As Long As I Have You

[callyha]

Story title: As Long As I Have You

Type of story: Medium/Long fic

Main characters: Charlie, Brax, Angelo (Other characters are also in)

BTTB rating: T/A

Genre: Drama, Romance..

Does story include spoilers?: Nope (As far as I am aware)

Any warnings?: Violence (nothing major)

Summary: Never amounting to anything and been someone's moll in life has left Charlie hating her life. Can Brax help her gain what she's lost? Can he save her from the life she hates?

Chapter 1

The dust had settled after the latest brawl in the bar. Up-turned tables and chairs littered the trashed bar, bottles lay smashed on the ground; contents from the bottles dripping from the ceiling and running down the walls, pictures hung crookedly on the walls; the damage to the room was expensive, but that was just what it was like. The night would start off fine; people would come in for a quiet drink, chat and listen to the music that played in the background. But it would soon turn into a venue for boxing matches. Each and every night was the same, but the amount of money that was made each night never seemed to bother the owner of the club.

Brax sighed heavily as he grabbed a broom to begin the mammoth task of cleaning the bar up. He worked there only on a morning; he had his mother and two younger brothers at home to support. His dad had died years previous and after that, his mother just gave up; Brax had to give much of his own life to look after those he loved. Walking passed the table where two men and two women sat, Brax turned the table so it was the right way and placed it back into its spot.

"Take this guy, he comes here every morning and cleans" A woman said -her words slurred by the effects of alcohol- as she pointed to Brax, her hand swaying slightly as she hadn't much co-ordination left in her

"It’s my job, I’m the cleaner" Brax replied, looking to the beauty that sat in the chair; looking physically sicken by the fact that the man beside her had his hand resting on her thigh.

"Yea, he's a cleaner" The man laughed, looking to the other man and woman, who laughed also

"Leave him alone" Charlie said, defending Brax as he shook his head, sweeping the floor "He's working. More than you can say" Charlie picked up a glass and went to drink it

"It’s dull and quiet in here. Why did the music stop?" The other woman said, reaching over the table for her drink that had one last drop in the bottom of the glass

"Hey you, cleaner" Liam shouted as he took Charlie's hand and rose himself and Charlie to their feet "Put the music on"

"I'm just the cleaner; you'll have to do it yourself, yea" Brax replied as he kept sweeping up. Charlie looked to Brax and couldn't help but smile; he was the first person to put Liam back in his place

"No, I asked you to put it on. So do it" Liam replied, standing his ground as 'the better man'

"Fine" Brax replied as he threw the broom to the ground; clattering loudly on the floor as it hit the laminated floor. Charlie jumped slightly with the noise as she placed her empty glass back on the table

The music began to play through the speaker fitting into the ceiling above thier heads. Liam smiled "Now dance" Liam said to Charlie as he turned to face her and took her hands in his

"I don't want to dance" Charlie replied as she tried to break free from Liam's grasp

"I don't care what you want, you ungrateful bitch" Liam replied as he took a step closer to Charlie. Charlie raised her hand and slapped Liam across the face, using more strength behind the slap then she realized, and sent Liam crashing into the table

"You bitch!" Liam shouted as he went for Charlie as he held his cheek

"Liam don't" Sid shouted as he grabbed Liam before he could strike Charlie. Charlie stood, glaring at Liam as her body inside shook with fear. Brax ran over to the ugly scene; blocking Liam from Charlie by standing in front of her. Brax grabbed one of the numerous broken bottles that littered the floor and aimed it at Liam and Sid

"Look who's wanting a fight" Liam joked as he turned to Bianca and winked at her "Bit young to want to take me on aren't you"

"I can take you" Brax replied, looking straight to Liam as he said his words "Run" Brax said to Charlie as he turned his head slightly. Charlie looked to Sid and then to Liam and Bianca before she looked to Brax, smiling at the thought of her protector and running out of the bar

"You have no idea what you're getting involved in" Sid laughed

"I think I do" Brax replied as he through the bottle to the wall just behind Liam. The smash caused them to cover their heads with theirs hands; giving Brax enough chance to run out after Charlie.

