Bad Boy Chemistry

44. Mute

Charlie's POV

Have you ever been in the moment, like a really great moment, where everything seemed perfect?

Like suddenly everything was okay, and you felt like the hard times were over.

That's how I felt when we were at the arcade.

We played games like air hockey, ping pong, indoor basketball, pinball! We even played laser tag, where dad and I were up against mom and Nora. They won, and I definitely believe that they cheated.

Afterwards, we went home, watched a movie and ate a crap tonne of candy.

It was great.

But then the moment was over, and reality set back in. I had just had one of the greatest days ever, and I still felt hollow.

I wish I could've just lived in that moment forever.

It was long past my bedtime, and I was unable to sleep. Headlights danced on my ceiling as a noisy car drove down the street.

I inhaled a deep breath, my eyes closing. After a minute, I exhaled into the darkness of my bedroom.

A million thoughts crashed into my mind, when all I wanted them to do was leave. I didn't want to think about Nora and Clayton, and Ryan. I didn't want to think at all!

~

The rest of the weekend was spent in my bedroom, alone, listening to my playlist on repeat, playing video games and talking to my pet cat, Cinnamon about all of my problems. I was completely detached from my phone. In fact, I hadn't even bothered to put it on charge.

Then came Monday.

I didn't want to go to school, which was actually quite strange for me, because I actually liked school, for the most part.

I arrived at school a minute before the first bell rang. I had walked here from home, rather than get any usual lift.

"Charlie? Hey!" Ryan approached me in the congested corridor as I headed towards my homeroom.

"I gotta go." I said, hurrying away from him.

I was certain I wouldn't be able to escape my problems for long, but I'd sure as heck like to try.

Ella spent the entirety of homeroom talking about her problems, she didn't even notice that I wasn't listening. During breaks, I didn't sit at our usual hangout. Instead, I sat in the library and did some studying. And when I was in class, I kept myself focused on doing my work, even when a few people had attempted to talk to me. It was going well.

I was actually able to ignore everyone.

Of course, when the bell rang for the end of day, I was accosted by all of the people I had been ignoring.

"Dude, what the hell is going on with you?" Ella asked, faking concern.

Maybe if she'd asked me that earlier instead of carrying on about her own minuscule problems, I might have told her.

"Charlie, can we talk?" Ryan asked.

Clayton's voice came next. "I just want to say I'm sorry, about kissing your sister."

I stood their silently, my eyes remaining downward, as not to see their faces.

"Charlie?"

I brushed past them and headed for the door. I just wanted to be left alone. I hurried past a bunch of people headed in the same direction, some of their shoulders nudging against mine. "Hey, watch it!" One guy complained.

I continued walking towards the exit before my shoulder collided with Ace's, another person I hadn't talked to today.

"Woah, easy there killer." He stopped me. "Where you headed in such a rush?"

I looked into his eyes for a second before walking outside.

~

That afternoon, I sat in my bedroom, The Neighbourhood playing through my Bluetooth speaker as I dug into a box of childhood belongings.

I had a bunch of old boxes in my closet, things I've collected throughout my life.

Photos, medals, ribbons, birthday cards. Practically everything I've ever owned.

I found an old picture of Ella, Clayton and I, when we were younger.

Life was much simpler back then. I didn't have to worry about conformity.

I shoved the photo back into the box and continued on to the next box.

Knock knock knock.

I rolled my eyes. I swear, if Nora attempts to talk to me about what happened with her and Clayton again, I will jump out of my window.

The door opened, revealing my mother.

"Hey Charlie." She greeted me with concern.

I didn't say anything. I was mute.

"Ella texted..." She cautiously walked in and took a seat on my bed. "She seemed worried about you."

I paused before continuing to look through the boxes.

"Is everything alright?" She put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Talk to me, please?"

I shook my head.

My mother hovered for a moment before leaving the room.

Harper's POV

"I'm sure he's fine, honey." John reassured me.

"No, he's not fine!" I snapped. "He was alright yesterday, he seemed happy. Now he's down. Ella said he didn't speak all day."

I paused by the sink, holding my hand to my chin.

"Do you.. do you think we should call Laura again?" I asked John.

"He doesn't need therapy. He just needs someone to talk to, someone he trusts." John said.

"I'm his mother. Why doesn't he trust me?"

John scoffed. "Kids don't talk to their parents about this stuff. Did you ever talk to your mother about all your problems?"

He made a good point.

"No, I'm calling Laura and booking him an appointment." I reached for my phone on the table.