For Thane. xxx

Chapter Five Hundred and Seventy Eight

Bianca was very confused the following morning to arrive at her former home, the tent that she and Liam had so lovingly crafted and turned into a place that was comfortable and happy, and found it was being taken down.

"Hey," she said, catching her boyfriend's attention. "What's going on?"

"Huh?" Liam replied, surprised to see her.

He hadn't heard her approaching.

"Oh," he said. "I'm moving out too."

She chewed her lip, puzzled. He looked absolutely exhausted.

"Why?" she asked, a little hurt that he hadn't even thought about talking to her about it.

She knew he was upset with her for moving back into Irene's but he thought he understood that she had no choice, that she had to look after her sister. She also thought he understood that it was temporary. She had expected her real home to be waiting for her when she returned. But apparently, it was dissolving in front of her eyes.

"I don't want to stay here without you," he said simply. "I mean, what's the point? With you, we're camping and living off the land and having a good time. Without you, I'm kind of just a homeless guy."

He shrugged and carried on packing up.

"Well, where are you moving to?" she asked.

"I'm moving in with Angelo and Roo," he said. "They've got a couple of spare rooms so I'm taking one of them."

Bianca consoled herself with the fact that at least he wouldn't be far. That was practically next door to Charlie and Joey and she was round their house all the time. It could actually save her some time on her social life.

"Oh… Well, great!" she said, deciding to be enthusiastic. "Do you need any help packing?"

He turned and smiled that charming smile she had so easily fallen in love with.

"Thanks," he said.


Charlie, Joey and Ruby were sat round the breakfast table. Ruby's nose was in her phone.

"Ruby, come on, you know the rules," Charlie complained.

Ruby frowned and put her phone down.

"I'm not sure I actually agree with the no phone rule, you know," the teenager replied. "What if an important text comes through and I miss it?"

"Texts don't vanish, Rubes," Joey pointed out. "They'll still be there ten minutes later when they're done scoffing your breakfast."

"And the whole point of the rule is that you actually pay some attention to the people you're with," Charlie said.

"You use your phone at the table," Ruby complained.

"I take work calls at the table if I have to," Charlie corrected her. "They actually are important."

"My texts conversations with my friends are important!" Ruby argued.

"And sitting down for ten minutes with your parents isn't?"

Ruby considered her options and then agreed that keeping away from her phone for two meals was probably not the end of the world.


"Big day today!" Roo said cheerfully. "New roommate!"

"Potentially alcoholic new roommate!" Angelo said less cheerfully.

He was not thrilled at the prospect of Liam moving in with them. He liked the guy. He would even consider him to be a friend. However, he had been enjoying living with Roo, just the two of them. And he was certain that Liam, especially Liam and the issues he suspected he was having, was just about to ruin it all.


"Guess what!" Casey said excitedly, almost jumping out on Ruby and giving her a fright.

When her heart slowed down enough to let her speak (and slap him playfully on the arm), she asked him what he was so eager to share.

"There's a music festival on in few weeks and you and me are going!" he announced.

Ruby raised her eyebrows.

"We are?" she asked.

"Yep!" he said. "Well, I mean, once I've raised the cash for the tickets."

Ruby chuckled.

"And how are we going to do that?"

"Me not you," he insisted. "I'm going to get both our tickets. I'm taking you to the festival. My treat."

"Again I ask – how?" she wondered, a smile playing on her lips.

She was extremely touched that he wanted to do that for her.

"I'm applying for a job as a delivery guy at The Pizza Oven," he said proudly.

Her face fell.

"What?"

His face fell.

"What's with the face?" he asked.

"How can you work there?" she asked. "That place is trying to do my parents out of business, Case."

"That place is my family business, Rubes."

He said her name deliberately. She sighed, aware that he had a point.

"I know," she said reluctantly. "I just… it feels to me like working for the enemy."

She immediately knew she had used the wrong language.

"The enemy?" he demanded, outraged. "My family are the enemy now?"

"No! Not the enemy… I said that wrong. I'm sorry. I just… It's not you. It's your brothers. Casey, you have to admit. After what Heath has done to Joey and then Brax… the way he's been strutting around the place. He kissed my Mum for goodness' sake!"