"What the hell are we supposed to tell Angelo? Charlie is his and he hates sharing" Bianca said as she sat back in the seat

"We find Charlie first and bring her back her; even if she is kicking and screaming" Liam replied

"Actually, you two can do that. I have something to do today" Bianca replied as she rose to her feet and made her way to the door. "I'll see you tonight" Bianca winked at

Liam as she walked passed him; momentarily making Liam forget that he had Sid stood right beside him

"Where do we start looking?" Sid asked

"Doesn't matter where, just as long as we find her" Liam answered as he wiped the sides of his mouth

"And what about the cleaner?" Sid asked

"If he happens to get hurt that is his fault" Liam replied with a wicked smile plastered on his face

~*~

Charlie hadn't spoke since she and Brax had ran out of the club. The walk to the beach was quiet. "Are you gonna tell me where you live then or?" Brax asked, breaking the silence and hoping that Charlie would reply

"Why did you do that?" Charlie asked, looking to Brax with wonder in her eyes

"He was going to hit you, I had to do something" Brax replied

"I can take care of myself. You don't want to get mixed up with those guys" Charlie replied "Once you do, you never get out"

"So why are you mixed up with them?" Brax asked

"What Angelo Rosetta wants, Angelo Rosetta gets. I was fifteen when I met him and I couldn't resist the 'bad boy' side of him. Turns out he isn't a bad boy at all; a bad boy would be fun; be different. Angelo gets his thrills by making his authority known. I know nothing else; twelve years of been prize for Angelo hasn’t given me much chance to do what I want to do" Charlie replied as her eyes glazed with tears. Brax was unsure it they were tears to be cried or just the affects of the alcohol in her system

"What do you want to do?" Brax asked, glad to be having a conversation with the woman he had admired from afar for so long

"I'm too old to start doing what I want. Besides, Angelo will make it so I can't do anything. He owns every business in the bay nearly; he has control over so much" Charlie replied

"He doesn’t have control of you though"

Charlie looked around to Brax "Yes he does" Charlie replied as she nodded her head

"No he doesn't. You left the bar, you slapped that bloke. If Angelo had control over you, you wouldn’t have done that"

"A two year old could hurt Liam and Sid -they just look mean" Brax let out a small laughat Charlie's comment before composing himself once more "They've been mates

with Angelo for years, loyal I suppose; nice to know they are still loyal mates around"

"What about that girl in the bar?" Brax asked

"Bianca?" Brax nodded "She belongs to Liam. Well not belong, dates" Charlie answered

"So why was Liam all over you?" Brax asked confused with the 'arrangement' of how things were

"Authority" Charlie replied "If Angelo isn't around, Liam or Sid is the replacement. I'm never alone, I don't know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing" Charlie looked to the sky, as though she was looking for the answer to her own question "I remember when I was little, and my dad and mum took me to the city and told me I could have anything I wanted. I felt like a princess, all their attention was on me and it was nice. I didn’t ask for much, there was a show on at the theatre that I wanted to see, so they took me. I got the only thing I wanted and I never took it for granted. I would give anything to be that little girl again and just be able to go back home and play in the garden without a care in the world. Going to the city was a treat, one of those things where the parents decide to spoil their kid" charlie smiled as she remembered her parents "I don't get little treats like that anymore, why should I? I'm a twenty-seven year old woman. But it would be nice to just have a day where I can do what I want to do" Charlie saaid as she picked at a loose thread on her top

"Why not have today as that day to do what you want to do?" Brax suggested

"Could you imagine the look on Angelo's face if he found out? No thanks" Charlie replied, wiping her hands down her legs as she looked out to the water

"Okay then" Brax sighed "Right, can you please tell me where you live so I can take you home?" Brax cleared his throat as he joined Charlie in looking out to the water

"Give me a kiss and I'll be a good girl and go straight home, I promise" Charlie smiled as she faced Brax and placed her hands on his toned, clothed chest

"You're drunk" Brax replied as he took her by her hands and removed them from his chest

"So?" Charlie smiled "Come on, I never have any fun anymore". Brax sighed as he leaned over to Charlie and kissed her softly on her cheek

"Can you tell me now?" Brax asked as a small smirk formed in the corner of his mouth

"I can just walk. I don't want you to get into any trouble over me" Charlie replied "Thank you for jumping in to save me" Charlie said as she looked to Brax. Brax nodded and smiled ever so slightly to Charlie, who smiled as she rose from the rock she and Brax were sitting on and made her way along the beach, walking in a curved line as she headed for the row of houses that lined the beach. Brax couldn't help but smile as he watched Charlie walk away; even drunk she was still a beauty.

~*~

[Lucii]

I love it! Angelo Rosetta's an evil guy and Brax saved Charlie from Liam!

I was pretty shocked as it looked like Charlie and Liam were a couple and how violent is Liam Poor Charlie she doesn't deserve this

Update soon x I actually cannot wait for more x

[HighwayUnicorn]

That was an interesting start & definitely has loads of twists.

I look forward to more & seeing where you take this fic.

Love Carina xxx

[Angel90]

This sounds really intreasting...

Angelo the evil bad boy... I can actaly see him like that... however Liam, Sid and Bianca took me by suprise...

Plz update soon.... Great first chapter

[carywary]

Ooh Angelo as the bad guy, interesting twist! For a minute I thought Charlie and Liam were a couple! Please continue!

[elikell]

Wow, a very interesting start.

