Apart from those two days, nothing eventful really happened. We visited the lake, God knows how many times, and we really got to know each other. It feels like we've known each other for two years, as opposed to two weeks.
"Ah, home sweet home." Charlie sighs, setting foot off the plane.
"We aren't home yet, Charles." I chuckle, knowing he absolutely despised that name.
"Grr." He growls, stepping inside the airport.
"Did you just growl at me?" I ask, hitting him with my ticket.
Hehehe.
"Did you just hit me with a flimsy piece of paper?" His British accent annunciating his phrase perfectly.
"Touché, douché." I say, and he turns around.
"Did you just call me a douche?"
"You're finally admitting to it, congratulations." I say, patting him on the head.
He shakes his head, and we begin walking to the baggage claim.
∞∞∞
After a couple of hours, we reach campus. It was good to be back, I missed London. It was my home, like Hogwarts was to Harry.
"I'm gonna swing by Gordie's." Charlie says, as we plop our suitcases in our dorm.
"Ah, sure." I smile, fixing my brown hair into a bun, and pulling off my jacket.
Charlie leaves the room, and I go to sit down on the couch. Flicking through the television, nothing really appeases me.
"Let's go shopping." I smile to myself, considering I do have to go to a concert soon, and I am meeting the musical man himself.
Fifteen minutes after a change in clothes and a reapplication of makeup, I walk out the bedroom door, grabbing my purse and feeling... Happy?
I, Olivia Thompson, am feeling happy?
Either London is truly magical, or Charlie is one of those people who radiates happiness.
The front door opens, and I perk my eyebrows up and turnaround from stuffing a purse in my bag.
"You're home early." I state, but the person was definitely not Charlie.
*PLAY 'READY, AIM, FIRE' BY IMAGINE DRAGONS: SKIP TO 0:31*
Chad takes two steps closer to me, a ferocious look on his face.
"What's been going on, Livstah?" He asks, stepping forwards.
His posture was hunched over, fists balled with a shaking and pacing step.
"You have no right to call me that." I bravely say, knowing it might lead me into shit.
"How come I haven't seen your face round here, Olivia?" He asks. "Haven't seen you for, what, four days? Where've you been?"
"Why do you care?" I reply, and he grasps my wrist.
"You gonna do this the hard way, or the easy way?" He spits, beginning to unbutton my jeans.
Well crap, now I really don't have a choice to stay. "I'd rather die than do it your way."
My heart begins to race, sweat falling from my hairline, as he stops trying to undress me and begins to raise his arm, with his fist still balled.
And the fist punches me, right on my cheek and the stars are spinning around my head.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" I curse, only leading me to another punch along my forearm.
"Tell me where you've been, and who you've been with!" He shouts, twisting my wrist.
"I think you and I both know that answer." I yell back.
My back ceased against the wall, as he pins me up against the wall, punching me repeatedly against my stomach.
Not the heart, please not near the heart.
"I told you to stay away from Charlie. You should've seen this coming." He spits, holding my arms out and punching them. Hard.
"Why are you doing this?" I plead, the pain overtaking my body and I begin to feel the symptoms of a relapse about to happen.
"Because you cheated on me!"
"I never cheated on you, Chad!" I yell, as he ceased the punching and pulling. "We were done!"
He let's go of my wrist, and begins to walk out the door, but halfway stopping.
"That's just the start of the pain." He menacingly says. "Tell anyone, and you'll be five foot under."
*END SONG*
He walks out of the door, leaving me scared, shocked and in pain.
I run to the mirror, checking out my face.
"No!" I shout, looking at a spot that's bleeding on my forehead. I scan my arms, bruised and battered.
If Charlie sees me, he's going to know something's wrong. He's going to go after Chad. Chad will kill him! Charlie isn't going to be in pain, not under my stupidity.
I run to my wardrobe and pull a hoodie over my neck, covering my forearms. My legs seemed unscathed, it was just my arms and stomach that got the most of it.
I grab a washcloth and make it damp, pressing against my forehead.
"Olivia? Where are you?" I hear the familiar voice of Charlie calling.
"I-in the bedroom." I say, wiping away any excess tears and swallowing the lump in my throat.
"What happened?" He gasps, walking over to me.
"Tripped." I lie, feeling a stab of betrayal in my chest. I was lying to one of the only people I actually feel close with.
"How?" He asks, guiding me to my bed and signalling me to get in.
"Over my feet, hit my head on the corner of the bench." I reply, and he takes my washcloth away from me.
"Are you sure? It looks more like a scrape."
"D-don't worry, I, er, need to pee." I say, worried Chad would appear and catch us two together.
"Oh, okay." He frowns, sucking the inside of his cheek.
I walk in the bathroom, waiting for the boy to leave. I muffle my mouth with my sleeve, as sobs and cries begin to fall out of my eyes.
"Olivia?" He asks through the door, and I wipe my eyes.
"What?" I reply, masking the croak in my voice, but failing miserably.
"You're crying."
"N-no, I'm fine. Just leave me alone." I say, resting against the shower and sliding to the floor.
"I'm coming in, I don't care if you're pissing." He says, opening the door, but letting out a disgruntled moan as he realises that the door is locked. "Dammnit, Olivia. C'mon."
