help me nick and charlie

chapter 10

Nick's pov:

Today I didn't want to go to school. Without Charlie it's not the same, an hour lasts three and the day never seems to end.

I take courage and get out of bed. I get ready but I'm not hungry so I don't have breakfast. I leave the house and reluctantly head to school. I go up the stairs and enter the class, puffing and thinking of the endless day I have to face.

Charlie and I are classmates and so these days it has always been empty, but now it's not like that anymore.

There is someone at his desk!

I approach and I understand that it's him; he has his head resting on the desk, covered with his arms. I put my hand on his shoulder and suddenly, at my touch, he lifts it up.

"Sorry didn't mean to scare you" I look at him better and he's changed. He is thinner, his eyes are red and he has a strange color, however, I don't know how, he always manages to be beautiful.

"I missed you" he gets up and hugs me. I didn't expect it, however, the feeling of having him back in my arms, in contact with my body, makes me feel good. Why can't we stay like this forever?

We remain embraced for a few minutes, I don't want to break away and neither does he.

Something is starting to wet my shoulder. I detach myself and tears are streaming down his beautiful face.

"Why are you crying?" I ask, drying his tears. He doesn't respond but to my touch, a slight expression of pain appears on his face, it seems that I've hurted him... "come on, let's go to the bathroom" I take him by the hand and without letting everyone see us too much, we head to the bathroom.

Charlie's pov:

Nick and I were hugging for I don't know how long, I just knew I didn't want it to end. The pain caused by the bruises and all the beating begin to be felt. Nicky notices that something is wrong and so he takes me to the bathroom. In the hallway we see Wilhelm, Simon, Tao, but I don't want them to see me like that so we dodge them.

We go into the bathroom and the pain keeps increasing, tears upon tears are flowing from my eyes removing the foundation. Nick takes a handkerchief and wipes my tears. A shocked expression forms on his face and he steps back to look at me better. He looks at the handkerchief and sees that it has got dirty with makeup.

"Cha... charlie" it's all he can say and I don't blame him, what on earth could you say in these situations?

He keeps crying harder than before and my face feels completely wet from the tears. I can't stand or even sit because of the pain that completely overwhelms my body.

"Take off your shirt" I know it does it for my good, but it hurts terribly.

"I can't do it" it's the truth, the pain is so intense that this morning it took me twenty minutes to get dressed. I couldn't raise my arms to put on my shirt or I couldn't bend over to tie my shoes.

He walks up to me and slowly takes off my shirt. I see my body reflected in the mirror, it's completely covered in bruises. He undoes my pants and the vision is the same. He puts them back on me but the pain prevents me from putting on my shirt, so I remain bare-chested, completely exposed, despite the fact that he knows very well that it's not a problem for me to show my body, in this case it is a completely different situation.

"It was him wasn't it?" I nod knowing perfectly who he is referring to. They never got along and now I can understand even better why.

We hear the bathroom door open and the boys enter, also shocked by the vision they have in front of them.

"Who made you those?" I have never seen rye so shocked, nor have I ever heard his voice tremble like that.

"It was that monster. Don't lie Charlie '' all three are partly aware of what he is doing to me, but Wilhelm, somehow, knew it better than everyone else, without anyone telling him.

"Yes" I say in a voice broken by tears.

"We have to go to the police. He can't get away with it!" Nick is right, it's the right thing to do, but the consequences could be fatal for all five too.

"I agree with him. What he did to you can also do to someone else" this is something I've thought about several times, the fact that there could be other people, boys but also girls, who have suffered violence from him, but I, too cowardly to say anything, I just let things happen.

"How long has this been going on?" Nick asks, looking me in the eyes.

"He beats me for two month now, but he has always been violent, verbally and physically" I say, wiping my tears and let me help to put my shirt back on.

Nick lets himself go against the wall and falls to the ground, keeps saying that he should have done something before things fall apart or at all. He struggles to breathe and continues to blame himself for most things.

I hug him trying to calm him down. I look into his eyes: he is completely devastated.

"Nick was never your fault. You were my strength" he looks at me amazed. "When i'm with you the rest of the world disappears, my eyes and attention are turned only to you

"I add with a smile. It;s all the truth.

"Char I love you" I can't say anything, even though I have tons of words to choose from.

Without taking my eyes off him I try to understand the meaning of those words that in 18 years of my life no one had ever told me with such sincerity.

He gets up to leave but I take his hand and make him turn to me. The boys, meanwhile, watch the scene as if they were watching a film.

"No one had ever told me this before"

I take his face in my hands and kiss him on the lips, he reciprocates instantly. I've waited so many years to be able to do it, that now breaking away is not even an option.

"I loved you from the first day I saw you" he says between the kisses.

"But we were four years old"

"I know" we smile on each other's lips, a new sensation that I would like to try endlessly.

The boys start clapping and we head, hand in hand, to class. Everyone looks at us dazed but we don't give a fuck.

The lesson begins and for the first time I feel happy, I am finally with the person I love.

"So we are...?"

"Yes we are" I take his hand and kiss the back.

"After school we go to the police. I want to start living for real"

He took my hand and intertwined our fingers. We continue like this throughout the lesson. Finally I feel good, of course the pain is still in me, however, with Nick by my side, I feel like I have been reborn.