Hi, everyone. I am so sorry for my absence. There wasn't much I could do about it. I hope you have all been safe and well. And I hope you enjoy this chapter. Just as an aside, when I 'created' Bucktons' I had completely to wrong layout in my head to Angelo's so this is about to be rectified… Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Five Hundred and Fifty Two

Charlie and Joey stopped at the Diner to grab a coffee before they prepared to face up to the damage at the restaurant. They regretted it immediately. As soon as they walked in, Colleen shoved the local paper in their faces, demanding to know what Charlie and the rest of the local constabulary were planning to do about the River Boys and their plans to take over Summer Bay. It was true that on their way to the Diner, they had both seen several groups of guys, more than normal. It had made Joey particularly uncomfortable. Charlie was still worried about her anxiety levels since Valentine's Night. But Joey still didn't seem to want to talk and Charlie didn't want to push.

"Well?" Colleen demanded.

"Colleen, we can only deal with one incident at time," Charlie said. "I haven't even been on duty since it all kicked off. And I'm not on duty now."

"Well, that's all well and good, Sergeant Buckton but you're the senior police officer at that station so you're the person we look to in our community to protect us," Colleen replied.

While Charlie thought that she had heard a compliment in there somewhere, it didn't take the pressure off.

"If you could be a little patient, Colleen," Charlie begged. "Right now, I need to go and assess the damage to my business. There are plenty of other officers to speak to, including Senior Constable Watson. They will all be dealing with any issues that come up and I honestly don't believe the River Boys are doing anything like trying to take over our town. I am sure the paper is just scaremongering. But when I am on duty I will make sure that every situation is dealt with."

Colleen huffed a little but seemed to accept it. Charlie hoped she hadn't just made Watson's life very difficult.


Casey Braxton felt very nervous as he walked through the doors of Summer Bay High. He had been expelled from his previous high school in Yabbie Creek for consistent bad behaviour. He didn't think it was his fault really. He couldn't keep his attention focussed. He got distracted. And when he got distracted, he tended to misbehave. And then there were the times he got angry and people pissed him off. When you put it all together, he never really stood a chance of staying in school and he suspected Summer Bay High would be much the same.

He paused when he spotted the tall blonde guy who had chased him off the beach the previous day. The last thing he wanted was a run in with someone the second he walked through the door. He turned away and was glad when the blonde guy did the same. Now he just had to survive the rest of the day.


Charlie and Joey stood at the entrance of the restaurant. Both of the them felt utterly heartbroken. Their friends had clearly tried to clean up but there was so much brokenness around them. The hard work and love they had put into their business had been absolutely battered. It was going to take so much work to fix it.

"Where do we even start?" Joey wondered.

"Well, I guess we phone the insurance company," Charlie said.

Joey sighed.

"And put it back to how it was."

Charlie sighed too.

"Or…" she ventured, picking her way through the mess.

"Why don't we redesign it?" she suggested, suddenly excited.

Joey eyed her curiously.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, why don't we take this as a chance to start afresh? We could redesign the room and begin again. Make something good from this shit? What do you think?"

Joey stepped forward and held her hands. Charlie held her breath hopefully.

"I love it," she said.

They kissed.


Leah had finally called Elijah. She had been putting it off for days, ever since Miles had come home and been so vague. She had to know what was going on with her ex, for VJ's sake if nothing else. Only now she was more confused than ever. He had told her that he was on his way back to Australia. He was on his way back to Summer Bay, in fact. But he hadn't given her any indication as to whether he was coming back for her or not.


"We could move the bar to the back of the room so it's facing people when they walk into the room," Charlie suggested, trying to visualise something beautiful amongst the mess.

Joey agreed eagerly, wondering if they could put booths against the wall where the bar currently was.

"And we could open out onto a terrace, like we've talked about," Charlie said.

"That sounds awesome!" Joey said, getting more and more excited.

Charlie put her arm around her.

"We could really do this, Jo," she said. "Don't let this get you down. Remember that we always make good out of bad situations. We always have. Nothing can beat us."

Joey kissed her.

"Thank you," she said. "Thank you."


Casey's first day hadn't gone particularly well so far. He had been assigned a personal tutor, which he found offensive. He wasn't sure everyone had a personal mentor. He resented being singled out. But now he was stuck with some guy called Miles Copeland who he was pretty sure he had accused his brother of assaulting him the other day.

