Charlie poured his mum a cup of tea before he poured his and sat on the opposite side of the kitchen table.
He continuously knocked his knees together as he took a sip and his eyes peered over the cup to look at Jane.
"So," Charlie said as he sat his cup down. "How did all this happen?"
Jane gripped on to her cup and began to stare at her reflection in the tea.
"And please, tell me the truth. Even if you fabricate it, it won't stop me from already being seriously pissed off at you," Charlie added.
Jane took a deep breath. "It was around the time Oliver went to college when Julio and I became distant. I mean… the space was always there, but this time it was more noticeable to me. I spoke to one of your aunts about this, and she told me that sometimes she liked to chat with people on this app."
"A dating site?" Charlie asked.
"No," Jane said. "This one was more like a chatroom situation. That's when I met Lionel." She picked up her cup and took a sip of tea.
"Lionel is the guy you're seeing?"
"Yes," Jane said with a sad expression and a small smile. "We met in a group about gardening and answered a question on the same thread. After some back and forth, he private messaged me for more tips."
Charlie shook his head in confusion as he scooted his chair a bit closer. "How did it go from gardening to you sneaking around with this man?"
"He changed the subject one day. He would constantly ask me questions about gardening, till one day, he asked about me. He seemed to genuinely want to know about me. So, I told him and as the conversation grew, we realized we had more in common than we thought. This exchange happened for two more months, before he asked to meet with me publicly. I was hesitant at first, but he convinced me. When we finally met, it felt like we had known each other for ages. I really valued the friendship we had."
Charlie was surprised at what he was hearing. "You sound like a schoolgirl gushing over their crush," he scoffed. "He makes you that happy?"
"Yes," Jane said at a whisper.
"Happier than dad?"
She stayed quiet.
"Do you love him, mum?"
Jane sat her teacup down and reached out for Charlie's hand. "Please believe me when I say that I didn't mean for Lionel's and I's relationship to go this far."
"You're not answering my question. Do. You. Love. Him?"
"Yes, but this love I have for him isn't the same love that I have for your father."
Charlie couldn't help but scoff again as he took his hand from her grasp. "What the hell does that even mean?"
Jane couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't set Charlie off. She leaned back in her chair and placed her hands around her cup.
"If you were having problems, why couldn't you just talk to dad? He would've listened."
"I don't think he would understand-" Jane started.
"Yes, he would," Charlie cut her off. "When something's wrong, he listens. He's not dismissive… Like some people I know."
Jane looked at Charlie with a shocked expression.
Charlie stood up and collected the cups to wash, snatching the second one from Jane's hand.
The short moment of silence felt like it was going on for ages as Charlie continuously rubbed the wash rag around the rim of the cup over and over again.
Jane continued to look at her son's back, anxiously awaiting his response. What was he thinking? What could he possibly say next? Is he going to expose her? She yanked at the end of her sleeve as she waited for Charlie to break the silence.
Charlie rested his hands on the counter and looked out the window above the sink. "I'm giving you a month to tell him."
Jane snaps out of her thoughts. "What?"
Charlie turned back to face Jane. He leans on the counter and crosses his arms. "I'm giving you a month. This thing that you're doing with this Lionel person… It's just not fair to dad. He deserves better."
"Charlie-"
"I don't want you running around with that man within the time frame either. I swear if Oliver or I catch you I'll tell dad immediately."
Jane continued to look at Charlie in shock. "But I just can't-"
"You'll live, mum," Charlie quickly cut her off.
"This could lead us into a divorce, you know?"
"I don't care."
Silence filled the room once again as they continued to look at one another.
Charlie cleared his throat. "Tori has an appointment today and she's picking me up, so if you could leave, please?"
Jane stood up and grabbed her purse. As she pushes in the chair, she looks towards Charlie. "How is the pregnancy treating Tori?"
Charlie sighed. "Fine, I guess. We get to hear the baby's heartbeat today."
Jane tightened her grip on her purse's strap. "I would also like to say sorry for the way I acted at dinner. I was just surprised. I'm happy for you and Nick. I really am."
"Okay," Charlie mumbled.
Jane sighed in disappointment at Charlie's response before she turned away and left.
"FUCK!" Tori screamed as the nurse poured gel on her stomach.
Nick then enters the room a bit red and out of breath from running. "I'm not too late, am I?"
"No sir, you're right on time!" the nurse responded. She rubs a bit more gel on the wand and begins to move it around Tori's lower abdomen.
Nick collects his breath and stands near Charlie.
"I told you that you didn't have to come," Charlie said to him. "I know how you like to work ahead."
