Sweet Misery

[Sazzle]

Not that I'm demanding or anything ....but, please update soon!

Love this story and very eager to have Charlie and Brax be able to talk again and her sort stuff out with Angelo... I'm so eager to know what happens its rediculous

Really enjoy your writing and hope that you have time to update soon. Many thanks

[Loshi88]

Hi, ive havnt commented before but i absolutely love your fics!! Im desperate for you to update Please update soon dont keep us in suspence forever x

[Chax47]

Hey!

Firstly I just want to apologise for how long it has taken me to update this. I feel like it has been forever (will also have a quick apology for the lack of a Temptation update...it's killing me trying to get that one done Im trying!) Anyways, thank you for being patient...

Secondly, thank you ALL for your amazing reviews, and just for generally taking the time to read this. You are all amazing and make my day with your kind words.

I know you haven't come here to listen to me rabble so here is the next chapter...

Enjoy x

Chapter 9

Her head was the first thing she noticed when she woke up. Well to wake up denotes that you actually had to sleep, and sleep was one thing that Charlie hadn't done much of the night before. However the pounding that was forming in her head was a warning to a hangover she was going to be receiving that day. Although she knew that a hangover was far from her biggest concerns.

They had left Angelos round about 3am, and thankfully Angelo had been far too intoxicated to want to try any sort of private celebrations once they had gotten home. He had passed out on the bed as soon as his head hit the pillow, and Charlie...well Charllie had spent the majority of the night waiting for the room to stop spinning whilst attempting to stare at the same spot on the ceiling. Easier said than done after one too many glasses of champagne.

She remained with her gaze focused on the ceiling as the morning sunlight flooded the room. Her right handed spun the ring around on her finger. The feeling of the cool metal passing over her skin made her stomach turn. Wearing it was a constant reminder of what she had gotten herself in to.

She quietly managed to untangle herself from the constraints of Angelo's arm, and was thankful that he rolled over and continued to sleep while she grabbed her dressing gown and phone and snuck out of the room.

No one else was up so she had the house to herself as she made her way into the kitchen. She checked her phone; no new messages.

She opened up a new message and began typing.

Please can we meet? I need to see you x

She pressed send before tossing her phone down on the counter and throwing her head down into her hands. His words from the night before flooded her memory, causing her heart to ache. He had confessed his true feelings for her. Confessed that he had fallen in love with her.

Had she really missed all the signs?

She couldn't believe that in the short space of 24 hours her life had completely changed. Engaged yet heartbroken. It was like something out of a badly made Hollywood film.

Checking her phone again and finding nothing new, she realised that she had to do something before she went crazy alone with her thoughts. Creeping back into her room, she changed quickly into jogging pants and a vest top. She paused for a moment before taking off the ring and placing it in the top drawer of the dresser. There was only one crisis she could deal with at one time.

----

She knocked gently on the door, not wanting to wake the whole house. She only waited for a few minutes before the door was opened, but not by the brother she had been hoping for.

"Charlie? Hey..." Casey rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he stared back at her. He wasn't sure what time it was but he was sure that it wasn't exactly an acceptable visiting hour.

Charlie smiled awkwardly at him. "Hey. I'm sorry I know it's early but I really need to speak to your brother." She hated that it had come to this.

"There's only me and Heath home." He threw her a concerned look. He had missed most of what Leah and Ruby had been taking about the night before, but coupled by the state Brax was in when he got home last night Casey knew that something good hadn't exactly happened.

Charlie frowned at this new information. It wasn't even 8am, where could he have gone? "What? Where is Brax?" It wasn't looking good.

Casey shrugged. "I have no idea. He took off about an hour ago. He said he needed to be alone and didn't want to be found."

His words were like a punch to Charlie's stomach. He's gone. Casey noticed the deflated look on Charlie's face and wished that he could give her the answers that she was looking for, not just because she was Ruby's mother but because he sensed that she made Brax happy.

Charlie had to force herself not to cry. She had played the conversation out in her head on the way over and now that she was here and he wasn't, she didn't know what to do. Everything was falling around her and she had no way of stopping it.

"Thanks Casey." She mumbled as she turned to walk away.

"Hey..." His voice stopped her in her tracks and she turned around once more. "If I hear from him, I'll let him know you stopped by..."

She gave him a half smile as she walked away.

