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Nothing Lasts Forever


Guest Danni02

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Thank you all so much for the comments :) I hope this next one is okay :unsure:

Chapter 11

Angelo found himself walking along the beach, thinking about his relationship with Nicole and what was going to happen now that Charlie was pregnant. Although he had been excited about the move to Italy and starting a new life there with Nicole and George, he knew that now there was no way to make the move to Italy possible. Not if he wanted to be a part of his child’s life. Although he did love Nicole and wanted to make her happy and knew that going to Italy would do that, he just couldn’t leave behind his child, but at the same time he didn’t want to lose Nicole. Sighing lightly he stopped at the water’s edge, letting the waves lap gently around his feet. He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, taking in the crisp night air. “Don’t do it. It’s not that bad” A voice said and Angelo turned around to find Charlie walking over to him. He laughed lightly before taking a step closer to her.

“Hey” Angelo smiled lightly as he looked at Charlie. “What brings you out here?”

“I was feeling a little nauseous so I thought I’d come out and get some fresh air. See if that helped” Charlie answered as she made eye contact with Angelo.

“Oh, and has it?” Angelo questioned.

“Yeah it has” Charlie smiled, relieved that the feeling of sickness had passed her.

“Good” Angelo smiled “How’s the sickness been?” Angelo asked.

“Pretty non-existent” Charlie answered “So if it continues like this then I won’t really can complain”

“That’s good” Angelo said before a slightly awkward silence hit them.

“So, yeah” Charlie nodded “Eh, you look a bit deep in thought, you alright?”

“Yeah” Angelo said unconvincingly. Charlie gave him a questioning look, not believing that he was okay.

“Angelo, we were together for two years” Charlie said “I know you. Something’s up”

Angelo sighed lightly before made a gesture with his head for them to move further up the beach, away from the water’s edge. They took a seat on the dunes and Angelo exhaled lightly before looking back at Charlie. “I don’t know if I want to talk to you about it to be honest” Angelo said.

“Oh” Charlie said feeling rather upset that now Angelo didn’t even feel he could talk to her. “Angelo, I…”

“It’s about Nic” Angelo said My new girlfriend. The girl who I cheated on you with. The -”

“I’m well aware who Nicole is and what happened between you two when we were together” Charlie snapped.

“I know” Angelo said “I just meant that I….I didn’t think you’ll feel all that comfortable talking to me about her”

“Well we can give things a go” Charlie said. Although she did feel slightly uncomfortable at the thought of talking to Angelo about his relationship with Nicole, she still loved him, and hated to see him upset, and wanted to be there to help him in any way she could.

“We keep arguing about moving to Italy” Angelo said after a lengthy silence. “She doesn’t like the fact that it’s just not an option for us anymore. I need to stay for you -”

“Angelo” Charlie spoke over him “I love you and I want you to be happy, so if that means going to Italy with Nicole and George, then, please don’t let me stop you”

“I can’t” Angelo shook his head lightly as he spoke “I need to be here for our child”

“You need to be or you want to be?” Charlie questioned.

“Well, both, I guess” Angelo said as he lightly rubbed his forehead.

“You guess?”

“Well, I think….sometimes I just think that it would be….” Angelo trailed off, not wanting to say anything that may upset Charlie.

“That it would be easier if I wasn’t pregnant?” Charlie said guessing the ending of Angelo’s sentence. Angelo nodded shyly, not able to look at Charlie, after saying he thought it would be easier if their baby didn’t exist. “Don’t feel bad about it” Charlie said after seeing the look on Angelo’s face. “I’ve thought that as well. But….I’d also still love to be with you” Charlie said apprehensively.

“Charlie” Angelo exhaled lightly as he looked back at her.

“I love you so much” Charlie said “And I just think if we gave things another shot -”

“Charlie, I love you. I think a part of me always will, but, I am not in love with you anymore. Us staying together, in the long run wouldn’t be fair on the baby”

“I know” Charlie sniffed back a tear “But it’s not going to stop me wanting to be with you. I know that we are over, but I….”

“Charlie” Angelo interrupted as he tentatively placed his hand onto Charlie’s back in an act of comfort. “When you’re ready to move on, you’ll find someone who loves you more than anything and will make you want for nothing. You just need time -”

“Please don’t tell me what I need” Charlie said as she shrugged her shoulders back, causing Angelo to move his hand away.

“I’m sorry” Angelo said quietly.

“No, you’re not” Charlie shook her head “You’re just sorry you got caught”

“Charlie, that’s not fair” Angelo said.

“Isn’t it?” Charlie questioned “So, answer me this, if Ruby never caught you two together, would you still be with me right now? Would you have ended things with Nic when I told you I was pregnant?” Angelo sat in silence, not really having an answer for Charlie. Charlie took his silence as a bad thing, and nodded lightly as a tear rolled down her cheek.

“Okay” Charlie sniffed “So no matter what you’d never want me and it would only be a matter of time before we were over”

“Charlie” Angelo sighed “You deserve so much better than me. You deserve someone who wants to be with you because you are smart, and funny, gorgeous -”

“Stop” Charlie said “We didn’t….this isn’t….this wasn’t what we were supposed to be talking about” Charlie sniffed back more tears. “It was…..Nic and Italy” Charlie wiped away the tear from her cheek as she looked up at Angelo, and knew that she had no chance of getting him back. His heart now lay with Nicole, and Charlie had no choice but to put their relationship behind them and move on. “So like I said, don’t feel like you have to stay here. I know I said at first that you couldn’t move, but we’ve both just said that things would be easier if I wasn’t pregnant, so maybe…..maybe the best option for us both would be for me to…..” Charlie trailed off not finding herself able to complete the sentence.

“Really?” Angelo questioned “You would consider…..abortion?” Angelo said the word apprehensively.

“Well it makes sense, doesn’t it?” Charlie questioned “I mean this wasn’t planned. It would mean that you could get the life you wanted with Nic in Italy, and that I could….well…..I have Rubes and…yeah, I’d be fine”

“You’d really want that?” Angelo questioned “To get rid out our child?”

Charlie shrugged her shoulders as a tear rolled down her cheek. “I just want all this to end” Charlie cried “I don’t want to feel like this anymore and if us both being able to move on with our lives in the direction we want them to go then yeah, maybe it is what I want”

“Right” Angelo nodded lightly “Well maybe it could be for the best” Angelo said rather sadly. Although he wanted more than anything to be a father, this wasn’t the circumstances that he wanted it to happen in.

“Right, well that’s it agreed then” Charlie wiped away the tears as she spoke. “I’ll eh…I guess I’ll ehm, get things sorted” Angelo nodded lightly as he cleared his throat.

“Do you want me to come with you when….” Angelo trailed off not wanting to complete the sentence.

“No” Charlie shook her head “It’s fine” Charlie said before she stood up from the spot in which she was sitting. “I’m going to go. Guess I’ll see you around. Or maybe not now you can move to Italy” Charlie said before she walked away from Angelo and out of his sight. She took a deep breath as she wiped the signs that’s she’d been crying from her face, before she walked into the surf club and headed up the stairs towards Angelo’s, hoping that Brax was still there.

*****

Ruby closed the book as she let out a sigh. “Right, that’s enough. If I don’t know it now I never will”

“You’ll be fine” Casey smiled as he looked up at his girlfriend and tried to reassure her that her math exam would go fine.

“Yeah” Ruby laughed in disbelief. “We’ll see”

“Mmm hmm” Casey smirked “You’ll ace them all, Rubes. Then you be off to uni next year while I’ll be repeating Year 12 for failing miserably”

“Case, you’re smart. You’ll do great too” Ruby said as she reached forward and squeezed his hand reassuringly.

“Yeah, well I guess we’ll have to wait to see, but I’m not going to hold my breath for it” Casey said “Anyways, keep your Saturday free, because I have a surprise for you”

“Ooo what is it?” Ruby squealed excitedly.

“I can’t tell you that can I?” Casey asked “You’ll need to wait till Saturday”

“Case” Ruby pouted and Casey shook his head, not wanting to tell her what he was planning for Saturday, with the money that Charlie had kindly given him to help cheer Ruby up. He laughed lightly as he stood up from the table and started to pack his books away in his bag. “If you tell me I will…” Ruby said as she gave Casey a suggestive look as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Casey laughed lightly as he shook his head, before he and Ruby kissed softly.

“I should go home” Casey said as he pulled back.

“I think you should stay” Ruby said before she gave Casey another kiss.

“Mmm, I think your Mum would kill me if she knew I was in your bedroom” Casey said as Ruby pushed him lightly, causing him to walk slowly across the room with Ruby following.

“Charlie’s not stupid. She knows you’re often in my bedroom” Ruby laughed lightly “And besides, she’s the one who went out for a walk, leaving us alone…..” Ruby said before once more leaning in to kiss Casey.

“Mmm” Casey smiled “I really need to go home”

“And you can” Ruby smiled as she lightly pushed Casey back, getting closer to the hallway leading to the bedroom “But just not yet”

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Thank you all so much for the lovely comments. :) Sorry that I'm pretty slow in getting updates up for you guys, really hoping to get them up quicker for you soon. Anyways, here is the next one and I hope that you like it..... :unsure:

Chapter 12

Charlie walked through the surf club and up the stairs towards Angelo’s, stopping at the doorway and looked around, feeling slightly surprised that the place was empty, bar Brax and another man, who looked deep in conversation. Charlie cleared her throat causing Brax to look up at her. “Charlie” Brax said as he walked out from behind the bar and gestured for the other man to leave. Charlie smiled lightly at Brax before looking at the other man. “He was just leaving” Brax said as the man stood up from the bar stool.

“Eh yeah” The man said as he scratched the back of his head “So tomorrow at -”

“Yeah, yeah” Brax nodded as he spoke over Brodie, cutting him off. “Now go” Brax said before Brodie left the restaurant. “So, Charlie, what brings you here?” Brax asked.

“I eh….” Charlie cleared her throat. “I just wondered if that coffee was still on offer”

Brax smiled as he heard the reason as to why Charlie was in his restaurant. “Of course, yes” Brax nodded lightly as he lead Charlie across the restaurant and she sat down on the bar stool as he went back behind the bar. “I can make it something stronger if you wanted” Brax said as he reached for a bottle of wine from the shelf.

“Eh, no” Charlie shook her head. “Just a coffee is fine. And can you make it decaf”

“Okay, one decaf coming up” Brax smiled once more at Charlie before he made her a coffee, before pouring himself a bourbon. “You alright?” Brax questioned “You look like you’ve been crying”

“I’m fine” Charlie sighed “I….I just ran into Angelo on the beach and…” Charlie trailed off as she looked down.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don't want” Brax told her. “But if you need anyone to sort Angelo out…” Charlie let out a small laugh before she shook her head lightly.

