Liz- Lol, I'm glad you liked the "Lunch" scene. ^_^ Yeah...nearly cried
when George beat up on Charlie too, and I wrote it...o.O...thanks, you
don't know how much your support means to me. Lol, I finally gave in to
your begging ways. ^_^ You should feel special, you get to enjoy the
chapters before everyone else. ^_~
Banksiesbabe99- How can he do that to a 14-year-old, you ask? Because he's a sick demented man, that's why. Lol, I'm glad you like it, though. I'm glad I can quench your boredom...lol...happy reading!
Rachel- I'm sorry for the cliffhanger. ^_^ Thank you!
DodgerMcClure.aka.Drama-Queen- Lol, yes...I should try locking up the booze...but where would be the fun in that?
Adriana- *looks like is about to cry*...*reads on to see that Adriana was only KIDDING*...Whew...don't care me like that! Lol...thanks for reviewing! ^_^
The Strangely Spikey Bunny- Lol, yes. Maybe it's all in my mind and I'm a wee bit neurotic when it comes to updating...I'm always afraid people will forget me and never review or read it again! Again, I'm a tad neurotic...yay! Long! Lol, there is NO SHAME in being a sadist...I...think? ^_^ Hee hee...okay, I'm glad you like Brice and Halley. ^_^ And yes! I used saucily again, JUST FOR YOU! *hugs Sophie* Don'cha feel all special now? Lol...yeah, ya do appear to be gettin' into it...I feel so special! Ah, my violence got you hooked? I'm glad it met your cut on violence-etiquette! Well, Charlie had a lot of blood loss in the head, therefore he wasn't thinking clearly enough to go to the hospital. ^_^ Not to mention I control everything he thinks, says, and does. ^_^ No, I did not know that when you drink ethanol you go blind...but now I have been informed. ^_^ Ah! Sophie pays attention in Chemistry! Good Sophie! *tosses Sophie a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup* At least you can admit that you are a weird twisted freak...I am too, don't worry. ^_^ Lol...*snaps fingers* I guess that update scheduled for 2006 has to be bumped to a sooner date? Lol...j/k...
Allie- Lol, deal! ^_^
Kim- Thanks!
Chronicles Bailey- Lol...*pats Charlie's head before joining in on the glomp-fest*
Kate's Review for Chapter 20- Oooooh! Long review! ^_^ This could take awhile...Ah! The rudeness of your brother...kicking you off like that! Awww...you returned the DVD before getting to see Connie mouth the words at Adam? *pouts and strokes MD DVDs lovingly* You poor, deprived soul...lol, I used to have a laptop...but then the hardrive keeled over and it died. So now I'm using my momma's computer. ^_^ But its in my room so that's cool. Lol, wooooooow...that's a lot. And yes, one hour is not enough...*reads about Coach Jay* Oooo, I like that. I like that a lot. ^_^ Leaving his probs off the ice...greatness! I seriously can't wait till you post so please don't leave me hanging!! ^_^ At least not for TOO long. *blinks* Pa- per...comes from trees? *blinks* Pa-per...*says to self a few times* pa...per...hmm...aw? I have to wait ten chapters before reading it?! No fairness! *breaks down into sobs* Oh well...*sniff* That sounds like something I would do. ^_^ Hmmm...*tries to think of a new name* Hmmm...hmmm...ehhhmmm...I dunno. *grins*...*giggles* Yes, I learned the hard way not to think of Charlie's greatness and utmost hotness while trying to balance on a slippery substance with only two thin blades as support...not that I don't still do it anyway. ^_^ *giggles* Okay, I will remember not to respond with "I'll save the feline then" when speaking to dumb blonde popular kids when they say "mind your own business." ^_^ *giggles and blinks confusedly, pretending to not be confused* Heh, of COURSE I know what that's from...o.O...heh...lol. I AGREE! Charlie and Julie are awesome. Lol. My collaborated account with Liz (which is KittySpazway) is chuck full of fluffy C/J fics...lol...o.O...it's sad, really. And I have my lovely little C/J D2 fic that I umm. Need to update. ^_^ Lol, thank you and I will be patient with you. We are all very busy peeps. ^_^ Oh I want snow! I want snow! Whee! But...we don't get snow...*eyes water* It's so sad. Lol...*gasp* You missed my loud, blatant foreshadowing? Lol, yes...that's how you spell Charles. Whee for you! ^_^
