Sealed With Love

[Jess@Avalon]

Thanks for the update. Great again! Keep it coming

[lozlovesh&a]

A couple of weeks later, I was at home eating dinner with Leah, Martha and Rachel when someone knocked on the door. I got up and answered it.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked shocked.

“That’s not a nice greeting Charlie” he said.

“Shut it. Seriously, why are you here?” I asked again.

“I’ve come to see my daughter” he answered.

I glanced at my friends then turned back to him. “She doesn’t want to know you” I said.

“I bet you fed her lies. You were the one who came on to me Charlie” he said.

“You are sick. I was 11. Go away” I said and tried to close the door but he was stronger and kept it open.

“Where is Ruby?” he asked forcefully.

“You are not going anywhere near Ruby” I said to him.

“She is my daughter too Charlie” He said.

I heard gasps from the table.

“Oh so you haven’t told your little friends that Ruby is your daughter. Nice work Charlie”

“Go away now” I shouted at him.

“You know you grew up good. Really beautiful” He made a move towards me.

“Don’t you dare touch me” I said hating that I was shaking like a leaf.

“Leave her alone Steve” Dad said suddenly appearing at the door.

”Or you’ll do what Ross? Put me in jail?” he asked and started to laugh.

Dad punched Steve and kept punching.

“Dad stop” I yelled.

To my relief he stopped.

“I should have done that years ago” Dad said. “Now get out of here, you are not going to go near my girls again”

Steve left. “How did he find me?” I asked my father.

“I’m not sure honey” Dad said. “Are you alright?”

”Yeah, I guess so” I said. “What are you even doing here?”

“Morag wanted to visit Alf so I came with her. Then I saw Steve and had words. But I guess he must have thought that you and Ruby were here”

”He must have seen my car outside” I said.

“Probably” Dad agreed. “Where is Ruby anyway?”

”She’s at my place” Martha answered.

“Ok. I’ll go check on her” Dad said. “Morag wants to visit you tomorrow Martha” he added.

“Okay” She said.

“I’ll come back tomorrow Charlie. Call me if you want anything and I’ll come right over” he said and gave me a hug. I nodded. He waved goodbye and left.

I sat back down in my chair.

“Are you alright Charlie?” Rachel’s kind voice entered my thoughts.

“Do you want to talk?” Martha added concerned.

“I suppose I have to now” I said.

“You don’t have to tell us anything you don’t want to” Leah said giving my hand a squeeze.

I closed my eyes shut “Steve was Dad’s best mate in college” I started. Was I really ready to tell this story? Not really, but I felt I couldn’t leave it as it is without an explanation.

[Jess@Avalon]

Woah.. wasnt expecting that. Good though, you know what im going to say! Keep it coming

[Inactive User]

Whoa i was not expecting that too! Poor Charlie

Update soon please

[lozlovesh&a]

I opened my eyes to find 3 pairs of concerned ones staring right back at me so I continued. “They were practically inseparable. I grew up calling him Uncle Steve. One day when I was 11 years old he babysat me while Mum & Dad went out somewhere. I was in my room playing with my toys when he came in and he…. he……. he” I stopped talking and took a drink then continued. “I didn’t know what he was doing to me, all I knew it hurt bad. I told mum and dad though they didn’t believe me at the start. Then I began to get fatter and that’s when Mum thought I should take a pregnancy test. So I did and nine months later well I had Ruby. But my parents passed her off as theirs. I eventually told Ruby the truth a few years ago”

“God Charlie” Martha let out. She had tears in her eyes.

I started to cry too. This was so hard for me. But I am glad that its out now. “I’m sorry I should have said right away that Ruby is my daughter and not my sister but it was just easier this way. I can’t believe I saw him again” I started to sob now and I couldn’t stop. “Now I bet you all hate me because I kept this from you. I haven’t even really had many friends; close friends” I managed to get out.

Leah got up and put her arms around me, trying to comfort me. I loved her for doing that but I wished it were Joey. “Rach do something” I heard her say in a panicked voice.