He isn't finding out, not on my watch. Chad won't be hurting him, nope.
"After everything we've been through in these few short weeks, Liv?" He says, through the door.
"Nothing else matters, Charlie, the point is I don't need an interrogation."
"I'm worried, Liv! You have a gash on your head, you're wearing a bloody jumper on a hot day. What happened?"
"It's nothing, Charlie. Just-"
"The Memory Book? Nothing matters?"
I walk over to the door, and open it slightly.
"Sorry." I mumble, noticing Charlie was leaning against the door, and his body came crashing down due to surprise.
"Tell me what's wrong, Liv." He says, furrowing his brows.
"I miss my dad." I shrug my shoulders, sitting on the bed.
"I know that, but why-"
"It's not what you think."
He frowns for a bit, crossing his legs on my bed. "What do you think that I think?"
I bite my lip, looking down at the ground. "That it was self-intended."
His face falls crestfallen, lifting up his head and looking at me. "It wasn't, was it?" He asks, lifting the washcloth off my head.
I shake my head, touching the wound.
"Well it's stopped bleeding, which is good." Charlie says, and gently caresses my sleeved arm. "Do you trust me?"
I shake my head, feeling déjà vu from when Charlie and Chad had a fight last time.
"C'mon, Liv. You fixed my wounds, now let me fix yours."
"Just, don't ask any questions, okay?" I say, as he hesitantly lifts my sleeve.
He grimaces, staring at the bruises on my forearm. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" He asks, sliding over with my arms resting on his knees, planting his lips against my bruises.
That felt so right, like he could kiss away the pain.
"I guess, but -"
"But nothing. You need to tell me who did this to you."
"I'm not ready to talk about it yet." I mumble, hugging my knees to my chest.
His expression changes to a painful one, a scowl.
"Can you please-"
"Charlie, I can't. Please, for your own sake-"
"Don't worry about me; I'm just scared for you."
I curl my head in my knees, sobbing quietly into my legs.
"Olivia..." He says, his voice breaking slightly.
"Soon." I reply, lifting my head and lightly caressing his cheek.
He bites his lip, and his gaze redirects to my lips. He wants to kiss me, just as bad as I want to kiss him. But it couldn't happen. Not while everything was happening like this.
"Charlie, just friends, remember?"
He nods, sitting against the foot of the bed.
"I think we should both push our feelings for each other away." I mumble, scooting over to the other side of my bed.
"Why's that?" He asks, frowning as he rests on his right wrist.
"Just, just while these things are going on. Everything is a mess. It'll benefit us both."
Charlie nods once, and the conversation ceases for a few moments.
"You don't have to stay here." I say, and he begins to play with my legs.
"I know." He shrugs, tracing the spot on my ankle with his forefinger. "I want to."
I half-heartedly smile as I stretch my legs out, loving the sensation of his fingers on my leg.
"Anyway, don't worry about me Charlie. We're seeing Ed Sheeran in a week, get excited!" I say, trying to get him to stop thinking about me.
"I can't be excited when you're not okay." Charlie says. "My biggest nightmare is Gordie or you being wheeled into a hospital. You're both the closest people to me. I can't lose anyone of you."
Another tear begins to slide down my cheek, and I put my weight on my knees. I put my arms around him, hugging him and digging my head into his shoulder.
"You don't have to worry about me. I'm not going anywhere." I whisper in his ear. I wasn't, I was going to stay strong. Just for Charlie.
Even if it meant a few bruises here and there.
"I promise." I whisper, kissing his temple.
∞∞∞
Charlie was getting dinner ready, and I was still in my bed. We had a really deep conversation, just about anything really.
However, nothing can deny that I was falling back into my old tracks of depression.
I promised Charlie I would hold on, I couldn't get him to go through another incident like his mother's. He needed me. Hell, I needed him as well.
I grab a spare notebook from inside my dresser and begin to write:
Charlie Adams, September 11th
What can I say about you? You remind me of Neverland. Why? Because you seem to take me away from reality. I want to escape, Charlie. Chad was the one to beat me, and I'm doing this thing that I'll write a letter for every time he does. You'll read these on the 24th of November, a special day.
I stop my pen as I look out the window, waiting for a wave of opportunity for what I could write next.
Hell, I am scared to death. I'm scared one day he will punch me so hard I will die. And, I don't want to. I don't know what to do, I can't give myself to him. That's all he wants. He isn't taking my first like that, no way. I'll have to experience the pain, whether I like it or not.
You indirectly told me you loved me Charlie, and I can't say this to your face now because we agreed to keep it on a friend basis. If I write it, I'll get it out of my system.
Charlie Adams, I am completely and utterly in love with you.
And you'll probably never hear me tell you that.
I need to learn to carry on, and that may be done if I'm strong enough.
Love,
Your Olivia.
I seal the letter and shove it into a nearby envelope, and hide the envelope in between two books on my bookshelf.'
I had a plan.
A plan that might save me from a world of terror and pain.
∞∞∞
A.N
Heyyy!
Sorry, guys, that was a bit of a sad one! The song is just in the >>>> thingo.
You guys rock, just saying. Like, 800+ reads? You're just, I can't.
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and yeah, thats about it. peace out! xx
