Shadow of the Day

[soph1303]

Great update,

Lol ruby cracked me up in that update !!

Aww braxs fantasy was bittersweet !!

More soon please

[mizziette]

Thanks for the comments...not so sure about this one but here it is.

SIXTEEN

Jade was beside herself when she returned home from her sleepover. When she walked into the house, she threw her whale rucksack onto the floor dramatically and made a deal of slumping onto the chair. ‘Dad, boys are so silly, I don’t know why I bother!’

Brax laughed as he went to get a glass of water from the kitchen, passing Casey on the way. He was visiting his brother and niece. ‘You’ve no idea how much I’ve always wanted to hear those words out of your mouth, eh,’

Jade didn’t understand what he was saying so ignored it. ‘Harry so mean to me, he say I’m a girl!’

‘But you are a girl,’ Brax pointed out. He put down his glass of water on the coffee table and sat beside his daughter.

Jade rolled her eyes. ‘It’s not what he say, it’s how he say it,’

‘I’m sorry, what’s the matter?’ Casey laughed.

‘I tell Harry that my daddy giving me cute whale for Christmas and he laugh in my face. He say you won’t but I know you will because you love me,’ Jade ranted. ‘He think I’m a silly little girl, just because he’s older, and goes to big kid school,’

Brax sighed. It looked like he’d be in big trouble when Christmas rolled on and there wasn’t a three metre whale under the measly little white tree. ‘Well, you know I can’t always do everything right?’

‘No Duh! But Penny’s gonna have babies soon,’ Jade rationalised. Penny was the local Aquarium’s resident killer whale and she just happened to be pregnant. Unfortunately for Jade, one wouldn’t be arriving on her doorstep come Christmas morning.

‘Penny’s a lucky girl,’ Brax shook his head. ‘I think Penny might be a little sad if we took one of her babies though, don’t you?’

‘I guess that mean. Almost as mean as Harry,’ Jade didn’t want to make Penny the whale sad.

Casey, who had been sitting at the table, stealing Brax’ food laughed. ‘You know, some people say that when a boy’s mean to you, it means they really like you,’

‘Really, they really say that?’ Jade’s eyes lit up and she sat up. Brax’ eyes meanwhile, were another story. He glared at his little brother with such intensity; Casey thought his eyes might pop out of the sockets. Casey shrugged apologetically and continued grinning.

‘Sometimes,’ Brax emphasised, trying to diffuse the situation. ‘Very rarely, hardly ever really, practically never,’

‘But Case says they do. So Harry does like me! Really really like me!’ Jade smiled sweetly. Brax leant his head against the back of the couch exasperatedly.

‘Our baby’s growing up; huh’ A whisper in Brax’ ear caused him to yelp and jump upright again. It was Charlie, whispering in his ear from behind. Jade and Casey looked at him oddly. His sudden jumpiness raised some eyebrows.

‘Sorry, um, bad daydream?’ Brax said the first thing that came to his mind. Casey smirked and returned to his sandwich.

Work was something that took time and for a woman who loved to stay up late and keep her own schedule, Ruby hated the very idea of it. Instead of the regular rigidity of a secure job, Ruby preferred to work the bare minimal to support herself. She worked for no one, only herself. Her only skills were her voice and her passion. Late night singing at lounge bars, karaoke bars, small clubs and the works put money in the bank to fuel her habits but she only worked when she was about to run out money.

Ruby hadn’t looked for work since her arrival in Summer Bay. She knew she’d find something, but she wasn’t in dire circumstances and there was no need for it. At least until the bank balance came in the mail; she was near broke again. And this meant, searching for work.

Ruby took her blue car; the one she’d inherited from Charlie, to Reefton Lakes to enlist the help of her friend. Elle lived in a rundown shady neighbourhood with her roommates and had connections to the night scene; Ruby knew she’d know just where to go if she was looking for a gig to earn some easy cash.

‘Rubes, what brings you to my side of town?’ Elle was already just outside the gate when she got there.

‘Do I need a reason?’ Ruby leaned against the short, chain link fence. The smoke from Elle’s cigarette filled the air.

‘Nah, of course not, you’re always welcome,’ Elle blew a ring of smoke. ‘I got my court date. In January,’

‘Mine’s around the same time. The twenty eighth, I think,’ Ruby had received the notice two days ago, she had to show up at court on time or else. ‘Sucks right?’

