I'll Be Here For You

[Danni02]

Chapter 11

“I can’t believe she’s 5 months old already” Ruby said as she was dressing her little sister. “It just seems like yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital.

“Yea, tell me about it” Charlie said.

“And I can’t believe she is finally big enough to fit into the dress I bought her” Ruby smiled. Only over the past few weeks Ava had grown big enough to wear clothes for 3-6month olds, due to her being so early, she was a very small baby. Ruby handed Ava to Charlie then went and got herself ready.

“Ruby hurry up we are going to be late” Charlie yelled

“Chill out, I’m coming” Ruby said as she ran down the stairs. “I don’t think Olivia will care if we are late to her first birthday party” Ruby said. “Come to think of it, I don’t think she will even know what’s going on” She continued.

“That’s not the point Ruby. Martha wanted us there for 12, and Jack’s doing the BBQ. It’s more of a get together for the adults, really” Charlie said as she put Ava into the pram.

“Have you got the present?” Charlie asked Ruby

“Yes” Ruby replied.

“Oh I was going to go see dad tomorrow. Now that Ava has got into a routine and I’ve had time to think about....well....everything” Charlie said. “Would you like to come?

“Yes, sure” Ruby said. “You going to ask Morag aswell?”

“Yes, why not” Charlie said.

They walked down the path and along the road and after about 15 minutes of walking they arrived at Martha and Jacks house. Rachel, Tony, Xavier, Harry and Emily were already there when they arrived. Harry ran over to the pram and stuck his head in and looked at Ava who was sleeping soundly. He looked up at Charlie and then said “I like her. She is a nice baby. I don’t like Emily, she is yucky. She tries to play with my toys. They are big boy’s toys. She is just a little baby.”

“Harry, that’s not a very nice thing to say, is it mate” Tony said.

“Well she gots her own and I’m 4 and a half so I am a big boy.” Harry said then he picked up his football and ran over to Xavier and asked him to play with him. Ruby then walked over to where Olivia and Emily, who was 14 months old, were playing with blocks and started building towers and then knocking them down, much to the delight of the girls. Rachel, Martha and Charlie were busy talking babies so Tony and Jack decided to go out and play footie with the boys. Morag arrived about 10 minutes later, and then Jack started the BBQ. They all went outside and enjoyed their lunch and were kept entertained by Harry, Olivia and Emily. Xavier’s phone started to ring and he said it was his mum so he walked into the house to talk to her in private. Xavier had been living with Tony and Rachel for almost a year now, after he was starting to get too much for Gina. He started hanging around with the wrong crowds, getting in trouble with the police and when he got expelled from his school it all became too much for Gina to cope with Brendan and Xavier on her own. She didn’t know where her oldest son, Hugo even was. Last she knew he was in Indonesia, but it had been almost 2 years since she has heard from him. She thought Xavier needed a fatherly figure so Tony offered to take him in, much to the annoyance of Rachel, who argued the point that they already had their hands full with a troublesome toddler and a newborn to look after. But she eventually relented and Xavier moved in with them and it proved to have paid off. He made good friends, worked hard in school, got a part-time job and Harry really adored him. After a while Xavier came back outside and finished his lunch.

After everyone had eaten they went back inside and Martha helped Olivia to open her presents. They stayed for another couple of hours then Ruby and Xavier went to the surf club to meet Annie and Jai. Harry had a screaming match because he wanted to go with ‘Xaivee’ but after Charlie said he could hold Ava he stopped screaming immediately and ran over to the couch and climbed up on it and put his arms out.

“I’m ready.” He said.

They all laughed at him as Charlie put baby Ava his arms. Ava looked up at him and smiled and made little gurgling sounds. Harry made a funny face and she let out a little laugh. Rachel looked at her son and smiled.

“He was never like that with Emily. He was always asking to send her back and get a different one.”

“Maybe you’ve got the future Mrs Harry Holden there, Charlie” Tony added.

Charlie laughed as Olivia and Emily crawled across the couch. Jack picked up his daughter and gave her a hug.

“Is the birthday girl feeling left out?” he asked her. She let out a little squeal for a reply before she reached out her hands for her mummy. Martha took Olivia in her arm then she put on a CD and started to dance around the room with her. Emily let out a little squeal and started to pull on Jack’s trouser leg and he picked up his little sister and started dancing with her. Harry started to shuffle forward on the couch and Charlie rushed forward and picked up Ava.

“Harry be careful when you are holding the baby” Rachel told her son

“Sorry Charlie” He said and he ran over to where Morag was sitting.

“Morag will you dance with me” he said

“Ehm...No I’m fine watching thank you Harry” She replied.

“Oh....will someone dance with me then” he said, with a look of disappointment on his face.

“I will dance you Harry” Rachel said as she stood up.

“No I don’t want to dance with mummy” he said.

“Oh and what’s wrong dancing with mummy?” Rachel asked her son.

“Mummy can’t dance” he replied.

He ran across the room to where Charlie was sitting and asked her to dance with him. Charlie gave Ava to Rachel and danced with Harry. The room was filled sounds laughter and squeals of delight from the children. After about 10 minutes Ava started to cry and Charlie stopped dancing with Harry and took her daughter from Rachel. As soon as Ava was in Charlie’s arms she stopped crying. Martha and Jack also stopped dancing and Jack switched the music off. Morag’s mobile started to ring and she went through to the next room to answer it.

Harry looked at Charlie who was sitting with Ava then he looked at Martha and Jack who were sitting together with Olivia and then at his mum and dad sitting together with Emily. He thought about something for a while then looked at Charlie again.

“Charlie why do we never see Ava’s daddy”

Charlie looked up to find Jack, Martha, Rachel and Tony all looking at her.

“That doesn’t matter mate” Tony told his son.

Charlie smiled awkwardly and said it was ok.

“He is away at the moment and won’t be back for a while” Charlie said.

“But Why? Away were?” Harry continued.

Charlie was about to speak again when Morag came back into the room.

“Uhm Charlie....that was Ross’ home”

[Danni02]

Chapter 12

Ruby and Morag stood there, tears streaming down their faces as the coffin was lowered into the ground. Charlie was also there but the tears hadn’t come. Even as the minister talked about Ross’ life with his first wife and with Charlie and Ruby, then talking about his life with Morag however short their happiness was, due to his Alzheimer’s appearing so early during their time together, she just sat there, feeling numb. She wanted to cry and shout out that it wasn’t fair. That she needed her dad and wasn’t ready to say goodbye to him yet. She never even got the chance to apologise for what she said to him after the truth about Ruby came out. She didn’t mean it. She was angry with him because Ruby moved out and wouldn’t even speak to her. He never even got the chance to see his new grand-daughter. Even when she heard the words ‘He has had a stroke, there was nothing they could do, he is gone.’ She just stood there numb, but no tears came. She was standing at the graveside wishing she too, could grieve for her father. She looked up and saw everyone with tears in their eyes and then she walked away.

“Where are you going Charlie?” Alf asked when he noticed her leaving. She ignored him and kept walking. She felt embarrassed. She was at her dad’s funeral as she couldn’t even cry. Even Alf looked liked he had shed some tears for the guy. Yet, his own daughter couldn’t.

“Charlie…….Charlie…..….MUM” Ruby yelled as she chased after her. Charlie stopped walking and turned around to face her daughter. “Where are you going?” Ruby asked her.

“I need to go home. Ava needs me” Charlie said.