“Charlie we don’t hate you. You’re our friend and as far as we’re concerned you’re still the same fantastic person” Rachel assured me.

“And we can see you had a good reason to keep this quite” Martha added.

”Do you want us to get in touch with Joey?” Leah asked brushing my hair away from my face.

I had calmed down a bit especially at the mention of Joey. “No, no don’t. I’ll call her later” I said. “God I can’t believe you all know that Ruby’s my daughter”

“Can I ask… how did Ruby take the news?” Martha asked.

“She took it well actually” I answered not really wanting to go into any more detail. They seemed to understand.

“Charlie, um how come you didn’t go to the police, I mean you had her when you were 11?” Rachel asked.

“12. I was 12 when I gave birth. I don’t know Rach. I guess it all happened so fast and we just did what felt right at the time”

“Does Joey know about this?” Leah asked.

“Of course. I told her about a month after we started dating. She was shocked at first but then she agreed to keep it a secret for as long as I wanted”

The phone rang so Leah answered.

”Hey Rubes” I heard her say. “Yeah sure I’ll just put her on” she said.

“Its Ruby” she said unnecessarily.

“Grandad told me what happened. Are you alright?” Ruby asked.

“I’m okay Rubes” I said.

“I guess people know now huh?” She asked.

”Well just Leah, Rach and Martha” I answered.

“I told Xavier and Hugo. Well, Grandad helped me tell them” she said.

”Okay, that’s good then”

“I also wanted to know if I can spend the night?” Ruby asked.

“Is it alright with Hugo?” I asked.

Hugo got on the phone. “Its fine with me if its fine with you Charlie” he said.

“Its fine with me” I answered. I was really fine with it. I knew that Ruby and Xavier had already spent the night together before.

“Hey, do you want me to call you Mum or Charlie?” Ruby asked. “We never really discussed that before”

“Call me whatever you feel comfortable with” I suggested.

“Okay. Goodnight Mum” she said.

I grinned. “Night Rubes” I said.

Rachel yawned. “Sorry but I think that’s my cue to go” she said.

“Yeah I’ll walk with you” Martha said.

Rachel squeezed my hand. “Call me if you want to talk” she offered.

“Thanks Rach” I said.

“See you guys later” Leah said.

“I think I’m going to go to bed” I said.

“Okay. I’m going to call Roman, do you want to call Joey first?” she asked.

I shook my head. “It’s a bit late. I’ll call her tomorrow” I answered.

“Okay, well, goodnight Charlie” she said.

“Goodnight Leah” I replied.

[Inactive User]

Glad Charlie told Leah and Martha, Rachael. They were lovely friends beginning there for her.

Steve should go to jail for this. It's disgusting and sick he had done this to a little innocent girl like Charlie years ago

I bet Summer Bay will soon learn about Charlie beginning Ruby's mum

Update soon please

[Jess@Avalon]

Woah, this is wierd. Especially when ruby called charlie "mum", they were such good sisters! Nevermind, I'm sure you'll make it work!

Update soon please

[Charliesther]

Okay! So I just read all the chapters just now!

I miss Joey =(

Ooh nice spin on the Charlie/Ruby/Mother/Daughter situation! I like how Ruby already knew!

Poor Charlie =(

Great fanfic!!

[H&A_diehard]

Oof, interesting. I'd sensed this was where you were going but then all the sangria, wine, Guinness... I had on holiday has fried my brain so it was quite unexpected to come back to. I forgot Joey had gone away working as well.

Anyway, keep the updates coming.

[lozlovesh&a]

Okay, I'm going away for about 4 days, be back Wednesday. So last update till then. Don't worry though there's more to come! Comments are appreciated.

I woke up early the next morning and walked into the kitchen to get some coffee. I was just sitting there staring into space and thinking when Leah walked in.

“Morning Charlie” Leah greeted me.

“Morning” I replied.

She got some coffee and sat down.

“So, how are you?” she asked.

