Explosions

Charlie called June that night, tears in her eyes and wine in her body. Her friend tried to console her, but June knew that all she needed right now was reassurance. After listening to Charlie sob for the better part of an hour, June was able to offer up one small piece of advice.

“Char, please listen to me,” she said. “If the reason you’re not with J.J. anymore is because you really do love Ryan, then you need to tell Ryan. I never thought I would say this but”- she paused to sigh, louder than she probably intended –“go after him, Char. You guys have always been in love, despite everything. God, I sound like a moron. I spent so much time trying to keep you away from him.”

After several hours of crying, even after she was off the phone with June, Charlie had finally come to terms with the situation. Before, it wasn’t as real. Now, she was seeing the consequences of the last six months.

In the morning, she called in sick to work. It was the first time she had ever called in, but she knew she needed it. Not for the impending hangover, but there was no way she could focus on her work today. She called in, and she had barely hung up when she fell back to sleep.

She woke up late in the afternoon and ordered room service. She avoided adding any alcohol to the mix, afraid of calling someone she might later regret. She did some work that afternoon, but she could hardly focus on anything. She knew this feeling would pass, and for right now, all she could do was ignore it.

Charlie’s phone rang around five that evening, and it brought her out of her daze of watching Jeopardy. She reached over and realized it was the number she’d been waiting on for almost a week. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath.

“Hello?” she said.

“Miss Elliott?” said the man.

“Yes,” Charlie replied.

“This is Chuck Woodward,” the man said. “Boston Celtics. How are you this evening?”

“I’m doing alright,” she lied. “Yourself?”

“I’m doing well,” Chuck said. “I apologize for calling a little later than I’d intended. I meant to call you last week. Time got away from me.”

“It’s alright,” Charlie said. “I understand.”

“Miss Elliott, I am pleased to tell you that you’ve got the job here in Boston,” he said. “That is – if you want it.”

“Oh my god,” said Charlie, a smile breaking out over her face. “Of course I want it! Thank you so much!”

“When can you start?” Chuck asked.

“I’ll just need some time to pack everything up and finish here,” she replied. “Not next Monday, but the following one?”

“That sounds perfect,” he said. “Congratulations, Miss Elliott. I look forward to working with you.”

“Thank you so much, sir,” said Charlie. “I can’t wait!”

He chuckled and said, “See you soon.”

She hung up then, with a completely different feeling in her heart. She didn’t know who to call first – her mom, June, her sister? She scrolled through her entire contacts list twice, stopping on J.J.’s name both times. She thought about it, but she scrolled past. She eventually decided that her mom would be the best first option, considering she’d been the one to start this process. She dialed up the familiar number and waited patiently as it rang.

“Hello?” her mother said.

“Mom!” exclaimed Charlie. “Mom, I did it. I got the job.”

“Charlotte!” laughed Wendy. “Oh my god! I knew you would! Honey, this is amazing!”

“I’m moving back to Boston,” said Charlie. “End of next week, I’m heading back.”

“I’m so proud of you,” Wendy replied. “I knew you would get it. Do you need somewhere to stay while you look for a place?”

“Actually, yes,” said Charlie. “I was hoping we could go apartment hunting the weekend I get there.”

“Of course, honey,” Wendy said. “I take it you and J.J. discussed the situation here?”

“Oh, Mom…” Charlie paused.

She listened to the faint music on the other line for a moment. Her dad had always enjoyed his music a little louder than everyone else would have liked. She took a deep breath, but Wendy was already one step ahead of her.

“You broke up, didn’t you?” she asked.

Charlie nodded and said, “Yes.”

“May I offer my opinion?” Wendy said.

“Yes.”

“I can’t say I didn’t see it coming,” said Wendy. “I know you two loved each other, but there was always something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. He was two years younger than you and a football player, at that. You needed something a little more.”

“I think I broke his heart, Mom,” sighed Charlie. “It was the most painful thing I’ve ever been through.”

“More painful than your breakup with Ryan?”

Charlie was silent a second, but she replied, “I don’t know. It was different. He was just so angry about the whole situation.”

“How are you feeling?” asked Wendy.

“Honestly?” said Charlie. “Relieved. I know it sounds terrible, but for so long I’ve been wondering if we were ever going to be the same again. I think it’s just better this way.”

“How is he taking it?”

“I don’t know. Like I said, it was so painful. We’ve been through a lot together, and I know he thought it was going to be forever. I did, too.”

“May I ask what the final blow was?”

Charlie grimaced, but she said, “They played the Jets yesterday – Ryan’s team. I went to talk to Ryan, and J.J. saw me hugging him. He thought it was more, and he felt betrayed again. We talked about it, but he wasn’t going to be able to trust me again after what happened this summer.”

“I see,” said Wendy. “Look, your sister is out of town this week, so you will need to call her and tell her about moving back. I’ll let your father know when he gets home from work.”

“I will,” said Charlie.

“Are you flying out?” her mother asked.

“I was planning on driving, since I’ll have all my stuff with me.”

“Why don’t you ask your sister to fly out and drive back with you? That way you’re not on the road all by yourself.”

“Okay,” Charlie said. “Thank you, Mom. For everything.”

“Of course, Charlie,” said Wendy.

That evening, Charlie was back on the phone with June. She told her all about her plans to move back to Boston, and she told her all about what the job would entail. She later called her sister and caught her up on everything she’d missed, including her and J.J.’s breakup. Olivia agreed to fly out next Wednesday to help her sister pack and move back.

Charlie looked through her phone again, still debating on calling J.J. to tell him the news. She fought with the idea for almost an hour, but she decided against it. She knew she’d have to tell him eventually – all her stuff was still at his house. She would save it for another day. Today just wasn’t right.