Wild (Cherik Book One)

Tell Each Other, You're the One

"Got something here to lose 

that I think you wanna take from me."

The three days following the camping trip went rather quickly. By time everyone had made it back to town and settled, it left little time for them to get everything packed. The small clan had gladly offered their time to Edie and Erik as the two embarked on uprooting their life and replanting in better, healthier soil. They'd made good time in the end, everyone working through the night and waking up early to get a good start. And now that it was the last day, everyone dissipated having completed packing and cleaning the house. This now left Erik to his own devices until tomorrow morning, and he had a pretty good idea of what his plans would be.

Most things from the home went to charity, like Erik's father's belongings and anything that didn't hold deep sentimental value. It was freeing, really, to throw everything away. At one point Erik and Edie had even broken a few plates in their driveway, small explosions of emotions evaporating into the atmosphere. Erik doesn't think he's seen his mother so carefree and soulful like gravity had stopped pushing on her spine and the worry lines faded. She was singing through the house as the days passed, German tunes Erik had never heard before. Her hair was almost always down now, extending well down her back and to her thighs. It was quite a sight, when the wind caught it, similar to ocean waves crashing by against the sand. The beauty of his mother had always been there, Erik had always seen it, but now it could shine in ways it hadn't before. Her hollow cheeks were filling out and growing rosy from the tan. Small specks showing up on her skin and contrasting against her softening skin. A smile, bright and free had replaced the nervous nail biting and furrowed brow. The white noise in their home had developed into old records and endless stories of the family Erik was to soon meet. Most meals were now spent on the living room floor blended with so much conversation it was hard for Erik to keep up. Edie, it seemed, was quite the lively soul when independent of worry.

But, despite all of this Erik still found black spots in his excitement. Every day since they left the cabin had been mesmerizing Charlie. Erik had focused on his small expressions, his mannerism and the way he spoke. Nights were spent huddled close to Charlie taking in his scent and the way his lips parted when he fell completely into a dream. Most of the time Erik rarely said anything, it was just unspoken symphonies of emotions that harmonized in his breathing. The sunlight brought new challenges, as it always does. It was slow at first, in fact it had been Erik who was mostly pessimistic. He wallowed and huffed until Charlie embraced him and told him something so painstakingly poetic it made Erik smile. But, Erik thinks it was around the second to last day when that changed. Charlie's voice settled into this tone that was dripping with sorrow and longing, echoing in his eyes when they lingered on Erik's for a little too long or in his whispered poetry as Erik held him close under the moonlight. It was a plague, eating away at their minds. Life without Charles was something Erik never thought he would have to get used to, it was a concept unknown to his own rationale. The only other moment where he felt, for a second, what that would be like is when Charlie was passed out in the backseat as he sped to the hospital. That terror and emptiness he felt was nothing he ever wanted to feel again, and yet...

"Well, I think that's it," Darwin huffed as he pushed the bed of the truck closed. There was a stark heaviness in the air, a reality.

"Are you sure you don't mind running these to the shelter?," Erik asked and Darwin chuckled and shook his head.

"Not at all, it's your last day! Go spend it with your man," Darwin wiggled his brows in a teasing manner and Erik smirked. Darwin had offered to take everything to the shelter after days of Erik and Charlie hauling loads.

"Thank you again," Erik nodded, swallowing thickly.

"No problem, I'll see you for breakfast tomorrow, right? Jaybirds?" Darwin seemed to be struggling in his own right although he was hiding it much better.