Turning pages ~ Charlie Jones (stereo kicks)

Chapter 34

Charlie's P.O.V

What the hell did I just do? I asked myself, running my hand anxiously through my hair. "I'm such a dick." I muttered to myself before sitting back down on the couch. In the space of five minutes a nice day in with my girlfriend turned into something was entirely my fault. I had been irrational and made Annabelle walk out on me.

"Charlie?" I heard my mom's voice call out from the hallway before the pattering of two pairs of feet rushed towards the living room door. Rosy and Jason were back from my Grandpa and Grandma's.

"In here Ma!" I shouted before the door opened and in ran my two younger siblings. Rosy hopped onto the sofa and grabbed hold of my arm as I helped Jason climb up.

"I made cakes with Grandma!" Rosy exclaimed, a huge grin on her face. I smiled at her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. My gaze drifted up to my mom, who sat herself down on the armchair.

"Where's mine?" I asked, causing the two of them to erupt into mischievous fit of giggles as confusion fell on my face. "What are you laughing at?"

"We ate them all!" Jason shouted, his words growing clearer toward the end of the sentence. I let out a fake gasp before shaking my head.

"That's not fair," I stated, fighting the growing smile of adoration that was forming on my lips. This caused Jason to grin even wider and Rosy to pat my arm sympathetically.

"It is!" She protested. "We can tell you how nice they were."

A laugh left my lips and I nodded. "Yeah, that's fair." I said. "But next time I get to have the first one."

Rosy sighed. "Fine," She dragged out the word before tapping my shoulder again. "Put Spongebob on." She demanded, folding her arms over her chest, a smile on her face.

"What's the magic word?" I encouraged, reaching for the TV remote. The TV was still playing The Big Bang Theory.

"PLEASE!" Rosy shouted excitedly and I changed the channel. I looked up and made eye-contact with my mother and she nodded toward the kitchen.

Nodding solemnly, I then gently pulled myself out of Jason and Rosy's feeble grasp. I followed my mom into the kitchen and watched her place her hands on her hips, an accusing stare on her face. I shoved my hands in my pockets nervously.

"Why did I see Annabelle Smith running out of this house with a grim expression on her face?" My Mom questioned, her firm stance not weakening. "Charlie jones you better answer truthfully or so help me-"

"I may have, kind of, told her not to talk to her best-friend." I mumbled, the guilty feeling washing back into me. I watched my mother sigh and fold her arms over her chest, much like Rosy had done earlier. She knew about Annabelle and I's relationship and had been exceedingly happy about it. Now she looked as if she could rip my brains out.

"Charlie, you know Annabelle don't you?" My mom said, and I nodded.

"I do, but I was angry."

"She's sensitive and the only person that had been there for her had been her best-friend," My mom said, knowing Annabelle. "You telling her she shouldn't be friends with Cole was a low move, even if you were angry."

"I know, I realized that but she just walked out," I said guiltily. "She said something and I don't know if it was a serious statement. If it was I might have caused an early break-up."

My mom gasped loudly. "Charlie, I swear if you don't find a way to make it up to her I will personally make sure you never date anyone for the rest of your life."

"Mom!" I exclaimed, dragging my hands out of my pockets. "I want to, but I don't know how!"

"Well you better find a way, young man," She wagged her pointer finger at me. "Or you're gonna be locked away like Rapunzel until your hair is twice as long."

With a flick of her hair, she walked out of the kitchen, causing me to watch her walk away. No matter how much I tried, my mother would always have the last say.

Annabelle's P.O.V

How I ended up on Cole's doorstep I don't know. It was the second time today we'd ended up on each other's porches. Both times we were distressed about something and I was doing something Cole had told me specifically not to do. I was upset about Charlie and I came to him about it. But I didn't care at the moment. He was my best-friend and we were as close as a wolf pack.

When he opened the door it was unsurprising when he opened his arms wide for me. I graciously took up his offer and pulled him into a tight hug. It wasn't long before he'd shut the door and pulled me upstairs to his bedroom. "You were right," I admitted. "You were so right about him."

Cole paused for a second, his arms growing tense. "What the hell did he do?"

"He told me that I couldn't talk to you." I muttered. "He was shouting at me for forgiving you."

Cole sat there motionlessly, his brown eyes wide. "What the-"

"No language," I scolded. I wasn't in the mood and swearing made me jittery.

"But that's just-"

"I know, he just went all protective and demanded that I shouldn't talk to you," I said. "You were right about him, you said he was selfish and I didn't believe you. He told me you were using me but I think he was the one doing that."

"Anna," He started. "I know you're upset but you'll forget about it overnight and everything will be fine in the morning."

"That's one of the worst things about me," I mumbled, letting out a long sigh. "I will forget about it and think of it as a stupid little fall-out that could have been avoided. I'll go back to him, I don't want to."

"Anna, he makes you happy." Cole stated truthfully. Charlie did make me happy, incredibly happy. I was at as much ease with him as I was with Cole and when I was with him I felt loved, for once. "Don't give it up just because you want to stick up for me. Charlie probably knows he made you upset. I may not like him but I know he's a good guy."

"I suppose."

"Just don't be to quick to think of solutions. Don't do something you will almost certainly regret," Cole said, his words showing truth. I nodded and leaned into him.

"Thank-you for being here," I whispered into his graphic t-shirt. "It's helped."

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