THEY WERE ALL gathered in the kitchen, each of them taking up separate corners of their own space and staring at each other. It was an obvious test to see who would speak first.
Lindy had not thought that Charlie's news for her and Kurt could have been particularly bad. But telling by the way he stood, leaning over the island counter with a troubled expression on his face, had her thinking otherwise.
Kurt was sitting at the bar, looking back and forth between his son and wife so as not to miss the first words uttered in their conversation. As far as he was concerned, he would not be the first to speak, not while the spotlight was on his son.
As soon as Charlie had arrived, he'd led them both into the kitchen, standing in silence and waiting for them to get settled. But now, Lindy felt distinctly unsettled, trying to make poor guesses of what could have possibly been bothering him.
"So . . . it's pretty bad, huh?" Lindy finally said, carefully evaluating Charlie's response.
"Depends on how you look at it," he replied, rubbing his pointer finger against the granite countertop absentmindedly.
Lindy turned to Kurt, seeking input from someone other than herself. Whatever worry regarding Danny that had been beating Kurt up earlier was masked; around his kids, he tried his very hardest not to show his fears. He never wanted put them in distress.
"Char, you might as well just say it," Kurt said quietly. If he could reveal his own secret to Lindy about the tribute concert, then surely Charlie could do the same with his own secrets. Especially when he seemed so desperate to let his parents in on this one, if only he could find the proper way to start.
"I quit The Finks," Charlie said, the words sputtering from his mouth so quickly that he might have been misunderstood if it weren't for Lindy and Kurt listening closely.
"You quit your band?" Lindy asked. There was no way — Charlie cherished his band, even if it meant putting up with Liam's constant negativity.
"Yeah," Charlie nodded. "I did."
"When?" Kurt said, his voice calm as if the revelation did not shock him.
"Two days ago. It was when I was at Liam's house."
"Charlie," Lindy said, moving closer to him from around the counter she stood behind. "What happened? Are you guys in the middle of an argument?"
Charlie side-eyed his mother with a look of reproach and Lindy automatically knew the question he was thinking inside of his head — are you referencing the eight month long argument I've been having with Liam or Liam just always having been a shitty human being?
"It started out as one. But I made my final decision. I've been waiting to do this for longer than I even knew. It felt right," Charlie amended, glancing between Kurt and Lindy.
There was a firm glint in his eyes, an unshakeable determination to move past The Finks once and for all. Lindy saw it plain as day, but she could not actually believe it in full truth. It seemed so odd to watch Charlie break away from the piece of his life that had fulfilled a top spot of priority.
"I understand," Kurt murmured. He stared into Charlie's resolute gaze, a passage of empathy flowing between them.
"Hold on," Lindy argued. "I'm not trying to be the bad guy here . . ."
"Mom, if you're honestly about to try and say that I'm making a mistake, then I don't know who you are right now. I know you've disliked Liam from the start."
"It doesn't have to do with my dislike of Liam," Lindy said impatiently. She was waiting for Kurt to back her up, to see the obvious, gaping problem within Charlie's decision, but he was too compliant. He and Charlie had too much of a mutual understanding to ever disagree on anything.
