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As Long As I Have You

Guest callyha

By Guest callyha
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callyha Super Poster

callyha

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Thank you elikell, Carina, soph1303, Angel90, Sarah and Chickiboomxx for the comments :wub:

Mentions of death/suicide

Chapter 12

A man carrying a satchel and some pins walked up to the wall in the Surf Club and took a piece of paper from his satchel. He pinned the paper up before walking away from his work. He then placed a piece of paper on each tree he walked by. Before long, posters had been put up around the Bay.

Each poster had the same thing on: A cage covered a man wearing a mask who had his arms flexed to show his muscles. His teeth gritted to show the agression in his face. Writing covered the rest of the poster; time details, date details and where to find the venue. Angelo's was written in bold Kiwi green writing dead centre of the poster. Sid stood back from the poster-as did Bianca and Liam- and shared the same concerned look. All was becoming to real now for all of them, not just Charlie and Brax.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Bianca asked as she wrapped her arms around Liam and leaned into him

"Charlie didn't say anything to you about getting Brax to sign that contract did she?" Liam asked as he studied the poster close

"No, she never wanted to be in that situation in the first place" Bianca replied "She'd been avoiding him for a while and there's no way she would have got him to sign" Bianca replied as she brought her arms closer to herself and watched as Liam took a couple of steps forward

"Unless Angelo got him to sign it himself" Sid suggested, causing Bianca to nod and Liam to turn around to face him "you know, because he believed Charlie wouldn't do it" Sid put in as the trio walked away from the tree "Charlie gave me the impression that she never wanted to do it"

"Yea, I got that too" Bianca agreed "Angelo really wanted Charlie to do his dirty work for him?" Bianca asked, she had no idea about the contract- Charlie never said anything to her

"Yea, he seemed pretty sure of himself and Charlie didn't know what to do" Sid replied "I still don't think she knows what to do"

"She does seem lost" Bianca agreed "Last night was horrible; she came around to the house and just cried in Irene's arms for an hour, I've never seen that from Charlie before" Bianca's face saddened as she thought of her friend and how she was last night "Liam, how can you still be friends with him?" Bianca asked as she looked teary eyed at Liam

Liam shook his head -the truth was, he had no idea. Yea: they'd been mates for the longest of time, yea: they'd stuck by each other when things hit the fan with the club, but when it came down to the serious stuff; like, family and the 'real' things, Angelo always bailed. He was never there to help Liam, but expected Liam to help him "I think its just pattern"

"Pattern?" Bianca echoed "That's what your excuse is? Pattern?" Bianca's voice showed her anger "Charlie is slowly suffocating with Angelo, Brax is going to get himself killed, the bay isn't the nicest place to live -not like it used to be- and you are saying that you are mates with him because its 'pattern'?!"

"Bianca, its more complicated than that" Liam tried to reason with Bianca Babe-" Liam went to take Bianca's hands

"Don't touch me" Bianca pulled her hands away and turned to run off. Liam made to go after her but Sid stopped him

"Leave her be mate" Sid placed his arm on the fron t of Liam's shoulder as he held onto Liam's arm

"I have to go after her" Liam struggled in Sid's arms

"No. Bianca isn't mad at you -at least not entirely. Its more to do with Charlie that has her upset" Sid replied as Liam clamed in his hold

"What do you mean?" Liam straigtened his jacket

"Irene was talking to Roo a few hours ago; last night, Charlie poured her heart out to Bianca and Bianca -and Irene come to think of it- realised just how much Charlie is dying to get out"

Liam realised "I can't just stop been mates with Angelo" Liam held his arms out which he then brought to his head to wipe his hair from his face

"No, but you could use it to our advantage" Sid smirked as he concocted a plan.

~*~

The trees reflected on Ruby's face as she pressed her forehead against the window as the car drove by. Her eyes showed her excitement and her face showed her nervousness as the beach of Summer Bay fell from view and was replaced with more trees and bush land. Ruby licked her lips as they dried qucikly, her hands shook as she brought them the car door to hide them from her mum.

Before long, the car pulled into a car park and the engine was switched off. Seatbelts were taken off and the four car doors were swung open. Dan and Issy were the first to fall out of the car, followed by Paul and then Sally. Ruby remained in the car, preparing herself for the day's findings -whether they were good or bad.

