It started with "Bibby"

Chapter Nineteen - Leah?

((I'm so so so so so sorry for the extremely late chapter, I completely forgot about this book and then I had to re-read everything I'd written to work out where I was and yeah😂 But I'm back now👋🏼 pls ignore any mistakes, I will correct soon))

Charlie's POV:

My mind and heart were racing as I approached closer and closer to Leah's house. I felt my phone vibrate from my pocket numerous times. I had numerous texts from Tom, Reece and even a text from Jake.

"From Tom😉:
Charlie??? Are you at Leah's??"

"From Tom😉:
Charlie Jones. Are you at Leah's house?"

"From Tom😉:
For God sake Charlie!! Ring me later!!"

"From Reece👬:
Please make sure Leah's okay and ring me later?? Tell her I love her man x"

"From Jake💃🏼:
Hey mate, I'm in your town if you wanna meet up for a cheeky nandos later, I know you're going on holiday tomorrow but I miss ya man x"

My fists were clenched and my body was tense as I read Jake's text. If he'd hurt Leah.

I reached Leah's front door and banged my knuckles repeatedly against the wooden door. I could hear Hayden's distant yells become louder as he reached the door.

"Hey, hey, hey! What's with the banging? You have a key!" He practically yelled, his eyebrows furrowed together as if this was obvious to everyone.

"It's too important to look for my key, is Leah home?" I rushed, peering around Hayden's body to look for Leah.

"Yeah? She came in about 20 minutes ago and went straight upstairs, why? What's happened?" His voice shifted from a worried tone to a 'who do I have to kill' tone.

"Can I see her?" I asked quickly, shifting from side to side anxiously.

"Sure, she's in her room" he replied, moving to the side to allow me to slip by into the hallway.

I ran straight through the house to the stairs adjacent to the door and sprinted up the stairs towards Leah's room. I pushed open the door frantically and saw her sprawled across her bed staring absentmindedly at the ceiling, tears stained down her cheeks. She didn't move a muscle as I entered the room and shut the door behind me. I walked slowly toward the bed and joined her.

"Leah?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah?" She replied softly, her voice squeaked quietly.

"Tell me a secret?" I asked apprehensively.

There was a short silence as we both lay sprawled across her double bed staring blankly at the ceiling. The ceiling was covered in stars that glowed at night. We stuck them against the wall when we were 6 because Leah was afraid of the dark. It almost felt like yesterday that I was launching myself off of the bed to stick one little star against the ceiling.

"I didn't mean for it to happen..." She whispered softly. "Everyone warned me to be careful but I didn't understand why" she continued.

I didn't move a muscle as she continued her story. "He pushed me against the wall and kissed me. I know it was only a kiss but I have Reece...how am I meant to tell him?" She croaked. "He's my boyfriend, you don't do that to your boyfriend"

She paused again, I could hear her soft snuffles as she tried to contain her tears.

"Leah..." I started. "Jake was a liability, we knew this from the start, I shouldn't of let you go alone".

"This isn't your fault Charlie" she whispered, reaching out for my hand as she clasped her hand in mine.

I intertwined her fingers with mine and paused. "No one should've let you go alone but we know now. This isn't your fault, Leah"