What is Home

Chapter Twenty-Five

The moment I stepped into the house I wanted nothing more than to turn around and run to the boy who changed my life. I wanted to rewind time over and over just to have more time with Pierce.

"Charlee is that you?" I heard an adult voice call from the kitchen. I peeked my head in to see my mom in the middle of making some type of meal. I wasn't sure what.

"Yeah, sorry if I had you worried. I didn't mean to. I just needed to," I paused trying to find the right words to say, "get lost for a night." I looked at her, hoping my choice of words was good enough.

"We understand just make sure you let us know if you won't be coming home from now on. We don't need to be expecting you and staying up all night waiting for you." Wow. I've never had parents that cared for me like this. This was a new, great, feeling.

"I'm going to head up to my room. I'm not feeling the best."

"That's what drinking does to you." She laughed lightening the mood.

I escaped off to my room hoping to not to meet any of my siblings on the way. But just in Reece fashion, he walked out of his room on my way to mine, I wasn't too lucky this time.

"Who the hell was that Charlee?" I ran over and covered his mouth.

"No one." I narrowed my eyes at him. "It was the TV."

"So then why are you wearing Pierce's clothing?" I looked down at the shirt that laid over my skin. I could feel my cheeks getting hot from embarrassment. How did he know?

"I- I'm not." His hands spun me before his hand ran along my back.

"So this doesn't say Kingston on the back then? I've just somehow forgotten how to read?" My heart rate began to quicken. My brain went to mush and I was too frazzled to think of a response. "Nothing to say?"

"I-" I was facing him again and I couldn't even think of one coherent word to say.

"You slept with him didn't you Charlee?" Disappointment ran through his eyes. I dropped my head not wanting to see the look.

"No." I said quietly. Every ounce of that word came out as a lie. The only good lie I could hold was him and I, and even now I was failing. Pierce was the one secret I had, the one thing I had to myself, and I just watched that crumble in front of me.

"Why would you break up Ally and Pierce's relationship? Hurt Grayson just because you drank?"

"Because I love him!" I blurted out loud and covered my mouth quickly. Reece's eyes opened wide and I ran to my room slamming my door behind me.

"Charlee!" He yelled after me but I didn't want to see him. It didn't matter though because he stormed into my room. The conversation to him wasn't over. "What do you mean you love him?" Anger rolled off his tongue. I didn't understand his anger.

"I've known Pierce for months okay?!" I yelled at him wanting everything to just end. "We met in the group home and my best friend... that I lost... that was him Reece. I have loved that kid for months. I, never in a million years, thought I would ever see him again. And then I came here and there he stood with another girl. Like I never even existed. But nothing would ever change our past, what we had with each other. Last night was as much him, as it was me. As hard is this is to believe, he would pick me over anyone any day."

"Right, okay." He didn't believe me. "Make up some excuse for your actions. I can't believe you Charlee."

"Ask mom!" I screamed at him full of anger. This wasn't how I wanted Reece to find out about Pierce and I.

"Really lying to our parents too? You really are one of a kind Charlee."

"Mom!" I yelled with my arms crossed against my chest. Within a few seconds she was standing in my doorway worried that something was wrong. "Tell Reece that Pierce and I have known each other since the group home."

"She has. Her social worker told us that when we got her. The worker said she might not talk to us because after losing Pierce she shut off. She stopped existing. Pierce even left her stuff when he left. Charlee was nothing in her group home without Pierce. No offense." She looked at me and I nodded with her in agreement.

"Prove it." I walked over to my bedside table and pulled out the note from Pierce and handed it to my brother. His eyes scanned the page reading the words that were so personal to us. "I-" he was lost for words.

"Pierce and I will always love each other. He just so happened to find Ally and I couldn't take that away from him, from her, showing up out of nowhere." I politely grabbed the paper back and hid it back in my drawer.

My mom realized that her work was done, so she left Reece and I to talk everything out. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you. He just never-" I cut Reece off before he could continue.

"You don't need to apologize; I understand how it looks. I don't want to hurt Ally, or you, or even Grayson, or anyone. Everyone was living a perfect life until I walked in here. I don't want to come here fucking everything up. That's why Pierce and I tried our hardest to not be alone with each other. To not do what we did last night. We have been trying too hard to hold off our jealousy, but it's hard when you love someone. Please Reece, don't tell anyone. We want this to come from us when the time is right."

"I have my sister's back." He pulled me in for a hug. "Just don't let things get too complicated."