“Ava will be fine with the babysitter” Ruby said. “What about Morag and me? We need you just as much right now” she continued. “You can’t walk away half way through your dad’s funeral”

Charlie stood for a few seconds and said nothing then she turned round and walked away. Ruby called after her again, but Charlie walked on ignoring her. She walked home and paid the babysitter then took her baby in her arms and hugged her tightly. She looked up at the photo on the shelf of her and Angelo on their wedding day. She missed him so much. She needed him back. He would know what to say to her, know how to help grieve for her father. She fed Ava then she put her down for her nap. She made herself some dinner, although she wasted most of it. She didn’t actually feel like eating, she just wanted to keep herself busy. She went up the stairs and lay on her bed and closed her eyes and thought of how she had shut her dad out of her life for almost a year. She felt so ashamed with herself. He was only trying to protect her from having to go through a court case at just 14 years old, having everyone know her business, what had happened to her. He cared about her and loved her so much that he was protecting her by not letting her put Grant through a court case, she understood that now. All those years after Ruby was born she thought he’d let her down and she was wrong, she could see that now. When Ruby found out the truth she was so scared that she would lose her but she didn’t realise that her behaviour led her to lose her dad. She wished she hadn’t shouted at him or told him she hated him and that it was his fault Ruby was no longer speaking to her but she had said it and no amount of wishing could take that back. Over time she understood her parent’s actions and knew what she said to her dad was wrong but she felt too ashamed and embarrassed to face her dad again. Even Morag telling her he may not even remember the argument wasn’t enough. She hated herself for shouting at her sick dad the way she did. She was startled from her thoughts by the sound of Ava crying. She got up and went to check on her daughter. Then she went into her room and lay on her bed and fell into a deep sleep. The next thing she knew it was morning. She walked into the nursery and got Ava up and dressed then went through to Ruby’s room. She wasn’t there, and her bed hadn’t been slept in. She called Ruby’s mobile but it went straight to voicemail. She also tried to call Morag, but her phone was also switched off and she didn’t answer the house phone. She phoned Xavier but he hadn’t seen Ruby since he left the funeral the day before. She figured they were probably mad at her for leaving the funeral so she decided to just leave it for now, and try them again later. She went back into her bedroom and pulled out a box from under her bed. She took out her baby book and started looking through the pages. She stopped when she saw a photo of her and Ross when she was only a few hours old. She looked at him, staring down at her with a big grin on his face, and a single tear fell down her cheek. A few hours later and Ruby appeared back home.

“Hey, Rubes, how are you feeling?” Charlie asked

“Like you care” Ruby said “You left the funeral yesterday. Your own dad’s funeral”

“Rubes, please I need you to understand I….”

“I don’t want to hear it Charlie. You left. Morag is devastated, she needed you yesterday and so did I”

“And don’t you think I’m upset, don’t you think that I’m devastated. He was my father Ruby”

“Well he was my father too!” Ruby shouted before she realised that actually he wasn’t. “Well at least the only father I’ve had” she added.

“Ruby I need you to understand why I left. I felt ashamed for how I treated him, how I couldn’t face seeing him again for almost a year, I was embarrassed with myself. He has died thinking I hated him” Charlie sobbed and she fell to the floor.

Ruby bent down and gave Charlie a hug.

“He knew how much you loved him and if you came to visit him with me and Morag you would know that.” Ruby said. Charlie wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up at Ruby.

“What do you mean” She asked

“He was always talking about you. My daughter Charlie this……my daughter Charlie that” Ruby said. “You meant the world to him Charlie.”

“Well why didn’t you tell me!” Charlie asked

“I did! Loads, but you were just too stubborn to listen” Ruby said as Ava started to cry. Charlie wiped the tears from her eyes then got up to get Ava.

“I’ll go” Said Ruby and she walked into her little sister’s room. She reappeared out of the room with Ava to see Charlie was no longer in the hall. She walked to Charlie’s bedroom and noticed she wasn’t there either, she called out for her but there was no answer. She went to the bathroom but it was empty, so she went down the stairs and called out for her again but she wasn’t there. She took her phone from her pocket and tried to call her. She could hear the ringing in the distance. She followed the sound to find Charlie’s phone lying on her bed. She let out a sigh then went down stairs and gave Ava some lunch then made something for herself. A few hours had passed and Charlie still wasn’t home. Ruby was beginning to get worried. She never goes anywhere without Ava, or if she does, she will leave her for 1 hour at the most. What made Ruby even more worried was that Charlie never even said she was going anywhere, she just walked away after she was upset. Ruby shot up from the couch as quickly as she could and put Ava in the pram. She walked to Morag’s house and was relieved to find her in.

“Have you see Charlie at all day?” Ruby asked

“No I have not, but I would like to see her, she has some explaining to do from yesterday” Morag said.

“That’s why she left” Ruby said “We were arguing about why she left the funeral”

“And why did she? I would love to know” Morag said

“She was ashamed of herself. You know what happened with her and Ross. She feels guilty. That’s why she couldn’t visit him. She was ashamed of how she treated him. And now it’s too late to put things right. She thinks that Ross has died thinking she hated him.”

“Well that’s just ridiculous. Ross adored Charlie”

“Yes I told her that” Ruby said.

Morag called the diner but Leah said that Charlie hadn’t been in but if she appeared she would let them know. Rachel and Martha also hadn’t heard from Charlie. Ruby and Morag walked back to Charlie and Ruby’s house to see if Charlie had came back but she still wasn’t in.

“I think I know where she will have went” Ruby said. As they made their way back along the road.

“Where” Morag said

“Just follow me” Ruby said

After walking for a good 30 minutes they arrived at the graveyard. They walked to where they buried Ross the day before and found Charlie lying across his grave, in floods of tears. Ruby walked over to her and held her and she broke down. Charlie looked up at Morag.

“I’m so sorry Morag I’m so sorry”

“It’s quite alright darling” Morag said as she walked across to where Charlie was sitting.

Charlie stood up and Morag hugged her. Charlie started to explain herself to Morag but she stopped her.

“Ruby explained everything. You’re dad loved you very much and I can assure he if he remembered anything you said, he wouldn’t have held it against you. He knew you were hurting because you’d just lost Ruby”

“I just wish I saw him before he....died” Charlie said as she wiped away the tears from her eyes. She walked across to the pram and picked up her daughter. She gave her a big hug then turned to look at Morag and Ruby. They walked across to where Charlie was standing and then all 3 of them looked back at where Ross was lying.

“Rest in peace dad” Charlie said and then they turned and walked away.

[Danni02]

Chapter 13

Ruby woke up and made her way down the stairs. It was her 17th birthday. She walked into the kitchen to see Ava sitting in the high chair and Charlie busy making breakfast. She noticed a pile of cards and 2 presents, jewellery, she thought, judging by the size of the boxes sitting on the table.

“Morning” she said as she walked across to the kitchen table.

“Morning. Happy Birthday” Charlie said as she gave her daughter a hug. Ruby then sat down at the table and Charlie brought the breakfast over. Ruby picked the first card up and opened it.

“$50 from Auntie Michelle” Ruby said as she opened the first card. She opened a few more cards from friends and relatives from the city then opened her card from Charlie. She picked up the box and unwrapped it quickly. She opened the box to find a set of keys sitting in it.

“Oh my god! Are you giving me a car?” Ruby yelled as she jumped off the seat.

“Yes, Happy Birthday Rubes” Charlie replied. Ruby let out a scream and jumped up and down and gave Charlie a hug. Then she ran over to Ava, who had gotten a fright and started crying when Ruby screamed. She lifted her out of the chair and spun her round in a circle, which seemed to turn the crying into babbles of excitement. She went back over the table and sat down with Ava on her knee. Charlie handed Ruby another present.

“The car was enough” Ruby said as she opened it.

“The car was from me. This is from Ava” Charlie said. Ruby opened the box and lifted out a white gold chain with an ‘R’ pendant through it.

“Aww thank you, I love it” Ruby said as she put it on.

