Charlie will never be the same again.
“Come on,” Colton finally says, pulling on my arm. “We need to give him his space. He’s hurting right now and he hates that he didn’t know you were going through that, but our methods of dealing with it … he won’t accept that easily. It might take some time, but he’ll come around.”
I let Colton pull me along and I find myself staring at the shiny marble beneath my feet. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” Spencer says, stepping into my other side. “He’ll be alright.”
I nod, not convinced by either of them in the least, especially as they don’t believe the words themselves. All I know is that this could be a game-changer. Charlie is either with us or against us and right now, I have no idea which way he’s going to go.Chapter 19Four days down and not a word from Charlie.
My heart aches for him. He hasn’t come around in the mornings before school, he hasn’t texted stupid memes, he hasn’t even sent a sexually suggestive text message.
He’s hurting and that’s on us.
We should have been upfront with him. He spent weeks worried about his friend, completely in the dark, and not knowing what happened to him. The boys should have been honest with Charlie about the girl Jude hurt two years ago and I should have been honest about him hurting me now.
What kind of friends are we?
I walk from my last class and meet Drix and Jess by their lockers while giving fake smiles to everyone who demands my attention. I’m not in the mood today. Sunday was easy to pretend that nothing was wrong, but the days after that just sucked.
Colton had gone down to see Jude after Charlie had left to get some kind of indication of what had gone down in there. From the way Charlie left him, I’d dare say that our secret is safe. Charlie isn’t the violent type though—no matter how much he talks it up—and that kind of shit would have left a scar.
I dart across the hallway and grab my stuff out of my locker before slamming the door closed with a sigh. I really hate this. I’ve been against my boys for weeks now and that doesn’t hurt nearly as much as knowing that Charlie is hurting. Maybe it’s because, with my boys, I was the one who was wronged, but with Charlie, I’m the one doing the hurting.
I have to find a way to make it up to him. This isn’t fair to him. He shouldn’t have been left in the dark, just as Colton shouldn’t have left me in the dark with the same damn thing.
Why can’t things be simple for a week or two? I just need a break from all the constant bullshit. I need to go away and forget everything that’s been going on. I don’t know, maybe Colton will sweep me away to a deserted beach resort and show me the time of my life where I can pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist.
Damn it. I can’t even suggest that to him because he will and then I’ll be stuck on a beach wishing I was back home so I can handle my shit and stop running away like a little bitch.
I make my way back over to the girls when my phone buzzes in my bra. I fish it out of its little hiding spot that it lives in during school hours and glance down at the screen to find a text from Milo.
Milo - You need a ride home today? I need to be somewhere but can swing by and get you first.
Ocean - Nah, don’t worry. I can find my own way home.
Milo - Cool, thanks. Call me tonight. I’ve got to spill some tea.
I roll my eyes at my phone while hashing out a response. Milo’s idea of spilling the tea is gushing over the boys at school and telling me all about what he saw in the locker room. Last time it was a full breakdown on how some kid got his dick pierced and was showing it off at every chance he got which then went into me convincing Milo that he really didn’t need to get one himself.
Ocean - Okay, but it better be worth it!
Milo - It is.
I look up at Drix and am just about to ask her to drive my ass home when I find the words crumbling and disappearing in my throat. “You good?” she asks, seeing the weird look on my face.
“Oh, umm, yeah. I’m fine. I have to go. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
“Yeah, no problem,” she says. “Do you need a ride?”
“Nah, I’m good. I think I’m going to walk.”
Her face scrunches up in distaste. “You’re fucking with me, right?”
“No,” I laugh. “I could really use the walk to clear my head. It’s been a shitty few days.”