Chapter Five Hundred and Fifty One

Leah, Bianca and Liam remained behind at the restaurant. Nobody quite knew where to even begin. The whole place was destroyed.

"Charlie and Joey are going to be devastated when they see this," Bianca said.

"I don't even know how this happened," Leah sighed. "One minute it was just a party and then everything went to hell."

"It was those bastards turning up," he said.

He had a bloody nose and black eye, having received a couple of punches. He also had a bruised ego from the way they had hassled him when he was playing his music. It hadn't been the best introductory gig. And it was a shame, as it had been going well prior to that.

"That Heath guy was not nice," Leah said.

"He just wouldn't take no for an answer," Bianca commented.

Liam stiffened, demanding to know what they meant.

"He was hassling Leah," Bianca explained. "Hitting on her."

"That's kind of how it started," Leah said. "Angelo stepped in and it got rough. I feel bad."

"It's not your fault," Bianca assured her. "None of this should have happened because of that."

She gestured to the mess around them. She sighed heavily.

"Shall we try and do some sort of clean up before we lock up?" she asked.

"We should try and do something," Leah said. "The girls have got a hell of a lot of work ahead of them to fix this place. And it's their dream, their baby. If anything like this happened to the Diner… I mean, similar things have happened to the Diner over the years and it's broken my heart. But most of those things were accidents. This was deliberate vandalism. It's just awful."


Charlie sat beside Joey in the hospital, waiting for a nurse to arrive to complete her treatment. She had been given painkillers and an x-ray had confirmed she had a broken left wrist. Now she needed a cast and a sling as well as some stitches for a separate injury on her hand.

"Joey, I'm so sorry I didn't realise you were hurt," Charlie said, holding her other hand.

The guilt was hurting her hurt.

"It's not your fault," Joey told her. "It was chaos in there."

"I just feel so bad," Charlie said. "I was just trying to get them all out of there and into the police vans."

"I get it," Joey said. "Please stop feeling guilty."

Charlie sighed and squeezed Joey's good hand. She asked her how she was feeling.

"Just… hurts," Joey said.

"Do you know who hit you?"

"Heath Braxton," Joey replied easily.

Charlie nodded. She would happily report that when she had time. She knew they already had him in custody.

"Do you know if Miles is okay?" Joey asked.

"I don't know," Charlie said. "I'll go and find out in a bit. I don't want to leave you."

"I really am okay, Charlie," Joey assured her.

"You don't seem okay," her girlfriend dared.

Joey looked at her. Charlie frowned.

"It's just a broken wrist," Joey said.

"It feels like more than that," Charlie said honestly. "It feels like something's broken here…"

She touched Joey's chest, over her heart. Joey pulled away and told her not to be silly. Charlie was hurt. She pulled away and sat quietly instead. She couldn't work out what was wrong. Was Joey angry with her? Had she done something wrong? Or had something else happened that she didn't know about? She stood up awkwardly.

"Well, I'll go and find out about Miles then," she said quietly, shuffling out of the room.

Joey watched her go and sank back against the bed, closing her eyes. She was desperate to shake herself out of her mood. She didn't know why she was taking it out on Charlie. None of it was her fault. But she couldn't seem to help it. All she could think about was her trashed restaurant. They may as well have burned it to the ground, the state they had left it in. And then she pictured Heath's mocking face. Heath Braxton. She had always hated Heath Braxton.


Charlie wandered down the corridor and quickly bumped into Romeo who had a big cut on his face. He was holding three cups of coffee. He smiled when he saw her.

"Hey," she said. "I was looking for Miles."

"He's in there," Romeo said, nodding towards the door beside him. "Indi's with him. He's a bit groggy but he's okay. Not exactly the welcome home he was hoping for!"

"Does he know who hit him?" Charlie asked.

"He hasn't said," Romeo told her.

"Are you okay?" she asked, nodding towards his face.

"Yeah, just a scratch," he said. "Nothing bad. How's Joey? Indi said she broke her arm or something."

"She's okay," Charlie said. "I think."

"You think?" Romeo asked worriedly.

He had always thought a lot of Joey.

"She's not exactly herself," Charlie said. "But I think it's just because she's in pain and she's worried about the restaurant."

"Yeah," Romeo sighed. "It's pretty bashed up."

"Yeah," Charlie sighed. "Well, please give Miles my love. Keep me posted about how he is. We're just through there."

She pointed.

"I'll come through and see Jo in a bit," Romeo promised.

Charlie thanked him gratefully, hoping that perhaps another visitor would cheer Joey up.


Angelo was frustrated at having been arrested along with a load of River Boys. He was not a thug and he didn't deserve to be held in custody overnight. He hadn't done anything wrong. But nobody, not even any of his ex-colleagues were listening to him. The more time he spent in a cell, the angrier he was becoming. The only thing he was grateful for was that he was being kept separately to the animals from Mangrove River.


"Are you going to get everyone to sign your cast?" Ruby asked over breakfast the next morning.

Joey was struggling with the use of only one arm and also with a lot of pain. It had been a difficult night, only arriving home in the early hours of the morning.

"Probably a bit soon, Ruby," Charlie said.

