Tears Like Diamonds

“So, how is everything with your career going?” Charlie asked, kicking off her flip-flops and spinning around the abandoned beach. Carlos smiled at the sight, almost forgetting the question.

“Everything’s good. I mean, the guys are great, the fans are spectacular, and the rush…it’s not like anything else,” he rambled, his eyes still on her shining hair. She felt his gaze on her and turned, a small smirk on her blush colored lips.

“It sounds amazing,” she said, waltzing over to where he stood.

“It is. So you gonna tell me what happened with the internship? I mean, you really wanted that back in high school…” he trailed off, his mocha eyes darting everywhere but to meet hers. She sighed, her front teeth digging into her plush bottom lip as she debated.

“I told you, things change,” she mumbled, turning her back to him. She crossed her arms over her chest, watching the waves break against the shore. Carlos rubbed the back of his neck, walking to stand next to her.

“Charlie, c’mon. What happened?” he urged, stuffing his hands into the back pockets of his plaid shorts. She sighed, kicking the sand with her bare toes. It flew up in a cloud, catching in the wind.

“Well, my mom had this huge breakdown, and she didn’t want me to leave. So I wrote back, asking if I could start a month late. They said it was okay,” she murmured, lifting her chocolate eyes to watch some seagulls flying around the cerulean sky.

“Your mom?” Carlos asked loudly, not bothering to hide the shock etched across his face. A small smile tugged at the corner of Charlie’s lips as she nodded.

“Yeah. Do you remember how she was on that trip to Shanghai when you left?” She paused, waiting for Carlos to nod. “Well, she got home, I told her about it, and she flipped. We argued back and forth, and agreed on the compromise. I’d wait a month, and she’d stay home for the time.”

“You know, I don’t think I even remember what your mom looks like. I saw her all of three times throughout high school,” Carlos admitted with a chuckle, which Charlie echoed.

“I know. After Dad left, she didn’t want to get the chance to think about it. She didn’t want to have to see his face in mine,” Charlie muttered, a note of bitterness filling it. Carlos felt his heart aching as he watched her shake the frown away, like she had so many times before. He did the only thing he could, and got the conversation away from her broken family.

“You said they gave you the month. Why didn’t you go then?” he said suddenly, remembering the original question.

“Well, all throughout that summer, Holdyn had been trying to get me to go out with him. One night, I caved, and went out to dinner with him so I could convince him we would never make a good couple.” She watched him from the corner of her eye, proceeding cautiously. “Turns out it backfired, and we started seeing more and more of each other. Soon enough, I was completely head over heels; he asked me to stay, and I did.”

Carlos felt a pang in his chest, right where his heart was. He looked at her face, which was unreadable as she gazed off at the waves. Both of them knew that last sentence had meant something more than the nonchalance she gave them. Charlie would never say anything nasty or hurtful, but that sentence, those eight words, had been aimed to sting. Neither of them could bring themselves to say anything for awhile. Too much hurt and broken promises lay between them.

“It’s one of the things I regret most. Leaving you,” he whispered, the words escaping as quietly as a breath from his lips. At first, he thought Charlie hadn’t heard; maybe it was just better that way. Then, as she nibbled on her bottom lip, her eyes glazed over, he knew she had understood every last word.

“There’s so much I regret about that night,” she said sadly, shaking her head, her eyes flickering over to meet his.

“Yeah, me too.” It was all he could muster up. His heart was beating erratically in his chest, and he knew he would never be over Charlotte Jensen. Not for one minute in the three years that had passed did he ever stop loving her. He came to the realization that he never would.

“I loved you so much. We could’ve made it,” she lamented, raking her fingers through her hair. Hearing her say those words shattered him further as the truth set in.

“It should’ve been me, us,” he mumbled bitterly, his eyes drifting from her glossy eyes to the glimmering diamond on her finger. She bent her head, allowing her chocolate waves to hide her face. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard her sniffle.

“Holdyn was right,” she muttered finally, pushing her hair out of her features.

“Char, what are you talking about?” Carlos inquired, his warm eyes wounded, praying he hadn’t just blown it all over again. Losing her would never become any easier than it was the first time.

“I shouldn’t of come here. We shouldn’t be doing this,” she said, ripping his heart to further shreds. She gave a sorrowful smile before picking up her shoes and turning on her bare heel. Carlos felt his world slipping through his fingers again. The difference was this time he wouldn’t let it happen.

“Charlotte, wait,” he called, padding through the slippery sand after her.

He placed a hand gently on her bare shoulder. She flinched, stopping in her tracks as a soft groan escaped her lips. Carlos quickly pulled his hand away, his eyes widening. He looked down at his palm, which was smeared with a cream colored makeup. His eyes slowly worked their way up to her shoulder, where it had come from, to see a newly revealed purple bruise.

“I really need to go,” Charlie said frantically, shifting her weight uncomfortably on her feet. As her eyes darted anywhere but at him, Carlos noticed the pure fear in them.

“Charlotte,” he whispered softly, grabbing her hand in his. “What’s going on?” he asked, his face etched into a mask of concern. Her brown eyes glistened for a moment, and for a second, he could see through the walls she so carefully put up. But with another passing moment, they reappeared.

“Nothing,” she said firmly, looking down at where his hand laced with her. She raised it up, brushing her lips against the back of his smooth caramel skin. Carlos’ breathing hitched in his throat as he watched her, expressionless. Her lips twitched into a bittersweet smile as she dropped his hand and jogged away, her loose waves swinging with the motion. His feet seemed to be chained to the ground as his knees locked. He stood frozen as her silhouette disappeared down the untamed path.

The gears in his mind started clicking, and everything started to wash over him. Through Charlie’s fake smiles and lies, she was afraid and hurting. As his mind whirled, he couldn’t help but feel it was his fault. He tried to shove that out of his mind, and focus on the beautiful girl. To focus on the girl that needed so desperately to be saved.