Sorry for the delay in updating. I've been away from the laptop for a week or so. I hope to update my other story tomorrow. Love, IJKS xxx
Chapter Five Hundred and Fifty Eight
The caravan had come to a halt. Colleen waited a few moments. She listened for the sound of a car driving away. She waited a few moments more. Shakily, she climbed out of bed and hurried to the door, opening it and peering out. She wasn't even sure where she was. Tears streaked her face. They were tears of fear and anger. She sat back down heavily on the bed. With trembling hands, she found her phone. She called the police.
Charlie jolted awake in bed. She glanced at the clock. It was barely 4am. She clumsily reached for her phone on the bedside table. Joey clicked on her lamp, sitting up in bed, looking sleepy and cute.
"Sergeant Buckton," Charlie said, sounding much more awake than she felt.
"Charlie, it's Kyle Osbourne."
He was a Sergeant at the station and not one she particularly liked. He was arrogant and didn't listen. He was also not one for compassion.
"How can I help you, Kyle?" she asked.
"We've had a call from Colleen Smart," he said. "She says she's been towed halfway across the Bay. She thinks it was some of the River Boys. Anyway, she's asking for you."
Charlie sighed. She felt bad for Colleen. But she also didn't especially want to be dragged out of bed in the early hours of the morning.
"I'll be right there," she said.
Beside her, Joey sighed, wondering what had happened to call Charlie away at such a time.
"Where have they taken her?" Charlie asked.
Colleen was dressed and gratefully pulled open the door to the caravan when Charlie knocked.
"Come in, Sergeant Buckton," she said.
Charlie entered the small caravan, followed by Blake, the young Constable who had help track down Daria. She knew he would be a sympathetic officer to bring along and although she hadn't said so, she had kind of taken him on as a project. She could see the potential in him and wanted to bring out the best in him. She wanted to help him become a success. All he needed was confidence.
"How are you doing, Colleen?" Charlie asked kindly.
"I'm not feeling my best, to be honest with you," Colleen admitted.
Charlie felt sad for her. She wasn't the usual robust, cantankerous, clucky woman she usually was. She was genuinely frightened.
"This is Constable Blake Henderson," Charlie said.
Colleen nodded towards him.
"Do you mind if I sit beside you and ask you some questions?"
"Of course," Colleen said. "I thought you weren't working this morning?"
"I came especially to see you, of course," Charlie said with a smile.
Colleen looked up at her, surprised and touched that Charlie cared so much about her.
"Did you?" she asked meekly.
Charlie put her arm around her.
"Where else would I be?" she asked.
Blake watched on, silently impressed. No wonder everyone always asked for Charlie. She always knew what to do and what to say.
Ruby and Joey were having breakfast together before Ruby had to go to school.
"How are things going at the restaurant?" Ruby wanted to know.
"They're coming along really well, actually," Joey said. "I took Leah over there yesterday and she gave it – and the builders – a proper inspection!"
Ruby laughed.
"How is she doing now that Elijah's back?" Ruby asked. "It must be hard with his wife here."
"I haven't met her yet but Leah said she's really nice," Joey said.
Ruby pulled a face.
"She can't even hate her then?" she laughed.
"Pretty much," she confirmed.
"Well, I'd better head off," Ruby said. "School beckons."
She hugged Joey goodbye, still worried about her and headed for the door.
"Oh!" she said in surprise when she opened it and found Leah and Nicole standing there.
They had much the same reaction and explained that they'd come to see Joey. Ruby pointed them towards the kitchen before heading out the door.
Joey felt a little nervous as she waved from the kitchen table. Leah and Nicole both came to join her. She jumped into hostess mode, offering drinks and breakfast.
"Jo, relax," Nicole interrupted. "We've come to talk to you, not to eat you out of house and home."
"Okay," Joey said, sitting back down. "Why does this feel like an intervention?"
"It's not," Leah promised. "We're just… worried about you."
"I'm fine," Joey lied. "Honestly, I'm fine."
Charlie's words echoed in her ears.
"Okay, I'm not fine," she admitted.
She sighed heavily.
"I'm not fine," she said. "But I will be."
