As You Like It (Charlie Barber x Reader)

The Last Day Part 1

A/N: quick shout out to my girl mdanger1119 for helping me out with the intro to this chapter!

Enjoy!💕

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Your eyes fluttered open, focus sharpening on particles of dust as they danced past your window, caught in a stream of early morning sun. You lingered there; for a second, for a minute--you weren't really sure, before your eyes finally fell to Charlie.

You watched as a slow, unconscious breath rose in his chest, lids filttering almost imperceptibly as he slept. You let your hand reach out to touch him, fingertips savoring the warmth of his naked chest as memories of last night flooded back to you.

Your mouths moving in unison, fingers entwined as your body writhed beneath him, wracked with pleasure...

As close to perfect a moment as you had ever come.

Your lips parted just slightly, a smile curling at the corner of your mouth as your fingers traced the length of his clavicle. You relished in the moment, in the sweet stillness, the comforting quiet, when something dark and sickly sank its claws into the forefront of your mind.

This is the last day, for the foreseeable future, that you would get to wake up and fall asleep to Charlie next to you.

Suddenly, his skin felt like fire beneath your touch, your hand abruptly pulling away as if you were afraid of being burned...a sharp stab in your heart telling you that you already had been.

You swallowed--hard, biting back tears as you desperately tried to rewind to even just a few seconds ago; when everything was softer, when the only thing on your mind was how full you had felt last night as he fu-

"Good morning," Charlie's deep baritone resonated in his chest as he dropped his face to look at you, his gaze still thick with sleep.

Afraid he'd notice your clearly somber demeanor, you scooched your body next to him, his arm automatically stretching to rest beneath you, holding you close.

You two laid there as he eased himself awake, periodic grumblings leaking from his chest as your mind worked desperately to try and get a bearing on just how much time you two had left.

"What time do you leave, again?" your voice was breathy, half hoping he hadn't registered your words as you let your fingers trace the gentle curves of his chest, the thrum of his heartbeat a rhythmic pulse under your palm.

"Flight leaves at 9," he sighed, jaw dropping into a yawn. "Mm--so I should be at JFK around 7," you felt his eyes on you, could almost hear the smirk that pulled across his plush, pink lips, "7:30, if I get...distracted."

A rush of air left your nose, easily mistaken for a soft laugh--only you didn't look at him, didn't acknowledge his words; every last drop of your energy being used to stave off the tears once again biting at the edges of your vision.

You could have sworn your heartbreak was becoming tangible, something you could reach into your chest and rip free, vermillion blood--emotional--physical--spilling from the gaping wound as you bled out.

You thought back to when he had first told you that he was moving, back before you had found out you were pregnant--fuck, maybe even before you got pregnant. The shock and pain poignant but still easy enough to push from your mind.

Your mind skipping forward to that moment in your bathroom, air still as a grave as you looked at that terrifying blue plus sign...how he had begged you to come with him...