Hollow Grace

ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ꜰᴏᴜʀ - ᴡʜᴀᴛ's ᴅᴏɴᴇ ʙʏ ɴɪɢʜᴛ ᴀᴘᴘᴇᴀʀs ʙʏ ᴅᴀʏ

Warning! This text contains scenes of violence, inappropriate content and situations. The author does not share the characters' actions and opinions. The author tells a story that may not always be pretty

November 1st

After the previous night's shenanigans, Charlie was in no mood to hit the books; the morning had dumped a whole heap of unresolved crap and jitters right on his head. And he was feeling it, big time. Did his parents know? Had word gotten to school about the mess he'd made? Had Sheriff Lancaster spilled the beans to anyone? His phone was silent, even though Charlie had bailed without a word and hadn't crashed at home. The only peep he'd gotten was a few texts from Casey, who was buzzing for their meet-up. Everything was chill on the surface, but the air was thick with bad vibes.

Against Raine's permission for him to chill at home, Evan tagged along with Charlie to school. Obviously, swinging by Charlie's place for his stuff was a no-go. Silence had never been Wright's idea of peace and quiet; he knew damn well that going back home would be safer with the Sheriff or Mr. Kennedy as backup. Authoritative adults will convey to Wright Sr. the same truths that the ex-military man, for some reason, does not want to accept from the lips of his own son. Worst-case scenario, his old man would be foaming at the mouth to lay a beating on him, but he sure as hell wouldn't do it with witnesses around.

"Yo, I was wondering," Evan said as they walk past the coffee joint. "Does the Sheriff know it was Darren who was riding shotgun with you?"

"I didn't tell him. Hell, you're the only one who knows. Hopefully, he'll play ball and keep his trap shut."

"Darren's Teflon, man. He knows how to play the angles to keep his own hide safe."

Evan was acting a tad more fidgety than usual. The major jitters had mostly faded, and you could easily chalk up his looking drained to a short night's sleep. Charlie didn't grill the guy about how he was feeling, just kept shooting him worried glances since the crack of dawn. Evan's mood was noticeably bleaker than his usual sunny disposition; he'd go deep into his own head when no one was talking to him. He came to life when he was involved in a dialogue and even smiled.

But for the total nightmare he'd lived through the night before, he was way too calmly. Charlie couldn't figure out if he should be relieved or straight-up freaked out for his boyfriend.

"Sunshine..." Charlie tugged on Evan's sleeve. "You alright?"

Evan turned to him with a tired smile. It only made the bags under his eyes and the sleep-deprived look even more obvious.

"Yeah... It's gonna be a long one today."

"Maybe you should've crashed at home? It's not too late to bail now, and then our rich bitch of a friend can score you a doctor's note for a fake cold."

"And what, leave you hanging at school so you can get into more trouble? We agreed we're a package deal now," Evan ruffled Charlie's hair. "Besides, if I don't show my face at school today, questions might get asked. If Gloria was home yesterday and not on duty, she's probably already raising hell about dad."

"If there ain't no cops or your stepmom waiting at the school gates, consider it a win. What could be worse than that?"

"Plenty. But I ain't even trying to go there. I honestly don't know what I'll do if we get rumbled. And if anyone from that crew shows their face around here."

Charlie was just as clueless. The stories and rumors were straight-up terrifying, and there was zero doubt in his mind that the Boss wouldn't forgive his betrayal if he ever found out. His only game plan was to deny everything till the cows came home and play the pathetic idiot card. And no matter what, he'd shield Evan. Wouldn't let anyone lay a finger on him. Didn't give a damn who the attacker was; Wright's hand wouldn't even twitch.