Chapter 10
"What??" Sandra asked.
"What exactly were you doing in our room??"
"Huh?" Sandra asked innocently.
"All our stuff is screwed up and Jody said her diary book thing- I don't even know what it looks like- isn't where she had put it last time."
"I…………… I dunno."
"Did you read it?" Jody asked.
"No…… not all of it at least."
"What did you read?"
"The one where before you moved to New York. And last nights. Charlie! Do you know what she said? She said you slept together last night and that you were awful. She did!"
"I didn't!!" Jody said. Pleading to Charlie.
"Oh, and who's Erik?" Sandra asked.
"My son." Charlie said softly, inching away from Jody.
"CHARLIE!!!" Sandra exclaimed.
"Shut up!" Charlie said.
Jody looked at him in surprise and went to hug him, but he backed off. Jody looked at him hurt, but he ignored it. He was too upset with the whole world to give a shit what his girlfriend felt like, however selfish that was. The phone rang and Jody moved to pick it up. She paused a moment before answering it, looking over at Charlie.
"Hello?"
"Hello Jody, It's Mrs. Sims."
"Oh, hi."
"Is now a good time to come over?"
"Well, actually-" Jody began.
"Excellent! We'll be over in 10 minutes. Toodles!"
"Bye." Jody sighed into the phone before turning back to Charlie where he was standing in the corner. "Your parents are on their way." She told him after hanging up the phone.
Charlie took several deep breaths. "Ok, Ok, Ok. I can do this. Ok." He mumbled to himself.
Jody wanted so much to go over and comfort him, but she knew that would make him even more tense. Jody knew she hadn't written that in her diary. It was as far from the truth as it could possibly get.
Jody sat down on the couch and Sandra sat on the other side, as far away as possible. Charlie got out two folding chairs for his parents and sat down in his own recliner. A few minutes later Mr. and Mrs. Sims came through the door.
They looked at Charlie, Sandra, and Jody, but ignored the distressed looks on their faces and sat down on the uncomfortable metal folding chairs.
"Hello Sandra, dear. Are you having a good time here in New York?"
"Yes, Mrs. Sims."
"Glad to hear it. Hello Jody! How have you and Sandra been getting along?" Mrs. Sims asked as Mr. Sims rolled his eyes so back into his head that Jody couldn't see them anymore.
"Ok, I guess." Jody said, letting her eyes wander. They hit the guestroom door and she saw the poster up there for the first time. Then she saw what Sandra had drawn all over it. "Excuse me." Jody said and she got up in a hurry. She rushed to Charlie's room and shut the door. She lay down on the bed and began to cry into the pillow.
Charlie ignored her- he was still really mad- and went on talking to Sandra and his parents. Luckily no one brought up Erik. He didn't want to have to explain that whole thing to Sandra right then. But he did want to explain something to them all- right then.
"I love her." Charlie said suddenly.
"Love who?" Mrs. Sims asked.
"Jody."
"We know." Mr. and Mrs. Sims said together.
"You do?" Sandra asked Charlie.
"Yes. I always have, ever since I met her.
Sandra looked into his eyes and saw love. Only love. Not love for her, love for someone else. Jody. She knew that he loved her and it hurt more than when Charlie left for New York. "I love ballet." She said quickly.
"No you don't. And even if you did, it wouldn't matter. I love Jody. I never loved you anyway, even when we were together. I never even loved Jamalee. Only Jody."
"Who's Jamalee?"
"I'll tell you later. I just wanted all of you to know that I loved Jody."
"Ok." Everyone chorused.
Meanwhile…… Jody was still sobbing into the warm pillow. Why did Sandra have to do that? She had gotten that poster when she first joined Cooper's company. It had been hanging in the window until Coop had given it to her. She loved that poster almost as much as Charlie- however stupid that may sound- it was true. Now it was ruined. She hated Sandra. It wasn't one of those things you could just go out and replace. It was the sentimental value that matted to Jody. But now it was ruined forever. She really hated Sandra.
