What He Left Behind

The first week of school drags, as school always does. I spend a lot of time with Amber and her friends, and I throw myself into my studies, which takes my mind off of everything else that’s going on. After last year, when my grades slipped a little bit, I’m determined to focus and get myself back on track.

Nothing particularly interesting happens, until the following Monday at 3:30pm when I’m heading out of school to go home.

“Hey sweetie, do you need a ride?” I turn around to see none other than Charlie Hemmingway a few steps behind me.

“That depends. Are you still being an asshole?” I ask bluntly.

“I’m saving your charming self from having to walk home alone because this dangerous
neighbourhood is no place for a pretty girl like yourself. Does that answer your question?” he quizzes, flashing a mischievous grin.

“That’s awfully thoughtful of you Charlie but this isn’t a cliché romantic movie and I don’t need you to save me from the bad guys.”

“Do you want a ride or not?”

I hesitate for a moment, weighing up my options. Maybe this is a bad idea, but he’s attractive and mesmerizing and I’m compelled to get to know him better. There’s something almost familiar about him. Plus, I really can’t be bothered to walk.

“Sure, why not?” I concede, because how can I say no? Charlie touches his hand to the small of my back and guides me across the parking lot to his battered old van. The black paint is chipped and the bumper is scratched and it’s so run down, I wonder if it’s even allowed to be driven on the road.

Charlie opens up the passenger door and I get in, winding down the window to stop myself from suffocating thanks to the smell of cigarette smoke. There’s a faint smell of cannabis too and for a second, I question whether getting involved with this boy is a good idea.

“How was your day?” Charlie asks, completely oblivious to what he is doing to me – how my heart is racing and how my breathing’s erratic and how I can’t think straight when he’s looking at me. I’m not usually like this and I’m frustrated with myself for being intrigued by someone as irritating as he is. He probably expects me to fall at his feet like I’m sure every other girl does, but I refuse to give him the satisfaction.

We make small talk for a while and I direct him to my house which is only a ten minute drive from school. He kills the engine when we get outside.

“Are your parents not home?” he questions.

“My dad works until late,” I explain, deciding not to even mention my mum.

“So I can come in, right?” A small laugh escapes my lips. He’s so forward.

“You are unbelievable,” I muse.

“Is that a yes or…?” he trails off, looking to me for an answer. I think things over carefully. On the one hand, he’s troublesome and practically a stranger, not to mention the fact that he basically threatened me last week. He’s obnoxious and self-entitled and if I let him in, he’ll think he’s got me like putty in his hands.

Then again, he’s interesting and mysterious. He’s like a puzzle that no one has solved yet. You know those brain teasers that make you yell and swear and grit your teeth in frustration but they’re so addicting that you refuse to leave it alone until you’ve got it figured out. The fact that I’m a naturally curious person only makes me more compelled to get to know him better. Plus, he’s attractive and I’m a sucker for guys in bands.

“Sure,” I decide, getting out of the van and walking towards the door. Charlie follows and immediately makes himself at home once I have opened the door.

My house is small and plain. The front door opens into a kitchen and living area which feels cluttered because it’s so dark. On the right hand side of the room is a staircase and there is a bathroom underneath the stairs. It’s not much at all but it’s not like I need to be ashamed of the fact my family are far from affluent. If Charlie had masses of money, I guarantee he wouldn’t be living in Oak Park, Sacramento, a town notorious for its abnormally high rates of drug offences, violence and gang-related crime.

“What do you want to drink?” I ask.

“I’ll have a beer, thanks.”

“My family don’t drink,” I say with far more bitterness in my voice than necessary.

“Alright,” he concedes, a look of confusion on his face, “You know, you should relax. You’re so uptight.” He walks over to where I’m standing, placing his hands on my shoulders and running them up and down my arms.

“I’m not as bad as everyone makes me out to be darlin’,” he promises.

“You would say that,” I scoff.

“Remind me who the first person was to speak to you on your first day?”

“That would be you,” I recall, a small smile on my lips.

“Exactly,” Charlie boasts, “You’re the one that was being a bitch last week.”

“Excuse me,” I gasp, raising my eyebrows in question. Charlie steps closer to me, suddenly grabbing my arms and pinning me up against the wall. My heart is pounding again and my head is so conflicted that I can’t focus. I should be terrified but all I can think about is how close Charlie is to me, and how his eyes are burning holes into my brain and how his scent is intoxicating and his personality is somehow captivating.

“Cut the bullshit. You know exactly what you did.”

“You were the one acting like a total dick. This might shock you but you’re actually not the most important person in the school. Excuse me for not bowing down to you and running scared like everybody else does.” Charlie’s anger-filled eyes remain trained on me as he presses his body roughly against mine.

“You’ve been at this school for six fucking days. Don’t act like you’ve got me figured out. People are scared of me for a reason Noelle. Try anything like that again and I swear to god you’ll regret it,” he threatens.

“Don’t you dare touch me,” I order, shoving Charlie away from me, “You really are an asshole.”
He stares at me for a second, evidently surprised. I grin, glad he knows he doesn’t intimidate me, and then sit down on the couch and motion for him to sit next to me.

