Break Free

Today

Charlie stared straight ahead. If she looked away she would chicken out and run back to the car.

Nick stood beside her using all of his strength not to show his anger. He was hurting for Charlie and he had no other way to deal with it. He needed to be strong for her.

"I can do this." Charlie whispered to herself.

Nick looked down at her and took a deep breath. He reached out his hand and knocked on the door of the place he used to call home.

Maya immediately opened the door. "Hey." She tried to smile, but she looked exhausted.

"Can we come in?" Charlie's voice was normal. She wasn't whispering. Her voice wasn't cracking with emotion.

"Of course. It's your house as much as it is ours." Maya opened the door wide enough for Charlie to walk inside. Nick followed.

"Where is everyone?" Nick coughed to keep his voice even.

"Dining room." Maya walked ahead of them towards the rest of the group.

Nick walked closely behind Charlie. He felt like he needed to protect her.

"Hey." Sarah and Abby looked up from the table as Maya, Charlie, and Nick went to their seats.

"I've missed you guys." Charlie surprised the group by speaking after a few seconds of silence.

"I'm so sorry." Abby spoke softly as a tear fell down her cheek.

"We all should have paid more attention." Maya placed her hand on Abby's back.

"I shouldn't have been holding a grudge. It got in the way." Sarah genuinely apologized.

"It's okay. Benjamin was the problem, not you guys." Charlie shook her head.

Nick watched in silence as Charlie handled the situation with ease, just like she handled everything else.

"I knew nobody really liked him, after finding out he was a smoker." Abby wiped at her eyes. If Charlie could be strong, so could she.

"I was too hard on you. It's no wonder you fought for him." Maya apologized to Abby. Maya had always seen Abby as her younger sister and had just wanted to look out for her.

Nick opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't find any words. Charlie was  bringing the group back together and he was being completely useless.

Saying "I'm sorry" passed around the table a few more times, along with more "it's okay".

Charlie noticed how stiffly Nick was sitting. She reached over and grabbed his hand reassuringly.

He looked up suddenly and squeezed her hand. Maybe he didn't need to say anything. Maybe he could just be here for her, and she could be there for him.

•••

"Are you okay?" Charlie asked as Nick drove them back to his house.

"I will be." Nick turned and smiled at her. He loved seeing that she was already doing better, even if it was just surface level.

"I'm just glad everyone seemed to be getting along again." Charlie gazed out the window.

"It's all because of you." Nick meant for it to sound sweet, but Charlie didn't look at him.

Charlie thought that maybe it was all because of her. Everyone blamed themselves for what happened to her, but she didn't believe that was right.

"Do you want to... to talk about it?" Nick had heard her explain the situation to the police, but he wondered if she needed a friend to tell that hadn't been there when it happened.

"Not right now." Charlie smiled weakly at him before turning back to the window.

Nick focused on the road ahead. He thought about taking a detour and taking Charlie to a park to get some fresh air but decided to take her another day. When she was ready.