Imperfect Harmony: JATP ~Charlie Gillespie~

~Fourteen~

After a long day at work, I'm happy to be back at home to just enjoy the night off. I lay on the couch and turn on the tv, mindlessly flipping through channels. 

I sigh as someone knocks on my door, but my emotions change as soon as I see who it is, "Care, what are you doing here?"

She holds up a bottle of booze, "Like I would miss your twenty-first birthday!"

I let her in and we sit on the couch, passing the bottle between us, "Why didn't you tell anyone it was your birthday? Jeremy said he had no idea."

I take a sip, "I don't like celebrating my birthday. It stems from years of awful birthdays as a child. Screaming, violence, the works. I'm just not a fan."

She gives me a gentle look, "You never talk about your childhood. What happened?"

I look down at my hands, "My birth father was a drunk and my mom was too scared to leave him until the police stepped in. Now, she is married to the chief of police, so everything is good."

"And your dad, where is he?" Carolynn asks. 

I sigh, remembering that night. "I'm going to tell you something I've never told a single soul before." She nods and I continue, "After my mom kicked my dad out, he came back one night. It had been a couple of months so no one suspected anything. He took me in the middle of the night and kept me locked me in the truck of his car as he drove across three states. It took them two weeks to find me and when they knocked on the door, he snapped. All I remember from that night was that he tried to drown me and he almost succeeded. He went to prison for kidnapping and trying to murder me."

"I'm so sorry." Carolynn says softly, shocked by my story. 

I shrug, "It's in the past, I don't care anymore." That's a lie. That is the reason I can't sleep through the night and haven't taken a bath since I was young. I'm still haunted by those memories. 

"So, when's the wedding?" I ask, trying to lighten the mood. Carolynn smiles and begins to talk about her wedding details. 

When spend the next couple of hours, talking and drinking (me drinking more than her, but who's counting). Eventually, I find myself on the floor. 

"Okay, you have to tell me what is going on between you and Charlie." Carolynn says, trying to recover from her fit of laughter. 

"Nothing is going on. We are just friends." I say loudly as I push my hair out of my face. 

"You liar. I see the way Charlie is always looking at you. It isn't a friend look, it's a 'i love you pay attention to me' kind of look." She says, slurring over her words. 

I turn my head to the side, "You must be seeing things because he is with Tori. And they seem very happy together."

Carolynn blows a raspberry, "Whatever. Tori looks at Charlie like she wants him, but he only looks at you that way. Trust me, he doesn't like her."

I ignore her and finish off my drink. "So, do you like him?" Carolynn asks. 

"No. I mean sure, he is cute and charming. And is really nice to me, except he isn't nice whenever I talk about another guy or someone else shows interest, I'm not sure what that is about. Oh, and I like his pretty smile, and pretty hair. And the way he makes me feel like nothing else in the world matters. Like I could do anything. Like-"

Carolynn bursts out in laughter and I join her, "Shit, I like Charlie!"

She laughs, "I thought you were going to say 'Shit, I've got chlamydia." We both burst into tears from laughing to hard.

"So what are you going to do?" Care asks. 

"Nothing. I'm going out with Clarke in two days and he is a lot of fun. Plus, I will never date someone I work with. I've spent my whole life training, I've practically lived in a dance studio to get where I am today. I can't undue everything I've worked for just for some really pretty guy." I say as I fall asleep. 

When I wake up, Jeremy is struggling to get Care out the door as she sings the abc's. "Bye bye, Carolynn!" I yell as they leave and Charlie walks through the door. "Charlie!" I say, sitting up and smiling. My eyes go wide and I run to the bathroom to throw up. He comes in and ties back my hair. 

I push his hands away, "Stop, I like it better down."

Charlie sighs and scoops me up to put me on my bed. I lay down and smile at his, "You have pretty eyes."

"Thanks." He says, staring down at me. 

"Hey, Charlie." I say in a whisper, "I have a secret."

"A secret?" He asks, confused. 

I nod dramatically, "Yeah. My secret is that I think I'm falling for you."

"What?" He asks, clearly confused. 

I laugh, "Silly rabbit, tricks are for kids!"

When I wake up, the sun is out and I can hear the tv in the living room. I climb out of bed and hold my stomach. Charlie sits on the couch, watching tv. "Good morning, sunshine." He says, smiling I me. 

I frown, confused at why he is here. "What happened?"

He stands up, "You don't remember? You got hammered last night and Jer called me to come take care of you." 

"I don't think I got hammered." I say, looking at the mess in my kitchen. Suddenly I remember most of the night with Care. I cover my face with my hands, "Oh, my gosh. Wow, um wow." 

"So you remember?" Charlie asks, stepping closer to me. 

I nod, "How I was a complete idiot? Yes, I remember. I'm going to go shower and get ready for work." I say, turning away and heading to the bathroom. 

"Wait," Charlie says, grabbing my arm. "I just want to say, I feel the same." 

I frown, "Um, okay freak show. We get it, I'm embarrassing and someone should limit my drinks from now on." 

I quickly take a shower and then we head to set. Charlie acts weird on the drive over, he keeps looking at me like he wants to say something but he never does. What happened last night? 

Author's Note:  So, Kaya can't remember what she told Charlie... the tea. Also, I added more of her family's background because that is going to be important soon.