‘I know, mum flew off the handle when she bailed me out. I have to pay the damn woman back every cent, it sucks,’ the disdain in her voice made Ruby cringe. There were no limits on what Ruby would give for her mother to scold her on her recent misbehaviour. And here was Elle, cursing her mother like it was nothing.

‘Don’t,’ Ruby whispered solemnly.

Elle looked confused. ‘Don’t what?’ She placed the cigarette butt on the floor and sat on the metal top of the chain link fence. She didn’t know how lucky she was; she took it all for granted.

Ethan Grant was an intelligent man; he made it his duty to know the subject of his attention well. So when he decided to invest in Angelo’s, he educated himself in every aspect of the business until he knew it better than the back of his hand.

Angelo’s had never had much luck in investments; Angelo had hell from Penn Graham and later from Brax himself, after that, Brax found trouble in Geoffrey King. It was hardly a secret that Angelo’s’ investors were never as helpful as they seemed.

So when Brax met Ethan, he had considered himself quite lucky to have run into one of the good ones. They had met at the Ridgeley Pub, little outside of town, largely in the middle of nowhere.

They whined over the rainy weather, laughed over the football and eventually Brax got to hissing about the lack of business. Business had been slow that year, and the kitchen was completely out dated; how he wished he had the means to rectify that.

So when Ethan had let slip that he was in the area to invest in a local business, Brax had said, ‘It just so happens I got a business that needs some nurturing,’

‘Well, what’s your business?’ Ethan had instantly shown intrigue as he cupped his beer bottle with both hands. They were both sitting at the bar, Bree doing invoices quietly at the far end.

‘Angelo’s restaurant, it’s on top of the Summer Bay surf club? We mostly do tapas and pizza,’ Brax explained eagerly, and they got talking. A couple hours later and they had an agreement. Ethan hadn’t even wanted to take a look at Angelo’s or the books first. Although this seemed odd, Brax didn’t argue.

‘If you say it’s a great place, I’m willing to trust your judgement,’ A pause. ‘Although, there is one nonnegotiable clause, I’d appreciate it if I could remain anonymous; personal reasons, you understand. I’ll put in my fair share but I don’t live around here and I won’t be able to come in,’

Brax agreed. A few days later, a contract was signed and Brax had a new business partner. The deal was done.

Ethan wasn’t involved with Angelo’s anymore but at one point, he had been. At one point, they had been friends. Now, when Brax thought back to that period in his life, he realised something: Angelo’s and investors never worked well together in the long run.

Babysitting Jade was always a pleasant experience. She was always so well behaved and sweet, people sometimes refused to believe she was the daughter of a woman as uptight and brash as Charlie.

‘Can we sing Silent Night now?’ Jade smiled eagerly, leaning her elbows against the coffee table in the beach house. She and Bianca had been going through all the Christmas songs they could think of during the last hour. And the young one was still bouncing with energy.

Bianca couldn’t keep it up for much longer. Her mouth was dry and her voice was beginning to get coarse. This was what Liam was for. He was the musical one. Unfortunately, Liam was currently with Brax, working at the restaurant; which was why Jade was with Bianca, ‘I think I’m a little tired sweetie, maybe another day,’

‘Oh okay,’ There was disappointment in Jade’s face but this instantly vanished. She ran up to the guitar. ‘Can I play?’

‘Do you know how?’ Bianca asked. ‘I thought you only knew the piano?’

‘I learn quick, every one say so,’ And Jade was right, she really was a quick learner; her memory was outstanding. She could read music and memorise the lyrics and could remember how to play songs on the piano.

‘I don’t think I’m the right person to teach you how to play. Maybe when Liam gets home you can ask him to teach you another time. He’s great with the guitar,’ Bianca compromised.

‘Yeah, yeah, that’s a perfect idea,’ Jade gleamed and clapped her hands. ‘You so smart Bee,’

And she ran up and jumped on Bianca’s thighs before kneeling on the floor beside her. Jade looked at the array of pictures Bianca had been looking at on the coffee table. Bianca smiled and picked one up. ‘This is Liam’s son Ash; he’s a little older than Harry.’

‘How come he don’t live with you?’ Jade looked up expectantly.

