The Barrister Boy (COMPLETED)

Lost

Charlie

"A part of me, has departed with you."

-Unknown

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     Charlie had definitely seen the messages that Nick sent, he saw them the second they popped up on his phone, yet at the time he didn't have the courage or motivation to reply. That day, when they lost Oliver, was the hardest day of his life. He felt so lost, and didn't know how to respond to Nick without just causing himself more pain.

     Now he knows he's left it too long, and it'd be weird to reply to him.

     He was obviously still in a state of grief, but fortunately he had the week off school for half term.

     Through the entire week, he had been at home, mainly in his room. He'd showered once, eaten only when Tori had forced him down for dinner, and cried himself to sleep every night. He desperately wanted to just tell someone everything he was feeling, spill it all out of his mind and lift the pressuring weight off of his chest. But he knew he wasn't the only one who felt like this. Tori was practically the same as him, missing a part of herself without Oliver, and his parents were prominently worse then the two teenagers. 

     They were both broken messes, but he still wanted to talk to them and explain how he was feeling about.. everything. But the last thing he wanted was to be lectured to by his mother about it. Jane had gotten more, aggressive, due to her internal anguish. Luckily, for everyone, not physically agressive. She was just a lot more short tempered and.. louder. It wasn't pleasant for anyone, but no one could blame her. She was a mother in a state of grief for her eight year old son for crying out loud! They just wished she wouldn't take it out on them.

     On the Friday morning, Charlie's dad said he had to come out to the café today, fill in some missed out shifts and to at least get out the house. It also gives him a reason to be hygienic and have a shower. Not the hop in, wash yourself, hop out and get ready kinda shower. A thirty minute long,wash your hair, fully cleanse your entire body, and then just stand under the water to relax kinda shower.

     Going to the café would also get him some actual food, not takeaway pizzas or microwave meals. He would always snack on the leftover doughnuts or the least popular pastries.

* * * * * * *

     Charlie's dad drove them to the café, only a seven minute ride. But, every second was filled with an agonising silence. Often, the Spring car rides were rather quiet, never having much to talk about. But the quiet in those journeys wasn't normally brimming with sorrow and utter awkwardness. No one had really had a direct, long lasting conversation with anyone since that day, and now it had proven that that was because, no one knew what to say. Anything anyone said would just end up in either an argument, tears, or more awkwardness.

     Unlike his voice, Charlie's mind was not empty. He was ticking boxes in his head of what he had to get done that day, in all honesty, he was just trying to steer away from any thought of Oliver. 

     Nine minutes later the two arrived at Springs Snax Bar, the drive delayed due to unexpected traffic, much to Charlie's aggravation as it only made the painful mute last longer.

     He mindlessly followed his father to the glass doors, waiting for him to find the correct key. Julio was fumbling around with the chain attached to his trousers, getting more annoyed as each second passed. Once he found the dirty-silver, rusted key, he inserted it into the fitted hole, jiggling it a bit before pushing open the door.

* * * * * * *

     Charlie didn't even know how long he had been at the café for, after leaving his phone in the break room, there was no way of checking the time. He had been effortlessly serving drinks and plating pastries, grateful for the little amount of customers that day. The only truly exciting thing that had come out of his day so far, was the sweet taste of doughy biscuits and chocolate croissants. 

     Charlie jogged into the break room to retrieve his phone and went back out. The time was 16:08 (04:08pm). "one more hour." he sighed to himself. 

     He scrolled and fiddled on his phone a bit to pass the time, as the only other people apparent in the café were sipping at their readied drinks or nibbling at their home-baked cakes. Charlie slipped his phone into the back pocket of his jeans when he heard the bell that was attached to the top of the door jingle. He spun around, expecting to see a cute old lady, or a couple stopping by from a bike ride. No. Neither of those assumptions were true as he saw, Nick Nelson, standing behind the counter, a slight sheepish look present on his face. 

     "Hi." Nick said, in that soft and gentle tone Charlie loved oh so much. 

     "Hi," He responded, standing stiff behind the counter, he then stepped forward, going into barrister mode, "What can I get for you?" 

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a/n

Sorry, took a bit a time to upload.

Hope you liked this chapter!

If you did, yk wot ima say, CoMmEnT, vOtE  👁️👄👁️ 👉👈

-Ollie