It's been over a week since Charlie last saw Molly or spoke to her. He had been keeping busy to distract himself, mainly between going to the gym, going for long runs and even studying for his mock exams. Her household came over for Jaz's birthday along with half of Jaz's grade and Charlie had to make an excuse to get out of there. He bought Jaz some books for her birthday and he's hardly seen her over the week because she's been that invested in them. Weeks usually go fast but this week has been the slowest he has ever experienced.
It's a Sunday afternoon and Charlie has just finished a short session at the boxing gym. As he walks towards his car he notices he has a voicemail from Aubrey. His first instinct is to delete it but he decides to listen.
"Hey, Charlie it's me. I know that I don't have any right to call you but I just really need to hear your voice. I've been in a dark place and nothing really makes sense anymore." Charlie hears her sniffle and she sounds as though she's been drinking and crying. "I know that I've got issues and I am so sorry for the way I treated you. Do you think we could talk? I'm in all day. I understand if you never want to see me again but I. . . need you. I've always needed you. Please, just come by and hear me out. Bye."
Charlie sits in his car for several minutes as he thinks about it. Part of him believes it to be manipulation which is what she used against him whenever he tried to get out before but then he also wonders; what if it's real? What if she's in trouble? The more likely answer is that her new plaything has dumped her and she's lonely but Charlie doesn't want to chance it.
He drives to her apartment and enters the building. He's giving her exactly what she wants and he's furious with himself for it. He knocks on her door and doesn't look at her when it opens.
"Hey," Aubrey says.
"You've got ten minutes," Charlie says, pushing by her.
He stands in the middle of what can only be described as a junk yard. The apartment stinks of rotten food and garbage. There are empty take out boxes everywhere, including the floor, and the kitchen counter is horded with empty glasses and beer bottles. Aubrey takes a seat on the couch in the lounge, her hair is greasy and tied back and she's wearing sweatpants that smell days old.
"Is this part of the plan?" Charlie says. "Are you trying to me make pity you by showing me a mess?"
"What plan?" Aubrey demands. "I didn't think you'd actually come but I'm glad you did."
"So you've actually been living like this?" Charlie says, twisting his head around.
Aubrey shrugs. "I've really missed you, Charlie. I've tried not to; I've tried to move on and forget you but it's been harder than I imagined."
Charlie reluctantly takes a seat in the smaller chair closest to the exit. "The last I saw you moved on just fine."
"That was nothing," Aubrey scoffs. "He was nothing. He doesn't compare to you, no one does, no one ever will."
Charlie laughs and rubs his chin. "I'm not playing games with you."
"This isn't a game! We were good together, weren't we? When we weren't fighting or hating each other we were really good."
"At the beginning," Charlie says. "But you changed, Aubrey. You started causing arguments just for the sake of it and neither of us could see how unhealthy it became."
"I'm sorry," she says, as tears stream down her face. "I didn't see how much it was hurting you, how much I was hurting you. I need you to believe me because I can't live without you."
"Yes you can," he says. "You'll find someone else, I'm sure of it."
"No. You're seventeen and you're more of a man than half of the men out there. I need you, Charlie and you need me." Charlie has heard enough and he starts to stand, prompting Aubrey to charge over to him. "Please, please don't leave me again!"
"You're begging," Charlie mutters. "Really?"
"Just give me one more chance. I promise I'll be the old Aubrey again! I'll be the girl that you met a year ago, the girl that you adored and who made you happy."
"It's too late," Charlie says as he pauses beside the door.
"It's not too late, don't say that." Aubrey walks towards him and Charlie freezes as she places her hand on his face. "I love you; I've always loved you."
"I don't love you," Charlie whispers.
"You still care about me or you wouldn't have turned up," she says. "Don't you remember the way we were together? The way we touched each other? It was fire."
Charlie swallows as she drizzles her fingers along his jaw. He catches her hand and her eyes are seductive and luring. Before he even has time to blink, she's kissing him. At first he tries to fight it but he can't resist it and that's the weird hold she has over him. The kiss becomes stronger and he pushes her into the kitchen counter as she starts zipping down his jacket and unbuttoning his jeans. He pulls away and shakes his head before moving towards the door.
"Like I said," Aubrey calls. "Fire! You'll be back!"
He doesn't say a word as he leaves her apartment. He runs down to his car, not stopping to take a breath. Outside, a group of kids on bikes are staring at him from across the street.
"What are you looking at?" Charlie yells.
He's so angry and he can't contain it. He thumps his hands against the steering wheel as he tries to make sense of what just happened. He takes out his phone and he scrolls through his contacts, clicking Molly's name. It rings for several seconds before going to voicemail. Charlie throws the phone at the passenger seat and drives home.
In the evening Charlie is forced to help Jaz with her homework after dinner while his mother enjoys her downtime in the next room. She's working on a case study for environmental science, and she's chosen trees.
"Did you know that some trees can live up to five thousand years!" Jaz says in an amazed tone. "It's called the bristle cone pine and it's found in Southern California. Cool, right?"
"Cool," Charlie mutters.
"We live in the city of trees," Jaz says. "That's what they call it because there's hundreds of different species of trees that cover like a quarter of the land. Trees are amazing, they produce their own oxygen through photosynthesis until they lose their leaves."
"Cool," Charlie repeats.
"And they make up thirty percent of the world's oxygen. Yet, billions are cut down every year, more are cut down than are planted. It's really sad because it means that one day there won't be any more trees because of selfish humans."
"That'll be hundreds of years from now," Charlie says. "You won't need to worry about it."
"How could you not worry?" Jaz says angrily. "They are beautiful, incredible creatures with centuries worth of life and we just come along and destroy them."
