Whiskey & Vows

T H I R T Y O N E

T H I R T Y  O N E || TAKING CHANCES

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            "Dude, your brother is a total babe." Charlie gushed as we strolled around a small store in the mall. Rolling my eyes, I ignored her infatuation with Joel and continued browsing through a clearance rack of H&M. Blowing hair out of my face, I tried to let her comments roll off me.

            It's only been three long days since Charlie first met Joel and they've been talking ever since. Completely against it, I've told them both that it seemed impractical. I barely knew Joel and until he's in his residency, he won't be back here for a while. I also didn't want Charlie involved in my family issues. Adding another relationship to the mix made everything worse. Despite my opinion, Charlie insisted on telling me he was nice.

            "He's your brother." She argued, as if that factored into anything.

            "I thought you were laying of men." I stated dryly, ignoring her brother comment. Huffing, she pursed her lips and shoved a top back on the rack.

            "I said I would stop looking; and I did. Your brother just came in-"

            "Half-brother." I corrected for what felt like the hundredth time.

            "-Who's nice to me and is actually intriguing!" She gushed once again. Stubbornly, I rested my hand on my hip and narrowed my eyes at her.

            "What about Chuck?" That shut her up.

            Her hazel eyes darkened at the sound of his name. Looking away from me, she looked back through the rack and side deeply. Internally kicking myself, I prayed she wouldn't kill me. I knew it was a low blow bringing him up, but Charlie couldn't jump the gun on this one. Despite her common sense, she had a knack for romantic gestures and love, which got her in the worst situations.

            "When I kicked him out, I was done." She stated finally, still looking at the racks of clothes.

            "Don't you think it's too soon?" Our friendship has never been about telling each other what we wanted to hear; instead, we gave it straight. I wanted Charlie to be happy, and if that meant with Joel, then it would have to do. Of course, it was weird to me and I doubted it, but if he made her happy, I couldn't complain.

            Despite her lack of making stupid decisions, I questioned her stability. It hasn't been a week since her breakup and she's already talking to another guy; that's not good.  Charlie needed time to herself to figure out what she wanted; not date Joel.

            "Look, you already found the love of your life." She protested. Blushing, I sucked in a deep breath and tried to listen. Just thinking about Derek gave me butterflies. Smiling softly, I looked away from her and back at the clothes rack.

            "Your point being?"

            "You don't have to keep wondering if you've missed your chance. You don't have to wonder if the guy you're dating is going to be the one. Your life is already set for you, Anna; I still have to wonder if I'm going to wake up to someone every day." She said sadly. Swallowing, I tried to keep my comments to myself.

            It was the dumbest thing she could have said!

            Unfortunately, she was right. Who wanted to be lonely?

            "It's different for you now." She whispered.  Running my hand over my face, I looked up at my best friend. Charlie. The one who's always been confident, happy, and even a little snippy. Now, she's filled with self-doubt and sadness because of Chuck; it sickened me.