“Hey, if I have your car then what are you going to use?” Ruby asked

“Angelo’s. It needs to keep being used anyways, so it makes sense for me to always to his, and you have your own now.” Charlie replied. Ruby let out another scream which set Ava off again. Charlie picked up her daughter and she immediately stopped crying. Ruby finished her breakfast then went upstairs to get ready for school. It was her first day back, since Ross had died 3 weeks earlier. When Ruby came back downstairs, Xavier was already waiting for her. She gave Ava a kiss and cuddle goodbye then they made their way to school. Charlie cleaned up in the kitchen then went round to see Morag. They never had the best relationship, but the death of Ross had brought them a lot closer together, as they had turned to each other for support.

Angelo walked along the corridor, through the yard and into the kitchen. It was his month for kitchen duty, along with another 3 of the prisoners.

“Hey Rosetta, you have a wife, don’t you” one of the other prisoners asked him.

“Yes I do, why”

“Well I just wondered why she never visits you”

“I don’t want her to see me in here, it’ll be too hard to see her just 1 hour a week” Angelo replied.

“Fair enough, you got any children?” he asked him.

“No. We had only been married a few months when I go put away. I have a step-daughter though.” Angelo replied. “What about you mate? You got any kids?”

“5 boys. The wife wanted to start trying again. She’s desperate for a little girl. But I decided to rob a bank so we will have to wait a while” The man replied. Angelo let out a small laugh.

“Yes guess you will” he replied.

“Rosetta, come here” The prison guard yelled. Angelo walked away from the conversation and along to the other side of the kitchen where the officer stood. Before he made it out of the room there was an explosion.

After school Ruby, Xavier, Annie, Jai, Geoff and Nicole went to the Surf Club. They had all given Ruby her birthday presents and they were enjoying each other company. It was the first time Ruby had been out with her friends since Ross had died.

“Any one fancy a game of pool?” Jai asked.

“How about we do guys V girls?” Geoff suggested. “That way everybody gets to play.”

Everyone agreed, and they walked over to the table. There were already 2 guys playing but Nicole decided she would be able to get them to leave.

“Hey guys, will you be long, it’s just that me and my friend wanted to play” she said as she pulled Ruby into sight. She leaned over the pool table and started to play with her hair.

“Uhm…no it’s ok, you go ahead and play” said one of the guys who couldn’t stop starting at her.

“Great thanks. Ok guys we can play now” She said as Geoff, Xavier, Jai and Annie walked across to the table.

“Eh Nic, I don’t really appreciate my girlfriend flirting with other guys so she can get what she wants”

“We are getting to play pool aren’t we?” she asked him

“Well yea but…”

“Well shut up then” Nic said as she pulled Geoff in for a kiss.

Charlie was setting Ava down for her nap when the door bell went. She walked down the stairs and opened the door to find two men dressed in smart suits staring back at her.

“Can I help you?” She asked the men.

“Mrs Rosetta?” One of the men asked.

“Yes that’s me” She said.

“I’m afraid we have some new regarding your husband.” The other man said.

“You better come in then” Charlie said. She walked into the living room and sat on the couch while the two men sat on the other.

“There was an explosion in the kitchen this morning. Your husband, he was one of the 4 prisoners who was on kitchen duty.” The officer told her. Charlie sat there unable to speak. She wanted to ask the question but at the same time she didn’t want to hear the answer.

“The building has collapsed due to the explosion. The prisoners and staff were buried in the rubble. There are a few bodies we still need to find and your husband is one of them” the officer continued. Charlie sat there in shock. She’d just lost her dad. She couldn’t loose her husband as well. Tears started to steam down her face. Just then, Ava started to cry. Charlie rose to her feet.

“I have to go see to my daughter” Charlie said through her tears.

“They are doing the best they can and we will keep you updated in our search” the officer told her. The officers stood up and Charlie walked them to the door before going up the stairs to see to Ava. After she settled her she went back down the stairs and took out a glass from the cupboard and opened a bottle of red wine. She sat at the kitchen table, and drank. She was pouring what would be her third glass when Ruby came home. She looked at Charlie and noticed she’d been crying.

“Hey mum, what’s wrong” Ruby said as she walked over the table.

“I have to go out. Can you watch Ava for me?” Charlie said.

“Yeah sure, but what’s wrong? Where are you going?” Ruby asked as she followed Charlie to the front door.

Charlie slammed the door shut and walked away not answering her. She took a cab into the city and went into a bar. She downed another 2 glasses of wine and was about to make her way to the bar to order another drink when someone came over to her and put a drink on the table.

“Hey, I’m Bill” he said as he held out his hand, as if wanting her to shake it.

“Charlie” She said, ignoring his offer to shake his hand.

“Is this seat taken?” he asked her as he gestured to the empty seat next to her.

“No its not” Charlie said.

“Mind if I join you? He asked her.

“Sure why not” Charlie said. A couple more drinks and a good few shots later and Charlie rose to her feet. She took a stumble back and Bill rushed forward and grabbed her.

“So were to now?” He asked

Ruby sighed and got out of bed again. It was the 6th time in the last hour that Ava had started screaming. She walked into Ava’s room and picked her up and rocked her gently. It wasn’t Ava’s fault. She was teething so she would just have a little pain. She put some more gel onto her gums and sat down in the rocking chair and starting to rock her gently. Eventually Ava fell asleep and Ruby put her back into the cot. She walked out of the nursery and along to Charlie’s room but she still wasn’t home. She’d already tried to phone her a least 5 times but every time it rang through to voice mail. She gave it another try, but again Charlie didn’t answer the phone. Ruby sighed and went back into her bed. Throughout the rest of the night, Ruby had to get up with Ava about another 5 times. The next morning, she got Ava up and gave her a bath, dressed her and then gave her her breakfast. She got herself ready for school, but was then at a loss at what to do as Charlie still hadn’t came home. Just as she was about to call Morag, Charlie appeared through the door.

“Where the hell have you been?” Ruby shouted.

[Danni02]

Chapter 14

“Well, answer me” Ruby yelled.

“Just out” Charlie said as she took Ava from Ruby and made her way up the stairs and into her bedroom. Ruby followed her.

“It’s not as if you’ve been out to the shops for a few hours. That’s “just out”. You stayed out all night, Charlie. All night. Something must be wrong, I know you wouldn’t just go and leave Ava for that long” she continued. Charlie sat Ava on her bed and broke down into tears. Ruby walked across the room and sat next to Charlie and hugged her and asked her again what was wrong.

“It’s Angelo. I think he’s dead.” Charlie cried.

“What, why would think that” Ruby asked.

“Some officers came round yesterday. Said there was some kind of explosion and a collapsed building. Angelo was in it. He’s been buried under the rubble.”

“Oh my god. Charlie….I don’t know what to say”

“My husband is dead. There is nothing you can do or say” Charlie said.

“You don’t know that for sure, he might be found alive.” Ruby said.

“Don’t be so stupid, he’s been buried under a building, of course he will be dead.”

Ruby was about to reply when the door bell rang. Charlie picked up Ava and went down the stairs to answer with Ruby following her. Once again she opened the door to find the two smartly dressed officers standing on the other side.

“Mrs Rosetta” One of the officers said. “Can we come in?”

Charlie showed them through to the living room and sat down. Ruby sat on the couch next to her.

“Sorry, can we speak to Mrs Rosetta in private please” One of the officers asked Ruby.

“She is my daughter. She needs to hear this as well. She’s staying.” Charlie said.

“Very well” said the officer.

