One More Time Left to Say Your Goodbyes

Alex and I were strolling through the shelves at the supermarket, and while I looked down at the list in my hand he was goofing off. I rolled my eyes as he hung onto the back of it, riding the cart down the aisle and pushing it faster with his foot.

"Wheeeeeeee Charlie look! Look at how fast I'm- Ow! Fuck!"

I pulled him up out of the pile of canned baked beans that toppled on him after he had crashed the grocery cart into it.

"Yeah, don't swear, the kid's toys is one aisle over and there's probably some little kid over there that just heard you."

"Sorry babe."

I smiled. I was such a pushover when it came to him.

"Alright, so should we head over to the liquor section? Casey wants some Mike's Hard Lemonade and I promised I'd get her some. And we need some beer for your friends."

"Right oh, captain, to the liquor aisle it is!"

I groaned as Alex gripped the cart once more and pushed forward. I followed him on foot.

He immediately began to get serious as we browsed the alcohol shelves. Figured.

Alex disappeared from my view down a row of bottles, and I giggled, knowing he was trying to play a game with me. I tried to follow him but eventually I just figured he had disappeared, and I crossed my arms and waited for him to come out.

A pair of arms wrapped around my waist and I laughed as Alex squeezed me tight.

"I gotcha!"

I was caught off guard as his lips pressed against mine, but I didn't complain. I only started feeling uncomfortable when his tongue met my own. I hesitantly pulled away as his hand sank lower and lower towards my ass.

"Charlie?"

"I-I'm sorry," I said quietly, turning my back on him.

"It's ok," He said, but I cringed internally as I heard the disappointment in his voice.

It's stupid, no ridiculous, that I wasn't able to get intimate with anyone that I really wanted to because of some stupid boy.

We both walked to the checkout in awkward silence, and I began biting my nails, trying to not look at Alex.

On the car ride back home I looked out the window and didn't say anything. I jumped when Alex's hand stole into mine and held it tightly. I didn't pull away, just bit my lip and looked out the window again.



The entire apartment was packed with people, most of whom I wasn't even familiar with. I walked out, saying 'excuse me' and 'pardon me' every five seconds as I bumped into people I didn't know. I spotted Casey sniffling in the corner near a chair, shaking her head and putting her phone back into her purse. I walked up to her and held her shoulder.

"Casey what's wrong?"

She looked up at me, her blue eyes rimmed with red from crying.

"Max and I got into another goddamn fight again. And he's supposed to come back tomorrow or something. We've been getting into fights so much lately."

My stomach lurched at the familiar name, but I knew that her Max couldn't have been the same as the one back then.

"What did you guys fight about?" I asked her, sitting down next to her and rubbing her back as she placed her head on my shoulder. Blond hair spilled down across her face and she quickly brushed the strands out of the way.

"Well he called me when he was drunk and I heard another girl in the background telling him to come back to bed. And he left a long-ass message that was basically him rambling on and on about how much of a sorry idiot he is. He's such a fucking moron. I don't know why we're still together. He probably doesn't even love me anyway."

I wrapped my arms around Casey as she began to cry again.

"It'll be alright. He's just an asshat, okay? You'll find someone better. Men are ignorant pricks. Maybe you should just be a lesbian."

She laughed at my attempt at a joke before wiping her eyes.

"I'll be fine, Charlie. Thank you. I'm so glad you're my friend. Now go spend time with your boyfriend."

"Are you sure?" I asked. I didn't want my friend sitting her all by herself crying because of some stupid guy.

"I'm fine," She assured me, smiling. "Go socialize."

"Right," I replied, rolling my eyes.

I got up after patting her back and began walking towards where Alex was talking to his friend Carter. I smiled as his eyes met mine.

"Hey, Charlie. What's wrong with Casey? I saw her over there..."

I gritted my teeth.

"Max deciding to be a fucking moron again," I replied. Carter laughed.

Alex looked down as his cell phone began to ring, and he looked at the caller I.D. before answering it.

"Hey guys, I have to take this. I'll be back in a few minutes," He said.

"Alright," I said, grabbing a bottle of beer from the cooler and opening it.

"So," Carter said, trying to initiate a conversation.

I'd met Carter a few months ago, when I had gotten home from a late night at the tattoo place and found both of them huddled over Xbox controllers, killing people on Call of Duty. Carter seemed like a nice enough guy. His girlfriend had dumped him about two weeks ago because she claimed he had been ignoring her when really he was just too busy with work and what not to spend time with her. It really fucked him up for a while there.

"How're things going?" I asked casually, nodding my head.

"Pretty good, pretty good."

We stood in silence for a few more seconds, before I was taken completely by surprise when Carter grabbed the back of my head and crashed his lips to mine. I tried to pull away, but I was a girl. Oh how tragic. The usual sexist excuse.

And then my heart stopped as I heard Alex's voice from near us.

"What the fuck Charlie?!"

Oh fuck.