Mr Smith, Miss Jackson.

Chapter 8

I wake naturally for once. No alarm jolting me up. Sunlight pours through my window and I yawn, running a hand through my hair to keep it away from my face. I try to sit up but a weight over my waist holds me down. I look to my right and see Charlotte laid beside me, her arm draped over me. She looks peaceful for once. Like nothing could go wrong. The dog sits on the floor beside my bed, looking at me expectantly. I reach a hand towards him and he rubs his head against it. His tongue falls out of his mouth, making me laugh.
"What's going on?" Charlotte asks sleepily. She slowly sits up and also laughs at the daft dog beside me. The dog suddenly leaps on the bed, shoving itself between our legs and lying down. Me and Charlotte sit up in sync and she cuddles up to me.
"Thank you for last night." She whispers. I smile down and her and softly stroke her arms. We sit in silence for a moment. Watching as the dog stands up and circles around before sitting in the exact same position.
"Uhm Charlotte?" I ask nervously. Small raised lines are littered across her arms.
"Yeah?" She looks up at me with a smile.
"What're these?" I know what they are but I still have to ask, to confirm. I turn her arm over, white scars, creating sickening patterns. She pulls her arm away roughly and slides out of bed, pulling on a long sleeve shirt as she goes.
"Please don't look at them." She mumbles. I follow her out and pull her into a hug.
"You're not alone." I whisper in her ear. I look down at my legs, covered in tiny, fading scars, only visible if you're looking for them.
"I don't anymore, Grace helped me through it. It was a bad patch. Every day I wished for the end but I had to keep going. It was like hell. I was trapped there, screaming to get out but no one could hear me. But then Grace found me. She showed me your music, said it had helped her and it could help me too. And it did. But there's always this feeling it could come back." I tighten my grip on her as though trying to hold her together.
"If you ever do return to that I'll be here to help. In person this time. I want to help every one of my fans but it's impossible. But I'll try." I kiss her lips softly and she smiles at me, wiping her eyes.
"I don't deserve you." She tells me. I pick her up bridal style and place her back in bed.
"And I don't deserve you so I guess we're even." I joke. The dog rubs his head against her legs as though sensing something is wrong. I pull them both into a hug. I get dog fur in my mouth and Charlottes hair tickles my ears but it's worth it.
"When you're all finished playing happy families can we go shopping? I need some new sneakers and Janna won't take me." Kyle leans against the doorway, watching the three of us.
"Kyle how did you even get in here?!" I instinctively pull the duvet over me, hiding from my bandmate."You gave me a spare key remember. So will you take me or not?"
"Can't you take yourself?" I complain.
"No, I need a second opinion. Come on, get out of bed. I'll go make breakfast." And with that he runs downstairs, leaving me and Charlotte to get dressed.