Saving the Reject | Michael Clifford | Editing

t h i r t y t w o ;

Michael

I wanted to hurt Charli's father.  No, I wanted to do more than that - I wanted to destroy him.

I know Charli said not to make this a competition of who's life was worse, but oh my God, after hearing what her father did to her, it almost made my story seem pleasant. Who the hell deserves what Charli got?

All I could do was hold her.  The sun was almost set, but I couldn't bring myself to move when she finally started to calm down.  I was trying my best to comfort her, but what the hell am I supposed to do?  I've never met someone who's gone through something as traumatizing as this, and I've definitely never been in a position where I had to comfort them.  I just really hope Charli would be okay.

"I'm sorry I dumped all that on you," Charli said after a while, her voice a little rough from the tears.  She lifted her head from my chest to look at me with a little, thankful smile that made me feel like my insides were melting.  "I couldn't really stop myself after I started."

I shook my head, pulling her closer to me as I wrapped my arms around her.  "You have no reason to be sorry, Char."  I brought my lips to hers, in a simple, lingering kiss

When we pulled away, foreheads resting against each other, she looked down at me, a flustered, almost concerned look on her face.  "Michael," she started nervously.  "What are we?"

I'd been dreading that question simply because I had no idea.  I liked her, there was no denying that, but I've never been in a relationship where I liked the girl this much, and there's the fact that we've only been more than friends for a day. So where does that put us?  "You know what?" I finally answered, looking deep into her wonderful blue eyes.  "We're Michael and Charli, fighting off nightmares one kiss at a time."

Charli laughed a little, resting her head back on my shoulder.  "I like that a lot."

She snuggled closer to me as I placed a kiss on the top of her head.  "I'll always be here for you."

Charli looked up at me again, with genuine smile across her lips before she brought them down to meet mine.  "And I'll always be here for you."

*        *        *        *        *        *        *

"Whoa, how did you do that?"

I chuckled a little.  It's been a little over two weeks since that day on Charli's grandparent's property, and Charli and I have actually been doing pretty well with taking things slower.  I mean, people have noticed we've gotten into a relationship - Mrs. Wilson always smiles knowingly at us when she sees us in the halls; Evie actually squealed the first time she saw me kiss Charli; Dawson was a little wary, but with convincing from Charli and his fiancée, he was okay with it; and then there's that kid Noah that I know has a thing for Charli - he's backed off, to my surprise.

I'm honestly so glad we had that little honesty hour so early on - now we have no problem being honest with each other.

"This is so cool," Charli commented.  She lay in my lap now as I play Final Fantasy, and though she's just watching, she's really getting into it.  "Why is this the first time you've played video games around me?"

"I thought you'd get bored with it," I told her honestly.  "But you've proven me wrong."

She smiled, the little dimple on her left cheek becoming prominent as she mindlessly ran her finger through my hair, going back to watching the screen.

When the doorbell rang, I sighed, putting the game on pause.  None of the guys were home - Ashton with Evie, Luke working on a project at the library, and Calum at his parents' because Mali came home to visit - so I would have to answer the door.