“We found your husband’s body. But he was unconscious. He came out of his coma this morning and he is being safely monitored in the prison’s hospital where the staff tell us they have no doubt’s that he will make a full recovery.” The officer told her. Charlie let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you for letting me know, officers” Charlie said as she showed the officers out. Charlie walked back into the living room and sat on the couch as burst into tears. Ruby moved to next to her and gave her a hug.

“He c’mon what’s wrong now, they said he was going to be fine” Ruby said.

“You asked me where I was last night. When you came home and I had been drinking, that was because the police had just been around and told me about Angelo. I thought he was dead. I left here and went to a pub in the city. I had a lot to drink and this guy came over and started speaking to me. Then I had a lot more to drink and ended up going back to his.” Charlie cried.

“Oh please tell me you didn’t….”

“I don’t know. I can’t remember anything after we left the pub. I should never have went to his house in the first place or let myself get so drunk. I can’t believe I’ve been so stupid. What if I’ve cheated on my husband Ruby, what do I do?”

“Honestly, I don’t think you would ever cheat on Angelo, no matter how drunk and upset you got” Ruby told her.

“Yea well I hope you are right. And I hope one day I remember that night.” Charlie said.

Charlie pushed the buggy along the road and into the diner where she was meeting Martha and Rachel for some lunch. She walked in to find that Rachel and Martha were already there, along with Emily and Olivia.

“Hey, how are you” Charlie said as she took a seat.

“Yea fine” Rachel answered as Martha replied with “Ok thanks”

“How are you?” Rachel asked

“Yea not bad thanks” She replied

“How’s Angelo” Martha asked

“Yea he’s fine. He got out of the hospital last night.” Charlie said

“So how long was he in for?” Rachel asked.

“Four weeks” Charlie replied. They ordered lunch but when Martha’s came she didn’t eat it she just sat there staring at it.

“You alright, Martha?” Rachel asked

“Yea fine.” Martha said

“You don’t look it” Charlie said

“I’ve just been feeling off for a few days. And seeing that has just made me feel ill again” Martha said and Rachel and Charlie glanced at each other.

“I think I’m going to go home, have a lie down” She said as she stood up and started to push the buggy.

“And take a pregnancy test” Charlie added. Martha looked at her and then to Rachel who nodded.

“No I’m not pregnant, I can’t be, well I could be...oh my god” Martha said. She sat back down on the chair. “I think I’m pregnant.”

Charlie and Rachel finished their lunch, while Martha stuck water. Then they went back Martha’s house. She went into the bathroom with a pregnancy testing kit and came out minutes later.

“I’m pregnant” Martha said.

“Congratulations” Charlie and Rachel said at the same time.

“Or is it?” Rachel asked. Martha looked at Olivia who was still sleeping in her buggy and smiled and nodded her head. “It is” Martha said. “I’m having another baby” she yelled and jumped up and down as Jack was walking into the room.

“Did I just hear you say we are having another baby?” Jack asked as he ran over to his wife.

“Yes, I’m pregnant” Martha told him. He picked her up in his arms and hugged her tightly.

“That’s amazing” Jack said. Rachel and Charlie got up from where they were sitting and left Jack and Martha alone to celebrate.

Charlie and Rachel took their daughters to the park and pushed them softly on the swings. The girls laughed and squealed with excitement.

“So how long are you planning on staying off work for?” Rachel asked Charlie.

“Well I was planning on going back when she was 6 months old, but seeing as she will be 8 months old tomorrow, I don’t think I will be” Charlie said. Rachel laughed.

“Besides, she doesn’t like it when I’m not right next to her. She’s a mummy’s girl. Of course she has to be, but you know what I mean. If she loses sight of me for longer than 5 mins she starts to scream.” Charlie said

“She would get used to not being around you as much, Charlie. It would take time, but she would.”

“Yea I know, but being with Ava, it makes me feel like I’m with Angelo. I know that might sound stupid but its how I feel. It’s like if I didn’t have Ava, there’s no way I would be coping as well. She helps me get through everyday not seeing Angelo.” Charlie said.

“It doesn’t sound stupid Charlie, Ava is part of Angelo, of course she is going to remind you of him and help you get through this” Rachel said

“Thanks Rach...Anyway I need to go do some shopping.” Charlie said.

She took Ava out of the swing and gave her a hug. She put her back in the buggy and walked away.

“Hey Rubes, I’m home” Charlie said as she was coming through the door.”Can you come help put the shopping away please” she shouted.

“I guess” Ruby said as she walked into the kitchen

“So how was your day?” Charlie asked

“Well let’s see, I went to school, broke up with Xavier, got a maths assignment that I didn’t even know I had and got detention for skipping class because I broke up with Xavier. So all in all pretty rubbish.” Ruby said then she stormed out the kitchen and run up to her room and slammed the door shut. Charlie walked up the stairs and knocked on Ruby’s door. There was no answer so she knocked again.

“Go away” Ruby shouted

“Please Rubes, let me come in” Charlie said but she received no reply. She knocked on the door again.

“I said go away” Ruby yelled. Charlie let out a sigh and walked back down the stairs.

She was sitting at the edge of the bathtub with a pregnancy test in her hand waiting for the result to come through. Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she was hoping for a negative result. Her mind went back to that night and she couldn’t believe how stupid she had been. Then she was startled when she heard a voice at the door.

[Danni02]

Thanks guys for all your lovely comments! They really keep me going!

Chapter 15

“Anything you want to tell me?” Charlie asked as she walked into the bathroom to where her daughter was sitting.

Ruby looked up and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I don’t know yet, I’m still waiting.” Charlie sat next to her and put her arm around her.

“Oh Ruby, how could you be so stupid. I thought you were a sensible girl.”

“I am. We were always careful but then there was this one night.” Ruby cried. “What am I going to do, I’m not ready to be a mum, I’m only 17, I’m still in school, I have no money or no boyfriend.” She continued.

“So has this got something to do with why you and Xavier broke up?” Charlie asked.

“I told Xavier this morning that I thought I was pregnant and he ended things with me. Said he wasn’t ready to be a dad and if I had this baby then we couldn’t be together. That he couldn’t handle this right now. Then he left. He went back to see his mum.”

“Give him time to come round Rubes. I know he has left you to deal with this on your own, but he is a young boy and he is scared and won’t be thinking straight.”

“But what about me? Isn’t it just as a scary for me, if not worse as I’m the one who actually could have a baby inside me.” Ruby cried. “Guys get to have a little bit of fun and then they can walk away, that’s it. It’s the girl that gets left to deal with the consequences”

“Ehm yeah, that’s just how it is I’m afraid.” Charlie said.

“I can’t don’t this on my own. I just can’t.” Ruby said.

“Lets just see what the results are first, yea” Charlie said. “And you won’t be on your own Rubes. I’m not going to make any decisions for you, as they are yours to make, but once you have decided, I will support you and help you, whatever that decision may be. I’ll be here for you.” She said as she hugged her daughter. Ruby wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled at her mother.

“Thank you” she said. Ruby took a deep breath and looked down at the test.

“Its negative” She said and let out a huge sigh of relief.

Four days later and Ruby still hadn’t heard anything from Xavier. She wasn’t going to call him. He was the one who left her when she needed him the most. It was up to Xavier to make the first move. She walked along the beach and into the surf club and took a seat. About 5 minutes later Nicole came in.

“Hey how are you?” Nicole asked as she took a seat

“Yeah ok, I guess” Ruby said

“You want to talk about it?” Nicole asked

“What? I’m fine there’s nothing to talk about” Ruby said

“Ruby you are my best friend, I know there is something wrong” Nicole said.

“Ok if you really must know. I told Xavier that I thought I was pregnant and he dumped me and ran off to stay with his mum.”

“Oh my god…..and are you pregnant?” Nicole asked

“No thankfully, but that’s not the point. Xavier should have stuck by me and should have been there for me when I was doing the test. I needed him and he just left.”

