On Her Arms

Chapter 2

Hayes

Charlotte has the most beautiful green eyes in the world and her freckles spot her nose in a way that only she could make look cute. I only hesitate for a second before I pull her close enough to hear her heart beating. Maybe it's mine. My hand rests at the bottom of her back and I almost regret giving her my jacket to wear. Just before our lips touch, there's a buzzing sounds and little beeps. She immediately pulls away and turns around. I take deep breaths and try not to get too upset at whoever's calling her.

"Yeah. Well, I met someone..." She doesn't speak for a little while and when she sneaks a quick glance at me, I can tell she's blushing. I watch Charlotte try to bury herself in my jacket that's way to big for her. A warm feeling encases my stomach and I almost feel like I'm going to throw up, but I don't because if I did, I would have to leave and would probably never see her again. At that moment, I realize I'll probably never see her again after tonight. We're leaving tomorrow afternoon to go back home and home is across the country.

I zone out and don't notice her ending her phone call until she speaks to me. "I have to go," she whispers like she doesn't want it to be true.

"Please don't," I beg.

"Debby... My mom wants me to meet her at our car. She says we have to leave because she has to work tomorrow."

"Tell her you have a ride." I try my best to think of an excuse to stay, but nothing pops into my head. "Stay with me."

She slips her hand into the pocket of my jacket and finds my phone. I watch her tap the screen and bite her lip as she fills in her name and number. Then she takes off my jacket and hands it to me. "Call me if you ever come back to New York. Maybe I'll have found my own secret hideout by then."

I'm in so much shock that I don't stop her like I should. Instead I just sit there and watch her disappear into the trees. What if "stay with me" turned into the last thing I said to her?

Charlie

I walk down the street and hug myself in an effort to stay warm. I can still smell him and his smirk keeps appearing across my vision. Thunder growls over my head and dark clouds make 7:00 look like 9:00. My phone buzzes and I try my best to ignore it. What just happened is a dream. I'm never going to see him again. I never want to see him again. My phone buzzes... again.
And again.
And again.
Holy crap, Hayes.

I stop right in the middle of the street and dig my phone out of my bag. People shove me and I almost fall. I ignore all of the text messages and dial the unknown number that's been texting me. After two rings, he answers.

"Charlotte-"

"Just leave me alone, Hayes." I take deep shaky breaths and notice people going into their cars or inside.

"Are you okay-" It sounds like he's breathing heavy, like he's been running.

Suddenly, I'm pissed off at him. "Why do you do this to people? You make them like you even when you plan on never meeting them and even if you do, you never see them again. Why, Hayes?" I try my best to stay in control and not yell.

"Turn around."

I'm taken by surprise. "What?"

"Turn around," he demands.

Rain is coming down in sheets by now and everybody had disappeared. I slowly turn around and see someone running towards me. He finally reaches me. "Hayes?"

He nods. "Charlotte." Then he presses his lips to mine and pulls me in until we couldn't be closer. My hair is wet, but he still runs his fingers through it. Then he puts his hand on my wrist and starts to push my sleeve up. I pull my hand away a little, but he grabs it again and starts to push it up again. I have to pull away to make him let go.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

I shake my head and back up farther.

"Are you okay?" he asks again. He take a few steps to close the gap between us. "Charlotte?"

I take a deep breath. My doctor had warned me about this. She said sometimes I'll get angry at someone for some reason and turn it into something major to ignore what I'm really thinking about. "My name is Charlie!" I scream. "Not Carly, not Lottie, and especially not Charlotte!" I look up at him and his eyes widen, but then they calm down again.

"Are you okay?"

"Are you okay?" I mimic him. "Are you okay? Are you okay?" I mimic anybody who has ever said it to me. "Why would you ask that if you thought I was 💭okay?"

He takes a few steps towards me and puts his hand on my wrist. I pull away. Hayes shakes his head a little. "Why can't you tell me what's wrong?" he screams.

"I'm fine," I say.

"Tell me."

What do I have to lose? "Everything is wrong. This is wrong." I walk away through the pouring rain and even though I wanted him to, he doesn't come after me.

When I get in the car, Debby doesn't ask me why I'm wet or who I was with. Instead she just drives and listens to Shay tell her how Cameron "looked" at her. I silently thank her. I look out the window and watch the drops of water race down the window. One is always faster than the others. I guess that's how life works. One is always luckier than the others.

"How come you didn't go up on stage?" Shay asks.

"If someone tried to embarrass you in front of a room full of people, would you go along with it?" I answer.

She doesn't speak to me again.

When I get home, I go up to my room and take a shower. I sit on the floor and let the water wash over me and try my best to ignore the salty tears that are running down my face. Then I take the blade that used to belong to my pencil sharpener and use it in a way that no sane human ever has.