Goodnight Hollywood Boulevard

“Promise me you’ll go home from here,” John said to Garrett as they approached John’s house. They had already dropped Jared off at his own house.

Garrett shrugged, not really in the mood to bargain with John. He had far too much on his mind right now; going home would be a waste of time. The sun was already rising, the day had begun, and the countdown had officially started. They were paying for time in the studio but weren’t there to fully use it. The only right thing to do would be to skip going home to sleep and go straight to Charlotte.

“Sure,” Garrett finally coughed out.

“Gar, seriously,” John sighed softly.

“I’m going,” Garrett grunted, avoiding eye contact. He really was tired, toying with the idea that maybe it could be beneficial to sleep for a while.

John sighed again as he pushed the door open and stepped out of the little yellow car. It was no use arguing with Garrett right now, or ever. When he had a notion set in his head, he went for it even if everyone warned him to rethink it. He glanced at Garrett one more time before he shut the door and headed for his front door.

Garrett waited until John was inside before he pulled out of the driveway. He figured he would drive by Charlotte’s house on the way to his own. The house was dark except for one room on the second floor. The sky was burning a bright pink behind the structure of the house but he could clearly see the blue of a TV on in a bedroom. The only car in the driveway belonged to Charlotte, meaning her mother had gone to work early as always. He parked behind her car, his fingers hesitating on the keys; should he really do this right now?

It was too late to back out. Charlotte had opened the front door and was staring at him. He inhaled deeply, taking his keys from the ignition and grabbing a book from the glove compartment. After seeing her, all of his thoughts and regrets had disappeared. His mind was completely blank as he shuffled up the sidewalk and onto the porch. He only forgot more of his thoughts when she made no more to open the door.

“Char,” Garrett softly said. He no longer had any plans and just saying her name took a lot more effort than he imagined it would.

“Why are you here?” she asked, her voice cold as ice.

“I, uh..” Garrett stammered. Then everything turned on, all of his thoughts and plans rushing back onto the tip of his tongue. “I lied to you.”

Charlotte rolled her eyes, moving to close the door on him. “Whatever.”

“Charlotte Marie,” Garrett said sternly. The strength in his voice startled even him. She glared at him through the screen door but he ignored it. He couldn’t afford to lose all of his thoughts again. “I lied to you and I’m so sorry. I did read your journal. When I saw it, I left the apartment and drove to the beach and sat there.”

“Whoopee,” she said sarcastically, then swiftly closed the door. Garrett’s jaw fell ajar slightly. He knew it wouldn’t be easy to get through to her but he never, ever imagined her completely giving up like this.

“I read all of it,” he yelled through the door. “I re-read the days from the summer before senior year, when you were the most hurt you’ve ever felt in your entire life, when the days dragged on and the nights were never long enough.”

“Go away!” she snapped from inside.

“Yeah, I could just go away,” he mumbled, eyes cast downward. He looked up just in time to see her peering through the window at him. “Those entries made my heart hurt so much more than it did when I found out you slept with someone else. I knew your pain that night but I didn’t give a fuck. Those entries – I had no idea, I couldn’t even begin to fix you. You wrote that, too; I would try to come swooping back in but you had already put your guard up.”

Garrett prayed she would open the door soon. He was sure his raised voice was going to eventually catch the attention of her neighbors and, quite frankly, he didn’t like airing their dirty laundry to everyone. Not that the whole world was awake to hear, but knowing someone could just happen to hear made him squirm inside.

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” he whimpered. “I’m so sorry. If we could go back to those summers where you pretty much lived at my house, I’d take us there in a heartbeat. Fuck, I’d even take us back to graduation night when you put me in my place.”

The door creaked as it slowly opened. Charlotte stepped into view, but it still wasn’t the Charlotte that Garrett wanted to see. “I want you to go away.”

Garrett shrugged. “I can’t do that.”

“Then you need to tell me the truth about Rachael,” she ordered. “What happened when you came home?”

