Charlotte's POV
I woke up the next morning disoriented and with an awful headache. I groaned. The last thing I remembered from the night before was paying the Uber driver. The second I returned to reality my heart dropped. Where was Will?
I felt like I was going to have a heart attack as I scanned my surroundings for my baby brother. Did he make it back? Did Lemon pick him up?
At the thought of Lemon, some of yesterday's memories came flooding back to me. I had cried for the first time in months, but Lemon was there to comfort me. She didn't even judge. Lemon. Had she stayed the night?
The aroma of bacon suddenly wafted into my nose, making my mouth water. I slowly got out from under my covers and tiptoed to the kitchen. There were Lemon and Will. Will was standing next to the stove in complete awe as Lemon cooked bacon and eggs in a pan. Bacon? We hadn't had bacon in the house for years.
Hearing my footsteps, Lemon turned to me and smiled.
"I figured I would go grocery shopping before you woke up," she explained.
"What time is it?" I said deliriously, rubbing my eyes.
"11:30."
Shit, I slept in. I quickly grabbed my keys from the counter and turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Lemon asked, disappointment seeping into her voice.
"I have to get to Jackson's house by noon for tutoring," I answered. "I missed his session yesterday."
"I made you breakfast," she stated sadly.
"Thank you so much," I said with genuine gratefulness. "For everything. But you should probably leave now."
"Why?" Lemon pouted, smiling. "Who's going to take care of Will while you're gone?"
"A babysitter is coming in a few minutes," I said hastily as I did a quick once-over in the mirror. I looked terrible.
"Why pay for a babysitter when I can do it for free?" Lemon asked, laughing.
For a reason I couldn't quite place, Lemon was getting on my nerves. But why? She had wasted a whole day of her life helping me when she didn't have to. And now she was even giving Will his dream breakfast. So why was I so upset?
Lemon must have interpreted my expression as worry, because she quickly made her way over to me.
"I was thinking about what you said about the surgery, and I have a solution," she declared with excitement in her eyes. "My parents can probably pitch in at least a thousand dollars, and if we need more we could make a foundation to help support you and your family."
Now I understood why I was so angry. She didn't think I could handle this myself, that I was too unstable or incapable of keeping my family safe. And now she was going to create a foundation to support me? What would everybody at our school think? What would they say?
"That's not necessary," I said, resentment seeping into my voice. "I think I can handle this myself."
"But yesterday you seemed so helpless! You don't have to go through this alone," she said, her voice laden with sympathy.
If there was one thing I hated more than anything, it was pity. I had seen it in the doctor's face as he gave my mom's diagnosis, I had seen it in my uncle's eyes after he'd heard the news and come rushing home, and now I saw it in Lemon's eyes. I wanted to throw up.
"Are you okay Charlotte?" Lemon said, suddenly concerned as she placed her hand on my bad shoulder. I jerked away. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry Charlotte," she apologized as I stumbled backwards.
"I think you should go," I stated coldly.
"I'm just trying to help you."
"Well, I don't need your charity," I muttered angrily. "And I sure as hell don't need your comfort."
I watched the sadness in Lemon's eyes transform into hurt.
"Okay fine," she responded emotionlessly. "I'll go if that's what you really want."
I watched, unmoving, as she grabbed her jacket from the counter and rushed out the door. I fought the urge to call for her to come back. For the second time that week, tears blurred my vision as the door slammed shut. What did I just do?
Will stood there in the kitchen, his plate still outstretched, waiting for the bacon that would never come. The smell of something burning filled my nose.
"Shit!" I exclaimed as I ran to turn the stove off.
"What happened Char-Char?" Will questioned sadly. "Why did you make Lemon leave? I like her."
"You wouldn't understand," I dismissed him. "Just wait there for the babysitter to come." To my great dismay, Will began to cry.
"But I wanted bacon! And now it's burnt, and the only person who can make it is gone forever!" he sobbed, sniffling uncontrollably as tears ran down his face.
"Jesus Will, it's just bacon! Why can't you just be grateful for once?!!" I was screaming now.
I watched in horror as Will's expression turned scared. He ran to our room, shutting the door softly behind him. I taught him never to slam doors shut. Of course he remembered. I held back tears as I ran out the door of our tiny house and got into my mom's car.
What was wrong with me? I suddenly realized why I never ever got close to people. The second I began feeling attached, I would destroy it before it could destroy me, like every other part of my sorry life.
And now I was completely alone.
Lemon's POV
As I sped away from Charlotte's house, tears clouding my vision, I fought the strong urge to turn back. Why did I keep wanting to help her no matter how many times she turned me down?
I felt absolutely awful. Looking down at my phone, I realized my parents had tried to call me at least 20 times. Yikes, sorry guys.
I decided to tell them that my data had stopped working and I was spending the night at Cathy's place. My parents had strict rules about me being alone with other girls, but Cathy was the exception. I realized I couldn't go home now, not with my parents waiting furiously, so I decided to take a pitstop at Cathy's.
