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If it were personal, Mali was the first I talked to.
Staring at the phone in my hand, my heart skipped a beat when I realized whose chat I opened.
Charlie’s.
It made sense. All the drama was about him and I, anyway. But somehow, my brain went straight to him when I panicked.
What did thatmean?
Since I was there, I sent him a message, telling him we needed to talk and to find me in my car. After looking at the time, I realized he was probably on his way to practice and I wouldn’t see him for at least another hour or more.
Hours of sitting in the car, waiting. I had nowhere to go. No one I could talk to. Malia and Ali wouldn’t be too mad if I told them the truth, but I still didn’t want to do that before I smoothed things over with Charlie. I had no idea whether he had seen the Fairy Godmother post yet or not.
All the uncertainty made my heart race, my palms clammy, and my mind go into overdrive.
Over the next hour and a half, I came to a few conclusions.
The reason I was so upset about the news breaking?
Because the rumors were true.
Why did I jump on Ali and blame his girlfriend?
Because I needed to find someone to blame, even though the call was coming from my own house here.
It was dumb to think I could keep a secret like this from everyone. Especially when Charlie and I went topublicplaces each time. Sitting in the back of a restaurant was one thing, but making out in an open field? Reckless. Careless. Stupid.
And the last thing that I finally admitted to myself?
I really liked Charlie. A lot. More than a friend.
And that realization scared me the most.
Well after soccer practice ended, most of the parking lot had cleared out. Charlie hadn’t messaged me back about meeting at my car. I began to worry that he saw post and was now ghosting me.
It wouldn’t be the first time I screwed up something that bad.
When the lot was almost completely deserted, I knew it was time to give up. My butt ached from sitting in the seat for so long, my legs cramping.
Just as I reached to put the key in the ignition, the back passenger side door opened and a gym bag flew into the backseat. A second later, the front door swung open and Charlie tumbled into the car.
The scent of him straight from the shower made my heart do a weird palpitation in my chest. I breathed in deep, not sure why, but knowing the smell calmed me. Considering I spent the last two hours in a complete frenzy, it was a welcome feeling.
Charlie looked at me, his face a bit pale, a frown pulling everything down.
“I screwed up,” he said.
“We have a problem,” I said at the same time.
“You go first,” we both said next.
Charlie rested against the seat, pushing his fingers into his hair and disheveling the wet strands. “I talked to your dad.”
I automatically jumped into defense mode. “Excuse me? You did what? Mydad? Are you insane or just—”
He stopped me before I could say something I didn’t mean by turning his head toward me and staring at me, his eyes full of sadness and worry.
“I was unfocused at practice yesterday. So much so that I had to stay after for laps. He assumed I was having girl problems. He brought you up in a completely unrelated manner, but… I don’t know. He mentioned you. You were already on my mind, and I… I asked why you didn’t play soccer anymore.”
