The Way He Loved Me

Chapter 1

   As she breathed in the warm California air, she felt all her worries float away with the current of the ocean. She walked towards the water with her eyes closed. Nothing could stop her from walking towards her beautiful death. To her, drowning in the ocean in the place she loved most would be the most beautiful way to die. While others hold a gun to their head and infuse their bodies with painkillers, She wanted to fill her lungs with the salty waves of the ocean.

She wasn’t always this way. There was a time when she used to laugh and smile. There was a time when she had no worries in the world. The time when she could look herself in the mirror and love the reflection that looked back at her. But now she stands at the edge of the ocean, awaiting her fate. She closes her eyes and reminisces about the last time she was happy.

She opens her eyes and sees the ceiling of her old room. The old glow in the dark stars are still taped to her ceiling and her walls still painted pink. She turns her head to the right and sees her white door with the words “Char’s room. Keep out!” written on it with letters cut out from magazines. She looks at her wrists and there are no cuts or scars to be found.

“Charlotte! Wake up! You’re gonna be late for school!” her mom yells from downstairs.

Char groans and gets up. She stretches her long arms in front of her and lets out a big yawn. In front of her is a mirror. She has long brown hair that runs down to the tip of her waist. She opens her mouth to smile and her braces cut the inside of her lips.

“Ow…” she sighs.

“Charlotte! I’m not driving you to school today! I have a meeting to get to. Hurry up before you miss the bus!” her mom yells up the stairs.

Char quickly throws on a red sweater that runs a little bigger on her, but she doesn’t mind because she’d rather not wear something too revealing. Her blue jeans hug her just enough to fit her long skinny legs. She skips to the bathroom and brushes through her long frizzy brown hair. Her comb gets stuck with every brush. Char’s arms get tired of trying to tame her hair. So she wraps her hair above her head and ties it in a bun. She looks into the mirror and sees dark bags hanging below her big blue eyes, but she pays no mind to it. Char looks at her phone and the clock reads 6:34AM.

“Oh shoot, I’m gonna late!” she scuffles through her purse and places her phone in her back pocket. Char runs halfway down the stairs and remembers that she forgot to get her backpack. She turns around and runs up the stairs and yanks her backpack off the coat hanger that stood in the corner of her room. She runs out of her room and down the stairs. There are bagels on the kitchen counter that her mom left for her. She briskly grabs a bagel and runs out the door.

“Char! Wait up!” yells a boy behind her.

Char turns around and sees her best friend Lucas trying to catch up to her. He swings his backpack behind him and brushes his fingers through his golden brown hair. Lucas has been her best friend since she could remember. He laughed her lame jokes and he even sat through her girly Disney movies with her.

“Why are you up so early?” Lucas asks.

“Oh, I don’t know..I don’t wanna miss the bus I guess.” Char says as she sweeps her bangs behind her ear.

“...the bus doesn’t get here for another 30 minutes, Char.” Lucas looks at her with his  right eyebrow raised and his lips pursed.

“Well, if you stick around, you might be lucky enough to see why I like to come early..” she says as she smiles with one side of her mouth.

Lucas lets out a laugh and puts his hands in his pockets and follows Char.

“You know, after 13 years of being your best friend, I still can’t figure you out Charlotte Miles.” he laughs and continues to follow her.

Charlotte walks up the hill and sits on the bench. Lucas sits a hand away from her. They can see the whole town from the hill. Lucas gazes at her as she lets out a sigh and closes her eyes. She opens her eyes and looks back at Lucas and he turns away abruptly.

“Uh...So, what are we doing up here again?” he asks as he scratches his head.

“Just wait.” Char whispers.

Peeping through the trees, the sun rises and fills the town with light.

“Woah...This is beautiful.” he says in awe.

Char nods her head and breathes in through her nose and exhales through her lips.

“How come you never told me that you come here every morning?” Lucas asks.

“Well, you never asked.” Char says with a big smile as she gets up and puts her backpack on.

Char didn’t want to tell Lucas the real reason why she likes watching the sunrise. Even though he knew every aspect of her life, she wanted to keep this to herself. Seeing the sunrise reminded her that she is blessed with a new day. She loved the warmth of the sun on her face and the sounds of birds chirping around her. She loved the quietness that surrounded her. She just didn’t want Lucas to think she was different. Most girls her age should be going to parties and meeting guys that obviously just want one thing. That’s just something Char didn’t feel like she needed to do. Char enjoyed the little things like, watching sunrises and reading books.

“Wait up, Char.” Lucas says as he grasps her shoulder.

“Yeah? What’s up?” Char says back with a smile.

“Thanks for showing me that.” he says with his crooked smile.

He runs in front of her and yells, “I’m gonna beat you to the bus stop!” Char throws her head back and laughs as she tries to catch up to him.