Chapter VIII

Charlie was so confused. Why didn't girls ever just say what they meant? She'd told him to forget it; he told her he would.

He sighed and adjusted his backpack. When she came out of her class, he was grabbing her and making her talk to him. What other choice did he have?

The door opened and students began to spill out into the hallway. None of them was Fia.

"She's not here today," came a voice to his left. He looked over to see that one of the girls from the classroom had stopped.

"Huh?"

"Melody. She's not here." At his puzzled look, she added, "Fia. I saw you two talking last week."

"Oh. Where is she?"

The girl shrugged and said, "I'll tell her you were looking for her,"before walking away.

~*~

"This was the best idea!"

"Right? We need to do this every year!"

Carol and Melody exchanged amused glances. Carol had reluctantly taken her husband's advice and decided to talk to the girl about Charlie. Melody had been a cheerleader under Carol's sponsorship and coaching, so the older woman had simply called all of the girls from the old squad and offered to have an extra long reunion weekend.

Charlie's mom, Laura, after hearing the story, had graciously offered her home for the purpose, ushering Neil and Lucy away to see family for the weekend.

When she'd arrived, Melody – Fia, Carol reminded herself – looked puzzled, but shrugged off whatever hesitancy she had when the festivities began.

Around six on Friday morning, Carol found Fia in the kitchen, sipping a cup of coffee and gazing into the distance.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Carol asked, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

Fia was quiet for a few more moments. Then, after the other woman took a seat next to her, she sighed.

"Why are we in Charlie Calvin's house?"

"Well. I don't live anywhere near here anymore, and Charlie's mom offered to let us use it."

Fia turned a shrewd look to the blonde.

"Why would she do that?"

"Because we're friends." When Fia glared at her, she nodded in acquiescence. "And Charlie's my stepson. We're worried about him. And about you."

"Look Carol, I appreciate it, but . . . Really. It's complicated."

Carol let out a mirthless laugh.

"Oh, honey. Tell me about it."

They sat in silence for a moment, and then realization washed over Fia's face. Her eyes widened and she turned to her former coach in wonder.

"Wait. You're . . . You're Mrs . . .?" Carol nodded, grinning. "You really don't live anywhere near here – you live at the –" Carol nodded. "Whoa . . . Wait, does that mean you know . . .?"

Carol nodded.

"Everything."

"Oh."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Fia bit her lip and then glanced at the doorway. The other girls had been up for hours and showed no signs of stirring yet. She nodded slowly.

"Okay."

~*~

When Charlie walked in, Fia's mother, Queen Mab – who was sitting awfully close to Bernard – was already there.

He sighed at seeing her.

"Look, she wasn't at school. I went to her class to find her and she didn't show."

There was silence for a moment as the others exchanged sheepish glances.

"That's all right, Charlie. She's feeling a little better now. Uh, she did agree to give you her phone number, so you don't have to lurk around your school hallways."

"Oh. Uh . . . Okay, cool."

Bernard handed him a piece of paper with Fia's name and number, and Charlie was a bit dumbstruck. He'd built himself up for this trip, thinking of arguments for every complaint they might have against him. This change in attitude was too good to be true.

"She's a texter," Bernard said. "Big time."

Charlie nodded numbly.

"Okay. Thanks."