Told in three parts. Based on the song from Frozen.
~2001~
"Hello, Ms. Brewster"
"Well, hello there, Lizzie!" Jane Brewster smiled down at the little seven-year-old. "I haven't seen you here in a while."
"Charley's been hanging out with the boys in our class, that's why." Lizzie scrunched her nose. "He wants to be grown up, but he can't hide from me. I'm his best friend!"
"That you are, sweetie. He's in his room, go right on up."
Lizzie clambered up the stairs and down the hallway to the second door on the left, knocking in the special pattern she and Charley had come up with. Knock-knock-knock-KNOCK. "Charley, it's me, Lizzie!"
There was no answer. She tried again. Knock-knock-knock-KNOCK. "Charely! It's Saturday! Come on!"
Absolute silence. She thought she heard giggling behind the door, followed by shushing. She folded her arms, frowning.
Lizzie suddenly smiled and knocked once again. "Do you wanna build a snowmaaaaaan?" That would get him out of his room. There was never any snow here in Nevada, at least not where they lived. But they would use old boxes and construction paper to make snowmen when they were bored. It was Charley's favorite thing to do. "Come on, Charley! Let's go and play!"
When she didn't hear anything, Lizzie stamped her foot. "I don't see you anymore, and it's not fair! We used to be best friends, and now we're not. I wish you would just tell me why." She sniffed, leaning toward the keyhole. "We don't have to build a snowman. It could be a cat or a spaceship or a -"
"Charley's busy!" She was sure that was Ed Lee's voice.
"Yeah, no girls allowed!" added Adam Johnson.
"I'm not leaving until I speak with Charley!"
"Go away, Lizzie!" came a voice from the other side of the door. She immediately recognized it as Charley's, and it struck her that maybe, just maybe, he didn't want to play with her today.
"Oh - okay." She stood by the door a moment longer before whispering, "Bye," and trudging down the stairs. She didn't even look at Jane's worried expression as she closed the front door behind her.
~2006~
"Hello, Mrs. Brewster. Hello, Charley."
"Hello, Lizzie." Jane gave her son a pointed look. "Charley's promised to play with you today, just the two of you."
Charley shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Aren't you going to invite Lizzie upstairs?" Jane asked.
Charley shrugged, trudging up the stairs, Lizzie trailing behind him.
"My room's messy, and my mom's making me clean it," Charley said. You'll have to wait out here for a few minutes."
"Okay. You wanna ride our bikes when you're done?"
"Yeah, sure." Charley had already turned his back and shut the door. Lizzie made herself comfortable on the floor and waited.
Five minutes. Ten. Twenty. An hour.
"Do you think he'll open the door?" she asked the picture of Charley's grandparents that hung to her left. "I think so. He's just cleaning. Maybe he needs help."
Five minutes. Ten. Twenty. Another hour.
"I could just fall asleep right here." She bounced on Jane's bed, falling backward and staring and the whirring ceiling fan. "But Charley could be done any minute now."
Five minutes. Ten. Twenty. A third hour.
"Charley?" Knock-knock-knock-KNOCK. "I'm bored watching the clock, can we play now?"
No answer.
"Charley?" The door was unlocked. "Do you wanna build a -"
The window on the far side of the room was wide open, and Charley was nowhere to be seen. His room was still messy.
"Did you have fun, Lizzie?" his mother asked her.
She nodded and bit her lip, running back to her house.
~2011~
"Lizzie! Hello!"
"Hi, Mrs. Brewster." Lizzie gave the older woman a hug.
"I thought the funeral was today."
"It is. I just thought I'd - Charley and Ed were so close -"
"Sweetie, he's…Charley's been taking it really hard. And it certainly doesn't help that he and Amy aren't…"
"Oh. So you don't think he's coming, then?"
"I don't think so."
"Could I…could I go up and talk to him?"
"If he's up for it, sure."
Lizzie climbed the stairs, standing in front of Charley's door before knocking. "Charley?"
No answer.
"Please, Charley. I know you're in there."
Silence.
"Mr. and Mrs. Lee have been asking about you. Everyone's been asking where you've been lately. I know things haven't been the best." She gave a watery laugh. "My parents keep telling me to stay strong, and everyone says have courage, it's the only way you'll get through it."
Lizzie felt her throat constrict as she continued. "And the thing is, I'm trying to. But it's hard. And I know it's harder for you. I'm right out here for you, Charley. Please. Let me in."
She turned her back to the door and slid to sit on the floor, hugging her knees. "We're all that's left, you know that? Adam…and Ed…we only have each other. It's just you and me." She sighed, hitting her head on the door. "What the fuck are we gonna do?"
She waited for a response, but Charley was either refusing to talk or not listening at all. She would try one more thing, and if he didn't answer, then she'd leave.
"Do you wanna build a snowman?" she asked, her voice hitching at the end.
The sound of the door opening brought her to her feet, and for the first time in years, Charley Brewster gave her a hug.