Kate's Review for Chapter 21- Lol. I'm glad you liked my title. It took me FOREVER to come up with a title at all. It was sad. I was like "No...yes...no...YES! NO!" for like ten minutes, deciding whether or not I liked that chapter name. ^_^ Yes, I'm weird. Wow, multitalented Kate! And I have no clue about J/V and Varsity teams. I just pick random things and pretend I know what I'm talking about. ^_^ It's really fun. Lol, no...don't worry. As you read on, you come to learn George is still incapable of simple, kind human emotion. Only scary, demented human emotion. ^_^ Anyway. Lol, I'm glad you liked the pros/cons thing. *giggles* I'm proud of you for resisting your urges to hug four-year-old Charlie and to recite the McDonalds commercial. ^_^ Lol, as lovely as that would be, that would bring an end to my fic and I'm not ready to be done yet. ^_^ Yes, it was VERY long (much to my enjoyment, mind you ^_^) and I'm sorry for the long wait. I've been procrastinating! Bad Chelsea! *slaps wrist*
Disclaimer- Nope, I don't own The Mighty Ducks...though I wish I owned Charlie...oops, did I say that out loud?
-Chapter 22-
Charlie Conway slowly blinked, fuzzy light hurting his eyes. He heard soft, irregular beeping coming from all directions.
As his eyes slowly adjusted, he tried to figure out where he was and how he had gotten there.
He moved his head slightly to look around when a sharp pain split through his temple. He let out a pained yelp as he ceased the offending movement.
"You shouldn't move your head." A woman in a white outfit said as she wrote something down on her little notepad-thingy.
"Yeah, I kinda figured that out." He said softly as he winced.
It was then that he finally observed his surroundings.
Cold, sterile air.
Hard bed.
Thin sheets.
Clothes, if you could call them that, which he had NOT been wearing prior to waking up.
White walls.
Fancy, expensive equipment everywhere.
Annoying beeping sounds.
Women in white outfits with notepad-thingies.
He was in a hospital.
Charlie blinked a few times as he tried to remember how he could have possibly ended up in a hospital. He tried to rewind through his day but only managed to hurt his brain further.
He let out a groan as he closed his eyes again. His head was still throbbing and he couldn't seem to process coherent thought.
"Are you alright?" the nurse asked, walking over to his bed.
He debated asking her if he LOOKED alright and would he be in a HOSPITAL if he WAS alright, but decided against it.
"Yeah, I'm fine..." he managed to grumble out.
"That's good. Oh, and you have some visitors." She said as she smiled and walked out the door. She was then replaced by two figures standing in the doorway.
His head hurt too much to look over to them. Even though he was surprised anyone came, considering his lack of social skills as of lately, his head was still in immense pain.
"Hey Charlie." He heard a feminine voice say as the two figures came into focus.
He blinked, not sure if he was hallucinating from the drugs they had probably put him on.
"Hey." He managed to choke back. "What brings you two here?" he asked.
Halley gave him a grim smile. "Oh, we were just making our usual trip to the hospital, because that's what ALL teenagers do in their spare time. Then we saw you were here and decided to pay you a visit."
"Really? Well that's nice." He said, not thinking clearly enough to grasp that she was being sarcastic.
"No, dimwit! I was just joking. We came here to see YOU!" she said, poking him in the nose with her forefinger.
"Oh, right. I knew that." Charlie said, almost nodding before the memory of his last attempt came flooding back. No more moving of the head for now.
