Charlie Whitmen loves sports, junk food, video games, cars and basically anything-if not everything-your average teenaged boy would find interesting. But wait a second, Charlie isn't even a boy! Oh no, she's actually a girl!
Bet you didn't see that...
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Playing Ding-Dong Ditch, Not
Although Charlie is just dying to ask—okay, more like interrogate—Cameron about those bullies who have been causing him nothing but trouble at school, Ethan's words resonate in her mind, effectively reigning her curiosity back in. He's right. She can't protect her brothers for forever. Why? Because she's not going to be with them for forever.
It might be a scary thing to think about but it's life. Maybe it's time for her to take a step back and allow Alexander and Cameron to get the chance to see what the real world looks like.
Discreetly, she peers into the mirror and catches sight of her baby brother staring out the window. It must be hard for him, but if he wants to handle the problem on his own, she shouldn't go against his wishes. To prevent herself from saying anything related to the matter, Charlie bites down on her tongue and attempts to occupy her mind with other things.
Like, how her heart felt like it was about to leap right out of her chest when she realized that Ethan was holding onto her hand the other night. Unlike the times where she had to make physical contact with Hayden and pretend that they were, indeed, a happy couple, Charlie actually did feel something with the boy whose eyes are the most gorgeous shade of grayish-blue she's ever come across.
She doesn't want to admit it, but at the time Charlie resembled one of those girls from Jillian's collection of sappy chick-flicks. You know, the kind that was unable to control her catastrophic thoughts. Although, in her case, Charlie's mind had been blank due to the fact that she was unaccustomed to the experience.
Therefore, it took a little while for her to comprehend what was going on. Oh, and let's not forget to mention the irregular heartbeats along with the birth of what resembles a thousand butterflies in the pit of her stomach.
Yet, despite the urge she had to vomit everywhere, Charlie's body had been filled to the brim with joy and it was all thanks to their entangled limbs. That night, she could hardly sleep. It's safe to assume nothing like this has ever happened to her before and to be honest, she's not even sure what she's supposed to do in this kind of situation.
Sure, she might be inexperienced in the field of relationships and love but she's watched enough movies to know there's a high chance that she has begun to develop romantic feelings for her neighbor. The real question, though, is should she run away from these feelings or embrace them instead? Besides, just because she might like him, doesn't mean that Ethan will reciprocate her feelings.
Who knows, this could ruin their friendship and she doesn't want to risk losing him because of something she's not even definite about. The best option right now is for her to lay low until she figures out what it is that she wants. She also has to make sure everything between her and Hayden is resolved cleanly before she does anything.
How did her life get so complicated in a time span of three months?
As Mr Gherardi lectures the class about the poor performance a majority of them gave on the exam from last week, Charlie glances over to the empty desk next to her and lets out a nearly inaudible sigh. She's not paying attention to anything the man is saying because a) it doesn't apply to her since she, as always, aced the test, and b) she can't seem to shake the thought of Ethan off of her mind.
