Charlize Emma Dawson was many things. She was a horrible poker player, because she could not keep a straight face; she was smart and compassionate, she was an only-child, but most of all, she was late.

"Oh my God, why don't you push your car? You'd be faster," the brunette uttered exasperatedly under her breath.

Los Angeles traffic was a nightmare, especially when you're late for your pharmacology exam. If Charlize ever dreamed of being a nurse, she needed to be in time.

Aimlessly drumming her fingers on the steering wheel of her Renault Clio, Charlize tried to focus on going through her study material in her head instead of letting herself get frustrated by the traffic she should have anticipated. Tylenol, Phenytoin, Heparin; this final was going to be a big one. Even though she had studied for weeks, she was still worried she would mix up medication or effects.

With exactly three minutes to spare, Charlize pulled into the UCLA parking lot and bolted out of her car, heading toward the lecture hall in which the final took place. She reached the room just as the doors were about to be closed and quickly took a free seat in the back. I need to do more cardio, she cursed herself - pantingly - as she took out her pen and put her car keys away.

From across the room, Haley Reynolds, her friend and roommate, shot her a questioning look. Where were you? Charlize waved her hand at her and rolled her eyes. I'll tell you later.

"You sure cut it close there, huh?" Haley grinned as she came up to her friend after the exam. Haley Reynolds was a tall, black-haired goddess, as Charlize liked to refer to her. She was also one of the most laid-back people to be around. Charlize often thanked whatever God there may be for having her as a roommate.

"Tell me about it. Was stuck in traffic. I didn't think I'd make it, but the thought of retaking this may or may not have made me skip a few stop signs," Charlize grinned, thinking back to all the hours the two of them spent on pharmacology; not just in class, but also at home.

"Me and a few of the others are gonna celebrate being done with finals tonight. You in?" Haley asked.

"I might join you for a couple of beers, but I gotta get up for work tomorrow morning, so no partying for me."

"I thought you didn't start until next week?"

"I asked if I could start early."

"Ambitious," smiled Haley.

"Student loans," laughed Charlize.

The two of them started heading out toward the parking lot, trying to talk about everything but the exam.

"You want to go grab dinner?" Haley asked.

"I'm having dinner at the Clark's, remember?"

"Oh, right," Haley laughed in response. "Having dinner with your ex-boyfriend's family. Without your ex-boyfriend being there," she smirked. "Come on, Charlie. You gotta admit that's somewhat weird."

Charlize rolled her eyes but smiled at her friends remark. Haley managed to question her relationship with Nick's family every time she mentioned the Clark's.

"Dude, I'm telling you - it's not," Charlize responded as they reached her car. She gave Haley a quick hug and made to get into the driver's seat.

"Have fun with the in-laws!" Haley shouted as she walked away.

Charlize rolled her eyes yet again, turned on the car and started heading toward the Clark's house.

This time, Charlize was perfectly punctual. She smiled as she pulled into the driveway of the suburban house. She had always liked it here, even now that she and Nick were no longer dating. They met in high school, were the epitome of high school sweethearts. She had immediately been drawn to the scrawny, witty teenage boy and they soon became friends. At first she was opposed to dating him, because of her being two years his senior, but as they got older neither of them could deny their attraction. Not that Nick ever tried to in the first place.

They were happy for a while. They were inseparable. Where there was Nick, there was Charlize, and vice versa. First love - they though they were invincible. They had a good run for almost two years, but after Charlize left high school and started college, an invisible gap seemed to form between them. Nick became more and more distracted and distant, started turning to drugs. That's what ended them.

Wallowing in memories, Charlize did not notice that the front door opened and a middle-aged blonde woman stepped out of the house. She smiled when she saw the brunette in the car.

"Charlie!"

Charlize snapped back to the present.

"Madison!", she exclaimed happily as she pulled up the window and exited her car.

The woman met her halfway up the driveway and pulled her in for a tight hug.

"It's so good to see you!"

