Ch. 7
"Tell me about him," Charlotte said to Calum after they sat in silence for at least ten minutes.
"What do you want to know?" he asked, leaning back in the chair and relaxing a little.
"Anything and everything," she replied, smiling slightly.
"Well, his name's Michael, he's 17, and he's from Sydney. He plays guitar and sings, and he's pretty good at both. He always talks about wanting to form a band with me and another guy we know, Luke, but it's a long shot. Michael's a really nice guy. He puts others before himself and always wanted to make everyone happy. He always liked doing things for other people. If you were having a bad day, he'd do all he could to make you laugh or smile."
"Charlotte?" Crystal said, coming through the door. "We need to take you back to your room. It's time for lunch."
Charlotte sighed and kissed Michael's cold hand, gently placing it on the bed next to his body. Calum got up and walked out of the room, waiting outside for the nurse so he could follow them to Charlotte's room and talk to her more.
"Thank you," Charlotte whispered to Michael one last time before being wheeled back down to her room. Calum assisted Crystal in putting Charlotte back in the white bed, propping her leg on some pillows and covering her up with a sheet. She sat up and waited while Crystal left the room to get Charlotte's lunch.
"Tell me more," Charlotte stated, getting comfortable as Calum sat down in a chair next to her.
Calum talked for several minutes before Crystal came back, and he continued to tell stories of his best friend as Charlotte ate, smiling at all the memories.
"He sounds like a great guy," she said, taking a bite of her chicken nugget.
"He is," Calum said, picking at one of his thumbs.
Several minutes passed where the only noise was the sound of Charlotte eating and the quiet episode of Parks and Recreation playing on the TV that no one was paying attention to.
"I'm sorry," Charlotte whispered once she finished her meal.
"For what?" Calum looked at her, obviously perplexed.
"For almost killing your best friend." Tears pooled in Charlotte's eyes, feeling extremely guilty still.
"It wasn't your fault," Calum replied, scooting his chair closer to Charlotte's bed. She took a deep breath and shook her head.
"Yeah it was," she whispered, looking at him and allowing a single tear to fall down her cheek.
"No love, it's not. You did nothing wrong. You didn't know that car was coming. You didn't ask Michael to run out and-"
"Don't say it. I don't want to talk about. We both know what happened," she said, stopping him.
"Saying it is a way of accepting it," the brown-eyed boy said, taking Charlotte's hand in his.
"But I don't want to accept it. I don't want to accept that a total stranger did that for me. It should be me on the verge of death, not him. He didn't do anything wrong. He doesn't deserve this. If anyone does, it's me because I was stupid enough to run out into the road without looking for cars."
"Charlotte, it's-"
"Don't say it's okay. Don't say it's not my fault. Don't say I shouldn't feel guilty. It's not okay, it is my fault, and I should feel guilty. You're losing your best friend all because of me. I'm so sorry... to you, to Michael, to his family, his other friends, to everyone. I'm sorry," she sobbed. Calum got up and sat on the side of Charlotte's bed, pulling her in for a hug. She sobbed into his shoulder, soaking his black shirtsleeve. He rubbed his hand up and down her back, hushing her as she cried.
"Charlotte," he said once she had calmed a little. She pulled away and wiped her face with her hand, facing him and shaking her head.
"Can you come back later? I want to take a nap," she said, leaning her head onto her pillow. Calum silently nodded and got up and left. Charlotte relaxed and closed her eyes, trying to sleep, but it didn't work. She restlessly tossed and turned for a while before sighing a sigh of defeat and focusing on the TV show in front of her.
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hyelloh everyone! i hope you've all had a good week :) mine's kinda sucked but ya know oh well i'm breathing and healthy i guess that's all that matters
i hope you enjoyed this chapter! i love you and i'll see you next saturday!
-Molly xx
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Life Saver (m.c.)
Fanfiction"Do you want to know the whole story?" she asked and he nodded. "Okay. It all happened five years ago and it's something I'll never forget."
