Wild (Cherik Book One)

Tell Me We'll Make It Through

"I could cry just thinking about you."

_____CHARLIE___TW: Trauma and Panic
Charlie felt the light of the sun beat down and glare against his sunglasses. It was a nice change compared to the harsh lighting he had grown used to at the hospital. There was a natural exposure in the sunlight that felt much warmer on his healing skin. The bruises had begun to lighten along his arms allowing him to comfortably sport t-shirts around the house. His hair had started to grow around the stitches, which had been removed four days ago, and he had a nice little buzzcut now. It was different, but he was thankful to not be bald anymore. Although he and Erik hadn't left the house much for the past couple of days there was something sweet about it. Raven had decided to spend the weekend with Marina, having not had one on one time with her girlfriend since the accident three weeks ago.
"Are you sure you are okay? I won't leave if you want me to stay," Raven asked again as the siblings stood in the driveway. Charlie gave her a look before chuckling sweetly.
"I'll be okay, I have Erik and you need a break from everything anyway. Go have fun, it's one weekend at the cabin. I'll be fine," Charlie assured her as they hugged gently. Raven was always sure to wrap her arms around his neck rather than his chest as to avoid any collision with his tender ribs. Her mindfulness had been surprising to Charlie at first. The girl normally so wild and random with her movements had become noticeably mellow over the time of Charlie's healing. Like the mood radiating off of Charlie was contagious.
"Okay, but, if you need anything I'm there," Raven snapped as if to signify just how fast she could arrive. Charlie nodded and waved Raven off as she finally pulled out of the driveway. She wasn't taking the car for the weekend despite Charlie's protests, the yellow beaten up vehicle hadn't been used in over a week. But, she insisted on just carpooling in Marina's much nicer van. Saying it was because of room but Charlie knew she was really just making sure Charlie had a way out if needed. In case something happened.
"Three days alone with Erik, I'll be fine. Nothing weird about that, we do that all the time," Charlie whispered to himself before taking a deep breath. His eyebrows creased and a sigh escaped his lips. Yeah, it might have been normal a week ago, but things have changed haven't they? His brain never failed to remind him. A nervous chill ran down Charlie's spine before he turned to go inside again.
The night after the party at Marina's had left a lot of questions swirling in Charlie's brain. Things he wasn't quite sure he was ready to sort through right yet. Things with Erik hadn't always been so complicated and Charlie struggled to make them less so. And Erik wasn't making it any easier with his new attitude. It had started the morning after Marina's party and something in the way Erik carried himself was different. Charlie remembers trying to find a word for it for hours, his eyebrows in a permanent crease as he got more and more frustrated. He was the pro in Erik's body language. He could always tell when he was hurt, happy, sad, nervous anything! So why had this been so hard to unravel?
  "What's going on with you?" Charlie finally asked with his arms crossed. It was just the two of them that morning, Raven having gone to get some things from home to bring back. It was a relatively quiet morning spent over tea and a single bowl of cereal that sat in front of Erik. Erik looked up with a surprised chuckle on his lips.
  "What?" He quirked an eyebrow in confusion and Charlie sighed.
  "Nothing, nevermind," Charlie waved him off and drank his tea bitterly.
  "No, what did you mean? What's going on with me?"
Charlie waited and bit his lip in thought before putting down his tea cup. He wasn't sure how to even describe the change enough to talk to Erik about it. Putting it into words was almost impossible.
"You seem...I don't know so..."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"No, it's just different. Maybe Emma is finally getting through to you on the confidence front I don't know." Charlie threw his hands around in a very animated way making Erik chuckle.
"Emma broke up with me," Erik shrugged and Charlie froze.
"What?! When?" Charlie stuttered in shock. The couple had seemed so good for eachother. What changed?
"Yeah, at Marina's little garage thing. I mean it's not a big deal it's for the better anyways. She sort of made some things clear for me and I feel a lot better about myself. That's all you're seeing Charlie." Erik assured a silent Charlie who had his fingers clasp together in thought. His mind raced. Is that what Erik meant that night? Is that why he said those things? What had Emma made so clear to him?