“He’s leaving soon anyways I think, so…” Charlie trailed off as she looked down to her stomach briefly.

“Leaving, eh?” Brax said “Finally feeling guilty about what he did so him and the mistress are going to leave to start a fresh?” Brax laughed.

“Yeah” Charlie answered “Italy. He wants to open a restaurant there”

“Well wish him luck for me” Brax said and Charlie smiled lightly at Brax.

“So anyways, why this place closed tonight?” Charlie asked as she looked around the empty restaurant.

“Well, there were 2 tables in in the first 2 hours that we were open then we were empty for an hour so I closed up” Brax answered. “Pretty much the way it’s been for the last couple of weeks”

“Oh” Charlie said “Business pretty slow right now then?”

“That’s one word for it” Brax sighed.

“I’m sure it’ll pick up again. With the way the economy is right now, people can’t afford to eat out as often” Charlie said trying to find a reason to why the restaurant wasn’t doing well right now.

“Nah” Brax shook his head “Now a River Boy is running the joint no-one want’s to come”

“Oh, I’m sure that’s not the reason” Charlie said “Like I said -”

“You don’t have to be so nice about it, Charlie” Brax said “No one wants to eat at a place ran by a River Boy. It’s as simple as that”

“So what do you think you’ll do?” Charlie questioned.

Brax shrugged his shoulders “Who knows hey” Brax said before rubbing his chin. “Maybe give it a few more weeks, but it’s not looking good. You know what people are like in these small towns. Someone has a bad reputation and they won’t go near them”

“Well, I’m here” Charlie said before giving Brax a smile. Brax smiled at Charlie before he took a drink of his Bourbon. “And if you’re chef is still about….” Charlie trailed off as she looked towards the door that led to the kitchen.

“Nah I sent him home eh. But if you’re hungry I could try and rustle you something up.” Brax said “Try being the operative word” Brax laughed.

“Sounds good” Charlie smiled before she followed Brax into the kitchen.

****

Angelo walked back into his bedroom trying to hold back the tears that wanted to fall. Although he had played a part in the decision of aborting the baby, he still felt sad about the choice that they had made. “Hey, your back” Nicole smiled as she looked up from the bed, where she was sitting feeding George.

“Yeah” Angelo said quietly as he sat down on the bed next to Nicole and gently rubbed George’s hand. “Hey baby” Angelo smiled.

“Look, Angelo, I’m sorry about how I acted about the houses before” Nicole said “I’ve been looking through them again, and you’re right, this one in Croydon Park does look great”

“It doesn’t matter” Angelo sighed “You win Nic. You get your way, we’re moving to Italy”

“What?” Nicole questioned sounding surprised “How can…..what about the baby? Angelo, I -”

“There’s not going to a baby much longer” Angelo said “We’ve decide it would be best for Charlie to have an abortion”

“Oh no, Angelo” Nicole shook her head “I don’t want to be the reason that your child….that Charlie…” Nicole shook her head as she trailed off.

“She’s made up her mind, Nic” Angelo said “And, you know, as much as I want a child, this situation is just so messed up and I just…” Angelo exhaled lightly before shaking his head. “It’s for the best” Angelo said.

“I just don’t understand how she can” Nicole said “I mean, she kept Ruby…and then with me, she made me see I should keep Georgie, I just didn’t think that she would have an abortion”

“Well, she is” Angelo spat “So can we just stop talking about it now. Charlie’s having an abortion and you’re getting your way by getting to go to Italy so you should be real happy right now” Angelo shouted.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to go to Italy this way” Nicole said.

“You know what Nicole, I’m sick of this. I can’t make you happy can I?” Angelo questioned “I’ve made it possible for you to go to Italy now, by deciding it would be best to abort my child, but still, you’re not satisfied. You’re unbelievable” Angelo spat as he jumped up from the bed and once more left the room in anger.

****

Ruby smiled as she snuggled up in the bed next to Casey. “So, are you going to tell me what’s happening on Saturday now?” Ruby asked as she ran her finger over Casey’s chest.

“Nope” Casey answered “You’ll have to wait. Didn’t your Mum ever tell you what a surprise was?”

“Yeah” Ruby laughed lightly “But I hate not knowing things” Ruby said.

“Well, it’s only a few more days” Casey said “And then you’ll know”

“Mmm, can’t you give me a clue?” Ruby asked as she looked up at Casey and pouted.

“Nope” Casey said “Now will you stop going on about it please”

“Okay” Ruby exhaled lightly before the pair lay in silence for a few minutes. “Is it to do with the end of exams?” Ruby asked excitedly.

“Ruby” Casey sighed “Can we change the subject, please”

“You should probably head soon anyways” Ruby said as she sat up in the bed. “Charlie will freak if she come’s home to find us….” Ruby trailed off as she looked at Casey.

“What is it with her anyway?” Casey asked “It’s not as if we are underage and we’re always careful, so…”

“I don’t know” Ruby shrugged her shoulders. “I guess….you know, I’m her daughter and she just doesn’t want to see me getting hurt or probably end up pregnant, when I’m still a teenager”

“What like her you mean?” Casey questioned as he sat up in the bed.

“Case” Ruby sighed

“Well, it’s true. She was young when she got herself pregnant with you. Just because she was an irresponsible teen doesn’t mean that you are going to wind up the same, and besides if you were really like her you could have a 4-year-old by now”

“Casey” Ruby said feeling hurt and angry with his comment. “Please can you not talk about my Mother like that”

“Like what?” Casey questioned “I’m just telling it like it is”

“No, you’re not Case” Ruby shouted “You’re just jumping to conclusions just like everyone else. Not everything is that black and white you know”

“Well, no, I don’t know” Casey raised his voice “Because you don’t open up to me about things Ruby. I love you and I want to know that you are okay, and I want to know everything about you. I want us to share things and feel that we can talk to each other about anything and everything”

“We can” Ruby exhaled lightly “But, just not this” Ruby shook her head “Case, you have to understand that this…my Dad is someone who I don’t want to talk about. So, if you can’t handle that you won’t get to know about that part of my life then maybe we just can’t be together”

“Okay” Casey sighed lightly “I’ll stop asking you”

“I’m sorry, but I just -”

“It’s fine” Casey cut Ruby off. “You clearly don’t trust me enough to tell me about your life. So, I’m gonna go, see ya at School tomorrow” Casey said before he got out of the bed and began to dress himself so he could leave.

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Thank you so much lozlovesh&a, cally, RR1, Deano, Sarah, Angel90 and Carina for commenting. Here's the next part. I hope you like it :)

Chapter 13

Charlie and Brax were sitting at one of the tables, eating the pizza that Brax had prepared them. Although Brax had poured Charlie a glass of wine, she was reluctant to touch it, for the baby’s sake, she knew she shouldn’t be drinking, and that she’s already drank enough the night before. “Can I just have a glass of water please?” Charlie asked as she looked up at Brax.

“Water?” Brax questioned “Too much alcohol last night then?” Brax laughed as he got up from the table and went behind the bar to get Charlie her water.

“Yeah, something like that” Charlie replied quietly as Brax walked back to the table with her water. “Thanks” Charlie smiled lightly as she picked up the glass and took a drink.

“So” Brax said “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure” Charlie answered as she looked at Brax, curious as to know what he wanted to ask her.

“It’s about Ruby” Brax asked “I mean, you must have been pretty young when you had her and -”

“Yeah” Charlie said, cutting Brax off, not wanting to hear his question anymore. “I was and that’s all that you need to know” Charlie said.

“Right, sorry, I just though….well this is kind of like a date, so I -”

“A date?” Charlie questioned “Brax, we’re just two people having dinner together, that’s all”

“Really?” Brax questioned “See that’s where I think you’re wrong. I asked you out and although you rejected me a couple of times, you turn up, so, technically, I think we are on a date. Not to mention last night.”

“Yeah, well last night shouldn’t have happened” Charlie said.

“Well, I’m glad it did” Brax replied “Charlie, last night….it was amazing, and I think we could be really great together if only you gave me a chance” Brax leaned forward and gently rubbed Charlie’s hand. “Don’t let other people’s opinions of me get in the way”

“I’m not” Charlie said. She knew that the River Boys had a bad reputation and although she hadn’t found anything to prove that they had been up to no good, it hadn’t stopped the residents of Summer Bay from complaining to her about their present in the bay, and wanting her to do something about it. She sighed lightly before gently rubbing her forehead. “Brax…I like you, okay, I do, but right now I can’t….nothing more can happen between us. It’s just too soon for me after Angelo and…” Charlie trailed off as she looked down to her stomach. “It’s complicated”

“Things often are” Angelo said “But it doesn’t mean that we can’t try if it’s what we both want” Brax said.

“What about Casey and Ruby?” Charlie questioned “My daughter is dating your brother. If we start dating it could make things even more complicated”

“Charlie” Brax shook his head lightly “That doesn’t…..we’ve both said we like each other. What more needs to be done? Let’s just give this a go”

“I can’t” Charlie shook her head “Like I said, I’m not ready for a relationship after Angelo, and….” Once again Charlie trailed off as she lightly rubbed her stomach. “Maybe, we could start of as friends and then see how it goes from there” Charlie suggested.

“So you’re not saying never, just not now?” Brax questioned and Charlie nodded lightly before she looked at her watch.

“Yeah, but I should probably get home now” Charlie said as she stood up from the table. “How much do I owe you for that pizza?”

“It’s on the house” Brax smiled “That’s what friends are for, right?”

Charlie let out a small laughed before reaching for her wallet. “Well, considering you just told me that the restaurant is struggling, I want to pay” Charlie said as went to hand Brax a $50 note. “And, keep the change too”

“No, I don’t want your money” Brax said “I think I’ve got a way to get more money coming in again, so it’s fine” Brax smiled lightly as he walked Charlie down the restaurant to the doors.

“Well thank you” Charlie smiled as she looked up at Brax, and deep into his eyes. Even though she had said she wasn’t ready for a relationship, she wanted nothing more than to kiss him in that moment. She smiled nervously at him, before leaning slightly closer towards him. Brax smiled as he locked eyes her with her. He loved her eyes. They were always so expressive, and at this moment in time, sparkled under the restaurant lighting. He placed a soft kiss on her lips, before Charlie pulled back for a second, but then quickly kiss him again, this time the kiss becoming more passionate. “Mmm” Charlie said as she pulled back and looked up at Brax. “We eh…we’re just going to be friends”

“Yeah, I know” Brax nodded before once more kissing Charlie.

****

Charlie walked into the house to find Ruby sitting on the couch, looking as if she had been crying. “Hey, Rubes” Charlie said as she sat down next to her daughter. “You okay?”

