Letting Go *Completed*

Chapter 9

*EDITED*

I wake up and look around. I stare into dark blue eyes beside me, and can't help but feel surprised when I get disappointment that they are not the brown eyes that I knew.

I feel myself frown and Charlie looks away from me, as if sensing my disappointment, but not before I see the hurt in his eyes. 

"We should get to school." Charlie tells me and I groan. I close my eyes and bury my head in a pillow. I feel myself being picked up off the bed and I grab the blankets of the bed so I won't have to leave it's comfort. 

I end up dragging the sheets off the bed as Charlie drags me to the other side of his room. He drops me onto the floor and I am immediately struck with a major headache. I sleepily climb off the floor, but have to lean against the wall to stand up.

He hooks his arm under my armpit and leads me to the door. "I'll drop you off at school, but I won't be able to drive you home." Charlie apologizes and I respond with a shrug, my mind to preoccupied with the painful headache throughout my skull.

I look around his room, grab my phone lying on his desk, and we walk downstairs. "Where are your parents?" I ask with a yawn and Charlie looks at the floor. "My parents are divorced, and I live with my dad, who is currently in jail for selling marijuana." He tells me and my eyes widen. 

"But I'm not the only on with a crappy father." He looks at me expectantly and I step away from him. My eyes narrow and I cross my arms over my chest. 

"Who told you about my father?" I ask suspiciously, Tristan, Clare, and Ryder were the only ones that knew my parents were divorced, and Ryder was the only one that knew my dad use to beat me daily. 

Well, he knew, but he was gone. He left me. Charlie just shook his head and waved off his last statement. 

"And what did you mean by saying 'you really don't remember me' last night?" I ask, confronting him about what he had said, he freezes when he hears me say this. 

"Shit, you heard that?" He asks, and I confirm it with a nod. He nervously runs his hand through his his wavy brown hair. "But...you really don't remember me?" He says again in a hurt voice, almost pleading me to remember.

I growl in frustration and glare at him. "Sorry." He mutters quietly and rolls his eyes. "Lets just get to school, I'll explain what I meant later." He promises and I arch an eyebrow doubtfully. 

Knowing that he will not tell me more, I grab my bags and we walk out to Charlie's car. He drives me to school and we part ways.  

***

Walking out of P.E., I find myself being kidnapped. I was walking down the almost empty hallway towards the girls locker room to change out of my gym clothes when I get pulled into a dark room and a warm hand clamps over my mouth to muffle my scream. 

Not knowing what to do, I elbow my attacker in the ribs and knee him, I figured out it was a boy, between the legs. Although I can't see anything, I know that he is on the floor gasping in pain. I run to the way and blindly grasp around for the light switch.

"Shit, Anna, that hurt." I hear Tristan groan and I can't help but laugh as I flip the lights on. "What are you doing Tristan?" I ask him with a smile and he looks at me with as though I was crazy. "What do you mean what am I doing?" He says incredulously. 

"I keep calling and texting you and you don't answer, I thought you were hurt or something!" I internally smile at the thought of Tristan being concerned about me and hug his broad shoulders. He stiffens, but after a few moments hugs me back. 

I awkwardly release him and silence fills the room. Realizing I need a ride home, I decide to break the silence. "Could you drive me home? I need to get my car so I can drive up to the train station to pick up my sister." I ask him, tilting my head to one side. 

"I'll drive you to the train station." He tells me, but I shake my head. "No, I don't want to put you through that much trouble." I say, but, being the stubborn boy he is, he still insists to drive me. "Won't your parents miss you?" I ask, concerned, but he just shrugs. "They are gone on some business trip thing, they won't notice." He tells me and I nod my understanding. Tristan's parents loved him, but they were never around.

After I quickly run to the girls locker room, we walk out to his car. I climb into the passenger seat and sigh when I lean into the soft leather seat. After telling him where the station is, he starts the car and we drive off. He stops the car at a stop light and points his arm behind my head towards the sun. "Look at the sky around the sun." He tells me and I stare into the golden hues mixed in with pink that light the sky. "It's beautiful." I whisper, and Tristan starts the car, but he doesn't remove his hand from my shoulder. 

"Subtle." I tell him with a snort, and he gives me an embarrassed smile, but instead of moving his hand, he pulls me closer to him. I lean on his shoulder and he rests his chin on my head. 

"I've missed you, Anna." Tristan says into my hair and I smile. 

I've missed you too, Tristan. 

We reach the train station a few minutes later and I have to leave Tristan's warm embrace to get out of the car. I stretch my legs, but a few seconds later, I am knocked against the car by a little girl. "Hey, Emma. I missed you." I tell her, ruffling her hair as she hugs me around my waist.

My mom is a few steps away and when she reaches me, she also crushes me in a hug. Tristan steps out of the car and respectfully nods at my mom. "Mrs. Collins." He says with a smile. "Thank you so much for driving here." My mom hugs him, and Tristan awkwardly hugs her back. 

"Oh, it's you." I hear a snarky voice say and I am taken aback when I realize it came from Emma, who is glaring at Tristan. "Um... Hi, Emma?" Tristan seem as confused as me about Emma's hate towards him. Emma just mutters something under her breath and climbs into the car. 

I sit in the back with her, while my mom sits in the front with Tristan. I stare at Tristan, nervously drumming his fingers on the steering wheel as my mom bombards him with questions about school and his parents. I feel a light tap on my arm and see Emma trying to get my attention.

"You can do much better than him you know." She tells me and I almost choke from laughing so hard. "Hey, don't judge him!" I scold and sneak a shy glance into the rear-view mirror and find Tristan looking at me. When we see each other, smiles appear on our faces and I feel a blush spread across my face. 

***

Tristan drops us off at our house and as I am leaving the car, Tristan grabs my wrist and pulls me into a long kiss. When we break apart, I can't stop grinning and I see my mom laughing and my sister glaring at me from inside the house.