Close Your Eyes

“Charlie, Honey?” Brian murmured, shaking her shoulder gently.

Slowly, Charlie woke up, her eyes fluttering open and meeting Brian’s gaze. “What?” She groaned.

“Jack is downstairs in the living room. You think you feel like getting up and talking to him?” He asked, brushing a lock of hair from her face.

“Sure,” She nodded, “I just gotta put on some clothes.”

Brian shook his head, “That’s not necessary, you know.”

“I know. I want to.”

“Alright.”

Brian left the room and Charlie climbed out of bed carefully, not wanting to wake up Lucas. She went over to her dresser and grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. She wanted to wear some shorts, but her thighs were unfortunately bruised, and no one wanted to see that, not even her.

She went into her bathroom to get cleaned up. She changed quickly, ran a brush through her curls, and then brushed her teeth, not wanting to look like a complete mess in front of Jack. He’d seen her at her worst before, and he still thought she was beautiful, but Charlie thought he was crazy.

Once she was done, she headed downstairs and into the living room quietly, and found Jack sitting on the couch waiting for her in complete silence.

When he saw her, he jumped up and immediately pulled her into his arms. “Thank God you’re okay,” He said.

Charlie held onto him tightly. “I’m sorry,” She said, “I should have listened to you. You were right all along, he wasn’t a—”

Jack pulled away from her and cupped her face in his hands, looking her in the eye. “You have nothing to apologize for. I don’t blame you for what he did. It wasn’t your fault. He was your friend, and you had every reason to trust me.”

Tears blurred her vision, “Please tell me you still love me.”

“Always,” He murmured, “What happened last night doesn’t change a thing between us.”

A tear slipped down her cheek, “Thank you.”

“For what?” Jack smiled softly.

“For caring about me.”

“I’ll always care about you, Charlie.” Jack pulled her into his arms again and held her for what seemed like forever before Rose entered the room, interrupting them by clearing her throat lightly.

Charlie put on a small smile and turned to her mother. “What’s up, Mom?”

“A few of the aunts and uncles would like to come over and see how you’re doing; maybe have some dinner with us. Would you mind the company?” Rose asked, “Jack is welcomed to stay as well.”

“I think that sounds great,” Charlie said, “I’d like to see them.”

“Great,” Rose smiled, “Everyone should be arriving in about an hour.”

“Okay,” Charlie nodded, “Until then, do you mind if Jack and I take Lucas down to the beach for a few minutes. I promised him I’d take him, and I would hate to not keep my promise.”

Rose licked over her lips, surprised by her daughter’s request. “Of course. As long as you’re up to it. But only for a few minutes, alright?”

“Thanks Mom,” She then turned to Jack, “C’mon, let’s go wake up Lucas.”

Charlie took a hold of Jack’s hand and then led him upstairs. She twisted her doorknob and pushed open the door before stepping inside. Jack stood back as she went over to the bed to wake up Lucas. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she nudged the little boy’s side.

“Lucas…it’s time to get up,” She murmured.

Lucas started to stir, awaking from his sleep. His chocolate brown eyes fluttered open to meet his sisters. “Hi,” He whispered, a smile curving at his lips.

Charlie laughed faintly, “Hi to you too,” She whispered back, “I was thinking maybe, if you’d like to, we could go down to the beach for a few minutes. Some of the family is coming over in an hour though, so if you want to walk down there, you’re gonna have to get up now.”

The young boy practically shot upright, his small smile widening into a large grin. “Are you serious?”

Charlie nodded, “Of course I am.”

“Awesome!” He exclaimed.

Ten minutes later, Charlie and Jack were walking through the yard, their hands linked together, as Lucas took quicker steps a few feet in front of them, wanting to reach the beach as fast as he possibly could, even though Charlie had assured him time after time that the beach wasn’t going anywhere. It would always be there.

“You sure you’re up to this?” Jack asked quietly from beside her, “It’s understandable if you want to spend the next week locked in your room.”

Charlie inhaled a deep breath as she shook her head, “No, I’m not going to hide out, or refuse to eat, or go extreme and stop speaking. I’m just simply going to forget and move on.”

Jack frowned at her reply. He knew that although she seemed to want to move on and forget about what had happened to her more than anything, it wasn’t as easy as it might sound. Charlie will most likely never forget what Lawrence did to her and took from her, and Jack knew that, and he also knew that deep down, she was hurting, and she had every right to be. He just wished she wouldn’t hide it and bury her emotions so deep down beneath the surface, because one day, she was going to end up exploding, and it wouldn't be pretty.

Deciding to leave it alone for now, Jack wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him before kissing her gently on the forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Jack,” She murmured.

Soon, they were sitting in the sand, watching as the sun started to settle beneath the horizon while Lucas stood with his feet in the squishy wet sand, allowing the waves to crash around his feet. Charlie made sure to keep an eye on him, not wanting him to step any further into the water than he already was, though usually, he was pretty good about it and kept his distance.

Charlie licked over her lips and leaned her head against Jack’s shoulder. She was trying to enjoy the peace and quiet for as long as she could at that moment, because soon, they would have to return home, and her house would be filled with her family. Mostly her aunt and uncles with the exception of a few of her younger cousins, and she didn’t mind that they were coming over, she just hated that they were going to look at her with sympathy and ask her over and over again how’s she doing, and she’ll lie and say she’s okay even though she’s nearly falling apart on the inside. However, the way she saw it was at least she had a family who cared about her as much as they did, because some people have no one to be there for them and to love them, unlike Charlie who had plenty of family to go around.

And maybe, just maybe, her family will help her heal and move on from this entire mess.