“At least he didn’t come on a strong as Geoff. After we slept together he proposed! But he was great when I had a pregnancy scare, he really stood by me and said he would be the best father he could. Although he did thank god after we found out the test was negative.” Nicole said.

Ruby laughed. “I would rather Xavier was like that than run off. Shows how much he loves me, doesn’t it.”

“Ruby, Xavier does love you. That’s obvious, have you seen the way he looks at you.”

“Funny way of showing it then” Ruby replied. “I needed him and he left me. We are over.”

“You know you could have spoke to me about it sooner, that way you didn’t have to do it on your own” Nicole told her.

“I wasn’t on my own. Mum was with me, she was great. I thought she would go ballistic if I told her I thought I was pregnant, but she was really supportive and knew what to say.”

“Well she has been through it to Ruby and it wasn’t just a scare.” Nicole said

“Yea but her situation was different. I was just irresponsible. She was….well you know”

“The circumstance where different but a pregnancy scare would be pretty much the same” Nicole said.

“Look who’s decided to come home” Ruby said as Xavier approached the table where the girls we sitting.

“Hey Ruby, can we talk?” Xavier asked

“I’m busy at the moment.” Ruby replied

“Please Rubes just give me a chance to explain” Xavier said. Ruby got up from the seat and gestured for Nicole to get up too. The girls walked away from the Surf Club and went to Ruby’s house.

“I don’t want to talk to him Nicole” Ruby shouted as she was walking into the house.

“You have to do it sometime and isn’t sooner better than later? Just talk to him and get it over with” Nicole said.

“No Nicole, he said what he had to say before he left. I don’t want to see him ever again” Nicole let out a sigh and looked up at Charlie who was sitting in the kitchen giving Ava her lunch.

“Charlie please will you knock some sense into your daughter” Nicole said

“Ruby, speak to Xavier, give him a chance to explain, that’s all he wants to do. Just listen to what he has to say then you don’t ever have to see him again if you don’t want to. Although judging by the size of this town I’m sure you’ll dump into him a lot. But that doesn’t mean you have to speak to him” Charlie said.

“Ahh fine, I will let him say what he wants to say but after that we are finished.” Ruby said. She took a drink out of the fridge for herself and passed one to Nicole and then stormed up the stairs to her bedroom. Nicole left a few hours later then Ruby said she was going to talk to Xavier but she would be back before dinner.

“Hey Ruby, come in” Rachel said. “Xavier is just in his room”

“Thanks Rachel” Ruby said as she walked in to the house then through to Xavier’s room. She knocked on the door and walked in.

“Hey Rubes, thank you so much for coming to see me” Xavier said as he sat up from lying on his bed. Ruby just stood there staring at Xavier and said nothing. No one spoke for a while before Ruby broke the silence.

“Say what you wanted to say and then I can go” Ruby said

“I’m so sorry for running off and leaving you when you told me you might be pregnant. But honestly it was the last thing I expected to here you say. I was shocked and I didn’t handle the situation how I should have. I’ve have time to think about it now. I love you so much Ruby. I’m so sorry and if you are pregnant we will get through it together, we will work it out.”

“I’m not pregnant” Ruby said. Xavier let out a small sigh of relief and moved forward to take Ruby’s hand but she took a step backwards.

“Rubes, please, I’m sorry. Please can we just put this mess behind us and move on. We are so good together, I love you so much Ruby”

“No you don’t otherwise you wouldn’t have run off and left me when I needed you” Ruby shouted.

“Please Ruby I can’t lose you, you mean so much to me.” Xavier cried.

“Are you finished?” Ruby asked and she walked of his room and then ran all the way back home. She ran in the door, ignored Charlie in the kitchen and ran up to her room and collapsed on her bed and burst into tears. Charlie walked up the stairs and knocked on Ruby’s door. There was no answer, but she could her Ruby crying. She walked into the room and walked along to the bed and sat down next to Ruby. Ruby looked up at Charlie and fell into her arms. Charlie held Ruby tightly and said nothing.

[Danni02]

Chapter 16

It had been a month since Ruby and Xavier had split up and Ruby had become a nightmare to live with. She was talking back to Charlie, not picking up after herself and went mad over the slightest little things.

“You are going to have to stop behaving like this. You broke up with your boyfriend. It’s not the end of the world.” Charlie yelled

“I love him and I miss being with him so sorry if I’ve been a little upset lately.” Ruby yelled.

“If you love him as much as you say you do then you would be able to look past what he did. It was a spur of the moment decision and he has apologised and explained his actions to you. It was a mistake Ruby, if you loved him as much as you say you do then you would get back together with him”

“I love him and I still want to be with him but I just can’t get over him leaving me when I needed him” Ruby said.

“Yea well at least you’ve got the chance to be with the person you love” Charlie snapped then she sat on the couch and put her head in her hands and started to cry.

“Oh mum, I am so sorry, I didn’t think” Ruby said as she hugged a tearful Charlie.

“Everyone said it would get easier as time went on. If anything it’s just getting harder.” Charlie cried. “He’s only served 15 months of his sentence, he still has ages left.” Ava looked up from where she was sitting playing with her blocks and crawled over to her mummy. She had been crawling for about a month now and once she started there was no stopping her, Charlie and Ruby were continuously chasing her around the house. She put her hands on the edge of the couch and pulled herself up and put her hands on Charlie’s knee. Charlie wiped the tears from her eyes and lifted her daughter up onto her knee and gave her a hug.

“Why don’t you try to contact him again, go to the prison, see if you can see him” Ruby asked

“Because without a visiting order I can’t get in. Angelo doesn’t want to see me. There’s nothing I can do about it” Charlie replied.

Ruby sat on the couch and thought for a while. Maybe there was nothing Charlie could do about it, but maybe there was something she could.

“Well I’m going to go to see Nic.” Ruby said as she got up from the couch and made her way to the door. “Oh and mum, I’m sorry for being such a pain this last month.”

“That’s ok, just don’t make a habit of it” Charlie replied.

Ruby drove to the prison and parked the car. She sat there for a while and thought about what she was going say. She took a deep breath and got out of the car and walked into the building.

“Can I help you?” The lady behind the desk asked

“I need to speak to Angelo Rosetta, it’s really important”

“And you are you?”

“Ruby Buckton. I’m his step-daughter”

“Well Ruby, it’s not a drop in centre you know, you can’t just come in and expect to see a prisoner. Also, if you don’t have a visiting order we can’t let you through”

“Well can you ask him to give me a visiting order, I really need to talk to him”

“Put your details down there, we will tell him you came by but if he wants to see you then he will send for you.” Ruby wrote down her details making sure to write down Nicole’s address, so if Angelo did send for her, Charlie wouldn’t come across the letter from the prison in the mail. She thanked the lady for her help then drove back home.

The next day, Ruby walked down the stairs and into the living room. She sat on the couch next to Charlie and looked at her but didn’t say anything.

“What do you want?” Charlie asked her

“Well I was thinking...I know I’ve still got another year of school left before I would be going to Uni but there is an open day at one I want to go to in the city and I thought it couldn’t hurt to go and check it out. Ruby said

“When is it?” Charlie asked

“Friday” Ruby said

“Yea sure why not, we can go” Charlie said

On Friday morning Charlie reluctantly left a screaming Ava with Rachel and drove to the city with Ruby.

“We need to look for a Mr W Hislop” Ruby said as Charlie was parking the car.

When they arrived at the Uni they found Mr Hislop who said he was a lecturer and that he would be showing them round. Charlie did a double look at the man who looked familiar but she just couldn’t place how she knew him. He showed the group around the Uni and gave the students information packets. They were invited to ask questions then told the tour was over but that there were refreshments in the hall if anyone wanted any. Charlie and Ruby were making their way to the hall when Mr Hislop stopped them.

