Wow. I can't believe that it's been 2 years since I've touched this story. A lot has happened in 2 years. One of the main reasons, in the later part of 2016, for me not writing was that I became pregnant and most of my energy was depleted. Then in 2017 I had my son and my main focus has been on him; it still is but now he has more of a schedule which allows me to write and read, something that I used to do before I had a baby.
I hope that this is a good chapter. I feel so rusty due to not writing for a while. So please bear with me while I get back into the swing of things. I feel like this is a really short chapter compared to what I could write. But I'm attributing that to me not writing in a long time.
When Charlie took off running, she wasn't sure where she was going to run off too. She felt like she was being suffocated. Of course it didn't help that her chest was tight and it was making it hard to breathe. She couldn't believe her dad. He had promised her that the last time he was being deployed it would be his last time. How could he do this to her? She just didn't understand it. It just wasn't fair.
"Bolton!" Seth called from down the hall. "Charlie stop!"
Charlie turned around and came to a stop down the hall. "Go away Seth," Charlie muttered to him.
"No. Your dad wanted me-" Seth started to say but Charlie cut him off.
"I don't give a damn what my dad thinks. He can go to hell for all I care," Charlie snapped.
"Woah Charlie... let's sit and tell me what happened," Seth said leading Charlie to the side stair well. The pair sat down on the stairs. "What happened?"
"My dad's being deployed again," Charlie said quietly. "He leaves on Monday."
"Okay? So..." Seth said and he stopped when Charlie glared at him.
"He promised me he wouldn't be deployed again. He made that promise to me when I asked him about it last time he was deployed," Charlie said.
"Charlie you know your dad can't make those promises," Seth said softly.
"I don't care that he can't make those promises. He made it and now he's leaving again!" Charlie said. "I think my dad's been deployed more times than I can count on one hand in my 17 years of life."
"Charlie… that comes with the territory," Seth said to her. "I know it hurts, and I know he made that promise to you, but you can't be angry at him for his job telling him what he has to do."
"Why do you have to be right?" Charlie muttered.
"Because it's the same thing that I faced a year ago and probably the same thing I'll be facing in a few months," Seth said. "It doesn't get any easier and when you add a family into the mix, it's hard Charlie. And you acting like this isn't making it any easier on your dad."
"Thanks for the advice Seth but I really just want to be left alone," Charlie said as she stood up and stepped down a few steps before running off down the hallway.
Seth sighed and he knew that he should follow her but he didn't want to piss off Charlie. Any Bolton temper was a nasty temper, but a pissed off Charlie, that temper just wasn't something anyone wanted to be on the receiving end of. So instead, Seth headed back towards the gym. He knew that Troy was expecting Charlie to come back with him but unfortunately that wasn't how it was going to turn out.
"Where's Charlie?" Troy asked as Seth came back into the gym alone.
"She's… somewhere. I tried to get her to come back but she just said she wanted to be alone," Seth said.
"I'm really worried about her. She's been coughing a lot and is always out of breath. I asked her what was wrong but she said it was just a cough," Claire spoke up from beside her brother.
"I'll keep an eye on her sweetheart. I'm sure it's just a cough," Gabriella said warmly to her daughter's best friend.
"Mrs. Bolton, is it okay if I spend the night tonight? Charlie and I always spend the night together after a game. Plus it might be better if she isn't alone," Claire said to her best friends mom.
"Sure Claire. I'll talk to your parents after the game and make sure they're okay with it," Gabriella commented before turning back to the game, but her mind wandering to where her daughter was. "I'll be right back."
"Bring her back to us," Troy said to his wife, knowing that she was going to go and find their daughter.
"I'll do my best," Gabriella said knowing that their daughter was just as stubborn as he was. Gabriella headed out of the gym and in search of her daughter. She had a feeling her daughter would most likely be at her and Troy's special spot, a spot that she told her daughter every night for the past 16 years when she told her daughter the story of when she and Troy fell in love.
Gabriella opened the door and made her way up the stairs. When she reached the top of the stairs, she saw her daughter sitting on the edge of the schools' roof. She sighed and walked towards her daughter. She climbed up onto the edge of the roof and sat next to her daughter. "I knew I would find you here," Gabriella said softly.