“Yeah” Ruby nodded as she sniffed back a tear.

“No, actually I don’t think you are” Charlie said “Did something happen with Casey?”

Ruby nodded as she moved closer to Charlie as she rested her head against her mother’s shoulders. “He wants to know about Grant” Ruby said “I can’t tell him” Ruby shook her head “It’s not my….you might not want him to know and I can’t….”

“Rubes” Charlie said cutting her daughter off. “Sweetie if you want to talk to Casey about Grant and what happened then that’s okay” Charlie gently ran her hand through Ruby’s hair as she spoke. “This has to do with you too, and if you feel comfortable enough to tell Case, then I don’t want to stop you”

“But that’s just it” Ruby said “I don’t want too. I scared that I’ll tell him and he’ll not want to be with me anymore, because of what I am, how I came to be, what my Dad is”

“Ruby” Charlie shook her head lightly “Casey is a sweet guy. Okay, he’s not going to think any differently of you if you tell him about Grant. It’s not your fault that it happened and you…you’re a sweet, beautiful girl, and that’s all Casey is going to see”

“But it’s what I am” Ruby said as she looked up at her mother. “I’m worse than a mistake. I come from something so horrible and I don’t know if I want him to know, but I also don’t want to lose him, and I think if I don’t be honest with him, then I eventually will”

“Look, sweetie, it’s your choice to make, but Casey, he won’t think any differently of you. He just wants to know everything about the girl the he loves. I can see how much he cares for you and I know for a fact that nothing will change if you tell him what happened”

“Yeah” Ruby said as she wiped the signs of tears from her face as Charlie nodded in response. “I dunno, I’ll think about it” Ruby said “So, anyways, what happened to I’m just going out for a short walk? You’ve been a while”

“Yeah, well I bumped into Angelo and then I ended up going to the restaurant and had some pizza”

“What with Angelo?” Ruby questioned.

“No, no” Charlie shook her head “I met Angelo on the beach and then -”

“What did he have to say for himself?” Ruby spat feeling anger rising inside her at the mention of his name.

“He eh….him and Nicole were having some troubles and -”

“Really, already?” Ruby laughed “Well I’m glad. They don’t deserve to be happy together”

“Rubes” Charlie shook her head lightly “It’s time to let it go” Charlie said “Angelo is with Nicole. And I need to move on. And I want Angelo to be happy, and he does seem to be with Nicole, so once they get things sorted, I want them to have that”

“Why?” Ruby questioned “After what they did I would have thought that you would be pleased they seem to be having problems”

Ruby” Charlie shook her head lightly. “There’s no point in being bitter about everything. I love the guy, and if being with Nicole makes him happy then I’m going to be happy for him, because if he is in love and happy then, I’m pleased for him and I’m glad he’s found the one to give him that”

“You know I don’t think he deserves that from you” Ruby said “But I guess if you can feel that when he’s done this to you, then there isn’t really a reason for me to still be hating on them either” Ruby said “But, I just…..when I saw how much he hurt you, I just….I hate the guy for it. I love you so much Mum and I hate that someone could make you feel like you did, I just want him to pay for it” Charlie smiled lightly at Ruby before wrapping her arm around her daughter and placing a soft kiss on her head.

“I know” Charlie said “And, I think, in a way he has” Charlie mumbled before she looked down to her stomach and smiled lightly.

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Thank you so much lozlovesh&a, Aden_Belle, Sarah, Soph1303, RR1, Deano, Angel90 and Carina for the lovely comments. I hope you like this next one. :)

Chapter 14

Angelo was sitting outside on the patio, nursing a beer. In his hands he held the scan of his baby, and as he looked down at it, he shut his eyes tightly, trying not to let the tears escape. As he opened his eyes again, and looked down at his child, he exhaled lightly, beginning to regret the decision that he and Charlie had made. He ran his finger across the scan as he once again, lightly exhaled. “Hey” Nicole said shyly as she walked out onto the patio and took a seat next to Angelo. “Angelo….we need to talk” Nicole said and Angelo nodded lightly as he placed the picture down on the table and looked up at his girlfriend, and waited on her to continue. “This, Angelo” Nicole shook her head as she spoke. “All we’ve done lately is argue, and we shouldn’t be doing that right now, you know, we’re still in that honeymoon phase of our relationship. We can finally be together in public, we don’t need to sneak around anymore…..this, Angelo….it’s not good right now”

“I know” Angelo replied quietly “But Nic, it’s not my fault. I left Charlie for you, I agreed to move to Italy for you, I said it would be best to abort my child so I could make you happy and give you what you want, but still it doesn’t seem to be enough. I don’t know what else I can do, Nic” Angelo shook his head, at a loss at how to deal with the situation he had gotten himself into.

“I’m sorry” Nicole said “I know that you’ve had it hard to make this relationship work. But, Angelo, moving to Italy…..we don’t have too” Nicole shook her head “Angelo I can’t be responsible for Charlie aborting your child. It doesn’t matter where we are, Angelo” Nicole said as she reached forward and gently squeezed his hand. “As long as we are together, I’ll be happy” Angelo smiled lightly at Nicole’s words.

“That’s all I want, Nic” Angelo said “To be happy with you and Georgie”

“And your own child?” Nicole questioned.

“It doesn’t matter” Angelo answered “Charlie’s made up her mind, and although I want this baby, a part of me….” Angelo trailed off as he looked down feeling ashamed with himself for what he was about to say. “It’s for the best” Angelo said “It’s the best thing to do for all of us”

“I don’t think it is” Nicole shook her head. “Angelo, you need to talk to Charlie”

Angelo exhaled lightly before he stared down at the photo of their baby. A slight smile appeared on his face at the thought of seeing his child for the first time, teaching a son how to ride his bike or taking him to the footie, taking his daughter swimming or out for ice-cream. “It would be great” Angelo said his thought’s out loud.

“What would?” Nicole questioned feeling slightly confused.

Angelo smiled as he looked up at Nicole. “No, you’re right. I need to talk to Charlie”

*****

Brax looked down at his watched and sighed before running his hands though his head in frustration. “Where the hell are ya Brodie” Brax muttered as he paced back and forward.

“Oi, Braxton” The man shouted “I haven’t got all day ya know. Where’s my stuff?”

“It’s on its way” Heath said as he looked at the other man.

“You’ve been saying that for the last 15 minutes” the man yelled as he lunged forward and grabbed Heaths t-shirt at the neck.

“Alright mate, calm down hey” Brax said as he stepped between the two men, breaking them up. “You’ll get your stuff. Heath, give that idiot mate of yours a call and ask him where the hell he is” Brax instructed as he looked at his younger brother. Heath nodded before he walked away as he got his phone from his pocket.

“You better not be messing me around mate” The man said as he looked at Brax, unimpressed.

“Now does that sound like something I would do?” Brax questioned. The man looked at Brax for a moment before shaking his head.

“I used to think not” He replied. “But mate, you need to get things under control. You know, this won’t fly well with others”

“I know” Brax said “Don’t worry, Brodie will get a warning for this”

“Hey Brax there’s no answer” Heath said as he joined the men again. Brax shook his head lightly before looking back the other man.

“Ah, I’m taking my business elsewhere” The man sighed “Your loss mate” He said before getting in the car and driving off. Brax exhaled lightly before he shook his head at Heath and pushed him to the ground.

“What the hell was that for” Heath asked as he got back up to his feet.

“For convincing me that that stupid mate of yours could pull this off” Brax yelled.

“Hey, it’s not my fault he screwed up” Heath retorted just as a car pulled up and Brodie got out.

“Where the hell have you been” Brax asked as he pushed Brodie back, causing him to fall into the car.

“Sorry mate” Brodie said feeling slightly scared of Brax. “I thought I was being followed so I had to take a detour”

“What do you mean followed? And by who?” Brax asked.

“It looked like I was being followed by the cops” Brodie answered. “I was just trying to be safe mate”

“So a cop car followed you?” Heath asked.

“Well it was unmarked, but I just had this feeling. It’s better late than never, right?” Brodie questioned.

“It was Dean West, Brodie” Brax shouted as he threw his arms out to the side. “Okay, that guy, he doesn’t wait around”

“I’m sorry” Brodie said.

“Too right your sorry” Brax retorted “You just lost me thousands of dollars” Brax seethed as he once again pushed Brodie back.

“Alright, Brax” Heath said as he tried to hold his brother back. “He made a mistake, it won’t happen again, will it mate” Heath said as he looked at Brodie.

“No, I swear” Brodie said as he gave Brax a pleading look, hoping to stop what he knew was coming to him.

“Well he still needs to learn his lesson” Brax spat. “C’mon” Brax said as he gestured for Brodie to follow him further in the woods.

“Brax” Heath said as he went to follow him.

“You stay there with the gear” Brax told his younger brother before he walked off as he pushed Brodie in front of him.

*****

Ruby exhaled as she walked out of the school grounds, glad to be done of her exam and on holiday from school for a few weeks. “Rubes” April said as she ran to catch up with her. “Hey, so how do you think that went?”

“Oh, I don’t want to think about” Ruby said “I’m just glad that we are finished them now”

“Yeah me too” April agreed.

“Look April I just wanted to say I’m sorry for yesterday, I kind of over-reacted I think”

“Oh its fine, don’t worry about it” April said “It can’t have been easy for you. I mean you find your best friend and your sort of step-dad in bed together. You’ve lost two people you cared about and on top of that you’re trying to help your Mum – you’re pregnant Mum – get through it too”

“Well still, that’s no reason for me to go off at you when you were just trying to help me” Ruby said. “So, I am sorry”

“Well apology accepted” April smiled “You want to go the surf club for a juice or something?”

“Yeah sure” Ruby smiled “I’ll buy, to say sorry” Ruby said.

“Ruby it wasn’t that big a deal, you don’t need to” April said as they made their way along the road from the school to the surf club.

“I know, but I want too” Ruby said.

“Hey, wait up” Ruby and April turned around as they heard someone shout to find Casey and Dex running to catch up with them.

“Where are you lovely ladies going without us strapping young men?” Dex questioned.

“The surf club” April laughed lightly. “Do you want to join us?”

“Eh yeah” Casey answered as he and Ruby shared an awkward glance. “Why don’t you two go ahead, I want to talk to Rubes first” Casey said as he looked at April then Dex. “Go ahead and set up the pool table”

“Great, an exam and a thrashing at pool both in the same day, lucky me” Dex said before he took April’s hand into his and the couple continued to walk down the road to the surf club.

“So” Casey said as he looked at Ruby “I eh, I’m sorry about what I said last night, about your Mum. It was wrong, I shouldn’t have said that” Casey looked down, disappointed in himself for the way he spoke about Charlie.