Charlize followed her into the house and into the kitchen. She had always gotten along really well with Nick's family, even as a teenager, but her and Madison's bond grew once Nick's addiction began getting out of control.

In the kitchen, Nick's sister, Alicia, and step-dad, Travis, were already preparing dinner. Alicia was the first to embrace Charlize. The 17 year-old had gorgeous long, brown hair that fell on her shoulders in waves. She had always been the perfect child; never acted out, always had good grades. Quite the opposite of Nick. Not that he was dumb. He was quite intelligent actually, yet he never cared about school. Or now, college.

Travis was the last one to welcome Charlize. "Good to see you, kid," he said as he pulled her into a quick, one-armed hug.

Charlize smiled at him. She always felt at ease around them. Not that she did not have a good relationship with her own parents. She did. They were just traveling a lot ever since she turned 18 and she never saw them much. Which is why she loved being around the Clark's. They were far from perfect. A patchwork family, with Travis only recently entering the picture, Nick's real Dad having died only four years ago. But they felt like a family. They where chaotic and they fought a lot, but it was evident how much love they had for one another.

"So, what are we having?" Charlize asked as she walked toward the steaming pots on top of the stove.

"Carbonara."

"Aw, you know how to spoil me," Charlize smiled back at them as she looked into the pots and, quite naturally, started stirring the sauce.

"So, how did your finals go?" Madison asked as she came up next to Charlize and took over the other pots.

"Pretty good, I think. I'm actually just coming from my last one. If everything goes as I feel, I should be starting my senior year not lacking any credits," Charlize answered before taking a spoon and tasting the sauce.

"Well, we wouldn't have expected anything else," Madison stated, and turned to Travis and Alicia: "Can you guys set the table?"

"Sure," Travis said before he handed Alicia four plates, grabbed some silverware himself, and left the room.

"How are you guys doing?" Charlize asked.

"Oh, nothing new really. Alicia is excelling in all her classes, as usual. I just took over another class in school, and these kids are a nightmare. Don't get me wrong, I love teaching, but God, no wonder their old teacher retired early. And Travis is a bit stressed with Chris and Liza, but that's not really anything new," Madison told her. Liza was Travis' ex-wife, Chris was their 15-year old son, who, as many teenagers, was rebelling against his Dad because he was dating someone other than his Mum.

"How is Nick doing in college?"

For a moment, Madison did not answer Charlize's question and just stared at the pasta she was stirring. Then she cleared her throat. When she spoke, her voice was heavier and sadder than before.

"He dropped out a couple of months ago," she started. Charlize looked at her, not necessarily surprised, but taken aback still. "He disappeared again," Madison added.

"How long?" Charlize asked. Nick running away was nothing new, it was typically something that happened after he had relapsed yet again.

Madison swallowed and Charlize could tell that even after this having happened countless times, this conversation still was difficult for her.

"A month."

"Jeez, Madison. I'm sorry," Charlize replied and put a hand on Madison's back. A month was long, even for Nick.

"Has he contacted you at all?" Madison asked.

"No, I haven't seen or talked to him in like eight months. I'm sorry."

The conversation was interrupted by Travis and Alicia returning to the kitchen.

"How's the food?" Alicia asked.

Charlize could see Madison take a deep breath, and afterwards, her voice was back to a casual tone. "Almost done!" She smiled at her daughter.

"So, Charlie, where are your parents off to this time of year?" Travis asked.

"They're in Paris at the moment, I think," she told him.

"You think?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I talked to them two weeks ago when they were in Spain, and they said France was their next stop. But you know them," she smiled. "They like to change their minds last minute."

"What a life," Travis laughed.

"Wow, are you saying you'd rather travel Europe than being here with a son that rebels against you and a step son who's an addict and disappears every few months?" Alicia asked him teasingly and Travis lifted his eyebrows at her remark incredulously, but smiled nonetheless.

"Alright, let's stop the sarcasm and have some dinner," Madison announced.

