Chapter 2 – Rising Concerns

Charlie's POV

It got worse as weeks went on.

Casey had hoped Charlie would grow to like Collin the more he got to know him. But Charlie still felt there was something very off about Collin Bright. He didn't know what it was. It went beyond the man wearing scrubs that were dirty all the time or the fact that his clothes looked like something a homeless man would wear: faded jeans and baggy, oversized sweatshirts branded for Colombus State Community College. The man only seemed to own a few clothes that he wore over and over again. The man's taste in clothes didn't bother Charlie, and he could understand the man owning only a few different clothes if he didn't have the best-paying job, but this guy was supposed to be a doctor with a home in Maple Grove, one of the more affluent cities in Minnesota. If he was a successful doctor like he claimed he was, then why did he own nothing but a few old clothes? And where was his car? What kind of doctor didn't have his own car?

The concern ate at him. It got to a point where his performance during practice was less than stellar, and he got benched several times due to his distraction. He also knew his grades were slipping, and Coach Orion was less than pleased because Orion didn't want average players on his team.

"Come on, Conway, do you think there's anything average about you? I know you can do better than this!" Orion had asked him after one practice.

In his anger, Charlie snapped at his coach and yelled, "I'm sorry! But I'm worrying sick about my mother! She's spending so much time with Collin; you'd think he was living with us! And I don't like it!"

Orion softened considerably at that. In the recent weeks of Casey dating Collin, Orion had become somewhat of a confidant for Charlie. Usually, Bombay would be the person he called to talk to about his issues. But Bombay was away in LA and wasn't as accessible. Of course, Charlie had spoken with Bombay on the phone about Collin and talked to the man once a week, but Orion was available every day. And he found himself leaning more on his J.V. coach than he thought he ever would.

It was why, after practice that night, Charlie went to Orion's office to talk. He was still sweating profusely from practice as he sat on the sofa.

"I really think he's moving in," Charlie said. "And I don't like it because she's known him less than a month. And I don't think you should move in with anyone until you're married to the person."

Coach nodded. "Have you looked into it?"

"I've asked," Charlie said. "But Mom keeps insisting he's not living with us. But if he's spending the night every Goddamn night, he has to be living there. And I don't want to live with him; if he's living there, I can leave and have Mom sign emancipation papers and find some cheap apartment somewhere else! I'll move in with Adam and his parents, for all I care! Hell, I'll call up Bombay and ask if I can live with him in California!"

"Take a deep breath and relax," Orion suggested, and Charlie sighed, inhaling deeply. "You shouldn't do anything too rash. But if you have concerns, maybe you should look into it on your own, especially if the guy is defensive when you ask him questions."

"So, what are you suggesting? That I snoop through his stuff?"

"I'm not saying that at all. Maybe try to find out if he has any family you can contact and get information from. Just trust your instincts and do what you feel is right."

That was what Charlie did later that night.

He and Linda were hanging out in the living room, watching The Breakfast Club after finishing all their homework, when Collin came home from "work" – or wherever he went. Charlie had already started dinner; he had a pot roast sitting in the pressure cooker, and he'd already wrapped the potatoes in tin foil and placed them in the oven to bake. When Collin came into the room, he eyed the movie they were watching, particularly the scene where Judd Nelson's Bender was in the ventilation system making sexual jokes to himself on his way back into the library. He chuckled when Bender fell through the vent, crashing down.

"I always tried figuring out what the punchline was to that joke," Collin commented, sitting down on the couch next to Charlie, and Charlie got up.

"I'm gonna check on dinner and then go to the bathroom," he announced, stalling. In reality, he was going to head to his mom's bedroom to snoop, but he actually did need to use the bathroom. As he ventured to the kitchen first, checking on the baked potatoes and reaching into the refrigerator for ingredients for a salad, he could overhear the conversation between Collin and Linda.

"How serious are you guys?"

"Well, we just started dating only recently," Linda said. "But I like him a lot. He's a great guy, very different from all the other jocks at Eden Hall. Maybe because his mom raised him right and to treat girls with respect."

