Outer Space

Chapter 3 - Trying to Forget

    Jemma couldn't respond. She wasn't able to form words. Those words that had just come out of his mouth, a string of just five words that had just made a huge impact on her life. A string of five words that formed a simple sentence, a sentence that she never thought she would hear.

    He was smiling. She was gawking, with her mouth open, and her body frozen in place. She wasn't sure how to react to seeing his face, to hearing his voice. It was so strange like she was in another dimension.

    In the end, though he made her decision for her when he walked through the door that she had previously opened, and grabbed her in the tightest bear hug that he possibly could. She missed this, feeling him, knowing that he was there, that he was with her.

   But she couldn't do this. It's been too long to have him walk right back into her life like what happened didn't actually happen and like he never left in the first place. So she pulled back, pushing his chest away and taking a step back.

    "I have to go." She said walking back up to him and pushing him out the door as she herself exited the apartment. As she closed the door behind her she didn't care that she left all of the things she had previously packed to take over to Emmie's. She couldn't be around him any longer. The few minutes that they stood together alone were too much. But as she walked away she couldn't help look back over her shoulder at his dumbfounded expression and say, "I can't do this right now Maddox."

..........

    On her way to Emmie's, Jemma was stuck in the depths of her mind. Replaying old memories that she thought she had forgotten years ago, memories that she fought and battled her mind to forget because she didn't want to remember. She never wanted to remember.

    She wanted to forget again, she needed to forget again. Jemma couldn't take it any longer ditching her plans to go to Emmie's she turned around and headed towards the Nonstop Diner.

    Once she arrived she pulled open the door and saw Janie standing behind the counter. Going up to her she asked, "where's Charlie at."

    Ignoring Jemma's blatant misuse of the English language and proper grammar, Janie answered, "in the back. I think she's taking a nap."

    Jemma then walked right up to the counter, around Janie, completely ignoring the constant sound of disapproval coming from Janie's mouth. She walked through the door that leads to the backroom, having been there plenty of times in the past, she knew exactly where to go. She also knew where Charlie likes to take her naps best. On the, in Jemma's opinion, uncomfortable bean bag that she had previously hidden in the storage closet.

    Bursting threw the door, not in any way trying to be quiet, or considerate towards Charlie's current state of sleepiness, she spotted her exactly where she expected her to be. "What the hell," Charlie said in a voice that clearly stated, I just woke up.

    Getting right to the point Jemma simply said, "I need to get drunk." The one thing that Jemma promised Charlie she would always do is go to her when she wanted to do bad shit. It was their one rule.

    Knowing how to respond to this statement, having done so plenty of times already in the past, Charlie didn't bother asking any questions. She just said, "Well I get off in like 10 minutes but I can totally ditch now. You want to go to my apartment?" The one thing Charlie wasn't sure on was how bad things currently were because whenever things got tough for Jemma she would go to her. If it was an I'm bored and need something to do kind of thing they would just go to the bar to have a good time. But, if it was a cry it out, girl talk kind of problem they would go to Charlie's apartment to avoid the strange looks they would get otherwise.

..........

    Once they arrived at Charlie's apartment Jemma didn't even bother waiting till Charlie closed the front door before she walked over to the kitchen. Going straight to the cabinet where she knew Charlie kept her best stuff, she grabbed the first bottle she could get her hands on and downed as much as she could in one sip. "Slow down." Jemma heard from behind her, but she didn't feel the need to listen, taking another gulp of the battery acid like alcohol, her favorite.

    "Seriously, slow the fuck down!" This time Charlie didn't let her get away without listening as she ripped the bottle out of her hand. "I get it okay. But it will be a hell of a lot more enjoyable if you take your time."

    Jemma didn't want enjoyable though. She wanted to get drunk. She wanted to get so blackout drunk that she couldn't remember where she lived or even her own name, let alone those stupid memories that won't leave her alone.

    "Is this about him hitting you again because I saw that bruise on your cheek this morning. I can help you Jem. You can pack a bag and stay here for as long as you want." Charlie had offered her couch to Jemma on numerous occasions, but Jemma always comes up with a reason as to why she should say no. And as to why Jemma was so upset Charlie was really grasping at straws as she guessed, having completely no idea as to the real reason.

    "No." was Jemma's simple response. She had her eyes pointed away from Charlies. Looking anywhere but at Charlie because if she looks at her then she might want to tell her, but that would be the opposite of forgetting. That would lead her to dredge up even more memories. Memories that she doesn't want back in her head.

    "I know damn well that you can get alcohol on your own! You only come to me when you want to talk this shit out so quit pretending and open your goddamn mouth and tell me what the fuck has you so messed up right now." Charlie really didn't take well to people that said no to her.

    "How about we get drunk, then I talk to you?" Knowing that she was aiming for blackout drunk she figured that Charlie would forget and drop it before she started asking questions again.

    "Fine." Charlie relented grabbing two glasses from the cabinet above her head and pouring some of the previously mentioned battery acid like alcohol into both of them.

    Surely enough thoughts of Maddox started to float away, but as Jemma was getting hammered out of her mind she didn't notice that Charlie was drinking far less than she was. Bitch, she thought.

    "Time to get talking Jem," Charlie told her.

     And being as intoxicated as she was, Jemma couldn't help but spill her guts or at least the parts that she was able to remember, she could barely string a proper sentence together in the state she was in. But after only one barely put together sentence, Charlie was able to understand enough to know that Jemma was right when she said that she needed to get drunk.