The group relocated into the dining room and everyone dug into the food hungrily. They talked about everything. About Charlize and how she was doing at Uni, about Alicia's excelling high-school career and plans for the future, about Travis' and Madison's jobs at the local high school. About how the neighbors were doing, about Madison's weird colleague who constantly asked where she bought her shoes, about everything but Nick. Charlize looked from her plate to her company and thought to herself that she chose a pretty good alternative to celebrating being done with finals. She cherished the Clark's company and all the banter, even if Nick was missing, and even if instead of Nick's Dad, Travis had now been at the table with them for the past two years.

When Charlize left, she promised Madison to come by again soon, and Madison and Alicia promised her they would come by the coffee shop Charlie was working at for the summer break.

On her way home, Charlize looked forward to having a beer with Haley and calling it an early night afterwards. Life had definitely been easier since she turned 21 last winter. Sure, she had basically been on her own since she was 18, but it was only since she had been able to buy herself beer that she had started to feel truly independent. She knew she should work on her priorities, but she simply could not be bothered.

When she entered the small apartment she shared with Haley, her roommate was already almost done getting ready for her night out.

"So, how's your lover?" Haley teased, not even bothering to greet her friend.

"I wouldn't know. He's disappeared again," Charlize said dryly. Haley's tone changed immediately.

"Shit. I'm sorry, Charlie. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I mean it sucks, but it doesn't concern me anymore, does it?" Charlize replied. "Beer?"

"Sure."

Charlize kicked off her shoes and walked over to the fridge, getting two beers. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the leftover food in the fridge that had not been there this morning. The platter for two from Mario's, their favorite Italian restaurant, which they usually only ordered when they were with the two of them.

Charlize looked up and shot her roommate a questioning look. "Who'd you have dinner with?" she inquired, curiously.

"You're quite a detective, aren't you?" Haley smirked at her.

"Yeah, I went to detective school," Charlize answered matter-of-factly. "Who'd you have dinner with?"

"Courtney."

A huge smile formed on Charlize's face. "Haley Reynolds," she started, "I thought you don't do third dates."

"Well," Haley started, but didn't finish her sentence.

"Say it," Charlize teased.

"I like her, okay?" Haley answered, faking being exasperated.

"I knew it!" Charlize exclaimed while Haley rolled her eyes at her.

"Stop getting so excited about this," Haley laughed.

"Why? I like her. More importantly, you like her. I'm just excited for my friend."

"You're exhausting."

"I'm adorable."

"I'm gonna move out."

Charlize sat down on the couch, taking a sip of her beer, smiling. She always liked to tease Haley about how casual she was about dating, and took advantage of every opportunity that offered itself once she noticed that Haley actually liked a woman she had met. Call it payback for all the shit she had gotten from her about Nick.

"Hey, I'm not gonna join tonight. I'm exhausted. Think I'm just gonna head straight to bed after this," Charlize said, gesturing toward her beer. Haley was already putting on her shoes.

"Yeah, I figured, with the beer and the couch and all," Haley smiled and took a big sip from her beer, successfully finishing the bottle. Charlize stared from Haley's empty beer to her own, which was still 3/4 full, and raised an eyebrow to no one in particular.

"I'll see you later," Haley said while walking out of the door.

"Be careful out there!" Charlize said, mimicking a motherly tone. "I love you!"

"You're annoying," she heard Haley shout from outside, but Charlize knew she was smiling.

She smiled to herself as well. She put on an episode of Friends, drank her beer, and once she was finished with both, she went to bed, thinking that it had been a good day.

The next morning, Charlize headed out early to the small cafe and bistro she usually spent her summers working at. She got along with the colleagues, the place was small, yet not too small, and the pay was fair. It wasn't the best, but she could not complain. She was almost done with her shift, thinking about what to do in the afternoon now that she had all the free time in the world, when her phone rang. It was Madison.

"Madison, haven't heard from you in a while," she laughed as she picked up.

"Charlie, I knew you are not involved in this anymore, but I thought you would want to know," Madison said, and Charlize was immediately sobered up by her tone. Something was wrong.

"Nick was in an accident," Madison said, sounding upset. "He's in the hospital."