I can't believe how evil Angelo is, and how much power he has over Charlie. I feel so sorry for her. She doesn't deserve to be treated like that!

Please update soon. Can't wait to see what happens next.

[Danni02]

Great start Cally! Angelo sounds like a right bast...., Angelo doesn't sound nice this! Liam doesn't seem so nice either...poor Charlie But Brax so sweet trying to help her.

Can't wait for more.

[soph1303]

Wow interesting start - and there were certainly lots of twists!! Can't believe how evil Angelo - and Liam, Sid and Bianca for that matter! - are in this fic!! Brax is so sweet though, trying to help Charlie. Great start - more soon please!!

[Zetti]

I have to admit. I was a bit annoyed that Angelo is an evil guy in this fic but I think you write this so well that I am very intruiged to find out more. Brax as a cleaner and helping Charlie was nice. Hope to see more soon x

[callyha]

Wow! Thank you for the lovely comments!

Chapter 2

Brax walked back to his house; shaking his head after seeing the houses that lined the beach. The windows on his house were either broken or not there, fences were broke, the roof had caved in at one side, scrap metal littered one corner of the grassless garden, weeds and dead plants welcomed visitors to the house. Brax felt ashamed of the presentation of the house; but at the same time, if anyone took a moment to look, they would see a woman who hadn't been the same since her husband died and three sons without a father figure in their life.

Brax had to take on the role as 'father' as he was the only one who could motivate themselves to do something. Casey -his thirteen year old brother- was no trouble, he would go to school and then a friend’s house after school. It was Heath -Brax's twenty two year old brother- that was the problem. When Heath was younger, he acted out as a way of trying to get his mum to see that he needed her, but she was too distressed over the loss of her husband to notice. Heath tried to never do anything too bad as he could see what Brax was faced with every single day, Heath was more of the 'I'll play a trick on mum and see what she does'. But nothing worked. Each year that passed, Heath found himself having to try and find new ways to get through to his mother -he too was still grieving, but couldn’t figure out why his mum and closed off completely to her three sons.

"Heath, come on man, more metal in that garden?" Brax said as he sat on the couch next to Heath

"Yea alright I'll move it" Heath replied as he went to get up

"Hang on a minute mate" Heath sat back down "mum still out of it?"

"He died ten years ago. She should be over it now" Heath replied as he got off the couch "I know I am" Heath added before he headed out to move the metal he had collected. Brax bit his lip as he looked to the door that closed his mum off from the rest of the world, he thought about what he could say to his mum to try and snap her out of the state she was in; maybe he could tell her about what he saw each and every day in the various jobs he did. “Brax” Heath shouted, snapping Brax out of his

thoughts.

“Yea mate” Brax replied as he headed out of the house

“Is that scrapyard still open? You know, the one near that bar you go to”

“Erm, yea I think so. Why?” Brax replied as he looked to Heath

“We could try and sell it to them” Heath replied "Might no give us enough but its still cash, and I know where I can lay my hands on some more metal"

“Yea, sounds good mate” Brax smiled as he looked to his younger brother "Just as long as you aint stealing it" Brax added as he grabbed Heath and put him in a headlock

“Get off” Heath said as he removed himself from the headlock

“Yea alright” Brax replied as he poked Heath continuously, causing Heath to begin to wrestle playfully with his older brother.

~*~

“You think I need this trouble in my bar?” Angelo shouted as he pushed a chair from the table. The chair broke as it hit the ground “Find her and bring her to me”

“We don’t know where she’s gone” Liam replied

“She has that cleaner guy with her” Sid added

“Brax?” Angelo asked. Liam and Sid nodded "Why is he with her?"

"He started on us. He's tough, not scared of using anything as a weapon" Liam lied

"How do you mean?" Angelo asked, intrigued by the 'toughness' Brax had displayed

"A glass bottle. He smashed it and aimed it at us" Liam replied

"He threw it at us before running off with Charlie" Sid added

Angelo sat on the chair and leaned back. placing his hands close together so that his finger tips met "I could do with someone like that"

"What?" Liam asked

"There's a cage fight coming up in a few weeks. Winning club gets $100,000. If this Brax is as tough as you say he is, then we could be rich" Angelo smiled as he looked to Sid and Liam. "As soon as you find him, bring him to me" Sid and Liam nodded before leaving the office with a hurried pace.

~*~

Brax started at the ceiling in his room. Hating the life he had and wishing there was some way he could turn things around. Casey had it good: He still had a good chance of doing something great with his life. Heath had a small chance of doing something with his life if he stopped his petty little theiving jobs and went out looking for something to do. Brax was jealous of his younger brothers, he couldn't help but not be; he hated how each and every morning he had to go to Angelo's to clean up after how ever many fights there had been in the bar the night before, he hated having to go to the local cemetary and clean the headstones from the graffiti youths had painted. Everything about his life he hated.