She was feeling more than a little tense. Joey had barely spoken since the hospital. It was a new and difficult situation for the pair of them. Usually, no matter what they were going through, they could always rely on each other. Usually, regardless of the world around them, things were always free and easy between them. They knew each other inside out. But right now, there was a distance between them and Charlie didn't know why or how to bridge the gap.

"Are you in a lot of pain?" Nicole asked.

She had stayed the night with her friend. They'd spent the night eating pizza and watching rom-coms. Their night had been exceptionally better than Charlie and Joey's.

"Yeah," Joey said. "It hurts."

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Charlie asked kindly.

"I'm fine," Joey said.

Charlie nodded and remained in her seat. She was desperate to help her. She was desperate to solve the problem. She just couldn't work out what the problem actually was.


As soon as Angelo was released without charge, he headed over to the restaurant. He unlocked and could only stare at the mess that greeted him. Someone had obviously attempted to clean up a little but there was still so much to do. Fixing everything would take weeks, possibly months. And it would cost money or take an insurance claim. Even a couple of windows had been smashed. He picked up a chair, only for it to break in half.

He turned when Claire, Romeo, Hannah, Ruby, Nicole, Liam, Leah and Bianca all arrived, ready to help try and fix the restaurant up as best they could.


"Do you want to go to the restaurant today?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know if I can," Joey admitted. "The whole place is wrecked. What's the point?"

Charlie came to sit beside her girlfriend. She took hold of her good hand.

"I know this is really hard, Jo but we can get through this," she said. "We have insurance. We can fix the broken bits and rebuild them. We worked so hard on opening Bucktons'. We can do it again."

Joey sighed heavily.

"I just don't know if I can," she said.

Charlie leant closer.

"Of course you can," she said. "There's nothing we can't do together."

She reached out and stroked Joey's face.

"Joey, I don't understand what's happened."

"My restaurant got trashed and my wrist got broken!" Joey snapped. "Isn't that enough?"

"Of course it is," Charlie said. "But… those things aren't my fault, Jo. Why… why are you taking them out on me?"

Joey looked into Charlie's face. She looked so sad. Joey immediately felt guilty. She burst into tears. Charlie gathered her into her arms.

"I don't understand," Charlie admitted.

"I was just really scared," Joey confessed. "And I didn't like being scared like that again."

Charlie closed her eyes and hugged her tighter.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry I didn't put you first and protect you. I promised I'd always protect you."

Joey drew away. They rested their foreheads together.

"It's not your fault," Joey said. "None of this is your fault. I'm sorry for being so snappy."

They kissed.

"I will go to the restaurant," Joey said. "But not yet. I just want to sulk today. Is that okay?"

Charlie kissed her again, confirming that that was indeed okay.


While Darryl Braxton had got himself out of the cells fairly easily, Heath remained in custody. He had been named by two people for attacking them and putting them in hospital with minor but significant injuries. Once again, he would have to work hard to get him out of trouble. But that was nothing new. For now, he was interested in the bar they had visited the night before.

Walking through the door in the harsh light of day, even he was shocked at the mess he and his boys had caused. Sergeant Buckton would have to spend a pretty penny fixing this lot up. He walked up to the bar and leant on it. Even the bar had a huge crack across it. He cleared his throat to get the attention of the guy sorting through bottles behind it.

"We're closed," Angelo said, fixing his eyes on Brax. "And to you, we're always closed."

"That's a shame," Brax said. "I was hoping to put a bit of business your way."

"We'd never do business with a River Boy."

"It's all above board," Brax assured him. "I just thought that while you're in the shit trying to rescue this mess, you might want to save some money on where you get your booze."

"Well, it's not my decision but I'm pretty sure the owners wouldn't want anything to do with someone like you," Angelo told him. "Especially as you're the reason why they're in this mess in the first place."

"Hey, I got released the same as you did," Brax pointed out.

"What about your shitty little mates?" Angelo snarled.

"I can't control what they do."

"Yes, you can."

Brax chuckled.

"So, you're the monkey," he said. "Sergeant Buckton is the organ grinder. Is she here?"

"No," Angelo said. "She's at home looking after her partner who has a broken wrist thanks to your brother."

"Right, so I need to speak to one of them about this deal," Brax concluded. "And I wasted my breath even speaking to you. Thanks."

Angelo just glared at him.

"Your life must really suck," Brax remarked. "I mean, you were a pointless cop and now you're a pointless barman. You can't make any decisions; you can't do anything. You're just… nothing."

He shrugged and walked out.


Leah and the others had done as much as they could at the restaurant. The rest of it required Charlie and Joey's input and Ruby had told them that for today, the couple were staying away. VJ was at Danny's, which Leah had been hesitant about at first – Kerri had almost been crushed last night, blocked from the exit while Watson had struggled to calm the chaos down. But she had assured Leah that she was absolutely fine and Danny was desperate to spend the afternoon with his best friend.

Taking the opportunity of being child free, Leah headed over to Summer Bay House to visit Miles, both to welcome him home and see how he was feeling after being knocked out the night before. Selfishly, she was also keen to find out how Elijah was doing. She had kept in touch with her friend while he had been away but he had been a little sketchy on the details. She hoped that face to face, she could get to the bottom of exactly how her ex-boyfriend really was.


