Pain 2: Him (H.S)

Chapter 75

"Are you okay? You're not really talking much." Charlie has lead me back to the bar where I'm sitting here feeling things I haven't felt in weeks, and she's just clueless drinking her Pepsi. She never told me she had a sister.

"I'm just uh--I'm shocked. That's all." I quietly tell the helpless girl. The bar is louder than it was when I left, and more people have piled up. Fucking night crawlers.

"We used to text and video chat all the time. She would tell me about you and how happy you made her. I mean, she's easy to make happy. Give her a piece of bread and her whole day would be made, but she was a different happy when she was with you." She says picking at the pretzels in the bowl. She's oblivious. Completely unaware of the truth and I've been trying to avoid shit like this from happening. Getting all emotional and comforting with someone. That's not why I came back home.

"She--she was?"

"Yeah," she smiles at me, "she said you were the most amazing friend anyone could have." Friend? "But yeah, the last message I got from her was when she was at a party with you. She stopped texting me that day and never bothered to call to explain why, she never returned my emails or messages; she literally disappeared." The animated girl frowns and I do with her.

"I'm sorry, I don't know where she is." How do you tell someone their sister was raped and then killed themselves? How is that humanly possible?

"Are you sure? Be-because look," frantically, she takes her phone out of her pocket and begins to scroll through it, my eyes darting to the window to catch the view. She raises the phone to my eye level and leans in. "See, "I'm at a party with Harry. Text you tomorrow. Love you.""

"Charlie, look. I don't know where she is. I left to the states a while after that. Honestly, she never told where she was going either. She just left." This girl is loud, a bit obnoxious, stubborn, talkative, demanding...but she's not dumb, and the way she's lacing onto my lie proves it.

"You're lying." She calls me out.

"I'm not." I insist taking a swig from my beer. God, it's fucking hot in here.

"I don't care if you guys ended badly. I don't care if you hate her or if she hates you. You have to tell me where she is. Please, it's been so long and I miss her so much!" The girls eye swell as her tall but thin frame leans in desperately, grabbing my free hand with strength and desperation, and I literally feel my heart dropping.

"Charli--"

"Harry!" She whines and I silence myself, "Harry, please. An address or even phone number. A clue, a hint; anything!" We're staring at each other, her more emotional than I am, and when she sees I'm not answering she removes her hand from mine and leans back bested.

"Answer a few questions for me first." I begin and her eyes light up. I'm tricking her, I'm not going to tell her.

"Yeah, okay. of course!"

"How'd you find me?"

"I ran into Blake last month and asked him where she could be and he said you would know." Son of a bitch.

"How do you know him?" I ask creasing my brows together.

"I knew who her boyfriend was and I knew he used to hit her. The 'I fell into a doorknob' lie got old. I caught on." She frowns remaining attentive in the conversation and I squeeze my eyes shut to rid the visions.

"Who was he with when you ran into him?"

"I don't know. Some guy." She shrugs.

"How did you find me?"