"So what happened anyway?" Brice asked, speaking up for the first time.
"Oh, I was just walking around and decided I would pass out and pay the hospital a visit, because I haven't caused enough trouble already." He quipped back sarcastically.
Halley let out a laugh and Brice smiled. Charlie attempted a smile too but his bottom lip still hurt. He could tell that they had cleaned up his face and wiped away the dry blood.
"So what REALLY happened to you? You look kinda like you got in a fight with a paper shredder before hurling yourself in front of a steamroller." Brice said, looking over Charlie's battle wounds.
Charlie let out a light chuckle at the comment. "That's very poetic of you Brice. But no, I did not get into a fight with a paper shredder before hurling myself in front of a steam roller." He replied.
"Then WHY ON EARTH do you look like that?" Brice asked.
Charlie shrugged. "I don't remember."
~*~ Flashback ~*~
His father yanked him up, bumping the boy's head on the shelf again. Charlie yelped in pain. His knees buckled and he fell back down to the ground.
"Stand up, boy!" he said, kicking him in the side.
Just as George Conway was about to continue berating his son, the phone rang. Charlie silently prayed his father would pick it up and that it WASN'T one of the Ducks. Even though he knew his father would never give him the phone in the first place, he still didn't want to think about it.
Luckily, the elder Conway went to pick up the phone in the living room, but not before giving Charlie a warning look.
Charlie held in tears threatening to spill. He was too old to cry. There was no way he would let his father win.
After tentatively brushing his hand through his hair to knock out a few more of the larger glass pieces, he summoned all his strength to stand up.
~*~ End Flashback ~*~
Charlie visibly tensed at the memory. That was why he was here. That's why his head hurt and he was in the hospital. Had someone found him? Had his father found him?
His two visitors raised their eyebrows. "You don't remember?"
"Nope." He lied. He couldn't tell them what had happened.
But before either of them could probe even further, Charlie continued talking.
"So would you happen to know how I got here? Did my dad find me? Some random stranger?" he asked.
Halley's eyebrows shot up. "No, silly! *WE* brought you here. That's why we knew anything happened at all. Brice and I were walking through the park on the way over to Evan's house when we saw you just spontaneously collapse. We called 911 and got you an ambulance. On the way here we called and cancelled on Evan and the others." She explained.
"Oh." Charlie said, feeling stupid. "Well, thanks I guess."
"No prob." She said with a smile.
A nurse then interrupted them. "Charlie Conway?"
"Yes?" he asked.
"A George Conway is here to see you. He says he's your father. Should we send him in?" she asked softly.
Charlie bit his bottom lip before releasing it again. He had forgotten how much it hurt there for a second.
Should he let his father in?
Maybe his dad had an explanation for his behavior. Sure, Charlie knew it was because of the alcohol. But something in Charlie just wanted to forget it and pretend it never happened.
And it scared him.
He didn't usually do stuff like that...
He had never been one to let others walk on him. Heck, he had made his fair share of statements and stood up for what he thought throughout his life. But something about his father scared him. It was almost as if he pretended none of the violent outbursts had happened, then they simply didn't exist.
"Sure." He said quietly.
Charlie, Halley, and Brice exchanged goodbyes before the latter two were ushered out of the small room.
Charlie inhaled sharply as his father's tall, looming form appeared in the doorway. The teen swallowed, thinking that, maybe, letting him in hadn't been the best idea. Then again, he would've had to face his father eventually.
But what surprised him was the semi-gentle tone his father used when speaking with him.
"Charlie?" George Conway said as he walked into the room.
"Yeah?" Charlie replied.
"I-uh...I don't know how to say it...I...I'm sorry. I really don't know what happened to me. It was almost as if someone took over. It's not me. It'll never happen again. Are you okay?" his father said, doing a shockingly good impression of a concerned parent.