"What can we do?" Nicole asked. "We're your friends, Joey and we want to help. You're always the first person we turn to whenever we so much as break a nail. Now you're struggling. Let us be there for you. Please?"
"Please?" Leah added.
It had been a long day of taking care of Colleen, getting her towed back to the caravan park and tracking down exactly which cretin was responsible. When Colleen referenced a particular incident with a guy called Brodie on her way home the previous day, Charlie suspected she had her man. He had denied everything of course and as seemed to be the case with everything right now, they hadn't been able to find any proof as of yet. But he seemed to be the most likely culprit.
Now, Charlie found herself stood on the beach with a ring of River Boys around her and as much as she liked Blake, she wasn't sure how much help he would be.
"And you have absolutely no idea how Colleen Smart's van ended up in the middle of nowhere?" she asked Brodie.
He shrugged. She was becoming frustrated.
"Have you any idea how terrified she was?" she tried. "Dragged around in her own home in the middle of the night?"
"Nothing to do with me," he said.
"What's all this?"
Charlie rolled her eyes as Brax approached the group.
"What is who supposed to have done now?" he asked. "I should report you to the police for harassment, Sergeant."
"Your mate Brodie here abducted a pensioner in her own caravan last night and dumped her in the middle of nowhere," Charlie informed him.
"And you can prove that, can you?" Brax asked.
"Brodie and your little mates were hassling her and intimidating her all day," Charlie said. "It doesn't take a genius."
"But you can't prove it," Brax said.
"Do you condone bullying pensioners, Brax?" Charlie asked.
"Of course I don't," Brax replied, sounding genuine for the first time. "And my boys know there are lines they don't cross."
"Well, this isn't over," Charlie informed him. "We're still investigating. I doubt any of you are clever enough not to leave a trail."
She turned and left, Blake by her side. Brax turned to Brodie who swallowed anxiously.
"Did you do it?" he demanded.
"I um…"
"Did you do it?"
"It was just a joke!"
"She's an old woman!" Brax snapped. "The cop's right. Have you any idea how scared she must have been? You could have killed her! Given her a heart attack or something!"
"I'm sorry!" Brodie said.
"Yeah… well…"
Brax shook his head and sighed. Sometimes it was hard being the leader of these boys.
"I really admire you."
Charlie was caught off guard but smiled at Blake as she drove back to the station.
"That's kind of you to say," she said.
"I mean it," he said. "You're so good with people. Like, you were so kind to Colleen this morning. But the next minute, you can totally stand up to someone like Darryl Braxton. I wish I could be like you."
"It just takes experience and confidence," Charlie said. "You've only been a cop for…?"
"Two years," Blake confirmed.
"I've been at it a long time," Charlie said. "You'll get the confidence you need. And I mean it. You will. I've seen you work, Blake. You're a really good police officer."
He blushed.
"Do you think so?" he asked.
"I do," Charlie confirmed. "I asked you to pair with me deliberately today. I want you to gain as much experience as possible. I want you to grow in confidence."
She glanced at him. He looked pleased. She was glad.
"Can I… ask you a question?" he asked.
"Sure," Charlie said, pulling into the car park at the police station.
"Was it hard for you to… to come out? You know, at work? Or… or anywhere really?"
She smiled quietly to herself. She had privately wondered to herself if he might be gay.
"Honestly?" she said. "Yes. It was kind of a surprise to me. Everything happened kind of quickly. But I felt very supported. At home. In the community. At work."
"You didn't get any hassle at work?" Blake asked.
"Not really," Charlie said. "I mean, there were the odd comments, of course. It's a police station. And I still get a few out and about. The River Boys mainly. But we're a team here. We're a family. We support each other."
Blake took a deep breath.
"I just… I feel like if I were to… to… Maybe it's different for a woman…"
He shook his head.
"I just… I don't want the guys to think…"
Charlie reached out and hugged him.
"Just be who you are, Blake," she said. "We all love you for who you are."
He held on tightly. It had been a long time since he had been held.
Charlie arrived home to a much more cheerful Joey than she had encountered for weeks. Smiling happily at her partner, she met her with a hug and kiss, eager to find out what had happened to turn things around.
"Well, you for starters," Joey said. "Thank you for your love and your patience."
