(14)

"Charlie?" Casey called, knocking on the door. "Are you home? The door's locked. I need to get in." After a few seconds of silence, Casey tried knocking again. Charlie was going to get her a key made that day, but otherwise, she had no way to unlock the door. "Charlie, please. Come on, it's Casey. What happened? What did I do?"

An arm slid around her waist, lips meeting her neck. "I'm not inside, Casey," Charlie murmured. "You're home early. What's up?"

Casey shook her head. "No. The lunch rush wasn't so long today. Most of the students are back home, so I'm all done by one or one thirty."

Charlie smiled, tracing his fingers over Casey's face. "I'm glad you're home, then. I was hoping you'd come to Boston with me for the afternoon. It'll be fun."

Shaking her head, Casey followed Charlie into the apartment, setting her bag down by the door and taking off her shoes. "I'm going to clean up really quick and then spend the afternoon with Alex. Then, we're doing a movie and ice cream night at her place. I'll probably crash out there." She kept her head low so Charlie would not notice that she was lying, digging through the pack for her wallet and apron.

"You can't do that. Casey, I got us tickets to the theater tonight. You've been saying you've wanted to go, and there's a Christmas show playing. You have to be back at least by four so we can go in to town. I made reservations at a nice restaurant."

"I'm sorry, Charlie, but I promised that today, I would spend time with Alex. I haven't seen her in weeks, Charlie." Casey bit her lip.

"Casey, I spent money on this crap," Charlie said. "I wanted it to be a special surprise for you. It's almost Christmas. I just wanted to treat you."

"You should have asked, Charlie." Casey stepped away from her bag. "You should have told me you made plans. I promised Alex, and I don't want to break my promise to her."

"You can do a girl's night any day, Casey," Charlie argued. Normally, his argument would have held weight, but every time Casey had mentioned wanting to go spend some time with Alex or anyone else, for that matter, Charlie had some reason she sound not. It sort of invalidated his argument in the long run.

And, Casey made that much known as she stepped even further away from Charlie. "No, I can't. I can't go hang out with anyone ever. You always stop me somehow, Charlie." Casey tugged her hands through her hair, shaking her head and chewing at her lip. "I appreciate everything you do for me, Charlie. I do. But, I don't need you to do all of this to make me love you. I already love you."

"You have an awfully strange way of showing it, Casey," Charlie said. He didn't move to her, but Casey still moved away. "I want to do things for you because I love you, not to make you love me. But, it's really disappointing to hear that you never want to do them."

Casey groaned in frustration. "Charlie, I do want to do them. God, I love going out with you and spending time with you."

"Then call Alex and tell her you have to cancel."

"No. I haven't spent any time with her in weeks, Charlie. I miss her. She's my best friend."

"Then, she'll understand what kind of effort it takes for me to plan this for you. She won't be mad at you for canceling."

"No," Casey yelled, her hands in fists at her sides. "I'm not calling her and canceling. I've done it too many times."

"What do you want more, Casey? A relationship with her or one with me?" That question was punctuated with Charlie stepping forward. Casey scrambled backwards. He had never struck her, but she had been pinned against the wall more than once, and she did not like it.

"I want both," Casey answered, fighting to not cry. She ground her teeth together to try and control her anger. If they were both angry, things would be said that Casey would have to apologize for later, and she hated saying things she regretted. "I want my best friend in my life, and I want my boyfriend in my life. Is that too much to ask? You've been usurping so much of my time, Charlie, that I haven't had the chance to spend time with my friends."

"Usurping?" Charlie snapped, his voice cool and dark. Casey's eyes went wide. "I've been usurping your time, Casey? You make me sound like a mad tyrant bent on your unhappiness. I've been trying to make you happy."

"Then let me go spend time with Alex, Charlie. And, stop trying to plan other things to circumvent it."

"You think I'm deliberately trying to prevent you from seeing her?"

Backing up into the kitchen, Casey held her hands out and up in front of her in a defensive position. "Charlie, I'm sorry. Please don't be angry. Of course I don't think you're deliberately trying to prevent me from doing anything. Charlie? Charlie? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Charlie's hand moved too fast for Casey. She was accustomed to having quickly moving objects flying for her face, but they were seldom a fist. Closing her eyes and cringing, Casey whimpered, Charlie's fist closing around her shirt and pulling her to him. Casey's heart thundered in her head. "Charlie? Are you in there? Please, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, don't be mad."

"Shut up," Charlie snarled. "Just shut up. I can't think when you're talking." Casey clamped her mouth shut, biting both her lips so hard she would swear they would bleed if she bit any harder. "I said shut up!"