"So?" Casey snapped. "That doesn't make them your enemy. Ruby, I thought we were together…"

"We are," she said.

She tried to reach for him but he pulled away.

"No," he said. "I need to think."

Ruby caught Romeo watching from his locker as Casey walked away.


"Hey, boss, have you seen these?" Scott asked when he arrived at work.

Joey looked up just as he placed a flyer down on the bar. She picked it up and saw that it was an advert from The Pizza Oven for delivery drivers.

"They're delivering now?" she asked, shaking her head.

"Planning to, I guess," Scott said with a frown, contrary to his usual, cheerful attitude. "I saw that Brax guy with a load of mopeds out the front."

"I bet you're really starting to think you backed the wrong horse," Joey remarked, studying the flyer.

Scott moved round so that he could give her a hug.

"Hey," he said. "He might be hot and have all those muscles and hardly ever wear any clothes and… hang on, where was I again?"

Joey burst out laughing and hugged him tighter. Scott grinned.

"Seriously," he said. "I've been bumming around this planet for the longest time and this is the first place that's felt like home since… well, home."


By lunch time, Liam was all moved in. Having lived in a tent for months, he didn't have all that much stuff. He hadn't had time to unpack, as he had to get to work. He'd been relieved to be able to move everything during a couple of free periods that morning. Then he had one class, then lunch. He had high hopes for his new living arrangements. He liked Angelo and Roo. He just needed to shut out the noise in his head that made him feel bitter at what felt like Bianca's rejection.


Charlie headed over to Bucktons' at lunch time with Watson, eager for some food and also to catch up with her fiancée. Joey was quick to tell her of the developments at The Pizza Oven.

"Well, they're a pizza joint," Charlie said reasonably. "Pizza and delivery go together. Don't worry about it, Jo. What we do here is something completely different. It's much more about the experience of sitting here and enjoying the food and the drinks and the atmosphere. It's not about someone handing you a cardboard box at the door. So fine, let them do what they want to do and we'll do what we do. Okay?"

Joey lifted Charlie's hands and kissed them both. She thanked her quietly.

"What I'm here for," Charlie said, kissing her lips.

They were interrupted by Ruby charging into the place and throwing herself onto a bar stool in a manner so dramatic, she could only have inherited it from her mother.

"What's up with you?" they asked in unison.

"Casey," she replied.

Charlie kept her face impassive but Joey knew she was secretly hoping for a breakup. Although they both accepted that he was actually quite a nice boy, the idea of their daughter dating a Braxton was not an especially welcome one.

"What happened?" Joey asked.

"Oh, we just had the stupidest fight," Ruby complained. "It was my fault. I said everything wrong. And now he won't even speak to me so I don't know how to make it up to him."

"Welcome to my world," Charlie remarked.

Ruby looked confused.

"This is how I feel when you ignore me for saying the wrong thing," she explained.

Ruby frowned, pondering the comment.

"What did you say to him?"

"I kind of told him he was working for the enemy by getting a pizza delivery job at his brother's place," she explained awkwardly. "I just didn't think. I was so focussed on Brax doing you guys out of business and everything. I guess this is what you meant about it being complicated for me to date a Braxton, even if he isn't anything like Brax and Heath."

"Yeah," Charlie said sympathetically, resting a hand on her shoulder. "This is what we meant."

"I'm sure he'll cool down and you'll make it right," Joey said. "And thanks for being so loyal, by the way."

She and Ruby shared a smile.

"Always," Ruby promised.


Casey was pleased to have successfully scored the job as a pizza delivery boy for The Pizza Oven; he and Xavier were due to start at the weekend, delivering pizzas on scooters. However, he was still smarting over his argument with Ruby and beginning to doubt their future.

He stopped walking abruptly when he saw his girlfriend exiting Bucktons', his brother's rival restaurant. He took a breath, hoping they were not about to go for round two.

"You alright?" Xavier checked.

Casey had told him about their argument. Xavier had told him that Ruby was unpredictable and high maintenance.

"Yeah, I'm good," Casey said.

Nodding, Xavier left them to it.

"So, Xavier's your new best friend, is he?"

The accusation was out of her mouth before she could stop it.

"He went for one of the delivery jobs too," Casey told her. "He's coming to the festival."

