Charlie sat in the rows of red Velvet theatre chairs, brows knit as he scribbled notes into his small worn black notebook. A scene had been playing before him on stage, performed by his actors.
As much as he was focused on work, at the back of his mind, the thought of you and Henry waiting at home for him lingered. Work was no longer a distraction, it was now just work, his passion. It had returned to what it once was.
Weeks had passed now, and the three of you lived in unison, happy. Henry had gotten used to seeing you around the house, and so had Charlie. For once, Charlie felt like he actually had a family, one that wasn't broken and hanging by threads of commitment.
Charlie had never felt so alive, not even with Nicole. Maybe it was because you were so youthful, or maybe it was because for once, he actually liked the woman he was with. He didn't feel like there was some commitment he had to hold up to, like how he had to with Nicole and Henry.
The three of you were living happily in Charlie's own little bubble, and it was the happiest all of you had been in a long while.
Except there was still one thing that hung heavy over Charlie — he still had not told Nicole about the relationship.
He wasn't sure why he hesitated to do so. Nicole had a boyfriend of her own now, so surely it wasn't so different?
But truthfully, it was different. What Charlie and Nicole had, it was complicated, it was messy, and most of all, they would always platonically love each other, regardless of the divorce. They had spent most of their lives together, built a family, a home. Something like that couldn't be thrown away in the matter of months.
But Charlie wanted to tell her, he wanted to come clean. Nothing hurt more then to hide the person he loved most from his lifestyle, his family, his friends. He was proud to be with you, and wanted everyone to know.
Broken out of thought, the sound of his phone ringing in his pant pocket drew his attention. He looked up from his small notebook, raising a hand to stop the scene. He cleared his throat quickly.
"Take five, people! I have a phone call to take." He told everyone promptly, quickly standing from the Velvet chair.
Striding quickly down the aisle between the rows of chairs, he pushed past the back entrance, stepping into the lobby of the small and dated theatre.
Pulling his phone from his pocket, he read the caller ID; Nicole. He hummed in amusement.
He answered the phone call. "Hey, what's going on? You know I'm at work." He spoke.
Bad habit, he thought. Even with the divorce, he couldn't help but fall back on old habits, speaking and acting as if nothing had happened over the course of the past months. Almost as if it was all the same still.
"Shit, I can call later, if you're busy-" Nicole began to apologize.
"No, no, it's okay, everyone's on break. What were you going to say?" He asked her.
She sighed into the phone. "Well, I wanted to call because as you know, thanksgiving is coming up, and I thought we should arrange something." She explains.
"I just wasn't sure what you wanted to do, because of everything. My mother wanted to have you and Henry over for dinner, but I wasn't sure if you'd be comfortable..." Nicole adds.
Because of everything. Nicole always said that instead of 'divorce', as if the word was forbidden to be spoken. Charlie pondered on the offer.
YOU ARE READING
PUT ME IN A MOVIE - Charlie Barber.
Fanfiction" Lights, camera, action....he didn't know he'd have this much fun..." Recovering from his divorce, Charlie had fallen into bad habits - smoking again, drinking again, and not prioritizing his time with his son, Henry. Charlie was desperate for a...