Charlie kissed her again, keeping her arms around her.
"And Nicole and Leah came round this morning and basically demanded to be my friends," Joey told her. "I talked, they listened. They really listened and it meant a lot to me."
Charlie smiled, relieved that their friends were reaching out.
"So when they left, I booked an appointment with one of those counsellors on our list for Ruby," Joey said. "I sat down and I wrote down all the things that were stressing me out. I worked out what things I could do something about and what things I couldn't. The things I can't, I've put into a box. Literally."
She pointed to a box on the table.
"There's no point stressing about them," she said. "It won't help me. And the things I can, I have been. So… tomorrow, the builders will be finished at the restaurant. How do you like the idea of going in and putting in all the finishing touches? Romeo, Claire, Angelo, Leah, Nicole and Ruby are all on board."
"Well, how can I say no?" Charlie said.
She kissed her again.
"I really am so proud of you," she said sincerely.
"I couldn't have even got started without you," Joey said. "You are everything to me."
They kissed again.
The next morning, Charlie drove herself, Joey and Ruby down to the restaurant to spend the day putting the finishing touches on the place ahead of the re-opening with Ruby Claire, Nicole and Angelo.
As they got out of the car, Charlie paused, spotting Brodie ahead of them, trudging down to the beach. He had been beaten black and blue. Clearly the River Boys held their own trials and dished out their own brand of justice. Shaking her head, she returned her attention to her family and headed towards the restaurant with them.
"Wow!" Nicole said, walking into Bucktons' with Romeo. "This place looks amazing!"
Charlie put her arm around Joey, who looked rather proud. The bar had been moved to the back of the room, facing the entrance. Booths had been cut into the back wall and a small balcony had been opened up, allowing a beach view.
"It really does look great, guys," Romeo said.
Angelo and Claire both agreed.
"What made you move everything?" Angelo asked.
"We just felt we needed a real change after what happened," Joey told him.
"Yeah…" Angelo sighed. "It was bad."
He still felt guilty.
"So, what do we need to do?" Nicole asked.
"Clean up after the builders really," Charlie said. "Sweep up the dust, clean the windows, arrange those tables a little better, that sort of thing."
"Are we going to have a big relaunch?" Romeo asked.
"Um…" Joey asked hesitantly.
"Oh, we so should!" Angelo enthused.
"I just don't know if a huge party is such a good idea after what happened," Charlie said, thinking of Joey.
"No," Joey decided. "Let's do it. But let's be choosey about the guest list."
She hugged Charlie who agreed, kissing the top of her head.
"Joey, there's time," Charlie assured her partner.
They had received a delivery of drinks but none of the bottled beer had turned up.
"We're supposed to open tomorrow night, Charlie," Joey said.
She could feel herself begin to panic and the fact that everyone was watching was making it worse.
"So people have to drink draught," Charlie said. "Or wine. Or spirits. So what?"
"It's not good enough!" Joey said.
Charlie guided her into the office and closed the door. She sat her down, kneeling in front of her.
"Joey, listen to me," she said. "We can reorder. Hopefully they can deliver by tomorrow."
"They're so slow," Joey said. "You know that."
"Well, maybe if they're rectifying a mistake…" Charlie tried.
Joey shook her head. She sighed heavily. It felt like all the air had left her.
"But if it doesn't turn up, it doesn't matter," Charlie said. "Beer is not the be all and end all of the universe. We could theme the night. Make it about cocktails or something?"
Joey nodded and apologised. Charlie stroked her face.
"I just hate seeing you panic like that," she said. "It's not you."
"I hate it too," Joey said sadly.
Charlie wrapped her arms around her, kissing her cheek.
"I love you, Jo," she said.
"I love you too."
In the main restaurant, their friends were worried about them.
"What was that about?" Angelo asked.
"I think Joey's having a bit of a hard time at the moment," Leah said diplomatically. "Since the restaurant was trashed."
Ruby frowned. She felt helpless. She didn't know what to do for her step-mother to make her feel better.
"Is there anything we can do?" Romeo asked.
"Find some beer?" Nicole joked.
Angelo sighed.
"I can get on and reorder it," he said. "The sooner we do it, the better."
He headed outside to make the call just as Charlie and Joey reappeared.