“Right” Ruby nodded.

“But I do want you to know that you can trust me Ruby. No matter what you tell me, I won’t tell anyone else, so don’t feel like I can’t be trusted. I’d never do anything to hurt you, Rubes” Casey said as he took Ruby’s hand into his and rubbed it gently. Ruby exhaled lightly as she looked into Casey eyes. He looked so sincere, and honest.

“I know” Ruby nodded lightly as she gave Casey a weak smile. “But this, Case” Ruby shook her head “My Dad and that kind of stuff….I’m just not ready to talk about it yet” Ruby said and Casey nodded understandingly.

“Okay” Casey said “But, you know, I’m here for you when you are”

“Yeah, I know” Ruby smiled before she stood on her tip-toes and placed a soft kiss on Casey’s lips.

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Thanks everyone :) Hope you like this next one.

Chapter 15

Ruby returned home from the surf club, finding the house empty and a note on the table from Charlie explaining that she’d gone to the diner with Bianca and Leah, but that she should meet her at Angelo’s at 7pm, so they could get some dinner. She walked over to the fridge and was about to pour herself a drink of orange juice when there was a knock at the door. She sighed lightly as she walked across the room and opened the door, finding Angelo standing at the other side. “What do you want?” Ruby asked coldly as she looked up at him.

“Is Charlie in?” Angelo asked.

“Nah” Ruby shook her head “She’s not so, I guess you can go” Ruby said as she went to shut the door.

“Rubes” Angelo said as he held his hand out and pushed on the door, stopping Ruby closing it fully. “Can I still come in?”

“Well why would you?” Ruby questioned “Mum isn’t in and there’s no way I want to talk to you, so”

“Rubes, please” Angelo said as he took a step forward. “I miss talking with you” Ruby sighed lightly as she looked away from Angelo, before opening the door fully again, allowing Angelo to enter the house. They walked over to the couch and took a seat, silence hitting them for a moment. “So” Angelo said as he went to make conversation. “How did the exams go?”

“I dunno” Ruby shrugged her shoulders “I couldn’t really concentrate to study for them considering all that’s going on right now”

“Well you’re a smart kid” Angelo said “I’m sure you’ll have aced them”

“Yeah, so anyways” Ruby said as she looked up to the front door before looking back at Angelo.

“Rubes” Angelo said “I don’t like this” Angelo shook his head lightly.

“You don’t like what?” Ruby asked.

“This” Angelo said “How you are with me now. We used to be close and I just wish that we still had that, you know, just because me and your Mum aren’t together anymore it doesn’t mean that I don’t want anything to do with you” Angelo said “If you ever still need fatherly advice, you know you can come to me right?”

Ruby snorted “No thanks”

“Ruby” Angelo started, but Ruby cut him off.

“I mean you seriously think I’d still want a relationship with you after what you did to Charlie?” Ruby questioned. “I couldn’t ever do that to Mum” Ruby said “You broke her heart Angelo. And I want nothing more to do with the guy who hurt her like that”

“I love how loyal you are to Charlie” Angelo said “But knowing Charlie, if you ever needed me Ruby, I don’t think she’d have a problem with that”

“No, probably not, but that’s what makes her a far better person than you’ll ever be”

“I can’t argue with you there” Angelo said “She’s pretty special”

“Yeah, just not special enough for you” Ruby said.

“That’s not true Ruby” Angelo said “Nicole’s just….”

“I’d rather not know” Ruby said “Why don’t you just go off to Italy with Nicole and George and leave us alone”

“We’re not moving to Italy anymore” Angelo said “We -”

“Ah don’t tell me you are staying for the baby” Ruby questioned “Cos it’ll be better off without you” Ruby spat.

“No” Angelo shook his head “Well I was going to be, but now she’s not keeping it, well that’s what I’m here about actually, to see -”

“What” Ruby shouted “Mum’s having an abortion?”

“Yes we decided it would be for the best, but now -”

“I have to go talk to Mum” Ruby shouted as she shot up from the couch and went running out of the house, leaving Angelo sitting alone in the house he once shared with Charlie and Ruby. Ruby ran all the way to the diner and over to the table where her Mother was sitting with Bianca and Leah. “What…the….hell” Ruby shouted as she tried to catch her breath. “Do….you….think….”

“Whoa, Rubes” Charlie said “Catch your breath first” Charlie said and Ruby shook her head as she looked at her Mother.

“Abortion” Ruby said “Angelo said you are getting an abortion”

“Oh” Charlie said as she looked at her daughter before giving Bianca and Leah a glance, taking note of the surprised looks on all of their faces.

“Well” Ruby yelled “Are you going to abort my baby brother or sister?”

“Ruby, I -” Charlie went to talk as she shook her head.

“Charlie” Bianca said “I don’t want to pry, but, really?”

“You can’t” Ruby raised her voice.

“Guys” Leah said “This is Charlie’s choice, and if it’s what she want’s -” Leah started to talk, but was cut off by an angry Ruby.

“No” Ruby shouted, causing other diners to look across to their table. “You can’t” Ruby said “And I know you couldn’t because you kept me so what’s stopping you from keeping this baby?” Ruby questioned.

“Ruby, I -” Charlie began to explain but was cut off by her angry daughter.

“Why didn’t you talk to me about this?” Ruby said as she began to feel herself well up with tears. “Don’t you trust me enough? Or are you scared that I would make you see sense and see that you should keep the baby no matter what?” Ruby questioned. Charlie sat there shocked at Ruby’s reaction. “I can’t believe you” Ruby yelled before she ran from the diner.

“I eh” Charlie said as she stood up from the table. “Firstly, sorry about that” Charlie said as she looked down at her friends, feeling herself going red with embarrassment. “I should really go and talk to her” Charlie said as she left the diner, and walked across to the beach where she saw her daughter walking down towards the water’s edge. “Rubes” Charlie shouted. “What the hell……don’t you ever come storming into a place and start yelling at me like that again”

“That’s all you’re caring about?” Ruby asked as she looked up at her Mother as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Charlie, you’re going to abort my brother or sister. I -”

“Rubes” Charlie shook her head. “I’m not getting an abortion”

“What?” Ruby questioned as she wiped the tear from her cheek and looked up at her Mother. “But Angelo said…..”

“Angelo thinks I am getting an abortion” Charlie said and Ruby screwed her face up, feeling slightly confused.

“But why would you tell him you are if you’re not?”

“Because” Charlie sighed lightly as she took a seat in the sand, gesturing for Ruby to sit down next to her. “I love him” Charlie said.

“Okay this really doesn’t make any sense to me” Ruby said as she sat down next to Charlie. “You told Angelo that you are going to abort his child because you love him?”

Charlie nodded lightly. “I want him to be happy and I know he’d have that with Nicole and George in Italy” Charlie said “The baby was stopping him from going and having that life, so I thought if I told him that I wanted an abortion, he would be able to go and have that life”

“Charlie that’s…….” Ruby trailed off, shaking her head, unable to find the word she wanted to use for Charlie’s explanation.

“He said himself that it would be easiest if I did abort the baby so I don’t even know how much he really wants this baby anyways”

“Even so” Ruby shook her head “Charlie, this…..you can’t tell the guy you are getting an abortion and then not” Ruby said.

“Look at you sticking up for Angelo all of a sudden” Charlie said.

“Hey, believe me I don’t want to be sticking up for him, but no matter how much I hate the guy, I still know that it’s wrong to do that to him” Ruby said as she looked up at Charlie. “And I know that deep down, you know it’s wrong too”

“Of course I know it’s wrong” Charlie said “But, I don’t know what else I can do”

“Stop thinking about what you can do to make Angelo happy and think about yourself” Ruby said “Do what you need to do to make yourself happy” Ruby said softy as she gently rubbed Charlie’s arm. “Angelo…he doesn’t matter” Ruby said “Let him do what he wants. If he wants to go to Italy, let him. If he wants to stay here and be a part of the baby’s life then, yeah, that’s great for the baby” Ruby said “But right now, for you, Angelo’s happiness shouldn’t be important. All you need to care about right now is looking after yourself and making sure you do everything right for this one” Ruby said as she pointed to Charlie’s stomach. “And of course, telling Angelo the truth”

“I know” Charlie nodded lightly as she looked down to her stomach “And I will”

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Thank you soph1303, Sarah, RR1, Aden_Belle, pembie, Zoe, Angel90 and Sabrina for the comments. I hope this next one is okay. :)

Chapter 16

“Charlie, Ruby” Brax smiled as he saw the two of them walking into the empty restaurant. “What can I get for you to lovely ladies tonight?” Brax asked as he walked over to them.

“We’d like a table for 2” Ruby said “Also, I will order our usual meat lover pizza and some garlic bread and two glasses of water”

“Still on the water?” Brax laughed as he looked at Charlie. “Must have been some night the other night” Brax said and Charlie laughed awkwardly as she ushered Ruby across the room to their table.

“What’s he on about? What night?” Ruby asked as they sat down.

“I don’t know Ruby” Charlie said “He must be mistaken”

“Mistaken?” Brax said before Charlie gave him an annoyed glance. “Oh, so it wasn’t you I saw at the club at the other night in a bit of a state?” Brax questioned.

“No” Ruby answered on behalf of Charlie. “Mum wouldn’t go out drinking right now, she’s -”

“Can we get those waters now please” Charlie said, cutting Ruby off from telling Brax that she was pregnant. Brax nodded lightly before he walked away to the bar to get them their drinks.

“So what made you decide to bring me out here tonight?” Ruby questioned.

“Well it was either here or my cooking” Charlie said and Ruby laughed.

“Ah well this is by far the better option” Ruby teased as Brax returned to the table with their water. As he placed the glasses down on the table, Ruby noticed some cuts and bruises over his knuckles. “Ooh what happened to your hand?” Ruby asked, as Charlie and Brax both looked down at it. Brax exhaled lightly as he covered his right hand with his left, trying to hide what Ruby had saw from Charlie.

“Oh, I was angry at Heath so I pushed a wall” Brax said, trying to sound believable.

“You punched a wall?” Ruby laughed and Brax nodded.

“Yeah and if you think I look bad you should see the wall” Brax joked and Ruby laughed. Brax looked down to Charlie to see her reaction, but then felt slightly uneasy as she had a look of disbelief on her face. “Well I’ll leave you ladies to it” Brax said before he left to avoid any questioning from Charlie.

“Gosh it’s so quiet in here tonight” Ruby said as she looked around, noticing they were the only 2 in the room.

“Yeah” Charlie agreed “Brax said that since it’s been his place it’s been like this”

“Really?” Ruby questioned “That’s not good. I don’t understand why people have such a problem with them”

“Them being the River Boys?” Charlie questioned and Ruby nodded.

