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13

I walked with Charlie towards the doors that led to the exit of the school. Along with the warning my principal gave me, I had to stay out of school for the rest of the day. He knew I was worked up from all that had happened to me in the recent weeks and I was grateful to be going home.

"You should probably head back to class. I don't want you to get in trouble for skipping." Before Charlie could reply, my phone vibrated, signaling that I got a text from someone. It was from Alyssa.

Alyssa:
"Hey can we talk? I heard what you did. Can I come to your house for 6?"

Me:
"Of course we can talk. 6 is perfect."

I turned my phone so Charlie could read it. After he read it, he looked to me. "What if she hates me after what I did? I don't know what to say to her. How am I supposed to see her at 6? I can't-" Charlie cupped my face in my hands, stopping me from saying anything else. "It's gonna be fine. She's not going to hate you. She's probably coming to thank you for what you did for her." I looked into his eyes, feeling a sense of comfort. Charlie dropped his hands from my face and instead took one of my hands, intertwining it with his. "Come on, I'm taking you somewhere. You can relax there until it's time to talk to her." I let Charlie pull me out the doors of the school and towards the parking lot where we got in his Mustang.

About fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the park that I always run to which is the same park Charlie always brings Nash to. When I stepped out of the car, I immediately shut my eyes. It was insanely bright. I heard laughing and turned to Charlie while I squinted my eyes. "Forget your sunglasses again?" Charlie smirked which caused me to glare at him. I was quick with a comeback however. "Forget to wear a shirt again?" Charlie's eyes widened and he looked down at his chest only to realize he was still wearing a shirt. Now it was his turn to glare at me. I had a smug smirk on my face as I began to walk towards the park but I was having a hard time as I couldn't really see where I was going because of the sun.

I looked to see Charlie next to me shaking his head. He sighed as he reached towards the top of his head. He took his sunglasses off and handed them over to me. I put them on immediately, feeling sudden relief as I could see again. My face held a giddy smile as if I was a little kid knowing that I did something wrong, but got away with it. "Thanks Charlie." Charlie looked at me and rolled his eyes but then turned away to conceal the smile that was forming on his face. "You're something else AJ." A questioning look appeared on my face as I looked to him. "Is that a good thing or bad thing?" Charlie stopped walking completely and took a second just staring at me, his brown irises never leaving my blue ones. "Believe me, it's a good thing." Now it was my turn to try and hide the smile that was forming on my face.

~

I absolutely loved winter. Yes, it was freezing but it was beautiful. Everything was pure and you knew that in the spring, it would be reborn into something magnificent.

An hour later, Charlie and I were laying in the snow. I looked up to the sky watching little snowflakes fall to the ground around my face. It was so calm.

I looked to Charlie, thinking he was probably enjoying the snow too. What I didn't know was that he was enjoying it a lot more than me. He had his tongue out and his eyes closed. Every time a snowflake would land on his tongue, he would smile as it tickled his taste buds. I couldn't help but smile. He was so cute.

Eventually we had to get up as the afternoon sun began to melt the snow that had been on the ground for a few days now because of the recent snow storm. As we passed by stores looking for a place to get some hot chocolate, we even saw icicles begin to fall on the ground and then precede to melt.

I went to take a picture of the icicles that were hanging on the side of a building as a cool picture for my Snapchat story, when my phone died. Charlie offered to run my phone to the car so it would charge while we got hot chocolate but I insisted I could wait and we should just enjoy our drinks.

Ever since that night at the football game, Charlie has been different. He's been different towards me. I think he just feels bad for me that I had to go through losing a best friend, seeing the guy I like fall for someone else, and having my mom freak out at me. I wish it wasn't sympathetic and instead his feelings were real. Sometimes, things just don't work out the way you want them to.

When we returned to Charlie's car, I immediately plugged my phone in. It was completely dead and would probably take a few minutes to come back to life.

As soon as we pulled into the driveway, I turned to Charlie. "Thanks for taking my mind off of things today before I have to meet with Alyssa." Charlie smiled as he spoke. "Of course." I went to smile but before I could, I felt the vibration of my phone, meaning it was at least charged enough for me to use it. As it came on, I noticed a message on the screen. It was from Alyssa.

Alyssa:
"Hey, I have to come fifteen minutes early because I have to take Nash to the vet and since I've never been to that office before, I'm not sure how long it's gonna take me."

I turned to Charlie. "She said she was coming early. I have no time to prepare. What am I gonna say-" Charlie grabbed my hand reassuringly. "Look, we went over this. It's gonna be fine. Everything is going to work out. Ok?" I nodded my head before turning to open the door. As I opened the door and stepped out, I noticed something laying on my front steps. "Charlie, what is that?" Almost immediately, Charlie jumped out of the car and was at my side, his arm around my shoulder. "I don't know." We begin to walk slowly to it. As we do, I realize that it's a person. More specifically a teenage girl.

I move away from Charlie's grasp and bend down in front of the person who was laying facedown. I reach my arm out towards them, but jerk back slightly. What if they attack me?

I push that thought to the back of my mind as I think that maybe they are hurt. It takes every bone in my body from not turning and running away. I reach my hand out once more and this time I use my strength to roll her over onto her back. As I do though, I jump back in horror, crashing into Charlie's legs. He catches me, only to lose his balance and sink to his knees.

I must be imagining things. I can't be seeing what I'm seeing. The person laying on the ground was covered in blood and they were dead. That person was Alyssa.