"Oh, great. My boyfriend and my ex, who just happens to be the guy who sent that video round about me. Don't you care, Casey?" she asked.

"Sorry," he said. "I keep forgetting who your enemies are."

He glared at her and folded his arms across his chest. Ruby sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry about what I said," she apologised sincerely. "Your family and your family's restaurant are not the enemy and I should never have said that. I don't believe it. It's just that like you, I'm protective of my family and my family's business."

"I get that," he conceded.

He loosened his stance a little.

"But I want to be with you, Casey," she said. "I guess we just need to find a way to make it work between our families when stuff like this comes up."

He nodded and opened his arms for hug. She happily fell into his embrace.


On the beach, Romeo very nervously waited for Indi. She had texted him out of the blue and asked to meet up. He stood up, brushing the sand off his uniform when he saw her, looking beautiful in the sunlight. She wasn't smiling but she wasn't holding his things; he had feared this was the post-breakup 'here's your stuff back' meeting.

"Hi," he said awkwardly.

"Hi," she said.

She gestured for him to sit, which he did. She sat next to him.

"So… I've missed you," she admitted.

His heart soared and he immediately told her he felt the same.

"I wondered if you wanted to go out tomorrow," she said. "To see if we could try again."


"I just need to make a quick stop," Charlie said when she and Watson left the restaurant and pointed to The Pizza Oven.

"Fraternising with the enemy?" Watson joked.

Charlie chuckled as she headed inside, leaving Watson to wait. She headed up to the bar where Angelo looked delighted to see her. He was then crestfallen to realise she was there to see Brax, not him.

"What can I do for you, Sergeant?" Brax asked in his usual cocky manner, leaning on the bar and giving her his full attention.

"I want you to tell Casey to back off Ruby," Charlie said.

She knew she was taking a big risk by interfering but Ruby had been so upset. She wanted to protect her.

"I thought they were dating," Brax said. "Hard to see each other if you're not seeing each other."

"Well, he really upset her this morning and she just doesn't need it," Charlie told him.

"Yeah, he seemed pretty pissed when he came in here just now, actually," Brax recalled.

"So, warn him off," Charlie requested. "I think the best thing for all of us is if your family and mine have as little to do with each other as possible."

Without allowing him any time to reply, she left, nodding goodbye to Angelo as she did so.


Charlie and Joey had just arrived home with the week's shopping and were just unpacking everything into the fridge, freezer and cupboards when Ruby barged into the house, her face like thunder.

"What the hell are you playing at, Charlie?" she demanded.

Charlie froze. Joey looked between mother and daughter, silently trying to play catch up, despite the large chunk of information she knew she was missing.

"I mean, what is wrong with you? Why would you do that?" Ruby yelled.

"I was trying to protect you," Charlie said, clutching the bag of oranges she had been unpacking into the fruit bowl a little too tightly.

Joey extracted them carefully from her hands and set them down.

"By going to Brax and ordering him to get Casey to break up with me?" Ruby demanding.

"Charlie!" Joey said, shocked that she wouldn't have told her.

"That's not exactly what I said…" Charlie tried.

"So what exactly did you say?" Ruby wanted to know.

"I just thought it was best if you and Casey stayed away from each other," Charlie said. "I was trying to help. You were so upset before…"

"And Casey and I sorted things out," Ruby said. "We talked things through. Like grown ups."

"Like grown ups," Charlie said. "But you're not actually grown ups. You're still kids."

"I'm nearly eighteen, Charlie," Ruby said, rolling her eyes.

"Nearly, perhaps," Charlie agreed. "But that means you're still a child. Still my child. And I was worried about you being so upset. And I'm worried about that being because of a…"

"A Braxton, right," Ruby finished. "Whatever. Look, I appreciate how much you care but in future, just don't, okay? I am so sick of you interfering in my life. Just… leave me alone, okay?"

She stormed back out of the out. Charlie sagged against the kitchen counter. Joey stepped in and wrapped her arms around her.

"I really messed that up, didn't I?" Charlie mumbled into her neck.

"Well, I mean it probably wasn't your smartest move but you'll sort it out," Joey said confidently.

Charlie hugged her tighter.

"I was just so worried about her being hurt by him," she said.

