SIX ;
haunted
messages/real life !
karl <3
hey marley
this feels weird and I know you probably don't want to see me right now but would it be okay if I came over for a little?
there's a few things I wanna talk about
mars 💕
yeah of course you can come over karl
this is literally your house too
karl <3
I know
but I didn't want to just show up and make things weird
mars 💕
things are already going to be weird karl
karl <3
I know
i'll be there around noon?
mars 💕
sure
see you then
love you
not sent!
karl <3
okay see you then
miss you more than anything
not sent!
•
When Karl had arrived at the house, he wasn't entirely sure if he could just walk in or not. Instead of just opening the door or even knocking, he decided to just awkwardly stand there and contemplate messaging Marley.
Turns out he didn't need to actually go through with messaging her. The door hesitantly opened not even a minute after he had gone to their messages.
Marley was nervous. He could tell by the way she wouldn't quite look him in the eye and the way her fingers seemed restless, constantly tapping on her thigh as she waited for Karl to initiate the conversation.
"Hi, Mars," he greeted, awkwardly stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I was just about to text you and ask you to open the door."
She frowned, "did you lose your key?"
"No. Just didn't wanna...you know. Barge in."
Marley looked up, finally meeting his sad gaze for the first time in a little over a month. To be perfectly honest, Karl looked like shit. His eyes were puffy and bloodshot and the bags under them were more prominent than she had ever seen them.
Not that she could judge his appearance. Tina had told her the same thing the other day. Tough love, she had called it.
"I already told you I didn't care. This isn't just my house, you know."
"I know," he muttered, swiftly looking down at his shoes. "Just felt weird. This whole thing is weird."
Marley nodded before stepping backwards into the house so he could actually come inside instead of loitering by the front door. Once he awkwardly shuffled inside, Marley shut the door and followed him to the living room.
The second he sat down on the couch, Goose came barreling towards him. He laughed softly as their dog licked at his face happily.
"I missed you too, buddy," he said as he scratched behind Gooses ears. "I hope you've been keeping our girl company while i've been gone..." he awkwardly trailed off as he realized what he had said.
He turned towards her, cheeks red and eyes glossy. "Sorry. Old habits die hard, I guess."
Marley shrugged and took a seat on the armchair, ignoring the fact that his words felt like a falcon punch to the heart. "It's fine. What was it you wanted to talk about?"
Karl winced lightly and bit his lip, "probably not what you want to hear, to be honest."
She blinked at him.
"It's about my moms birthday party," he clarified, watching as her face remained completely blank. "I...um, I never told them we were on a break. I don't know if you've told your parents but I didn't have it in me to tell my mom what happened and now she expects us both to be there for the weekend and you can totally say no—,"
Marley cut him off with a huff, ignoring the part of her that wanted to say that clearly he had trouble telling people the truth. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest and and picked at the loose thread on her sweater. "I didn't tell mine, either," she admitted quietly. "but only because I don't really know what to tell them. That's not really the point right now, though, I guess."
He frowned, "Marley—,"
"I'll go," she quickly interrupted. "I'll go if it means I don't have to listen to you try and justify what happened without actually saying what happened. I told you i'll listen but not until you get your shit together."
Karl went to reply, before choosing to simply nod instead. He looked like he wanted to argue, but the tears in both of their eyes, and the burn in his chest that made him want to roll over and die stopped him.
Marley was grateful for that, at least. She didn't have it in her to argue with him when just seeing him for the first time in a month was nearly enough to halt the slow progress she was beginning to make.
"Her birthdays this weekend," he said softly as he ran a hand down Gooses back. "She wants to celebrate Friday to Saturday, so you should bring an overnight bag. I'll text you the address if you don't remember it."
Marley shook her head, "I know where it is. I'll be there, just text me the time."
He nodded and pressed a quick kiss to Gooses head, "Of course. I'll um...I should get going now. I had to stop by before going to work."
Marley could tell he was lying. At least partly. The way he was barely holding back tears really gave him away.
Again, not that she could judge. She was in the exact same boat. There was so much she wanted to say to him, but instead of saying anything that could even potentially fix them, she decided on a quiet, "drive safe, please."
Karl nodded and offered her what he hoped to be a reassuring smile, though both of them knew it was more like a grimace than anything.
"Always, Mars."
And then he was gone, leaving Marley to finally let the tears fall as she wondered if it was possible for people who were still alive to haunt you.
A/N
hi guys it's 1am and i'm listening to ghost of you by 5sos on repeat and then I got inspiration so I wrote another chapter instead of sleeping so I guess it's a good thing I don't have work tomorrow lol
YOU ARE READING
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐆𝐍𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐒, k.jacobs
Fanfiction"Love slipped beyond your reaches, and I couldn't give a reason, Champagne problems" or "How did this even happen?" "I guess a good place to start is whenever you fell out of love with me."