Casey trembled as she stared up at a man who was very clearly not in his own head. It was like he was distracted, but his hand around her shirt said he was still dangerous. She did not dare speak while she could not run. The look in his eyes was not something she had ever seen in him before, but it was one she had seen in her older brother once in high school when he got into a fight. She knew it was a look from the brink of wherever anger lay. It was almost a white hot rage, and Casey did not even dare breathe lest she do it wrong and offend him somehow.

"Shut up!" Charlie yelled, slapping her with his open palm. "Shut the fuck up."

"I didn't say anything," Casey mewled, holding her cheek, tears escaping her eyes. "Charlie, lemme go. I'm sorry."

Panting, Charlie released his hold on Casey, and she fell in the shock of it all, crawling on her hands and knees to the door. Charlie grabbed his head, his hands clamping his hair. Casey stared over at him, her back pressed against the wall as he seemed to wrestle with demons that she could not see. Terrified, Casey stood up, fleeing to the bathroom and locking herself in.

On her phone, she dialed quickly one of few numbers she had memorized. "Pick up, please pick up," she murmured.

"Casey?"

"Alex, can you pick me up?" Casey's chest rose and fell rapidly, her stomach churning.

"Sure. I'll be – Casey, you're panting. What's wrong?" Alex's voice rose just a little. "Casey, where are you?"

"The apartment. Charlie's. In the bathroom. Please, something's wrong with Charlie. He's yelling for someone to shut up but there's no one talking. Then, he grabbed his head and pulled his hair. The look in his eyes, God, Alex, please. Help him."

"Right now, I'm not so worried about him. Casey, if he's doing that, you need to stay in the bathroom. Don't come out until I get there. If you have to run, run."

"Alex, what's going on?" Casey yelped.

"You tell me what you hear, Casey. What's going on now?"

Casey pressed her ear to the door. "Nothing. I can't hear him. It doesn't even sound like he's walking around." Casey paused, pulling the phone away from her mouth. "Charlie?" she called out. "Charlie, are you okay out there?"

For several seconds, all Casey heard was silence. "I don't hear anything."

"Okay. That's okay. You stay in the bathroom. Is there a lock on the door or something you can move to block it?"

"Do you think he'll hurt me?"

"You're this panicked, Casey, means he tried. He may not have hurt you, but if he's tried, I don't want to risk you. You just stay put. I'm on my way over. What led up to this, Casey?"

Casey sat on the bathroom toilet, the phone cradled to her ear. "He apparently had this whole huge evening planned for me tonight, and I told him I didn't want to go because I wanted to go with you and just have a girl's night. We got into a stupid fight. I shouldn't have picked it. He spent a lot of time and money planning this, and I ruined it. God, I'm so stupid." Casey pushed tears from her face.

"You are not stupid, Casey. Don't you ever think of that about yourself. His reaction was not your fault, Casey. You did nothing to deserve being frightened or yelled at. Do you know if he's taking his meds?"

"What meds? Alex, I don't know."

"Casey, how do you not kn- no. No. He swore to me he told you."

"Told me what? Alex, you're scaring me."

"Fucking ass-"

"Alex! Stop scaring me."

"I'm pulling into the parking lot. I guess I'm telling you. God, Casey, I'm so sorry, I thought you knew. Sit tight, I'll be right up."

Casey stared at her phone, the screen dark and blank again. After a few seconds, she snapped out of her daze, closing the phone and shoving it into her pocket. Cell phones were great, but they were too large to really be comfortable in the pocket of pants. Normally, Casey kept hers in her pack, but she had grabbed it with her wallet, and they were both in her pockets when she locked herself in the bathroom.

She did not like how Alex had not told her exactly what she had meant by asking if Charlie had taken his medicine. Casey had not even known he was on some kind of medication. A new kind of fear settled into her stomach, and she held her breath until she heard the knock on the door

"Casey? Charlie?" Alex called from somewhere distant. Casey listened hard, and she heard the door open. "Charlie, what did you do?"

Curious, Casey opened the bathroom door and peeked out. Charlie was laying on the floor in front of the couch, his hands in his hair as he almost writhed. Alex stood over him, hands on her hips, staring down. "You swore to me you told her," Alex snapped. "You swore to me, Charlie. You said you told her. She deserved to know. You're a liar for getting her to move in with you and spend so much of her life with you when you didn't warn her that you were so damn sick to begin with. When's the last time you took your meds?"

"I don't need my meds," Charlie growled.

