Chapter 4: Sacha
Thursday 4: 38
Just got a call and was invited over to Stephen's house for dinner! Not like this is unusual, but it will be special because it is my 'birthday' dinner with them and Charlie will be there. Charlie lives . . . somewhere . . . far away. I should probably know where, but I don't. So there. What should I wear? I could wear the new pink dress I got with hearts on it; I look good, am comfy, and it's new (as stated before)!
Charlie is like my other older brother. Stephen is closer than a brother. Sometimes Jessica and my other friends tease me about us being a couple, and Stephen always blushes bright red as I laugh it off. They all know I already have a crush! (Ha ha, they don't know who it is though! Only Stephen knows that.)
I have to leave for their house in about five minutes; I think I will just walk. In that case, I will go put the dress on and get ready. SO EXCITED!
Until later,
Excited girl, Sacha Doven
The day after yesterday, Thursday 9:28
After the dinner, Stephen asked if I wanted to come over for a sleepover, and that he had something to give me. We had made a pact years ago that neither one of us would give each other gifts, ever, but every time we break it. It isn't expected, and that's what makes the gift that much sweeter.
So now I am packing my stuff up to sleep over, but I know I don't need much. I think I'm just going to bring a sleeper and go.
I'm going to change into a more comfortable tee-shirt and jeans for now, I can also wear that for tomorrow. Also, jeans have pockets so I can carry my phone in case of any emergencies. Not that there would be any, but it is always nice to have something to keep for security.
(Carrying a purse around is cute for a date (or so I have heard) or for a special occasion, but they get lost easily and if you carry one around for a while, you will agree with me that they are not very practical. Especially if you don't have any money to keep in your wallet. Like me. Oops. Ha ha.)
Charlie is going to stay in his room at their house! It was so nice to see him! He gave me a gift too, even though I said that he shouldn't have. He bought me some earrings that were purple and pink bows. They are so cute and I suspect planning from Lucas and Charlie. This is special because aren't what you would call the greatest of friends.
They get along fine together, but they have almost nothing in common. Charlie is getting married; Lucas has never had a girlfriend. Charlie is a drop-out of college (I hate to say that, it doesn't seem to fit Charlie), Lucas will probably end up being valedictorian and also win an award and be on the front of a magazine for some mathematical equation he figures out or some video game he beats. These are just some of the differences. Lucas and Charlie are about as different as can be, and it's funny, because Lucas is most like Stephen and Charlie is more like me. Sometimes I wonder if Lucas and Charlie were somehow mixed up at birth, even though there is no way that could be possible.
Charlie looks a whole lot like Stephen, with curly blonde hair and deep blue eyes framed with long dark eyelashes, but that is about where the similarities stop. Even so, Stephen and Charlie would probably be best friends if they weren't brothers; they have a harmony where they understand each other like I have seen from no other human. It's amazing.
Charlie is a lot like me in some ways, I suppose. We both don't like school, but do fine in it (passing in all classes easily but never enjoying it or being the top), we have the same interest in books (in a way, the books that I do read are like his, but normally I just don't read. I like magazines best), and many other things. I will probably end up a lot like him in my future. We will probably end up having flipped versions of the same thing happening to us.
He (Charlie) brought his fianceé, Elizabeth, with him and she ate dinner with us. I like her. She is really pretty, but in a down-to-earth kind of way. She wore absolutely no makeup, and her hair looked like it had been air-dried. She had a pretty color of blue polish on her nails that she said changed when it was in the sun, and her face was covered in freckles from days out under the sun. (I do admit that I am extremely jealous of her.)
Needless to say, Charlie seems very happy, and therefore I am happy for him, I guess. It will be hard to let him go, he was always there for me when I needed someone to talk to. I never really appreciated how he has always been there, like an older brother. And now he's leaving, and I don't even get to tell him thanks because he is so caught up in his carefree love for his soon-to-be-wife. I suppose I should be happy for him, because he deserves a good life, married to someone who he loves, but I don't know how I will let him go.
But there is something that worries me. He said that after their wedding and after the honeymoon, they will probably move out of the state. Good for them, I thought at the time, but now I am even more anxious. I am not worried for them, but for me. Charlie is the person I know that has the most experience with love. Lucas is kind of hopeless, and who else would I talk to that I trust with all of my secrets except for Stephen, who is in the same situation as me. My parents? Not in a million years. I will have to get their address so that I can send them mail and email them. And their phone number for emergencies. Oh, gosh! I need all their information, like, now!
