Episode Tag: Structural Corruption
Prompt: 100 Writer's Choice (Just right)
Warnings: Deals with issues surrounding suicide. No actual character death.
-JR-
"You know, in Finn's letter, he said that part of the reason he… was that he felt nobody understood him. He, uh… he said that he felt so alone."
Mrs Montgomery's words came back to Charlie as he leaned against the bridge railing. He remembered being much like Finn, feeling that no one understood him. Hell, there had been times when Charlie had come close to doing something permanent about his feelings of isolation, but something had always held him back.
For a long time, it had been the thought of his mother. Even if she hadn't understood the math, she'd done her best to understand the boy.
Alan had never really understood, but it didn't really matter – he'd supported both of his sons anyway, loving them as every good father loves his children.
And Donnie…
Well, there was very little understanding between the siblings as they grew. Things were better now, though. Now each brother had his area of expertise, and they were slowly getting used to having those areas overlap. So while there wasn't exactly understanding, there was a strong sense of camaraderie and brotherhood that Charlie enjoyed.
And of course, outside the family, he had Larry – his fellow science geek who might not understand math as well as he did, but who understood the passion and the life of academia. Amita came the closest to understanding the math. While she didn't have the instinctive knowledge of numbers, she had learned it and was more than capable of keeping up.
As he mused on all this, Charlie felt a cold, wet nose press against his leg and looked down. Zillah looked back, with an expression that clearly said 'well? Why are we stopping here and not continuing with our walkies?' Charlie laughed and gave her a quick ear scratch, before turning from the bridge and following Zillah.
Understanding from others was all well and good, but most days Charlie was content with the love and support offered by his family, his friends, and his dog.