A doctor walked in and began messing with some of the machines. He wrote things down every now and then.
George took notice of this and continued his flow of apologies. "Are you feeling better? They said you should be out of here in no time. You won't be able to play hockey for a day or so but it's okay. That'll give you time to rest back up." His father continued.
"WHAT?!" Charlie exclaimed, hearing nothing after 'won't be able to play hockey.' WHAT PARALLEL UNIVERSE WAS HE LIVING IN?! Stuff like this didn't happen to HIM! Life in Charlie's world was supposed to be happy! Well, at least that's how it USED to be before the wrath of George Conway intruded and popped Charlie's little happy bubble.
His father's eyebrows rose. "What's wrong?"
"No hockey?" Charlie said, almost pitifully.
"Only for a few days. You've gone days without it before. You'll survive." He said, patting Charlie's on the upper arm. When his son winced, he drew back his hand and pretended to be preoccupied.
Soon enough the doctor left and George claimed he had business to get to. Charlie was left all alone in the room.
His mind shifted back to his father's words.
'...I'm sorry'
'I really don't know what happened to me.'
'...as if someone took over.'
'It's not me.'
'...never happen again.'
'Are you okay?'
He found himself believing the words. Believing the excuses and believing the obvious lies. He wanted to believe it. He wanted to be normal. He didn't want to remember how much he was supposed to hate his father. How horrible his father was and what his father did to his mom. He didn't want to remember what had happened only a few short hours earlier. Why he was supposed to be afraid. Charlie was beginning to believe that it really had been an accident and his father wouldn't do it again.
He found himself blinking back unshed tears. He wouldn't cry. There was no reason...because nothing in his life was wrong. At all. Everything was...okay...
~~~*~~~
"...and then he just hung up on me." Fulton explained to the Ducks as they all sat around Adam's dorm room.
"That's weird...why would he do that?" Adam thought out loud as he leaned back on his bed.
"Maybe it was that demon-dad of his...you know his apparent obsession with long distance phone calls?" Connie suggested, remembered the argument they had heard the first time they had called Charlie. They had heard the father and son lash at each other like cats and dogs.
"Yeah, I tried to call him earlier and his dad nearly had an aneurysm. Screamed that Charlie wasn't there and he wouldn't take a message because, and I quote, 'Then he would feel compelled to call you back and he would spend hours racking up my phone bill. I don't want you bratty kids calling here anymore.'" Julie said, quoting the man with her pointer finger and middle finger to represent quotation marks.
They all sat in silence. "Yeah, that sounds about right. How on earth did Charlie end up with Satan incarnate as a father?" Portman asked, tossing a tennis ball in the air before proceeding to bounce it off Adam's head.
Adam grabbed the ball and sent a glare at Portman.
"When did you try to call Charlie?" Connie asked. "I've been with you almost the entire day, right?"
"In between my breakup with Scooter and you coming to comfort me about it." Julie said.
The brunette girl nodded.
"What? You broke up with Scooter?" Fulton asked, blinking. He didn't remember hearing anything about it.
"Yeah. Well, sorta. It was more along the lines of him breaking up with me." Julie said, trying to play it off as nothing.
"You okay?" Kenny asked, genuinely concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Has anyone seen Bombay?"
~~~*~~~
Gordon Bombay sat in his living room, staring at the wall. He was stumped on what to do next to help Charlie. It seemed like ages since he had last seen the boy, though in reality it had only been a week or so. The fact that his time with Charlie was only for a few days might have had something to do with it.
He had talked to everybody. The police, Judge Mallerbee, EVERYBODY! They were getting sick of seeing his face and had started screening his calls.
The man let out a dejected sigh. His worry for Charlie was mounding by the day.
Since Charlie had called that one day, Gordon's apprehension grew. He had to see Charlie.
Bombay had gotten together with Ted Orion to discuss the situation further. He explained his suspicions and the news about them checking on Charlie.
One problem.
