Live While We're Young

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Charlotte didn’t fall asleep the rest of the flight; instead, she sat and pondered how the summer would play out. She stood to go to the bathroom, but it was occupied when she got there. She leaned against the opposite wall, rubbing her hands over her face, waiting for whoever was in there to leave. When the door opened, her eyes widened in surprise. It was Zayn, and he looked awful. He pursed his lips and nodded, quickly stepping around her.

When she returned to her seat, Louis, Harry, and Niall were all awake and playing some sort of game with the barf bag. Louis looked up at her.

“Hey Lottie! Want your seat back?”

“Nah. It’s fine,” she went to sit in her old seat, but stopped when a voice came over the PA.

Please return to your seats and fasten your belts. We will begin our descent shortly. Thank you.

She hurried to sit back between Liam and Zayn, who looked at her in surprise. She rolled her eyes and took out a pack of gum.

They soon landed, without much incident. Zayn and Liam appeared to be giving each other the silent treatment, which Charlotte appreciated compared to the bickering. When they entered the airport, she took a deep breath and turned to face her new friends.

“Well I guess this is it. See you guys...sometime,” she said with a sad smile on her face.

Niall rushed forward to encircle her in a bear hug. She squeezed him tight as he whispered in her ear, “I’ll miss you Lottie.”

“I’ll miss you more, Nialler.”

Louis and Harry hugged her at the same time. The former stuck a piece of paper in her back pocket and encouraged her to stay in touch. The latter gave her a cheeky grin and tossed his curls.

Zayn came up to her next, looking depressed. He didn’t go to hug her; instead, he kept his distance, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his joggers.

“Hey,” he whispered.

“Hi.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I forgive you,” she said , wrapping her arms around his neck, perching on her toes. She pressed her forehead to his. “Keep in touch, ‘kay?”

“Yeah.”

Liam walked hurriedly over as Zayn retreated to where the luggage was piled. “Don’t forget about me, okay?” he gave her puppy eyes.

She giggled and went to hug him. “I don’t think it’s possible to forget THE Liam Payne.”

He kept his eyes locked on hers as he walked away. She took a deep breath and waved. Niall blew her a kiss, which she reached up to catch, and held over her heart.

She started to wheel her luggage away, to where a lady was sitting with her legs crossed at the ankles, a pile of yarn in her lap.

“Hola, Abuela. ¿Cómo esta usted?”

“Muy bien, Charlotte. My, how you’ve grown, mija! Tú eres alta!”

“It’s been too long, Abuela. I’ve missed you so much!”

They continued to converse in Spanglish as they walked arm in arm to the parking garage, as Charlotte wasn’t fully fluent. They discussed many topics before arriving at boys, the one the Charlotte had hoped to avoid.

“Charlotte, are you in the company of a bueno chico?”

“Not at the moment. I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Ah. Boy trouble. I understand.”

“Gracias, Abuela.”

When they arrived at Charlotte’s grandmother’s home, Charlotte was in awe. They stood at the foot of a very large hill, in front of a large iron gate with a cursive ‘T’ welded to it. The mansion at the summit was enormous, bigger than Charlotte remembered it ever being. She dropped her luggage and stared.

“Wow, Abuela. Su casa es...so huge! Has it always been like this?”

“Well, I just had the hedges trimmed,” her grandmother replied with a wink. “Vamos, I want you to meet some...amigos of mine.”

Charlotte stooped to retrieve her luggage, but a boy, not much older than her, beat her to it.

“Gracias pero no, gracias,” she said. “It’s fine, I’ve got them.”

“Señorita, I insist,” the boy said, winking. She smiled and gestured to her bags, hurrying to catch up with her grandmother.

“So I see you have met Joaquin,” she said in a doting tone. “Whatever you do, do not get involved with that boy. He is nothing but trouble.”

“Abuela,” Charlotte whined. “He just took my luggage for me. I told you, I’m not here for boys. This is a boy-free verano.”

“I know that you think that, but he will make you forget that. Por favor, for your Abuela, stay far away from him. He is a perfectly good bellboy, but he has lost me many of my best maids. Now, we meet my friends.” They had reached the top of the hill and were faced with a large set of glass french doors. Charlotte’s grandmother pulled them open with a flourish.

“Welcome to mi casa. Oh, here they are. Alejandro, Guillermo, Bob, I’d like to introduce you to my granddaughter. Charlotte, say hello,” she instructed. The three men stood and rushed to shake her hand, greeting her profusely. They wrestled each other over her hand.

“Abuela, can I speak to you? Over there?”

“Of course, nieta. Just a second, boys.” They looked starstruck, nodding slowly.

Charlotte took her grandmother by the elbow and yanked her into the hallway.

“I know what you’re doing. Stop,” she warned.

“Charlotte, cariño. What are you talking about?” her grandmother asked innocently.

“You know exactly what you’re doing. You asked me if I was involved, you warned me away from that Joaquin boy, you’re introducing me to these meatheads. You’re trying to set me up!” Charlotte said angrily.

“Who, me?” Her grandmother batted her eyelashes. “I would do no such thing to my favorite granddaughter, especially after she told me she wasn’t looking for a relationship.”

“Grandma,” Charlotte used her English illustrate how angry she was.

“Alright, alright. No need to pull out the insults. I confess, I was trying to set you up. But I have good intentions. These are the richest young men in my connections, and they readily agreed to come and meet you. You are beautiful, nieta. You deserve the best.”

“I know that you are trying to do what’s best for me, and I’m very grateful, but I can fend for myself. And I’ve got a long time to enjoy being young and I maybe I do have a boy,” Charlotte admitted bashfully. Her grandmother’s eyes lit up.

“Oh! I’m so happy for you! We must start on the wedding plans right away. Is he in España? When can I meet him?”

“Abuela, calm down. I’m not even really sure if we’re together. Yes, he’s in Spain, but he’s on tour, so he’s really busy right now,” Charlotte explained, exasperated.

“Well, you habla to this boy as soon as possible, sí?”

“Okay, I will,” she lied. She had no intention of contacting the boys anytime soon. The wound was still raw.