AN: hello there! So, this is an important chapter! Charlie will tell Sam why she won't be seeing him for four months. You know, I should've done a quiz or something about this. I never think of these things until it's too late. Oh well.
A depressing reminder: this story is getting closer to its end with each chapter. What will I do with my life after this is over? I guess I'll get back to the one shots and finish Love Again. And I also have this idea where Charlie is a member of the band Mumford & Sons and Sam is a fan, and they meet at a concert and become friends and you know...what do ya'll think? PM or review and let me know!
And 14,000 views! Oh my gods. And so many follows and favourites and reviews! Wow, thank you all so much for this support, I couldn't have done this without you guys. Thank you.
The song for this chapter is... UNFORTUNATE BY MACKINTOSH BRAUN!
Enjoy and review!
Sam's PoV:
Charlie came home early last night, he came home very early. And the news he had to share with me made me ache for the days I only got to see him at night. Because three weeks later I wouldn't be seeing him for four months.
I heard the click of the lock on the door at six o'clock, which surprised me because the only person except me who had the keys was Charlie, and he came home late at night these days. Why was he so early? I didn't mind because I would finally get to spend some time with him. I walked out of the kitchen with my granola bar to the living room to see him slumping down on the couch while undoing his tie. He then put his head in his hands, that wasn't a good sign. I walked towards him, a little worried, waiting for him to acknowledge my presence. As my footsteps got closer to where he was sitting, he looked up and turned to see me, and a smile found its way to his face. I saw it falter, though, as if he remembered something bad that was going to happen.
I ignored it and said, "Hi, Charlie. How are you home so early?"
He pulled me closer and pecked me on the lips and said, "Hi, Sam. Yeah, I-uh, I finished work...early. The publishers-they told me to go early because my work was done...yeah."
I had my head on his shoulder, his arms were wrapped around me and one hand was brushing my hair. With my mouth full of the granola bar, I said, "Oh, okay. That's good. You'll finally get to rest a little." Silence. I wondered if he had fallen asleep or something.
He finally mumbled, "Hm, what? Oh yeah, you're right. I'll get to...rest, yes."
I sighed and said, "What's wrong, Charlie? Bad day?"
More mumbling, "Oh...um...no! I'm just...tired, yeah I'm tired." It was almost as if he was trying to convince himself that he was tired.
After five minutes of awkward silence, he absentmindedly said, "I'll go get something to eat. Do you want something?"
"I'm eating a granola bar, Charlie," I said. I was getting a little worried, why was he so disoriented? There had to be something he wasn't telling me.
"Oh, right. Okay," he said and walked into the kitchen.
He didn't come back for fifteen minutes. And when he did, he wasn't eating anything. I watched him walk back to where I was sitting. He looked very stressed, and sort of upset. He didn't sit next to me, instead he kneeled down on his knees on the floor and took my hands in his.
I was so confused. What was going on? With a confused expression I asked, "What is it, Charlie?"
He looked down and sighed heavily, as if whatever he was going to say was giving him awful pain. "I had a meeting with my publishers and management team today," he started.
"Okay...? And?"
"And...I have to...I have to leave for Europe after three weeks." That's it? He wouldn't be gone for long, would he? Fifteen days, at the most?
"Oh, okay. What for? How long will you be gone?" I asked.
"It's a reading tour, to promote the book overseas. I'll be gone for...it's a four month long tour," he whispered, looking at the floor.
Four months. He'll be gone for four months. "Oh." That was all I could manage to say. He looked at me apprehensively, he wanted me to say something about it. I stared back, feeling angry. I don't know what I was angry about.
"What do you want me to say? If you have to go, you have to go. Go pack your clothes or something," I said harshly. He stared at me with shock, he wasn't expecting me to be so harsh with him. He didn't actually expect me to run after him begging him to stay, did he? He should know it well enough that I wasn't one to do that. But after a while I realised my anger was actually fear. I was afraid that Canada would happen again. I was afraid that he would leave and not come back after four months. And these thoughts made me want to run after him and beg him to stay. These thoughts stopped me from looking into his eyes when I said what I said.