Nick pinched Charlie's cheek. "I told you I'd only be gone a few hours. Plus, I wouldn't miss this for the world."
Charlie playfully smacked Nick's hand away and they both focused back on the screen.
Moments had passed as the nurse searched and searched.
"Uhm… not to be that person, but what's taking so long?" Charlie asked, a bit anxious.
Nick quickly wrapped his arms around Charlie. "Maybe they're camera shy?" Nick joked trying to lighten the mood. He could feel Charlie's heart beating rapidly from behind. Nick then tightened his grip on Charlie more, rubbing his arm to sooth him. Though he believed that everything was fine, he couldn't help but wonder the same thing as Charlie. What is taking so long?
Tori held her breath. 'Did I do something wrong?' she thought to herself. 'Did I stress or move the wrong way? I let Charlie down, didn't I? You suck for getting his hopes up Victoria Spring! You suck! You suck! You suck! You-'
"Found 'em!" the nurse said happily. "A lot of babies like to explore so it can be hard to find them sometime, especially when they're this small."
Tori finally let out a sigh of relief.
The nurse used the mouse to focus more on the baby and clicked around before the sound of the baby's heartbeat filled the room.
"Wow, this one's heartbeat is very strong," the nurse smiled as she looked over at Nick and Charlie. "You might have a little athlete on your hands!"
Charlie studied the monitor with an astonished expression. He was amazed at how the little speck on the screen would grow one day to be a human being, how he would get to raise them, run with them, have outings with them and probably even give them advice when they're a moody teenager. He couldn't explain it, but for some reason… he felt light?
"Wow," was all he was able to say.
Tori couldn't help but smile at Charlie's relaxed expression.
Nick smiled as he looked at the screen and wiped his eyes.
"Nick, are you crying?" Charlie smirked.
"Wha- No!" Nick said as he wiped his eyes some more. "I have allergies!"
The nurse took a couple of pictures before zooming out. "Hopefully the other one isn't much of a mover and stayed in place," the nurse said.
All three of their heads quickly turned to face the nurse.
"Other one?" Tori asked.
"Yeah. You didn't see that earlier?" the nurse asked. She zoomed the screen out a bit and it revealed two grey sacks on the screen. "That's baby one and that's baby two," she said as she used the mouse to circle them out.
"Are you joking?" Tori asked.
"No, that's another baby!" The nurse then zoomed in on the second one and began to play its heartbeat. "Maybe this one was hiding at your first ultrasound, but I can confirm that this is another one." She then turned to face Nick and Charlie. "Congratulations! You're having twins!"
The trio continued to look at the nurse astonished as she continued with the examination. When she's done, she hands the couple some paperwork with the photos.
Nick continued to look at the ultrasound pictures as they walked towards the parking lot. "Twins?"
"Yes, Nick! Twins!" Tori laughed. "Why are you freaking out so much? I'm the one who has to give birth back-to-back."
"We're first-time parents, that's why!" Nick exclaimed. "One newborn is tough, but two?" He looked back at the pictures. "We might need a bigger house sooner than expected Charlie."
"Didn't you say you wanted a big family?" Charlie asked.
"Yes, but not so soon!" Nick said. He looked back at the pictures. "Twins?" he said again in disbelief.
Charlie wrapped his arm around Nick's waist and kissed him on the cheek. "We'll be okay. I promise." He turned his direction back to Tori. "Eat plenty and rest well."
Tori just nodded before heading back to her car.
"Can you drive please?" Nick asked as he continued to look at the pictures.
Charlie laughed a bit as he dug in Nick's pockets for the keys.
Nick continued to stare at the ultrasounds after he strapped himself in.
Charlie kept giving him quick glances as he drove. "Honey? You okay?"
"I think I'll be okay," Nick said. He pressed the ultrasound photos on the dashboard and ripped the top one that showed both babies in it. He then opened his wallet and placed the photo on top of the photo of him, Charlie and Daisy.
"Hey, now!" Charlie laughed. "You're already replacing me and Daisy?"
Nick let out a small chuckle. "Those are my babies," he swooned. He kissed the picture and put his wallet away. "Thor and Loki."
"What!?" Charlie screeched as he whipped his head in his husband's direction. "Thor and Loki?"
"They're placement names for now. Don't you get tired of constantly calling them the baby or whatever?" Nick asked.
Charlie thought for a bit. "I guess it'll be fine for now."
"How are you feeling?" Nick asked as he longingly looked at Charlie and rubbed his thigh.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, how do you feel about the pregnancy at this moment? Are you still anxious or has something changed?"