I sighed. “Leah, I don’t know. So much has happened emotionally. I still haven’t spoken to Joey yet. She doesn’t know that you guys know”

“Why haven’t you talked to her yet?” Leah asked concerned.

I shrugged. “I just wanted to process it for a bit”

“Why don’t you talk to Rach? She may be able to help” Leah said.

“Maybe” I said. “Leah are you sure you want me and my girls to stay here?”

“Yeah of course. You’re part of the family. Why would you even ask that?” she said.

“Because we all lied” I said simply.

“Charlie I understand why you guys did that. Its all fine” she said.

“Thanks Leah. You’ve been an amazing friend” I said.

“I’m here for you anytime Charlie, I’ve got your back” Leah said.

“So, when are you going to the diner?” I asked changing the subject.

“I’ve got the day off today. When are you going to the station?” she asked.

“I’ve got the day off too” I replied.

She smiled. “Let’s have a girls day” she suggested.

“Sounds good” I said.

“Did I hear you say lets have a girls day?” Martha asked excitedly appearing at the door.

“Sure did. Want to join us?” Leah asked.

“Yeah sounds fun” She said. “We should see if Rachel wants to join us”

“And Kirsty” I added.

Rachel and Kirsty arrived a few minutes later.

“I can’t believe we all have the day off” Leah commented.

“I know, it rarely happens” Rachel said. “How are you this morning Charlie?” She asked kindly.

“Why, what’s happened?” Kirsty asked since she wasn’t at the dinner last night.

I told her that Ruby is my daughter. Kirsty took it well. Kirsty didn’t know me very well since she wasn’t there when I first moved to the bay. Of all I know of Kirsty I quite like her and I think she is a very nice person.

“I’m a bit better Rach” I answered Rachel’s first question.

“That’s good. But if you ever want to talk, I’m here” she said.

“Thanks Rach” I said. “Hey how about we go shopping?” I suggested.

“Yeah let’s hit the shops” Martha said enthusisastically.

So we went down to Yabbie Creek and tried on heaps of clothes.

We went into one store and I found a gorgeous dress that was my size so I tried it on.

“I bet Joey would love this. What do you guys think?” I asked twirling around.

“Charlie your so hot” Kirsty replied.

I laughed. “Thanks, are you sure your straight though?” I joked.

She laughed too. “Oh yeah” she answered.

“I bet Joey won’t know what hit her” Leah said.

“I’m so going to buy it”

“Who’s hungry?” Kirsty asked after I had purchased my dress.

Of course we all were hungry, we had been shopping for a couple of hours and each of us had bought heaps of clothes. We went into the food court and got our lunches. We were all sitting and eating when this guy came up to us.

“Hi, I saw you from over there and wanted to know if you’d like to get a drink later?” he asked me.

“Oh, thanks but I’m married” I said politely.

“Well, your husbands not here right? I’m really good company” he said.

“No you don’t understand I have a wife” I said.

“Oh, oh right. Sorry” he said.

“Its okay, you didn’t know” I said.

He left us then.

“I didn’t sound rude did I?” I asked.

“No you didn’t, you let him down gently” Martha replied.

“I’ve had guys ask me out a few times this month” I said.

“I can understand why they would do that. Like I said before you are pretty hot Charlie” Kirsty said.

“Yeah Kirst is right” Leah said. “You’ve got gorgeous looks. So does Ruby”

“Well, thanks. I don’t think I do but yeah I wish they would stop asking me out” I said.

“I’m sure that will stop when Joey comes back” Martha said.

“How is Joey?” Rachel asked.

“Um” I hesitated. “I haven’t spoken to her in a couple of days”

“Why Charlie? I thought you would be wanting to talk to her” Martha said.

“I needed time to myself to process what happened last night. We had only texted each other the day before. I know I want to talk to her now” I said.

“She doesn’t know we know?” Rachel asked shocked.