"It's a lovely day outside," Charlie ventured. "Why don't we go for a walk or a drive or something? What do you think?"

"I'm a bit tired," Joey said. "But thanks."

She didn't want to go out. All she wanted to do was stay indoors.

"Well um… I'm sure there's plenty we could get up to indoors…" Charlie said.

She leant in and kissed her.

"I've got a broken wrist," Joey said.

"It's not like you're left handed…" Charlie grinned.

She was disappointed when Joey didn't laugh. It felt strange to not be in the same place. They were always so in sync. She sighed and drew away. On the other end of the couch, Joey could have kicked herself. She wanted to shake herself out of the mood she was in but she just couldn't. She took a deep breath and counted to three. Then she shuffled up to Charlie, rested against her.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm the worst patient in the whole wide world."

"You really are the grumpiest girl I've ever met in my life," Charlie complained.

"I am ending my strop right now, I promise," Joey said. "And I'm up for doing anything you want. Do you want to go for a walk?"

"Well, I was kind of thinking about the other thing…"

"A drive?" Joey grinned.

Charlie leant in and kissed her.

"You don't even have to use either of your arms," she whispered. "You can just lie back and enjoy yourself."

"Well, that will definitely put me in a good mood," Joey replied. "Why didn't you suggest it before?"

Charlie stood up and took Joey by her good arm, leading her to the bedroom.


Romeo was in a bad mood. He couldn't believe the damage to Bucktons'. Then he'd gone to visit Indi and she hadn't had any time for him. She had been great the night before but today, he had interrupted a study session and she hadn't been prepared to talk to him for even five minutes. It was like their entire conversation from the previous week had meant nothing. He also had no idea what studying she needed to do in the first week of term!

Now, he was clearing his head in the only way he knew how: surfing. It was the only thing that truly made him feel better.


Joey and Charlie lay in bed together, clothes discarded on the floor.

"This was a nice afternoon," Joey decided.

"Are you feeling happier?" Charlie asked, tracing circles upon her skin.

Joey smiled, confirming that she was.

"Good," Charlie said.

She kissed her.

"I only ever want you to be happy," she said.

Joey turned and kissed Charlie passionately.

"I love you so much, Charlie," she said. "I'm sorry for being cranky. I just got so stressed out."

"Because of the restaurant?" Charlie asked.

"I feel like everything we've worked for, everything we've earned has just… crumbled."

Charlie stroked Joey's face.

"It's hasn't, Jo," she assured her. "It's a little battered maybe but it can be rebuilt."

Joey nodded and sighed.

"I'm just being overdramatic," she said, forcing a smile. "Now, do I get any more treats to make me feel better?"

"Oh, I think I can manage that!" Charlie chuckled.


Romeo jogged back out of the surf, bringing his surfboard with him. Up ahead, he was sure he recognised some of the guys from last night. He chose to ignore them and all but one of them walked away. They've obviously already been in the water. The one that was left, Romeo didn't actually recognise. He was younger with brown hair, perhaps school aged and heading for the water. He caught Romeo looking at him and nodded.

"Problem?" Romeo snapped.

"What? No," the boy replied. "You were looking at me. Have you got a problem?"

"Yeah, actually," Romeo said.

The boy stopped and looked back up the beach.

"Your mates have gone," Romeo said. "Probably to smash up someone else's business."

"Look, that wasn't me," the boy said quickly.

"It was your mates though," Romeo accused. "Aren't you all one big gang?"

"It wasn't me," the boy repeated.

"We don't want you here in Summer Bay," Romeo told him firmly.

Deciding he didn't want a fight, the boy turned and walked back up the beach.


That night, Watson returned home from work, exhausted and glad to see her partner and her step-son. Most of the River Boys had been released with cautions although it looked like Heath Braxton would be charged with assaulting both Joey and Miles, who had both identified him during the affray. Unfortunately, thanks to his older brother, he had a good lawyer so it might be difficult to make the charges stick. Regardless, Watson was glad her shift was over.


Leah had been left unsatisfied by her visit with Miles. She was thrilled to have one of her best friends back home, of course. And she was glad that he was safe and well apart from stitches and some concussion. However, he had been extremely cagey about any information regarding Elijah. He just said they needed to talk to each other themselves. It was extremely frustrating.


Charlie, Joey, Ruby, Claire and Hannah were watching TV together. Joey was snuggled into Charlie's embrace and Hannah into Claire's. Ruby was quietly dreaming of the day that she might not be the fifth wheel. She was trying not to picture Romeo's arms around her, reminding herself that he belonged to Indi.

Joey planted a gentle kiss on Charlie's cheek, grateful to have a patient partner who didn't give up on her when she was unreasonable. She told herself that tomorrow was another day. Tomorrow they would go to the restaurant and begin to pick up the pieces of their business. Tomorrow, they would start again.


Next time… Charlie and Joey face up to the damage at the restaurant, Casey Braxton starts at Summer Bay High and Dex ignores good advice…