Charlie thought about his feelings as he continued to focus on driving. "I want to say…" he started. "I want to say… that I think I'm okay with everything. Except for that one small moment when the nurse couldn't find them. I felt anxious, but after she found them, I felt different and hearing their little heartbeats…" Charlie trailed off.
"Charlie?" Nick said, a bit concerned.
Charlie abruptly pulled to the side of the road.
"Char, why'd you-" Nick stopped speaking when he realized Charlie started crying. He quickly undid his and Charlie's belt before pulling him into a tight bear hug.
"I'm sorry. I probably look crazy to you," Charlie smiled into Nick's chest as he whipped away his tears.
"No, you're fine," Nick smiled. He kissed Charlie on his head before running his fingers through his husband's hair. "Are you okay?"
"Don't worry. They're tears of joy." Charlie pulled away a bit so he could look at Nick. "Honey, we're going to be parents."
Nick looked at Charlie with a surprised look on his face. "You're happy?"
"Yes, Nick!" Charlie laughed at his expression as he was still trying to fight back tears. "I'm very happy about it!" He began to caress his cheek. "I almost robbed you of this experience. I'm so sorry."
"You weren't robbing me of anything! We were going to experience it eventually," Nick assured him.
Nick pulls Charlie in for another tight hug as Charlie gripped tightly at the back of his coat.
"I'm happy that you're happy."
"Twins!?" Oliver exclaimed on the phone. "There's no mistake?"
"No, they're getting twins," Tori sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. "I didn't even think this was possible. Twins don't run in our family, do they?"
"Aw Victoria… Your poor vagina…" Michael said with sarcastic sympathy as he hugged Tori.
"Imagine if I didn't pool with you that day," Oliver said. "Now look! You're having our nieces or nephews or niece and nephew," Oliver laughed as he dug in his pocket for his lighter. "Have you told dad?"
"No, let Charlie tell 'em. Speaking of our parents, have you got in touch with mum?"
Oliver is consumed with silence before he finally answers. "She came to my dorm to drop off food not too long ago. Why?"
Tori got a bit tense. Oliver has never raised his voice at her or got hostile towards her, but for some reason, she couldn't help but feel anxious at his response.
She looked over at Michael, who still had his arms around her.
Michael looked like he was a bit nervous too. After he and Tori had a silent conversation with their eyes, they both nodded.
"Oliver, somethings bothering you."
"What!" Oliver tried laughing off what Tori said. "I'm fine, sis. I swear. I mean, I'm a bit stressed out with my new project for class and other personal things, but overall, everything is fine."
"What's going on between you and mum? Why are you angry with her?"
Oliver's smile dropped. He took a long drag of his cigarette. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb with me. Something's going on between you two. Why won't you tell me?" Tori stressed. "You guys are usually so buddy-buddy, but that night it felt like you two couldn't be in the same room with each other."
"We had a little fight before the dinner, but that's about it, Tori. Nothing for you to worry about."
"Okay, but you got so hostile towards her and-"
"What does it matter if I was hostile towards her?" Oliver asked. "You're always hostile towards her and sometimes for no reason and no one ever questions it. So why is it a concern when I do it? Am I not allowed to express anything but happy, now?"
Tori and Michael were taken aback.
"We're just concerned, mate!" Michael started. "Tori's not saying you have to stay the same, but she's noticed something's off, ya' know?"
"Nothing's off! Me and mum are fine!" Oliver answered quickly.
"But you were crying after the dinner, Oli," Michael said. "Something isn't sitting right with you, and we know that it's probably your mum. We're happy you confided in Charlie, but for the topic to be so serious that you need to keep it from Tori?"
Oliver didn't respond back. He took another drag of his cig and blew the smoke out the window.
"Oliver?" Michael said.
"I'll be friendly with mum again if it'll stop her prying," Oliver groaned.
"Prying!? Oliver I'm worried for your wellbeing!" Tori shouted into the phone.
"Well stop worrying about it! I've already told you I'm fine!" Oliver groaned back. "You're pregnant! Focus on the kids that are in you before you miscarry Charlie's kids!"
Tori tightened her lips together.
Oliver's body tightened when he realized what he said. He let out a frustrated sigh. "Sorry… I have to go."
He quickly hangs up before Tori and Michael can say anything. As he walked around his dorm, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. "You're a dickhead, Oliver Spring."
Tori slammed her phone on the kitchen table and stormed off to the bedroom.
"Tori!" Michael followed.