"I guess it's not much a secret spot if you know where to find me," Charlie muttered coughing slightly.
"Guess not," Gabriella said softly. "You're father didn't mean to upset you Honey. You know that right?"
"I know he didn't Mama but he promised me…" Charlie whispered. "I can't help but be angry with him."
"I know that he promised you he wouldn't be deployed again and while your father shouldn't have made that promise to you, he can't help but what his job makes him do," Gabriella said.
"How do you do it?" Charlie asked her mom looking at her.
"Do what?" Gabriella asked confused.
"Act like it doesn't bother you. That Daddy being deployed and being away from us for a long time doesn't effect you," Charlie said.
"Not without some practice. It still hurts me, every single day that he's gone. But I have you and Lily here to take care of. If I were to hide away every time Dad went overseas then I wouldn't be much of a mother to you or Lily," Gabriella said softly.
"I'm not being much of a big sister to Lily am I?" Charlie asked her mom.
"No one is expecting you to be okay with Dad leaving every single time but Lily needs her big sister. She looks up to you and when she doesn't want me to comfort her she needs you," Gabriella said. "I'm not saying you have to be okay with Dad leaving but don't punish your Dad for his job making him go back to Iraq."
"I guess…. I should go apologize to Daddy," Charlie muttered looking down.
"Just cut him some slack okay? He just lost one of his friends and leaving you is one of the hardest things he's ever had to do. Even when you were little and he missed all those important school events, it was one of the hardest things he had to do," Gabriella said as her daughter pulled her legs back over the side and jumped down. Gabriella frowned as she noticed her daughter take a struggling breath in. "Are you okay? Claire said that she's noticed you coughing a lot and that you're out of breath."
"I'm fine Mama," Charlie said as she tried to take a few deep breaths, her chest finally easing up as she finally managed to stand up straight. "I'm fine really. It's just a cough. Probably allergies or something."
"Just let me know if it gets worse and we can go to the doctors okay?" Gabriella said hugging her daughter who wrapped her arms around her middle.
"I will Mama," Charlie said softly as the pair made their way back towards the gym. Charlie noticed that people were leaving the gym.
"Your dad isn't mad at you. He just wants to know that you love him," Gabriella whispered to her daughter knowing that she had issues with confrontation. Charlie smiled a small smile at her mom and she waited for her Dad to exit the gym.
Charlie watched people exit the gym one by one. She was bouncing on her feet. She finally saw her Dad and she rushed towards him, throwing her arms around him tightly. "I'm sorry Daddy. I don't hate you," Charlie said, tears in her eyes. She didn't want her dad to hate her for telling him that she hated him. She really didn't hate him.
Troy wrapped his arms around his daughter hugging her tightly. "I know Baby. I know it's not easy having me leave all the time but I promise you I will always come home to you," Troy whispered.
"Don't make promises you can't keep Daddy. Please…" Charlie whispered. She couldn't be heartbroken again. She knew that there was a possibility that every time he went over there that he could be killed. She couldn't handle it if he did but she knew it was possible.
"Let's go home. I think Claire said something about spending the night tonight," Troy said wrapping an arm around her daughter's shoulder.
"I should go and see Seth… and thank him for talking to me…" Charlie whispered. "Plus if I find him, I'll find Claire. And I think he'll also take us home. If Claire is staying over she'll need clothes for tomorrow."
"Go ahead. We'll see you at home," Troy said kissing his daughter's forehead before she disappeared into the crowd of people.
Charlie made her way through the crowd and she saw Seth's head standing out above the crowd. "Hey," Charlie said appearing next to him.
"Did your mom find you?" Seth asked her as he and Claire turned around.
"Yeah and I wanted to say I'm sorry… and thank you," Charlie muttered. She wasn't good at apologies, especially when she was in the wrong. She never liked to admit it.
"Hey I get it. I've grown up with you remember? I watched how hard it is for you and I know what it's like to leave family behind," Seth said with a smile.
