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Six
The next night Jody sat on Charlie's couch, next to Charlie. They were watching a movie, and when it ended Jody switched off the tv. She turned to Charlie and he noticed her nervousness.
"Something wrong?" Charlie asked.
"Gee Charlie, nothing gets past you. But I actually do need to talk to you."
"What is it?"
"Well, you know my mom's been pretty sick, right? Which means my dad has to take car of her, Nick, Michelle, and our two dogs. So-"
"Whoa, wait. Who are Nick and Michelle?"
"I never told you? Well, Nick and Michelle are twins. We adopted them and now they are 14."
Charlie nodded. "Cool. So, uh, what were you saying?"
"Well, now my dad has all those things, plus his job and about 10 million other things to deal with everyday. So, uh," Jody sighed deeply. "God, this is hard. Um, I'm gonna leave Cooper's company and… move back to Indiana to help my dad." Jody bit her lip and looked up at Charlie.
"Are you serious?"
Jody nodded sadly. "I'm very serious. And I think… I think it'd be better if we broke up." Jody said quickly and looked down. "Just, you know, since I'll be so far away and all."
Charlie looked at Jody, not sure what to say. "I… well, ok. If you really think it's for the best."
Jody stood up slowly and glanced down at Charlie. "Well, I'm leaving next week, so… good-night Charlie. Good-bye."
Charlie stood up and looked into her blue eyes. He kissed her softly and said, "Bye Jody. You know I'll always love you."
Jody, starting to cry, picked up her purse and walked out of Charlie's apartment.
Less than two weeks later…
Jody had moved back into her old room on the 3rd floor of her old house in Indiana. She didn't redecorate or anything, just put her clothes in the closet and set up a few framed pictures on the desk.
She kept the picture on the bulletin board, crying herself to sleep every night as she looked at it.
One night, several months later, Michelle walked by Jody's room on her way back from the bathroom. She walked in to Jody's room. Startled, Jody sat up and wiped her eyes.
"Oh, it's just you Michelle. Don't scare me like that!"
Michelle sat down on Jody's bed. "Sorry. Why are you crying? Is it because of mom?"
"No, no, of course not. Mom's getting a lot better, didn't we tell you that? That's why she was able to come back from the hospital last week."
"Yeah, I know. But then why are you crying?"
Jody shrugged. "I guess I just miss New York. It wouldn't be as bad if my old friends were still here, but they all moved away to college."
"You miss dancing?"
"Yeah, I do. Sometimes, I dance up here when I'm alone. So, when I ever get the chance to go back to New York… I'll have a small chance of being able to dance again. I mean, I lost a pretty important year doing this, not that I mind, this is a lot more important. But Cooper would never let me back in his company, and even if he does, I wouldn't be principal. That is, unless Cooper has another stupid lovesick trick up his sleeve."
"What?"
"Never mind."
"What about Charlie?" Michelle asked slowly.
"We broke up ages ago."
"When?"
"Right before I came here. It's a long way from New York and… it's kinda complicated."
"Do you miss him?"
Jody paused a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I do. I probably miss him the most. I never have time to think about it, and I try to keep myself busy. But, when it's night, I have forever to think about how much I miss him. Cold nights are the hardest."
"Why?" Michelle asked, getting more interested.
"Because this one night, we were walking down this street and it was absolutely freezing. It must have been zero degrees. He put his arm around me, to try and warm me up. His bare skin was freezing cold, but…" Jody closed her eyes and bit her lip. "My whole body was just instantly warm…" Jody sighed and shook her head. "That probably sounds really cheesy."
"No it doesn't. You really loved him, didn't you? Did he love you?"
Jody nodded tearfully. "Yes, but you're too young to understand. I know you hate hearing that, especially from me, but it's true. You're 14. I'll be 21 next week. So don't worry about me, I'll be fine. But you should go to bed. It's late and you have-"
"I have school tomorrow. Yeah, yeah, I know. Night Jody." Michelle hugged her and left.
