rushed to the side of the road. Marilyn was sat on the ground, breathing heavily from shock.

"Marilyn?" she said. "Marilyn, are you okay?"

"I'm… he didn't hit me…"

"No, you jumped out of the way just in time," Charlie said, one hand on her shoulder and the other, holding her hand. "You were really lucky."

But Marilyn seemed to be in some faraway place.

"Are you hurt?" Charlie asked.

Marilyn shook her head.

"I don't think so," she said. "Just shaken."

"Wait here," Charlie instructed.

She approached the driver, still in his seat. She opened the door. He looked deeply shocked.

"Are you okay?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah… just… shaken," he said.

She frowned, studying his face. She recognised him. Tall, dark hair, tattooed. He was a River Boy, one of the thug gang members that resided in Mangrove River and regularly kept the police force busy.

"Have you been drinking?" she asked. "Or taken something?"

He looked at her.

"You're a cop," he realised, his tone accusing.

"And I was driving behind you and you weren't concentrating," she said. "Why didn't you see that woman step out?"

"She came out of nowhere," he insisted.

"She was at a crossing," Charlie said, nodding towards the crossing.

He frowned.

"So, you going to book me?"

Marilyn approached them.

"I'm not hurt," she insisted. "Please don't worry."

Charlie frowned. She really didn't want to let a River Boy go. She wished she could recall exactly which one of them he was. It was on the tip of her tongue.

"Great!" he said brightly.

He sneered at Charlie.

"Heath Braxton!" Charlie blurted out.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

She was embarrassed but tried not to show it.

"Just… be more careful in future," she said. "This could have been a hell of a lot worse."

She slammed the car door and led Marilyn to her own car, insisting that she give her a lift to wherever she wanted to go. She wanted to keep her safe. Ahead of her, Heath drove off at speed.


Ruby was sat at the bar in the restaurant chatting to Claire.

"I mean, what do you think?" she asked hesitantly.

She had told her friend about Marilyn's prediction and her encounter with Liam. Claire reached across the bar and held her hands, looking into her eyes.

"I think you need to get Liam straight out of your head as quickly as he got there," she said sincerely. "And you know why."

Ruby nodded sadly.

"Ruby, I am genuinely worried about you," Claire said. "And I'm not saying this to be unkind. I am saying this because you're the best friend I've ever had in my whole life. But I am really worried. Between Alex and Jackson and now if you think your feelings for Liam may resurface… do you think you might need to start seeing a counsellor again?"

Ruby swallowed anxiously.

"I'm not saying go back to the clinic by any means but you do think once a week, just to get yourself refocussed? There's no shame in that, Ruby," Claire said.

Ruby gazed at her.

"Yeah, okay," she said.

"And please… no more tarot readings, okay?"

They hugged across the bar.

"I'll speak to my parents about finding a counsellor," Ruby promised. "Just to refocus. Stop any issues before they start again."

"Good," Claire said. "I'm proud of you."


Charlie had pulled over and cut the engine. She was worried about Marilyn. They had only driven a couple of minutes down the road when her friend had burst into tears. She had blurted out that today was the day that her prediction was due to come to pass. She had thought that when the car had nearly hit her, that was going to be it. And now, it felt like every moment was borrowed time. She felt scared and anxious and worried all the time and she just didn't know what to do.

"Well, I think I need to get you in the safe arms of your lovely boyfriend, don't you?" Charlie suggested, having given her a long hug.

"That would be nice," Marilyn sniffed. "We were in the Diner. I wandered off. He's been calling me."

"I imagine he's probably worried then," Charlie said, pulling out her phone to call Sid.

She located him at the restaurant and briefly explained what had happened. She assured him that she would bring Marilyn to him.

"Ready?" she asked.

Marilyn nodded. Charlie started the car.


Joey was sat with Ruby in the office. Ruby had rather bravely approached her step-mother and told her that she was concerned about her mental health. She said that she had discussed things with Claire and she had suggested a counsellor just to talk things through with. Unbeknownst to Ruby, Joey and Charlie already had a list of counsellors ready to call in case Ruby ran into trouble again.

"So, that's an appointment all booked for next week," Joey told her, hanging up the phone.

"Thank you," Joey said, hugging her.


Charlie settled Marilyn down at a table with Sid. He'd been frantically searching for her when she hadn't returned to the Diner or picked up any of his calls.

"Well, maybe that's it now?" he suggested hopefully when Marilyn told her what happened. "It was a near miss and now it's all over."

"I don't think it's that simple," Marilyn said uncertainly.

"I'm sure it is," Sid said. "We're already here. Why don't we have a nice meal to celebrate your survival?"

Marilyn stopped, her eyes boring into his.

"You still don't believe in this prediction, do you?" she accused.

She wasn't even angry, he realised. She was just hurt. Why couldn't I have just stayed quiet? Why couldn't I have just been surprised and thrilled when we got to tomorrow and she was still alive?

"Marilyn," he tried. "I didn't mean…"

"I know exactly what you mean," she said, standing up.

Charlie paused on her way to the office to see Joey and Ruby. She watched Marilyn storm right back out of the restaurant she had only just brought her to. She looked across at Sid who looked helpless.


Marilyn hurried down the stairs and through the Surf Club. She burst outside and into the blinding sunshine. She felt like she couldn't breathe. She felt hurt and let down by Sid. Why wouldn't he just trust her? Why couldn't he just have faith in her? She charged down to the wharf and looked out to sea, trying to gather herself. She couldn't believe that she would spend her last day on earth upset and distressed and not at peace with the man she loved.

Across from her, a young woman stood with her baby in a pram. Marilyn's heart lurched at the memory of her own baby, the baby she had loved and lost. At least she would be with him soon. She didn't want to die but the reunion she knew she would have with the child she had lost was a small comfort at least.

The woman wasn't paying attention to the child asleep in his pushchair. She was chatting rather loudly on the phone. Marilyn sighed and looked away. She gazed out at the sea, wondering what would happen through the rest of the day.

"Help!"

The piercing scream shot through Marilyn like a blade.

"Help! My baby!"

In the time it had taken Marilyn to look away, somehow the pushchair had rolled off the edge of the wharf and into the water. The young woman had dropped her phone in panic and was now screaming at the top of her lungs.

Without thinking, Marilyn jumped straight into the sea, desperate to save the baby's life. She plunged below the surface of the water. It was cold and dark. Her breath caught in the throat. She couldn't see. She came back to the surface. Her heart pounded. The woman was still screaming. She ducked back down again, desperately searching for the baby. But it was so cold and dark. She was scared and she didn't know what she was doing. She was no hero. She couldn't do this. She surfaced again and took several breaths. Still, the woman was screaming. Shaking her head and taking one more breath, Marilyn swam back down. Her eyes adjusted to the gloom and her heart lurched as she located the pushchair. She reached out and with a lot of difficulty, released the baby from it. She kicked hard to the surface.

The woman finally stopped screaming when she saw Marilyn with her little boy. She grabbed him desperately, not even pausing to say thank you. She didn't even pause to help Marilyn out of the water. She just grabbed her child and ran to the nearest help point.

Marilyn attempted to haul herself up onto the wharf but it was exhausting. She slipped. Her head hit the edge of the decking. She landed back in the water in a heavy rush. Everything went black.


Next time… the aftermath of Marilyn's accident…