“Charlie, isn’t it?” He asked

“Yes, and you are?”

“William Hislop. Well, Bill to you” he said

“Bill, from the bar” Charlie said

“Yep that’s right. How long did it take you to recover then? You were in a real bad state. I couldn’t let you go home that drunk. You couldn’t even tell me your address when I tried to help you get home so I took you back to my house and let you crash there. Don’t worry nothing happened between us, you must have told me 100 times you were married.” He said.

“Right well thanks for looking after me, I guess” Charlie said.

“No problem. This must be Ruby, your daughter” he said looking at Ruby.

“Ehm yeh it is, how did you know that?” Charlie asked

“You told me you didn’t normally drink as much. Then you told me why you drank as much on that night. Told me about your dad passing and then why your husband was in jail and about his accident. Is he ok by the way?

“Uhm yea he’s fine now” Charlie said, feeling embarrassed.

“Oh well I must dash, got another group to show round” Bill said as he walked away.

“I can’t believe I told a total stranger about Grant and Angelo and dad.” Charlie said.

“Oh that would just be drunken rambling. At least you know that you didn’t sleep with him”

“Yea I suppose” Charlie smiled.

[Danni02]

Chapter 17

It had been 2 weeks since Ruby went to the prison and she still hadn’t received a letter from Angelo. She grabbed her school bag, ran out of the door and went to meet Nicole and walked to school.

“Hey, Ruby I got some mail for you today” Nicole said as she handed her the letter.

“Oh my god he actually sent me a visiting order” Ruby said as she jumped up and down.

“Hey, Ruby why is your mail coming to my house?” Nicole asked.

“Remember, I told you. I couldn’t get it send to my house as Charlie would see it and wonder why I had a visiting order for Angelo and she didn’t.”

“Really? When? I so don’t remember that” Nicole said

“Well you were getting ready to go out to that fancy restaurant in the city with Geoff when I told you so you probably had your mind on something else” Ruby said

“Oh yea that night, I remember now” Nicole said “Why are you getting visiting orders from Angelo.”

“Like I said, I told you that I wanted to help her, she isn’t coping not seeing him Nicole, she puts on this front and pretends she is fine but I know she really isn’t and I want to help her. So I thought if I went to see him I could get him to let her visit him”

“Oh ok well good luck with that” Nicole said

“Yea thanks” Ruby said as they walked into school.

Ruby walked into the prison and handed her visiting order to the officer. She was told to wait in the queue with the rest of the visitors until they could go in. They waited for about 5 minutes then were taken through to the room. Ruby scanned the tables till she saw Angelo and she walked across to the table.

“Hey” She said as she took a seat.

“Hey Ruby, how are you?” Angelo asked

“Yea I’m ok thanks. How about you? How have you been?”

“Alright, considering where I am” he replied

“Yes, sorry about that, I can’t help feel a little guilty.” Ruby said

“I wasn’t your fault Ruby.”

“Well, technically it was”

“Did you make me hit Grant across the head?

“Well no but...”

“Then it wasn’t your fault. So what are you doing here anyway Ruby? What’s so important? Is it Charlie? Is she ok? Has something happened?”

“She misses you, she just wants to be able to see you, Angelo. You can’t ask her not to see you for 6 years. It’s not fair.”

“I know. I thought it would be easier this way. But truthfully it’s harder. I miss her so much, Ruby”

“Well you know you can change that, Angelo, just send her a visiting order”

“Yea, your right I will. So what’s been going on? Anything I should know?”

“Probably but it should come from mum” Ruby said

“Oh right, well anything going on in your life?”

“Xavier and I broke up but I don’t really want to talk about that”

“Right sorry to hear that.”

“Yeah, anyways did you ever read that letter that Charlie sent you?”

“No I didn’t, I couldn’t bring myself too. Why, what did it say?” Angelo said

“Like I’ve said, you need to speak to Charlie.”

“Should I be worried about something?”

“No, not really” Ruby said.

“How has she been?”

“Well she puts on this front, pretends she fine. But sometimes I hear her crying at night. I want to speak to her about it, but I just can’t bring myself too.” Ruby said. “That’s why I think it would be good if you saw her. She needs you Angelo”

“Yeah I know I need her too. I’ve been wanting to send her an order for ages, but I was never able to do it. I hurt her when I told her I wasn’t going to let her come to visit” Angelo said.

“Think how happy you will make her when you send an order though” Ruby said

“Yea, I will send an order, I promise”

About one week later and Charlie received a letter in the post.

“Oh my god....I have a visiting order from Angelo” Charlie said as Ruby walked into the kitchen.

“What, really, mum that’s great” Ruby said

“Ehm, yea it is” Charlie said

“You don’t sound too happy about it” Ruby said

“No I am, it’s just I have waited for this to happen for so long and now it’s happened I’m just a bit shocked by it” Charlie said.

Charlie drove to the prison and waited with the other visitors till they were ushered through. She spotted Angelo and her heart skipped a beat after seeing her husband, the love of her life, for the first time in 16 months.

“Hey Charlie, I’ve missed you so much” Angelo said

“Yea, me too” Charlie said as she could feel herself welling up at finally talking to her husband.

“So how have you been coping?” Angelo asked.

“Honestly, not great. It’s been really hard to live everyday without you by my side. If it wasn’t for Ava I don’t think I could get through it.”

“Ava?” Angelo asked

“You have a daughter Angelo, I called her Ava Sofia Rosetta, she 10 months old now, she looks so much like you Angelo. I brought a picture of her for you but they took it off me.”

“Yea they always do that, I will get it later” Angelo said as a huge grin appeared on his face. “I can’t believe I have a daughter, I’m just so excited, I want to scream, but I think I’ll get in trouble with the officers if I did.” Angelo said and Charlie laughed.

“Angelo, I have to ask you, how do you do it, how can you get through everyday being stuck in here? At least I have my daughters and friends and Morag to help me” Charlie said.

“Honestly, I don’t stop thinking about you. You are the only thing that keeps me going Charlie. I think about our first date, the night we got engaged, our wedding day, our honeymoon, what you might be doing, what we will in the future, I just need to close my eyes and your there Charlie, you are the only thing getting me though this, knowing you are waiting for me, knowing that you will be there when I get out, that’s what keeps me going.” Tears started to fall down Charlie’s cheeks and Angelo moved his hand forward and took hold of Charlie’s. Moments later and an officer came across.

“No contact, Rosetta” he said as he split them up.

“How’s your dad doing?” Angelo asked

“He died. About 5 months ago now” Charlie said

“Oh Charlie I’m so sorry”

“You know how bad things were between us before you came in here, I never got a chance to sort it.”

“It must have been really hard for you” Angelo said

“Yea it was, but Morag and Ruby were great. They really helped me”

“So you and Ruby have everything sorted now then?” Angelo asked

“Yes, we do. It’s just like before she knew I was her mother again.” Charlie said. “Maybe actually closer, you know she even calls me mum sometimes”

“Yea I know she called you mum when she was here” Angelo said before realising he’d just said something he shouldn’t have.

“What do you mean when she was here?” Charlie asked

“Nothing, never mind” Angelo said

“No Angelo, tell me. What do you mean, she was here?”

“She came to see me said she was really worried about you”

“What so you have been sending visiting orders to my daughter and not to me, your wife?”

“Only one time Charlie, she came to the prison and tried to see me, I got the message passed on. She was really worried about you, I wanted to know if you were ok, so I sent her an order to see.” Angelo said.

“Why couldn’t you just send me an order in the first place!”Charlie yelled, getting a few stares from others in the room.