"Oh? Obviously. They're there, aren't they, talking to you. What are they saying?"

"Shut up."

"Take your fucking meds, Charlie. I'm not going to coddle you. That's not my job. That's Andy's job. My job is to make sure Casey is safe and happy, and you lied to me about her safety. You put her in danger first by not telling her you're sick and then second by not taking your meds. You have no idea how angry I am with you right now. You need to go to the hospital and get stabilized. You've obviously been off your meds long enough you won't get back on them yourself. I'll call a medic for you once I know Casey's okay."

"I'm okay," Casey mewled, and Alex turned to look at her. "Alex, what's going on? Why is he sick?"

"I'll explain at my place, Casey. Charlie needs to go tot he hospital."

Casey shook her head. "No. This is my fault, Alex. It's not his."

Alex pulled Casey to her, holding her against her chest. "It's not your fault. Let me get Charlie the help he needs and then you and I will go to my apartment. You can stay with me as long as you like."

Casey sniffed, curling her fingers around Alex's shoulders. She nodded. "It was just yelling, Alex. I swear. He never tried to hurt me. If he's sick, please, I want to get him help."

"Okay, sweetie. Okay. Why don't you grab a bag and some clothes. I'll call for a medical transport. There's no way he's going to get in my car willingly." Alex glanced over where Charlie was still dealing with whatever he was being told. He was sitting up, legs to his chest, muttering to himself. "How long has he not been normal?"

Casey shrugged. "I don't know what normal is for him really. I mean, I guess he's been quick to yell for the past few weeks. Maybe around the last time I saw you."

"He's never laid a hand on you? Never grabbed you or hurt you physically in any way?" Casey shook her head. "Okay. Go pack."

Biting her lip, Casey walked over to Charlie, squatting down before him. "Charlie? Can you hear me?" Charlie looked up at Casey, but there was no recognition in his eyes. He just continued to mutter under his breath, and it made no sense to Casey as she sat before him. "It's me, it's Casey. Do you know who I am?"

"Casey, Casey, Casey," Charlie mumbled.

"Yea, it's me."

Alex's hand fell on Casey's shoulder. "Casey, go pack." Casey looked up at her blond friend, shaking her head, her mouth working in confusion. "I'm sorry, Casey. I'm so, so sorry. I wish you didn't have to see this. Do you love him any less?"

"Can he get better?"

"On meds, he is the person you met. As long as he stays on them and stays away from alcohol, he's alright."

Casey nodded. "Then, I want to help him."

"Okay. Then, we'll help him. Now, go pack."

Casey disappeared into the bedroom and grabbed her clothes while Alex borrowed the home line to dial for emergency services. When Casey came back out, Alex was still on the phone. "No, he hasn't actively tried to hurt himself, but there's no one here who can take care of him if he does hurt himself. He's safest at a hospital, and I have no way of transporting him." Alex paused, looking at Casey. "Yes, thank you. I will."

Alex hung up and knelt by Charlie. "Hey, Charlie, there are really good people on their way over here to help you. Is that okay? Will you let them help you?"

"Help me? I don't need any help. No, no, I need to get out of here. They're coming for me."

"No, Charlie. No one's coming for you. Do you want me to call Andy?"

"No. They got to him, too. They took him first. Then, they took Casey. If they get me, too, they'll kill them, and you. You better get out of here, as well." Charlie looked off into the distance, seeing something other than his apartment perhaps. Alex did not understand schizophrenia well enough to know, and Casey did not even know the name for the disease. "You've got to help me escape. Please." Charlie grabbed Alex's hand, looking so innocent and lost and genuinely afraid. Nearby, Casey started crying, her hands covering her mouth.

"Okay, Charlie. We'll get away." Alex nodded. "My friends, they'll pick us up. We'll get you far away, okay? And, then, when you're safe, we'll get Casey, too. And Andy. Who is trying to get you?"

"The CIA. I have valuable information in my head. But, they don't want me to give it up. Shut up. Shut up both of you, don't you see? It's the only way to get around to it. The government's trying to keep me down, I know they are. It's because they're afraid of what I know. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up." Charlie screamed pulling his hair and shaking his head.

His eyes landed on the crying Casey standing behind Alex, and he stared at her. "You! You're a drone double sent by the government to spy on me and report back. They took the real Casey! You lying thief." Charlie jumped up for Casey, and Alex wrapped her arms around his waist, struggling to hold him back.

"Casey, get out of here. Run to the car. Here." Alex threw Casey the keys, and the red head took off. "Charlie, she's not a double, okay? She's gone. She's gone."