Garrett sighed. “I chased her all over town. She wants me back so badly but when it comes to me finding her, she’s avoiding me at all costs. I found her at a party, which I guess you know since apparently I called you. Char, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened or if I even talked to her. I went with Max and Trey, no plans on ever seeing Rachael there. I drank and I ranted about everything to them, about how much I fucked up with you and how I really was starting to hate Rachael for being such a baby about things. I woke up the next morning to a call from John, confirming just how much I’ve fucked up. And then there she was, waltzing into my room like she and I were still dating. She started saying these things about how I didn’t love you, I was going through a phase, and that you were just some girl I was chasing. I defended you just like I defended her on Grad night.”

Charlotte let out a very audible sigh and her eye-roll was slightly visible through the screen. “That’s so helpful right now.”

“Listen,” he snapped. “This was before I knew about you and Wyatt, but apparently there were pictures of the two of you together at parties on the internet, and Rachael knew about it. After refusing her offers to get back together and ignoring her pleas that she still loves me, she left and I lost it. I almost googled you, Char, that’s how upset I was. The idea of you with someone else literally makes me sick. But I had to find out if it were true. Trey talked me out of it.”

Charlotte’s face softened at the mention of Trey. “Trey stopped you?”

Garrett smiled slightly, having finally broken through to her. “Trey loves you like a little sister, Char. He may be my brother by blood but I swear he’d side with you over anything.”

Charlotte licked her lips nervously. “You called me a whore, Garrett.”

“I will never be able to apologize enough for that,” he said softly. “I can apologize every day for the rest of my life and it still wouldn’t be enough. I know you’re not, I honestly don’t know why I acted like that and said those things.”

Charlotte shook her head, closing the door slightly. She had heard enough. “Go home, Garrett.”

“I’m not leaving without you-”

“I meant go down the street,” she sighed. “Go get some sleep, you look terrible.”

“Have you slept at all since you’ve gotten home?” Garrett asked sincerely.

Charlotte pursed her lips. “No,” she answered shortly. “Please go home.”

“I just.. Char, I know this is reaching but please, just let me in,” he begged. “Please. Can we please just lay down together and fall asleep and when we wake up, tackle everything else that’s left in the air?”

Charlotte was tired. She had spent most of the night talking to her Mom about everything, including her little tryst with Wyatt. She had done all the talking she wanted to for now, but she knew Garrett would sleep on her porch if she shut the door on him again. She sighed softly, pushing the screen door open slightly. Garrett hesitantly grabbed the handle and stepped inside. Charlotte was already climbing the stairs, so Garrett quickly closed and locked the door before following her.

“You have to be quiet,” she mumbled over her shoulder. Garrett was prepared to ask why when her voice trickled back to him. “My mom’s boyfriend lives here now, too.”

Garrett was sure that was a stab in the back to Charlotte but he kept quiet as he followed her into her old room, now converted into a guest room. There was a treadmill in the corner, where her desk used to be, and a little twin-sized bed where her full used to be. The wall color had changed, the accent colors had changed. Everything about this room brought back memories but at the same time it was completely different.

They somehow fit perfectly on the small bed, giving each other just enough space between them for comfort.

“What can I do to make you trust me again?” Garrett asked, his arm propped under his head. Charlotte had taken the only pillow for herself.

“You don’t make someone trust you, Garrett,” she snipped, rolling over so her back was to him. “Trust is earned.”

The two fell asleep shortly after that, everything that had been said reverberating in their heads. They tossed and turned, Garrett nearly falling off the bed several times, and eventually they molded into each other. He held her close, with her head against his chest, and their arms wrapped tightly around each other.

Charlotte startled awake when the front door slammed shut, followed by a soft “oops” floating in through the open window. She exhaled deeply as she rubbed her eyes. Garrett had a firm grip on her waist and she honestly couldn’t say she minded. She knew Garrett was her home; she had no trouble admitting it to herself. It was forgiving him for everything he’s said to her that was the problem.

She scooted out of the bed carefully, so as to not wake Garrett up. She changed into some leftover clothes she had left behind – the cream colored skirt and a brown slouchy tank top – and headed downstairs to make something to eat. Garrett showing up at her door was a little overwhelming. Her wounds were open and raw, she didn’t need salt added to them. She thought all she needed was time, but his words did a lot more than time ever could.