"Well, if you love her so much, why don't you go in there and make her feel better?" Mrs. Sims asked Charlie.
"Because I have company." Charlie said looking down at his untied shoelaces.
Mrs. Sims smiled and Mr. Sims sulked down into his chair. Sandra just looked at Charlie, not saying anything. After a few minutes of silence Charlie finally said something.
"So, anyone for lunch?"
"It's 2 in the afternoon!" Mrs. Sims exclaimed.
Charlie nodded and shrugged. "So? No one has lunch today yet, so why not?"
Sandra shrugged. "I'm up for it." She lied. She stood up and got her jacket from the guestroom. When she came back out everyone else- except Jody- was up and had their coats on.
"What about her?" Mrs. Sims asked, nodding her head in the direction of Charlie's room.
Charlie looked at the shut door before storming over to the door. He knocked. "Lunch, Jody!" He called. A few seconds later Jody came out, wearing her shortest pair of jean shorts and her smallest tube top. She ripped her coat off the hook in the wall and walked out the door.
"Are you guys coming or what?" She asked as she walked down the hallway.
Charlie got over how hot she looked and followed. Then came Sandra, then Mr. and Mrs. Sims. They all piled into Charlie's car Charlie started to drive in the direction of a restaurant he knew. "You guys wanna go bowling instead?" He asked suddenly. "They have food there."
"Ok." Everyone mumbled. Charlie turned around and parked in the parking lot. Everyone got out and went it to get shoes and a ball.
Mr. Sims said he'd just watch because he had a sore back. So the teams were Sandra and Mrs. Sims and Charlie and Jody. Charlie and Jody didn't talk much except to boo the other team and congratulate each other on a good bowl. Charlie got a 167 and Jody got a 198. They won.
After that, they all got a small snack at the snack bar, and then went home. Jody went right into her room and shut the door. Charlie sat down on the couch and fell asleep, without realizing how exhausted he was. Mr. Sims had to drag Mrs. Sims out of the apartment and back to the hotel. Sandra went with them, and decided to go shopping with Mrs. Sims while Mr. Sims slept at the hotel.
A few hours later Sandra came back to Charlie's apartment. He was still sleeping on the couch and Jody was still in her room. Sandra sighed and packed up all her stuff. She found a piece of paper and a pen and taped a note to the kitchen counter.
---------------___________-------------_____________----------------
Charlie and Jody~
It's been fun and all, but I have to get back home. I was planning on staying longer, but my boss called and they need me back tomorrow. I'm really sorry. I miss you a lot Charlie! You have to come visit soon! Love ya lots!
~Sandra
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The thing about her boss wasn't true, she just needed an excuse to get out of there. She grabbed her bags and left. She went to the airport and was on her way home within an hour.
When Charlie woke up he saw the note. He read it a few times, knowing it was a lie. She sighed and looked over at his door. She made his eyes come off it, as if anyone who looked at it would have a curse put on them. When he couldn't stand it anymore he opened the door and saw Jody sleeping on the bed, her tube top across her diagonally. She rolled over and woke up. She didn't see Charlie. She fixed her shirt and turned around. She saw Charlie standing there and stood up.
"Hey!" Charlie said.
"I didn't!"
"Huh?"
"I didn't write that in my dairy. If you want I can show you, because I didn't."
"That's ok. I believe you."
"Then how come you were acting all mad at me?"
"I don't know. I mean, you saw how insane my mom is around me and that always bugged me. And then Sandra had to come, but she left a few hours ago to go back home, and she still loved me, which is stupid. It's been like 5 years. And I'm just really stressed from ABC, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you think I was mad at you." Charlie said as he went over to her.
He kissed her and they sat down on the bed and talked for a while. The phone rang and Charlie picked up the cordless phone in the bedroom.
"Hello?"
"Hi! You never told me who Jamalee was!"
"Sandra?"
"Yes! Surprise! Did you miss me?"