Casey came to a halt outside, the cold air slapping her face. Not even a half block away, bright red and blue lights swirled in the afternoon sun. Squinting, Casey ran over to the side walk and waved her arms. The ambulance pulled up beside the door, and a medic hopped out the front driver's seat. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded. "Charlie's not. He's on the second floor, apartment C. My friend Alex is in there with him. She's trying to calm him down." Casey trotted up the stairs behind the medics, still pushing tears from her eyes but attempting to focus on the situation she was in rather than the shock and the fear and the overwhelming sadness.

The next twenty minutes were a blur for Casey. The medics talked Charlie into getting in their ambulance, and after several bouts of incoherent babbling, Casey finally gave up trying to understand what was going on. Instead, she clung to Alex's waist, her head against the blond's shoulder. "I don't understand, Alex. I don't understand," she repeated, whispered so frequently that it was no longer clear whether or not Casey actually realized what she was saying.

Alex just held her, stroking her hair. As the yelling, mostly Charlie's, settled down, Casey realized that it was not just her and Alex in the room with the medics, but there were two police officers there as well, though they had made sure to stay behind Charlie the entire time after Alex's warning that Charlie did not like police officers. They were basically there should he get so out of control they needed to use more than just a little force to get him calmed down.

"Do you have your bag?" Alex asked as the medics left and the officers gave Casey and Alex their cards in case the two women needed something regarding that call. Still coiled against Alex's shoulder, Casey nodded. "Then we should probably go. We have a lot to talk about."

"Yea," Casey mumbled, pushing tears from her face. "Is he going to be okay? Should we go to the hospital?"

"Not today. Just let the doctors do their thing today. I'll find out when he's stable, and then you can go see him, okay?"

"But, he's suffering. I should be there with him."

Alex held Casey by the waist, picking up the bag the red haired woman had placed on the couch and throwing it over her shoulder. "After we talk, if you still want to see him before he's stable, then I'll take you to the hospital to see him. Maybe it'll be good for you both. I'm sorry, Casey. I didn't know you didn't know."

"Please don't let me go," Casey whispered, taking Alex's hand. Alex squeezed Casey's hand in return, walking with her down the steps and out to the car, the apartment door locked behind them, Casey pocketing the keys. She barely let go of Alex's hand to get into the car, and when Alex climbed in to the driver's seat, she retook Casey's hand in hers, holding it tightly in her own.

"What's he sick with? Obviously, it's some kind of mental illness. Talking to himself? Schizophrenia? Multiple personalities?" Casey asked as they drove. "I want to know, Alex, so I can help."

"Your dedication and loyalty is amazing, Casey," Alex murmured, her thumb stroking Casey's skin. "Charlie's been diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. He was on medication for a while that made the voices silent. He was stable in January when you met him. The first time you called me, I thought his meds might not be working. He's been participating in a study at the med school, and I told Andy to look into upping his dosage because of how you described him acting. I also told Charlie he needed to tell you about the schizophrenia. He swore to me that he did. I was wrong to have trusted him on that. And, it hurt you. I'm sorry."

At a red light, Alex twisted in her seat and looked at Casey. "Casey, be dead honest with me. Did Charlie ever hurt you?"

For a second, Casey faltered, but she ultimately shook her head. "He scared me, but he never hurt me." She bit at her lip and the inside of her cheek. "I thought he was going to today. He kept yelling at me to shut up, and he was so angry I thought he was going to hit me. But, if he's sick, Alex, then it's my duty to help him. I'm his girlfriend, but I'm also his friend. I don't want to lose him, and I don't want him to lose himself."

"We'll both help him, Casey. He's my friend, too. But, if he ever hurts you, Casey, I need you to tell me. Tell me so I can get him better help, so he doesn't hurt you. If you want to stay with him, that's your choice. That makes you a better person than I am, but let me help you, too."

Casey nodded. "I don't know if I want to stay with him. I can't believe he lied to me. All I know right now is that he needs help. He needs people to support him, and I'm not going to abandon him just because he's sick, Alex. I do love him, even if I don't stay with him."

"I understand," Alex murmured, stroking Casey's hair.

"Thanks for telling me, Alex," Casey whispered, curling into the seat and staring out the window. Silence fell over the car except the occasional sniff or sob from the passenger seat, and Casey slid her hand into Alex's, holding on as though for dear life. Even as Alex's fingers began to go numb, though, the blond did not dare say a word. She understood to a degree the hurt and betrayal Casey was feeling, and Casey was feeling both.