Shadow of the Day

[Sazzle]

Really well written and looking forward to see how story continues. There is a lot going on and the scenes with Brax talking to Charlie are properly heart breaking... Great relationships shown though and Jade is very cute

Thanks for sharing

[mizziette]

EIGHTEEN

It seemed like Jake Pirovic had been stuck in the house for a lifetime. He knew every crevice of the peeling weather board house. The porch was broken, the paint peeling, the rooms inside were cold and dark; dark wooden flooring, dark wooden walling. Stuck in his broken prison, it was a relief when visitors made the effort.

‘Jake love, you been listening to a word I’ve been saying?’ Jake’s mother Valerie had gone to see her son and consumed herself with helping him garden the front lawn. She was a plump woman with a kind face, the complete opposite of her two sons but she loved her boys despite any of their wrong doings.

Jake stood beside his mother while Valerie kneeled pruning the bushes by the front chain link fence. ‘Yeah, you were talking about you; it’s what you always do,’

Valerie just sighed and shook her head. Jake was bored; he got bored a lot lately, so for the billionth time, he looked around his neighbourhood. The house in front was identical to his, only without a porch. Same chain link fence, same rotten weatherboard, all the same except for the front garden. Where Elle Henley’s garden was bare, Jake’s was immaculate. Jake had taken to gardening as a hobby; he hated it but there was only so much one could do confined to a house. With help from his mum, his front yard shone.

Jake watched as an electric blue car pulled into the Henley house opposite his. It looked oddly familiar but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. At least not until a familiar face stepped out of the driver’s seat and locked the car. The boredom had all but disappeared now. For the first time in years, Jake was interested.

Jake watched as the curly haired woman walked obliviously through the lawn in her shorts and t-shirt ensemble, keys in her hand; a hand bandaged with care. The injury put a smile on his face.

After her moment, Casey had been quite gentle as he bandaged Ruby’s hand carefully. Her heart couldn’t help but soften towards him; all he was doing was looking out for her. After a little pleasant exchange, she had gone to the diner for coffee and ended up at her friend’s house. She had a job that night at a small karaoke bar in Yabee Creek, it didn’t pay well but it was a start.

Jake watched as her young blonde neighbour opened the door for the Buckton girl. The girls laughed and chatted, neither realised they had an observer. Buckton; the cops had tried to pin Charlie’s death on him of course. They’d said all the evidence pointed to him and they might’ve been right. It could’ve been Jake, but it could’ve been another. It could’ve been force of nature that killed her but all Jake cared of was that Charlie was dead.

Jake couldn’t help but feel some of that anger return as he stared at Charlie Buckton’s daughter smiling jovially as she entered the house across the street. Without thinking, he took a step forward. The step correlated with a beep.

Both Jake and his mother looked down at the ankle monitor wrapping around the man’s skinny ankle. The light beeped red. Jake took a step back. The light went back to green and all was good again. Regretfully, he gazed upon the neighbour’s house Ruby had just walked into and back at his ankle monitor. Valerie returned to trimming the bushes, oblivious to the inner workings of her son’s mind.

So close. There she was, Ruby Buckton, the daughter of a woman Jake despised with all his might and he was stuck within the boundaries of his house. The old house, the back yard and the front yard were all the man had ever seen for some months now. The only exception was the hospital visits to monitor his ailing health.

Jake Pirovic had her metres away from him and there was nothing he could do about it. Unless Ruby decided to enter the boundaries of his confinement, he was stuck. With a melancholy sigh, Jake turned around and walked towards his front door, the little light on his law enforced ankle monitor flashing an endless sequence of green.

It wasn’t until a few days later that Ruby went to visit Jade again. Her hand was still bandaged but hurt a little less and she walked up through the covered porch of the Braxton house to see if her little sister wanted to go grab some ice cream.

‘Hello?’ The house was very quiet. Ruby walked to the front door and found the door opposite- the granny flat- wide open. Something inside the flat caught her eye and she walked slowly towards it.

The garment bag was off-white and hung from the hook on the wall. Most of the room held boxes full of memorabilia but this bag was what caught her eye. The house belonged to a man and a young child; the garment bag was an odd addition.

Before she knew it, Ruby was standing in front of the bag. With her good hand, she gently pulled back the zipper right down until it opened freely. The contents made her heart rise to her throat. It wasn’t because it was the most beautiful thing she’d seen but because of what it represented.