“Case is often getting grief at school because of it. You know, everyone blame the River Boy; watch what you are saying in front of the River Boy. It’s not fair, even if Brax and Heath are up to no good then it doesn’t mean Case is too. He’s not like them”

“Up to no good?” Charlie questioned “Ruby have you heard something I should know?”

“No” Ruby shook her head “But everyone round here knows they have this reputation. But so far, that’s all it seems to be”

“Yeah” Charlie nodded “I hope that’s all it is” Charlie mumbled as she thought about what had happened between her and Brax over the past couple of days, and although she kept telling herself that it was way too soon to be starting up at new relationship, especially when she was still in love with Angelo, she was finding herself growing more and more attracted to Brax, and hoped that someday they could be in a relationship together.

“So one meat lover and some garlic bread” Brax said as he placed their order down on the table. As Charlie got a whiff of the garlic bread a feeling of nausea passed over her. She placed her hand up to her mouth as she took a deep breath.

“Mum?” Ruby questioned “You alright?”

“Excuse me” Charlie said as she stood up from the table and walked quickly across the restaurant and into the toilets, where she threw up.

“You alright, Mum?” Ruby asked as Charlie returned to the table. Charlie nodded lightly as she took a drink of her water.

“Yeah, just eh keep that bread away from me” Charlie said as she pushed the plate closer to Ruby.

“What?” Ruby questioned “I’m not eating it all. I’m going to see Casey later and I don’t want to be stinking of garlic when…” Ruby trailed off, remembering she was talking to her mother. “Eh, yeah, I’m not eating it all”

“You don’t have to eat it all. Just keep it away from me” Charlie said. “So, you’re going to see Casey? I guess you two made up then?”

“Yeah” Ruby nodded “I’ve still not told him, but he seems to understand now that I don’t really want to talk about Grant. At least, not just yet”

“Well I’m just glad you’ve sorted things” Charlie said “It means I don’t need to put up with you moping around the house in a foul mood” Charlie teased as she lightly punched Ruby’s arm.

“Hey” Ruby gasped “As opposed to you moping about you mean?” Ruby said and Charlie looked down sadly. “Oh Mum, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that” Ruby said as she realised what she had said.

“Its fine” Charlie sighed before she lightly ran her hand across her stomach. “I’m eh, going to go home. I don’t feel like eating anymore. I think this whole morning sickness thing is starting to kick in more” Charlie said as she once again brought her hand up to her mouth and took a deep breath. “Why don’t you get that for take-away and eat it with Casey” Charlie suggested and Ruby nodded before she gestured for Brax to come over, and asked him to put the pizza into a box for take-away. He returned a few moments later and handed Ruby the box, before she left the restaurant, leaving Charlie and Brax alone.

“So” Brax said “You eh, staying or?”

“Why would I stay?” Charlie questioned as she fished her purse out of her bag to pay for the dinner.

“Well, I’m sure I could think of a reason” Brax smiled as he moved closer to Charlie and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Brax” Charlie shook her head lightly as she pushed his arms away. “We can’t. We’re just…..” Charlie trailed off as she looked up at Brax and saw the way he was looking at her. She couldn’t remember the last time she saw Angelo looking at her in such a way.

“Charlie” Brax said as he tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’m not going to screw you over if that’s what you are worried about. I really really like you and I think if you could just give us a chance….” Brax paused as he looked deep into Charlie’s eyes.

“I’ve already told you, I’m not…..” Charlie was cut off when Brax planted a kiss on her lips. Charlie hesitated for a moment before she responded, the kiss becoming deeper and more passionate.

*****

“So” Ruby said as he threw the crust of the pizza down into the box. “I don’t even get a little clue?”

“Ah Ruby” Casey sighed feeling annoyed at Ruby for keeping on asking him about the surprise trip that he was taking her on. “You’re a persistent little thing aren’t you” Casey laughed.

“Yup” Ruby laughed “So this clue?” Ruby said.

“Ruby it’s tomorrow” Casey said “Surely you can wait till then?”

Ruby sighed lightly as she lay down in the bed. “Well I guess” Ruby said “But you promise it’s something cool?”

“Of course it is” Casey said “Only the best for you babe” Casey smiled as he threw the pizza box on to the floor and lay down next to Ruby on the bed.

“I’m excited” Ruby grinned and Casey smiled before he planted a soft kiss on her lips, as Ruby responded there was a knock on the bedroom door and Casey sighed lightly before he sat up in the bed and Heath came bursting into the room.

“Oi mate I need you to do a favour for me” Heath asked as he looked down at his younger brother.

“What is it?” Casey asked.

“Rubes you can leave now eh” Heath said as he made a head gesture for Ruby to get out of the room.

“Eh no” Casey said “She can stay”

“She’s leaving” Heath said “C’mon Casey, listen to your older brother now”

“You can’t make her -”

“Case it’s fine” Ruby said “Mum wasn’t feeling great anyways so I should probably go home and make sure she is okay”

“Okay, well, I’ll see you tomorrow, 10 O’clock don’t be late”

“Of course I won’t be” Ruby squealed as she jumped down from the bed. “I’m so excited to see what this is” Ruby gave Casey a kiss goodbye before she left the brothers to talk.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you all so much for the comments! :D Okay, so firstly, I am so sorry for the length of time it took me to get this chapter up, but I have just been really busy lately and have hardly found myself with any spare time to write. Not much really goes on in this one either, but it was just a little something to get me back into it. Hopefully you think it is okay.

Chapter 17

Charlie and Brax were lying together in the bed, Charlie’s head resting against Brax’s chest, Brax’s arm wrapped around her. “Charlie” Brax said softly as he lightly rubbed her arm.

“Hmm” Charlie said.

“You see before, in the restaurant?” Brax paused as he looked down at Charlie.

“Yeah” Charlie said as she turned onto her side and looked up at Brax as she held her head in her hand.

“Why didn’t you want Ruby to know that you were out drinking the other night?”

Charlie exhaled lightly as she looked away from Brax. “I guess, I just….” Charlie began as she looked back up at him. “I don’t want Ruby thinking that going out and getting drunk is the right way to go about solving your problems, because it just does the opposite of that” Charlie sighed “You know, it just makes things worse”

“Eh yeah” Brax nodded “I guess it can, but…”

“So, do I get to ask you a question now?” Charlie asked cutting Brax off. Brax nodded lightly, intrigued as to what Charlie was going to ask. Charlie smiled lightly at Brax before she took his hand into hers and gently ran her thumb over his knuckles. “This” Charlie said “You didn’t really punch a wall, did you?”

“Oh, so I get Charlie the cop’s question” Brax said as he pulled his hand away.

“I’m not being a cop” Charlie said “I’m….we’re friends, so I just wanted to know”

“Friends?” Brax questioned. “Still going for that’s all we are?”

Charlie nodded lightly as she looked into Brax’s eyes. “Yup” Charlie spoke quietly as Brax leaned closer to her and brushed his lips softly against hers. Charlie smiled lightly before returning the kiss.

“Charlie” Brax whispered as he pulled back. “We’re obviously both attracted to each other….we can be more than friends. I’d really like it if we were” Brax smiled sweetly at Charlie, hoping that she would admit to wanting more with him.

Before Charlie had the chance to reply, they heard the front door slamming shut and Charlie’s name being called out. “Oh gosh that’s Ruby back” Charlie said as she jumped out of the bed and made a desperate search to find the clothes that Brax had ripped from her body earlier.

“Charlie” Brax laughed lightly as he sat up in the bed “Don’t look so panicked. So what if Ruby catches us. It’s not a big deal. You are allowed to…”

“Brax” Charlie said angrily but quietly. “She’s my daughter. I don’t want her walking in on me in bed with her boyfriend’s brother….in fact I don’t ever want her walking in on me in bed with someone, no matter who it is”

“Okay” Brax once again let out a laugh as he got out of the bed and reached for his boxers. “So how do you suppose that I leave without her seeing me?” Brax asked, but before Charlie could reply, she was once again called for by Ruby.

“Yeah, I’ll be out in a minute” Charlie called back to Ruby.

“Are you okay?” Ruby questioned, her voice getting louder, sounding as if she was standing right outside the bedroom.

“Fine” Charlie answered quickly in a panic as she looked at Brax and pointed to the bedroom window. “I just had a little lie down” Charlie said as she walked towards the door and opened it with just enough room for her to slip out of the door, and right enough she found Ruby standing right outside.

“Do you feel any better?” Ruby asked as they made their way along the hall and into the living room.

“Yeah” Charlie smiled lightly as they took a seat on the couch.

“So when are you going to tell people about the baby anyways?” Ruby questioned. “I want people to know that I’m going to be a big sister. It’s exciting” Ruby smiled.

“Ruby, it’s too early to tell people” Charlie said “I’m only 5 weeks; I’d rather wait a bit longer”

“How much longer?” Ruby questioned.

“I was thinking till my 12 week scan” Charlie answered.

“That’s ages Charlie” Ruby moaned.

“I know, but I think it’s better this way” Charlie replied “You know that the risk of miscarriage is a lot higher in the first 12 weeks, people are advised to keep it quiet till then”

“Well ehm….I’ve kinda already told April and Casey” Ruby said.

“Well, Bianca and Leah also know so you can get excited all you want around them, but I’d rather wait a little longer before letting anyone else know, okay” Charlie said and Ruby nodded understandingly before her eyes widened and she looked towards the hallway as she heard a loud bang.

“What was that?” Ruby questioned.

“What was what?” Charlie questioned, trying her best to make it sound like she hadn’t heard the bang of what she assumed was Brax closing the window once he’d climbed out of it.

“That loud noise” Ruby said as she rose to her feet. “How could you not hear it?” Ruby questioned.

“It was probably just the wind knocking something over” Charlie said as she grabbed Ruby’s hand and pulled her down to the couch again.

“The wind?” Ruby laughed “It’s hardly even windy Charlie”

“Okay” Charlie sighed lightly. “I’ll go check it out” Charlie rose to her feet and walked back into the bedroom, noticing the window was left open ever so slightly. She smiled lightly as she looked around the room, seeing Brax had left like she had asked him too. As she was about to turn back to join Ruby in the living room again, she saw a note sitting on her bed. She exhaled lightly as she walked over to her bed and picked up the piece of paper and began to read what was there.

Charlie

These past few days with you have been amazing. I know we could have something really special if only you’d give me that chance. Meet me tomorrow at the restaurant around 9pm. If you turn up, I know you want more than just friendship, and if you don’t, then, at least I’ve tried.

Hope to see you there.