"I'll take these two to the arcade" Paul ruffled Dan and Issy's hair "And I'll wait for you there to ring me"

"Okay" Sally smiled as she kissed Paul

"Mum, dad. Seriously? in public?" Issy hid her face

"Yea, in public" Paul grinned as he kissed Sally once more

"See you later kids" Dan and Issy waved to her before they crossed the road. Sally slowly turned around to face the car where Ruby was still sat. She looked lost as she looked to the building in front of her. "Ruby?" Sally slowly walked over to her daughter "Whenever you are ready" Sally kissed Ruby softly on her forehead as she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear

"Am I crazy for wanting to do this?" Ruby asked, tears glazed her eyes "I mean, if Charlotte gave me up because it was the best thing for me, do you really think she would want me to rock up on her doorstep after thirteen years and say 'hey, remember that big bulge coming from your stomach? yea, thats me'" Ruby shook her head "This was a stupid idea" Ruby looked to her lap

"Ruby, look at me" Sally took Ruby's hands in hers "Its not stupid. You were told something and you just want to find out more. Its brave not stupid" Sally smiled

"I don't want you and dad to think I'm ungrateful, because I'm not"

"I know, and so does your dad. But Ruby, just remember, you might find out things that you might not want to"

"Do you know anything else?" Ruby asked as she got out of the car

"Only the name of your birth mother, and I told you that" Sally replied

*

The doors of the building opened and Ruby lead Sally to the front desk. The woman looked up to Ruby and then glanced to Sally; instantly recognising her from thirteen years ago.

"May I help you?" The woman asked

"My name is Ruby Young and I was wondering if there was any chance I could look at the adoption thingy" Ruby replied

"She means the adoption papers and forms that Paul and Sally Young filled out and the birth mother filled out" Sally explained to the woman

"Yea that" Ruby said, embarrassed

"I'll need some form of identification" The woman said as she began to type something into her computer "And the year of adoption to please"

"I have my drivers licence and Ruby's passport her" Sally handed them over to the woman "And 1994"

"Perfect" The woman replied as she looked at them "And is that the year of birth too?"

"No, Ruby was born in December 1993 and the final adoption didn't take place until February 1994" Sally replied

"Why did it take three months?" Ruby asked

"Your birth mother was really young and the circumstances for her made it hard to have a quick adoption" Sally answered

"Room 301 has the records for the adoption. This is the code to use to access the file" The woman handed sally the passport, the drivers licence and the paper with the code on

"Thank you" Sally smiled as she and Ruby made their way through the doors and to room 301.

~*~

Charlie sat at one of the tables, tucked away to the side watching as Brax cleaned the bar ready for the night ahead. The bottle of wine stood on the table in front of her and the glass in her hand. A tear rolled down her face and dropped on the table as she watched Brax move the tables and chairs.

Brax gave up. He sat on the chair and burried his head in his hands bfore looking up slowly to find Charlie sat opposite him, glass now at her rouge lips. They said nothing. They only kept the gaze with each other, never looking away, blinks were the only thing to interupt the look they gave each each other.

"I'm sorry Charlie" Brax said first as he walked over to where Charlie was sat "You tried to tell me, and like an idiot, I ignored you"

"You've got your mum and brothers to think about, it was always going to be harder for you" Charlie replied before sipping some more of her wine

"If you keep drinking like this, your gonna kill yourself" Brax took hold of the bottle and took a swig

"Maybe I should drink more; drinking myself to death seems to be the only way out" Charlie confessed

"Charlie, I meant what I said. I will find a way out of this for you. For the both of us" Brax placed the bottle back on the table and took Charlie's free hand in his "I saved

you once and I'll do it again"

"I can't leave the bay" Charlie placed the glass on the table

"See, Charlie. You keep saying that" Brax leaned back in his seat "I want to help you Charlie, I've seen you with Angelo and you just ain't happy. I know I ain't got as

much money as Angelo, but at least I know that you love to walk on the beach and feel the sand on your feet. I'm guessing you like strawberries dipped in chocolate and been fed them. I bet you like all those little romantic touches" Brax looked to Charlie "And I'll bet my my life on it that Angelo doesn't know any of this"

"So what if he doesn't?" Charlie wiped the tears from her cheeks

"It means he don't love you like I do. He doesn't see you for this incrediably strong woman like I do" Brax placed his hand gently on Charlie's chin and lifted her head so her eyes met his "You'd never cry at my action's or words -unless it was romantic words or actions" Brax smiled

"What about the fight though?" Charlie asked

"I'll take care of it" Brax replied

"Like you said you wouldn't have anything to do with Angelo?" Charlie asked as she rose to her feet and walked away from Brax and leaned against the bar "I want to believe it Brax, I really, really do. If there was any chance of me leaving this life behind, I would, I would take it and run. And I'd go with you, but I just can't see it happening" Charlie shook her head

"Charlie, listen to me" Brax walked over to Charlie and placed his hands tenderly on Charlie's face "I'll think of something and Angelo won't be in the picture"

"I don't want to see you get hurt, I couldn't cope seeing that" Brax wiped the tear from Charlie's face using his thumb

"Trust me" Brax whispered softly as he leaned closer to Charlie, their noses touching

"I trust you" Charlie whispered back as their lips joined.