The gown was soft silk under Ruby’s fingers. It’s off the shoulder sleeves draped softly along with the rest of the fabric. It was beautiful and she couldn’t help but think she had seen it somewhere before. ‘Your grandma wore that dress on her wedding day; Charlie wanted to wear it to ours. She altered it a little to make it more modern but…’

Ruby turned towards the voice to find Brax leaning against the door frame but her gaze soon returned to the piece of art before her. ‘It’s beautiful,’

‘Yeah, I just wish I could’ve seen her wearing it,’ Brax smiled. ‘I was saving it for when you get married, or Jade if you didn’t want it,’

‘No, I definitely want it.’ Ruby smiled. She could just imagine how the dress would perfectly slip over Charlie’s delicate body. She remembered the photographs from the seventies of Elsie wearing an older fashioned version. For Ruby who had very little in the way of family, this was a beautiful gift. If she ever got married, she could only hope to wear Charlie’s dress. ‘Thank you,’

‘You don’t have to,’ Brax couldn’t help but notice that this was the first natural conversation they had had in a while. He didn’t want to spoil it. He also noticed the serene awed look on Ruby’s face. ‘If you ever want anything…’

‘No, it’s fine,’ Ruby pried away from the beauty and hope the dress resembled her face as soft as her voice. ‘I thought Jade might want to go and do something,’

‘Yeah, I’m sure she’d love that,’ Brax gestured away from the granny flat. ‘Why don’t you come in? She’s in her room,’

Ruby followed Brax inside. As she did however, she couldn’t help but take one last glance at the garment bag which carried her mother’s wedding gown. How she’d love to see Charlie wear it down the aisle. The choice of groom would’ve been questionable but she would’ve been exquisite. It was a real shame she hadn’t even made it to her own engagement party.

She wore a cream dress to her engagement party. The same dress she’d be wearing the moment she took her last breath on earth. After months of depression and trouble coping with Jade, Charlie had survived and learnt to embrace her life again; until it was stolen from her. After Ruby had left for the surf club with Jade, Brax found himself back in the granny flat feeling the softness of the silk beneath his fingers. How beautiful Charlie would’ve looked in that wedding dress; the thought of never seeing that image choked him.

Brax remembered waiting at Angelo’s at their engagement lunch. He wore his black button down shirt and grey trousers, sat at the head of the table with their family and friends along it. He had watched the overhead clock as the hands moved from noon to half past to half past one. Most of the guests had gone.

‘Why don’t I go see if I can track Charlie down,’ Leah smiled sympathetically in her optimistic way but Brax wasn’t convinced. Their relationship had been rocky since her pregnancy to Jade but he’d thought it had improved drastically since then. They were happy. But Charlie had seemed distant and distracted that morning when they were getting ready. Not the gleaming bride-to-be she’d been since he’d popped the question.

Brax stood up and walked over to the balcony, gazing out at the clear blue ocean and the even clearer sky before him. He sighed as he whispered jokingly. ‘Better the engagement party than the wedding, eh,’

Arms wrapped around Brax’ leg and he glanced down and his heart instantly softened to see the one year old girl by hugging his shin. Bending down, he picked Jade up into his arms. ‘What do you think? Think mummy’s going to turn up?’

Jade, with her straight bob and sweet green eyes giggled as her surrogate father planted slobbery kisses on her cheek while lifting her up in the air. Biting her lip cheekily, she shook her head.

Charlie would not make it to her engagement lunch. Now, as Brax stroked the soft silk of what would’ve been Charlie’s wedding gown, he realised he would never feel any worse than he had that day waiting for Charlie to make it to their engagement celebration. He could remember his heart break when a hysterical Leah spoke those dreaded words over the phone, ‘She’s dead.’

Brax had dropped the phone in the middle of Angelo’s that day. In front of him, a one year old Jade had giggled in innocent glee as she waved at the phone and spoke her first sentence, ‘Bye-bye, see you,’

[kiwi151]

That was a stunning chapter. The amount of thought that you've put into the plot of this story really blows my mind! It's a really sad story but I love reading it all unfold.

Thanks for the updates xx

[Inactive User]

Wow such a stunning but great chapter to read! Loved it. More soon please xx

[soph1303]

I missed a few great updates!!

Glad that ruby has the dress and that she wants to wear it someday !? She didn't seem to hate Brax so much in that update, so maybe they're on the road to reconciliation??

Omg charlie died on the day of their engagement party !! That's heartbreaking !!

