Explosions

Charlie pulled at the hem of her knee-length red dress anxiously. She watched out the window as the familiar city of Andover flew by her. She chewed on her lip a bit, and she tried to calm her growing nerves by breathing slowly out of her nose.

J.J. grabbed her hand and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” lied Charlie. “I’m fine.”

“We don’t have to do this,” said J.J. “I want to meet your family, but I don’t want you to be a wreck. You know that, right?”

“It’s fine,” she said. “I haven’t seen them in awhile anyway.”

He held her hand for another few minutes as the taxi pressed on through the city. It turned down the street she grew up on, and suddenly she wasn’t okay. She started shaking, and J.J. could feel it. He squeezed her hand gently.

“It’ll be okay,” he said.

Charlie nodded as the taxi pulled to a stop. J.J. paid the driver and got out first. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. He opened her door for her and held out his hand. After a moment, she took it, and they began walking up the steps of the familiar four-bedroom brick house.

She stared at the front door; the white paint was chipping slightly. She inhaled sharply and knocked on the door. It only took a few seconds for the door to open. Charlie’s mother, Wendy Elliott, stood in the doorway. Her hair was the same deep brown that Charlie’s was, but her eyes were a dark hazel color. J.J. could immediately see the resemblance between the woman and her daughter.

“Charlotte,” said Wendy with a smile. She held her arms out to her daughter, who moved into them lovingly. “Merry Christmas, honey!”

“Merry Christmas, Mom,” said Charlie.

“Come in, will you?” she said. “It’s cold out here. Take your shoes off on the rug. We just had the carpets redone.”

She entered the house, J.J. following closely behind her. Inside, she could see her father, Jim, sitting on the couch watching an old Western. Her sister, Olivia, was at the opposite end of the couch on her phone. Neither looked up when Charlie stepped into the room.

Wendy cleared her throat and said, “Charlie’s here, guys.”

Olivia stood up and hugged her sister. Jim looked away from the television momentarily. He nodded once.

“Who’s this you’ve got with you, Charlotte?” he asked.

“Hello to you too, Dad,” sighed Charlie. She looked up at J.J. and said, “This is my boyfriend, Justin.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Justin,” said Wendy, holding her hand out to him.

J.J. shook it and said, “You can call me J.J., ma’am.”

“J.J., this is Olivia, my sister,” said Charlie. Olivia waved at him. “And that’s my dad, Jim, and this is my mom, Wendy.”

Jim stood up finally. He was of average height but slightly stockier than Charlie remembered. He held his hand out to J.J., who shook it gladly.

“Nice to finally meet you, sir,” he said.

“Let’s skip the formalities, J.J.,” said Jim. “The last guy my daughter brought home was a dirtbag. The guy before him, while being one of the smartest people I’ve ever met, broke her heart”-

“Dad,” hissed Charlie.

“I’m not saying you have to marry her, but if I ever find out you hurt her in any way, I will find you,” Jim said, ignoring his daughter.

“I can promise you, sir, that I have nothing but the utmost respect for Charlie,” said J.J. “In fact, she makes me a better man than I thought possible.”

Jim smiled, his crow’s feet scrunching up, and he said, “Good. Have a seat, then. You like John Wayne?”

Olivia stood up as J.J. followed Jim back to the couch.

“Where’s Kyle?” asked Charlie.

“He’s in the kitchen,” said Olivia. “It’s bad, Char.”

Wendy shushed her daughter and said, “He’s getting better. Why don’t you go in and see him while I clean up the dining room?”

She moved out of the room, and Olivia shook her head.

“I don’t think he’s doing cocaine anymore,” she said. “I think it’s worse.”

“Meth?” asked Charlie. Her voice shook a little bit.

“I don’t know,” said Olivia. “I guessed heroin.”

Charlie grabbed her sister’s arm and said, “Are you serious?”

“I can’t tell,” Olivia replied. “I’m not an expert in drugs, but this isn’t good.”

She led her sister into the kitchen. Kyle sat facing them. His skin was paler than Charlie remembered, and eyes were lined with dark circles. He held his hands in his hair and rocked back and forth. Charlie sat down next to him, and Olivia sat across from her.

“Kyle,” she said. “Kyle, I haven’t seen you in awhile. How have you been?”

Kyle looked up at his sister. She almost didn’t recognize him. She glanced over at Olivia, but she held her hand out to him.

“Kyle, can you talk to me?” she asked.

