A story about love

12.

!TW - Self Harm, Blood, Anxiety, Eating Disorder!

Nicks pov-
I hold Charlie close to me, trying to make him feel safe. But I can't help him, not from the dark thoughts anyway. Before I can think anything Charlie gets out of my arms, stands up and is on his way out of my room. I call his name, follow him out and hope he will listen to me - but no. The sound of the bathroom door locking is heard and I freeze - I know what that sound means. I quickly throw myself at the door and start screaming and hitting.
"Charlie? Please open!". When I realize it's quiet on the other side of the door, panic grows inside me. I keep screaming, banging and crying - but nothing changes.
"Nick, what's going on?" A voice asks and I quickly turn to see my mother behind me. The tears in my eyes blur my vision, but even so I can see the worry on her face.
"Charlie has locked.. locked himself in the bathroom and I think that- that.. he's going to hurt himself" I say quickly and stressed, my voice shaking with fear. My mother knows about Charlie's past issues with self-harming behavior, but neither of us have been in a similar situation to this before. Mom takes over and starts trying to talk to Charlie through the door, hoping to get some kind of sign of survival - but nothing happens. I hear no answer. Afraid and worried, I again put my ear to the door, and just then I hear a sound - it sounds like a muffled cry. Tears start to run down my cheeks. I don't know if I'm imagining the sound or not - but I have to go in to my Charlie. I need to help him.
"Mom, we have to get this door open" I say desperately. Mom turns her gaze to me and nods.

Just as mom is about to go down the stairs to get a tool to open the door with, we hear the lock on the door being turned - opened. With a trembling hand I open the door and see Charlie standing in front of me. What I am met with shocks me - Blood flows from his arms and tears flow from his eyes. He looks up from the floor, at us, with a look filled with shame and pain. My mother makes her way over to him and hugs him gently. I see Charlie break down in her arms. Meanwhile, I take a towel from the track that mom puts on the wounds to stop the bleeding. Charlie winces in pain, but we both hold him and try to support him. By the time the wounds are cleaned and bandaged, Charlie is exhausted and tired. He hasn't said a word since we found him. I help Charlie back to my room and we put him to bed, where he closes his eyes and his breathing is rapid. Carefully I grab his hand and try to hold back my own tears.
"Charlie, we'll get through this," I say softly.

The next morning I wake up early, but Charlie is still sleeping next to me. I hear him mumbling something in his sleep, and his brow is furrowed with worry. I put my hand in his hair and massage his scalp to calm him down a bit. Charlie slowly and tiredly opens his eyes and looks at me, and I can't help but smile at him - he's so cute.
Mom comes in through the door. In her hand she has a tray with breakfast on it for both of us, but I immediately notice how Charlie's body language changes and he becomes uncomfortable. He checks the breakfast on the tray and looks doubtful.
"Good morning" says mom cheerfully and puts the tray down on my bedside table. She walks out of the room again, leaving us alone. I run my hand through Charlie's hair.
"You don't have to eat much if you don't want to, but you have to get something. It will give you some energy" I say calmly and look at him. He is still hesitant to eat, but together we manage to take a few bites of the sandwich. I see how difficult it is for him, but I also see how he fights for his own sake.

After breakfast, we lie quietly in bed and cuddle. Charlie feels a little more alert, but hes still quiet. I hug him tightly and just trying to be there, letting him know he's not alone in all of this. I am with him and together we will make sure that everything will be fine.