“Charlie please don’t be angry with me, you are here now aren’t you?”

“Yea only because Ruby interfered” Charlie said

“No Charlie, it’s not Ruby made me realise that what I was doing was selfish and stupid...”

“So if Ruby didn’t come and see you, you would never have sent me that order” Charlie asked, as she cut Angelo off. Angelo looked up at her and the expression on his face said it all.

“Yea just what I thought” Charlie said as she stood up. Angelo also stood up moved forward as if to grab her and an officer ran to their table.

“Sit down please, both of you.” He said. Angelo sat down but Charlie stayed standing.

“Can you please sit down miss” the officer said.

“No, I want to leave please” Charlie said unable to look at Angelo as a tear rolled down her cheek.

“Miss you still have time” the officer said

“I don’t care. I want to go, now.” Charlie said

“Charlie please just sit down” Angelo said

“I have to go, please officer” Charlie said still not looking at Angelo

“Very well” the officer said and he led Charlie out of the room.

[Danni02]

I'm not overly pleased with this chapter but I've been working on it for 2 days and its driving me crazy so I'm just going to post it anyways!

Chapter 18

Charlie walked into the house and was immediately greeted by Ruby.

“Well how did it go? I bet it felt great to finally see him after so long” Ruby said

“Why don’t you tell me how it feels? After all you did see him first” Charlie said and she walked away from Ruby and up the stairs.

“I’m so sorry. I was only trying to help you. You needed to see him Charlie you weren’t coping.” Ruby said as she followed Charlie up the stairs.

“I’m doing fine”

“Oh yeh sorry you are right, you are doing fine, you are doing so fine that you cry yourself to sleep some nights”

“Well if I need to cry to cope with not seeing my husband then why not. It’s not as if I’ve turned to alcohol or anything else as a means of coping.” Charlie said

“Yeah I guess. You know if you ever wanted to talk I’m here” Ruby said

“Yeah I know, and I’m really grateful that you went to the prison to tell Angelo you were worried about me, it’s just I’m so mad at him Ruby. I’ve tried and tried and tried to see him, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve went to the prison and he didn’t take that as a sign that I needed him. You go once and you automatically get a visiting order. It doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t understand it Ruby.”

“I don’t have an answer for that mum, I don’t know why he chose to see me first but he did. He told me he’s been wanting to send you an order for ages, maybe me going has just giving him that push he needed to see you again. Sorry if I’ve upset you. I was only trying to help you.” Ruby said and she put her arm around her mum and gave her hug.

“I know Rubes. You were only trying to help and thank you for that. And you did help as I got to see him, didn’t I”

“Well yea, but now you are mad at him”

“I’m sure I’ll get over it” Charlie said as she stood up from where she was sitting.

Once a week for the next two months Charlie received a visiting order from Angelo. Each time she ripped it up and put it in the bin.

“I thought you said you would get over it” Ruby said

“Yeah and I will, one day” Charlie said

“Yea but it’s been 2 months mum, maybe it’s time to go see him and talk about it”

“He made me wait for 16 months Ruby. I’m sure he will can cope a bit longer.”

“C’mon, you know you want to go see him don’t do this to yourself” Ruby said. Charlie let out a sigh and rubbed her forehead.

“Your right. I really do want to go see him. Next week I will go.”

But the next week there was no visiting order in the post. Or the week after that or the week after that.

“Why didn’t I just go see him sooner I’m so stupid” Charlie said as she slammed the plates down on the kitchen table.

“Go to the prison then. If he knows that you tried to see him then he will send another order.” Ruby said

“He didn’t do that the last time”

“Yea but its different now. You have been to see him and it didn’t end well. So I’m sure if he knew you finally came round to see him then he would want to see you too”

“Guess it won’t do any harm to give it a try.” Charlie said

After dinner Ruby went out to meet her friends. It had been 4 months since her and Xavier had split up but things were still awkward between the 2 of them. It wasn’t that bad when all of them were out together as there were other people there to talk to but Nicole and Geoff and Annie and Jai were still couples, so sometimes it ended up being Xavier and Ruby left alone. When that was the case Xavier usually tried to talk but Ruby would end up leaving. They found themselves once again left alone.

“So how have you been lately?” Xavier asked

“Yea fine” Ruby said

“Good, how’s Charlie doing?”

“Yeah, she fine”

“You fancy having a game of pool or something?” Xavier asked

“Yea ok why not” Ruby said as they stood up and walked across to the table. They played a couple of games of pool and the conversation started to come back and they were laughing and joking with each other.

“I best get home.” Ruby said as she put the pool cue away.

“Yea me too, I will walk you home” Xavier said as he followed Ruby out of the surf club.

“Xav its ok you don’t have to”

“I know but I want to” They walked along the road and the conversation was flowing out. They stopped outside the front door and Ruby turned to face Xavier.

“I had fun tonight”

“Yea me too, maybe we could do it again sometime”

“Xav this doesn’t mean....”

“Yeah I know” Xavier said cutting Ruby off. “I just mean as friends, we can be friends can’t we?”

“Yea I’d like that. Night Xavier.” Ruby said as she opened the door.

“Night Rubes” Xavier said then he turned and walked away. Ruby walked into the house and closed the door and a huge grin appeared on her face.

[Danni02]

Thank you all so much for commenting. Im glad you are enjoying this.

Chapter 19

Ruby was lying on the beach next to Nicole and discussion had turned to Xavier and Ruby’s relationship. They had been hanging out as friends every day for the past week since that night in the surf club.

“I still love him, and I want to be more than just friends” Ruby said, as she sat up. Nicole sat up and turned to face Ruby.

“And do you think he feels the same?” Nicole asked

“Yes. Well at least I think he does”

“Well there’s only one way to find out. You need to speak to him about it”

“Yea I will. I will go round and see him tonight. Anyways I have to get home. Charlie needs me to watch Ava for her” Ruby said as she stood up and shook the sand from her towel.

“I could come round too, if you wanted” Nicole said as she stood up

“Yea sure why not” Ruby said. The pair walked along the beach and up to Ruby’s house. Ruby stopped walking as she saw Xavier hand in hand with other girl.

“Maybe they are just friends” Nicole said reassuringly

“Me and Jai are friends but you don’t see us going around holding hands” Ruby said and then she saw Xavier and the girl share a kiss. “Yea I don’t think that’s how friends act”

“Aww Ruby, I’m sorry” Nicole said as she gave her friend hug. They walked the rest of the way to the house in silence.

Charlie walked across to the table and sat down.

“Hey, Angelo.”

“Hey, thank you so much for changing your mind and coming to see me again” Angelo said

“I should never have left it as long, I mean 2 months, that was just stupid”

“Well I know how stubborn you can get” Angelo laughed

“Angelo, I was mad at you for not letting me visit and then you let Ruby visit. I didn’t understand why you would want to see Ruby and not me.”

“Honestly, I’m not sure myself why I sent that order to Ruby. I guess because she is your daughter and she knows you better than anyone and she would be able to tell me how you were doing.”

“Yea I get that, but I mean why did you have to speak to Ruby about me? Why couldn’t you just send for me?”

“I had a visiting order ready to send for months, but I just could bring myself to post to it. Then when Ruby tried to see me, I thought she would be able to talk sense into me and give me that push that I needed to send out the order. Charlie, maybe I didn’t do the right thing but all that matters is that you are here now does it not?”

“Yea let’s just forget about that mess” Charlie smiled. Angelo smiled back at her and put his hand under the table and took hold of hers. The officers didn’t seem to notice this so they sat there holding each other’s hand for the rest of the visit.