“No she doesn’t at the moment” I answered. “Please guys can we just talk about something else?” I really did not want to talk about this anymore. I didn’t want to talk about Steve or how Ruby’s my daughter. I did want to talk to Joey. I needed to tell her things. I wanted to hear her voice. I felt so overcome with emotion at that moment that I could barely breathe. “Um I’m just going to get some air. I’ll be back in a minute” I said. I walked away without hearing their replys. I walked outside and sat on a seat. I wished that the next month could fly by. I really need Joey right now.

We all went home after I went back inside. I think they realised that I wanted to talk to Joey.

Leah & I got out of the car as we reached our house. “See ya guys that was fun” I called to them.

I heard a chorus of Bye Charlie’s but I was already headed for the phone. Leah walked in a few minutes later as I dialled Joey’s number.

“Baby” Joey greeted me.

“Darling oh gosh” I said as I walked to my room and to my surprise start crying.

“Baby what is it? What’s happened?” She asked worriedly.

I sighed. “Steve came to the house last night” I announced.

“Charles did he do anything?”

“No but just seeing him again made me shake like a leaf. He said I grew up good, really beautiful and I was having dinner with Leah, Martha and Rachel and he said he wanted to see Ruby…..” I was sitting on our bed sobbing at this point but I still needed to get it out. “They know Jo, they know everything. Not everyone knows yet but Ruby and I are going to go to the diner and tell Colleen and then I guess they’ll know. Dad came over and he punched Steve but he stopped when I told him too” I managed to get that out over my sobs.

“Charlie, just let it all out baby” Joey said calmly.

I continued to sob for roughly ten minutes. I felt my mascara running down my cheeks. “I must look like a fright. My mascara has run everywhere” I said after I had calmed down.

“I’m sure you look beautiful darling” Joey replied.

“Thanks Jo” I said.

“For what?” she asked.

“For listening to me sob, and talk, for just being you” I answered.

“Baby, no need to thank me. I’m here for you anytime. Did Ruby see Steve?” she asked.

“No she didn’t. But she did tell Xavier & Hugo the truth” I stopped talking when I heard voices outside.

“Hey Leah, is Charlie still here?” I heard Martha’s voice.

“Yeah but she’s in her room talking to Joey, I can hear her crying” Leah answered quietly. Though they weren’t doing a good job of being quite because I could still hear them.

“Charles, you still there?” Joey asked.

“Oh sorry, I was just listening to Martha & Leah talking outside” I explained.

“Charlie I know you said no before….”

”And I’m still saying no” I said finishing her sentence. “Joey I’m not saying I don’t want you back because I do very much, more then anything actually but I can’t let you stop what you love to do. Besides I still have to do this by myself as well. Are you mad at me?”

“No I’m not mad, just the opposite in fact. I’ve very proud of you Charlie. I know if it was me and you were away I’d want you to come back more then I’d want you to stay away”

I smiled. “Well I’ve got Ruby, Leah, Martha and my Dad and Morag here. There’s lots of people taking care of me if I want it”

“I know you Charlie and I know that your not letting them do anything for you. Your more an independent person and I love that about you” Joey said. “You sound calmer now”

“I feel better just talking to you Jo” I said. “That’s what I really needed”

“Good, I’m glad” she said.

“I should let you get back to work. How is it going anyway?” I asked.

“Its going good, I just miss you though” she replied.

“I miss you too” I said.

“Okay” she sighed. “Call me if you want to talk… or sob”

I smiled. If I’m upset about anything I know Joey can cheer me up. “I love you Joey” I said.

“I love you too Charlie. Talk to you later” she said.

“Bye” I said and hung up the phone.

I walked into the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. I washed the mascara away.

“Are you okay Charlie?” Leah asked as I entered the kitchen.

“I feel better” I answered.

“We’re just having a snack want to join us?” Martha asked.

“Thanks but I’m going to go for a walk” I said.

I walked for awhile then headed for the wharf. I sat down and took my shoes off so I could put my feet in the water. I’m not sure how long I sat there as I was lost in my own world. I heard footsteps approaching me then the person sat down. I knew that person from anywhere.

We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before she spoke.