It fell through.
They claimed they couldn't do it and figured it was all some elaborate charade created by a bunch of kids and two adults who were suffering separation anxiety.
They couldn't be more wrong...
Banksiesbabe99- How can he do that to a 14-year-old, you ask? Because he's a sick demented man, that's why. Lol, I'm glad you like it, though. I'm glad I can quench your boredom...lol...happy reading!
Rachel- I'm sorry for the cliffhanger. ^_^ Thank you!
DodgerMcClure.aka.Drama-Queen- Lol, yes...I should try locking up the booze...but where would be the fun in that?
Adriana- *looks like is about to cry*...*reads on to see that Adriana was only KIDDING*...Whew...don't care me like that! Lol...thanks for reviewing! ^_^
The Strangely Spikey Bunny- Lol, yes. Maybe it's all in my mind and I'm a wee bit neurotic when it comes to updating...I'm always afraid people will forget me and never review or read it again! Again, I'm a tad neurotic...yay! Long! Lol, there is NO SHAME in being a sadist...I...think? ^_^ Hee hee...okay, I'm glad you like Brice and Halley. ^_^ And yes! I used saucily again, JUST FOR YOU! *hugs Sophie* Don'cha feel all special now? Lol...yeah, ya do appear to be gettin' into it...I feel so special! Ah, my violence got you hooked? I'm glad it met your cut on violence-etiquette! Well, Charlie had a lot of blood loss in the head, therefore he wasn't thinking clearly enough to go to the hospital. ^_^ Not to mention I control everything he thinks, says, and does. ^_^ No, I did not know that when you drink ethanol you go blind...but now I have been informed. ^_^ Ah! Sophie pays attention in Chemistry! Good Sophie! *tosses Sophie a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup* At least you can admit that you are a weird twisted freak...I am too, don't worry. ^_^ Lol...*snaps fingers* I guess that update scheduled for 2006 has to be bumped to a sooner date? Lol...j/k...
Allie- Lol, deal! ^_^
Kim- Thanks!
Chronicles Bailey- Lol...*pats Charlie's head before joining in on the glomp-fest*
Kate's Review for Chapter 20- Oooooh! Long review! ^_^ This could take awhile...Ah! The rudeness of your brother...kicking you off like that! Awww...you returned the DVD before getting to see Connie mouth the words at Adam? *pouts and strokes MD DVDs lovingly* You poor, deprived soul...lol, I used to have a laptop...but then the hardrive keeled over and it died. So now I'm using my momma's computer. ^_^ But its in my room so that's cool. Lol, wooooooow...that's a lot. And yes, one hour is not enough...*reads about Coach Jay* Oooo, I like that. I like that a lot. ^_^ Leaving his probs off the ice...greatness! I seriously can't wait till you post so please don't leave me hanging!! ^_^ At least not for TOO long. *blinks* Pa- per...comes from trees? *blinks* Pa-per...*says to self a few times* pa...per...hmm...aw? I have to wait ten chapters before reading it?! No fairness! *breaks down into sobs* Oh well...*sniff* That sounds like something I would do. ^_^ Hmmm...*tries to think of a new name* Hmmm...hmmm...ehhhmmm...I dunno. *grins*...*giggles* Yes, I learned the hard way not to think of Charlie's greatness and utmost hotness while trying to balance on a slippery substance with only two thin blades as support...not that I don't still do it anyway. ^_^ *giggles* Okay, I will remember not to respond with "I'll save the feline then" when speaking to dumb blonde popular kids when they say "mind your own business." ^_^ *giggles and blinks confusedly, pretending to not be confused* Heh, of COURSE I know what that's from...o.O...heh...lol. I AGREE! Charlie and Julie are awesome. Lol. My collaborated account with Liz (which is KittySpazway) is chuck full of fluffy C/J fics...lol...o.O...it's sad, really. And I have my lovely little C/J D2 fic that I umm. Need to update. ^_^ Lol, thank you and I will be patient with you. We are all very busy peeps. ^_^ Oh I want snow! I want snow! Whee! But...we don't get snow...*eyes water* It's so sad. Lol...*gasp* You missed my loud, blatant foreshadowing? Lol, yes...that's how you spell Charles. Whee for you! ^_^
