I Want To Dream Now

Chapter 13

"Olive. It was you, wasn't it?"

Charlene folds her arms over, trying not to appear anyway hesitant. She can feel the people in the bar staring at her. All of them. Probably at the scar on her cheek.

She presses a palm on her face.

"Charlene," he says, his voice gasping slightly. "I never expected to see you again."

Charlene rolls her eyes. "Well, was it you?"

Olive's gaze breaks as he starts clearing his throat. "Uh, yeah. Did you like them?"

"I dumped them," Charlene smirks. "In the river."

"Isn't that littering?"

"I guess it is. It was worth it though. Every single drop."

Olive laughs out, swigging down a pint. "OK, Charlene."

Charlene waited till it was Saturday night to go meet Olive. She knew exactly this would be the place to find him. Though, some part of her believed that maybe he wouldn't be here; that we would have felt too guilty to ever show his face here again.

Charlene sighs. Unfortunately, just another loser.

Charlene takes a seat, placing her elbows on the counter.

Olive catches her staring at him, and cackles. "If you think I'm going to buy you a drink this time then you're very wrong. Not my fault you didn't like my nice present."

"Nice?" She scoffs. "It was anything but that...it was pathetic."

"Pathetic," he murmurs, still laughing. "Really?"

Charlene smirks. "Yeah, from a really pathetic person."

"You know, I actually think I preferred you when you were drunk."

Charlene laughs out loudly. "You mean, that night when you cowardly smacked me across the cheek to give me this scar? This large, crimson mark on my face I've had for over a month, that probably will never go away?"

At this point, the attention in the room has totally been directed to Charlene. She stands up, giving Olive her coldest glare.

He hisses with spit, "You deserved it." He laughs then, taking his pint up again to his mouth. "Maybe you can go join Harry Potter now. You'll fit in just fine, with your ugly scar and ugly face."

Charlene smiles at him, nodding her head. Then out of nowhere, she snatches the glass out of his hand. She raises her hand, ready to pour the Guinness all over him, when a man grabs her around the shoulders.

"Let go off me!" She screams, kicking her feet. She never lets go off the drink. She grasps onto it with every bit of strength, but she can feel her fingers slipping away as the man tries to take it out of her grip. Eventually the pint is taken from her, but it plummets to the ground, crashing like a giant wave on the rocks.

Charlene shrieks at the noIse. The man is still holding her but she shakes him off.

"What are you doing?" She hisses at the old man. She stares in to his eyes, and gasps suddenly as she realises he is the old man with grey hair from before. She feels a knot in her stomach growing. 

"Saving you," he hisses back with some saliva splurging out. 

"I don't need anyone to save me, especially you."

Charlene glances over to where Olive was sitting. He seems to have disappeared.

"Your friend is gone to get security," the old man warns.

Charlene puffs out a long-held breath. "That coward can't do anything for himself. By the way, he is not my friend. Never will be."

The old man begins beckoning her to the door. Charlene wavers her hands at him, and quickly leaves.

She exits the bar. It is an extremely wintry, cold night and Charlene can feel herself swaying with the wind. She grabs onto the door knob, attempting to regain her balance.

"Ugh," she groans. She clenches her teeth. "Why is everyone in this town so stupid?"

She can hear the music blaring behind, and the sound of Olive's screechy voice. She shakes her head, and spits at the door. She doesn't go back in. She leaves the premise in utter silence.

Charlene heads over to the park with the lake. The ducks are all asleep. They huddle together in one corner. Charlene yawns out. She takes a seat on one of the wooden benches, and props her legs on top. Snuggling her head into her folded arms, she shuts her eyes. She breathes slowly.

Her heart stills beats rapidly. 

She draws another deep breath, and mutters into her sleeve. "I will be OK."