One thing, one thought kept him going. That beauty in the bar. The one he had seen every morning for the last two months. This morning was the first time he had ever spoken to her, ever had anything to do with her; and he liked it -he wanted more.

~*~

Charlie sat at the chair in front of the mirror, slowly brushing her hair as she stared into space and thought about her small chat with Brax. With each brush stroke, she wondered why he jumped in and told her to leave; every morning had pretty much turned into a verbal brawl between Liam and Charlie, yet this morning was the first time Brax had done something to stop it. Why?

Angelo walked into the bedroom and straight over to Charlie. He placed either hand on Charlie's shoulders and kissed her neck; Charlie pushed her shoulder up to stop Angelo. He pulled away. Charlie rose to her feet and went to sit on the bed, Angelo smiled and follwed her to the bed.

"Angelo no" Charlie said as Angelo leaned close to Charlie

"Can't I kiss you now?" Angelo asked as he leaned once more, closer to Charlie

"Can't we just talk?" Charlie asked

"What is there to talk about?" Angelo asked

"I don't know, something" Charlie replied

"Business is picking up" Angelo began

"Not about business" Charlie shook her head

"Well, what do you want to talk about then?" Angelo asked, anger and frustration present in his voice.

Charlie looked round to Angelo and could see there was no way she was going to be able to speak to her boyfriend "Nothing, it doesn't matter" Charlie sadly replied before slowly laying down on the bed. Tears formed in her eyes as Angelo began kissing her neck.

~*~

Charlie stood at the window, holding back the curtain as she watched Angelo get into his car, followed by Liam and Sid. The car pulled away and Charlie wiped her face of the few tears that rolled down her cheeks, sniffing back more as she walked over to the bed and grabbed a jacket. Charlie glanced at herself in the mirror before exiting the room and making her way out of the house. She never noticed Brax as she walked down the street.

"Anyway, last night. Liam was on about this idea that Angelo has for the club" Bianca continued "You wouldn't know anything about it would you?" Charlie remained silent as she looked at Leah in an embrace with Miles. She felt jealous; they were in love. "Charlie?" Bianca said as she waved her hand in front of Charlie's face "did you hear

what I said?"

"Sorry, what?" Charlie replied

"Has Angelo spoken to you about this idea for the club?" Bianca asked again

"We never really talk much anymore. We just have sex" Charlie sadly replied "He said something about business picking up" Charlie remembered "But thats all"

"Just sex? What's wrong with that?" Bianca smiled

Charlie gave Bianca a look "Do you and Liam talk?" Charlie asked

"Sometimes" Bianca nodded "We sat up all night last night -just talking. I suppose it was nice"

"What did you talk about?" Charlie asked

"About the apartment we'll have someday, and how April can move out of Irene's and come live with us" Bianca smiled

"I'd love that" Charlie said as she stared at her coffee "To talk, to sit up late on nights and talk about little things like that"

"Have you tried to talk to Angelo about this?" Bianca asked as she lifted her coffee to her lips

"Yes. I try every night. But each night, we end up doing the same thing" Charlie replied

~*~

Music played as people entered the club. Sid and Liam sat either side of Angelo who was looking at some paper work. Bianca walked in and went straight over to Liam, who walked away from the table and joined Bianca at the bar. Sid looked to the door to see if Roo was going to follow on from Bianca; he wasn't so lucky.

"Don't hold your breath mate" Angelo said as he continued to read his paperwork

"Excuse me?" Sid asked

"Roo. She ain't coming" Angelo laughed

"What makes you so sure?" Sid asked as he folded his arms across his chest

"I just know. Besides, she can do better" Angelo replied as he grabbed his papers and rose from his seat "I'll be in the office if you need me" Sid glared at Angelo as he walked away "Oh, and if you see Charlie, tell her I want to see her". Sid nodded at his command, all the while biting his tongue to stop himself from saying something to Angelo.

"Sid" Liam shouted as he held a beer bottle up to his mate "Got you one"

Sid made his way over to Liam and Bianca "Cheers" Sid took a long sip of beer as he looked around the club

"Looking for Roo?" Bianca asked as she placed a peanut on Liam's tongue

"Yea, but I've been told to not hold my breath, so-"

"Did Angelo say that?" Liam asked, in between chews. Sid nodded "don't listen to him mate, I don't. Well, not about girls anyway" Liam laughed

"Roo is looking after VJ tonight. Miles is taking Leah out for some dinner" Bianca told Sid, who smiled "Maybe you should go over to Leah's. I'm sure Roo would like the company and Leah won't mind"

"Yea, I might do that" Sid smiled "Thanks for the beer" Sid said to Liam as he placed his empty bottle on the bar top and smiled at Liam, who was still been fed peanuts by Bianca.

~*~