Kate's Review for Chapter 21- Lol. I'm glad you liked my title. It took me FOREVER to come up with a title at all. It was sad. I was like "No...yes...no...YES! NO!" for like ten minutes, deciding whether or not I liked that chapter name. ^_^ Yes, I'm weird. Wow, multitalented Kate! And I have no clue about J/V and Varsity teams. I just pick random things and pretend I know what I'm talking about. ^_^ It's really fun. Lol, no...don't worry. As you read on, you come to learn George is still incapable of simple, kind human emotion. Only scary, demented human emotion. ^_^ Anyway. Lol, I'm glad you liked the pros/cons thing. *giggles* I'm proud of you for resisting your urges to hug four-year-old Charlie and to recite the McDonalds commercial. ^_^ Lol, as lovely as that would be, that would bring an end to my fic and I'm not ready to be done yet. ^_^ Yes, it was VERY long (much to my enjoyment, mind you ^_^) and I'm sorry for the long wait. I've been procrastinating! Bad Chelsea! *slaps wrist*
Disclaimer- Nope, I don't own The Mighty Ducks...though I wish I owned Charlie...oops, did I say that out loud?
-Chapter 22-
Charlie Conway slowly blinked, fuzzy light hurting his eyes. He heard soft, irregular beeping coming from all directions.
As his eyes slowly adjusted, he tried to figure out where he was and how he had gotten there.
He moved his head slightly to look around when a sharp pain split through his temple. He let out a pained yelp as he ceased the offending movement.
"You shouldn't move your head." A woman in a white outfit said as she wrote something down on her little notepad-thingy.
"Yeah, I kinda figured that out." He said softly as he winced.
It was then that he finally observed his surroundings.
Cold, sterile air.
Hard bed.
Thin sheets.
Clothes, if you could call them that, which he had NOT been wearing prior to waking up.
White walls.
Fancy, expensive equipment everywhere.
Annoying beeping sounds.
Women in white outfits with notepad-thingies.
He was in a hospital.
Charlie blinked a few times as he tried to remember how he could have possibly ended up in a hospital. He tried to rewind through his day but only managed to hurt his brain further.
He let out a groan as he closed his eyes again. His head was still throbbing and he couldn't seem to process coherent thought.
"Are you alright?" the nurse asked, walking over to his bed.
He debated asking her if he LOOKED alright and would he be in a HOSPITAL if he WAS alright, but decided against it.
"Yeah, I'm fine..." he managed to grumble out.
"That's good. Oh, and you have some visitors." She said as she smiled and walked out the door. She was then replaced by two figures standing in the doorway.
His head hurt too much to look over to them. Even though he was surprised anyone came, considering his lack of social skills as of lately, his head was still in immense pain.
"Hey Charlie." He heard a feminine voice say as the two figures came into focus.
He blinked, not sure if he was hallucinating from the drugs they had probably put him on.
"Hey." He managed to choke back. "What brings you two here?" he asked.
Halley gave him a grim smile. "Oh, we were just making our usual trip to the hospital, because that's what ALL teenagers do in their spare time. Then we saw you were here and decided to pay you a visit."
"Really? Well that's nice." He said, not thinking clearly enough to grasp that she was being sarcastic.
"No, dimwit! I was just joking. We came here to see YOU!" she said, poking him in the nose with her forefinger.
"Oh, right. I knew that." Charlie said, almost nodding before the memory of his last attempt came flooding back. No more moving of the head for now.
"So what happened anyway?" Brice asked, speaking up for the first time.
