Nothing's Fine

• 9: Jerk-ish •

The rest of the weekend was uneventful, and boring. I stayed in my room the whole time, unless I had to get dinner, or decided to go out and jog. Emery texted me a couple of times, but she had some family events to go to, so unfortunately, I didn't get to see her.

I woke up on Monday morning to rain against my window and sighed before dragging myself out of bed. I yanked on a black long-sleeved shirt and a pair of light blue jeans, then tied my hair up into a ponytail before completing my usual makeup and hygiene routine. I grabbed my backpack and made sure all my homework was inside before leaving my room.

When I got into the kitchen, I noticed Annalise in there, reaching for a mug from the cupboard.

"Good morning," I mumbled. She turned and grinned at me.

"Good morning Charlie! How are you?" Annalise asked in a sing-song voice. I tried not to wince at her energy and gave her a small smile.

"I'm fine, how are you?" I asked politely.

"Great!" Annalise beamed. "Is there anything I can get you for breakfast?"

"I'm okay with cereal and coffee if you have any brewed." I replied shyly.

"Are you sure? I can make you eggs and bacon or something," she offered.

For the past few days, it felt like she was itching to make something for me for breakfast, but the thought of eggs made me want to wrinkle my nose. Besides, I didn't want her to have to do more for me than she already was.

"No, that's alright. Thank you," I said. I went over the pantry and grabbed myself the Corn Pops, pretending I wasn't disappointed at the lack of variety. It was either that or Raisin Bran, and I while I wasn't my biggest fan, I didn't think that level of punishment was warranted today. Annalise brought over a cup of coffee to have with my cereal and I smiled and thanked her before I began eating.

"Morning Mom, morning Charlie," I heard. I looked up and saw Mason smoothing down his grey, long-sleeved shirt as he entered the kitchen. He was also wearing dark blue jeans and a silver chain. He looked so handsome I almost forgot I was upset with him.

Almost.

"Morning," I muttered, shoving another spoonful of cereal into my mouth.

"Good morning my love! When you leave, will you drive Charlie?" Annalise asked her son cheerfully. I almost choked on the Corn Pops in my mouth. Instead, I swallowed hard and washed it down with coffee.

"Sure," Mason replied politely as he began putting bread in the toaster.

"Thank you! I'm off to work. You two have a great day!" Annalise kissed her son's forehead, before leaving Mason and I in the kitchen. There were a few moments of awkward silence, before we heard the front door open and close.

I got up and put my now empty bowl and mug in the dishwasher as Mason put his toasted bread on a plate. I grabbed my backpack off of my chair and began to leave the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Mason asked.

"School," I muttered, without looking at him. I could hear a knife scrape against his toast, and I was going to use his eating as my opportunity to leave without him.

"Aren't you coming with me?"

"No, I'm going to walk."

"Don't be ridiculous. If you walk now, you're going to be late," Mason replied.

"So?" I asked dryly.

"Are you still mad at me?" Mason asked. The tone of his voice made me look up at him, and I saw the nervousness on his face and sadness in his eyes. Just like that, the word 'yes' died in my throat. I bit my lip and looked away from him. "I am sorry, Charlie. I'll even make it up to you after school." I glanced back at him and saw his eyes were wide with hope, making most of my anger evaporate, despite myself. "I'll show you, I'm not a jerk."