A/N: Not mine. Don't sue.
This is my first story. Hopefully it's not as bad as I think it is is. :) Comments/flames are more than welcome!
"Charlie!" Claire called, walking into his house. "Charlie?" she called again.
"Out here!" he called back.
Claire smiled. It had been two years since the survivors had been rescued from the Island, and life was great.
Sure, life had its challenges, but they were nothing compared to the Island. Mostly, life had been amazing.
Like when Charlie proposed. They had been dating for six months post-island, and then one day while they were at the park with Aaron, he looked at her, told her how much he loved, and dropped on one knee. Claire said yes, and Aaron asked what was wrong when he saw his mom crying, "Did Charlie hurt his knee?" he had asked.
"Mommy!" Aaron cried, interrupting her thoughts.
"Hi, Sweetie! Did you have a good time with Charlie?" Claire asked, picking the two year old up.
"Yes! We played Power Rangers! I was blue!" Aaron laughed, thinking about the days events.
"Whoa, inside voices there, Turniphead," Charlie smiled, ruffling Aaron's hair.
"Thanks for watching him, Charlie. Kate and I got some great stuff for the wedding. Speaking of weddings, I haven't been properly greeted yet," Claire giggled.
"Oh really? Well, we'll just have to do something about that, won't we?" Charlie asked, leaning down to kiss her.
"Ewwwwwwww! No kissing! Kissing is gross. Nicole at school tried to kiss me. I threw sand at her," Aaron said, remembering the look on Nicole's face.
"Aaron!" Claire scolded, "We've talked about how you're supposed to treat girls. That's not okay, Sweetie."
"But, Mommy, you said not to hit girls. You didn't say I couldn't throw sand at them," Aaron replied, genuinely confused.
Claire and Charlie both laughed, leaving Aaron even more confused.
"Oh no!" Claire cried.
"What? What's wrong?" Charlie asked.
"I'm late for Aaron's doctor's appointment, "Claire replied while gathering Aaron's stuff.
"Alright, come by later tonight," Charlie said.
"I will. I love you!" she called, leaving the house.
"Yeah, you, too." Charlie sighed.
This was going to be harder than he thought.
"I'm sorry, what?!" Claire shouted.
"Keep down, Love, Aaron is asleep."
"Charlie! He grew up on an island with freaking polar bears! He's fine."
"Alright, alright," he retaliated.
"Why are you doing this to me, Charlie? Why are you calling off our wedding five months before it happens? Am I not good enough?" Claire asked.
"No! God, no. I love you, Claire."
"Yeah, well, explain this to me, Charlie, because I really don't understand," Claire said, trying to be strong.
Charlie sighed. Never had she said his name with such hatred. He did love her, he really did. And he was ready to be a father, too. So why was he doing this? He didn't even understand completely.
"Is it someone else?" Claire demanded, interrupting his thoughts.
"No!" How could you possibly think that?" Charlie replied, "You are the only person for me."
"I don't understand, Charlie, I really don't. You say you love me, that there's no one else. What's next? 'I really am ready to be a father.'?"
"Claire, you know I am. I just-"
"Are you using again?" Claire demanded.
"Claire! How could you even say something like that? You know I've been sober for four years," Charlie said. He knew that question would come up, but not from her. "I'm just not ready yet."
"You know what? I don't care anymore. You…I…I hate you."
And with that, she was gone.