"Sorry," Joey said, a smiled plastered on her face. "I'm normal again now."
Ruby hugged her. Then Nicole piled on. Then Romeo. Then Leah. Then Claire. Grinning, Charlie joined in.
Outside, Angelo leant against the wall of the building, on hold to the supplier, ready to give them an ear-bashing for messing up the order and to demand that they deliver the bottles immediately. He still felt responsible for Valentine's, despite the girls assuring him that they didn't blame him. And now he knew how badly that night had affected Joey, he felt absolutely terrible.
"Alright, mate?"
He looked up and glared at Darryl Braxton who had stopped to look at him.
"You look a little uptight," the River Boy said. "Or is that just your face?"
"Nothing to do with you," Angelo said. "Move on."
"Fine," Brax said. "Just wondered if I could help."
"What the hell could you ever help me with?"
"Depends what your problem is."
"Well, I'm currently on the phone to a wholesalers, ordering beer," Angelo said. "I'm doing something called a job. A real job. Where you work and get paid. I'm not surfing or dealing drugs or stealing or beating people up. So what the hell do you think you could ever help me with?"
"Well, I could sell you some beer," Brax offered.
Angelo guffawed and shook his head.
"Fuck off," he sneered. "As if I'd buy stolen beer from you."
"Hey," Brax said easily. "It's straight up, legit. I'm not a thief or a drug dealer. I'm a businessman."
Angelo laughed again, remaining on hold.
"I can do you a good deal," Brax persisted.
"Just get lost," Angelo said.
"Oh, wait," Brax remembered. "It's not you I need to talk to, is it? You're the monkey, right? Not the organ grinder. You used to be a cop, didn't you? Then you got kicked off the force. Now you're a barman. You work for the lesbians, right?"
Angelo glared at him.
"You don't actually have any clout there," Brax continued.
"I have plenty of clout," Angelo argued.
"So, you can make a decision about buying beer?" Brax asked.
"Of course I can," Angelo lied. "I'm on the phone to the brewery, aren't I?"
"So… do you want to impress your bosses and come home with a wicked deal or not?"
Angelo hesitated. Then he hung up the phone.
On the beach, Xavier was in a terrible mood. He had tried and failed to win April back. He had made a huge gesture when quite frankly, she should be the one trying to win him back. She was the one who had nearly killed him. She should be trying to make it up to him. He was angry with her for dumping him. But he was heartbroken too. He loved her and he wanted to be with her. But he had made his overture. And she had turned him down. Now he was on the beach and intended to go surfing to escape his troubles. The only problem was that these days, the beach with littered with River Boys.
"Hey, hey!"
"Nice shorts!"
Xavier tried to ignore the catcalls.
"Lovely rainbows!"
"Is this town littered with queers or what?"
Xavier clenched his jaw and his fist.
"Are you one of them?"
"No, I'm not!" Xavier snapped, dropping his surfboard on the sand.
Three River Boys jumped up, ready to square up to him. Xavier didn't care. He was in the mood for a fight if that's what they wanted. But before he knew it, John was there, dragging him away.
"Did you reorder the bottles?" Charlie asked when Angelo reappeared in the restaurant. "Thank you so much. You've saved us a job."
The others must have told them where he had gone.
"Uh… yeah… kind of," he said.
Charlie paused. Joey stepped up next to her.
"What do you mean, kind of?" Joey asked worriedly. "Is there a problem?"
Romeo, Claire, Leah, Nicole and Ruby politely made themselves scarce, suddenly finding jobs to do out on the balcony.
"Well, um… I was on hold to the brewery," Angelo explained. "Then I got talking to someone who offered me the most amazing deal on some bottles. It'll save us so much cash."
"Just some guy on the street?" Joey asked. "Who?"
"Brax?" Angelo said.
He felt anxious. He hadn't meant it to come out as a question. He froze when he saw the rage on his bosses faces.
"Brax?" Charlie demanded. "What the hell were you thinking?"
The others blatantly listened from the balcony.
"It was a really good deal," Angelo tried to explain.
"You bought beer from a known criminal!" Joey snapped.
"Well, actually, he doesn't have a record," Angelo said.