"I know what you're thinking, Sam," he said, still not looking at me.
"Yeah? Then tell me, tell me what I'm thinking!"
"You're thinking I'll leave and I won't come back after four months."
"You know I have a good reason to think like that."
"Sam, back then I didn't have anything to come back to. My parents were okay with wherever I was as long as I earned money, and when I came to visit you after that long time your mom said you had moved, so had Patrick, so had Alice and Mary Elizabeth. What would I do there all alone? And as far as I know two years ago...that was the first time in years you went there. But it's different now, I have my whole life to come back to. I have a home, I have family, I have friends, but most importantly I have you. Do you really think I would leave someone as important as you and live in a place where I don't know anyone? Do you really think I would do something that stupid?" He said, grabbing my shoulders and forcing me to look at him. Even a blind person would have seen the honesty and sincerity in his eyes, but for some reason I was too stubborn to believe him.
"Yeah, maybe I do. And I'll say it again, I have a very good reason to. Fine, you couldn't come to visit for a long time, I understand. But couldn't you call? Were you too busy to write a letter? You couldn't find fifteen minutes?" I said, raising my voice. That's when he got up and made a frustrated noise.
"So that's what this is about, now? You really think I didn't try to call? That I didn't try to write letters? Maybe if you'd told me the small, insignificant detail that you and your family had moved, maybe I wouldn't have got a reply from a stranger saying that I probably had the wrong address! You changed your phone numbers, everything! And when I came back, it took me three days to find your parents, and then they told me that you had moved to New York three months ago. How was I supposed to contact you? Tell me! And tell me what good is this doing now? Tell me, what's the point of this?" He said, raising his voice too. He was walking around with that frustrated and fed up look on his face, as if it was my fault. How dare he put this on me?
"The point of this is that I don't want to get hurt. Why can't you understand that?"
He stopped walking around and stared at me. Then, he walked closer to me, put his hands on my shoulders and said, "I won't hurt you, Sam. I will come back, I promise."
I looked away from him and said, "Don't make promises you can't keep, Charlie." I felt his arms stiffen, I looked up to see his clenched jaw.
His arms slackened and dropped from my shoulders. He looked defeated. Finally he just said, "I'm sorry." And he walked away.
We didn't speak to each other the rest of the night, and went to bed without a word.
*one week later*
Charlie and I haven't spoken to each other since the fight last week, and it's been awful. Because he's leaving in two weeks and as much as I feel angry that he's going I don't want us to part on such a bad note. If we do, the four months that will follow will be the worst of our lives. And I know that all the bitterness and regret won't do us any good. But when it comes to taking the step and talking to him, I seem to lose all my courage. So all we've been doing all week is awkwardly sneak glances at each other in hopes that the other will take the first step. Apparently even he isn't brave enough to talk first.
But last night we both found the courage to talk to each other. I came home from work to find Charlie sitting on the couch. Lately I refused to acknowledge him, but last night I decided that this couldn't go on forever. So after five minutes of awkward staring, I said, "Hi." He jumped and looked around, as if making sure I was talking to him. It almost made me laugh.
He stood up and took a few steps closer, so there was only the coffee table between us. "Hi," he said, a faint but hopeful smile on his face.
"Have you...have you started packing up?" I asked.
"Yes, I have."
"Oh. Okay." Awkward silence.
He took a couple of more steps forward, so there was only an arm's length distance between us.
He spoke up, "Sam, I know you're upset about this, and you have every right to. But can we spend these two weeks together before I have to go? I don't want to leave, and I really don't want to leave with us fighting like this. So..."
I sighed and hugged him tightly and said, "You're right. I don't want to fight either. I was just a little...shocked. I'm sorry."
He kissed my cheek and said, "Don't be sorry. Let's just forget about it, okay?"
"Okay."
AN: Charlie's going to Europe?! How...when...what?! Mwohahahaha... I'm so evil...so how will they spend the last two weeks? How will Sam cope with not seeing Charlie for four months? Keep reading to find out!
What do you think will happen next in the story? How do you think they'll end up in the end? Let me know!
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