She quickly walked into the room and tried to slam the door behind her, but Michael was able to stop it with his foot. She throws herself on the bed and buries her face in her pillow.
Michael sat beside her and rubbed her back. "I know you want to help Oliver and what he said to you was awful, but he kinda has a point."
Tori lifted herself a bit to look at Michael with an expression that read irritated but confused.
"You're the big sister, so you feel like you need to fix things, but you need to know that you can't fix everything."
"But-" Tori started.
"Mm-mm," Michael shook his head. "I think it's time you drop this case, Sherlock."
Tori peered her eyes at him. "That sounds crazy coming from you."
"That Solitaire thing was different!" Michael smiled. "This is a secret that your little brother doesn't feel comfortable telling you. He already confided in Charlie. When the time is right, he'll tell you."
Tori laid her head back on the pillow. "I guess you're right…"
Michael leaned in closer and cupped a hand over one of his ears. "Hmm? What was that?"
"I'm not repeating myself. Get away before I pop you."
Michael let out a hardy laugh before he tucked Tori's hair behind her ear and kissed her on her cheek. "I have to run out and do something really quick. I should be back sometime in the afternoon."
Tori nods as Michael gets up and grabs a few things before he leaves the room.
As soon as Tori hears the front door lock up, she shoots a text message to her mum.
Can we meet soon?
Crying filled the air as two nurses came with separate towels to clean the babies. After they wrapped them in a blanket, the nurses find a way to put both of them in Charlie's hands.
Charlie studies the babies' crying faces and a smile slowly spreads across his face.
Nick then appears and wraps his arms around Charlie's waist with a big smile on his face.
"I can't thank you enough, Tori," Charlie says as he looked at the pair of twins with a small smile. He then looked up and saw an empty white bed that was neatly made.
"Tori?"
Charlie woke up and let out a long exhale. 'I'm still scared, aren't I?' he thought to himself. 'Why can't I just be happy?'
He then rolled over and picked up his phone from the nightstand. His eyes widened when he saw the time. "Shit!" he said in a harsh whisper as he tossed his blankets from off him.
After he was done getting ready, he sped through traffic to get to his job. He quickly walked in the building and straight into his boss's office.
"Look who finally decided to show up," Josiah groaned before he took his sip of coffee.
"Sorry. I forgot to set my alarm," Charlie said as he sat down at the desk.
Josiah couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You're not even a parent yet but you're already making parent like excuses." Josiah slammed his mug down as he sat down on the opposite side. "I hate that shit."
"Why'd you want to see me?" Charlie asked. "You finally firing me, or something?"
Josiah tried his best to stifle his chuckle. "I should since you have the worst attendance record then any of the other employees, but then I'll have to fire myself too, since my track record is ten times worse than yours."
He then opened his desk drawer and searched through some files. He then pulls out a blue file and hands it to Charlie. "I want you to work with this writer. Though it's just the first couple chapters, I think the story's interesting so far and I want it to succeed. So, I want to get a second opinion from my best editor."
Charlie skimmed through the pages as Josiah spoke. "It looks like a diary."
"Isn't it cute?" Josiah smirked. "The author pulled from his personal online journal from when he was in secondary and added some details in between so the story could make sense to the reader. I also like that not everyone is a goody two shoes, even the narrator. Not that many teenage stories that focuses solely on an antagonist."
Charlie closed the file. "I'll get back to you on Friday, yeah?"
"Thanks."
Charlie then leaves the office and goes to a nearby café. When he's done ordering a small coffee and a croissant, he sits at a table near a large open window and opens the file again to a random chapter. 'Let's see how well you can impress me,' he thought.
Today's make out session with Christian didn't feel the same today. It's been like this for almost a few weeks. The passion that was once there a few months ago seems to have vanished. He's cold and distant. I've had more action from a pillow. He no longer pulls me close or plays with my hair how I like. I want to go further than just kissing, but he won't let me touch him and he won't touch me and to be honest, it bothers me. Am I not attractive to him anymore? Is there someone else that he's interested in?
I don't like this new behavior he has picked up and I think it needs to be corrected, but I can't be completely mad at him. If I was someone's secret, I'd probably be angry as well. I want to do more and be more, but I can't allow it. I saw how the school treated him when they found out he likes boys. I can hold my own, sure, but I can't destroy my social life like for him. At the same time though, I don't want to lose him.
Though I'll never tell him out loud, I think Christian is beautiful. I like how fluffy his hair is and how he looks at me. How he treats me. How he used to kiss me. How he lets me do anything. If I tell him this, he'll just become too attached and he'll probably force me to tell everyone the truth about me. I can't do that, but he'll never understand. I like this life I have. How I'm normal to everyone and have a normal life compared to him, a social outcast, that no one wants to hang with. If society was different, I'd probably like to be seen with him.