------

She had walked around in circles through the Bay, not wanting to go home and face the reality. She thought that maybe the walk would clear her head a little, but clarity was the last thing she found. She had sent Brax another text message, asking him to call her but so far her messages remained unanswered.

Reluctantly, she returned home to find Angelo standing in the kitchen nursing a hangover. He smiled as she walked into the house and reached out to pull her into his arms.

"Morning fiance!" He kissed the top of her head as he held her close, nestling his face into his hair. His words stung her more than she thought they would; as though they were another reminder to her of what she had screwed up.

She pulled herself out of his embrace to look at him. "Look, about that...." She grimaced as she began the conversation that she had been dreading having.

"Morning!" Ruby's voice rang out behind her, interrupting Charlie's trail of thought. She groaned; part of her wanted to get it over with but the other half was thankful for the disruption.

"How are the happy couple this morning?" Ruby asked, although there was a cautiousness to her words that hadn't been there the day before. She looked first at Angelo who was beaming with happiness, but then her eyes landed on Charlie and her heart sunk. The pain on Charlie's face was visible, even if Angelo was too caught up in his own emotion to notice it.

Charlie shared a look with her daughter as her eyes filled with tears which threatened to expose her secret.

"I'm going to jump in the shower." She quickly excused herself but Ruby followed her, catching up with her just outside the bathroom.

"Charlie..." She whispered, and Charlie stopped to face her.

"Rubes, I can't do this right now..." Charlie started but was stopped as Ruby pulled her into a hug.

"It's ok. Everything's going to be ok." Ruby hoped that her words were true. Casey had called her and informed her of Charlie's early morning visit and of Brax's departure. She wasn't entirely sure how things were going to be ok but she knew that at that moment in time Charlie needed something positive to hold on to.

Taking sanctuary in the bathroom, Charlie locked the door and pulled out her phone. No new messages. She wasn't sure what she was expecting him to say, but the silent treatment was killing her. Not that she deserved any different.

She typed one last message, anything was worth a try.

Brax, I need you to hear me out. Please, I can't do this without you. Come home. Please x

She knew it was a long shot that he would read it let alone reply, but she sent it all the same.

After spending longer than was necessary in the shower, mainly so she could be alone and mainly so she could avoid her fiance, Charlie eventually resurfaced. She walked into her bedroom to find it empty. In Angelo's place was a note which was taped to her vanity mirror.

Charlie,

I've had to go in to work for a while (Brax has gone AWOL) Once I've sorted things out, I'll be free to celebrate with you.

Meet me at the Diner, 5pm? Have a little surprise for you...

I love you

x

She placed the note back where she had found it and got dressed. The day was just going from bad to worse. She had to tell him before things got any further out of hand.

A light knock on her bedroom door pulled her from her thoughts and she turned to see Leah's head in the doorway, her face full of silent concern.

"Mind if I come in?"

Charlie shook her head and Leah moved to sit beside her on the bed, her hands automatically taking hold of Charlie's.

"How are you feeling?"

Charlie took a deep breath as she tried to come up with an answer. "I feel like my head is going to explode. Angelo is running around with the biggest grin on his face, Brax has left...and I'm just numb. I don't even know what I'm doing anymore." She rested her head on Leah's shoulder as she fought back the tears.

"Wait, Brax has left?"

"Yeah, and Casey doesn't know where he has gone or when he will be back. I've tried calling and texting him but nothing."

"What did he say when you found him last night?"

Charlie thought back to the night before and couldn't help the smile which took hold of her face. In any other circumstance it would have been perfect having Brax tell her that he loves her. Her smile quickly faded. "He told me that he loves me."

Leah wrapped her arms around Charlie's shoulders and pulled her into her embrace. She thought the conversation might have gone that way, but now that she knew she didn't really know what to say to make her best friend feel better.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, each gathering their own thoughts. Leah was the first to speak.

"Do you love him?"

The question lingered painfully in the air. Charlie eventually moved out of Leah's arms and made eye contact with her, a small smile on her face.

"I do."

Leah gave her hand a comforting squeeze as she returned her smile. "Then I think you know what you need to do. It's like ripping off a band-aid...the faster you do it..."

"...the less pain." Charlie finished for her, knowing that despite the saying she was in for an afternoon full of pain.

"I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but Angelo has arranged for everyone to have a celebratory meal at the Diner this afternoon. You might want to break it to him before then.." Leah suggested and Charlie nodded.

