☁️Little Charlie☁️

CH 44 // No more secrets

"Hey Charles" She said In a soft tone. "I think we need to talk".

no

"Can I come in?" She asked.

please no. I can't do this.

Tears came flooding out of Charlie as he immidiatly broke down into sobs. His hands now shaking out of control. The phone dropped out of his hand, crashing to the floor. But that was the last of his worries. His hands bawled up into fists and his eyes shut tight as he cried out uncontrollably.
He felt so many emotions all at once. Fear. Shame. Even guilt.

Just as he was expecting the worst, he felt a pair of arms wrap around him tightly. His cries came to a sudden hault and his eyes opened.
After a few moments Mia pulled away and looked down at him with soft eyes.

"Don't cry love" She spoke. "You don't have to be upset. I just wanted to talk is all".
Charlie's breathing slowed. He sniffled and gave her a nod. They had a seat on the bed. "So" She started, "What's all this about?"

"I um..." Charlie said. But he was too nervous to continue speaking. His hands fidgeted with the strings on his hoodie.
Unsure how to bring himself to speak, he got his phone out and googled the term 'Age Regression' before handing her his phone.
She took it, and as soon as she read the term, she nodded. Did she know about this sort of thing?

"So you age regress?" She asked. Charlie gave her a small nod. His hands pulled on the strings, scrunching up the hood behind him.
"I've actually learned about it while studdying psychology a few years back. So I know all about that stuff. Theres nothing to be ashamed about Charlie" she said.

Charlie looked over at her. "Really?" He asked almost in disbeleif.

"Of course. If this is something that helps you than I fully support it" Mia said.

"Wow...thanks Mia" Charlie said smiling. He blushed a little feeling silly for getting so upset earlier. He hugged Mia as a 'thank you' for accepting him. He thought back to the very first day he met Mia. At first, he didn't think things could get any worse after being pulled away from his hometown. He wanted to stay close to his Mom afterall. And being in the Foster Care system scared him. But Mia showed him that sometimes, change can be good. She had shown nothing but kindness and respect. After living under the same roof as his Father, he had forgotten what it was like feeling safe coming home, and how it felt knowing he had a guardian he could trust.

"You feeling better now?" Mia aksed. Charlie pulled away from the hug and nodded with a smile. He sniffled and wiped a leftover tear from the corner od his eye. "Good" she ruffled his hair, causing him to let out a soft chuckle. "Now get your stuff, we gatta get you to school".

Oh yeah. School. Bleh.
Atleast Alex would be there. He walked back over to his desk and packed up all his books. After swinging his bag over his shoulder, they went downstairs together and put their coats and shoes on before stepping out into the cold.

On the drive over, Charlie sent Alex another text explaining how Mia now knows about his regression and is fully accepting. Now that he thought about it, how did she find his pacifier?
He thought back to last night, after Mia went to bed, and remembered that he brought it downstairs with him. He must have left it on the couch after watching one of his movies.
He really had to be more mindful of where he left things.

15 mimutes later, they arrived at the school. But there still wasn't any response from Alex. At this point Charlie got worried. This wasn't like him. He alwaysed texted back. Maybe he overslept?

"Alright" Mia said once the car came to a stop. "Have a good day darling".

"Thanks Mia" Charlie replied. "You too". He opened the car door and made his way up the stairs and inside the building. The hallways were quieter than usual. Probably because everyone was tired and miserable being back.