Thank God for Beatrice I guess, since I can do more things with her and just pretend she's Christian since he's annoyingly uncomfortable with everything.
"Damn, this character's an asshole," Charlie mumbled. "How'd they even become a pair?" he goes back and finds another entry.
I finally found the gay kid the school wouldn't shut up about. I don't see what's the big deal. Gays exist everywhere. I think they think the kid will be interested in them. It's pathetic. A majority of them are mediocre.
I've been watching him for a while. He's cute for a boy. From what I've observed, he has a few friends, but not enough to the point that he's never alone.
He's a bit skinny, but I guess it's fine. If he was a fatty, I think I'd be seriously pissed that I have to experiment on a pig. He looks fragile and vulnerable. The kid's perfect to do those things with.
The hairs on Charlie's neck stood up. 'God, he's like a predator.'
He closed the file. Though he only read a few diary entries, the story was a bit intriguing like Josiah said.
Charlie shoots Josiah a quick text.
Charlie: I'm skipping around but I'm kind of hooked already. I think I'll get back to you with my opinion sooner than expected.
Josiah: 👍
Before Charlie could put his phone away, he started to receive a call from Oliver.
Charlie picks up. "Oli, you okay?"
"Can I hang out with you today?"
Oliver sat criss-cross on the couch and stroked Daisy's head continuously as he and Charlie focused on whatever show was on.
"I think we should tell Tori," Oliver suddenly said, still focusing on the show.
Charlie whipped his head around to look at Oliver. "Why?"
"She's sleuthing," Oliver groaned. "The way I acted towards mum the day of the dinner set her off and now she won't let it go."
Charlie studied Oliver.
"And the other day, I said some pretty mean stuff on the phone to her. I may have hurt her feelings," Oliver said with a sad expression. He looked down at Daisy and Daisy looked back at him. "I don't know. I feel shitty. I've been doing a lot of shitty things lately and I would like to at least fix one of them."
Charlie began to twist the end of his shirt. "I don't like hiding this secret either from dad or Tori. I've spoken to mum recently."
Oliver finally focused his attention on Charlie.
"I gave her a month to tell dad."
"A month?" Oliver exclaimed. "That's a pretty long time."
Charlie did a deep sigh and sunk into the couch. "I want to have faith that she'll come clean before her time is up. But if you see her with that guy, don't hesitate to tell dad."
"And what about telling Tori?"
Charlie stared off into space and shook his head. "I still think it's a bad idea." He then stood up to look out the window. "I don't know why, but something feels off putting to me about this whole surrogacy."
"What do you mean?"
Charlie crossed his arms tightly. "I keep having this silly dream. It started showing up after we had set up everything with Tori. It changes a lot, but in every version, something awful happens to Tori. She's always dead and in the last one she vanished."
"But they're just dreams, Charlie." Oliver said. "They can't tell the future."
Charlie turned to face Oliver. "I keep telling myself that, but…" he drifts off. "The dreams just feel a bit too realistic and for the sake of our sister and my kids, I can't tell Tori about this situation. Stress and sadness can affect pregnancy tremendously. She's still in the fragile stages."
Oliver studied Charlie and saw how nervous he looked. "These dreams are eating you up that bad, huh?"
Charlie nodded. "I know you want to tell her, but…"
Oliver nodded. "I understand… At least I think I do. I still need to find time to apologize. I came off kind of cruel, ya' know? I also want her advice on something."
Charlie perked up a bit. "Advice on what?"
Oliver leaned into the couch more. "Just some relationship advice. It's one of the things I've been shitty about."
Charlie sat back down. "Please don't tell you're a fuck boy or something."
Oliver groaned as he placed his face in his hands. "Ugh! I'm a fucking knob who doesn't deserve rights!"
Charlie mouth dropped at Oliver's words. "What are you doing in that school?"
"I think I accidently lead someone on?" Oliver questioned. "And they told me how they felt, and I told them that I wasn't ready for another relationship 'cause the last one I was in was very toxic and we continued to hang out as normal but not "normal" "normal" ya' know, but last weekend… no, never mind."
"Are you leaving me on a cliffhanger, Oliver Spring? And I didn't know you were dating. Why didn't you tell us?"
"It's not like I wanted to keep my relationship a secret. It was her idea not to tell our families. Looking at that relationship on a surface level, I think she was embarrassed of me or something."