"Yeah for this," Charlie says, flipping the pages of her book. "Without trees you wouldn't be able to read about trees."
"True," she mutters, scowling to herself. "But we have the internet now. We have computers. I'm still on the side of the trees and I'll keep that argument in my case study."
"It's not just paper," Charlie says. "Look around. There's parts of trees everywhere. The doors, the table, the-"
"Yeah I get it," she says. "But it doesn't mean I have to like it."
Charlie laughs.
"Speaking of the internet, did you know that Molly has Facebook? I added her as a friend and she accepted."
"No, I didn't know that."
"We've been talking today," Jaz says. "Daisy's parents won't let her have it so I've been talking to Daisy through Molly's account. She's really cool."
"Yeah, she is. What did she say?"
"Nothing much. She said happy birthday for last week and apologized for not being there and then asked me what presents I got. Then mostly I was just talking to Daisy about my new video game."
"She didn't. . . mention me?"
Jaz shakes her head. "Nope. I'm good here, you can go do your own homework."
"Alright," Charlie says. "Goodnight."
His mother looks up from her movie to stare at him as he walks past. She begins to offer for him to join her but he's already up the stairs before she can finish. He undresses and gets into bed and curiosity gets the better of him. He goes onto his Facebook app and searches her name. Her face pops up and it's the first time he's ever seen a photograph of her. She looks happy as she smiles at the camera, she looks exactly like she does in real life, no filters, no weird lighting, just her. He hovers his finger over the friend request button for a while, knowing it'll be useless, but it's a good place to start. He clicks it. He waits for a few minutes but nothing changes. He gives up and puts his phone beside him and then falls asleep.
Charlie hurriedly jogs through the empty hallways of school the next morning. He's ten minutes late for class and he was warned if it happened again then he'd be given detention. His first class is French this week and the teacher is sometimes mysteriously absent so he hopes this is one of those times. He calms himself before bursting through the door. To his sheer luck it's another substitute. The woman doesn't say anything, she just rolls her eyes towards the desks.
"Sorry," Charlie whispers.
As he makes his way towards his assignment seat, the corner of his eyes catches a familiar face sitting at the desk over. He does a double-take, staring at Molly as she keeps her head down pretending to read through a book.
"Using the material in front of you," the teacher says. "I would like you to write a short story describing a character's journey while on vacation. It's an overused technique but a good one. You have thirty minutes and then each person will read back what they have written and someone else will have to try and translate it back to me. Good luck."
Charlie takes out his book from his bag and opens it to the page that is marked on the chalkboard.
"Hey," Charlie says over to her. "I tried calling you, why didn't you tell me you were coming back to school today?" She ignores him and turns her chair to the left, but he knows she's listening. "I saved your seat."
Her hand pauses whatever she's writing and she turns her head slightly. He can make out the small smile she projects before it vanishes. Charlie tries to focus on his work but it's hard when she's sitting just inches from him. Her hair is tied back tightly and he watches the way it swings when she turns her head. He watches the way her hand moves softly against the paper and the way her leg slightly shakes when she's thinking. There's something different about her but he can't work it out.
After thirty minutes most of the class are forced to read out their stories and other students are picked at random to try and translate it. Some of them get it right, others are complete worlds away. They take so long to read it that the class ends before half of them get a chance.
"Place your stories in your desk and the rest of you will continue next week," the teacher says. "You're dismissed. Good work."
Charlie quickly puts his half-written dribble into the desk and picks up his bag. Molly is ahead of him and he tries to catch up to her as the hallway quickly fills with rushing students. He loses her within the crowd.
"She's back then." Camilla creeps up behind him and then positions herself in front of him. "I saw the way you looked at her in class, she's the one that tried to commit suicide isn't she? The student the principal was talking about."
"Leave it alone, Camilla."
"Aubrey said you saved her from killing herself. I think everyone should know what a hero you are."
"I said leave it!" Charlie hisses.
"She's mentally ill but is getting quite the rep as a boyfriend stealer. My sister is heartbroken, it appears I was wrong about her, she actually loves you."
Charlie cocks an eyebrow as he senses the concern for her sister in Camilla's voice.
"Oh don't worry, I'm over you now," Camilla says. "I've moved on with Perry? Your friend?"
"Yeah, I know who Perry is," Charlie says. "Good luck with that." Perry hasn't stopped talking about Lauren all week. He hasn't even mentioned Camilla but to her maybe if a guy is nice to her then she takes it as a sign that they're meant to be.
"Don't hurt my sister, Charlie," Camilla whispers, her eyes are low and threatening. "Or I'll make that girl wish that she did kill herself."
Charlie's jaw clenches and he grabs her wrist as she turns to walk away, he yanks her back to him. "Stay away from Molly," he says.
"Or what?" She grins at him, pulling her hand free. "Touch me like that again and I'll get you expelled. Have a nice day."
She walks down the hallway happily, almost skipping. Charlie angrily walks through the school, looking for Molly at every turn. Camilla can't say anything to her in class but there's nothing to stop her from making her life hell in the hallways.
Molly isn't in any of his classes for the rest of the day and he searches for her in the cafeteria at lunch. She's there and she's eating lunch with a mixed group of girls and guys. He waits in line and buys a sandwich and then approaches her table slowly. Her eyes meet his for a moment and then she ducks her head down. He walks past her and exits through the door, jogging through the grounds towards his car. He wonders if she's feeling the same way he is, that being in a room and not speaking is killing him. She asked for space and he gave it to her but are they supposed to avoid each other forever? Ignore each other? He can't work out what she wants and he doesn't know how to make it right. He's starting to think he never will.