The Symphony

Rocky Territory

Sometimes it's not the butterflies
that tell you you're in love, but the pain.
_______

Charlie's pov
I've just landed back in New Orleans and I'd be lying if I said I was in a good mood. I'm beyond pissed for so many reasons. One of them being that my parents are—well—my parents. They refused to own up to sending Clarissa over. Saying that she must've somehow got my location elsewhere or followed me.

I know Clarissa, she's a bit off but, she's not crazy. She doesn't care enough about me to actually track me down. My parents must've paid her or something and told her to come find me. They were the only people who actually knew where I was staying. Aside from that, I also had to deal with all the shit that comes with being on site at the company.

They ask me about the dumbest things, just because they can. Now that I could've handled just fine but there's more. On top of all that shit, Wilhemina isn't talking to me. Why? I have no fucking clue. She literally just dropped off the face of the earth with no explanation. I sincerely hope she has a good reason for this because if not, I'm gonna be even more pissed.

Work has been nothing but a pain in my ass for the last week. I don't need her being mad at me on top of that. Especially since I don't even know what the fuck I did to warrant this. To hopefully clear my head a bit, I've decided to just go straight to her house. It's a Sunday so I know she's not doing anything.

In truth, I'm not expecting the best but I do hope for it. If anything I just wanna get it over with, see why she's mad and hear her out. It's better if I do it now because I'm not exactly in a bad mood but I'm not in a good one either. Which is perfect because if it's bad it won't ruin my day; well it won't be the sole reason anyway.

As soon as we arrive, I get out and take my bags out the car. I didn't bother ordering a driver because I'm gonna be home soon anyway and I'm more than capable of driving myself around here. I knock on the door and wait a minute, hearing her footsteps approaching.

She opens it with a look of confusion on her face but then something weird happens. Her face sorta falls neutral and she freezes before opening the door enough for me to walk in. I drag my suitcase in, setting my tote next to it by the door. There's this awkward silence between us that's never occurred before.

"So... did you have a good time?" she asks, breaking the silence as she walks towards the kitchen. "I didn't; but that doesn't matter. How have you been?" I ask softly, feeling like I'm not supposed to be here. "Fine" she shrugs, pouring herself some juice. "Ok, I'm not gonna sugar coat it. I came over here to see if you were ok because you've been acting... weird" I say.

Could I have been more sensitive? Maybe. I'm just really tired and—if there's nothing wrong—my tone won't be a problem. "I haven't been acting weird" she argues, "Wilhemina, we haven't talked in almost 3 days. You just stopped replying to my messages. If that doesn't qualify as a problem, I feel like I should be concerned as to what is" I voice.

"I was just busy" she lies, "busy? So why didn't you say that?" I ask. I wanted to ask what exactly she was 'busy' doing but that sounds accusatory. "Well, I had work and I was tired after" she answers, I just nod my head slowly. I don't believe a word that's coming out of her mouth but I have no evidence to prove she's lying. I just feel it.

"Anyways. What were you up to? Seems you were pretty occupied" she mutters and for a second I glare at her. After completely ignoring me for days she's mad at ME?! "Well, I had work and I was tired after" I mock her and she scoffs. "What is it that you were doing anyway? I don't see a lot of accountants traveling" she points out.

Ok, I can't lie, she finally has a fair point there. "Sometimes it's needed to consult on sales or budgeting. I think some things are just better said face to face" I voice and she nods. "And that woman?" she questions, "so that's what this is about" I sigh. I didn't mean to say it, it honestly just came out.

"I'm not sure what you mean" she replies coyly, "the woman who was at my door—Clarissa. She's a friend of my parents, they tried to set me up with her years ago. We dated and then I broke it off because I realized what they were doing" I explain plainly.

"Hm. So she's your ex? Why did you lie then?" she asks, "aren't I telling you the truth now? I didn't want to discuss it then. I was upset she'd even found me, let alone have the audacity to come to my room. And she is a friend of my parents, unfortunately. I'm pretty sure they like her more than me" I mumble the last part to myself.

"Did you fuck her?" she asks and my eyes dart to hers, instant anger flooding my veins. "I'm sorry—have you listened to a word I've said?" I ask annoyed, "I did. Sounds to me like you lied, and why else would lie unless you were hiding something" she assumes.

"I just told you why. What do I even have to hide?!" I ask, I can feel myself begin to shake but I try my best to control it. I just don't understand why she would even ask me something like that. "Well her for one. Also your job. You're not really an accountant, that's obvious to anyone who's not an idiot" she scoffs.

"Jesus Christ, Wilhemina. I own businesses, ok? I didn't want to tell you until I was sure you didn't know me already. People use others for money, it's not a new concept" I explain. "So you really thought I'd use you for your money?" she questions incredulously making me roll my eyes.

"I obviously—wait a second... back up. Did you really just accuse me of cheating?!" I exclaim, my brain finally processing it. "Well are you?!" she yells, "are you kidding me?! You know what? That's it. I'm done. I don't have to take this" I chuckle. "This conversation is over; I'm going home" I state before turning around.

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do, just never talk to me again? I know you don't have friends and obviously your family doesn't care about you" she says and I stop in my tracks. I turn around and face her with a blank stare. She shrugs at me but I can tell she regrets what she said, not that it matters.

"Wow. I knew you could be cruel but... I thought you at least cared enough to not stoop that low. Silly me I guess" I mumble, all the anger from moments before just gone. "Charlie I-" she starts and I just shake my head, "it's fine. Don't bother calling... I won't be back" I whisper. Going to the door and grabbing my bags before leaving.

I just walk down the driveway and down the street until I find a bench; calling an Uber to take me home. I honestly can't believe she said all those things. Being insecure is one thing and yes, I know what it's like to overthink. But I thought I did a good job of explaining everything to her.

The cheating accusation really hurt me but nothing could hurt like her last words. She doesn't even know the amount of pain that she caused. All my insecurities having risen from being around them, even if for just a week. I don't know where we go from here, if there even is somewhere to go.