Bumping Accident | Englot

Chapter 29

Charlotte's POV

It's Saturday, and it's been exactly two weeks since I last saw Engfa. It's been a tormenting fortnight. I should have stayed. I should have talked to her. She called five or six times in the first week, but I couldn't bring myself to answer. During the second week, I didn't hear from her at all.

It's about 10 in the morning, and I've decided to go for a walk. I choose a path that passes by Engfa's club because I just want to catch a glimpse of her. I don't see Engfa, but I do see Nudee outside the club, talking to a woman. I try to turn around and leave, but she's already made eye contact with me.

"Charlotte, what a surprise," she says, walking towards me. Is she going to go off on me for what happened with Engfa? "How are you and Olivia?" she asks, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Olivia is great, and I'm as good as I can be," I answer. Silence envelops us, and I avert my eyes.

"You know it was Engfa's birthday last week," she suddenly says. I gasp. No, this can't be happening. Why did I do this? It was her birthday last week, and I didn't celebrate it with her. I take a deep breath and make eye contact with Nudee.

"I didn't know. What did you guys do?" I question.

"Nothing. She wasn't here."

"What do you mean, not here?" She looks back toward the club, then back at me.

"Let's go talk inside, the club doesn't open for another few hours." I nod and let her go first.

We walk in, and I see Joe organizing drinks at the bar. He sees us, gives a small smile, and goes back to his work. We sit at the bar. Joe puts water in front of us, then moves away, leaving just me and Nudee.

"Where's Engfa?" I can't help but ask.

"She's going through withdrawal," Nudee says as she takes a sip of her water.

"What do you mean, withdrawal?" I ask.

"Well, as Chompu puts it, she's going through 'Charlotte withdrawal.' She's sick, grumpy, and has barely left her house this week."

This is all my fault. I should have picked up her calls.

"Engfa's grandpa passed away six years ago, two days before her birthday. She left on the same day. She wasn't even here for the funeral."

"Is that why she wasn't here last week?" I question.

"She called me on the way to the airport and told me she's going to Paris. I'm guessing she went to see her sister. She usually leaves when his death anniversary comes around," she answers, and I nod.

"If you don't mind me asking, what did you guys argue about?" she asks.

I avert my eyes and look around the club.

"Do you know why she was charged with assault? She told me it's not her story to tell." The second I say that, Nudee stiffens next to me. I look at her and see a torrent of emotions flash through her eyes.

She doesn't say anything, she's just looking at me. It's like she's not even here with me.

"That idiot. She's always putting everyone else before herself. I had a feeling it was about this, and I just knew she wouldn't have said anything," she finally says.

It suddenly hits me that this whole situation has something to do with Nudee. "Senior year of high school was a bad year for all of us."

"You don't have to tell me anything," I quickly interrupt her.

"I want to. You're family now," she replies and gives me a small smile. I return the smile and wait for her to continue.

"My mom had leukemia. She was really sick, and our senior year of high school, she passed away," Nudee chokes out. "I was a ghost after that—my body was there, but it felt like my head was going to explode. I didn't know what I was doing."