As I got out of my car, Cathy was waiting with the door open. Her smile disappeared instantly when she saw that I was crying. She pulled me into a tight embrace.
"It's going to be okay," she whispered. "It's going to be okay."
Charlotte's POV
As I watched Jackson Matthews spell "they're" as "there" for the 5th time, I couldn't stop thinking back to the argument with Lemon. I was so clearly in the wrong now that I thought about it. She was really just trying to help. That's just what she did.
Jackson suddenly stopped writing to look up at me. I don't think I'd ever seen Jackson look shy before. But there he was, looking at me with those same eyes that made other girls' hearts melt. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
"So how's your arm Black?"
"It's okay," I lied. "I might need surgery, but I'll be back on the field in no time."
"Glad to hear it," he grinned, his eyes lingering on my face.
It was obvious that he liked me. I thought about all the girls that would do anything to get somebody like Jackson Matthews to like them. But my heart wasn't pounding in my chest, my hands weren't sweaty. I just felt empty.
"I was just wondering if you um, would be at school on Monday," he said, blushing faintly. "I have like this elaborate plan involving you, and I just wanted to make sure you'd be there to see it."
"Oh," I replied, avoiding his eyes. "I'm not sure."
"Well if you are, just give me a text," he continued on. "Just you wait Black. This uh... plan of mine is really going to knock your socks off."
"Please no," I whispered. But Jackson had gone back to studying.
Despite his reputation of being a jock, Jackson actually seemed super nice, and a great guy. I really didn't want to hurt him. Like you hurt Lemon, a voice in my head said. I quickly got up, surprising Jackson greatly.
"I got to go," I said quickly. "To work."
I wasn't lying, I really did have work later. 4 hours later maybe, but I just couldn't stay here any longer. I'm sure my manager would be happy to extend my shift.
"Oh," he said, failing to conceal the disappointment in his face. "Well I'll see you around Black. Make sure to text me!"
As I left his enormous house, I couldn't help but feel like his and my worlds were millions of miles apart. People really didn't realize how much they took for granted. I hadn't realized how much I took Lemon for granted, until she was gone.
Lemon's POV
Cathy had succeeded 100% in brightening my mood. That's what friends were for. But as I sat next to her watching The Office on her flat-screen TV, I couldn't stop thinking about Charlotte. I understood now. Looking back on it, I realized how much I had screwed up.
It was her life. And for me to butt my head in where it shouldn't be and try to fix everything with my family's money and my idealistic mindset would have angered anyone. I realized part of the reason I wanted to help Charlotte was to make myself feel better. I admit, I wanted to be the hero in her story. But there were no such things as heroes and villains. Life was more complicated than that. What there was were people with good intentions. And although I meant well, I had definitely overstepped.
I quickly sat up.
"You good?" Cathy asked with a mouthful of popcorn.
"There's something I have to do," I stated.
"Okay crazy, just don't do anything stupid," she warned, laughing.
"Too late," I called back as I practically ran out the door.
As I jogged to my car, I was overwhelmed by a surge of confidence that I'd never felt before. I probably should've gone home, but I figured my parents would ground me no matter what.
I sat at the wheel, preparing for the long trip ahead of me. I was really going to drive an entire hour just to apologize to girl I just met. What can I say, people do crazy things when they're in love.
..............
As I walked into the McDonald's at 11:00 pm, I realized how stupid this was. What was I even planning on doing? I was not surprised that the McDonald's was completely empty, except for a familiar girl in a red uniform.
"Lemon?" she asked dumbfounded. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to order a burger," I replied seriously, trying to conceal the smile forming on my mouth.
She just stood there, looking as beautiful as ever. I continued to stare at the menu.
"I would like the apology burger, with extra sorry and a lot of guilt," I continued, watching a smile form on Charlotte's own face. "Hold the ignorance and nosiness. Oh, but don't forget to add the begging for forgiveness."
"Is that all for you today?" she asked, the smile expanding to fill her entire face.
"I'm so so so sorry, Charlotte," I broke finally. "It wasn't fair for me to try to control your life. I was being naïve and selfish and just plain obnoxious. It really sucks that I had to go and ruin the best night of my life."
I paused, waiting for Charlotte to speak. But she continued to stand there, smiling at me with those perfect teeth. I figured there was no turning back, so I rambled on.
"It's just, I tend to ruin all the good things in my life. And I really didn't want to mess-"
Charlotte leaned over the counter and kissed me.
I held in a gasp as she pulled me in close, her good hand running through my hair and coming to a stop at my waist. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. Charlotte tasted like coffee and sugar, and I was addicted to the sensation of her lips on mine. As I wrapped my arms around her, I could feel her smile against my mouth. It was the best feeling in the world.
After seemingly forever, we finally broke the kiss, struggling to catch our breaths. I felt myself once again get lost in those pale green eyes.
"Wow," I whispered.