Brax

Charlie’s hand immediately went for her stomach as she thought about what she should do. She did like Brax, but, being pregnant made her hesitant to start a new relationship. Part of her felt that it would be best for her to focus solely on the baby for now, and worry about getting over Angelo or think about moving into a new relationship further down the track, but there was a part of her that felt herself wanting to accept Brax’s offer and meet him as his request. She sighed lightly as she ran her eyes over the note once more, before she crumpled it up and threw it into the bin. Exhaling lightly, she turned to leave the room, and went back into the living room to join her daughter.

*****

Ruby was standing waiting for Casey to turn up for their day out. Sighing lightly she looked down at her watch noticing he was late. It was now 10.15, and Casey had told Ruby to be there at 10am sharp. She pulled her phone out of her bag and went to call him, for about the 5th time, but before she got the chance to hit the call button, she heard her name being called out, and looked up to find Casey running along the road to meet her. “Sorry” Casey said, sounding out of breath as he stopped beside her. “I was just helping Heath out with something”

“With what?” Ruby questioned.

“Eh that doesn’t matter” Casey said as he took Ruby’s hand in his and let her along the path, towards the docks. “All that matters is that I am here now and we can go”

“Go where?” Ruby questioned.

“You’ll see” Casey smiled as he led her down the pier and stopped at the Blaxland.

“A boat” Ruby smiled lightly as she looked up at Casey.

“You’re late” A voice said and they looked around to see Romeo standing before them.

“Sorry mate” Casey said.

“Hey, you’re the ones who’s lost time” Romeo said as he gestured for them to get on the boat.

“So” Ruby smiled as they walked onto the boat. “Am I getting one of Romeo’s romantic island getaway cruise things?”

“Yeah” Casey smiled “Do you like this plan, it’s not too cheesy is it?”

“I love it” Ruby beamed as she leaned up and planted a kiss on Casey’s lips. “But, Case how could you afford it?” Ruby questioned. “Unless Romeo gave you mates rates, but still….how could you afford this?”

“I have my ways” Casey smiled.

“Okay that makes it sound really dodgy” Ruby said as she took a step back and looked up at Casey.

“It was nothing dodgy, I promise you” Casey smiled before they sat down on the bench and Casey opened the picnic basket, pulling out what he thought was a bottle of Champagne. “Eh Romeo?” Casey questioned. “What’s this?”

“Sparkling Apple juice” Romeo answered as he began to drive them to their destination.

“Eh yeah…..where’s the alcohol?”

“You’re both only 17” Romeo replied “I can’t supply you with alcohol”

“Aww c’mon mate” Casey said “I told you I want to make this as special as possibly for Rubes”

“Yeah and if people find out I supply alcohol to minors I could lose my business” Romeo said “Sorry mate, it’s the way it has to be”

“Sorry” Casey sighed as he looked down at Ruby. “We’ll have to make do with this”

“It’s fine Case” Ruby said. “We don’t need alcohol to have a good time”

“I know but I wanted to make this day really special and sitting on a boat drinking fizzy apple wasn’t really what I had in mind”

“Hey Case” Ruby said “Look where we are” Ruby pointed to the scenery as the boat drove away from the bay, and towards the island in which Romeo was taking them too. “It’s beautiful out here, and we are spending the day together, that’s all that matters to me” Ruby smiled.

“Yeah?” Casey questioned and Ruby nodded lightly before planting a kiss a Casey’s lips.

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Thanks everyone! :) Here's the next part. I must admit I have gotten a bit lost with this, but hopefully I will get it back on track now I have figured where it's going again. Anyways, hope you like it. :D

Chapter 18

Ruby and Casey walked along to the beach, to the area that was decorated for them to sit at and have their meal. “Aww Case” Ruby grinned “This is so lovely, I’m having a great day”

“Good” Casey smiled “I’m glad. You know you’ve just had so much going on lately and I wanted to feel closer to you again”

“Closer?” Ruby questioned.

“Well with all this stuff with your Mum and Angelo, and how it’s affecting you, you’ve just not really opened up to me as much as I thought you would have, so…”

“So you thought by bringing me out on a romantic trip will make me spill my heart to you?” Ruby questioned.

“No” Casey shook his head “You’ve made it clear you’re not ready to talk about things, including your Dad, so, I thought a nice romantic trip with your oh-so-handsome boyfriend would let you forget about it for all for a while”

“My oh-so-handsome boyfriend?” Ruby questioned “When’s he turning up then?” Ruby teased.

“Oi” Casey said as he lightly hit Ruby’s side and Ruby laughed lightly before she planted a kiss on his lips. Casey returned the kiss, before he pulled back slightly and tucked Ruby’s hair behind her ear as he looked lovingly into her eyes.

“What?” Ruby questioned.

“Nothing” Casey smiled at Ruby before he pulled the picnic basket closer to them and pulled out another bottle of the fizzy apple drink that was supposed to resemble champagne. “I feel like a bit of a sissy drinking this stuff” Casey laughed lightly as he looked down at Ruby.

“Yeah, but you’re my sissy” Ruby laughed as she leaned into Casey and rested her head against his chest. Casey smiled as he wrapped his arm around Ruby and placed a kiss on her head.

“Hey, Case” Ruby said as she looked back up at him.

“Hmm” Casey said.

“You know how I told you Mum was pregnant?”

Yeah” Casey answered.

“Well can you not tell anyone right now? She doesn’t want people knowing. Something to do with waiting till there’s less risk or something like that” Ruby said.

“Eh yeah fine” Casey answered “So, you looking forward to being a big sister then?” Casey asked “Or you not looking forward to not being an only child? I mean it must be strange waiting 18 years to get a sibling”

“I’m really excited” Ruby smiled “But technically, I’m not an only child…..” Ruby said before trailing off, wishing she hadn’t said what she just had.

“You’re not?” Casey asked and Ruby shook her head as she bit her lip.

“My Dad” Ruby sighed lightly, realising it was too late to back off now and that she’d need to tell Casey. “I have a little brother and sister…Tyler and Mila” Ruby said before looking away from Casey. “Or, well, they’re my half siblings”

“Oh, do you ever see them?” Casey questioned and Ruby shook her head lightly. “Well, I guess since it’s the first I’ve heard of them it doesn’t surprise me that you don’t”

“Yeah” Ruby said “I’ve seen them once but that’s all”

“Oh” Casey said “So, they’re with your Dad and Step-Mum, I guess” Casey said and Ruby nodded.

“Well, just their Mum” Ruby said “My Dad, he….my real Dad is dead” Ruby said and Casey’s mouth opened in shock.

“Rubes, I’m so sorry. No wonder you didn’t want to talk about him. It must be so hard for you…I don’t know….”

“No, Case” Ruby shook her head “There’s more to tell you. A lot more”

“Ruby” Casey said softly as he looked at his girlfriend and saw how uncomfortable she looked with the topic of conversation. “You don’t need to tell me if you’re not ready too” Casey said as he rubbed her back in comfort.

“No” Ruby shook her head “I want too. I just…I need a little time” Ruby said before she took a deep breath. Casey nodded understandingly before he took Ruby’s hand in his and rubbed it gently. “When Charlie was fourteen she….her boyfriend he….” Ruby trailed off before she took another deep breath. She closed her eyes as felt a lone tear rolling down her cheek. “Charlie was raped” Ruby said as she opened her eyes and looked up at Casey.

Casey sat there in complete shock. He’d just suspected that Charlie was a careless teenager, and was now feeling ashamed with himself for jumping to conclusions about his girlfriend’s Mum. He looked at Ruby’s tear stained face and exhaled lightly as he gently wiped away her tears with his thumbs. “Rubes, I’m so sorry”

“It didn’t happen to me” Ruby sniffed back more tears.

“I know” Casey said “But for your Dad to have done that to your Mum. It can’t be easy for you to know”

Ruby shook her head lightly. “I hate what I am” Ruby said “But, Charlie….she loves me so much and I know she would do anything for me. She’d die for me” Ruby said “It just….it’s kinda made Mum really wary of men. She has a lot of issues when it comes to relationships”

“I don’t blame her after what happened. She was so young too” Casey said and Ruby nodded in agreement. “Rubes?” Casey questioned and Ruby looked at him, intrigued. “Well you said your Dad had other kids, but, shouldn’t he be in jail for what he did?”

“That was Ross” Ruby shook her head lightly “Charlie’s Dad. He didn’t want Charlie going through a court case and all that so he told her it would be best not to press charges”

“What” Casey shouted in shock. “Her own father didn’t even want to get the guy who…..if anyone did that to my daughter I’d want to kill him”

“He did” Ruby said and Casey’s eyes widened. Ruby exhaled lightly before explaining. “A couple of years ago now, when I found out the truth, I did something really stupid and contacted Grant, my Dad, the guy who…..anyways, he started harassing us and Ross wanted to protect Charlie, like he felt he’d failed after the rape happened and how he dealt with it, so he killed him”

“Whoa” Casey said sounding shocked. “So, Ross, he’s in jail?”

Ruby shook her head. “Dad had Alzheimer’s and because of what Grant did, he got a lesser punishment. But he died last year” Ruby said before looking down sadly.

“I’m sorry” Casey said as he rubbed Ruby’s back in comfort. “Rubes, did you just call your Granddad, Dad?”

Ruby nodded as she looked back up at Casey. “Because of Mum’s age and the circumstances and stuff, my Grandparents raised me as their daughter and Charlie’s sister” Ruby explained and Casey nodded in understanding.

“So that’s why you mostly call Charlie, Charlie”

“Yeah” Ruby said “We’re still adjusting to this whole Mother, Daughter thing really. But sometimes it just feels right to call her Mum” Ruby smiled. “But Case, please, I trust you with this”

“Hey, I won’t tell anyone” Casey smiled before he placed a soft kiss on Ruby’s forehead.

*****

Charlie was pacing the living room as she looked at the clock on the wall. It was 8.45pm and she knew if she was going to go out to see Brax that she would need to leave the house now to get there on time. She exhaled lightly as before she made her way over to the door. As she opened it she saw Angelo standing at the other side with his fist in the air, as if he was about to knock. “Charlie” Angelo smiled lightly.

“I was just on my way out” Charlie said as she tried to step forward, not wanting Angelo to step into the house.

“I really need to talk to you” Angelo said.

“Can’t it wait?” Charlie questioned “As I said, I’m on my way out”

“No it can’t” Angelo said “This is important Charlie, and I’m afraid if I don’t talk to you now it’s going to be too late”

Charlie sighed lightly before stepping to the side and allowing Angelo to step into the house. He took a seat on the couch as Charlie closed the door and followed him over to the couch, taking a seat next to him. “Make it quick” Charlie said.

“It’s about the abortion” Angelo said tentatively. “Charlie, I….”