"Do you mind giving us a ride back to Mom and Dad's and then to Charlie's house?" Claire asked her brother who couldn't seem to keep his eyes off her best friend.
"Yeah sure it's fine," Seth said wrapping an arm around Charlie's shoulders and his sister's. Claire glanced over at Charlie and noticed her cheeks turning pink. Claire smirked and they began walking towards the doors.
About 45 minutes later, Seth was pulling up in front of the Bolton household. "Thanks for the ride bro," Claire said as she got out of the car grabbing her bag.
"Thanks Seth," Charlie said as she got out of the car, tugging her shorts down before shutting the door.
"Hey Bolton. If you ever need to talk, you know my number and where I live," Seth said with a smile.
"Thanks Seth," Charlie said blushing as she jogged to catch up with Claire. The pair entered her house and headed upstairs. Charlie opened the door to her room and threw her bag on the floor before collapsing onto her bed. Her chest was hurting her and she was fighting a cough that was trying to escape.
"My brother has the hots for you and you clearly have the hots for him," Claire said to her best friend as she shut the door to the room.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Charlie muttered blushing.
"Oh yes you do. It's so obvious!" Claire exclaimed.
"Sh! I don't need my parents to hear you!" Charlie said sitting up, covering her friends mouth.
"I knew it!" Claire said excitedly.
"Look we don't even know if he likes me. And he's 21 and I'm only 16," Charlie said.
"Turning 17 next month so it's not so bad.." Claire pointed out.
"Claire… it's not going to happen so just drop it okay?" Charlie muttered as she went to grab her pajamas.
"Fine cranky. I guess I'll go shower then so we can just relax," Claire said as she grabbed her pajamas from her bag.
"I'm not cranky…" Charlie muttered as she opened up the door to her bathroom. One of the perks of having the second biggest bedroom in her parents house was that she had her own bathroom, where as her sister had to use the hall bathroom.
"You're cranky," Claire said. "But I'll over look that because I know things have been hard for you."
"This is why we're best friends," Charlie said to her with a small smile.
"Forever," Claire said cheekily.
"Go shower," Charlie said shaking her head with a grin. She didn't know what she would do without Claire in her life. Claire made her life better when her Dad wasn't around. She knew what it was like, due to her brother being in the military and leaving constantly and she had been there for Charlie when they were growing up.
Charlie didn't know how long she was in the shower but the warm water felt great on her body. After her games, she usually took either along bath or a long shower to let her muscles relax. It was something that her Dad had told her do to because it had been what he used to do after basketball games. But because she had a friend over, Charlie took a semi quick shower, or at least what she thought was quick. When she got out of the shower, she checked her phone and saw that she took a 45 minute shower. She quickly got dressed, brushed out her hair and exited the bathroom.
"Sorry… I didn't realize how long I was in the shower…" Charlie said to her friend hoping she wasn't bored while waiting for her to be done.
"It's alright I went and talked to Lily," Claire said shrugging. "And your mom said she'll make us popcorn so we can watch movies and such."
"Honestly, it's late and I'm exhausted," Charlie said to her friend apologetically. "I really want to watch a movie but I have no energy."
"Hey it's okay. We had a busy day. Practice, the game and everything else. We can turn it in early," Claire said concerned about her friend. She knew that her friend had been going to bed early every single night this week due to exhaustion.
"I don't know what I would do without you Claire," Charlie said softly as she unmade her bed.
"You would be lonely," Claire said getting into the bed. "And bored because let's be real I'm really your only friend."
"Oh shut up," Charlie said as she got into bed as well. She shut the light off. "Has Seth mentioned anything about possibly going back to Iraq any time soon?"
"No he hasn't but I think he's not going back any time soon because he just got home," Claire said.
"I wish my Dad didn't have to go," Charlie whispered.
"I know but just think, at least my brother is here to keep you busy…" Claire said with a smirk.
"Oh my god shut up," Charlie said rolling over and looking out the window. She couldn't help but let her thoughts get consumed of her friends older brother. She didn't know when the crush on her best friends brother turned into more than just a crush but she knew one thing was for sure. She couldn't tell him about it.