CHASING CHARLIE GRAY

11

After that first weekend, sleepovers at Charlie's became a regular thing encouraged especially by Ms.Gray who even told me that she believed I was a good influence on her daughter.

Even though we had long since completed the project, Charlie never spoke about it and so, neither did I.

My mom was on her regular Midwest route and had left early that Friday morning so I'd grabbed what I needed before I went to school and just headed to Charlie's after. She was in an unusually good mood for it being 1am.

"Hey" She turned onto her side to face me.

"Yeah?"

"Wanna go for a ride?"

I nodded.

We hadn't done much other than lay around and eat a party sized bag of Doritos.

She shuffled to the end of the bed before placing her feet gently on the ground and pushing off to propel her towards the closet.

She handed me a hoodie before shrugging one on herself and grabbing a set of keys before creeping out the door.

The door to the garage was noisy and I cringed inwardly at the thought of Ms. Gray waking up and seeing us trying to sneak out.

"Are you sure your mom would be okay with it"

"I'm 18 not 6, Why? Worried you'll get on my moms bad side?" She teased.

I nodded.

No use in lying.

"Don't worry, it's fine as long as I'm not the one driving" She tossed the keys at me just as the garage door opened fully.

"How do you have a freaking Porche!" I whisper yelled, pointing excitedly at the shiny black sports car tucked away inside.

"It's the first thing I bought after my games" She grinned.

"That's so cool" I groaned, running my hand along the hood before opening the doors.

"Where to?" I asked after buckling myself in.

"Let's go get slushies" She proposed, and just like that we were off to a 7/11.

Our first slushies were chugged in a measly attempt to see who could finish it all first without getting brain freeze ( i won).

After laughing for five minutes straight, Charlie refilled our cups and I grabbed a couple snacks for us to share, we paid for everything together and walked back out to the car.

"I'm glad we could do this" Charlie spoke in the silence after several minutes had passed.

"Me too"

I'm not quite sure when, but the quiet friendship I'd developed with Charlie Gray while working on our project had evolved into sleepovers and late night snack runs filled entirely with laughter.

I'd never had a friend like her before, one who didn't get tired of my presence and who didn't mind when I was silent. Things just were, and she seemed okay with that.

When I woke the next morning, Charlie's side of the bed was empty and had been for a while, judging from the lack of warmth in her spot.

The house was silent and a gust of cool wind blew in from the backdoor. It was raining outside but Charlie Gray remained seated on the step inside the pool, her cap and goggles thrown carelessly to one side.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't stir until I muttered a soft "hey" before sitting on the edge of the pool and dangling my feet in the water.

"Hey" She parroted back at me.

"What're you doing?"

It was obvious but I wanted her to talk to me about it.

"Nothing now" She sighed slowly before laying back and resting her head on the ground.

" And before?"

She sighed loudly like the very act of talking was draining her energy.

"Swimming or at least trying to, I haven't gotten much further than sitting here" She ran her hand over her wet hair before looking up at the sky.

"Alright" I eased into the pool, drenching my pajamas without  a care in the world.

"What're you doing?"

"Taking you for a swim" I motioned her forward and she complied.

I secured her hands on my shoulders with a quick warning to hold on tight and then I started paddling, I probably wasn't as fast as she would like but I did what I could. We made a few laps and she never once complained even as I grew tired and stopped.

"Thank you" She whispered softly down my ear, her breath tickling my skin slightly.

I'd suddenly lost my ability to speak and the only thing I could do was nod. She got down from my back and grabbed my shoulders, turning me to face her. She was staring at me in a way I'd never seen before or was probably too blind to see.

She was holding my hands, Charlie Gray was holding my hands and looking at me like I was worth much more than I thought I was. Her thumb grazed over my palm and I inhaled sharply.

"Gia-"

"I Got Donuts!" Ms. Gray called from the open door, successfully breaking up the moment we were having.

Charlie Gray grunted seeming frustrated with her mother's timing.

"Mom-" She started.

"Coming!" I hurried from the pool at the mention of food.