Afterward

"Happy birthday, Char."

The rumpled boy on my couch rolled over and looked at me, and a startled expression jolted across his face. I pretended to be apathetic. I didn't even know why I was doing this. I guess I just felt sorry for him.

I held out the cupcake. Char looked at it, wide-eyed.

"You look like you need to eat something anyway." I said.

I watched as Char lied there, confused, for a few seconds. And then he slowly got up, and gingerly took the cupcake from my hands. He held it like I was giving him some foreign, alien object.

"Your welcome." I said, and I couldn't stand to be there any longer, so I left and went out to the backyard. I plopped myself down in the wicker chair on the deck. My heart hurt. I somehow felt like I was betraying myself. I couldn't bear to forgive him. I could never forgive him.

I looked back through the window and saw Char sitting on the couch, still holding the cupcake.

He was crying.

I wondered if I did something good or something bad.