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15

When we got to Charlie's house, I thanked Scott for the ride and then he left. I watched Charlie as he began to walk to the front door of the house. I knew I had no where to sleep but I didn't want to force him to let me stay here.

I didn't follow him to the door, causing him to turn around with a questioning look in his eyes. He walked back over to me and spoke. "What are you doing?" I looked to the ground and frowned. "I'm letting you go home." Almost instantly, I felt warmth spread throughout me as Charlie put one hand on the side of my face. His thumb stroked my cheek as he looked at me. "I want you to stay with me." I could hear the sadness in his tone as he spoke. "No, Charlie. You don't have to do that for me. I'll find somewhere else to go until I'm allowed to go back home. You don't have to worry about me." Charlie groaned obviously frustrated with me. "Don't you get it, I want you to stay. No one else, just you. I need you." I could hear the vulnerability dripping off every word he spoke as he looked me in the eyes. I had never seen them like this before. They weren't sad. They were a mix of vulnerability and frustration, hinting to me as if I wasn't fully grasping what he told me. "Okay."

As the hours rolled by, I stayed by Charlie's side, my head resting on his chest as we laid in the darkness of his room. We were both crying and it had been like this since we came into the house. Charlie was stroking my head and I was beginning to fall asleep until he spoke.

"I called my parents." I turned my head up so I was now looking at his face. "They were in England but as we spoke on the phone, they were already booking the next flight home. They'll be here for the funeral and burial." I felt him suck in a breath of air as he held back a sob. "I can't believe she's gone. Sure I was mad at her for what she did to you, but she was my sister. The last time I spoke to her, I was mad at her." His eyes became almost glass-like as they filled with tears. A few seconds passed before I spoke. "I know what she did was wrong, but I never got to tell her sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so mad over something as stupid as a boy who I never really liked in the first place. He was just someone else to keep my mind busy because the person I really liked that I've liked forever wasn't paying any attention to me. Like he had forgotten I existed." I stopped looking at Charlie and closed my eyes, resting my head back on his chest.

~

I don't remember the point where I fell asleep, but I definitely remember waking up.

I shot up, sitting on the bed, unable to catch my breath. My head replayed Alyssa's motionless body over and over again. Tears streamed down my face as I began to sob.

I felt movement in the bed and suddenly an arm was wrapped around my shoulder, pulling me into Charlie. I had done this at least seven or eight times throughout the night and each time I did, Charlie would wake up and comfort me.

By this time, the sun was up. I looked to the clock to see it was 5:30am. I was exhausted and I knew Charlie was too. I had kept him up all night.

We laid back down but I knew I wouldn't sleep. I wanted Charlie to sleep at least for a few hours even if that meant not closing my eyes because as soon as I closed my eyes, I saw Alyssa.

Not even two minutes later, I heard a light snore escape from Charlie's lips.

When it reached about twelve in the afternoon, I got up and headed downstairs. I went into the kitchen only to find Nash laying on the couch. He lifted up his head, his tail wagging and then laid his head back down, going back to sleep. He was the only dog I knew who loved to sleep this much.

I looked in the fridge to find an abundance of food, completely the opposite of my fridge at home.

Even with all this food to choose from, I already knew exactly what to make.

A little while later, I heard footsteps on the stairs. I turned to see Charlie yawning as he walked into the kitchen. His hair was a mess and he was squinting his eyes. "Morning sleepyhead." I smiled while Charlie frowned. He was not a morning person and neither was I, most of the time.

I turned back around, walking towards the counter where the coffee maker was and began to make something to drink. From the corner of my eye, I could feel Charlie's gaze on me.

I brushed if off and continued to make our coffee but I was distracted. When I finally finished making our drinks, I turned around only to see Charlie smirking in my direction.

My face began to heat up before he even said anything and after he spoke, it only got worse. "Nice pajamas. I see my shirt fits well." I paused, looking down to see what I was wearing.

Yesterday was so hazy, I forgot what I had been wearing. I wasn't at my house and without any other clothes besides the ones I was already wearing, Charlie offered to give me some of his stuff.

I couldn't look in his direction as all he kept doing was smirk. It freaked me out. Not because I didn't like it, I just didn't know how to react to it besides turn red in the face. I decided to change the subject quickly as to get the attention off of me. "I made breakfast!"

Charlie's smirk disappeared as he walked over to where I had the breakfast laid out. I put the coffee mugs next to each bowl and sat down in my seat, beginning to eat my breakfast. Charlie plopped down next to me and looked to his breakfast.

"Of all the food in my house, you make bowls of cereal with a banana smiley face in it. That's pathetic." Charlie rolled his eyes and laughed. "Yea but it made you smile." Charlie didn't realize it, but he was smiling. It was the first time I had seen him smile since yesterday and it was genuine.

Charlie looked at me with a smile on his lips as he spoke. "You're adorable." My face lit up like a little kid and I giggled, making his comment even more true. "I know."