So with bag under-hand,
Sacha Doven
Guess what day. Yea, you're right. It's Thursday again. 12:51
I probably freaked out a little bit too much earlier, because I almost literally ran to Stephen's house. When I arrived, I was red-faced and panting. I threw my small bag at the white front door and ran up the stairs to Charlie's old room and banged on the door.
"Charlie? Open up! Please?"
I heard nothing from the door, but laughing from downstairs. "Chill, Sacha. I'm right down here. What is it?"
I ran downstairs in a hurry and grabbed a pen and paper. Quickly I explained that I needed his phone number, email address, address, and other information before he moved away. When I was done I sat down and waited as patiently as I could, sitting in the chair beside him.
Apparently that wasn't very patient because when he didn't grab the pen immediately, I shoved it into his hand and put his hand down on the paper. "You can write it here, you know. That's why I got the paper:" I said this sweetly and demandingly. Then I smiled.
He laughed a booming laugh and looked at Elizabeth. She was smiling, too, and it seemed as if she were trying to hold back laughter. "Sacha" Charlie's voice sounded like he was talking to someone crazy, or like he was a therapist. "We aren't going to move away for a long time." He assured me.
Elizabeth had grabbed the paper and pencil from Charlie while he was talking and was now writing in small, neat letters. I bit my lip to hold back tears of the thought that they were leaving, and that Charlie, my Charlie who was always there for me, was moving away to live forever with this calm, sweet girl. I knew I shouldn't be sad, because I could see how perfect they were. "But here is our email addresses and phone number. This is my cell." She pointed to a long list of numbers she had written on the paper, "You can call me at any time." She smiled at me encouragingly, and I looked down, still biting my lip. I could taste blood.
After that I swallowed and explained why I was in such a rush and apologized for my rash behavior.
Both Charlie and Elizabeth laughed in perfect harmony, with Stephen now standing behind me, his hands on the back of my chair, smiling. He had a look on his face that told me that he had seen enough of the episode to know what was going on. I tried to be sneaky when I wiped my eyes, and I'm pretty sure nobody saw.
Right then, his parents were just walking into the kitchen. I realized that I was a part of that family and so was Elizabeth. We both fit like pieces to a puzzle. So I shoved the paper into my jean pocket and my face blushed red on top of what how red it was from my running.
"Now . . . I exit" I tried to make a graceful and lighthearted exit that every teenage girl would make after a very embarrassing incident, but I didn't have much experience in that, so I grabbed Stephen by the hand and dragged him up the stairs to his room. I told him not to say a word about that incident and he waved it off, but I could tell he was choking back laughter.
He held his other hand out to me, and in it I saw a small box wrapped in blue shiny paper. It had a bow on top with a card that said clearly 'Sacha' in Stephen's handwriting. He gave it to me and I thanked him, telling him thank you and how good of a friend he was –
"Just open the damn gift, Sacha." He said in an 'oh-so-loving' way. No, but really, he was sweet about it, and I think he was just excited to see my face when I saw what it was.
I skipped the card and went straight to the gift. It was in a small gold jewelry box. Inside I saw the most beautiful charm bracelet that I have ever seen in my life.
It was on a silver and gold alternating chain. It had a large 'S' on the first charm I examined. The "S" was engraved onto an irregularly shaped, polished, turquoise rock. Beside the 'S', on both sides, were hearts. The hearts were gold-colored. One of them had a checkerboard pattern on it, and the other was polka-dotted with silver. It was delicate, yet I felt like it wouldn't break. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, as well as the most precious gift I had ever received.
When I looked up again there were tears in my eyes.
"I could return it if you don't like it. It's real gold so that you can wear it in the ocean, but if you don't like it I can get them to melt it to make it into something else-"
I cut him off with a hug. After a moment he hugged me back. "I love it. You couldn't have found anything more perfect. Thank you." By this time there were tears of joy streaming down my face and into my mouth that was now open with a huge smile. My tears were wetting his gray cotton 'Star Trek' t-shirt. I relaxed against him and rested my head against his shoulder.
Right now I'm wearing it; it feels comfortable on my wrist, like it was meant to be there.
To be continued,
Your loving author, Sacha Doven