I'm Sorry, Charlie

I

{Kaya}

"Go get food for your brother."

"Mom, my only brother is a dog! If we keep feeding him like this he will get sick, very sick."

She puts her head in her hands. "Go to your room." She mumbles it into her hands but I understand well enough.

"Carson come." My dog follows me up to my loft and snuggles into my bed.

"His name is Jeffery!" My mother yells up the stairs.

I ignore her and slip on some sweats. My mom can be crazy sometimes, especially with dad gone.

My dad was put in prison a couple years ago for "accidentally" shooting a guy. I don't know the whole story, but I do know this: my dad is a madman.

I cuddle with my dog until I fall asleep, wishing he was Dylan.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The next day I get ready quickly and have a bagel for breakfast, not bothering to put cream cheese on it.

I meet my best friend Camila at our usual spot. "Hey Cam."

She looks up from her phone. "Oh hey." We start to walk, but she stays on her phone. "My family is getting an exchange student."

"Cool, where are they from?"

"The UK, so he's British. That's gonna be cool." She takes a hand off her phone to flip a hair out of her eyes.

"Do you know his name?"

"Yeah, it's Charlie. He's coming tomorrow."

When we get to the campus, we sit with Dylan and his friend Wayne. I rest my forehead on Dylan's shoulder and watch as his eyes move across the textbook page.

"Just some last-minute studying."

"Nice."

Wayne looks at his watch, closes his book, and stands. "Time to go guys. 5 minutes to class."

Dylan stands and pulls me up with him. "Love you, babe." He kisses me quickly and turns in his heel, running towards the school.

"Love you too, bye." But apparently I'm not saying I to anyone. I stand still for a minute before Cam comes and pulls me along with her.

We head to English class. But, when we walk in, there's an unfamiliar boy in Cam's seat. "Is that Charlie?"

"Uh, I don't know. He wasn't at my house this morning."

"Well let's go see. "I sit down in my seat next to him. "Hello."

"Uh, hello," his accent spoke.

"Are you Charlie?" He looks at Camila.

"Uh, how do you know that?" His eyebrows furrow in confusion. He runs a hand through his dirty blonde hair.

"Oh. Right," she says suddenly snapping to attention. "I'm Camila, the girl from the family you're staying with."

He holds out a hand. "Uh, nice to meet you."

"And this girl, the one next to you," she points to me. "is my best friend Kaya."

He turns toward me. His bright blue eyes reflect off his tanned skin and his chiseled cheek bones could stab me in the heart.

His face turns red. "Hello, Kaya. Cool name."

I roll my lips in. "Hey. And thanks." Cam glares at me. She walks to the other side of the table and takes a seat.

I pull out a novel and start to read. Although, I'm not actually reading. I glance over at Charlie. The glance turns into a consistent stare. But Cam snaps her fingers.

I feel Charlie's eyes on me as I raise my eyebrows at Cam as if to say "Yes?". But she just shakes her head.

When she does that, Charlie looks back at his book quickly. I do too, biting my lip. I want to yell at Cam "I can't help it he's so cute!", but I don't because I have a boyfriend.

Oh, I have a boyfriend...right. Crap.

After school, I head to Dylan ad Wayne's house. They live alone in the house next to Wayne's moms house.

I knock quietly. "Dylan?"

Wayne opens the door. He looks at his feet. "He's in his room."

"Thanks bruh." As I walk past him, I pat his shoulder.

I head down a long hallway to Dylan's room. His door is cracked a little. I push it open enough so I can see in.

"Dylan?"

I hear a sniff on the other side of the bed. "Come in, Kaya."

I walk over and see him sitting against the side of his bed with tears on his face.

I sit down next to him and lean my head on his shoulder. He sort of scoots away. "What's wrong, Dyl?"

"Please," he says. "Just don't touch me."

"What's going in, Dylan?" I say it louder and more sternly.

"Nothing," he tells me.

"Dylan, it's obviously not nothing." I say it as I wipe a tear from his cheek. this time he doesn't move away.

"Kaya," he says. "It's about Cam."

I feel my jaw relax and my eyebrows furrow. "What happened?"

"Nothing. Calm down, she's fine."

"What then?"

"I-I'm-"

"Spit it out, Dyl!"

"I kissed her." He says it so quiet. Tears brim my eyes.

"Wh-Why?" That's my only question. I don't care how or when or where. I just want to know the reason.

"I don't know, Kaya."

"How do you not know why?"

"Well," he states. "If it makes you feel any better, she kissed back."

"How would that make me feel better?" I scream at him.

"I'm sorry," he yells putting up his hands. Then quietly, "I'm sorry."

**********************************

Hey yo. This is my new story. I usually write fanfics but I decided to just stick with a realistic teen fiction. I hope y'all like it.

~Me💙