Change | E.D

Sixteen

Charlotte

"Here you go sweetie." Lisa says to me comfortingly later that night, handing me a nice and fluffy stack of blankets. The two of us are standing in the warm hallway of their perfect home, and she's been giving me that same pitying look since Ethan and I got here about a half ihour ago.   

Although she's like my mom and I love her to death, I hate that she keeps looking at me like that. Though I'm absolutely dying for a hug or something, I hate when people pity me because of what my home life is like.  

I take the blankets from her extended arms and bask in the warmth they bring. While I took a shower once I got here, she put my favourite blanket into the dryer and now it was perfectly warm. Placing my chin on top of them, I tell her sincerely, "Thanks Lisa."

She leans in and places one of her dainty hands onto my shoulder, "You're welcome here anytime. Now are you hungry? We have some leftover lasagna downstairs."  

Not even having realised that my stomach has been empty just about all night, the only thing I've eaten since lunch is a pretzel at the laser tag place, I meekly nod and tell her, "I'll go put these down."  

She smiles gracefully, "It'll be on the table once you get down, I promise."  

With that she turns over her shoulder and then heads down the hallway. Knowing this house better than I know the back of my hand even though it's been years since I've stepped foot in it, I turn in the opposite direction and then take the back staircase which brings me just before the guest bedroom.  

But it's as I take my first step onto the cream-colored carpet of the second floor that I hear someone say my name softly. I look up from where I've been staring and see Ethan leaning against the wall right next to the door to the guest bedroom.   

I don't say anything to him, still feeling a bit uncomfortable due to everything that's happened since I've called him. I think back to how he just hopped out of his still running Jeep the moment he pulled into my driveway and didn't waste a second in gathering me in one of his strong and warm hugs.

Back then I'd been so emotionally unstable that I didn't think anything bad about it, I didn't think about these past two years or the fact that he has a girlfriend even though I'm pretty sure I'm still in love with him.  

But now, now that I've managed to push my dad's slap into the back of my mind so that I won't cry all over their nice house, it's all I can think about. I had no one else to call but him, but I still shouldn't have.

Though we're slowly but surely becoming friends again, I don't know if it's to the level where I should be coming over to his house when I'm upset. I shouldn't have come here.  

"You alright?" he asks me softly, pushing himself off the wall and then taking a few steps closer towards me. The spicy yet fresh scent of his body warms me up just like the blankets in my arms do.   

I nod and say, "I'm fine." But I'm not fine. I feel so awkward here, like I'm some kind of intruder who needs to get in her mind that she doesn't belong, and I hate it. A part of me almost wants to just go back home and deal with my dad.

Although that option will probably be worse for me, at least I wouldn't have this constant urge to just fling my arms around Ethan and hold on for dear life.  

Ethan takes a step closer to me, looking like he wants to do the thing that I was just thinking of, but another voice then enters the hallway. Sounding like trouble itself, Ethan's twin brother Grayson says, "Are you two going to make out?"  

It's almost worrisome how quickly my cheeks turn from their normal color to a bright red. No person on this planet should blush that quickly, it just doesn't seem like it's normal.

Bringing my hand up to one of my cheeks in an effort to cool it off, I take a step away from Ethan and then look at Grayson. When I was still hanging around the house a lot, Grayson used to spend most of his time taunting Ethan and I. He's always been the mischievous one out of the two of them.

"Gray..." I smile, noticing him standing in the doorframe in his military uniform. I let out a quiet gasp. "Wow, you actually joined the military?" I asked.

"You bet, last year. I have to say, I was disappointed to not see you at my goodbye party, but seeing you now makes up for it." He laughs, pulling me in for a hug.

"When did you get back?" I asked him.

"Just today, actually." He says.

Grayson had always rambled on about joining the military, specifically the Navy. I guess he worked his ass off in school, graduated early and joined.

I turned and looked at Ethan, and looks like he's been caught stealing candy out of a convenience store and I am just too dumbstruck to even say anything. "So, what's going on here?" Grayson smirks.

I hear Ethan start to explain to him, "No, Gray. Alexis is my girlfriend, you know that."

Grayson rolls his eyes at the mention of Ethan's perfect girlfriend and asks in an exasperated voice, "You haven't broken up with her yet?"  

Ethan takes a moment to answer, and when he does I feel like another blow has been brought onto me. Definitely sounding annoyed, almost angry actually, Ethan says, "No, I love Alexis."

"But no one else does," Grayson protests, making me wonder why on earth they don't like Alexis. She's perfect. She's the sweetest person I've ever met. Why doesn't Ethan's family like her?  

His voice sounding far angrier than it did a second ago, Ethan snaps at him and says, "I'm aware. Now go to look at a map of Afghanistan or something."

Grayson rolls his eyes at his brother, then smiles in my direction. "Nice to see you again, Char. I'm down the hall if you need me. Try sticking around a bit, will ya Char? I've missed you, and so has this hot-shot." He winks at Ethan before leaving the room.

The now lukewarm blankets still in my firm grasp, I turn away from the door and then finally head on into the guest bedroom. Nothing has changed, I realise, making me feel more comforted than I thought I could have felt. There's still a queen-sized bed in the middle of the room with a sage green comforter and tan silk sheets. It's probably the most comfortable bed I can remember sleeping in.  

After placing the blankets onto the bed, I sit down on the edge and then grab my cell phone out of the duffel bag that I brought. Seeing the "new text message" light blinking, I turn on the main screen and am taken by surprise when I see that I have three new messages from Isaac.

Although I'm still pissed as hell because he just took off so quickly when I was upset, I go to our conversation and read the new messages.  

Isaac: Sorry for taking off like that, I guess I was just pissed we got interrupted. Make it up to u?  

Isaac: U there?  

Isaac: Seriously Char, you're avoiding me now? Wtf?  

Angry that I wasted about a week of my life and my first kiss on such a dramatic asshole, I switch the phone off without even bothering to reply and then toss it onto the carpeted floor, not caring if it breaks or not.

Now that Isaac's out of the picture, it's not like I have anyone to talk to. It was a mistake coming here tonight, one that I sure as hell am not going to make again.