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callyha Super Poster

callyha

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Thank you so much for the :wub: comments.

Sarah, Carina, Chickiboomxx, Samantha28, soph1303 and cablove :D

Hope this chapter is okay....I think I may have rambled on a little bit :unsure:

Chapter 13

Brax held Charlie in his arms and gazed at her as she traced his chest tattoo with her index finger. He ran his fingers up and down her back as they lay in silence, just enjoying the freedom they had from their lives for what seemed days. Charlie stopped tracing his tattoo and flattened her hand out on his chest, covering the word blood. She looked up to Brax and looked into his eyes and smiled. Brax smiled back at her, taking in warmth he felt in her arms and the connection he had with her. He never wanted to let go.

"What?" Brax asked as he looked into her sparkling blue eyes

"Last night, now-" Charlie began but stopped when she felt a slight gush of embarrasment wash over her. She pushed her hair back and ran her fingers through it. Her hair now covering Brax's arm which Charlie's head was on

"Is perfect?" Brax finished. Charlie bit her lip and nodded "I know"

"I don't feel like I've got be happy, I know I can be" Charlie smiled "and that's because of you Brax, I've known you for such a short time, but it feels like I've known you longer. Does that make sense?" Charlie sat herself up, using her top that was flung over the desk to cover herself

"Yea it does" Brax nodded as he sat up too

Charlie put her top on and rose to her feet. she walked over to Angelo's desk and leant up against it, grabbing the picture of herself and Angelo that was taken when they were twenty three "This was taken four years ago" Charlie smiled as she ran her finger along the picture of herself "I remeber that day; I thought he was going to propose. He'd taken me out for the most romantic meal he'd ever thought of, he gave me what he thought was my favourite flowers, and the whole day was just about us" Charlie handed Brax the picture. Charlie wore a simple sun top and a cream mini skirt which showed her long, perfect legs. "And when I thought he was going to propose, that was when he told me about the club" Charlie swallowed "That was when I finally saw Angelo for what he really was; a selfish, evil little man" Charlie scowled "But by then, I had already got myself trapped in this life" Charlie folded her arms across her chest

"You look good in the picture" Brax said what he saw; Charlie hadn't changed much, she still had the same beaming smile that seemed to light up the room, her eyes were still full of love and sorrow "If not better now" Brax winked

"Thanks" Charlie smiled slighty, tucking her hair behind her ear shyly, much like a teenage girl who was been spoken to by the boy she had a crush on "But that's why Angelo is with me. He thinks that's all I have to offer -my looks" A tear rolled down Charlie's face as she bowed her head

"There is more to you than just looks" Brax said as he pushed Charlie's head up "I know that, and other people can see that too"

"I-" Charlie was cut off by the sound of a door closing. Charlie looked to Brax, who looked to Charlie; both had the same expression on their face. Charlie's breathing became heavier as dread filled her body. She walked over to the CCTV monitiors on the table beside Angelo's desk and saw Angelo holding the post, walking along the floor below them heading toward the stairs of the club. "Sh-" Charlie placed her hand over her mouth "You gotta go!" Charlie rushed to the chair which housed Brax's shirt and threw it at him, followed by his trousers "Now"

Brax quickly put his shirt on as he said "What do I do now?"

"Put your trousers on and hide" Charlie replied. Brax nodded and, in the rush to put his trousers on, he toppled over. Reaching out for the desk to stop him crashing to the ground, he pulled himself up before he finished getting dressed. Charlie giggled as she walked to the door, she had now put on her shorts and was just wiping her face from the tear that was on the verge of falling from her eye after Brax's little 'incident' "Keep an eye on the monitors, as soon as Angelo's back is to the door, you go and leave" Charlie finished

"But I have to clean today" Brax smiled

"Well go, make a bit of noise and then come back in" Charlie quickly replied "Just don't get caught coming out of here" Charlie placed her shaking hand on the door handle and opened it. She made sure the door was still ajar as it creaked when first opened. She walked over to the bar and got herself an orange juice just as Angelo turned into the club

"Hey beautiful" Angelo smiled as he saw Charlie at the bar "Starting early I see" Angelo pointed to the glass which Charlie had in her hand

"No, its just and OJ" Charlie replied as she brought the glass to her mouth, rolling her eyes with resentment for Angelo's comment

"You been here all night?" Angelo asked as he placed the post on the bar top and walked behind the bar

"No" Charlie swallowed "Why?"

