As Cold As Ice // Charlie Gillespie

Chapter 33

"Why did you do that?" Mum looks at me like I've completely lost my mind. "You need to apologize to him." For a moment she's speechless. I don't know when I've last seen her speechless. "Apologize? To him? He's the reason you're hurt!" So what Charlie said to her early did ring through a little bit. I really wish it didn't. "It wasn't his fault!" - "Don't talk to me like this young lady!" Is she for real right now? "Then don't act like this around my boyfriend!" I try moving off my bed to follow Charlie but mum shoots me a look that makes me stop moving instantly. "Where do you think you're going?" - "If you don't apologize I will."

The anger I've seen on my mum's face just a second ago makes room for a defeated look. With a heavy sigh she drops down on my chair. "Mia, when did we start having this kind of relationship?" I raise an eyebrow at her, just like I did with Charlie earlier. "The one where you don't tell me what's burdening you." She's right, I didn't tell her much about what I went through in the past days. "I'm sorry." - "How about you tell me now?" I guess it's now or never. If I don't tell her my side of the story we may never get back to the kind of relationship we had. "It all started the day I realized I was liking Charlie a little more than I should..."

"... and then you barged into my room." I say that with a small smile on my lips to soften it a bit, even though I'm still a little upset about how she acted. "I know it was irresponsible to go onto the ice but you really can't blame Charlie. He blames himself enough as it is." Mum has been carefully listening to every word I said, continuously switching between being happy and being upset for me. I even told her about Lukas. "You're right. It wasn't ok how I treated him. He's done nothing but be there for you since your accident but when he told me his side... I was just so..." - "I know, mum." It feels good to finally have told her the truth. "Well..." she says, straightening her shoulders. "What happened happened. Let's make the best out of it. I'm gonna go apologize for my behavior. Get some rest. I promise I won't enter your room without knocking first." I can't help but blush at her indirect mention of knowing Charlie might come back to my room as soon as she's gone. Before she walks out of my room she turns around and says "If he makes you happy then I'm happy for you Mia."

As mum suspected I hear a knock on my door only minutes later. "I think I just had the weirdest conversation of my life" Charlie says as he lets himself fall onto my mattress. I wait for him to continue, looking at him curiously. "You're mum apologized and then I think she hinted at me being free to go back over to your room... it was really weird." I don't know why but this makes me blush and laugh at the same time. "She still hasn't forgotten how to embarrass me I see." Charlie reaches for my hand once again, drawing circles with his thumb, lost in his thoughts. "Charlie?" He looks up at me with the softest expression. "It isn't your fault." He doesn't respond and I can tell he still isn't convinced.

"You know what would make me feel better?" He shakes his head slightly, tilting his head, which makes him look adorable. "You could sing something for me." Ever since the day he told me about music being his passion we haven't spoken about it again and suddenly I'm really curious to hear it. "If it would make you feel better." He seems a little hesitant. "You don't have to." I look down at our intertwined hands. Maybe this was a silly idea. With his free hand Charlie reaches for my chin, lifting my head back up. "I'd love to. It's just been a while since I've sung in front of someone." My lips curve into a smile as I say "I'm sure I'll love it."

When I wake up it's dark in my room. I fumble for my phone only to see it's 3am. When I move slightly I can feel arms tighten around me. I turn my head to see Charlie laying behind me and I can't help but smile. The last thing I remember is him singing. I rest my head in his lap and closed my eyes just for a second to fully focus on his voice. He really has a beautiful voice. I guess I must have fallen asleep after all. My small movements must haven woken up Charlie because suddenly he whispers "I don't think I've ever had an as soporific effect on people as I do on you." I turn around in his arms and kiss him lightly, my lips still curved into a smile. "I can leave if you want to." His voice is barely a whisper and I think he's drifting back off to sleep already so I just shake my head and close my eyes.

"Good morning, Sleepy." I stretch in my bed, for a second forgetting I'm not alone in it. To my surprise I am indeed alone though. I look around my room and find Charlie sitting on the chair, a tray in front of him. He gets up and starts walking towards me, placing the tray in front of me. "What time is it?" He reaches for his phone to check the time. "8am." My eyes widen. "We're late for school!" His smile grows even wider. "Don't worry, we're going in for second period. Now have some breakfast, you'll need the energy." I look down at the tray and I must say it does look tempting.