Nick and Charlie 6 years into the future

breaking point

Tw: sh, ed

Chapter requested by: Freya_h14

Charlies pov:

The whispers never truly go away. They linger in the corners of my mind, waiting for the opportune moment to rear their ugly heads and pull me back into the abyss.

I thought I had escaped their clutches, but lately, their voices have grown louder, more insistent, drowning out any semblance of reason or self-worth.

It started subtly, a skipped meal here, a feigned excuse there. Nick noticed, of course. He always did.

He'd shoot me concerned glances across the dinner table, his eyes silently pleading for me to open up. But I couldn't. I couldn't bear to let him see the darkness that consumed me, the constant battle raging within.

Tonight was different. Tonight, the weight of my insecurities crushed me, leaving me gasping for air. As we sat down for dinner, I pushed my food around my plate, unable to stomach even a single bite.

Nick's voice sounded distant, muffled by the cacophony of self-doubt echoing in my mind.

"Charlie, are you okay?" Nick's voice cut through the haze, his brow furrowed with worry.

I forced a smile, a hollow facsimile of the genuine joy I used to feel in his presence. "I'm fine, just not hungry."

But Nick wasn't convinced, his concern palpable in the tension that hung between us. "Charlie, please talk to me. I can see that something's wrong."

His words pierced through my defences, tearing down the fragile walls I had constructed to keep him out.

Panic surged within me, threatening to consume me whole. I pushed back my chair, the scrape of its legs against the floor echoing in the silence of the room.

"I can't do this right now," I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper as I bolted from the table, my heart pounding in my chest.

I fled upstairs, seeking solace in the familiarity of our room. But there was no escape from the turmoil raging within me.

Tears stung my eyes as I sank to the floor, my hands trembling uncontrollably. The urge to escape, to numb the pain, consumed me whole.

In my desperation, I turned to the one thing I knew could offer me temporary relief.

I reached for the razor hidden in the depths of my drawer, its cold metal biting into my skin as I traced patterns of self-harm across my arm.

Each cut was a silent scream, a desperate plea for the release I so desperately craved.

But before I could sink any deeper into the darkness, the door creaked open, and Nick stood before me, his eyes filled with a mixture of shock and anguish.

Without a word, he sank to his knees beside me, gathering me into his arms as he held me close.

"Charlie, I'm here. You're not alone," he whispered, his voice raw with emotion.

I clung to him, the warmth of his embrace a lifeline in the storm that raged within me. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, I allowed myself to be vulnerable, to lean on him for support.

And as the tears fell, washing away the facade I had so carefully constructed, I knew that with Nick by my side, I could find the strength to face my demons once more.

🍃🍂🍃🍂🍃🍂🍃🍂🍃🍂🍃🍂🍃🍂🍃🍂🍃

As the days passed, the darkness only seemed to deepen. I found myself retreating further into myself, unable to shake the suffocating weight of my own insecurities.

Meals became a battleground, each bite a victory or a defeat in the war raging within me.

Nick tried to help, of course. He cooked my favourite meals, hoping to entice me to eat. He showered me with love and affection, his unwavering support a beacon of light in the darkness that threatened to consume me.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reach me, couldn't breach the walls I had erected around my heart.

One evening, as we sat down to dinner, the tension between us reached a breaking point.

I stared down at the plate before me, my stomach churning with nausea at the mere thought of food. Nick watched me with a mixture of concern and frustration, his patience wearing thin.

"Charlie, you need to eat," he pleaded, his voice tinged with desperation.

I shook my head, the words catching in my throat as a wave of dizziness washed over me. "I can't, Nick. I just can't."

His eyes filled with tears, mirroring the pain that twisted in my chest. "Please, Charlie. I can't bear to see you like this. You're hurting yourself, and it's tearing me apart."

I wanted to tell him that I was trying, that I was fighting with every fibre of my being to claw my way back to the surface. But the words eluded me, lost in the suffocating darkness that threatened to engulf me.

Without another word, I pushed back my chair and fled from the table, the echoes of Nick's pleas following me as I raced upstairs to the sanctuary of our room.

I collapsed onto the bed, the tears flowing freely now as the weight of my own self-loathing pressed down upon me.

I was drowning, suffocating beneath the weight of my own insecurities. And no matter how hard I tried to fight it, I couldn't escape the darkness that threatened to consume me whole.

But just as I reached my breaking point, a soft knock sounded at the door, and Nick stepped into the room, his eyes filled with an unspoken understanding.

Without a word, he crossed the room and gathered me into his arms, holding me close as he whispered words of love and comfort.

And in that moment, as I clung to him with all the strength I had left, I knew that no matter how dark the path ahead may seem, I would never have to walk it alone.

For with Nick by my side, I had found the light to guide me through the darkness, to lead me back to the person I once was, and the person I still had the potential to become.

A/N: I totally didn't cry while writing this 🥲