Bianca sighed. ‘Well, he lives with his mummy in France.’

‘You not his mummy?’

‘No, I’m not,’ Bianca explained. ‘I’m not anyone’s mummy,’

Jade nodded solemnly. ‘Oh, I’m not anyone’s mummy either,’

‘I kind of figured that would be the case,’ Bianca tried to keep a serious face. She failed. Jade flicked through all the photographs and came across another. ‘Oh, now that one was taken the day I came to Summer Bay. That was the day I met Liam,’

‘You real pretty Bee,’ Jade admired the photograph showing the beautiful blonde woman in her silky red evening gown, adorned with diamonds. She glanced through the rest of the pictures on the coffee table and gleamed when she noticed a certain one, ‘Look, it’s you and mummy, Bee. She real pretty too, huh,’

‘Yes, she was very beautiful. You take after her,’ Bianca felt clammy as she saw the picture in Jade’s hand. It had been taken in the cabin on their last trip together as friends. Charlie in her red jacket, her arm around Bianca’s neck; was smiling at the camera in front of the cabin’s wood walls. Oblivious to the fact that Bianca would shut her out of her life the very next day; the day of Liam’s motorbike accident; the day of the swap.

Jade gently stroked her finger over Charlie’s face and bit her lip shyly. Her only knowledge of her mother was through photographs and other people’s memories so a single picture meant the world to her. ‘You and mummy look happy,’

‘We were, that day we were very happy,’ that day; after that they had been miserable but that day was a high for their friendship.

‘You and mummy were friends?’ Jade just wanted to know more. Her voice was soft and timid.

‘Yeah, we were friends,’ were being the operative word. Bianca sounded very regretful as she smiled softly. There were many things she regretted in her life but giving up on Charlie was way up there. Their friendship could have easily been mended but it was a matter of too little too late. There was no going back now.

Bianca took the photograph of Charlie from Jade’s hand and placed it back on the pile. ‘How about we go to the restaurant and get some lunch. We can say hi to your dad while we’re there,’

And the subject was closed.

[Inactive User]

Great chapter Update soon please xx

[RoRo90]

Catching up on the last few chapters and they were all amazing

as unhealthy as I know it is I absolutly adore Brax's visions of Charlie ... but it breaks my heart that he seems to have no one to confide in

I get that Ruby is hurting but she is really bugging me , Brax and Jade also lost Charlie but it seems to me as if Ruby is only thinking about her own pain. Brax didn't kill Charlie Jake did so she needs to stop blaming him already.

Jade wanting a whale I laughed so hard, especially when Casey made the comment about boys liking you when they are mean to you... I could just about imagine the expression on Brax's face

cant wait for more, this story is so interesting and well written

[kiwi151]

Really enjoying this story. You are such a natural writer. Thanks xx

[soph1303]

Great update,

Not sure what my opinion is on ruby at the minute. On one hand she is really annoying me, but then on the other you can totally understand why she is the way she is.

Hehe Brax getting annoyed at Casey for telling Jade that if a bit was mean to her it means he likes her, made me chuck a lot !!

Aww I kinda felt a bit sorry for Bianca at the end actually !!

Still kinda confused to how Charlie actually died, but I'm sure you will explain that in due course !!

More soon please

[pembie]

Oh boy Jade wanting a whale for christmas very funny. and casey saying Harry might like Jade made me laugh too.Nice touch with Charlie popping up at the end there. I think people will soon come to notice something isnt quite right with Brax quite soon.

I'm wanting to know how she died too.

I felt sorry for Bianca at the end too.

[beebee]

Nice please update soon x

[mizziette]

SEVENTEEN

Casey and Ruby under the same roof tended to get a little awkward at times. Ruby now lived with two of her ex-boyfriends which for most would be pretty uncomfortable but she and Xavier got along fabulously. With Casey, it was a different matter; they had parted on estranged terms and there was still the unresolved tension underlying between them. Usually, however, they were quite civil to each other, much to the pleasure of Xavier and Dex.

‘Did you drink all the milk again?’ Ruby held up the empty milk carton as proof of Casey’s indiscretion. Casey glanced up from the couch and shrugged sheepishly.

‘Sorry, I thought you’d already left, I didn’t think I was taking anyone’s milk,’ Casey apologised genuinely. ‘I was going to go to the store after my shift at Angelo’s but I could go get you some now?’