"Is that why you two split? You didn't want to be a secret?"
"There were other things. Like a lot of jealousy was coming from her as well. For example, we have an American student, and I became friends with him. He's openly gay and also a bit shy. But for some reason, she saw his shyness as flirting, and she wanted me to stop my friendship with him. When I told her no, she slapped the mess out of me."
Charlie was astonished at what he was hearing. He thought he knew his brother and some details of his personal life but turns out he was wrong as he unknowingly made Oliver reveal another layer of himself.
"Oliver…" Charlie said sincerely.
"She was awful. My friends had to put me in an intervention and had to tell me our relationship was an abusive one."
"And this other person that confessed to you, what do you think of them?"
Oliver blushed a bit. "I like her. I just wanted to heal, ya' know. From what I've gathered, she's been through a lot. I get pieces of her lore here and there," he chuckled. "She deserves someone who's in a good place and I wasn't, so we opted to just be friends for now."
"But what happened between you and this person?"
Oliver looked at Charlie. "Promise you won't judge me?"
"What did you do?"
"Uhm…" he started. "For context, she told me months ago she liked me, and I turned her down 'cause of what I stated before. She was understanding and we continued to hang out, but we didn't act as friends. I go almost everywhere with her. We're almost never apart. We're very vulnerable with each other and sometimes…" Oliver blushed again. "She spends the night with me, and I spend the night with her."
Charlie's jaw dropped.
Oliver looked at Charlie, still flustered. "We're not having sex if that's what you're thinking!"
"But you two are still so intimate!" Charlie exclaimed. "Everything you just described is what I do with Nick! She likes you and you very much like her!"
Oliver turned away and began to twiddle his thumbs. "She probably doesn't like me now."
"Does it have to do with last weekend?"
Oliver nodded. "It was a party, and my ex was there. She got me alone and she sort of kissed me. I didn't stop her. I kissed her back. When I looked up, my friend was standing in the doorway."
Charlie cringed as he threw himself back on the couch's armrest. "Jesus Christ, Oliver…" He looked up at his baby brother. "You're an asshole!"
"Hey now! I thought you weren't going to judge me!"
"I never said I wasn't! And now with all this information…GOD! Why were you kissing your ex? I thought you said she was horrid."
"She is horrid! But…" Oliver looked down. "I don't know why... but I've missed her."
Charlie looked at Oliver with furrowed eyebrows.
"I know. I look crazy."
"No, Oliver. You're not crazy. Believe it or not, missing someone who was shit towards you is a very normal thing, but you have to constantly remind yourself why you left in the first place. The fact that your friends staged that intervention should be a big reason why."
Oliver ran his fingers through his shaggy hair.
"And I think you should apologize to this girl. You've drained her and you need to understand that it's not a women's job to heal a broken man."
"I'm trying, but she's been avoiding me. She walks in the opposite direction when she sees me, I've been to her dorm multiple times to apologize face to face and I've called, but I think she's blocked me. I can't blame her… I'd block me too, to be honest."
"Well… space sometimes does a person good. Give her some time."
Oliver let out a deep sigh.
Charlie scooted closer to Oliver and wrapped his arms around him.
"I hate how I told you all that. I wanted advice from Tori," Oliver groaned.
Charlie chuckled as he pulled away a bit to look at his brother. "But aren't you fighting with her?"
Oliver rolled his eyes. He then pulled out his phone to try to call Tori, but to his shock his call went straight to voicemail. "Hmm?"
"That's weird. She always answers," Charlie said. "What could she be up to?"
Oliver shrugged. "Maybe she's working?"
Tori stood in front of her childhood home ready to knock on the door. She raised her fist, then stopped herself.
For the first time in years, this would be the first time that she would be alone with Jane.
She thought back to that day they had their biggest fight.
'Really Tori!' Jane hollered. 'You we're doing so well!'
Tori continued to quickly roll up her clothes and shove them into her biggest overnight bag, not saying a word as Jane continued.
'Dropping out of college when you're a few years from graduating is the most reckless thing you can do!"
Tori zipped up her bag and began to look for another one to fill up.
Jane scoffed. 'What will your father think!?'
Tori finally looked at her to speak. 'I don't know what he'll think. But I can tell you that he wouldn't attack me like you're doing now that's for one.'
'There you go with that hostility of yours!' Jane said. 'There's never a moment where you can just sit down and fucking listen to me! I'm your mother, but you always treat me like I'm your biggest enemy!'
Tori sighed and continued to pack her things. 'Just leave me alone.'