"I was just asking. You didn't come home last night and I missed you" Angelo poured himself a drink "And I thought if you had been here all night, you could have told Brax to get this placed tidied" Angelo looked around and saw the tables and chairs had been moved or knocked over. Charlie looked at the mess Angelo was on about, she smiled slightly as she remembered how the tables and chairs ended up like that

Their lips touched.

Brax brought his hand to Charlie's shoulder and ran his hand down, bringing with it, the strap of her top. Charlie ran her hands up Brax's strong back, lifting his shirt over his head and throwing it away. Stumbling over to the office, their lips never parted; tables were pushed aside, chairs fell to the ground

"So what are you going to do? Fire him?" Charlie asked, hoping the answer was yes

"No" Angelo shook his head as he placed his glass on the bar. He may be a sloppy cleaner but he's a good fighter; one that will make me -us-me-US rich" Angelo nervously grabbed the glass and brought it to his mouth, looking over it to see if Charlie reacted to what he had just said

"Angelo come here" Charlie said as she made her way over to the balcony "I saw something out here a few nights ago, and I was wondering if you could tell me what it was" Charlie opened the door and stepped out on to the balcony with Angelo stood beside her. She pointed out to the horizon and as Angelo looked, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Brax make a run for it out of the office

"I don't see anything" Angelo shook his head "Were you drunk the last time you looked out of here?" Angelo asked as he made his way back into the club

"Probably yea" Charlie replied, remaining on the balcony

"Hey man sorry I'm late. My brother needed a lift" Brax walked into the club and started to put the tables and chairs back together

"I don't care about your brother. Just get this place cleaned up, and fast" Angelo glared at Brax "Charlie come on" Angelo held his hand out to Charlie, who quickly walked over to him and placed her hand in his.

~*~

The school bell rang, ringing through the corridors which were filled with the sounds of students talking about meaningless things, lockers been slammed shut, students walking up and down stairs and along the many corridors.

Issy and Daniel walked through the door with their friends, ingrossed in their own conversations to notcie how slowly Ruby walked in. She stared in front of her, not paying attention to what was going on around her. She walked straight to her locker and threw her bag on the top, she grabbed the books she needed for her first two classes and made her way to the libary.

Sitting down a a cubical desk with a laptop, Ruby opened a page she had found on the internet which was proven to help locate biological family. Ruby typed in her year of birth and the year of her adoption, followed by her name and then her birth mothers name. Ruby's eyes widened when she saw the list of 'Charlotte's and Ruby's' grow.

"Boo!" Ruby jumped before she turned to face who startled her

"Case!" Ruby hit him on the arm as he perched on the desk "You scared the hell out of me" Ruby placed her hand on her chest. She could feel her heart racing in her chest

"Sorry. Anyway, what ya doing?" Casey asked as he looked at the screen "Whoa, thats a lot of names"

"Tell me about it" Ruby sighed "I just wish I had Charlotte's surname or her age" Ruby scrolled down the page "If I knew that, this would be so much easier"

"Well, you now she was young when she had you, why don't you just start at putting Charlotte as thirteen and work up to her been twenty or something" Casey suggested "Might come up with summat"

"That's actually a really good idea" Ruby smiled "Okay, so. If I was born in December 1993 and Charlotte was thirteen, that puts it at 1980" Ruby spoke out loud as she typed in the date changes. "Ten names" Ruby clicked on them "Nope, that Ruby died and that one has moved to Spain. Anderson-nope. Poppleton -nope. Smith -nope. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope"" Ruby changed the dates again "1979 puts Charlotte at fourteen when she had me" Ruby looked to Casey

"No offence, but, if Charlotte was fourteen when she had you, no wonder she wanted to give you up" Ruby slowly turned to face Casey

"Charlotte didn't want to give me up. She had to" Ruby replied calmly, although everything inside her was telling her to do otherwise

"Sorry, I was only saying" Casey replied "Look, I promised Brax I wouldn't cut any classes anymore. I'll make a few notes for you and catch you later" Casey jumped off

the desk

"Yea, see ya" Ruby never took her eyes from the screen as she read:

Charlotte B. D.O.B. 29th Sept 1979. Aged fourteen years three months. Daughter (Born 29th December 1993) adopted to Mr and Mrs Young February 9th 1994

~*~

Bianca walked into the diner and made her way to the counter to find Miles sat, eating some chips. Irene, Leah and Colleen were in the kitchen, making the last few quiches and sandwiches for the beach party Alf and John were planning for the Surf Club.