Ruby sighed and banged the empty carton onto the island. She exasperatedly turned to inspect the fridge contents for something else, ‘No, I can just take the twenty minute walk to the Diner completely fatigued to get my morning coffee.’

Casey didn’t bother to point out that it was eleven o’clock, morning was almost over. Instead, he stood up and went to the fridge and put his hand around ruby to get to the fridge. ‘Do you have to be so close?’

‘I’m just getting the chocolate,’ Casey moved away once he’d gotten it out and snapped the chilled bar of chocolate into pieces. ‘You want some?’

‘No,’ Ruby was annoyed. It was like the boys never ate. The fridge was full of nothing; a chocolate bar, a noodle box of Dex’ leftovers from three nights ago and the bacterial piece of pizza that no one wanted to eat. ‘God, why is there nothing edible in this house?’

Ruby grabbed the chocolate bar from Casey’s hand and broke it into two, placing one in her mouth. Casey shook his head in amusement. ‘I thought you just said you didn’t want any,’

‘Well, it’s better than getting salmonella from that junk in there, isn’t it?’ Ruby retorted and yawned after she swallowed. ‘I seriously need that coffee,’

‘I never know what to expect with you anymore,’ Casey shook his head as he popped the last of the chocolate into his mouth. He was leaning against the counter. ‘It’s like you’re looking for a reason to complain when it comes to me.’

‘Not everything’s about you, you know,’ Ruby sighed, trying to ignore the lethargy.

‘All the more reason for you to stop nit-picking,’ Casey justified. It was time they moved forward. All the tiptoeing and forced politeness was getting old. ‘What happened to us Rubes? We were friends once, can’t we try again?’

‘Why are we talking about this?’ Ruby was uncomfortable with the conversation; she couldn’t look him in the eye. The last thing she wanted to do was dredge up the past. It was too painful. ‘I don’t want to dwell on what’s already happened. We can’t change it,’

‘But we can mend it,’

Ruby scoffed. ‘You’re going to bring mum back from the dead are you? You’ll stop Jake from raping her, you have a time machine? Are you going to get rid of Grant too while you’re at it, Casey? Stop Grant from hurting her, stop me from existing, and stop him from coming back into our lives, into your life? Are you?’

Ruby got more worked up but she remained still. Her face remained blank. In the midst of the momentary silence that had followed Ruby’s rant, they stared at each other, and both equally shocked. Ruby could only whisper, ‘Sorry,’

‘You don’t have to…’ Apologise. The last word went unsaid. Casey looked down at his feet. Amidst the silence, Ruby, who was leaning against the sink, involuntarily put her right hand in a fist and smashed into a bread plate on the counter top. The plate broke, ceramic shards cut into Ruby’s fist.

Casey observed the blood trickling on Ruby’s hand. There were grazes on her. Casey could remember the last time he had seen Ruby punch in frustration. That last time, it hadn’t been towards an inanimate object but a living breathing tyrant of a person. One who’d surely deserved every hit.

He had first tried the Patterson house but it was a lost cause. There was no one there. The Diner was the next choice. As he entered through the doors, the difference was very visible from the last time he’d been there. The makeover was actually not that bad. ‘The den’ had been nice but ‘the Pier Diner’ was equally pleasing to the eye.

He had no doubt his arrival would cause a scene so he tried to stay inconspicuous. Of course, Leah had seen the man in disguise the second he’d entered.

‘You’re not welcome here,’ Once Leah had recovered from the initial shock; she’d pursed her lips, her heart palpating, her hands trembling. She had been serving Ruby when it happened; Roo was patiently waiting in line behind her. They both looked toward the door.

Grant smiled. ‘I was under the impression that this was a public venue.’

‘And I have the right to choose who I will and will not serve,’

Ruby couldn’t help but stare, her fingers gripping onto the edge of the counter until her knuckles were white. The sound from her lips was coarse and strained. She gulped. ‘What’re you doing here?’

‘Ruby sweet heart, are you alright?’ Roo looked worried.

‘I’m fine,’ Ruby nodded and took a set forward towards Grant Bledcoe; her father. ‘What’re you doing here?’

