New Beginnings (Charlie Bartlett Fanfic Starring Robert Downey Jr.)

Chapter 5 - A Nun or a Whore?

Sydney woke from a dream that was far from her current reality. In it, she was with John and locked in a fiery kiss on her bed. She clung to the dream as long as she could, but her eyes opened and he was gone, malicious reality falling back into place. Her eyes were red, raw, and swollen. She knew John was nowhere near her and he didn't wish to be. She fumbled around a little to find her glasses, she knew contacts were not going to be an option for days. She picked up her phone wanting to delete the text. She didn't read it as she altered her plan and e-mailed it to herself. It was meant to remind her that love was cruel...and she was through with it.

She all but stumbled down the stairs, her vision blurred, and Arlen heard her. He rushed to the staircase and steadied her. "Baby, if you want to stay in bed for the next week, I will totally support it." She shook her head. Arlen helped her to the kitchen and put her favorite flavor of coffee, Butter Toffee, into the Keurig machine. In a minute's time, she was sipping its sweetness, still without a word spoken.

Arlen was at a complete loss. In that moment, he swore that if John ever reared his head around them again, he'd rip it off. Here he was with his lifelong friend, the day before Thanksgiving, and thanks to John he knew she wouldn't be thankful for much of anything. It was then that the home phone rang, which it rarely did.

Sydney listened to Arlen's end of the conversation without much interest.

"Hello?...Yes, hello." His voice sweetened. "As well as can be expected, I suppose...No...I appreciate it very much. I'll tell her...Thank you...Good bye." He turned toward Sydney and smiled just slightly. "Nathan wanted to check up on you." Sydney didn't respond, apparently the ripples in her coffee were too distracting. "I'm so glad he found you last night, honey."

Finally, Sydney spoke. "Me too...I don't know where I was headed." She sighed. "Do I become a nun or a whore now, Arlen?" Under normal circumstances, the man would have laughed. "Neither need to be loved, but one still gets to feel something once in a while."

"Syd, I'm not going to downplay this and say everything's going to be okay, but I refuse to let you..."

"Please, don't." Her voice was emotionless. "I'm done, Arlen. Finished. David broke me, John destroyed...I'm done. No wedding, no babies, no anything." She didn't care that she sounded like an overdramatic teenager.

"Honey, you only knew John for..."

"Doesn't matter, he was the one, Arlen. You know that as well as I. We had something that was so...oddly wonderful. He was looking at engagement rings, he..." The look in Arlen's eyes told her she was right. "Love isn't worth the pain. Not anymore." She finished her coffee and retreated upstairs, bed didn't seem like such a bad idea after all.

Nathan sat in his living room, staring at nothing in particular. The television was on, though he wasn't paying any attention to it. He sipped at his coffee and looked down at his cell phone. He dialed Sydney's home number rather than calling her cell because he knew it was Arlen he would need to talk to; though it wasn't exactly enough. He didn't have many people in his life that he cared to call "friend" and when one was in trouble or hurting, he wanted to help.

"Dad?" Susan's voice sounded distant despite the fact that she had just plopped down next to him. "Hello?" She tapped him on the shoulder.

"Oh, hey...sorry, honey."

"You didn't have another night, did you?" his daughter asked softly.

"No, Susie Q."

"Oh, good." She changed positions so that her legs were underneath her. "You didn't say anything when you came home last night, so I wasn't sure."

"Tired, that's all. I helped out, a friend was in some trouble. They were caught out in the storm and by the time I got home..." He trailed off, but he didn't need to say anything else.

Susan smiled and rested her head on her father's shoulder. "Good for you. So you're still okay with going to Charlie's tomorrow, right? I know it won't be the same as the turkey sandwiches we did last year, but..."

"Looking forward to it, honey."