Chapter 5
Sam PoV
I don't know why I let them affect me, after all, I have been dealing with the whispers and looks for a long time, but the point is that it was different this time. I'm not sure why but it was so I did the only thing that came to mind and just ran, with tears on my face I ran, knowing that almost everyone would be at the cafeteria. I just went the other way towards the parking lot and locked myself in our truck and laid down on the seat.
It was a minute or so later that I heard an incessant tapping on the window accompanied by a voice.
"Sam, open the door. Sam please" It was Charlie, he must have followed me, but I just ignored him and turned my face against the back of the seat. But he wouldn't stop. Why does he even care? He's only known me for a month.
"Go away Charlie"
"I'm not going anywhere Sam, so please open the door"
Oh you want me to open the door well you'll get what you want but you'll regret it. So I came out and shouted at him to go away and then I started hitting him but before I could harm him he pulled me into a hug and held me while I broke down.
I don't know how long It took me to calm down but he just held me through it all, at some point, we slid down to the ragged parking lot asphalt. But I didn't care so I just stayed there.
"What happened Sam? Why do they treat you like this?"
"I'll tell you but first let's get off the floor"
We sat down on the bed of the truck, I took a cigarette out and offered one to Charlie but he declined. After letting out a smokey sigh I started talking and the words just flowed out of my mouth and I told him, how I would get drunk on parties, the things I would do at these parties, how this got me a reputation, how I would hang out with people that treated me like shit, how I treated people I cared like shit including Patrick, how I almost failed all my classes and how I'm still struggling with not failing them, all in some fucked up attempt to be popular. And he just listened. Why are you such a good person, Charlie?
"And then it was two months before the end of the term that I went to a party and the next day I woke half-naked in an unknown bed not being able to remember most of what had happened the night before." I took another swig from what must have been the third cigarette before continuing.
"What followed were probably the worst three weeks of my life. People were saying things about me, they still do. My period was late, really late and I thought… I thought I was pregnant. I spent the next few days in a trance. I remember going to the drug store to get a pregnancy test, going home, waiting until everyone was asleep and then just sitting on the bathroom for what felt like hours just staring at the box. It was 3 am before I finally took it. While I waited I vowed that no matter whether I was pregnant or not I would turn my life around. And it was negative and I just sat there looking at that little stick crying until Patrick found me. I don't remember much of it but Patrick later told me that I just hugged him and kept crying while babbling about how sorry I was"
"Sorry for dropping all of this at once, Charlie"
"It's okay Sam," he said with a troubled look on his face
"What's bothering you, Charlie?"
"It's just that no-one has ever been this open with me and it's a lot to think about"
"Sorry"
"Don't apologise, thank you for telling me"
We spent a couple of minutes in silence during which Charlie seem to be thinking hard about something he opened his mouth as if to say something a couple of times before I got tired and just said "C'mon Charlie spit it out"
"Sam, Do you have a date for the dance?"
Ahh Shit. Why is it that when the nicest guy I've ever met wants to ask me out I have to be an absolute mess? Fuck what do I do? Okay here it goes
"Charlie, you are a really nice guy but after what happened last year I'm still too messed up to go out with anyone and I'm not sure when I'll be ready so please I don't want
you wasting your time pining for me, Can you do that, Charlie?"
"it's okay, I'll try," he said sadly and after a moment he added " I could help you with your classes"
"What?"
"Well you said you're still struggling with catching up, I could help you"
"Would you really do that for me?"
"Yes" I couldn't take it so I just hugged him and whispered in his ear "Thank you Charlie" I could feel him nod and then a voice said
"Ahh look at you lovebirds, Am I interrupting? would you like me to leave you two alone?"
"you're such an ass Patrick"
"I try Sam, I try," he said while climbing on the back of the truck with us
"So what's new?" he asked
"Not much - I told him - I told charlie about last year, he has a Charlie-Esque crush on me"
"I'm working on it" Charlie interrupted
"and he offered to tutor me. And you dear brother anything interesting?"
"Well, Mary Elizabeth decided she was going to start that magazine she has been thinking about for the last month. She's calling it Punk-Rocky. And Alice decided to join her so they ditched me to go work on it. And the latest piece of gossip is that Ponytail Derek has a black eye and has Charlie's sister all over him. It's so sweet I almost threw up when I saw them" he said that last part with an exaggerated shudder.
I laughed and asked if he knew how he got it.
"He SAYS he fell down but some people think he got beat up but I was hoping Charlie here would know something more, after all, he is dating your sister"
Charlie looked down at one of his hands, it was bruised not enough to be obvious but if you looked carefully you would see the slight tint on it. Did Charlie do it? Nah he's too good. then he said, "Does a single punch count as beating up?"
"WHAT?! WHY?!" I couldn't see it sweet, shy Charlie just punching someone.
"I'm missing something," said Patrick
I brought my hand to Charlie's face and made him look at me "What happened Charlie?"
It was at this point that Patrick understood and exclaimed "Oh shit!" I glared at him "sorry" he said and I turned back to Charlie. I still didn't understand why he would do something like that.
"He slapped her"
And now it made sense.
"Okay, tell us everything"
And he did, it was fifteen minutes later that he finished
"... I promised her I wouldn't tell our parents, she said it was the first time it happened and that it wouldn't happen again but I don't know what to do"
After he said that we started talking about what he could do we ended up deciding to help him keep an eye out to see if it happened again and if it did he would tell his parents.
