Nothing's Fine

• 26: Scared •

Nervously, I began walking down the stairs. Fixing my hair and pulling down my shirt, I replayed Emery's words in my head.

"Just be calm and collected... you don't have to rush anything."

Easy for her to say... She was effortlessly pretty and with a boyfriend.

"Charlie?" I suddenly hear Annalise's voice right behind me.

Startled, I jumped. My socks slid against the wooden stairs and I fell backwards. I heard the back of my head crack against a step before I felt it. Then the rest of my body hit the steps.

Everything seemed to be in slow motion. The loud noise that I made as I fell rang in my ears and was combined with a loud scream from Annalise. I heard a chair in the kitchen scrape against the floor, followed by two pairs of footsteps. Footsteps also sounded from upstairs.

"Charlie, oh my God!" Annalise yelped, kneeling beside me. "What hurts? Are you okay?"

I was tempted to jump up and say "I'm fine", but the pain searing through the back of my head advised me otherwise. I tried to make words come to my mouth but I was at a loss. What the hell just happened? I sat up a little and felt something wet on the back of my head.

"I think... I'm bleeding." I mumbled. I reached up slowly and touched my head. As I spoke, Mason entered the room with Linda. The look on their faces was a combination of worry, fear and horror.

Linda rushed to my side. "Don't move Charlie. Did you hurt your neck?"

"No, I banged my head," I moved my hand away from my head and looked at it. Sure enough there was blood. I rolled my eyes at myself for falling like an idiot.

Mason left the room and came back with a damp cloth in his hand. He handed it to Linda, who gave it to me.

"What if you need stitches?" Annalise fussed as I pressed it to the back of my head.

"I don't think it's that deep," I said, trying to sit up. The look Linda gave me made me freeze.

"Mason, can you carry her to the car? I'm going to take her to the clinic," she said. Mason nodded and walked over to me. The look on his face was worried, but his eyes were guarded.

I willed myself not to blush at the situation as he scooped me up effortlessly. Linda moved out of the way and hurried to the kitchen – I assumed to grab her car keys.

As we stepped outside, the brightness caused me to squint and my headache to intensify slightly. I covered my eyes with the hand that wasn't pressed to the back of my head.

When we got to the car, I moved my hand and squinted at Mason. He finally made eye contact with me this time.

"What happened?" he asked, giving me the feeling that he wasn't only talking about my fall. I tried to search his eyes but they were still guarded.

"I-I got scared," I whispered, the double meaning reigning true for both scenarios. Mason opened his mouth to answer, but the front door opened, and Linda walked out.

She unlocked the car and opened the door for us. Mason gently slid me into the front seat and closed the door. The sound did not help my pounding headache and I winced a little. I mouthed a 'thank you' to Mason as he backed away from the car. He gave me a smile that didn't quite meet his eyes, and turned away quickly.

I tried not to frown at the sudden distance I knew I created, and turned to Linda sheepishly.

"Sorry," I said quietly.

"Charlie, you never need to apologize for things you can't control. Especially things like you falling down the stairs. I'm only worried for you," she replied, resting a hand on my knee. Linda reminded me of this from time to time, but I always felt like an inconvenience.

I sighed and closed my eyes.

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Author's Note:  Happy June and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know it's a bit short, but there's more to come! xoxo