Charlotte sat at the table with a bowl of cereal and a banana. She didn’t care that it was almost 11:30; she was still too exhausted from her lack of sleep to even attempt to make something. She scrolled through her old text messages, searching and praying the one she wanted was still in there.

“What are you doing?” Garrett mumbled sleepily as he ambled down the stairs and into the kitchen.

“I’m eating,” Charlotte narrated for him.

Garrett rolled his eyes. “I meant awake.”

“I have to do something,” she said, swirling her spoon in the cereal.

Garrett looked over at her, the bags under his eyes the darkest she’d ever seen them. His hair was a mess and he had an air of exhaustion about him. He knew she was up to something. “Char.”

“Look, if I tell you, you’re going to kick and scream and be a baby about it. I just have to do it on my own,” she explained.

Garrett picked an apple from the fruit basket on the counter and took a bite, evaluating her explanation. “Please don’t,” he sighed, using his arm to wipe the juice from his chin.

“I have to,” Charlotte said simply. “She came to you, I can visit her.”

“Char, honestly, forget her. You and I need to work on things. Adding Rachael into it doesn’t make sense,” Garrett begged.

“Too late,” Charlotte muttered, setting her phone down on the table. Garrett grabbed it, reading the text message she had sent. The messages Rachael had sent over the summer were still there, leaving a painful little prickling sensation in his chest.

“I’m going with you,” he told her as he set her phone down. No sooner had his hand left the device did it vibrate with a response from Rachael.

Charlotte read it over, then looked at Garrett. “Get ready, because I only need to get my glasses and I’m on my way out.”

Garrett shrugged, taking another bite of his apple. It wasn’t like he had any other clothes to change into, so he was ready to go immediately. But as Charlotte disappeared into the downstairs bathroom to retrieve her glasses, a sort of panic sank into Garrett’s chest to replace the tingling feeling. As he drove to Rachael’s house across town, the panic began to flow throughout his entire body. It stretched from his arms, down his torso, into his legs and all the way to his toes. He swallowed hard, his throat burning, as he pulled up to the house.

“Are you sure about this?” he dared to ask. Charlotte just glared at him, shoved the door open and left him to sit alone in his car.

Charlotte knocked on the door loudly and moments later, Rachael answered. She looked confused, to say the least, but she also had an edge in her eye. She knew exactly why Charlotte had shown up.

“Do me a favor,” Charlotte started softly, calmly. “Woman to woman. Please, please leave me and Garrett alone. I know about everything that you two have gone through and I know how heartbreaking it is to see him move on. I get it, Rachael. You don’t want to see it happen. But it happened, and I’m begging you to let us be.”

“You have a lot of nerve showing up, asking me this,” Rachael huffed.

“I know. God, I know how you feel. To you, I know that I will always be the slut that stole your boyfriend. Fuck, I know,” Charlotte cried. “I just need you to back out for a while. Just like I did when we were in high school. I let you two have your time. I gave up my best friend, my only saving grace, just so you two could flourish.”

Rachael looked shocked, an expression that caught Charlotte off guard. “You.. You stopped talking to him?”

“Yeah, why?” Charlotte warily asked.

Rachael looked past Charlotte and at Garrett, who was now standing outside of his car. Charlotte looked at him, too, and felt her lips falling further into a frown. She looked at Rachael expectantly. Her eyes met Charlotte’s again. “He told me.. He said you were just busy with your fashion stuff after school, that you two still talked on the weekends and-”

Charlotte shook her head. “I cut him out because I knew I was in love with him but he had you. You took my place. It was just easier to pretend I didn’t care while I still could, because if I denied it, it was easier than facing that hurt over and over each and every day.”

Rachael backed away slightly, the door wavering in her hands. She was going to shut it, just like Charlotte had done to Garrett. “Please,” Charlotte begged one last time.

“I.. I’ll stop,” Rachael mumbled, a slight crack to her voice. “I, um. I’m sorry, Charlotte.”

“Thank you,” Charlotte whispered and turned around slowly.

She heard the door close behind her and she slowly approached Garrett, who was ringing his hands together with a worried look on his face. She stopped inches in front of him, staring into his eyes. He had no idea what had been said between the girls but when Charlotte gently wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into her, he knew things really would be okay from then on.