The Phoenix

Chapter One

"These have been the most amazing few days of my life," Joey Collins said.

She reached across the passenger seat of the car and placed an innocent hand on Charlie Buckton's leg, smiling at her. Charlie stole a glance in her direction before returning her eyes to the road.

"Mine too," she said.

After all the heartache they had been through to finally be together, Charlie had decided to take Joey away for the weekend. All they wanted was to be together in peace, and love each other outside of the realm of worrying about running into Joey's ex-girlfriend. It had been quite a journey for Charlie to convince Joey to leave the woman that bullied and beat her and convinced her that she was worth nothing. For a while there, Charlie had been convinced that Joey was going to stay in that awful relationship and never allow herself to find happiness. And Charlie was positive that she would be able to make Joey happy. She'd loved her almost from the first moment she'd met her, that day on the beach when they'd both been out for a morning run and Charlie had taken the initiative to invite Joey to breakfast. She'd found Joey fascinating when she was just a figure in the distance and the more she'd got to know her, she more amazing she realised she was. Charlie had vowed early on to love and protect Joey and it had broken her heart to know how badly she was being treated at home and how badly she had been treated all her life. She was determined to prove to Joey that there were good people in the world and that she did deserve to be loved and respected like any other person.

"Thank you," Joey said.

"My pleasure," Charlie said. "Literally!"

Joey laughed. Charlie let her hand drop from the steering wheel to hold onto Joey's. Neither woman particularly wanted to go back home where reality was waiting for them but they both knew they'd have to do it sooner or later. Joey couldn't help but feel nervous about what life meant for her now. As unhappy as she had been with Roxy, at least it had been a routine, something she was familiar with. Now, her whole life had been tipped upside down. She was going to be living in a shared house with Charlie, her little sister Ruby, their housemate, Leah and Leah's son VJ. Except for Charlie, Joey had only ever met the other residents of the house in passing and she felt shy of getting to know them. What if Ruby didn't like her? What if she did something wrong or was horrible to live with? What if Charlie suddenly woke up and realised the mistake she had made by falling in love with her? Joey also knew she had to find a job, which in theory was exciting but in reality, was terrifying. Roxy had spent a painstaking amount of time convincing Joey that she was no good to anyone and anywhere she worked, she would only do more harm than good. She was ashamed to feel almost frightened of becoming independent, making her own living, working with colleagues again and developing her own life. But the thing that scared her most was the fact that she still had to live in the same town as her ex. Charlie had promised to protect her and keep her safe but she had her own, very demanding job, her own friends and family; she had her own life and couldn't be there to support Joey all the time. And nor should she, Joey thought to herself. She was nervous of being too fragile and of needing Charlie to the point of irritation. She had been pleased to find there had been no real incidents over their weekend, aside from Joey constantly waking Charlie up with her nightmares. With Roxy, the nightmares had been hit and miss. Sometimes she had been kind and comforting. Other times, she had been cold and uncaring. All three nights she and Charlie had spent together, she had jolted awake and Charlie had been so supportive and loving that Joey felt overwhelmed. Regardless of how sleepy Charlie had been, the moment Joey had needed her, she had been there. It felt wonderful. Everything with Charlie felt wonderful. She couldn't help but wonder when it was all going to go wrong but she told herself not to be pessimistic. It was just hard to imagine a woman as incredible as Charlie loving someone like her. But whether it was going to last or not, Joey was happy and grateful.

"Shall we grab some take out from the Diner?" Charlie asked, as they neared their hometown. "It'll save us cooking. I don't know about you but I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired," Joey agreed. "Take out would be awesome."

Charlie pulled into the car park outside the Diner and shut off the engine. She turned and grinned at Joey.

"You wore me out!" she said, leaning across to kiss her.

Joey kissed her back, thinking that she had become addicted very quickly to Charlie's touch. Intimacy had been one of the best things about the weekend. She hadn't enjoyed sex for a while now but that first time with Charlie on the living room floor of the house she had shared with Roxy, her entire opinion of love making had changed. It had been a beautiful experience to be with Charlie, to bring her to the point of ecstasy and then to have Charlie send the same thrills through her. She'd been afraid that she was entirely incapable of giving or receiving pleasure for quite some time now but, as with everything else, Charlie had changed all that.

"Do you want to come in or stay here?" Charlie asked, pulling reluctantly away.

Joey felt torn. She didn't particularly want to go into the Diner. Every time she thought about a public place, all she could picture was Roxy being there. But then, she didn't really want to stay in the car alone either. At least if she was with Charlie, she'd feel safer.

"I'll come in," she decided.

They both climbed out of the car and headed towards the restaurant hand in hand. Feeling Joey pause at the entrance, Charlie gave her hand a gentle squeeze and she smiled encouragingly. They had talked a little about Joey's worry concerning seeing Roxy around town. Charlie had attempted to suggest pressing charges. If she was in jail for repeated assault then Joey might be able to get on with her life and stop living in Roxy's shadow of fear. But Joey had refused. The idea of telling anyone but Charlie about her experiences and the idea of dragging a woman that she had once been in love with, through the courts, was too much. She'd prefer to heal by herself and hoped that she'd get over her panic one day soon. Charlie led her up to the counter and they perused the menu. Leah appeared from the kitchen, smiling cheerfully.

"Hey, guys!" she greeted. "Did you have a good weekend away?"

"It was great, thanks," Charlie said.

Joey smiled shyly. Leah had been welcoming enough at home but Joey still hardly knew her and couldn't help but feel a little vulnerable. They placed their orders. Joey couldn't stop herself from looking up every time she heard the door open, worried that Roxy would come in. What was she doing now? Who was she doing? Was she angry and vengeful or would she be happy to let Joey go?

"See you at home," Charlie said cheerfully when Leah presented their dinner.

She and Joey walked out of the Diner. As they did, Charlie turned to her girlfriend.

"Not so bad?" she asked hopefully.

"Not so bad," Joey confirmed with a big smile.

Climbing into the car, Charlie paused before turning the engine on. She gazed into Joey beautiful eyes, taking in the perfect features of her face. In that moment, she decided that she loved every single thing about Joey – her body and her soul. She could hardly believe that she was really completely hers.

"What?" Joey asked shyly, when Charlie continued to stare at her.

"I was just thinking about how much I love you," Charlie told her sincerely.

She reached out to hold her, careful not to spill their food containers on the floor.

"I love you too," Joey replied.