He had also failed to avoid the tall, blonde guy who he now knew was called Romeo Smith, which he thought was an utterly ridiculous name and suspected was fake. He suspected most things about him were fake. He was too tall. Too blonde. Too ripped. And they did not like each other at all. Their first lesson together had barely started before they'd argued so badly, they'd got detention. It hadn't surprised Casey that he'd got detention on his first day but it had disappointed him. He had secretly been hoping for some kind of fresh start.


Charlie stepped out to get some food from the Diner, hoping that she wouldn't have to deal with Colleen again. She left Joey on hold to the insurance company full of ideas and plans with how to renovate the restaurant and start again. It was good for her to have a project while she was recovering from her injuries.

"Dex!" Charlie called.

It came out as half a whisper and half a hiss. The teenager stopped and turned.

"What are you doing?" Charlie asked.

He had his video camera in his hand and he was clearly filming some of the River Boys who had pitched up on the beach.

"I'm filming a nature documentary," he told her, a little irritated at the interruption. "River Boys in the Wild."

Charlie shook her head.

"Do not do this," she warned. "You will get into trouble."

"With the police?" he asked worriedly.

"With those men," she said. "Don't do it, okay?"

"Okay," he said, putting his camera away.

Charlie nodded and headed off to the Diner. As soon as she was out of sight, he resumed his activities.


"I hope you're not stuck in detention for too long," Ruby said sweetly to Romeo as he walked into the classroom that lunch time.

She glanced at the new boy and couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. But really, she was on Romeo's side because she would always be on Romeo's side no matter what. Casey followed Romeo into the classroom and they sat side by side. Miles sat at the teacher's desk.

"So, do we get on with our work or something?" Romeo asked.

"Why don't you get on with each other?" Miles suggested.

Casey and Romeo looked horrified. Miles stepped closer.

"You never know," the teacher said. "You might find you have something in common."

"I am never going to have anything in common with someone like him," Romeo declared.

"Really?" Miles said. "Tell me about your parents, Romeo."

Romeo glared at him. Miles already knew everything about his parents.

"Deadbeat Dad. Alcoholic Mum. Why?"

"Casey?"

"Um… same," he said quietly.

The two boys glanced at each other a little nervously.

"Okay… let's think of something more cheerful. What's your favourite hobby?"

"Surfing!" they both said at the same time.

Then they both laughed.

"Well!" Mile said triumphantly. "It looks like you might have a few things in common after all."


Charlie and Joey sat in the office together eating lunch from the Diner. Joey had had a successful conversation with the insurance company and now they were planning on how to refit the restaurant while they waited for the money to come through. They just needed to find a good company to do the work and they would be away.

"Thank you for making me feel better," Joey said.

"Of course," Charlie said.

She reached out and held Joey's non-injured hand.

"I always want to help make you feel better," she said earnestly.

"You do," Joey assured her. "And I'm sorry I've been all over the place the past couple of days. Honestly, I'm fine now. I'm ready to rebuild and start again."

Charlie lifted her hand and kissed it.

"That's the Joey Collins I know and love," she said.


It was after school and on the beach, Dex froze. He had not heeded Charlie's advice and he had continued filming various River Boys on the beach. Now, as Charlie had predicted, it had all gone drastically wrong. He had spotted the new boy, Casey and thought he might be an interesting subject for his project. But Casey had spotted him and demanded to know why he was filming him. And that may have been the end of it but then two other guys had turned up.

Now, Dex was pleading with them to leave him alone and none of them were listening. Well, Casey had backed off. In fact, he was telling the other guys to walk away. But they weren't walking away. They were pushing and shoving and Dex didn't know how to stand up for himself. He looked around, desperate for help. Where was Charlie? Where was anyone who might protect him? Why couldn't he just help himself?

"I think we should teach you a lesson," one of the guys said, indistinguishable from the first really, just bulky, tattooed and dumb looking.

"Yeah, I think so," the other one agreed.

"Seriously, guys," Dex pleaded, as they picked him up, one arm each. "I've learnt my lesson already. I'm good at learning lessons. My IQ is really high! I will never ever film any of you again. I swear!"

"Leave him alone," Casey said. "You really don't have to do this. He's nobody."

"He's right!" Dex begged. "I'm nobody. Absolutely nobody. Please!"

They ignored him and slung him in the boot of their car.


Next time… Dex goes missing, the locals continue to complain about the River Boys and Joey suffers with anxiety…