Change | E.D

Eight

Charlotte

Ten minutes later the two of us have gathered all of our things and have told Annie that the two of us were leaving.

When Ethan told her that he was giving me a ride she looked at me with awe, but I just ignored her, pretending that it wasn't a big deal even though the mere thought of climbing in his Jeep again sends nervous thrills throughout my body.  

We reach the front door and I see Ethan's Jeep parked on the side of the road. "You ready to get soaked?" He asks me.

He knows me, though, and knows that I absolutely love rain storms and playing in them if I have the choice.

"Duh," I tell him with a smile, surprising the two of us.  

I see how happy he looks that I've smiled at him, and I quickly wipe if off of my face and then turn back to the road.Just the slightest bit of disappointment in his voice, he says, "Then let's go."  

He pushes the front door open, but the wind yanks it out of his grasp and throws it against the outside wall. I gasp at how powerful the storm is, but Ethan doesn't give me time to dwell upon it as he grabs my wrist and pulls me out into the cold rain.

We dart the few yards to his Jeep, the icy rain pelting every inch of me, making me giggle just a little bit. This reminds me of all of the times that Ethan and I played in the rain together, us kicking muddy puddles at each other's legs and then tackling each other in the grass.   

But then Ethan's hand drops from my wrist, making the warmth that I'd been feeling only in that spot disappear and the memories playing inside of my head vanish. Suddenly I'm freezing cold and anxious to get inside of what I know will be a warm Jeep.

The moment that I see the front lights flash because the doors have been unlocked, I swing the door open and then jump into the passenger seat. I shut the door and then lean my forehead against the dewy window.   

I hear Ethan jump into his seat and slam his door shut as well, his breathing coming out just a bit heavier than usual. We're both silent for a moment, trying to catch our breath and let the warmth of the Jeep take over us.

But then Ethan starts chuckling next to me because of the insanity of the situation, of how we managed to get completely drenched in a matter of three seconds, and I can't help but join in. We laugh together for I don't know how long, but I do know that enough time has passed to make my stomach start aching. I can't stop laughing, though, because it just makes all the tension and the anger from today slowly start to fade away.

The laughter lets me know that even though it's been two years and even though I've fallen to the complete bottom of the social ladder while he's kept his spot on top, we're still Ethan and Charlotte and we can still laugh about anything with each other.  

A loud ringing breaks through the laughter, though, effectively making the two of us clamp our mouths shut. I watch as he manuevers his body so that he can slip his hand into his pocket and then extract his very shiny little phone.

He looks over at me and mouths, "My mom," before tapping the answer button on the screen and then bringing it up to his ear. "Hey mom," He says, then lulls into silence for a few moments as he listens to her talking.

"Um yeah, I guess I can..." he looks over at me and I raise my eyebrows in response, but he just gives me a warm smile and then turns back away. He says, "I, uh, I have Char with me,though, is that alright?" He chuckles after a second, "Yeah, mom, that Charlotte."   

I roll my eyes, feeling just a bit insulted at he says this. Was there another Charlotte? He obviously loves replacing me with other people so I can't say I'd be surprised.

He looks back at me, taking the phone off of his ear and then covering the microphone with his hand. He asks me, "My mom needs me to drop her off at her doctor's appointment in ten minutes, her car just broke down. Is that okay with you?"  

"Uh, yeah. Of course."

His mom was always so good to me, always offering me cookies when I went over and always telling me yes if one of us asked if I could stay at their house. It's not her fault that her son's an asshole who ditched me when I needed him most. I can't punish her for that.

So I can't exactly be angry as he tells me sincerely, "Thanks," and then lifts the phone to his ear once more. He tells his mom, "We'll be there in ten, so go stand outside in a few minutes." After a few second he says, "Love you too," and then drops the phone into one of the cup holders between us.  

We start down the road just seconds after the phone call, me leaning my cheek against the back of my seat and staring outside and watching the rain hit everything in sideways sheets. I haven't seen a storm this bad in months and I can't help but the let the constant pitter patter of the rain drops on the roof lull me into that peaceful almost-sleep mode.  

I guess today's arguments wore me out more than I thought possible. "Hey Char?" Ethan's voice smoothly interrupts my dozing off. 

I turn to look over at him, resting my other cheek on the opposite side of the seat. "Yeah?"  

He turns to face me and shoots me a quick smile before turning back to watch the road. He says softly, "I really am sorry...you know, for everything." 

Not wanting to rehash anything because I've finally managed to forget about it all for the moment, I just say, "Let's not talk about it."

We can talk about that when I actually have a place to escape. If we stayed here to talk about it and things got too intense, I wouldn't have anywhere to run.  

He sighs, "I just hate that you hate me so much, you know?"

I don't hate you, I want to tell him, I could never hate you.  

But some things are better left unspoken.