Becoming Ready

Chapter 6 - Moving Day

The meeting had been... interesting. Charlie wasn't entirely sure she could relate to what people were talking about. They all had stories about being sent to rehab, going to jail, or being hospitalized. Sometimes all three. Charlie hadn't been through anything like that. When she told Courtney how she felt, Courtney just told her to look for the similarities, not the differences. Whatever that meant.

Either way, Charlie was not interested in drinking any time soon, no matter how much stress and anxiety she felt. And there was no shortage of stress and anxiety in the upcoming weeks. Between trying to get a job, and her family getting kicked out of their house, she had a lot going on.

Charlie managed to get her old job at the coffee shop back. It was basically minimum wage, but tips were included. As an eighteen-year-old with no resume to speak of, her options were limited. The manager at the shop had always liked her. She told him she would like to stay on after the summer was over, but that she wasn't sure what her schedule looked like at the Art Institute yet. He told her they'd work it out when the time came.

Her parents found a small two-bedroom apartment in Beachside, which was the neighborhood that Shawn lived in. It wasn't the nicest or the safest part of Bridgeport, but it was better than nothing. Shawn volunteered to help Charlie and her family move, which Charlie thought was the sweetest thing. You had to really care about someone to offer to help them move.

Moving day was already so hectic that Charlie didn't even care that Shawn was meeting her parents for the first time. It broke the ice, in a weird way. No one could focus too much on awkward introductions because of the task at hand.

"Thank you again for helping, Shawn," her mom said, looking at Shawn warmly. Charlie was sure she had taken a few extra pills to deal with the day's events.

"No problem at all, Mrs. Jackson," he replied, helping her dad pick up a couch.

Mr. Jackson grunted from the weight of it. "Yeah, the extra muscle is much appreciated."

Later Charlie was in her room, packing up some boxes last minute, when Shawn came in and joined her. He sat on her bed and she gave him a sideways glance.

"What?" he asked, smiling.

"Nothing," she shrugged.

"That look definitely was definitely not 'nothing.' Come on you can tell me, what's on your mind?" he coaxed her.

"It's just," she sighed. "I wish we could have spent more time in here together. I won't have my own room at the new apartment. I'll be sharing with Courtney."

He nodded. "True, and I don't have a lot of privacy either."

Shawn had moved out of his parents' house when he turned eighteen because his dad was an abusive alcoholic, and his mom was a pushover. He now lived with three of his friends in a two-bedroom apartment in Beachside. He got a job as a mechanic at a local garage, and he planned to get his Associate's Degree in Automotive Engineering from Bridgeport Community College, starting that fall. They were both in similar situations, trying to figure out how to support themselves while pursuing higher education at the same time. But at least Charlie didn't have to pay rent. Her parents hadn't asked, yet.

Charlie walked over to him, nudging her way between his knees and placing her hands on his shoulders.

"How are we ever going to hook up again in peace?" she joked, but she was serious.

He had that mischievous look on his face that made her stomach flip. His hands ran up her legs and roamed slowly over her butt until they came to rest on her waist.

"Promise you'll be quiet?" he asked, with a sly smile.

Her eyes grew wide, understanding what he meant. She bit her lip and nodded. That was all he needed. He pulled her down onto his lap and kissed her.

***Now you know a little bit more about Shawn's plans for the fall, as well as his background. 

Coming up, the night before College and Charlie's first day of College!