“Angelo about that. The abortion, it’s my choice and….”

“No, Charlie, this is my baby too and I should get a say in whether or not we abort it, and I know I said it would be easier, but Charlie, it’s not what I want, I want this baby and I don’t want you to have an abortion. I should have as much of a say in this as you”

“Yeah?” Charlie questioned and Angelo nodded. “Because who’s the one who has to carry the child for 9 months and deal with morning sickness and everything else that comes with pregnancy? Who’s the one who has to give birth and then do the majority of the childcare?”

“I can’t help the way nature is, Charlie” Angelo said “But it is still my child and therefore I should…”

“Oh Angelo, I’m not getting an abortion” Charlie snapped.

“You changed your mind?” Angelo questioned, sounding glad that Charlie was keeping his child.

“Well….no, not exactly” Charlie said hesitantly. “Angelo, I…I never was getting an abortion”

“What?” Angelo yelled as he stood up from the couch and stared down at Charlie. “Charlie what the hell”

“I’m sorry” Charlie said as she sat back in the couch lengthening the gap between the two.

“Charlie what the hell, you can’t do that to me”

“I’m sorry…I just…it’s so hard for me, Angelo” Charlie said as a tear rolled from her cheek. “I wanted you to be happy and when you said that you thought maybe I should have an abortion I didn’t think that you really wanted the baby anyways. So I thought that by telling you I wanted an abortion, it would let you go and be with Nic and George in Italy and have the life that would make you happy. I know it was a stupid thing to do but it was just a spur of the moment decision and it seemed to make sense to me at the time and…”

“And what Charlie?” Angelo yelled “You’d carry on and have this child letting me think that’d you aborted it? And what about when the child was older and wanted to know about its dad? Or would you just let a new boyfriend take that roll?” Charlie sat in silence, unable to find an answer for Angelo.

“I’m sorry” Charlie cried “I thought….I did it because I love you and…”

“Love me?” Angelo questioned “If you loved me you wouldn’t lie to me like that” Angelo yelled. “Never would I ever think that you would do something like that to me” Angelo shook his head almost in disgust at Charlie.

“Me do something like that to you?” Charlie spat “And what about what you did to me?”

“That doesn’t excuse what you just did to me. You did much worse, Charlie” Angelo yelled before he left the house, slamming the door shut behind him. As Charlie sat on the couch, the tears rolling down her cheek, all she felt herself wanting was to be crying in Brax’s arms. She sniffed back more tears and ran to the bathroom and fixed up her make-up, hoping that she’d hid all signs that she’d been crying. She looked down to her watch and noticed the time was now 9.10pm. She sighed lightly as she ran for the door, hoping Brax was still waiting for her, hoping she wasn’t too late.

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Thanks guys! :D Here is the next one. I'm not so sure about it, but yeah, I'm trying to get things back on track hopefully I will get there soon......hope it's okay, let me know what you think.

Chapter 19

Charlie walked up the stairs of the Surf Club, hoping that she wasn’t too late and that Brax was still there, waiting on her. She let out a small sigh of relief when she noticed Brax was still there. “Brax” Charlie said softly as she walked into the restaurant, and watched him as he put the chairs up onto the tables, as if closing up for the night.

“I thought you weren’t coming” Brax said sadly as he looked up at Charlie.

“I’m sorry. I know I’m about 30 minutes late, but….”

“You could have called eh, let me know” Brax said he continued with putting the chairs up.

“I don’t have your number” Charlie said.

“Oh, well we can change that” Brax laughed lightly “Unless you’ve come here to tell me something I don’t really want to hear?”

Charlie exhaled lightly as he looked up at Brax. “Brax, I…..”

“No, I get it” Brax sighed “That’s why you’ve showed up late then? Putting off telling me where we stand?”

“I was on my way to meet to you when Angelo showed up” Charlie said. “I like you Brax; I really do, but….”

“You still love him” Brax said feeling deflated. Charlie nodded lightly as she moved closer to Brax, and lightly put her hand on his arm.

“Brax, I don’t regret what’s happened between us these past few days, but right now, I can’t give you a relationship. It wouldn’t be fair on you for me to be with you when I’m still in love with Angelo. I like you and I want to see could happen between us, but you have to let me get over Angelo first”

“How long will that take?” Brax asked and Charlie shrugged her shoulders as she looked away from Brax.

“I don’t know” Charlie said quietly. “Angelo was a big part of life and he helped me through a really hard time. We had something really special…..at least I thought we did….maybe I’ve got this whole love thing all wrong, but….”

“Charlie” Brax said as he gently put his hand on her chin and turned her head so she was facing him again. “Take as long as you need” Brax said “I’ll wait….I know you’ll be worth it” Charlie smiled lightly as she looked at Brax, the pair staring intently at each other.

“So” Charlie said as she stepped back and cleared her throat.

“Do you want to stay?” Brax asked tentatively. “I’ve sent the chef home, but I could try rustling you up something”

“Brax, I don’t think….”

“We can still be friends?” Brax questioned “Get to know each other a bit more before anything else happens”

“Well we haven’t really stopped before” Charlie said “We tried to be just friends, but we still…..” Charlie trailed off as she felt a presence behind her and turned around to see someone walking into the restaurant. She recognised him as the man who Brax was talking with a few days before hand. As she looked at him and noticed the bruising and cuts on his face, then looked down to Brax’s hand, which he was now trying to hid from Charlie’s sight, she nodded lightly to herself, now realising what had happened for Brax, and now this man, to get the marks.

“Can we talk” Brodie asked and Brax nodded lightly before looking at Charlie.

“I’ll see you around then” Charlie said before the left the men to talk in private.

*****

Angelo burst through the bedroom door and slammed it shut in anger, causing George to start crying. “Angelo” Nicole sighed “I’d just got him to go down”

“I’m sorry” Angelo said as he watched Nicole walking across the room and lifting her son out of the cot and began to rock him gently, trying to get him back to sleep.

“What are you looking so angry for?” Nicole questioned “Oh, Angelo, I’m sorry” Nicole said as she felt her heart sink, mistaking Angelo’s mood for meaning that Charlie still wanted to abort their child. “Charlie still want’s…”

“No” Angelo shook his head as he sat down on the edge of the bed. “She’s keeping the baby”

“So, why are you looking so upset?” Nicole questioned as she placed a now silent George back in his cot, and walked over to the bed and took a seat next to Angelo.

“She never was getting an abortion” Angelo said as Nicole’s mouth opened in shock.

“Oh” Nicole said “But then why would she…..”

“She pulled some crap about loving me and wanting to make me happy” Angelo said “So she told me she was aborting my child, doesn’t really make sense”

“Angelo” Nicole said softly. “I think I can see where Charlie is coming from” Nicole spoke tentatively, afraid of Angelo’s reaction.

“What?” Angelo questioned “Nicole, she told me she was going to abort my child when she had no intentions of doing so. How can you think that’s okay?”

“I didn’t say I thought it was okay” Nicole said “But she clearly still loves you and would do anything to make you happy”

“So telling me she is going to abort my child isn’t going to make me happy is it?”

“Well no, but, I guess she did this because she wants you to be happy with me and Georgie, and by not making you feel you need to be tied down here because of the baby, it’s lets us go and have what we wanted together, thus making you happy” Nicole said and Angelo nodded lightly before he sighed.

“I guess, I can kind of see why she did it” Angelo said as he rubbed his forehead “Maybe she just doesn’t want me involved after I hurt her like I did”

“Angelo, Charlie’s not like that” Nicole said “Of course she’d want the father of her child to be involved in its life, but….”

“She didn’t want Grant anywhere near Ruby” Angelo said.

“Well that’s different” Nicole argued “He was a…..I know I wouldn’t like Penn to be anywhere near Georgie, but you Angelo, okay so you had an affair and broke her heart, but Angelo, you’re not like them”

“Aren’t I?” Angelo questioned “I killed Jack….what makes me any different to Grant or Penn. We’ve all done bad things. Maybe I don’t deserve this baby either”

“How can say that?” Nicole questioned “Angelo, shooting Jack was an accident. Penn and Grant were just evil”

“I don’t know Nic” Angelo shook his head. “Maybe we could just let Charlie have what she wants and we can move to Italy and be happy, and not throw it in Charlie’s face. This baby, I don’t want my child to have a broken family, and you and Charlie; I don’t think you’ll ever get on that well after what’s happened. And then there’s Ruby…..her brother or sister is going to be your step-kid, and she’s never going to forgive you either. She’ll probably poison the kid against you, against us” Angelo sighed lightly and he ran his hands through his hair.

“Angelo, what are you saying?” Nicole questioned.

“Maybe it’s best for this baby if I’m not in its life”

“How can you say that? A child needs a father and…..”

“Exactly” Angelo said “A child needs a father” Angelo emphasised. “Doesn’t need to be its biological father, and Charlie, I know she’ll do a great job with the baby and she’ll find it a good dad”

“Angelo” Nicole raised her voice in shock. “How can you turn your back now? You were excited for this when you first found out”

“I know” Angelo sighed “But, I’ve had time to think things over and…..this is the best way to do things” Angelo said before he stood up from the bed and made his way to the bedroom door.

“Angelo, where are you going?” Nicole questioned as she followed after him.

“To check online for flights” Angelo answered “Italy’s back on”

*****

Charlie walked back into the house to find Ruby sitting on the couch watching TV. “Hey” Charlie smiled “How was your day?”

“Great” Ruby smiled as she looked up to her mother. “Case took me on one of Romeo’s cruises and we stopped at this lovely island and yeah, was so nice”

“Sounds good” Charlie smiled as she sat down next to her daughter.

“Yeah, and I hope you don’t mind but I opened up to Case about Grant and everything”

“It’s fine” Charlie smiled softly at her daughter, happy that she had chosen to open up to her boyfriend about that part of her life.

“He promised he would keep it to himself too, so you don’t have to worry about it coming out and….”

“Rubes” Charlie said, cutting her daughter off “Its fine. Most people here know about it anyways”

“I guess” Ruby exhaled lightly. “So, anyway, how was day”?

“Yeah okay” Charlie sighed “I ran into Angelo. He told me he didn’t want me getting an abortion, so I told him the truth and well let’s just say he didn’t like it. Got pretty mad”

“Why would you tell him that?” Ruby questioned “I don’t blame him for getting mad at you”

“You told me to tell him the truth” Charlie retorted.

“I told you that you should tell him you are keeping the baby. I didn’t mean to say that you were never going to get an abortion in the first place” Ruby said.

