𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭, charlie conway

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 | the almost-murderer

JUST AS CHRIS WAS seemingly starting to slit Charlie's throat (literally, he was drawing blood on the right side of his neck), Carrie and Crystal made it down to them. Chris kept Charlie pinned with his elbow, turning to face them, knowing their steps like the back of his hand.

"Chris, he was nice to me! You're hurting him, he's bleeding! Please, don't kill him, don't kill him..." Crystal kind of runs to Chris, burying her face in his chest and heaving sobs, and he's forced to face reality — that he would forever live with the guilt of killing a guy his sister liked. This unexpected seriousness was scaring them all.

"Don't you dare move." Chris lets Charlie go,  holding Crystal to him. He doesn't say a word... what is the answer here? Either Chris killed the pervert creeping on his memory-challenged sister, or he comforted said sister and let the idiot go. He could be a man, or be the better man. He came to his decision quickly.

"I'm not going to hurt him." He assures Crystal, rubbing her cheek. "You hear that, Charlie? You're spared for today, but don't you go running off. And believe me, you're only spared because my sister didn't want you to die. You should thank her."

Crystal lets go, going to Charlie who is profusely, continually apologizing for his behavior now, and not to mention bleeding from the small gash in his neck. Chris just storms away, blowing by Carrie as she comes in to the alley.

"I'm sorry Crystal, it was really wrong of me to do that to you. So, so wrong... I'm so sorry." Charlie slurs, slumping slightly into the wall. He was having a hard time stopping his head from spiraling out of control like it was before, so his apology was hazy — had he been thinking more clearly, he would have thought twice about apologizing at all. Crystal gives him another hug, clinging on for dear life it seemed. That was the only way she knew to help.

"No, I'm sorry, he was overreacting." She looks up at him. "I don't get the big deal?"
"It was an accident that was perceived as a big deal. He didn't like the way I pulled you to me, it was nothing you did."
"But why did he not-"
"It's not important. It's okay, I'm fine, we're fine." He insists. She parts from him, tugging on his hand.

"I need to help you clean up." She pulls him toward the stairs and he follows with no hesitation. "Carrie, come on!"
Carrie turns from where she was watching Chris walk away, still stunned from the whole thing. Crystal ends up just taking her hand and leading her inside as well, not in shock like the two of them were but still upset.

Back in the apartment, Crystal goes for the first aid kit while she makes Carrie bring him back to her room. The two of them don't want Chris to return and see Charlie, as the recent events had terrified them each enough, so they opted to keep him out of the front rooms while they tended to his wound.

Crystal ends up beside Charlie as he sits on the toy chest again, Carrie a few feet away in the desk chair, chin on the back of it and knees curled up on the seat.

"You know, I was the first aid girl for Chris's soccer team. Mom let me go to the class at the YMCA and everything." Crystal explained proudly, getting rubbing alcohol on a cotton pad. "This should sting."
"That's okay." He smiled at her.
She set her hand over his, clutching on as she leaned in to clean up the cut. Charlie hissed just a little, settling as she took it away.

Crystal took out the tube of Neosporin next, putting it on two band-aids. She could have used a bigger band-aid, but that would have limited his range of motion due to the awkward spot the cut was in. She laid the first one on, rubbing it down to make sure it would stay, before going in with the second.

Charlie didn't notice it all, as he was so preoccupied with how her hand sat on his, and how she didn't even think twice about it. He was kicking himself inside, shouting "why the girl I can never have?" Carrie sighs as Crystal packs the things back in the box, waking Charlie from his pit of thought.