Charlie's Web (A Romantic Comedy)

Chapter 25

Somewhere in Glasgow city centre, at around the same time that Charlie was staring at her phone wondering whether Aaron was still interested in her or not, Aaron himself was still staring at his own phone. At Charlie's Facebook profile, to be exact.

The photo Charlie had just uploaded from the summit of Ben A'an was amazing. It would have been a great day for a hike, he thought wistfully. He probably would have headed up a hill himself today under normal circumstances but, but he and Kayla had went to a mutual friend's party the night before and he was feeling a bit delicate.

To be fair, the fresh air up a hill would probably have been a great tonic for a hangover, but the party hadn't ended until the early hours and it would still be a good while before he was safe to drive anywhere. Still, there was always tomorrow.

Trying to distract himself from the photo or, to be more accurate, the girl in the photo, he picked up the remote and clicked the tv on, searching through the channels for a film or something to hold his attention. He eventually settled on old episodes of "Friends"; but within a couple of minutes he found himself back staring at Charlie's Facebook profile, as he had done several times since she'd friend requested him. And, if he was being truly honest with himself, he had actually done once or twice before that too, although he'd never dared to request her himself as he had been convinced she hated him for what had happened.

Her profile picture was typical Charlie, on a night out, wine glass raised in one hand above her head as if in celebration of something. He wouldn't be surprised if she dropped it immediately afterwards; that would also be typical of her. He couldn't help a wry smile at the thought.

"Morning. I think." Aaron looked up to see Kayla standing at the living room door, looking worse than he felt. Her dark hair was pulled up on top of her head in a lopsided messy bun, her eye make-up was Alice Cooper-ing down her cheeks and she had the duvet wrapped around her like a cloak.

"I need someone to kill me," she muttered, stumbling into the room and throwing herself on the couch next to him. "Will you kill me please? I can't handle this hangover." She squinted over at the phone in his hand and her tone changed. "Is that who I think it is?"

She was definitely bluffing; she clearly didn't have her contacts in yet and she was nearly as short-sighted as he was, so there was no way she could see what he was looking at. But what was the point in lying? Kayla knew him way too well for that.

He sighed. "Do you even need to ask?"

Kayla took the phone from him and started scrolling through Charlie's Facebook while he removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, hoping to alleviate the dull thudding in his head even just a little bit. "Have you worked out if she's actually in a relationship or not?" she asked.

He shrugged, his eyes closed. "Nope. Obviously she said she had a date the other night though; she might still be seeing that guy Jake."

"Is he the guy she was snogging when you saw her at that night out? Where she appeared to be dressed up like the hen?" Kayla shook her head. "I still don't get that."

Aaron nodded. He didn't get it either to be honest. It had been a total fluke he had been in the same club as Charlie that night. He'd noticed her, clocked the strange get-up but not really thought too much of that. It was the night after his first attempt to apologise and explain his actions to her, the attempt that had dismally failed, and when he spotted her he had spent an hour or two debating with himself whether to try to explain again. But he hadn't wanted to ruin her night, and then he had saw Jake making his approach.

He knew Jake only very vaguely as someone who played seven-a-sides with his younger brother. He was an alright enough guy from what Aaron knew of him, but apart from his taste in females apparently, they had little else in common. He hadn't stuck around after seeing them start to kiss, so he wasn't certain what had happened after that but reading between the lines - the "prosecco dates" check-in right after Charlie had added him on Facebook, her comment about being not making it home until Sunday night that particular weekend, and her turning down Kayla's invite the other night - he assumed Jake would be the one she was dating.

"And she still doesn't have a clue who I am, does she?" Kayla passed his phone back to him and sighed as Peter came thundering into the room, looking enquiringly at them. "Oh Peter, can you get your own food please, I'm currently dead." She picked him up and cuddled his stocky little body to her and he licked her face contentedly a few times before snuggling into her.

Aaron shook his head in answer to her question. "Nah. Well, I don't think so anyway. I obviously withheld the little detail of you being my sister when I introduced you but I did think maybe she would have recognised the family resemblance."

The devil had made him do it, omitting to tell Charlie that Kayla was one of the three older sisters he'd mentioned to her the previous week, as well as his flatmate. He'd really just wanted to provoke some sort of reaction out of her.

She'd seemed a bit upset, and then he'd felt bad. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her; he'd done quite enough of that already without even meaning to. But he couldn't really backtrack and say "Oh by the way, Kayla is actually my sister" by that point. Not that it really mattered anyway, if she was seeing someone else.

He sighed and stood up, slipping his glasses back on. "You want a drink?" He asked, stretching.

"Ooh yes, a beer please!" Kayla's eyes lit up.

"I meant a soft drink but okay," Aaron rolled his eyes. He might actually partake in a beer himself, hair of the dog and all that. And it was now officially after midday, at least.

When he returned a couple of minutes later with two bottles of beer, after making sure Peter was fed, he and Kayla clinked their bottles together.

"So are you still going on Monday?" Kayla asked tentatively. "To the . . .?"

"Yeah," he replied abruptly. He picked up his phone again and logged out of Facebook. "It's for the best."

"You might not get it anyway," Kayla teased but they both knew he probably would. He'd pretty much got every job he'd ever interviewed for.

"Are you sure it's really what you want though?" His sister asked, trying to rearrange herself on the couch so she was facing him. "I mean, I've genuinely never witnessed you strung out like this over a girl before. It's not like you."

It really wasn't like him. Aaron wasn't sure what it was about Charlie that had got under his skin, but it was almost impossible to stop thinking about her. He had been one hundred percent genuine when he had told her how much he had liked her . . . and he still did, despite everything. But it was clearly pointless and this was one of the many reasons why his Monday plan had to go ahead.

"I'm fine," he said, hoping if he said it enough he'd believe it. "I just wish that January hadn't happened. Or that I'd reacted differently, or just told Charlie the truth at the time..."

"Bloody Gemma," Kayla tutted. "I blame her for all of this."

"Don't be so hard on her, it was my fault as much as hers." He made a rueful face. "It takes two to tango and all that."

"Still, you just did what you thought was right in that moment; I'm sure if Charlie knew the truth she'd understand." Kayla rolled her eyes. "After all, it seems like she winds up in some ridiculous situations herself," she added, laughing. "Which is probably why I think she would be so good for you." She nudged him with her foot. "You're too bloody serious for your own good sometimes."

"Well, it's not going to happen," he shrugged pragmatically. "And I need to just move on."

"If you say so. But life has a funny way of surprising you sometimes." Kayla smiled and tried to grab his phone again. "Now can we order a Dominos? And can it be your treat? I'm rooked."

Trying to shove Charlie to the back of his mind, he passed Kayla his phone and hoped that a massive cheese-laden pizza would finally put his hangover to bed. Tomorrow, he vowed, he'd go for a massive walk and try to clear his head a bit. Maybe he'd even go up Ben A'an since it's the one place he knew Charlie wouldn't be . . .