The Game We Play

Chapter Nine

"It's my turn to comfort her! Clearly Conner did her wrong and though she won't get into it with either of us, she needs to take her mind off it." Charlie reasoned.

"But why can't I come?" Maia whined.

"You and I hang out all the time! I want some Ash time." he joked.

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty." Ash interjected with a laugh. "We'll be back super soon, I promise."

"Fine." Maia reluctantly agreed. "I better not miss anything too fun."

"You won't!" Charlie giggled, pulling the girl into a hug.

"Yeah, yeah." she said, smiling.

Ash watched the two bickering and smiled. Maia was such a joy to be around, and she didn't understand why Charlie needed her alone. Was this about Conner? She hadn't really talked about what happened because she was still processing it. She felt bad, Maia had tried to get Ash to speak up but she'd been reluctant to talk about it.
Maia had always been there for her. Ash had always been enamored with her friends beautiful hazel eyes and caramel colored skin, a side effect of her Dominican roots. She tended to have the brightest hair colors, but she refused to ever dye her auburn roots. Currently, Maia had a light lilac at the ends of her hair, fading into her natural color at the top. Ash admired how expressive she was even in the simplest things.
Charlie, on the other hand, was a natural light blonde with brown eyes and tons of freckles. Ash liked to joke him sometimes about them but really she found them adorable.

"Earth to Ashley." Charlie interrupted her thoughts, waving his hand in front of her face.

"I'm starting to see why you want to take her." Maia joked.

"C'mon girl, let's go." Charlie said, taking her hand and pulling her towards the door.

"Bye babes!" Maia yelled.

~~~~~~

"So what do you want?" Ash asked Charlie as they stepped out of the car.

"Honey you're gonna hate me for this, but I'm gonna need you to talk to me okay?" he said.

The way he phrased that set her on edge. "About what...?"

"You aren't strong enough to go, are you." Charlie stated more than asked, stopping her in her tracks.

"You spoke to Conner didn't you?" she questioned.

"Actually, he contacted me... he said he was worried about you and didn't want you getting hurt. Unlike that dummy I won't try and force you into a decision, but I want you to know what will happen if you aren't careful."

Ash stayed silent as the two walked up to Charlie's house.

"There's a reason I never bring anyone over... My siblings are great, but my dad is... Well you'll see." he mumbled, biting his lip.

Ash had never heard the boy sound so sad. He'd mentioned his dad before but he'd always glossed over the subject. The two walked into the house.

"Father, I'm home." Charlie said loudly, not quite yelling.

"Oh. Charles." a strange man's voice responded.

Charlie looked over at Ash and smiled sadly before taking her hand and leading her into the living room where an man was sitting in an armchair. His eyes were brown, like Charlie's, but they seemed empty and lifeless. His skin was pale and dull despite him being not much older than forty. He stared through the two, unfocused on anything in particular.

"Ash, meet my father."

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Hey guys! We're getting to know our boy Charlie! What do you think is up with his dad? Stay safe! <3