"How big do you think his size is?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, you know, I don't know if you two are considering doing it. But if you do, you should look into that."

Charlie felt the heat rush to his face as his hands squeezed around the bottle of ranch dressing so tightly he thought the glass would shatter. What was this guy thinking? This wasn't a conversation anybody should be having with Linda about him! But he tried to slow his anger; he knew he wouldn't find out anything about this guy if he exploded on Collin this soon.

"I could tell you my size. It's extra-large."

"Oh, interesting." Charlie could imagine Linda's face was as red as he felt. He felt like he would throw up as he began cutting up the vegetables for the salad, putting the romaine, cabbage, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, onion, and hard-boiled eggs into a bowl before he ventured off to the only bathroom he and his mother had in the tiny apartment. When he went to use it, he saw Collin's shaving stuff was there – the guy used Old Spice products. Charlie didn't care if he and Collin had the same taste in deodorant and soap. The guy was scum. Based on Collin's conversation with Linda, a fourteen-year-old girl, Charlie's girlfriend, he was convinced of that.

After finishing in the bathroom, he ventured to his mom's bedroom, which was adjacent to his. As quietly as possible, he opened the door to his mom's room and walked inside, closing the door behind him. He ventured to the desk in her room, where Casey kept track of all her clock-out paperwork and mason jars filled with the tips she kept from the diner. Opening up the desk drawers, he saw envelopes filled with money; he saw that the envelopes held hundreds of dollars, possibly thousands, money that could be well-spent for a down payment for a house or for Casey to cash it in at the bank so she could go back to school and finish her nursing degree. To think Collin supposedly had all this money that wasn't kept in the bank was his first reason for further concern.

Opening the other drawer, his eyes caught sight of paperwork. There appeared to be a certificate – Collin's birth certificate. The birth certificate read that he wasn't born in 1961 but in 1951. The man had shaved ten years off his age to try and impress Casey, and Charlie wouldn't have been so angry about that if he hadn't seen what he saw next: a nursing certificate, not a doctor's license.

Charlie fought with all his might not to slam the drawers shut. He was so angry he couldn't speak. But he felt tempted to call Bombay up and tell him. He knew if Bombay knew, he'd step in if he could help it. He was about to take a look at Collin's computer when he heard the bedroom door open, and he jumped when he saw Casey coming in, still wearing her uniform from Mickey's Dining Car.

"Charlie? What are you doing in here?"

"Mom? What are you doing home so early?"

"They cut me loose because it was a slow night tonight," Casey said, setting her purse down on her bed. "Again, what are you doing?"

"He told you he was a doctor, right? Well, he's not. I found a nursing certificate. Not a doctor's license," Charlie spat out. "And why's his stuff here? Is he living here? You claimed he wasn't! Why are you lying to me?"

"Charlie, I don't see how that's any of your business."

"It is my business! I live here, too! Did you forget?"

"Hey," Collin said, coming around the corner. "What's going on here?"

"You told my mom and me that you are a doctor!" Charlie snarled. "Prove it! Once you do, you're good in my book!"

"Watch your mouth! Don't talk to your mother or me like that!" Collin snapped.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Charlie yelled back. "I am not your son, and you are not my father, or my uncle, or my hockey coach!"

"But I am still older than you are, and you have to respect me. If you were one of my kids, you'd get a backhand to the lip!" Collin yelled, his face turning hot red like the devil's would.

"Why should I respect you when you don't respect me? Or my girlfriend, for that matter?" Charlie demanded, his voice turning into a growl as Linda came around the corner, pushing her way through to stand next to him and grab his hand. Charlie wrapped his arm around her protectively, holding her closely. He turned to his mom. "Mom, he talked to Linda earlier about his dick size! He was asking her what my size was, asking if we were planning on having sex! She's fourteen! Who talks like that?"

"That's it!" snapped Collin. "If you don't wanna stay here with me, then you can leave!"

"No, I am not leaving!" Charlie snapped back. "My grandfather is watching down on me to ensure I protect his daughter from your lying ass!"

"Casey, it's either him or me!" Collin said, turning on Casey.

