Chapter Five Hundred and Fifty Nine
"Have you seen this?" Ruby asked the next morning.
She was sat in front of her laptop and called her parents over to watch a vlog, created by Dex. They both sat down to watch him tell the story of how bullying impacted people's lives. Charlie and Joey held hands, both touched by his words.
"I should spend more time with him," Ruby said thoughtfully.
"Why don't you invite him to the launch tonight?" Joey suggested.
"Yeah," Ruby said decisively. "I'll turn it into a really fun night out for all of us. And I'll make sure Dex feels really included."
"Has Angelo called you back yet?" Charlie asked her partner.
Joey sighed and shook her head.
"I thought I'd go round and see him this morning," she said. "Smooth things over."
Angelo woke up feeling absolutely hideous. He could hardly remember the night before. He was painfully aware of getting fired. Then he'd got a cab into town. Then he'd started drinking. Then Brax had shown up. He jolted when he heard a moan beside him. A woman he barely remembered meeting began to stir. He watched her sit up and climb out of bed. She got dressed without even glancing at him.
"Um… morning?" he said.
"Oh, hey," she said. "Thanks for a good night… um…?"
"Angelo."
"Right."
She put her shoes on.
"Catch you later."
He remained in bed while she walked out of his life. Sinking back against the pillows, he closed his eyes. He woke up again when there was a knock at his door. He pulled some bottoms on and opened the door.
"Hey," he said, confused to find Brax there.
"Hey," Brax replied. "I saw your date leaving."
"Yeah…"
"Surprised you were capable of anything, the state you were in last night," Brax remarked.
Angelo felt embarrassed. He also wished he was wearing more clothes.
"Um… what do you want?" he asked abruptly.
"I wanted to talk about our business plan," Brax said. "You were a bit too wasted to discuss it properly last night."
Angelo was confused. He had no recollection of any such conversation.
"And now you're too hungover," Brax realised. "Look, uh, why don't you get showered and I'll meet you at that Diner by the beach and we can have a coffee? My shout now that you're unemployed."
He left without waiting for an agreement.
Elijah and Grace went for a morning walk along the beach with Thabo. The little boy wasn't well enough for much but they figured a short, gentle walk would be good for him. Some fresh air and careful exercise was a good prescription. Elijah was also keen to show his new family the Bay that he loved.
He hesitated when he spotted Leah and VJ up ahead. He had made peace with them both but things still weren't great. He knew he had let them both down and that hurt him a great deal. He wished he could be everything everyone needed him to be.
Angelo hadn't been home when Charlie and Joey had knocked for him. They'd stopped off at the Diner on their way to the restaurant and found him there instead and found him there. They were shocked to see him having a coffee with Brax.
"Angelo," Joey said.
"You can't fire me from here," Angelo snapped.
"Didn't you get my message?" Joey asked.
Angelo glared at her and shook his head. Brax sat back, watching their interaction with interest. Charlie stood next to Joey, feeling protective.
"Well, I called you as soon as you left," Joey said. "I'm sorry. Can we start again?"
"No," Angelo said.
"Please?" Joey said. "I'm sorry."
"Well, I'm sick of you two looking down on me and pushing me around all the time," Angelo said sourly. "You think you're so much better than me and you're not."
"Angelo, don't be silly," Charlie tried. "Nobody thinks they're better than you. Come on, we're your friends."
"Well, Brax is opening a new place and he's asked me to be the manager," Angelo informed them.
Charlie scoffed and turned to the River Boy.
"You're opening a restaurant, are you?"
"Yeah," he said smugly. "I am."
"Where?"
"Next door to you, actually," Brax said. "I got the planning permission granted yesterday."
Charlie shook her head in disbelief. Joey felt tense.
"And I'm managing it," Angelo said. "Brax is trusting me more than you guys ever would have. So I don't need to spend my life being patronised by you. Thanks."
"You're making a massive mistake," Charlie warned him.
"Whatever," Angelo replied.
Charlie took Joey's hand and left the Diner. They headed out and down the pier. Charlie was eager for Joey to get some fresh air, knowing how upset she was.
"How could he do that, Charlie?" Joey asked. "Did I hurt him that much that he'd just abandon us like that? Does he really feel like that about us? I thought we were friends."
"I don't think he does feel like that," Charlie said. "But I do think he's hurt. And he's impulsive. And he's trying to hurt us. But I genuinely think he's making a mistake. Getting involved with Brax is the worst idea in the world."
"But Charlie," Joey said, turning to face her. "If they're opening a restaurant next door to us, what the hell are we going to do?"
"Nothing," Charlie said seriously.
"They're going to steal our business," Joey said urgently.
"Do you really think that anyone in this town is going to go to a restaurant or a bar full of River Boy thugs?" Charlie asked.
Joey let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding.
"Right," she said.
