FrAcTuReD (Part One) (Completed continued in Part Two)

Chapter. 06 (Slight Edit)

"She wasn't feeling well," Alex said to him. "Not to mention she's still getting used to this place and doesn't know where everything is yet."

Michael's eyes narrowed on Charla. "Are you feeling sick?"

"Huh? Oh no!" Charla said quickly while shaking her head. "I just fainted, that's all."

"Fainted?" Alex's father repeated before moving to the grill that was behind the bar. "Have you been eating properly?"

"Yes, I have. It's just something that happens to me from time to time nothing major."

He didn't look convinced. "Hmph, major or not, I'm not letting you leave until you at least eat something, so sit down I'll make you something before you head home."

"No that's—" Charla stopped when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

"Telling him not too isn't going to change anything; the old man is stubborn when it comes to people eating properly." Joshua said and headed back to work. "Try not to worry about it okay kid?"

Charla became quite, Alex noticed how the girl was now touching the headphones around her neck, almost doing it instinctively. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah..." she said but didn't sound too positive about it.

Alex then looked to father and called out. "Hey Dad, can you make two stakes? It's on me okay!"

Michael merely seemed to give a half smile before shaking his head. "Alright, alright."

Not long after that both Alex and Charla fell into small talk while Alex's older brother, who was evidently finished college in the city, was now helping their father while also assisting with art programs at the local grade school.

Along with Alex's father shouting at Joshua for slacking off.

And when they were done with the food and made their goodbyes the two made their way to look around the town a bit more before Charla asked.

"So was that your whole family?"

"Nah, there's one more, I have an older sister, though she's real uptight with a big stick up her ass. At least that's how I see her; she never seems to care about anything except work."

"And your mother?" Charla said noticing how Alex seemed to leave the fact about a mother out of the conversation.

Alex went quite for a moment and looked to the now setting sun. "She passed away... it was a few years ago." she then looked to Charla and smiled at her. "Don't let it get to you though. Anyway is there another place you want to go before I drop you off?"

Charla's eyes seemed to look to the ground, shifting about as if trying to think before recalling something. "You said you saw me at a gas station, could you show me where it is?"

"I guess I can kind of see why you'd want to be here, since I did see you. Which was..." Alex then pointed away from the gas station to the small shop that looked as if it had been closed for several months. "Right over there. I think you were just there to keep out of the rain. I think you were there for a few minutes before leaving to somewhere else."

Charla looked at the spot where Alex was pointing and for the briefest of moments, images flashed in her mind, of seeing Alex talking with three other guys, almost like looking at a blurred television. Charla grasped the side of her head before the images faded away. So I was here but... why?