Sidelines ✔️

01 • The Great Escape • 01

I try not to give it much thought and take a deep breath, pushing the window open.

Here goes nothing.

I move cautiously along the roof tiles until I near the edge where I know vines go up the side of the house. My Mom had been complaining about them since we moved in, and I was unbelievably grateful that she had yet to take them down.

Thankful I'm not afraid of heights, I dangle my legs over the roof's edge and climb down the vines. Relief washes over me when my feet touch the ground. Only when I turned around did I see a dark-haired boy staring at me.

Crap.

"Could you not have used the stairs like a normal person?" The boy asked me.

"Well, that would be boring, wouldn't it?" I say, brushing off the judgemental look he was giving me. "I'm Charlie, by the way."

"Yeah, I know who you are." He responded, giving me a thinly lined smile and scanning me over.

I felt my eyebrows furrow together, "have we met before?"

I could tell we didn't know each other, but something about him looked vaguely familiar.

"It's Jack," He said, looking at me in surprise, "I'm friends with — ugh — your stepbrother, Sebastian."

I realised then where I knew him from. Like my stepbrother, he was one of the stars of our school, Long Shore High's football team.

Jack eyes me warily, and I give him a tight-lipped smile before turning away to cut the conversation short in case one of my stepbrothers spots us and tries to drag me back up to my room.

I walk away from Jack and head around the side of the house. Emerging on the front lawn, I saw a group of boys having a drinking contest while another group of kids were lying on the grass, staring at the sky like they'd had too much of something.

Feeling awkward amidst the socializing crowd, I couldn't ignore the tugging feeling of it being like I'm an extra in a movie I never wanted to be cast in. Everyone seems to have their roles, but I'm still figuring out mine.

Where were my friends?

I sigh in relief when I see Joe's blue pick-up truck pull up outside the house. His car troubles were going to be the death of me.

Finally.

I rush over to it and swing open Joe's car door.

"Careful, Charlie. You know she's delicate." Joe tells me, stepping out of the car with an amused smile.

"If I damage the door, you'd finally get rid of the piece of junk and join me in the I-can't-drive club," I say, a sly smile making itself at home on my lips.

"Not funny, char," Joe says, taking out a cigarette and lighting it. I watch in disgust as he takes a drag.

"That's a nasty habit." Taylor critiques, walking around the car and greeting me with a smile.

Joe scowls at Taylor. "Blame your brother."

Last summer, I was a mess. My older sister, Alice, died at the start of the summer, and shortly afterwards, my Dad left.o For the rest of summer vacation, Taylor and Joe kept me company. We spent almost every day at Taylor's house while her parents worked. Jason, Taylor's older brother, was waiting to leave for college in the fall. One day, for his amusement, Jason offered us our first cigarette. 

"No, blame our friend. Taylor says, pointedly.

"What? Why me?" I ask defensively.

"If I remember correctly, you were the one that asked for the cigarettes," Taylor said and then turned to Joe, attempting a stern look of disapproval. "Honestly, it's disgusting. If the cigarette were a person, you'd run a mile to escape their toxicity."