Cornerstone

I Want You

I didn't see Charlotte at school for the rest of the year. I didn't see Charlotte at all. She had really gone. It had taken a while to get used to her absence and even when I thought I did, I always found myself looking for her when I heard something funny, or planning to show her one of my newest songs, forgetting that she wasn't here to listen to them anymore.

"Drive me home. Right. Now." Claire had dragged me to the bathroom at a random party with pools of tears in her eyes.

"Why?" I asked. Claire and I had ended up growing closer after the Cornerstone incident. She reminded me of Charlotte and I liked that. It was comforting. I had to try really hard to not accidentally end up calling her Charlotte during conversations.

"Brian," she replied. It was all I needed to hear to understand. It turned out that Brian was a really crap boyfriend, as expected. I would have to comfort her a lot every time they argued. I didn't understand why Claire was choosing to be with such a shit person when she was so much better. She was basically the complete opposite of him. She was the sun and he was a storm, hiding her true potential. I also found it strange that Brian was older than me and dating someone even younger than me. Claire was funny and bold. Harsh but fragile. Strong but emotional. Brian was just a dickhead.

"I don't want to go home right now," Claire muttered as her head rested on my back and her arms wrapped around my waist. I was driving her home on my motorcycle...deja vu.

"Why not," I asked, my eyes focused on the road.

"I can't have my mum seeing me like this. She's already shaken enough after my sister told her about how horrible her life was here and moving out."

"You can stay over at mine if you want," I offered.

"Really?" she asked, her head lifting up.

"Yeah, why not?"

"Thank you thank you oh my God I love you so much," she squealed. I knew she didn't actually mean her words but my face flushed red.

"Anytime," I smiled.

When we arrived at my house it was already twenty past one.

"Nice place ye got here," Claire chimed as she walked around.

"Um, thank you. Want a drink?" I politely offered.

"Depends. What kind of drink?" she smirked.

"We've got beer in the garage if you want," I put my hands in my pocket. This didn't feel right. What would Charlotte be thinking right now? How would I explain this to her?

"I'd love that," she replied.

I arrived with the beer and saw that Claire was looking at the family photos hung up on the wall.

"You look adorable in this," she pointed at one of my baby photos. It made me realize that I had never invited Charlotte into my house. There were so many things that I wanted to do with Charlotte that I never had gotten a chance to do.

"Could you not," I laughed, guiding her to the couch.

"What happened between you and Brian today, please do tell," I suddenly asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. He was getting a little too friendly with another girl and when I confronted him about it he accused me of being a clingly physo girlfriend," she threw her hands in the air. "And then we started fighting, he yelled at me, I started crying, blah blah blah, same old same old."

"He really is a dickhead," I suddenly blurted. "Sorry, that's not what I meant it's just that-"

"It's fine Alex. Jeez, loosen up," she joked as she moved closer to me. Our thighs touched but neither of us moved.

"I am loose," I replied defensively.

"You seem very stiff right now," she smirked as she dragged her pointer finger down my chest., causing me to stiffen up even more.

"If you say so," she rolled her eyes. I gulped down the rest of my beer and went to get another.

"The alcohol in my system slowly pulled me out of the bubble I was in. I was loosening up and Claire could tell. We talked and joked for what seemed like hours.

"You seem to finally be enjoying yourself, Turner," Claire looked at me. I couldn't tell then, but her eyes were filled with lust.

"I guess you're right," I laughed a little too loudly. I looked down to see her fidgeting with the hem of her dress. Was it always that short? I didn't know why what happened next happened. The alcohol mixed with both of us in very unstable mental states led to us making out on the kitchen counter. I couldn't remember much. Just short flashes of it. Somehow we had managed to make it to my bedroom where we continued. There was that feeling in the pit of my stomach telling me to stop. To tell her to stop. To just let her sleep on your bed and to sleep on the couch. But I didn't. I was on my knees and her figure was laid across the bed with her legs falling over the edge. I stood between her thighs. She was beautiful. Her blonde hair was sprayed all over the sheets. Her eyes were shut, hiding her pale blue eyes. They were cool, not carrying the same warmth as Charlotte's. They pulled me in but were threatening at the same time. I could analyze her features forever. The way her lips would curl up into a smirk when she found something amusing. In fact, her lips were curling up into a smirk right now.

"What do you want?" She looked me up and down.

"You," I grinned. "I want you."