One Touch | Charlie Gillespie

E I G H T

"She's dead."

Once I get dressed in his way too big clothes, I walk outside the room towards the kitchen, where Charlie is waiting for me. He is sitting on one of the bar stools and plays with something that looks like a necklace.

I clear my throat to let him know I'm there, and he looks up. He sees me noticing the necklace in his hands. I wonder what story is behind it.

"It belonged to her," he begins out of nowhere, his fingers tracing the little diamond on the silver necklace. I blink a few times, confused at his words. "What do you mean?"

"Sarah. Her name was Sarah. The necklace, it belonged to her."

He speaks the last few words in a rush, but I can hear the pain in his voice. His hands are shaking and he's still staring at the necklace.

I walk up to him and rub my hands over his back, not really knowing what to do. His shoulders start to shake and he drops his head in his hands.

"Hey, hey you're okay. It's okay, I'm here," I tell him as I keep rubbing his back. A few sobs leave his mouth and I pull him into me, his head against my stomach and his arms around my torso. "Shhh, it's okay."

I stand there for a couple moments before pulling away, locking my eyes with his. "What's wrong?"

He quickly wipes his tears and clears his throat. "Charlie, you don't have to be embarrassed for crying, you know that right? It's just me."

He ignores my words and sighs deeply. "I lied. About Sarah."

I raise an eyebrow and settle down on the bar stool next to him. "Who's Sarah?"

He swallows a few times before he continues. "The girl I told you about, my ex. I didn't tell you the entire story."

He lied. Why would he lie to me? I want to ask him that question, but before I have the chance, the following words enter my ears.

"She's dead."

C H A R L I E
Flashback, two years ago

"Sarah? Sarah where are you?" I screamed, but there was no use: she didn't reply. The rustling leaves of the forest made me feel as if someone was following me. I kept looking behind me, but there was no one to be seen.

The cold wind blew across my body, leaving goosebumps behind. "Sarah, please. I can't do this anymore, I just want to talk about what happened. Stop playing with me."

A branch broke on my right.

"Sarah, is that you? Stop playing games, you're scaring me."

No answer. I kept walking with the flashlight of my phone in my hand. The sky was pitch black, there wasn't even a single star. Everything was dark around me.

I shone the flashlight on the ground, hoping there was a trail leading to Sarah. A few yards away, I saw something gleaming: hidden under the leaves was a necklace. Her necklace.

I picked it up and slipped it into my pocket. She was always wearing her necklace. Why was it laying there? She would never pull it off by herself, or it would've fallen off.