the other side of us | ✓

2.5 | truth hurts

Charlotte let herself lay in bed until eleven in the morning before deciding that she'd spent enough time feeling sorry for herself and that she needed to get to work.

               After Devin and Ash had left last night, Charlotte had lounged around in her living room, trying to watch a movie. She'd eventually given up and retreated to her bedroom to mope in silence.

               She reached for her phone now and groaned when she saw that she had no new messages. Charlotte hated having to be the bigger person, as evidenced by her feud with her father.

               The kitchen was cold when Charlotte finally made her way out of her room and she rubbed her arms with her hands while she padded over to fill a kettle with water. She turned the facet on, but nothing happened. Charlotte furrowed her brows and tried again, jiggling the handle with more force than was necessary.

               Nothing.

               "You have got to be kidding me!" She groaned. Evidently, her father hadn't thought to get the water reconnected before she moved back in.

Charlotte phoned her father and explained the situation and he apologized profusely, promising to call the water company and have it sorted out by dinner.

Twenty minutes later, Charlotte found herself begrudgingly walking to the Stop and Go for groceries and a cup of tea. Patrick had gotten Charlotte into tea and she was feeling nostalgic today.

Thinking of Patrick, Charlotte pulled out her phone and sent him a text to see if he was awake. Devin had most likely told him about their fight, but she knew that he'd be impartial.

He messaged her back.

I'm on my way to work what's up

Patrick picked up before she had time to put the phone to her ear.

"Charles! I was getting worried that you'd forgotten about me."

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "I've been gone for two days."

"And you've only called me once."

She laughed. "Did you talk to Devin?"

"Yeah," He sighed "But more importantly, have you?"

Charlotte grimaced. "Not yet."

"You know she's right."

"Yeah, yeah." Charlotte muttered as she pushed open the door of the Stop and Go, grabbing a cart and switching her phone to her other ear so that she could pull out her shopping list. "It's hard though. She's right, but in a painful way, you know what I mean?"

"Honestly? Not really. Charles, you whined and complained about this kid the entire first year we lived together. Other people are allowed to feel pain over it too."

You don't have a monopoly on pain.

She changed the subject to what was going on in New York and Patrick obliged, telling her about the surprise trip that he was planning to visit Devin.

Charlotte was in the middle of choosing between two types of bread and listening to Patrick detail the fight his neighbors had had last night when she looked up and looked directly into a pair of very familiar eyes.

Her breathing stopped and her eyes took in every inch of him. His hair was longer than it had been, hanging more drastically into his eyes now, and he had bags under his eyes. But it was definitely him.

He's back? When? How? Why?

Did he come back for – No. Charlotte didn't let herself finish that thought.