"Hey Bianca" Miles smiled as he brought another chip to his mouth

"Hey Miles" Bianca replied as she sat beside him, pinching a chip as she sat "You okay?"

"Yup" Miles nodded with a mouthful "I saw the posters up around town. Has Charlie seen them?"

"I don't think so. To be honest, I don't know what she'll do if she does see them. I'm really worried about her, its like, she is Charlie, but not" Bianca scrathced her head "Youn know what I mean?"

Miles nodded as he placed another chip in his mouth "I see what you mean too. Leah and I saw her on the beach a few nights back. She looked as though she just wanted to sand to bury her"

"She came round to the house a couple of nights ago. She hates everything about her life" Bianca wiped the tear from her face "And, no matter how much Sid, Liam, Roo, Irene, You and Leah are there for her, I don't think we're enough" Bianca looked to Miles "She's only staying here for one reason, and even that is a long shot"

"What's the reason?" Miles asked as he placed his arms around Bianca, who now had tears rolling down her cheeks more frequantly "Is it that cleaner guy? What's he called, Brox? Brax?"

Bianca let out a small laugh "He's Brax. And no. Charlie talks to him and I suppose that's great, but he barely knows her history" Bianca explained "We've all known Charlie since she moved her and that's well over ten years. And how long did it take Charlie to tell me about her kid? Three years. I mean, Angelo her boyfriend doesn't even know. I just want to help Charlie get away from Angelo, he's slowly killing her and I hate watching it" Bianca wiped her face "She's only twenty-seven, she has so much life let in her and she's just about ready to give up"

"Angelo has a way of making things happen. Irene, Colleen and Leah have only just been able to afford to keep this place in their own name"

"And that's why you are always eating chips here?" Bianca smiled as she grabbed another chip

"No, they taste better than the ones I can make" Miles put one in his mouth "Bianca, what's the reason why Charlie wont go?" Miles asked after the two fell into silence

"I don't want to tell you hear. If I do, seven years of it been hidden will be out for everyone to know" Bianca replied as she subtly pointed into the kitchen

"Okay" Miles grabbed a handful of chips and stood up "Leah, I'll be back soon" Miles shouted as he followed Bianca out of the diner.

~*~

Issy, Dan and Ruby stepped off the school bus and walked down the street to their house. Dan dupmed his bag on the stairs and went straight to his games console and tried to finish the game he started the night before. Issy went to her room to finish of her homework so she could go to the movies with her friends and Ruby walked into the front room in a daze -much like the one she had been in all day. She sat on the couch, holding the sheets she had printed out, and re-read every little detail on the page.

"Hey Ruby, how was school?" Sally smiled as she walked into the front room, drying her hands on the towel she was holding

"I um, I did some research about Charlotte at school today" Ruby replied as she held up the sheet she was reading from "The date of birth for me matches, and so does the date of adoption" Ruby handed Sally the sheet "It gives how far Charlotte lives from Yabbie Creek. I was wondering if I could try and find her?"

Sally looked at the paper that was creased and close to ripping. She could tell that Ruby had put a lot of effort into finding this and couldn't help but feel proud of her for been so mature "It says six miles" Sally read "Get the map, and draw a six miles radius circle round, that will help to narrow your search down"

Ruby smiled as she rose from the couch. She walked over to her dad's desk and pulled out the map. She them grabbed a piece of string, a pencil and a ruler from the drawer and measured six inches -the map said one inch represented one mile- she then cut the string to six inches, placed one end of the string over where the adoption home was and outstretched the ramaining string and began to draw a circle.

"Okay, one way three miles is under water. There is a couple of miles worth of bushland there" Ruby spoke out loud as she looked in the circle "Mum, what do I do now?"

"What else does it say on the paper?"

"Her date of birth and the first initial of her last name" Ruby replied "Its not much to go on" Ruby looked helplessly at her mother

"Ruby, in less than a week, you've gone from not knowing her name and age, to knowing hold old she is and what her name is, and you've narrowed down where she could live. You'll find her, and you're dad and I are here" Sally smiled with glazed eyes

"I just- I just want to find her" Ruby replied as she walked over to Sally, falling into her and gladly receiving the hug Sally gave to her.

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