"Please don't worry," Charlie said, pulling her into her arms. "Everything is going to be okay."
"VJ!" Leah said desperately when her son hauled himself out of the water.
His arm was bleeding. He pushed her away when she tried to tend to his injury.
"What happened?" she asked worriedly.
"I just hit something when I fell off my board," he said. "I'm fine."
Leah sighed. She really wasn't sure about her son's new obsession with surfing.
"Can you at least let me take you to the Diner to dress your wound?" she asked.
"Fine," he said sulkily.
"VJ, I don't really like this attitude you've got right now," Leah said unhappily.
He frowned at her. In his face, she could still see the cute little boy she adored.
"Please tell me what's wrong," she said.
"Elijah doesn't love us anymore," he said. "And nobody ever treats me like an adult. Nobody apart from Brax anyway."
"Brax?"
"Yeah," he said. "He's helped me with my surfing sometimes and he talks to me like I'm a grown up."
"I didn't know you even knew Brax," Leah said.
She didn't know whether to feel concerned or reassured that her son was spending time with the head River Boy or that he was being nice to him and teaching him to surf.
"Sometimes when I'm down here practicing, he's here too and he's helped me," VJ explained. "He's a nice guy. And like I said, he treats me like an adult."
"And you don't think I do?" Leah asked.
"Never," he complained.
"Well, I'm sorry about that," she apologised. "I do understand that you're getting older but it's hard. I'm your Mum. You're my son."
"Yeah," he shrugged.
"Can I still sort out your arm?" she asked. "Even adults need plasters sometimes."
He nodded and they headed back up the beach.
Charlie, Joey, Claire, Romeo, Ruby and Nicole were applying the finishing touches to the restaurant. Nicole and Ruby had posted online about the relaunch. Apparently that's how it happened now. Charlie had stubbornly put some posters up anyway.
"So, he's not coming back?" Nicole asked.
"We asked him," Charlie said. "But he's already got a new job."
Nicole looked surprised. Charlie explained that Brax had got permission to open his own restaurant in the empty building next door and Angelo was going to manage the place.
"Will that put this place in trouble?" Romeo worried.
"Hopefully not," Charlie said. "Hopefully people are loyal enough and dislike the River Boys enough."
"Well, you know how we feel," Nicole assured her.
She thanked them.
"So, you need to replace Angelo then?" Romeo asked.
"If you want any more shifts, feel free," Charlie offered. "But yeah, we need someone full time. And quickly. This whole thing has left us in a mess."
She looked up when Leah arrived.
"We weren't expecting you again today," Charlie remarked. "I thought you were spending the day with VJ."
"Apparently I smother him and I don't talk to him like an adult," Leah said flatly. "So I've left him having a surf lesson with Brax."
Everyone looked a little awkward.
"What?" Leah asked.
"Um… is Brax the best person for VJ to be hanging out with?" Nicole asked hesitantly. "I mean, he has such a bad reputation."
"He actually seems like quite a nice guy," Leah admitted. "I mean, if you forget the whole River Boy thing and separate him from his mates, as an individual, he seems quite nice."
Joey rolled her eyes and continued turning the spirit bottles behind the bar around so that they were all facing the correct way. She wanted everything absolutely perfect for tonight.
"Well, that's your call," Charlie said. "But he seems like a creep to me."
She shrugged and continued to wipe down tables that didn't need wiping. She too was determined for nothing to go wrong. Leah approached her.
"He's been really nice to VJ," she carried on. "Without me even knowing. He's been looking out for him."
"So?"
"So… he kind of asked me out just now," Leah admitted.
Charlie stood up straight.
"Leah, please say you haven't…"
"I just… it's been so hard with Elijah and Brax seems like a nice guy…"
"Brax is not a nice guy," Charlie insisted.
"I wondered about bring him tonight," Leah broached.
Charlie sighed.
"I won't if it's too much," Leah added.
"If what's too much?" Joey asked, making them jump.
"Nothing," Charlie said firmly.
Leah nodded and agreed that it was nothing, accepting that tonight was supposed to be a River Boy free zone.
"Guys, please…"
"I was asking if I could bring Brax to the relaunch tonight," Leah admitted. "He asked me out on a date and I accepted."
"Leah, you can do so much better than someone like Brax," Joey said.
"But I like Brax," Leah said honestly. "He's gorgeous and charming and he's good with VJ."
"Fine," Joey said, surprising them both. "I don't even care anymore. But if any of his mates even think about setting foot in here, they're all going to be thrown out, preferably by the police. I won't wait for them to do something wrong. They're just gone, okay? I am not having a repeat of Valentine's."
Leah accepted it and pulled out her phone to text her date. Neither Charlie nor Joey could fathom what she saw in him.
Next time… Charlie and Joey relaunch the restaurant, Brax and Leah go on their date and Charlie and Joey find a new barman…