"I know," Joey said. "I get it. Just let her calm down and we can talk about it as a family. Honestly, you Bucktons are so hot headed and fiery!"

Charlie managed a half laugh. They kissed and rested their foreheads together.

"She'll understand that you were trying to do your best for her," Joey said. "When she calms down, she'll understand."


Ruby met up with Claire on the beach during Claire's lunch break. Claire had been hoping for some chill time; instead she was enduring Ruby ranting about Charlie without pausing for breath.

"I mean, she just blazes in without even thinking, Claire!" Ruby exclaimed. "How could she do that? How could she tell Casey's brother to keep us apart like we're kids? Why would she do it?"

"Because she loves you?" Claire suggested.

Ruby stopped, somewhat taken aback.

"Excuse me?" she said.

"You said you'd been pouring your heart out to her only five minutes before about how much Casey had upset you," Claire said. "Charlie did the only thing she thought she could."

"She did it because he's a Braxton," Ruby corrected her sourly.

"That's probably part of it," Claire agreed. "You're dating someone from a family with a terrible reputation. Casey's a nice guy but it's normal for your parents to be worried. Of course, the first time he hurts you or upsets you, Charlie's going to try and do something about it. She's a fixer. She's your Mum. She loves you. She would do anything to protect you."

Ruby frowned. She'd wanted to slate Charlie, not see things from her perspective.

"And you need to stop being so ungrateful for it, Ruby," Claire said, gathering strength. "Every time Charlie interferes in your life, you get so pissed off but it always comes from a place of love. You seem to find it so irritating that she and Joey love you so much but you are so damn lucky. It's my birthday next week and do you know what I'll get from my parents? Nothing. Not even a card. I've had no contact from them for so long because they're ashamed of me and who I am. And the only reason I have anyone who actually cares about me is because I was so desperate and so sad about it all that I tried to kill myself I ended up in a rehab clinic and met you."

She felt breathless; she hadn't expected all of that to come out. Ruby had tears in her eyes. She had most definitely been told.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't be sorry to me," Claire said. "I'm grateful to you and your family and the gift you are to me. I'm grateful every single day. I just want you to be grateful for everything you have."

Ruby hugged her tight. Claire wrapped her arms around her and closed her eyes. They both took several breaths before they let each other go.

"Now, I'm going back to work; you go and sort things out with Charlie," Claire instructed, getting to her feet.


Charlie and Joey were sat on the sofa together, having demolished a tub of ice cream. All thoughts of their healthy food shop had gone out of the window after Charlie's argument with Ruby. They had skipped dinner completely.

"I just feel like every time I make progress with Ruby, I ruin it immediately," Charlie said, sighing heavily. "It's always one step forward and two steps back."

"Hey," Joey said, taking her hand and kissing it. "I know it feels like that right now but in your heart, you know it's not true. You and Ruby get along so well. You have such a strong bond and such a deep connection. We're a happy family, the three of us."

"We were. But it hasn't been the same since she found out the truth."

"It has, Charlie," Joey insisted. "Well, maybe not the same. But it's been good. It took time but it's been good. I know she's going through some kind of demon rebellion, sexual awakening right now and we've had a little more of the visual than we'd like but…"

Charlie choked on her ice cream. Joey patted her back and then stole the spoon.

"But things are good," she insisted. "Generally, they're good. She's just testing boundaries right now. And she loves you, Charlie. Whatever she might say to you sometimes, she's just angry. She loves you."

"I do love you."

They both turned to find Ruby standing behind them, making them both start. They hadn't heard her enter the house.

"I do," Ruby insisted. "And I'm so sorry for what I said to you. I know you only did it because you care about me and you love me."

"I did," Charlie said. "But it wasn't the right thing to do and I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Ruby said. "We can just forget about it now. Draw a line. But I am sorry for getting so mad at you. It was really unkind of me and really thoughtless. Can we make friends again, please?"

"Yes please!" Charlie said.

They hugged each other tightly. Joey sat back, relieved that they had resolved things so quickly. Sometimes, these arguments went on for days.

"So, uh… is there any ice cream left for me?" Ruby asked hopefully, peering into the tub on the table.


Next time… Joey has a gift for Charlie, Ruby starts planning Claire's birthday and Romeo and Indi attempt a 'first date'…