Brax had told him.
"Only because he's so damn slippery we can't catch him for anything," Charlie corrected him.
Angelo frowned. He quickly assured them that no money had been exchanged and it wasn't too late.
"Thank God for small mercies," Joey said.
She shook her head. He hated the way she was looking at him.
"I just can't believe you would do this, Angelo," she said. "We constantly put our trust in you and you constantly let us down."
"I'm sorry," he said. "I was trying to help."
"Well getting our business involved with someone like Darryl Braxton is not helping!" Charlie said.
"I'm sorry," he repeated.
Joey stared at him for a few moments before shaking her head.
"You know what? I can't do this anymore," she said.
"What do you mean?"
"You're a liability," she said. "I can't trust you."
"What are you saying?" Angelo asked.
"Yeah, what are you saying?" Charlie asked anxiously.
"I'm going to have to let you go," Joey said.
"Joey!" Angelo begged.
"No!" Joey said desperately. "I need people here that I trust. I need people here that I can rely on. But you make stupid decision after stupid decision, Angelo. And it's one thing to do that in your own life but when it's affecting mine and my family and my business. No. I can't. I'm sorry. I care about you. And I've tried to help you. But I can't do it anymore."
She headed for her office.
"I'm sorry," Charlie said, following Joey.
Angelo watched them leave. He felt like his whole life was unravelling. Nicole, Claire, Romeo, Ruby, Leah and Claire reappeared.
"What happened, mate?" Romeo asked.
"I got fired," Angelo said.
"Why?"
"I made a mistake," Angelo said. "A stupid decision. Joey said I was liability. She said she couldn't trust me."
"She's always forgiven you before…" Ruby said. "I guess this was the last time."
Angelo looked hurt.
"Sorry," Ruby said. "I just… I don't want everyone to think that because Joey's struggling, she's in the wrong."
"Nobody thinks that, Rubes," Romeo assured her, putting a quick arm around her shoulder and then stepping away.
Claire watched their interaction and noticed the affectionate way he spoke to her. She had been trying to keep a polite distance recently. But she missed Ruby, who seemed to have barely noticed her absence. She was too wrapped up in Romeo and now it appeared she was also developing a friendship with Casey Braxton.
"Are you okay, Angelo?" Nicole asked worriedly.
"I don't know," Angelo admitted.
He shrugged and walked out, not sure if he even had anywhere to go.
In the office, Charlie held onto Joey who was overwhelmed with guilt and regret over firing Angelo. She stroked her hair as she cried.
"I overreacted," she said.
"Perhaps," Charlie conceded. "But that doesn't matter for now."
"It does," Joey sobbed. "I shouldn't have fired him. I just…"
"He messed up," Charlie said. "And it's not like it's the first time. Or even the second time."
Joey sank into a chair. Charlie snuggled in beside her, cuddling close.
"But he's our friend," Joey said. "We're supposed to be good to our friends."
"Haven't we been good to him?" Charlie asked. "He stalked us for goodness sake! He tried to steal me away from you. And yet you had the compassion to give him a job when he had nothing. You've had endless compassion for him. You've forgiven him every time he's messed up at work."
"Because that's what you're meant to do," Joey said. "Forgive people. Support people. Why is today different?"
"Because he nearly brought people you feel threatened by into our safe space," Charlie said. "When he's making screw ups like that, it's really hard to just say, hey, it's okay, never mind."
Joey sighed heavily.
"I just want him to… be better," she said.
"I know," Charlie said. "And I'm sure he does too."
"I should find him and make it right," Joey said. "Apologise. Explain. Un-fire him."
"If that's what you want."
Joey nodded.
"I'm just so tired," she admitted.
"Why don't you just call him?" Charlie suggested. "Then why don't you go home? Take a nice, hot bubble bath. And I will meet you there."
Joey looked at her curiously.
"I'm going to find Brax and make it very clear that we want nothing to do with him," Charlie informed her.
For a moment, Joey was stabbed with a pang of jealousy, remembering how closely Brax had leant into her when they were talking. She was convinced that Brax was attracted to her.
"What?" Charlie asked.
"Just… be quick," Joey said. "Don't let the bath get cold."
Charlie smiled and kissed her.