More soon please

[mizziette]

Thanks for reading,

NINETEEN

Jade looked like she’d been struck. Her eyes were tearful, creases were forming on her forehead between her eyes and her lips trembled with the vulnerability of a child. ‘Stop being mean,’

Brax and Ruby had gotten into another disagreement. After weeks of avoiding confrontation, it had all ended with the very mention of Grant Bledcoe. ‘Jade, honey…’

‘NO!’ Jade didn’t want to listen to Ruby; her face was scrunched up with hurt. ‘You both mean, stop being mean,’

‘We don’t mean to be mean, Jade,’ Brax bent to her face level and Jade hugged him possessively. Brax rubbed his daughter’s back softly. ‘Hush, sometimes daddy and Ruby don’t see things eye to eye, I know,’

Ruby felt extremely guilty as she watched her sister’s sad face. Here was a girl that wanted her family to all get along and neither Ruby nor Brax were arguing yet again. It couldn’t go on, ‘But we’re going to try,’

Brax looked up at Ruby in surprise and wondered if she meant it. Jade still had her face nuzzled into his chest. ‘You promise?’

‘Yeah Jade, of course I promise,’ Brax rubbed her back gently.

‘Me too,’ Ruby smiled at her sister softly.

‘And you not be mean to dad no more?’ Jade glanced up at Ruby with big sad eyes. Ruby shook her head in agreement.

Brax wiped his daughter’s tears and kissed her on the forehead. ‘Are you going to be okay?’

Jade nodded with watery eyes. ‘I’m sorry I make you fight,’

‘What, no, Jade, I promise you this has nothing to do with you. Nothing, you hear me?’ Ruby implored but Jade had heard her name being spoken. She found it hard to believe. ‘Listen, it’s your Uncle Casey’s birthday on Saturday. I thought you and I could make him a big cake,’

‘Chocolate cake?’ Jade asked and Ruby nodded. ‘I like chocolate cake best,’

‘Well, why don’t you go wash up and well go from there,’ Jade ran off as Brax stood up again to look at Ruby. He knew how Ruby felt about his little brother. ‘You don’t have to do the whole cake thing, you know.’

‘I know, it’ll be nice,’ Ruby shrugged. She and Casey had been getting along a lot better since their chat the other day about mending things. They were a long way away but getting there. ‘I don’t mind,’

Brax nodded and invited in an awkward silence. His mind reverted back to the topic of argument earlier. ‘You know, just because Grant’s getting out of jail doesn’t mean he’s getting anywhere near here. I won’t let him,’

‘It wouldn’t be the first time he broke a restraining order,’ Ruby didn’t really want to dwell on the subject. This was the reason they had been fighting in the first place. She didn’t want to bring it up again. ‘Jade’s right you know, this isn’t doing her any good.’

‘I know, were you serious about the truce?’ Brax agreed. There was nothing more he could say.

‘Yeah, I guess,’ Just then, Jade returned with a pale pink apron in her hand. It read, “Jade the little helper,” Ruby couldn’t help but smile.

‘You still sad?’ Ruby shook her head with a smile. Jade accepted this and handed her the apron. ‘Tie my apron; we have cake to bake,’

And with that the girls began baking.

Bianca had always admired Charlie’s perseveringly kind heart. Still, it was a welcome surprise when she had witnessed the limitless boundaries of that heart first hand. After Charlie regained her memory, the girls hadn’t spoken to each other much, they weren’t friends anymore but one thing was for sure. There was still genuine care.

The importance of children to Bianca hadn’t crossed her mind until the day it happened. She had been walking down the beach, struggling against her undying craving for a big fat juicy steak and considering the name Ava for a girl. Ava Murphy; the name sounded sweet to Bianca’s lips. Still in the early weeks of her first pregnancy, it didn’t occur to her that anything might go wrong.

The beach was quiet that fateful day in September with the reminder of winter still lingering subtly in the air. Charlie had decided it would be a lovely morning to go for a walk along the ocean bank, the sun rising and illuminating the sky in an array of orange and yellow. Her belly was full grown; her baby was full grown and would be popping out any second. Any day, any minute, her water would break and a little girl would be born.

The idea of it scared Charlie. It wasn’t the idea of being a mother properly the second time around that scared her but the belief that she might not be enough. What would happen if she didn’t love the child inside her? As it was, she felt nothing but indifference to her baby. Did that make her a bad person? Ruby was ecstatic; Ruby had already made them promise to name the child after a jewel; Opal maybe, or Amber or Jade. Charlie had no opinion.

