Charlie

In a matter of hours, the Linda, Jay and I pulled up to a fairly large house with a grey bottom that looks like drywall and a reddish, wooden top. There were stone covered posts holding up a ceiling over the front porch and the roof was almost black. There were two huge windows above each other – on separate floors – and two small ones near the door. Overall, the house looked beautiful and cozy.

Linda went up to ring the doorbell, while Jay and I took our bags out of the car. Jay had his and Linda's big brown suitcases and was bound to make a second trip for his work briefcase. I was dragging a large and heavy black suitcase and my backpack.

The front door opened and out stepped brunette that looked to be in her forties. She was tall, slim and had deep blue eyes that lit up with her smile as she saw saw her friend. This could be none other than Annalise.

"Linda!" she squealed.

"Anna!" Linda chirped back excitedly as they threw their arms around each other. They then pulled away laughing and chatting about how it had been a while.

"I'm willing to bet it's been since last weekend," Jay muttered beside me. I chuckled and looked up at him. He was really tall, and it wasn't because I was short – he was six foot three.

"I haven't met her, have I?" I asked.

"No, the two of them hang out all the time... but the families don't usually get an invitation," Jay joked. I smiled and nodded at that as we walked up to the porch steps. Annalise squealed once again.

"Jay! Long time no see!" Annalise ran down the stairs and practically tackled Jay as she hugged him, making him stumble back slightly with a laugh. She then turned to me and grinned "Oh! You must be Charlie! Linda's told me so much about you!"

"Hello," I mumbled shyly.

"You're every bit as beautiful as Linda said," Annalise smiled. Behind that smile, I could see a little bit of emotion and I already knew Linda told her my story. I gave her a small smile in return and proceeded to dragging my hefty suitcase up the porch stairs. "Here honey, let me help you with that. It looks like it weighs more than you do."

"It probably does," I muttered, ignoring her attempt to take the suitcase from me. Once I managed to pull it inside the house, I headed back to the car and grabbed my guitar.

"Would you like me to show you to your room?" Annalise asked as I stepped inside once again. I nodded shyly. "Here, let me at least take your guitar." I handed it to her mumbling a 'thank you'.

I dragged my suitcase up the stairs as Annalise talked about how happy she was to have us here, though she was sorry about the circumstances it was under. She even managed to fit in how she and Linda had been friends since high school.

The room I was staying in was sort of simple, yet sophisticated. It had light green walls, a single bed with four posts, a desk, a dresser and a door leading to a bathroom. My favourite part was the window next to the bed. I was always on the edge of things if I could. Windowsills, railings, counters, tree branches. I'd always liked heights, and I probably always would.

Annalise put my guitar on the bed and smiled at me.

"Thank you very much," I said politely.

"You're welcome darling. If you need anything, just let me know! I'll be downstairs with Linda and Jay!" she told me. I nodded and put my suitcase flat on the deep brown wooden floor. Annalise exited the room leaving me to unpack by myself. I noticed that the desk had a charging dock with speakers for my phone, so I walked over and hooked up my phone.

Feeling a little angsty, and very Canadian, I put on Avril Lavigne's Complicated and smiled as the familiar tune came out of the speakers. I hummed a long as I put my clothes into drawers of the dresser. A few more Avril Lavigne songs played as I began putting clothes on hangers for the closet.

Soon, I realized how thirsty I was, and hit pause on my music before leaving my room. I was in the hallway heading for the kitchen when I noticed an all too familiar brunette boy leaving the room across the hall.

"Charlie?" Mason said. I stared at him open mouthed for a moment, but quickly shut it.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. I blushed the moment it was out of my mouth. It sounded a little ruder than I intended, but he caught me off-guard.

"I live here," he said, a small smile playing on the edge of his lips. "What are you doing here?" he asked, absent-mindedly tugging down one of his sleeves. I bit my lip to keep from frowning – or asking.

"Um, remember that little fire in my house?" I teased, hoping to see a little joy in his green eyes. Mason nodded and laughed making a fluttery feeling appear in my chest. "Well apparently, your mother and Linda have been best friends since high school and Annalise invited us to stay until our renovations are finished."

"Oh," Mason mumbled. Not quite the reaction I was hoping for. We stared at the floor uncomfortably for a moment before he spoke again. "Well – uh – can I get you something?"

"Um, I was just going to get some water..." I replied.

"You finish unpacking and I'll get it for you," Mason offered.

"Thank you." I gave him a small smile before stepping back into my room. I headed to my phone and scrolled down my list of songs. I stopped at Ever After by Marianas Trench and hit play. As I hung clothes in the closet, I found myself singing along to the music – maybe singing was an understatement. It was more like belting as loud as I could go.

"'And I breathe disaster, ever– ah!" I squeaked seeing Mason standing in the doorway. I could carry a tune, but it wasn't something I generally shared with anyone. I stood there frozen for a moment, before Mason smirked at me. "How long have you been standing there Grey?"

"Long enough Young," he replied teasingly. He handed me the glass of water and then added, "you have a nice voice."

I felt my face heat up as I took the glass from his hands. "Um, it's decent, I guess." I took a huge gulp of water and put the glass down on the desk.

