Being Alive [Charlie Barber]

Chapter 16 : Home

"Divorce lawyer." You read out loud in a soft voice, almost in disbelief.

Almost three weeks ago you had stopped speaking to Charlie altogether because he made it clear that there was no future for the two of you. And now he was standing in your apartment, soaked from walking in the rain to see you, handing you a card that let you know that he and Nicole weren't going to be together forever. It seemed unreal.

Charlie realized then how close he was to you, how he was pressed against your shoulder blades and he backed away with a sheepish smile. The parts where he'd been touching you left behind wet marks from his dripping clothes. "Yeah. Just left his office."

The cold rainwater against the blanket wrapped around you didn't register because you were too focused on what he was telling you. You turned around to face him and handed him back the card, suddenly feeling like you were holding onto something you shouldn't be.

"And you came straight here?" You asked him, heart pounding at the realization. He spoke to someone about divorce and afterward, his first thought was to see you.

"Mhm," Charlie responded, "I don't think I even realized I was doing it until I was crossing the street that your building's on. I was on autopilot." He admitted, eyes searching over your face to gauge your expression before slipping the card back into his wallet.

You were overwhelmed by the thought of it and the way he had been staring at you.

A loud crack of thunder made you jump slightly and then exhale to steady yourself. You wanted to change the subject while you let this new information sink in.

"Do you..." You trailed off, unsure of what his intentions were right now. "I have a shirt of yours. I borrowed it once and never gave it back. Do you want to change into it?" You asked, motioning towards the wet sweatshirt he was wearing.

Charlie let himself smirk a little. He forgot he gave that to you, the night that it stormed badly before when you had to stay on his couch until it calmed down. "That'd be nice. I feel like a drowned rat right now." He said with a chuckle, glancing down at himself.

You moved towards your drawers with a nod. You remembered exactly where his shirt was. You folded it up and put it in the back corner and hadn't touched it since you got home that night wearing it. But every time you grabbed a shirt of your own, you stared at it and wondered how it would feel to put it back on. You were almost disappointed to give it back to him.

"Thank you, honey," Charlie said as he took the shirt from your hands. The pet name had been an instinct, one that he had been able to resist while at work, but he went back to his old ways in the intimate setting of your apartment. His skin flushed for a moment, giving you an apologetic look.

You pretended not to be flustered by it, giving him a strained smile in response. Hearing him call you was a small gesture but coupled with the lawyer's business card in his wallet, it made you want to collapse into his arms.

There was a brief moment of uncomfortableness as Charlie looked between you and the shirt and the bathroom, wondering if it would be weird for him to change in front of you or not. In the past, it would've been no problem. You'd seen him naked, even. But it was different now, you'd barely even looked at him for the past couple of weeks.

You sensed this and turned on your heel towards your kitchen counter, back to him. "Want something to drink?" You asked him, opening the fridge as an excuse not to look at him, allowing him to change there without your eyes on him.

Charlie was relieved. "Sure." He told you as he began to peel the damp sweatshirt over his head. "What do you have?" He asked, muffled by the material covering his mouth momentarily as he pulled it off.