Charlie pulled Brax’ checked shirt in tighter over her body, guarding against the early morning chill. And then she heard the cry.

Bianca hadn’t thought anything would go wrong but it had. In that single moment she felt the cramping in her belly, the importance of children became increasingly clear to her. She could not be losing this baby. One hand on her stomach, keeling over in pain, Bianca reached into her pocket for her phone but there was nothing there. She had left it at home.

‘Bianca, are you alright?’ The voice was the soft gentle one of Charlie’s as she stood frozen on the beach watching Bianca in pain. Then, her legs woke up and she rushed to help her. She held her hand and rubbed her back caringly. ‘Hey, it’s alright, it’s going to be alright,’

‘No, the baby,’ Bianca strained trying hard to stay calm but it wasn’t working. For the first time in months Charlie took control and walked her over to a seated position, still continuing to rub her back. ‘I can’t lose it,’

‘You’re going to be okay, Bianca, just breathe,’ Charlie stayed calm and collected. As Bianca looked at her, she couldn’t help but notice the fully formed bulge of her pregnant belly. The pain mixed with jealousy; Charlie didn’t even want a child, yet she was getting one.

But Charlie stayed with Bianca all morning rubbing her back while she cried and soothing her with her melodic voice; at least until Liam arrived to take over. Liam was equally supporting as he led her to his car but Bianca couldn’t help but want Charlie back. But she had already begun walking away.

Later that day, Bianca had found out that Charlie had gone into labour shortly after the episode by the beach. While Bianca waited in the hospital room for the check-up that was going to clarify what she already knew; that she had lost the baby; somewhere in another part of the very same ward, a beautiful girl was born. With her jade green eyes, this little girl would eventually become to be known as Jade Buckton.

Bianca couldn’t help but feel jealous. Both women’s bodies had been cleansed of pregnancy that day but only one was to receive a child. It was just not fair.

While everyone else dwelled over the past, Leah dwelled on the future. Yes, there were times she thought about what had happened but there was nothing she could do about it. Instead, her focus and attention lay on her son. Some people might say she focussed on her son a little too much. People like VJ.

‘Mum, I’m eighteen. You can’t stop me,’ VJ sighed as he rummaged through the kitchen looking or his keys. This was the millionth time they were arguing over the volunteer program and he was getting sick of it. Colleen and her mouth just couldn’t stay out of it.

‘It doesn’t matter if you’re eight or eighty or a hundred and eighty for that matter; you’re still going to be my son,’ Leah was exasperated. The thought of her son being in the middle of nowhere on a ship scared her half to death. ‘I’m not trying to tell you what to do, I just want you to consider that this might not be the best option for you right now. You’re just out of high school,’

‘All the more reason to live life,’ VJ countered and sighed as he found his keys by the toaster. He picked them up. ‘Look, haven’t I always been responsible? I’ve never asked you for anything, I’ve never given you a hard time, why can’t you trust me to know what’s best for me?’

‘Like you said, you’re eighteen. You’re still young, you should be working hard to go to uni and get an education not swimming with whales seven times your size,’ That was the thing that scared Leah the most. That and the fact that he would be on a tiny ship with strangers with no escape route. What if something went wrong? ‘You’d be miles from any help if something went wrong, don’t you get that?’

‘Not everyone is out to get us mum,’ VJ groaned and immediately regretted the snap. ‘Sorry,’

‘No, I get it. But I’m your mother and it’s my job to worry about you,’ Leah looked at her watch. ‘You better get going; you’ll be late for work,’

‘Yeah, at the aquarium, where I swim with the whales,’ VJ’s pale blue shirt had the aquarium logo on it and he wore the customary khaki shorts. Leah sighed as her son took his keys and pecked her on the cheek before he left. ‘Bye mum, love you,’

‘Yeah, I love you too,’ Leah watched as her adult son walked out of the house, and wondered if it was possible to love your child too much.

[Zetti]

I finally managed to finish the story, loved it and looking forward to more

[Inactive User]

Great chapter Hope Brax and Ruby better stop fighting for Jade's sake. More soon please xx

[soph1303]

Great update,

Glad that ruby and Brax have agreed on a truce !!

Aww the bit about Bianca was so sad !!

More soon please

[pembie]

Had three chapters to catch up on they were all great You have a really cool imagination.

My best parts were Jake wanting to get to Ruby but he couldn't because of his beeper, and the chapter we found out about Charlie dying at her engagement party. Jade's last line of that chapter where Brax dropped the phone bye bye see you was quite chilling.