“Yeah well it’s done now” Charlie sighed “He’ll get over it. He’ll realise that all that is important is our baby and we can just put all this behind us and focus on being there for our child”

“Yeah” Ruby smiled before she let out a yawn “Anyways, I’m tired so I’m going to hit they hay” Ruby said before she leaned over and gave Charlie a hug. “Night Mum” Ruby smiled before placing a kiss on Charlie’s forehead.

“Night Rubes” Charlie smiled as she watched her daughter walking away in the direction of her bedroom. As Ruby was out of sight she walked over to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. She too was about to go off to her bed, when there was a knock at the door. Charlie sighed lightly as she walked across the room and opened the door, surprised to find Nicole standing at the other side. “Nicole” Charlie said “What do you want?"

“It’s about Angelo and the baby” Nicole said “Can I come in?” Charlie nodded hesitantly before gesturing for Nicole to enter the house.

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Thanks so much Carina, Pembie, Aden_Belle, Sarah, RR1, lozlovesh&a, soph1303, Angel90, Zoe and Samantha28 for the comments. I hope this next one is okay. :)

Chapter 20

Brodie took a drink of the bourbon before looking back up at Brax. “C’mon mate” Brodie pleaded “I won’t screw up this time, just let me help”

“You get me my money from Dean and then you can help again” Brax said.

“But Heath said he sold the stuff someone else now” Brodie said.

“Yeah but I want Dean’s money” Brax said “He was going to pay more than the other guy did”

“Right” Brodie answered “But how am I supposed to get money if I don’t have anything to give him in return?” Brodie questioned.

“You should have thought about that before you screwed up, shouldn’t you?” Brax snapped. “I should never have listened to Heath. You’re useless” Brax said.

“Mate, please” Brodie said “I need the money”

“What do you need money for?” Brax questioned.

“I need to help out my old man” Brodie said “Got himself into a spot of bother and I said I could help him out. Please mate, there must be something I can do for you”

Brax sighed lightly as he rubbed the side of his head. “You know Hammer” Brax said and Brodie nodded.

“Him and his gang have been lurking around our area. Pretty sure some of the crop in missing. Sort it out for me” Brax said “You do a good job in getting shot of them, I’ll see too you’re old man” Brax said.

“Hammer” Brodie repeated “You want me to sort him out by myself?”

“You want to be a River Boy don’t ya?” Brax questioned and Brodie nodded.

“Then do it” Brax said in a threating tone. “Now go on clear off” Brodie drank the last of his bourbon before he left the restaurant, trying to think of ways to scare off Hammer and his gang.

*****

“So” Charlie said as she sat down on the couch next to Nicole “What’s this about Angelo and the baby?”

“He was really upset at you for what you did” Nicole said and Charlie exhaled lightly as she looked down, feeling ashamed for the way that she handled the situation.

“I know what I did was wrong” Charlie said as she looked back up at Nicole. “But, Nic, I….”

“I know” Nicole said “I can kinda understand why you did it though”

“You can?” Charlie questioned and Nicole nodded.

“Yeah” Nicole said “But, I think, the 3 of us, we need to come to some sort of agreement” Nicole said “All this……Charlie, it’s a bit of a mess right now”

“I know” Charlie agreed “Don’t judge me for saying this Nicole but, sometimes, I do think it would be easier if I wasn’t pregnant”

“I think exactly the same way” Nicole said, feeling slightly bad for wishing Charlie wasn’t having her boyfriend’s baby. “But, I do think I know a way to make this situation all a whole lot easier”

“Yeah?” Charlie questioned “And what’s that?”

Nicole took a deep breath “Well Angelo’s now talking about us moving to Italy and him having nothing to do with his child and I can’t let that happen Charlie” Nicole said as she lightly shook her head. “I can’t be responsible for this baby not knowing its father” Nicole said as she pointed to Charlie’s stomach. “This whole situation is my fault, so I’m going to fix it”

“What exactly are you going to do?” Charlie questioned.

“I’m going to break up with Angelo and move away” Nicole said. “That way, this baby gets both its parents here to raise it”

“No, Nicole” Charlie shook her head. “It doesn’t need to come to that. Angelo loves you” Although Charlie found this hard to say, she knew that he did love Nicole, and would be devastated if Nicole ended things. “He is so happy with you and George. Don’t end it because of me”

“I didn’t think you’d be saying that to me after how Angelo and I got together” Nicole said.

“I can’t deny the truth” Charlie said “Stay with Angelo, Nic. This doesn’t have to be as complicated as we are making it out to be”

“Well it kind of is because we all want different things” Nicole said.

“Or, we both want the same thing” Charlie said as Nicole gave her a puzzled look “We just want the man we love to be happy” Charlie said.

“So, how do you suppose we do it?” Nicole asked. Charlie sighed lightly.

“I’m not going to do anything” Charlie said “I live and work here in the bay and that’s where I am going to stay. I’m having this baby and if Angelo wants to be a part of his child’s life then that’s great, but I’m not going to force him” Charlie said “I’m just going to get on with my life”

“And me?” Nicole questioned.

“You do what’s right for you and George” Charlie informed Nicole. “And whether or not that’s going to include Angelo or not, or be here in the bay or in the city or Italy, then that’s only for you to decide” Nicole smiled lightly at Charlie before she stood up from the couch.

“Yeah, your right” Nicole said “I’ll go talk to him now” Charlie stood up from the couch and followed Nicole to the front door and saw her out, before locking the door behind her. She walked back over to the kitchen and picked up her glass of water, before heading to her bedroom, all the while, thinking about what she told Nicole about doing whatever it was she wanted to make herself happy, and as she thought about what she needed to do to make herself happy, she couldn’t stop thinking about Brax.

*****

Nicole walked back into the house to find Angelo nursing a beer at the kitchen table. “Hey” Nicole smiled lightly at Angelo as she gently began to massage his shoulders. “You alright?”

“Yeah great” Angelo said as he looked around at her.

“Where is everyone?” Nicole asked.

“Miles is still out with Leah and Alf and Marilyn have gone to bed” Angelo informed Nicole, who was now sitting down next to him at the table.

“Okay, and what’s this?” Nicole questioned as she pointed to a sheet of paper on the table.

“Confirmation for our flights to Italy” Angelo said. Nicole sighed lightly.

“Angelo, don’t do this to yourself” Nicole said “I know deep down that you want to be here for your child. Please, let’s just stay here and make that happen”

“Charlie doesn’t want me to be in the kid’s life. Seems obvious if she told me that she was going to abort it so I would leave town”

“Angelo, of course Charlie wants you to be in the baby’s life” Nicole said as she lightly placed her hand on his arm.

“Then why tell me to leave town?” Angelo questioned.

“Charlie just wants you to be happy” Nicole said “She thought you’d have that if we went through with our original plan. But we don’t need Italy to be happy” Nicole informed Angelo. “This is where we met and fell in love and I’m happy to be here with you” Nicole said as she lightly squeezed Angelo’s arm. Angelo smiled lightly as he looked at Nicole and gazed deeply into her shining eyes.

“How about we move the city?” Angelo questioned “We both really want to move away from here, I know we do, but the city, its close enough for me to see the baby”

“That sounds great” Nicole smiled as she leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on Angelo’s lips.

****

Ruby groaned lightly as she heard the doorbell ringing. She reached her hand out from the bed and picked up her mobile, noticing it was 8.45am. She sighed lightly as she turned in her bed, choosing to ignore the person at the door, but as the bell rang for a second time, she sighed heavily as he kicked the covers from her body and forced herself out of the bed, grabbing her dressing jacket from the back of her door, as she made her way out of her bedroom and down the hall to the front door. As she opened the door to find Nicole standing at the other side a wave of disgust washed over her. “What do you want?” Ruby questioned as she stood staring at her once best friend.

“Is Charlie in?” Nicole questioned.

“She’s working” Ruby said shortly.

“Oh right well, I eh……Angelo and I thought that she might like these for the baby” Nicole said as she held up a bag filled with baby clothes. “We picked out the most gender neutral ones”

“You and Angelo went clothes shopping for Charlie’s baby?” Ruby questioned.

“No” Nicole shook her head “They’re George’s old stuff” Nicole said “He’s grown out of a lot already”

“What the hell makes you think that Charlie would want to dress her baby in the clothes once worn by her ex-boyfriends, stupid tart of a girlfriend’s baby?”

“They’re just baby clothes, Rubes” Nicole sighed “Surely you can just take them from me and offer them to Charlie” Nicole sighed lightly before she grabbed the bag from Nicole and threw it down on the floor next to the door, before she attempted to close the door, but Nicole held her hand out, and pushed on the door, causing Ruby to stop. “Ruby, please” Nicole said “Charlie’s been able to let go of her angry and be civil with me, isn’t it time you did the same?”

“Yeah well if you ask me Charlie is being stupid for talking to you and Angelo again” Ruby said.

“We used to have so much fun” Nicole said on the verge of tears. “What happened?”

“You started sleeping with my Mum’s boyfriend” Ruby spat “And the moment you did, our friendship was over”

“You can’t help who you fall for” Nicole argued back.

“What is it with you and your friend’s parents?” Ruby questioned “First you try to get it on with Indi’s dad and now my…..Angelo” Ruby said “He was practically my Dad this last couple of years. How could you, Nic? You know what Charlie and Angelo had been through to get to where they were. You know why it’s so hard for her to fully commit to a guy, but then the first guy she does it with, you go and snatch from her, bringing her right back in her confidence with guys. Nice one”

“Look, I’m sorry for what happened” Nicole said “But, Rubes, what about times when you’ve fell for people you shouldn’t? Remember your crush on Miles? Or then all that mess with Liam? Alexander? Gosh, you’re with a River Boy right now”

“Hey there is nothing wrong with Casey” Ruby snapped “He a good guy”

“Well his brothers aren’t great” Nicole said.

“Well Casey isn’t his brothers” Ruby stated. “And we’re not doing this, Nic” Ruby said “Please can you just leave” As once again Ruby tried to close the door, Nicole stopped her.

“I’m lonely, Rubes” Nicole cried “Please, just, let’s work this out”

“Lonely?” Ruby sniggered “Playing happy families with Angelo and George not enough for you?”

“I’ve lost my best friend because I fell in love” Nicole said as she sniffed back a tear. “Indi is so busy with Uni and work that any spare time she has she spends with Romeo. April….we’ll I was never really friends with her anyways, so…I don’t really have anyone” Nicole said sadly.

“Aww boo-hoo lets all feel sorry for the little home-wrecker” Ruby sneered.

Nicole exhaled lightly as she wiped the tears from her face. “You’re never going to let this go, are you?” Nicole questioned and Ruby shook her head. “I get that you want to be loyal to your Mum, but maybe if Charlie has let it go, maybe you could too” Nicole said before she turned and walked away, leaving Ruby to think about what she had said.

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