'Where would you even go? Hmm? To that odd boy's place?'
Tori quickly turned to face her. 'Michael's not odd! Don't speak about him that way!'
'You think he'll save you? That he'll put up with your horrid attitude?' Jane scoffs again. 'Good luck with that. I give him a month before he gets sick of you.'
Tori couldn't hold her tongue any longer. 'You're always so negative! You're so anal and for what? Would it kill you to be supportive from time to time!'
'I AM SUPPORTIVE, VICTORIA!' Jane shouted at the top of her lungs. 'You just hate structure and hate being told what to do and hate everything! Even me!'
Tears began to roll down Jane's face and Tori scoffed at her. She went back to packing again.
'I'M SO SICK OF YOU AND THIS FAKE RETORIC THAT I'M A HORRIBLE MOTHER! WHY WON'T YOU JUST LISTEN TORI?'
Tori continued to shove more things in the bag.
Jane walked up to Tori and harshly turned her around. 'LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M FUCKING TALKING TO YOU!'
Tori panicked and shoved Jane into her dresser.
Jane looked at her with dilatated pupils and an agape mouth.
Tori mirrored her expression, shocked at what she just did. She then quickly grabbed the full overnight bag and ran out of the house as her mother called after her. She didn't stop running till she got to Michael's flat.
Tori lowered her fist. "This was stupid," she mumbled to herself. "Maybe Oliver was right."
She turns around to leave but is immediately startled when she sees Jane standing behind her.
"What do you want?" Jane asked.
"You didn't reply to my message that I sent you a few days ago."
Jane raised an eyebrow. "You sent that to me on purpose?"
Tori crossed her arms. "Look, I just needed to ask a few questions."
Jane raised an eyebrow again. "What could we possibly talk about Tori? We haven't spoken to each other as mother and daughter for years."
"It's about Oliver."
Jane froze.
"He seemed highly upset at the dinner and when we were wrapping up, he told Charlie something and was crying. I was just wondering-"
"He didn't tell you?" Jane asked, astonished.
Tori narrowed her eyes at her. "Tell me what?"
Jane stayed silent for a moment, then chuckled.
"Mum… You're freaking me out," Tori said.
Jane adjusted the strap on her purse. "Let's go inside and talk. I'll make you something quick to eat."
"I'm not hungry." As soon as Tori said that her stomach rumbled in hunger.
Jane shook her head at her daughter before she passed by her to unlock the door. She then turned to face Tori. "Let me at least make you a sandwich or something." She walks in and leaves the door open for Tori to follow her.
Tori hesitates and watches as her mother walks deeper into the house before she ultimately decides to follow after her. She sits at the table and watches as Jane pulls ingredients from the fridge to prepare her sandwich.
When Jane is done, she sits the sandwich in front of Tori with a small cup of juice. "You look awfully thin, for a woman who's supposed to be pregnant."
Tori takes a bite of her sandwich. "I'm still in the beginning stages."
"It doesn't matter. You should still be showing a bit. You need to eat more, Victoria. You don't want that baby to come out malnourished," Jane lectured as she sat at the opposite end of the table. "Now, this thing about Oliver…"
Tori looked up at her mum. "What is going on between you two?"
"Nothing big, it's just him being young and emotional."
"About what though? I mean, he is your favorite, and he usually doesn't have any issues with you, but now he can't seem to stand you."
Jane chuckled. "Reminds me of someone."
Tori rolled her eyes.
"And I don't have favorites. I love you all equally, even though you guys can't stand me." Jane did a deep sigh. "I know I'm not perfect, but Jesus, I think I did my best."
"We're getting off topic. Why is Oliver upset with you? It feels like the argument was bigger than just a spat."
Jane leaned in a bit and looked straight into Tori's eyes. "I think this is the best time for you to mind your own business, Victoria."
Tori was taken aback.
"I understand that you worry for your baby brother, but you also need to understand that he's a nineteen-year-old boy. Very emotional at that stage in life." Jane notices that Tori is done with her food and gets up to collect her plate. "I may have said or did some things, but of course, he's worked up about it. Just let him go through the motions and everything will be back to normal soon. The last thing you should be doing is stressing out about something that doesn't concern you."
"I was just trying to help him," Tori mumbled.
"Well stop it," Jane said firmly. "Think of that baby that's inside you, before you do something that sends Charlie off edge."
Tori stood up to leave.
"And please eat more," Jane stressed.
Tori just nodded. She makes her way to leave, but then stops. "And it's babies, not just baby. Plural."
Jane's face quickly went to surprised as she looked at Tori.