‘I know I’m not your favourite person Ruby, but everything that happened the last time I was here really put things in perspective for me. I can’t stand the thought of having a daughter and not knowing her,’ Grant’s voice seemed sincere but what was on the surface didn’t always correspond to a person’s inner feelings. Surely it had to be a façade.

‘I’m not your daughter, I don’t even know you,’ Ruby spat.

‘That’s exactly why I’m here, Ruby, I know we didn’t really start things on the best terms…’

‘You raped my mother! I’m just supposed to let that go?’ Ruby had begun raising her voice and the diner’s other patrons halted their conversation and peered at the scene erupting by the counter. Leah stood frozen behind the counter, Irene and Colleen in the kitchen with Roo, April and Georgie bearing witness among others.

‘Answer me!’ Ruby shouted, by this time Roo scurried to the young girl’s aid and supportively rubbed Ruby’s arms only to have them shrugged off.

This was the moment Casey had decided to enter through the door behind Grant. He stood baffled at the scene before him. He had gone to the diner for his lunch after uni and hadn’t expected this. ‘What’s going on in here? Rubes, is everything alright?’

‘Ruby, honey, calm down, he’s not worth it,’ Leah then turned to Grant, her voice more abrupt. Casey went unnoticed. ‘And you need to go, like I said before, you’re not welcome here.’

Grant just shrugged and turned to Ruby. ‘You know where to find me,’

Ruby glared at the man who had destroyed her mother’s childhood. Leaning away from Roo, she walked up determinedly towards the stronger man with hands clenched in fists and with a deep breath unravelled her fingers and loosened. She turned around slowly and took a step back to Roo before turning back around again, indecisively. ‘Leah’s right, you’re not worth a second of my attention,’

At the words, Ruby felt her anger grow again considerably. Before she knew it, Grant was keeling over; his hand over the eye Ruby had forcefully and abruptly delivered. ‘What the hell was that for?’

‘As if you didn’t know,’ Ruby’s voice remained calm. ‘I think you’ve overstayed your welcome. I suggest you leave town,’

‘Did you see that?’ Grant complained, speaking directly to Georgie Watson, in her casual leather jacket and jeans. ‘She assaulted me,’

‘It’s my day off, I’m not working,’ Georgie took a bite out of her cake, not even bothering to get up from her seat. ‘And anyway, I didn’t see any assault,’

‘Neither did I,’ Leah countered.

‘Me neither,’ Roo had no idea what was going on but she was with Ruby too. Grant looked around the diner full of disapproving women and decided it was time to leave. Turning around while nursing his already blackening eye, he ran face first into Casey Braxton.

Casey balled his hands into fists, ready to defend his girlfriend. Ruby shook her head behind Grant and after glaring the man down for a quarter minute more, Casey reluctantly stepped to the side, his face full of menace.

Once Grant was gone, Ruby yelped in pain as she was finally able to acknowledge the burning of her knuckles. She grabbed her wrist wincing as Casey moved to comfort her. ‘You could’ve told me hitting a guy actually hurt,’

‘I didn’t think you’d hit him,’ Casey rubbed Ruby’s arms up and down as she winced in pain at the hand that throbbed from punching Grant. ‘That was a mean hit though. You got a pretty good right hook for a chick,’

Ruby just glared at her boyfriend until Leah interrupted with a bag of peas. ‘Here, put this on your knuckles, it’ll help.’

‘Who was that guy?’ The diner was back to business again, and everyone back to their meals. Casey couldn’t believe what he’d just witnessed; what kind of man would possibly rile Ruby up so much?

‘Someone I have no intention of ever seeing again,’ Ruby could feel a tear running down her cheek. She turned to Leah and Roo by her side. ‘You guys won’t say anything to Charlie about him being here. She just got into a happy place again after Jade and…’

‘Charlie doesn’t need to know a thing. She’s been through enough lately,’ Leah agreed. Roo and Casey, although they didn’t know what was happening, both knew Ruby was scared and agreed as well.

The graze on Ruby’s hand that day in the diner was red and sore and it much resembled the cut she received from smashing the bread plate in the Austin house three years later. Casey couldn’t believe how much everything had changed in such few years. Those days when he’d first come to Summer Bay seemed a lifetime away.

[Inactive User]

Amazing chapter. Wow liked how you brought that scumbag Grant into the fanfiction. And whoa at the part of Jake and what he did to Charlie! This is really good stuff! More soon please xx