the choice • charlie conway

chapter thirteen

sadie

I wake up with an insanely bad headache. I'm talking like migraine territory. That's how bad my head hurts.

I sit up and stretch, trying to get myself out of the foggy dreamlike state I'm in and into reality. When it finally registers in my brain where I am, I quickly start to panic. I'm not at Ella's, and my mother could be there right now trying to find me.

See, the thing with lying to your parents about where you're going is that there usually are repercussions. I mean, my lie wasn't huge. I just told my mom that I was spending the night at Ella's, which would've been true if I didn't end up falling asleep here.

I get out of the huge comfy bed, leaving Charlie still buried under the covers and fast asleep. As I stand up, I almost stumble over, which isn't good. A clear sign that I had too much to drink.

I sneak out of the room and down the hall to Adam's room, because that's where I know Ella is. I open the door as quietly as I can, and sure enough, her and Adam are snuggled up in his bed. My heart melts a little at the sight, and for a second I forget that I have to wake her up and get her home for any potential hope of me not getting in trouble.

My heart pounds in my chest as I approach the bed and shake her slightly. "El, wake up. We have to go."

She mumbles something along the lines of "what time is it", but I'm too worried about getting out of here to try and figure out what she said. Because of the huge sleeper she is, I'm scared that I'm basically going to have to drag her out of here. To my surprise though, she sits up after another few seconds.

"God, my head hurts." she says as she rubs her eyes and stands up. "I'm never drinking again."

"You're telling me." I respond after yawning. "I think I had like five or six shots."

She instantly makes a face, which makes us both laugh. After grabbing the rest of her things, we wake up Morgan, who was sleeping in the other guest room with Dean, and run across the street into Ella's house.

As soon as we get in the door, I immediately hear my mother and Vanessa, Morgan's mom, talking with Marie in the living room.

Oh no.

The three of us casually stroll in, and I do my best not to look at my mom until she calls out, "Sadie! How are you sweetie?"

"Hi Mom." I say casually. "I'm good, thanks. How are you?"

"Oh you know, the usual!" she jokes, earning laughs from both Marie and Vanessa. Since I have no idea what that's supposed to mean, I back out of the living room and run upstairs to grab my bag.

As I'm coming downstairs, I hear Ella asking my mom if we can still go to the mall, because her and Morgan want to help me pick out my anniversary present for Charlie. Of course, my mom puts on her people pleaser voice and tells her that I'll meet her and Morgan there, but I need to go home first and "freshen up".

I take this time to say goodbye to my friends and get in the car, because I know my mom is going to hit me with her famous "I'm so disappointed in you" speech. And sure enough, those exact words leave her mouth as soon as we're pulling away from Ella's house. "I'm so disappointed in you Sadie."

"Why?"

"Do you really think I didn't know that you weren't here last night, but rather at Adam's getting ridiculously drunk with your friends?"

I stare at her in shock. "Since when do you care what I'm doing on the weekends with my friends?"

"Don't start with me Sadie." she snaps. "I've always cared about you."

"Oh yeah?" I counter. "When's the last time you asked me how Charlie's doing? Do you even know about the problems we've been having lately and how I'm scared he's going to break up with me? Have you finally stopped focusing on Maggie now that I'm doing things you think I shouldn't be? Because you and Dad are really good at ignoring me until I do something wrong."

She doesn't answer, and that's how I know I've hit my mark. Like I've said before, being ignored by your parents has its perks, but also has its stresses.

The rest of the five minute drive home is painfully silent, so much so that I basically bolt out of the car before my mom has even finished pulling in the driveway.

I allow myself to relax and freshen up in the shower, trying to tell myself that even though she usually doesn't show it, my mom just wants the best for me.

Since I'm sure my mom wants nothing to do with me for the rest of the day, I take it upon myself to ask Morgan for a ride to the mall. She agrees, and luckily I don't have to speak to my mom other than telling her that I'm leaving as I walk out the door.

Morgan is the biggest Taylor Swift fan out there, so it's not a shock that she's the only artist we listen to until we get to the mall. Ella meets us outside the front entrance, and off we go.

What I love most about the Mall of America is that it's huge. It's literally four insanely big floors of stores, which for a shopping lover's dream, a.k.a. me and my friends, is paradise.

My first and most important stop of the day is to the Minnesota Vikings store that they have here. Charlie is one of the biggest football fans I know, so I want to make sure he is stocked up with new gear. After that, I grab him a Wild sweatshirt, some candy, a new pair of shoes that he's been wanting for the longest time, and of course, a card.

When I get home, I make the basket that I'm going to give to him. I stock it up with his new Vikings jersey and beanie, his shoes, the sweatshirt, the candy, and my amazing card, if I do say so myself.

As I fall asleep after a full day of shopping and working to make Charlie's present, I can't help but feel really excited for Monday. Even though it feels like our relationship has recently been going up and down a lot, I know that we will make it through.

He is my best friend and I wouldn't trade anything with him for the world. A part of me does feel a little scared that he's going to forget, but I really don't think he would.

At least I hope not.