Tori looked back at her. "They're having twins. I thought they'd tell you by now."
A single tear streamed down Jane's face. She quickly turned away from Tori and used her shirt to wipe her tears away.
"Mum?"
"I'm sorry. I'm fine, I swear." She continued to wipe her tears away. "Just take care of yourself, okay?"
Tori studied the back of her mother a bit more before she finally exited the house.
Charlie flipped through the folder that Jason gave him again.
"You're reading it again? Is it that good?" Nick yawned as crawled into bed and laid his head on Charlie.
"It's pretty interesting, especially the diary entries. The main character is an asshole, but it seems like the author doesn't try to redeem them or anything. Like they just stay the same."
"I mean, some characters can be redeemable," Nick shrugged. "For example, Zuko has an amazing redemption ark. Maybe he's a Zuko?"
Charlie looked down at Nick. "Or maybe he's an Azula who's destined to stay the same."
"Hmm. I'm just saying you never know. You only have the first few chapters, right?"
"Yeah. I meat up with Josiah and the author tomorrow."
Nick snuggled into Charlie's chest a bit more. "Read me a passage, so I can fall asleep."
Charlie chuckled. "You want a bedtime story at your age?"
Nick looked up at him with a small smirk. "Think of it as practice for Thor and Loki."
"And it doesn't matter that the story isn't sweet and cutesy?"
Nick shook his head. He then closed his eyes. "Read please?"
Charlie chuckled before he flipped through to a random chapter.
I saw Christian hanging out with Nathaniel again today and to say the least I'm not excited about it. They've become close… too close for my liking. After that day he saw Christian and I together, they've become all buddy-buddy. I see them everywhere with each other and it's like they'll die if they're apart. I see how they are at lunch, I see how they are when they practice rugby by themselves, and when I was walking around the neighborhood after my argument with dad, I seen Christian walk into his house. It's very obvious that Christian has a thing for this prick and if you ask me, it's pretty disgusting. We've just "broken up" and he's already moving on to the first boy that is nice to him. He's trying to move on after I just tried to rekindle what we had? It's pathetic. How can someone be so desperate to not be alone? And with Nathaniel of all fucking people. It'll only end in tears anyway since Nathaniel is straight. There's just no way this relationship will last long. Well, unless he's like me.
"Stop, Charlie."
"What is it? You don't like the story?"
"No... It's just…" Nick trailed off. "Who's writing this story?"
Charlie raised an eyebrow. "I don't know. The author is working under a pseudonym."
Nick hummed to himself.
Charlie put the folder on the nightstand and began to run his fingers through Nick's hair. "Tell me what you're thinking."
"It's nothing. I'm probably overthinking."
"No. What is it?"
Nick sighed, then looked up like Charlie. "You don't think the story sounds familiar?"
Charlie looked at his husband with a confused look on his face.
"You know the story better than me, but Christian and Nathaniel sound like us."
Charlie was then left in a trance as he thought about the scenes from the story. He couldn't believe that he hadn't thought of it before, but the scenes, especially between the main character and Christian, did feel familiar. Could it be? Charlie then quickly pulled out of his thoughts and shook his head.
"Our experience is a universal thing," he finally said to Nick. "Anyone could be going through what we went through."
"I know. But that's just too much of a coincidence," Nick said in a low voice as he was fighting off sleep.
Charlie thought about it again, specifically focusing on the scene when the main character and Christian first meet. "Nick, should I be worried?"
When Nick didn't immediately respond, Charlie looked down at him and saw that he was sound asleep.
Charlie turned off the light on his side then wrapped his arms around Nick, still thinking about what tomorrow might hold for him.
Charlie walked into the restaurant out of breath. Per usual, he was late. He went up to the waitress at the front desk.
"Hello, I'm here to meet up with a Josiah B."
The waitress typed his name into the computer. "Yes! Right this way sir." She began to lead him through the busy restaurant and directly to one of the private rooms in the back. "This is where your party is."
Charlie did a quick nod to thank her before entering the room.
"Took you long enough!" Josiah said a bit annoyed.
"Sorry. I overslept a bit."
"TUH!" Josiah scoffed as he took a sip of wine.
Charlie then turned to face the author. "And I'm also sorry to you. I promise-" Charlie stopped mid-sentence when the author turned around to face him. His breath caught in his throat, and he became pale.
"Charlie? Are you alright?" Josiah asked a bit concerned.
The author's eyes widened in surprise when his eyes landed on him. "Charlie?" he said at a whisper.
Charlie then dropped all the things he held in his hand to the ground. "Ben?"