"Mom, I'm your son!" Charlie spat. "As long as I'm living here, I don't want him living here!"

"You're just saying that because I'm not that old washed-up minor league guy who once coached you in Peewees."

Charlie's eyes burned tearfully. Hearing Collin talk that way about Bombay made him feel sick. "And Bombay has done more for me in four years than you've done for a month, you sick son of a bitch! Don't you dare talk about him like that!" He fought to keep himself from crying as he looked at his mother, who looked torn between the man that she really liked and her only son. Her blue eyes filled as she looked at Charlie, who at this point had tears streaming down his cheeks.

"I'll make it easy," Charlie choked out. "I'll spend the night at Adam's. At least there, I'll be able to sleep in peace tonight."

"Sweetheart," Casey whispered, her voice breaking, "would you at least stay and eat dinner?"

"No." Charlie shook his head, running off to his bedroom. He grabbed a bag and threw whatever he could into it, not paying attention to what he was packing, just random sweatpants and a plain shirt; he would steal something of Adam's to wear to school tomorrow, and he knew Adam had a spare toothbrush somewhere. After packing his bag, he grabbed his backpack and changed his sneakers for skates, and before Casey could stop him, he skated off toward Edina. He felt guilty about not kissing Linda goodbye and made a mental note to make it up to her tomorrow. But he knew she'd understand. He was so upset he couldn't think straight. If Hans were still alive, he'd ask if he could crash at the skate shop for the night, but Jan was still back home in the old country and was working on moving all of his stuff back to the US so he could continue running the shop.

Skating as fast as he could to Edina, hot tears blurred his eyes. He couldn't believe his mom was taking Collin's side over his, the woman who'd always protected him so fiercely and raised him to have values of loyalty and compassion and honesty. Why was she trying to protect this guy so much? What did he do to her to make her feel so defensive?

He arrived outside Adam's house in less than twenty minutes. He pounded on the front door, sniffling. When the door swung open, he saw Allyson Banks standing there, watching him in concern.

"Charlie? What's wrong? Come inside, honey; it's freezing out here."

Charlie nodded; he couldn't believe he forgot to put on his coat. He shivered as Allyson beckoned him inside.

"Do you want something to eat? We were about to have dinner and have plenty here."

Charlie nodded again. "Yeah, thank you, Mrs. Banks." He wiped his eyes. "Mom and I got into a fight over her new boyfriend. She said he wasn't living with us. But he is. And he's lying to her. He said he's a doctor. He's not a doctor. He's got a nursing license."

Allyson nodded in sympathy, leading him toward the dining room, where Adam, Phillip, Adam's little sister Olivia, and the baby, Alexander, were already seated around plates filled with pork chops, mashed potatoes, and roasted broccoli. Adam peered up as Charlie entered the room and rose from his seat to hug him.

"Are you okay?"

Charlie shook his head. "I'll tell you later. It's nothing I'd want Olivia to overhear."

Adam nodded, releasing him and pulling out a chair for him to sit down. Phillip and Allyson nodded at him to take as much as he wanted, though he wasn't all that hungry. He only managed a few bites of the pork chop and potatoes before he pushed the plate away. Not that the food didn't taste good – it tasted fine. His stomach was just too twisted for him to enjoy anything.

Allyson seemed to understand and promised she'd pack his food away for later if he got hungry. Afterward, he and Adam went up to Adam's room, where he divulged everything as he lay on his best friend's bed.

"I mean, that's weird," Adam said. "But it was gross how he was talking to Linda, knowing you could hear. That's not normal."

"I don't know what to do," Charlie sniffled. "I hate this."

"Tell Coach Orion," Adam said. "Or call Coach Bombay. You know they'll help take care of it."

"What could they possibly do?" Charlie demanded.

Adam fell silent at that.

That night, Charlie found it impossible to fall asleep. He cried into the pillow in Adam's older brother Luke's room, where he stayed whenever he spent the night at Adam's. He couldn't help feeling scared for his mother, whom he knew was in danger at this point. He just needed to find out more. He hoped he'd learn the truth before it became too late.