Blue Eyes

Chapter 9

We both decided that Charles should stay at my place for a bit. It pained me to know that I was the main reason why he started drinking. I knew I couldn't let him go through it alone. I asked him more questions about his drinking and found out for the past six months he had at least five drinks a day on a good day. 

I took him to the doctor that day. The doctor told me all bout withdrawal symptoms and what the next few weeks would be like.

After the appointment we went out for Italian. We split a huge plate of bruschetta. I knew better than to order wine.

I saw him eyeing the drinks at the table next to us. I grabbed his hand and smiled at him to distract him.

After dinner we went for a walk in the park that was close to my place. It was a beautiful starry night. It was a little chilly, and I was wearing only a tank top and jeans. Charles gave me his jacket. It was pretty big on me considering his broad shoulders. What a cliché.

We laid in the grass next to each other, looking up at the bright stars.

"Blake, what do we call this?" Charles, asked as he leaned over to look at me.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, if my friends ask who you are. Or what if my mom wants to know?"

"Then you tell them I am your girlfriend." I blushed.

"Okay." He replied, as he reached over to kiss me.

When we got home I laid Charles' car keys on the counter and went into the bedroom to change into some pyjama shorts. He was in the living room doing extra work for the next day.

Once I was changed I went over to the couch where he was sitting and wrapped my arms around him. I placed a gentle kiss on the top of his head.

"Goodnight. Promise you'll wake me up whenever you need me." 

"I promise." Charles replied.

The next morning I reached over to the other side of the bed, expecting to find a sleeping Charles. The other side of the bed was empty. 

I got up and opened the door that led into the living room. Charles was sleeping, buried under papers upon papers.

I laughed at his appearance and picked up the papers that were laying on him.

"Wake up" I said as softly as possible.

It didn't work so I started to kiss his forehead until his eyes opened a little.

"Hey" he mumbled.

"Late night?" I asked.

"Mmmm" he mumbled back.

I giggled and went to the kitchen to make some coffee. Charles got up and went into the bathroom. I heard the shower turn on.

It had been a long twenty minutes. Charles normally only took ten minutes to shower so I was concerned. I quietly opened the bathroom door to make sure he was okay. I walked in to see him fully clothed, sitting at the head of the tub. He was holding his head in his hands. The clothes that he was wearing were soaked with the water that was pouring on him from the shower.

"Charles?"

He looked up. The look in his face made me want to hug him and never let him go. That's just what I did. I hugged him tight. The water from his clothes also soaked me.

We stood there for about five minutes until he said something.

"This is already so hard."

"I know. You can do this. I know you can." I replied, doing my best to comfort him.

I decided to take the day off, and I convinced Charles to do the same.

After we had both changed into some kind of sweatpants + sweater combo, I put on a movie on the tv in my bedroom and we watched it in silence. 

Eventually, Charles fell asleep. I went to the kitchen to make a late breakfast. I made a veggie frittata. I knew it was his favourite. I cut him a piece, but I didn't want to wake him up so I just ate mine in the kitchen and left his in the oven while it was cooling down.

After I ate, I climbed back in bed and watched the rest of the movie. After it had ended, I put on another movie, and another, until Charles finally woke up. He turned over with a confused look on his face.

"Food?" he asked.

"In the oven." I replied with a laugh. 

I saw him walk over and open the oven. When he saw what it was he turned his head my way with bright eyes and a grin. I never understood why he like frittatas that much, but making him smile was worth it.

We watched movies for the rest of the day until we both fell asleep.