"Make that call and I'll send everyone home, okay? I'll leave the car so Ruby can drive you home."
She kissed her again and headed out to speak to the others.
"Is Joey okay?" Ruby asked urgently as soon as Charlie appeared.
"She's fine," Charlie assured her. "She's going to call Angelo and sort things out. Sorry today has been a little more tense than we planned."
"As long as Joey's okay?" Romeo said. "I had no idea she was struggling like that. Is there anything I can do?"
"Just be you," Charlie said, patting his arm. "Be her friend. She needs her friends."
She thanked everyone for all their help and told them they could all go home, confirming that the relaunch was still on for the following night. Everyone confirmed that they would be there.
Angelo had headed into town with the full intention of getting drunk. His phone burst into life. It was Joey. He ignored it. The last thing he wanted was another telling off. He didn't listen to the voice mail:
"Hi, Angelo. It's Joey. I'm sorry about earlier. I just… I freaked out at the idea of Brax having anything to do with the business or… or any of us. It made me panic. It made me feel unsafe. But I overreacted. And I'm sorry. I went too far and I shouldn't have fired you. I'd like to take it back if it's not too late. I really hope it's not too late because I do care about you and I do like working with you. So if you'd call me back? Please?"
"Hey!"
Brax turned round at the sound of Charlie yelling his name. He grinned broadly and waited for her to catch up.
"How can I help you, Sergeant?" he asked.
"Just to let you know, the deal you made with Angelo is off," Charlie said.
"We shook hands," he said.
"He has no right to make decisions on behalf of my business," Charlie informed him. "My partner and I make decisions on behalf of our business and that's it and we would never ever make a deal with you. So back off."
"Is that your business partner or life partner?" Brax asked.
"Both," Charlie replied. "Back off."
He grinned.
"You're missing out on a good deal," he said. "It's exactly the same beer you serve but for cheaper."
"How do you even know what beer we serve?" she demanded.
"From Valentine's," he said.
She was sceptical.
"Just leave us alone," she said. "We don't want anything to do with you."
She turned to leave.
"Also, I saw what happened to Brodie's face," she added, turning back. "Nice way to treat your mates."
"Nothing to do with me," he lied.
"Whatever," Charlie said. "Just leave my town and the people I love alone. You're not welcome here. And you're certainly not welcome to infiltrate my business."
Colleen jumped out of her chair in panic when Brodie knocked on the door of Summer Bay House. Morag stepped in between the pair of them, allowing the guy in to speak.
"I um… I heard what happened to your van," he said.
"And what happened to you?" Morag asked curiously, noting the state he was in.
"Oh um… nothing," he lied.
"I just… I wanted to pay for towing your van back," Brodie said, handing over an envelope of cash to Colleen.
"You do?" Colleen asked, cautiously accepting the cash.
"Some might see that as an admission of guilt, young man," Morag remarked.
"It's not!" Brodie said quickly. "I just heard about what happened and I felt really sorry for you. It's awful… what happened. And it never should have happened. And I'm sorry it happened."
"You said the word happened about five times," Morag told him.
He apologised. He was clearly nervous.
"I just… I wanted to make things right," he said. "On behalf of whoever hurt you."
"Well… thank you," Colleen said.
She knew it was him. He knew it was him. Morag knew it was him. And whoever had beaten him up probably knew it was him. But she accepted his peace offering and gesture of goodwill.
Still with his voicemail unheard, Angelo was getting drunker in a bar in Yabbie Creek. He had no idea what he was supposed to do now that the one person who had put their trust in him had finally given up on him. He felt utterly distraught.
"Hey."
He was surprised to find Brax sat next to him.
"What do you want?" he snapped angrily.
It was him who had caused this whole mess in the first place.
"I heard the lesbians don't want to go for the deal," Brax said.
"They don't want me either," Angelo said bitterly.
"Well, they are queer," Brax remarked.
"I mean, they fired me!" Angelo snapped. "Because of your stupid beer deal!"
Brax nodded thoughtfully.
"Well, in that case," he said. "I did have an idea. Do you want in?"
Next time… Dex creates a vlog about bullying, Angelo pushes back against Charlie and Joey and Brax asks Leah out…