"Would you come with me?"

She knew it was pathetic the minute the words left her mouth but she found herself overcome with a sudden feeling of security as Leah nodded in the affirmative.

-----

The two best friends stood outside the Diner. They had stopped at Angelo's first but found no sign of him there. His phone was switched off, something which Charlie was getting used to dealing with that day. So now they stood outside the Diner trying to decide what to do next. The 'surprise' was meant to be starting in ten minutes and Charlie knew she was running out of time.

"Ok, I'll go and see if he is inside ok? I'll send him out to you..."

Charlie nodded as Leah made her way inside the building. Charlie tried to wait patiently but her nerves were taking over. Ripping off a band-aid. I can do this.­ ­She checked her watch and realised that Leah had been gone for nearly five minutes. What is taking her so long?

"Ah! Sargeant Buckton." Colleen Smart's voice appeared suddenly behind Charlie, causing her to jump. She spun around and was greeted with the sight of Colleen dressed in a mulitcoloured ensemble, finished off with a hat. Charlie had to try her hardest to supress her laughter.

"Colleen...hello." She focused her attention back on the Diner doors but there was still no sign of Leah.

"Come on, you're going to be late." Colleen caught hold of Charlie's arm and began leading her towards the building. Charlie looked at her, mortified, as she tried to free her arm out of Colleen's grip.

"Oh no, Colleen. I'm just waiting her for Leah. You go on ahead..."

"Don't be silly Sargeant Buckton...or should I say Rosetta!" She beamed at Charlie who failed to return any sort of smile. Colleen held her grasp of Charlie as she forced her into the Diner.

The first person she saw was Leah, who was stuck talking to Irene in the kitchen. Irene looked panicked as she talked to Leah, but Leah's gaze turned to Charlie as she entered. She gave her an apologetic smile as she mouthed 'sorry' but Charlie just smiled at her. This was her mess, it should be up to her to fix it.

Angelo came running over, and immediately took her in his arms. Applause came from behind him, and Charlie glanced over to see a group of her friends there to celebrate. Her eyes landed on Ruby, who was wearing an apologetic look similiar to Leah's.

She focused her attention back on Angelo and sighed. "I actually really need to talk to you." She tried to keep her voice low so as to not attract unwanted attention but Angelo hadn't seemed to notice.

"We have plenty of time for talking." He kissed the side of her head. "Come on, let's celebrate." He took her by the hand and froze as he looked down. "Where is your ring?"

Her heart felt like it had skipped a beat and not in a good way. It was now or never. "That's what I need to talk to you about." She emphasised each word, hoping that now he would actually hear her.

"Charlie what's going on? Why have you not got your ring on?" His voice came out a little louder than expected, catching the prying ears of the people around them.

Charlie felt her eyes fill up as all the eyes were once again upon her. Her breaths became shorter as she struggled for air. "I'm sorry, I can't do this."

She glanced quickly at Angelo before pulling her hand free and running out of the building.

----

So...should I go back into hiding again? Don't hate me

Let me know what you think x

[luscious01]

Aw I hope Brax comes home soon and before he does Casey gets to tell him she has broken up

with Angelo......oops am I putting words in your mouth? lol!!

Thank you Lianne for updating, I know it's really apreciated when you have the time to write for us!!

Can't wait for the next chapter. xxx

[Loshi88]

Brilliant But please dont go back into hiding. At least Charlie finally broke it off with Angelo! I hope Beax appears soon x

[Inactive User]

Great chapter Glad Charlie broke it off with Angelo. More soon please xx

[Spotd1]

No don't go into hiding Lianne..we need you lol

Another brilliant chapter..can't wait until Brax knows Charlie has broken it off..I kind of hope Charlie finds him and tells him herself and lets him know she loves him too!

But I am sure whatever you write will be AMAZING, like always! Cannot wait for your next update!! Xx

[chickette11]

Thank you for updating I hope Brax comes back soon.

[Dingo x]

Brilliant chapter, so amazing! (:

Yay! Charlie finally broke it off with Angelo, really hope Brax comes back home soon!

Aww Charlie admitted that she's in love with Brax!

Please update soon, Can't wait for more. xx

[Sazzle]

Thank you!!

Amazing!! Love this story. SO glad Charlie knew she had to tell Angelo straight away...Yey! Although it will be awkward much!!

Brax...come back... So looking forward to more! Freaking fab!! Thanks