Kyle cleared his throat and said, “Nice to see you.”

His voice was raspy and shaky. He looked down at her hand, but he pushed it away. She cringed and put her hands in her lap.

“What have you done to yourself, Kyle?” she sighed.

“I’m fine,” said Kyle.

“You’re not fine,” said Charlie. “You can’t keep doing this to yourself.”

“Easy for you to say,” scoffed Kyle.

“I will get you the help you need, big brother,” Charlie told him. “Please, you can’t honestly tell me that you feel good right now.”

“I feel fine,” Kyle snapped.

Charlie watched him silently. His nose twitched a lot, like it did when he was high. She shook her head.

“I’m just trying to help you,” she said.

“I don’t know why you two always have to give me the third degree,” Kyle muttered. “You’re both far from perfect. You, pretending to care about all of us and hiding behind your Harvard degree. You left us the second you could, and you didn’t look back. And you, eating out every slut that opens her legs for you. Does mommy know yet? Maybe you’ll actually get paid for it next time.”

Olivia rolled her eyes but ignored him.

“Char brought her boyfriend with her,” she said.

“Oh, good,” said Kyle, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “Another spectator to our crazy little sideshow. Which scummy little dick are you sitting on now, sis?”

“Well, maybe if we’re lucky, your drug dealer will show up, and it’ll become a real party,” said Olivia, raising her voice.

“Hey!” shouted Wendy, standing in the doorway. “Do not talk to your brother like that.”

“Well, don’t let him talk to Charlie like that!” snapped Olivia.

Charlie rubbed her eyes and said, “Can everyone just please not do this today? I’d like J.J. to at least think that we’re a normal family.”

Kyle scratched at his skin. It did not go unnoticed by Charlie. She grabbed her brother’s hand, not giving him a choice this time. His hand was clammy, and he tried to pull away.

“Kyle, will you please come meet my boyfriend?” she asked. “I think you’ll really like him.”

Wendy and Olivia waited anxiously for Kyle’s answer. He stared at Charlie for a long time. His expression changed a few times in the minute they’d waited. Finally, he nodded.

“Okay,” he said.

Charlie smiled, and she stood up with him. He was much skinnier than she remembered. He followed her back into the living room where her father was showing J.J. pictures from hunting trips. Olivia reclaimed her spot on the couch, and Wendy sat down in the chair next to the TV.

“J.J.,” said Charlie.

J.J. looked up at his girlfriend. He stood up immediately at the sight of what he only assumed to be the brother she barely spoke of.

“This is my brother, Kyle,” she said. “Kyle, this is my boyfriend. His name is J.J.”

J.J. held his hand out. Kyle tucked his left hand under his right arm, and he shook J.J.’s hand with his right.

“Nice to meet you, Kyle,” said J.J.

“Same,” mumbled Kyle.

He sat down on a stool near Wendy, who touched her son’s arm gently. Charlie sat down in the chair across from her sister, and there was a long silence as J.J. sat back down. The John Wayne film played softly, and Charlie willed someone to say something, anything. She went back to playing with the hem of her dress.

“So, J.J., what do you do for a living?” asked Wendy.

“I play football,” said J.J. “That’s how I met Charlie.”

Kyle rolled his eyes. Under his breath, he said, “Of course.”

“Football,” repeated Jim. “That’s quite the job. Who do you play for?”

“The Texans,” J.J. said.

“As long as it ain’t the damn Dolphins, I guess it doesn’t matter,” chuckled Jim.

J.J. shared a laugh with him, but Charlie was still uncomfortable. She looked over at her brother. He was shaking again, and she looked away.

---

“I think my parents are coming to the next home game,” said J.J.

He was shaving in the bathroom, and Charlie was getting dressed for work.

“I just gotta call Ma one more time to double-check,” he said. “I told her they could stay here. That’s okay, right?”

He waited for a reply, but none came. He frowned.

“Babe, are you listening?”

Again, nothing. He rinsed his face off, and he stepped out of the bathroom. He saw Charlie standing on the other side of the bed. Her hand was holding her phone, shaking. She was staring at a spot on the bed.

“Charlotte, what’s wrong?” he asked.

She blinked a few times, then she cleared her throat. J.J. could barely hear her when she finally spoke. Her voice was raspy and distant.

“It’s Kyle,” she said. “He overdosed again.”

The phone fell from her hand, and she looked up at him.

“They couldn’t save him this time,” she said.