“I love you so much Charlie”

“I love you too”

“So how is Ava? My daughter” Angelo asked, with a huge grin on his face. “I love the sound of that. I have a daughter” Angelo said still smiling. Charlie let out a small laugh.

“She’s great. She was one a few days ago. She’s always happy. Unless I leave the room then she will scream. Rachel said she would grow out of that phase but I’m still waiting for that to happen. She’s not too bad if I leave her with Ruby, she can normally settle her after a few minutes, but with anyone else she terrible.”

“That’s because you’re such a great person, who wouldn’t want to be with you all the time” Angelo smiled. “So tell more about Ava, my daughter” Angelo grinned.

“Well she was born 7 weeks early and had to stay in an incubator for the first 5 weeks of her life. I was so scared she wasn’t going to make it but she pulled through and I was overjoyed when she finally allowed to come home. That first night she was home and she started to cry, I tried everything I could to get her to stop but nothing worked. Then Ruby found a solution. She told her all about you. As soon as she said Angelo she stopped crying. You stopped her crying for the few months of her life, Angelo.” Angelo smiled.

“Just the first few months?”

“Yea one day she decided she had heard enough about you and it wouldn’t work anymore. “ Charlie laughed.

“What else? Tell me more” Angelo said

“Once she learned how to crawl, that was fun. She was always off somewhere, fast little thing aswell. Lots of running around the house for me and Ruby. Even her experience of trying to crawl down the stairs didn’t seem to slow her down.”

“Oh my god, down the stairs, was she ok”

“Yea, she didn’t fall, I picked her up before she could, would have thought it would have gave her a little fright though”

“Yea, she sounds like a handful. Walking comes next, that’s going to be fun” Angelo said

“I think she will be walking soon. Or at least she’ll be trying to”

“Then comes the running” Angelo laughed. Then he put his free hand into his pocket and took out the picture of Ava that Charlie brought him on the last visit. He looked down at the photo and smiled.

“She is absolutely gorgeous Charlie. I can’t wait to get out of here and get to know her, get to spend time with her, my daughter.” Angelo smiled.

“Yea it’ll be great to be a family again.” Charlie said

“Maybe give her a little brother or sister” Angelo smiled

“Yea maybe” Charlie smiled

“I can’t wait to get home and....be with you” Angelo said. Charlie smiled then let out a little laugh.

“Uhm...yea it’ll be great” Charlie said.

“So anything else happened since I’ve been in here?” Angelo asked

“Ruby had a bad car accident. She was unconscious for a week. I thought I was going to lose her. I was so scared. But she pulled through, and then she moved into our house.”

“You to seem to be really close now” Angelo said

“Yea we are. I don’t know if I would have gotten through this without her. She’s been great.”

“I’m glad to hear that” Angelo said as the bell indicating visiting time was over rang. Charlie and Angelo’s hands parted and they stood up.

“So will I be seeing you next week? Angelo asked

“Yea you will” Charlie smiled

“I love you Charlie”

“I love you too, Angelo” Charlie said as she was walking away.

[Danni02]

Chapter 20

Charlie walked into the house and through to the living room. Ava looked up from where she was playing and crawled across to her. Charlie picked her daughter up and walked over to the couch and sat down.

“Hey mum, how was Angelo. Did you sort everything then?” Ruby asked

“Yea he’s fine and everything else is fine too” Charlie said

“Good, so you are going to see him again then?”

“Yup, every week I will be going”

“Great. Are you ever going to take Ava to see him?”

“No, he doesn’t want her there, a prison isn’t a place to take a little child” Charlie replied

“What about you? Don’t you think it’ll be a good idea to take her, so she can bond with him when she is younger?

“Honestly, I don’t want to take her to the prison either.” Charlie replied “Anyways how’s your day been?

“This morning was good at the beach with Nic but then I saw Xavier” Ruby said then stopped talking

“I thought you and Xavier were getting on well again? Charlie asked

“We were, I was just saying to Nicole this morning, that I still love him and wanted to get back together with him.”

“So why don’t you seem happy you saw him?”

“I saw him with another girl” Ruby said

“Just because he was with another girl doesn’t mean they are together”

“They were pashing Charlie” Ruby shouted then a tear fell down her cheek. “I’m so stupid, why didn’t I tell him sooner that I wanted to get back together with him”

“I think I know where you get that from” Charlie said as she put Ava back on the floor next to her toys and went and sat next to Ruby and gave her a hug.

“I don’t know what to do, mum.”

“Well you can look at it two ways Rubes. If you love him and want to be with him, then you should tell him. But you could also say if you love him you will let him be happy with this new girl.”

“Thanks, that helps a lot.” Ruby said sarcastically.

“Well what do you think you should do?”

“I want to be with him, I really do, but seeing him today with that other girl, he looked so happy.”

“Well maybe there’s your answer”

It had been 2 months since Ruby saw Xavier with the other girl, and she had decided not to tell him how she felt. Xavier had moved on and was happy and Ruby needed to accept that. She got out of bed and headed for a shower before grabbing some breakfast then she met Annie and walked to school. As soon as she walked into the building she saw Xavier and the other girl hand in hand laughing and joking. She let out a sigh and banged her head against her locker.

“What’s that for? Annie asked

“Nothing, never mind” Ruby replied. Annie was a great friend but when it came to boys and relationships she was a bit clueless. This was a talk she was going to have with Nicole. At lunch time Nicole and Ruby went to the diner.

“I can’t do it Nic, I can’t watch him with another girl” Ruby said as she threw her bag on the floor and took a seat.

“Well I told you from the start to tell him how you felt about him” Nicole said

“Yea, but then I spoke to mum and what she said seemed to make sense too”

“Well you tried it Charlie’s way and you are miserable and guy-less. I suggest you try it my way and you will be happy with a boyfriend.

“Yea you right, I will go round to his after school”

After school Ruby went to Xavier’s and stood outside the door. She took a deep breath and was about the knock on the door when it opened and Xavier was about to walk out.

“Hey Rubes, what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to speak to you about something”

“Oh well can you make it quick? I was just going to meet Lisa”

“Oh right, it doesn’t matter then, it’s not important”

“Okay if you’re sure” Xavier said as he started to walk away

“I still love you” Ruby shouted from behind him

“What did you just say?” Xavier said as he turned back around

“I still love you Xav.” Ruby repeated. Xavier smiled and walked back to where Ruby was standing.

“You have no idea how long I have waited to hear you say that. I still love you too, Rubes”

“Well if you are still in love with me then what are you doing with that other girl?” Ruby asked

“Because I thought I had no chance in getting back together with you Rubes and she is a nice girl so I thought I would give her a chance.”

“Fair enough, but what do we do now?” Ruby asked

“Well we both love each other and want to be together so let’s give it another shot” Xavier said

“Yea I would like that” Ruby replied. Xavier leaned in and they shared a kiss but few seconds later and Ruby pulled back.

“Xavier you have a girlfriend. You have to finish things with her before we can get back together”

“Yea, I will go do it now” Xavier said

Ruby walked home with a huge smile on her face and told Charlie about her day.

“Well I hope that he isn’t going to muck you around and that he really will break up with this other girl”

“He won’t mum he loves me, we kissed”

“Just because he kissed you, doesn’t mean he is going to break up with this other girl, just be careful Ruby”

“He will, he told me he would and I believe him”

“Okay, if you’re sure” Charlie said

“You don’t sound to convinced”

“Well he hurt you Rubes, I just don’t want him to do it again”

“Like you said, he made a mistake. He won’t hurt me again”

“Ok, I hope your right” Charlie said as there was a knock on the door

“Hey Xavier, come in” Ruby said as she opened the door

“Hey Rubes. So that’s me single again.” Xavier said

“You won’t be for much longer” Ruby smiled and she pulled Xavier in for a kiss.