"Oh, I was just walking around and decided I would pass out and pay the hospital a visit, because I haven't caused enough trouble already." He quipped back sarcastically.
Halley let out a laugh and Brice smiled. Charlie attempted a smile too but his bottom lip still hurt. He could tell that they had cleaned up his face and wiped away the dry blood.
"So what REALLY happened to you? You look kinda like you got in a fight with a paper shredder before hurling yourself in front of a steamroller." Brice said, looking over Charlie's battle wounds.
Charlie let out a light chuckle at the comment. "That's very poetic of you Brice. But no, I did not get into a fight with a paper shredder before hurling myself in front of a steam roller." He replied.
"Then WHY ON EARTH do you look like that?" Brice asked.
Charlie shrugged. "I don't remember."
~*~ Flashback ~*~
His father yanked him up, bumping the boy's head on the shelf again. Charlie yelped in pain. His knees buckled and he fell back down to the ground.
"Stand up, boy!" he said, kicking him in the side.
Just as George Conway was about to continue berating his son, the phone rang. Charlie silently prayed his father would pick it up and that it WASN'T one of the Ducks. Even though he knew his father would never give him the phone in the first place, he still didn't want to think about it.
Luckily, the elder Conway went to pick up the phone in the living room, but not before giving Charlie a warning look.
Charlie held in tears threatening to spill. He was too old to cry. There was no way he would let his father win.
After tentatively brushing his hand through his hair to knock out a few more of the larger glass pieces, he summoned all his strength to stand up.
~*~ End Flashback ~*~
Charlie visibly tensed at the memory. That was why he was here. That's why his head hurt and he was in the hospital. Had someone found him? Had his father found him?
His two visitors raised their eyebrows. "You don't remember?"
"Nope." He lied. He couldn't tell them what had happened.
But before either of them could probe even further, Charlie continued talking.
"So would you happen to know how I got here? Did my dad find me? Some random stranger?" he asked.
Halley's eyebrows shot up. "No, silly! *WE* brought you here. That's why we knew anything happened at all. Brice and I were walking through the park on the way over to Evan's house when we saw you just spontaneously collapse. We called 911 and got you an ambulance. On the way here we called and cancelled on Evan and the others." She explained.
"Oh." Charlie said, feeling stupid. "Well, thanks I guess."
"No prob." She said with a smile.
A nurse then interrupted them. "Charlie Conway?"
"Yes?" he asked.
"A George Conway is here to see you. He says he's your father. Should we send him in?" she asked softly.
Charlie bit his bottom lip before releasing it again. He had forgotten how much it hurt there for a second.
Should he let his father in?
Maybe his dad had an explanation for his behavior. Sure, Charlie knew it was because of the alcohol. But something in Charlie just wanted to forget it and pretend it never happened.
And it scared him.
He didn't usually do stuff like that...
He had never been one to let others walk on him. Heck, he had made his fair share of statements and stood up for what he thought throughout his life. But something about his father scared him. It was almost as if he pretended none of the violent outbursts had happened, then they simply didn't exist.
"Sure." He said quietly.
Charlie, Halley, and Brice exchanged goodbyes before the latter two were ushered out of the small room.
Charlie inhaled sharply as his father's tall, looming form appeared in the doorway. The teen swallowed, thinking that, maybe, letting him in hadn't been the best idea. Then again, he would've had to face his father eventually.
But what surprised him was the semi-gentle tone his father used when speaking with him.
"Charlie?" George Conway said as he walked into the room.
"Yeah?" Charlie replied.
"I-uh...I don't know how to say it...I...I'm sorry. I really don't know what happened to me. It was almost as if someone took over. It's not me. It'll never happen again. Are you okay?" his father said, doing a shockingly good impression of a concerned parent.
A doctor walked in and began messing with some of the machines. He wrote things down every now and then.
George took notice of this and continued his flow of apologies. "Are you feeling better? They said you should be out of here in no time. You won't be able to play hockey for a day or so but it's okay. That'll give you time to rest back up." His father continued.
