The Tragedies of Chemistry

Chapter 1- May I Mention

"If a story isn't meant to hit you in your soul and leave you gasping for air, then it isn't a story worth telling," My mom would say. Boy, was she was exaggerate in all the wrong places but unnervingly correct in all the right ones. It was all or nothing with her. Just black and white, right and wrong, hundred miles per hour or burnt rubber stop. She knew nothing else. One of the things I love about her. Well, used to love about her.

She was beautiful. All the way to the creases beside her ocean blue eyes to the small foreign dimple below her bottom lip to the right. She was beautiful down to the very bone. What a lucky daughter I must have been, my mother's friends told me, to be born from such an angel. But if there wasn't an ever burning hatred brewing in the depths of my gut for the past three years, I would have believed them. I would even say they might even had me fooled.

So why stand here, in my father's room, staring at a painting of a woman, a painting I painted of this woman, who not only broke what was our family, but stole the only sanity left from my father's damaged heart? Because it disgusted me. There is no other word in the dictionary to describe the vile that oozed it's way up to the back of my throat as I walked into my father's room to see that painting, that woman, hanging above his damn empty king sized bed. And something needed to be done about it.

Almost as fast as a bolt of lightning, I already held the portrait in hand and opened the window with my other. And out that damn portrait went. Out she went from our lives.

"If only it was that easy," I sighed to myself before leaving the room. I jogged downstairs to meet a very handsome, very tired looking man in a bathroom robe cooking pancakes over a stove. Now that was a man worth staying for, if only my mother could have seen that. If only now could she see the heavy violet bags underneath his eyes and the drained look from his skin. Would she even care? Would she even take a second look? My dad's eyes perked as soon as he noticed my presence in the kitchen. "Hey Charlie," he smile widely. I almost snorted right then. Fake happiness either confused or angered me. Right now it was both.

"Hey dad," I mumbled.

"We still up for a movie and dinner tonight?" He asked. And that was my cue to get the hell out of the kitchen.

I sighed, "Crap dad, I'm so sorry. I completely forgot. I told Andy I'd help her with her chemistry test today. Raincheck?" I didn't even give him a chance to utter a word. "Great," I smiled, "Love you so much, I promise we'll do it another day." I grabbed an apple and hurried to the door. But not fast enough, of course.

"Charlotte." He called after me. A full name was something I never wanted to hear out of my father's mouth.

"And this is where it ends." I muttered. I turned back around hesitantly with a cringe, "Daniel?"

He slapped a white envelope on the table just as fast. "Would you like to explain why you're failing two classes?"

"It's not really in my best interest to," I squeaked.

"Charlotte." He said again. I sighed again. "Okay, okay." I replied, "I'm sorry. Dad, I'm sorry. I'm just so caught up in everything right now. How can anyone expect a seventeen year old to maintain grades, keep a job, find a hobby, be connected with friends and family, and worry about mental health all at the same time? I'm doing my best, okay. Just please give me some time and I promise those will go back up to a well deserved B-."

He brought his thumb and index finger to the bridge of his nose and rubbed. Something he always does when I speak too much at such a fast pace. God, he looked old. The gray was already settling into his raven hair and the wrinkles in his forehead were getting deeper but my father was a handsome man. Very fit too for his age. Even women in grocery stores can't help but glance at him as he strolls by. But he never notices, not once. But he would notice if the woman was my mom. Damn woman. He looked at me again with his index finger pointed to me, "To the end of the semester. If your grades aren't up by then, no phone, no painting, and no going to the ski lodge with Andy for winter break."

A car honk sounded from outside. "Okay dad, I will. I have to go, Andy is here." I said. He smiled a small smile. "Okay Charlie, I love you. Don't come home too late okay?"

I nodded and hurried out the front door and into Andy's car where a beautiful blonde bad ass waited.

"How is my beautiful under achieving bestfriend doing this fine morning?" She teased softly as she started the car and drove out of my driveway.

I chuckled, "Under achieving as always. Except this time my dad chewed me out for it. I'm failing two classes already. I don't know if I'm gonna be able to go with you to that club tonight."

"What? Horse shit, you're going with me." She snapped, "We promised Maya we would go with her to her brother's band-"

"Wait what?" I interrupted, "First of all, you promised to go. Second of all, you're still seeing that girl Maya? What did I tell you Andy-"

"I know, I know." She waved her hand, "You told me not to see her anymore, blah blah blah, to get her hopes up, blah blah blah, let her down, blah blah blah, and hurt her feelings. Yeah I get it Charlie."

"Then why see her more? You know you hang out with new dudes almost every week. How would she feel when she finds out about that?"

"She knows," Andy shrugged, "and she's cool with it."

"Really?" I said dropping my voice sarcastically. She grinned and nodded proudly but only I could roll my eyes. Andy was a great girl but there was a reason girls whispered to each other behind her back and guys googly eyed her ass behind her back as well. And she absolutely loved it. She was a girl with a reputation. A girl who is capable of emotionally destroying a person. I just felt bad for the girl on the other end of the burning match.

..

Danielle Campbell as Charlotte a.k.a Charlie Porter.