AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I sit on a bench, and the chill seeps from the wood through my tracksuit pants onto my legs. My butt hurts. The ache spreads from my buttocks all the way inside —
I bury my head in my hands. Eventually, I remove my hands from my face and take my phone out from my jacket pocket. I need to call someone.
First, I call Gilly, but he doesn’t pick up. The phone rings and rings. I can’t be surprised — he’s probably sleeping in after a long night of partying.
I try Hugo, and thankfully he answers after a few rings.
“‘Ello?” he answers, voice dry.
“Hi. It’s Charlie. Are you awake?”
“Am now.”
“Oh. Sorry.” I dig my thumb into my palm hard enough that I can feel the sharpness of the nail.
“It’s fine.” There’s some background rustles. “What’s wrong?”
“What? Why do you think something’s wrong?”
“Your voice,” he explains. “You sound…panicky.”
“Right.” I force a laugh. “Um. Are you busy? Can we talk in person?”
Hugo says he can, and I can hear the concern in his voice as he tells me he can get ready in two minutes and that’ll he meet me here. He hangs up, which leaves me on the park bench, staring at the tree branches moving around in the wind. It’s actually pretty fucking cold, just sitting here, and I should probably walk around to warm myself up, but I don’t have the energy.
Hugo arrives twenty minutes later with two McDonald’s coffee cups. “Here,” Hugo says, handing me a cup, and he sits down beside me. “It’s a mocha, already mixed in with two sugars.”
“Oh my god, thank you.”
“Don’t worry about it. I figured we’d need the coffee to stay awake.” He takes a long sip from his large cappuccino, then looks at me. “So, what’s up?”
“Um.” There’s so much to say, I don’t know where to start. I could just explain everything, but the thought of telling Hugo I slept with Lucas strikes me with horror. It’s not simply the embarrassment — it’s the shame. It makes me feel weak, to admit how quickly I let myself get into bed with him. All he had to do was ask and I did it. And that was after I found out that my girlfriend cheated on me, with him, no less.
I clear my throat. “I…I think it’s over between Cleo and me. She cheated on me.” And maybe I cheated on her too, by sleeping with Lucas. Does it count if we hadn’t officially broken up? I don’t want to think about it. I’ve got enough on my mind already.
“What! Are you okay? What happened?”
“So, uh…you know how I visited my family?”
He nods.
“It happened while I was away. I’d been trying to get a hold of her all weekend — I still haven’t talked to her — but that’s when she did it. She didn’t tell me, but I have definite proof. And now we’re broken up, I guess. I mean, like I said, I haven’t even talked to her because she won’t return my calls. I…I don’t know.”
“Shit,” Hugo says. “I’m so sorry, Charlie.”
“Yeah.”
“What are you going to do? Do you want to try calling her again?”
“Right now?”
Hugo shrugs.
Well, I might as well, though I doubt she’ll pick up. I call her, and it rings, and rings before sending me to voice mail. So, I send her a message.
Charlie: Can you please call me back? It’s important.
A few seconds later, the read receipt appears.