"WHAT?!" Charlie exclaimed, hearing nothing after 'won't be able to play hockey.' WHAT PARALLEL UNIVERSE WAS HE LIVING IN?! Stuff like this didn't happen to HIM! Life in Charlie's world was supposed to be happy! Well, at least that's how it USED to be before the wrath of George Conway intruded and popped Charlie's little happy bubble.
His father's eyebrows rose. "What's wrong?"
"No hockey?" Charlie said, almost pitifully.
"Only for a few days. You've gone days without it before. You'll survive." He said, patting Charlie's on the upper arm. When his son winced, he drew back his hand and pretended to be preoccupied.
Soon enough the doctor left and George claimed he had business to get to. Charlie was left all alone in the room.
His mind shifted back to his father's words.
'...I'm sorry'
'I really don't know what happened to me.'
'...as if someone took over.'
'It's not me.'
'...never happen again.'
'Are you okay?'
He found himself believing the words. Believing the excuses and believing the obvious lies. He wanted to believe it. He wanted to be normal. He didn't want to remember how much he was supposed to hate his father. How horrible his father was and what his father did to his mom. He didn't want to remember what had happened only a few short hours earlier. Why he was supposed to be afraid. Charlie was beginning to believe that it really had been an accident and his father wouldn't do it again.
He found himself blinking back unshed tears. He wouldn't cry. There was no reason...because nothing in his life was wrong. At all. Everything was...okay...
~~~*~~~
"...and then he just hung up on me." Fulton explained to the Ducks as they all sat around Adam's dorm room.
"That's weird...why would he do that?" Adam thought out loud as he leaned back on his bed.
"Maybe it was that demon-dad of his...you know his apparent obsession with long distance phone calls?" Connie suggested, remembered the argument they had heard the first time they had called Charlie. They had heard the father and son lash at each other like cats and dogs.
"Yeah, I tried to call him earlier and his dad nearly had an aneurysm. Screamed that Charlie wasn't there and he wouldn't take a message because, and I quote, 'Then he would feel compelled to call you back and he would spend hours racking up my phone bill. I don't want you bratty kids calling here anymore.'" Julie said, quoting the man with her pointer finger and middle finger to represent quotation marks.
They all sat in silence. "Yeah, that sounds about right. How on earth did Charlie end up with Satan incarnate as a father?" Portman asked, tossing a tennis ball in the air before proceeding to bounce it off Adam's head.
Adam grabbed the ball and sent a glare at Portman.
"When did you try to call Charlie?" Connie asked. "I've been with you almost the entire day, right?"
"In between my breakup with Scooter and you coming to comfort me about it." Julie said.
The brunette girl nodded.
"What? You broke up with Scooter?" Fulton asked, blinking. He didn't remember hearing anything about it.
"Yeah. Well, sorta. It was more along the lines of him breaking up with me." Julie said, trying to play it off as nothing.
"You okay?" Kenny asked, genuinely concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Has anyone seen Bombay?"
~~~*~~~
Gordon Bombay sat in his living room, staring at the wall. He was stumped on what to do next to help Charlie. It seemed like ages since he had last seen the boy, though in reality it had only been a week or so. The fact that his time with Charlie was only for a few days might have had something to do with it.
He had talked to everybody. The police, Judge Mallerbee, EVERYBODY! They were getting sick of seeing his face and had started screening his calls.
The man let out a dejected sigh. His worry for Charlie was mounding by the day.
Since Charlie had called that one day, Gordon's apprehension grew. He had to see Charlie.
Bombay had gotten together with Ted Orion to discuss the situation further. He explained his suspicions and the news about them checking on Charlie.
One problem.
It fell through.
They claimed they couldn't do it and figured it was all some elaborate charade created by a bunch of kids and two adults who were suffering separation anxiety.
They couldn't be more wrong...