"So humble," Mason teased as I turned the music down. I laughed and continued hanging clothes in the closet. He leaned against the wall next to the closet. "So, how bad was the damage?"

"Luckily, most of it was contained to the kitchen, though a lot of downstairs looked like a sea of black inside. The floor in my room is also a bit damaged too, but the rest of the house is fine."

"Okay, that's not too bad," he said. I nodded in agreement. We were quiet for a little while, the only sounds filling the room were my music and the shuffling of me putting away clothes.

"Charlie! Mason!" We heard Annalise call from downstairs. "Dinner is ready!"

***

For dinner, we were eating spaghetti Alfredo with grilled chicken and it was quite delicious. While the adults spoke and I chewed quietly, I looked around the dining room noticing most of its details. The walls were pearl white looking colour, and the floor was covered in a light brown, smooth tile, which contrasted nicely with the dark wooden table. There was vase on the centre of the table with an assortment of flowers inside. The chairs were dark brown, while their cushions were a creamy brown colour. The table was meant for four, but Annalise had brought me a chair to sit on.

"So, how's Derek doing?" Jay asked. It was a simple enough question, but the atmosphere in the room seemed to shift. Linda shot him a look so subtle, I wouldn't have caught it if I didn't spend a lot of time with her. Mason was glaring down at his plate as if it had wronged him, and Annalise wore an uncomfortable smile.

"Oh, he's...good," Annalise settled on vaguely. "Working hard."

"So that's what we're calling it these days," Mason muttered under his breath.

"Mason," Annalise warned, the phoney smile beginning to fade.

"No, Linda's your best friend, so wouldn't she know that he's actually a good for nothing jerk who's never there for his family?"

"Mason!" Annalise chided. Her smile was replaced by a sad expression. "He's your dad and he loves you!" The food now felt like rocks in my stomach.

"Whatever... I don't need a dad if it's him," he spat out.

At least he has a father... I thought furiously.

The silence around the table was only disrupted by the sound of my chair scraping against the floor as I pushed away from the table angrily. My speed increased with every step as I ran out of the dining room and up the stairs. I slam the door of my new room behind me and turn my music on loudly. As hot tears rolled down my cheeks, I wiped them away angrily.

How could he not want his dad, when he's hard at work for his family? How can he talk about him like that? I thought. Some of us were running into burning buildings to save what they had left of their fathers.

I heard a loud knock on the door.

"Go away!" I yelled.

"Charlie..." I recognize Mason's voice and I roll my eyes.

"What part of 'go away' don't you understand?" I yelled getting off the bed. I walked over to the door and locked it before going to turn the music up.

"Charlie!" Mason called over the music. "Let me in!"

"No! Piss off!"

"Please," he said. I barely heard him but something about it made me sigh and turn off the music. I walked over to the door and opened it.

"What?" I asked sharply.

"I want to apologize. I'm really sorry." The sadness on his face stirred something inside me. Sadness for me. It made me angry. "Linda told me... nothing specific really, but I know your dad di–"

"I don't need your pity. You need your pity." I interrupted. "So, what if he isn't home a lot? At least he's alive! Do you know how happy some people would be to see their dad just once more?" My voice broke in the middle of the word 'once'.

"You don't even know the situation," Mason snapped. His eyes looked harder than usual and his arms were folded tightly across his chest. His jaw was jutted out a teeny bit, making him look slightly stubborn. I glared at him and swallowed hard.

"I don't have to... Just once," I whispered before closing the door in his face.

In frustration, I threw myself on to the bed.

Ugh! Why am I so stupid? I groaned internally. If I didn't leave the straightener on, this whole freaking mess wouldn't have happened. I wouldn't have gotten pissed off at Mason, and I wouldn't have come so close to sharing my life with him. He doesn't need to know, and he certainly wouldn't care.

I sighed and looked over at my guitar, that was beckoning me to play it and calm down. I picked it up and began strumming through the songs I knew for the next twenty minutes. Once I'd settled down, I put the guitar down and got up to wash my hands.

While the instrument was one of my favourite hobbies, I hated the strings made my fingers smelled like metal, and it burned my fingers a little. As the cold water hit my hands, it splashed onto my arms as well. Concealer from my wrists began to wash off my skin and drip into the sink.

What no one knew was that Mason's new scars, matched my old ones.

________

Author's Note: So much to take in all in one chapter and I left you on a cliff hanger! What are your thoughts? Was Charlie harsh? Was Mason insensitive? Do you want to hear more of their back stories?

On a serious note, if any of you feel like hurting yourself in any way, it is extremely important that you talk to someone about it. It's not something to take lightly and you are important, and deserve to be healthy and happy. <3

On another note! Let me put you on to the songs Charlie listened to because they are amazing!! And if you're not Canadian, you're probably sleeping on both of these artists (or at the very least, Marianas Trench)!

https://youtu.be/FynZChaDqQs

https://youtu.be/MkaMCFp4x38

(Let me know what you think of this one; it's one of my all time favourites!)

Anyways! I hope you all have a great week! 

Stay safe and healthy xoxo