He hesitates, still looking confused, but he soon regains his confident and collected persona. Plastering his signature smirk to his face, he sits down next to me and drops his hand to my knee.

“You’re pretty, you know.” I laugh loudly and roll my eyes, seeing straight through him. He’s losing mystique by the second; I’m figuring him right out. He’s the archetypal womaniser and he’s got the process perfected down to a tee: hit on the girl unabashedly to get an idea of just how easy she’ll be, give her a lift home so she feels like she owes something and then seduce her by giving crappy compliments.

I’m not sure how he thinks threatening me and calling me a bitch will help his case though. Maybe he thinks I’m attracted to the whole bad boy image he thinks he’s got going on.

“Yeah, you said,” I point out, “Nice try, but don’t try and flirt with me.”

“What are you talking about?” he asks, putting on an innocent smile.

“I’m not like those other girls.”

“What other girls?”

“I’m not gonna sleep with you if that’s what you’re after,” I assure.

“Why would you think that’s what I’m after?”

“Isn’t it?” I raise my eyebrows. He doesn’t reply for a minute, and then he lets out a small laugh.

“Well I wouldn’t be opposed to it,” he admits, running a hand through his unruly hair.

“Charlie, I know the girls at school are all over you and you’re used to getting everything you want, but I’m not-” I don’t get a chance to finish speaking because Charlie leaps up and steps away from me, his demeanour instantly changing.

“I’m not used to getting everything I want. You don’t know shit about me Noelle.” I can’t decide whether he’s mad at me, or if he naturally speaks in an aggressive manner.

“What is the deal with you?” I question casually.

“Nothing,” he cries, getting defensive again.

“One minute you’re pissed off with me, then you’re trying it on with me, then you’re being a jerk and then you’re pissed off again.”

“You’re speaking to me like shit. Of course I’m gonna get pissed off with you.”

“Are you serious?” I ask, laughing loudly, “You’ve been nothing but obnoxious. All I’ve done is stick up for myself, and for other people, when you’re being a jerk.”

“That’s what you’re calling it,” he scoffs.

“If all you’re gonna do is argue with me, can you leave?” I snap. Charlie sighs, looking like he’s having some sort of internal conflict. He is quiet for a while and then he sits down next to me and pulls his bottom lip between his teeth.

“My band is playing in a bar downtown this weekend. I’d really like it if you came to watch,” he says sincerely, looking down at the ground almost like he’s nervous. “We’re really good,” he adds quickly, “I promise.”

He looks up at me with hopeful eyes and an innocent smile I can’t say no to.

“Sure, I’ll come.”

-

Soon after dinner, Charlie leaves for band practice. According to him, they’re going to be the next big thing, and I’m excited for the weekend so that I can see for myself. Shortly after leaving, Charlie texts me the address of the bar and says he’ll tell the bouncer to let me in.

At the bottom of the message is the address. I wonder how Charlie will manage to get me into this bar, since legally you have to be 21 and I’m only sixteen. Charlie himself has only just turned eighteen, so god knows how he managed to get the band a fortnightly gig there. Then again, this is Charlie Hemmingway. No matter how much he disagrees, it does seem like he gets everything he wants.

-

By the time Saturday has arrived, I’ve figured out an excuse to tell my dad, since there’s no way in hell he’d let me go to a bar, even more so if he knows about Charlie and his reputation. I tell my dad I’m hanging out with a girl from school and at first he’s surprised, due to the fact I lost all interest in socialising back in Marietta, but he simply gives me some cash for dinner and doesn’t question it. He’s not the sort of person to check out my story to see if I’m lying anyway. Either he’s so gullible he believes everything I tell him, or he simply doesn’t care.

I’m not a big fan of getting dolled up, but I figure that I should look like I at least made an effort. I settle for a simple black short skirt and a white blouse tucked in, but I can’t bring myself to wear on my feet anything other than my torn up old Converse - comfort over glamour any day. Still, I put on more makeup than I usually would so that I look a bit older.

It is a warm autumn evening outside and a ten minute walk to the main road, where I manage to hail a cab. Charlie offered to pick me up, but I prefer to make my own way there. I don’t want to feel as though I owe Charlie anything.

After paying the cab driver and then turning down the volume on my headphones so that I can hear, I walk in the direction of the two bouncers by the entrance.

“Do you have any I.D?” queries the younger of the two guys, who looks only a few years older than Charlie.

“I’m Noelle Rosenberg,” I tell them, “Charlie said he told you about me?” The two bouncers look at each other and smirk.

“You’re Noelle?” the younger one asks, raising his eyebrows.

“Yeah,” I assure, confused. The two bouncers exchange sceptical looks, but then the younger one extends his hand.

“I’m Nick, a mate of Charlie’s,” he greets, shaking my hand, “Charlie usually likes older girls. You’ve
gotta be younger than him, right? How old are you? Seventeen?”

“Sixteen,” I correct, “I skipped a year at school.”

“So you’re pretty smart then, huh?”

“Apparently not or she wouldn’t be hanging out with Charlie,” the older bouncer remarks, laughing a
bit.

“Why do you say that?” I ask.

“Charlie’s no saint, to put it lightly,” Nick explains.

“He’s not that bad, is he?”

“Nah, he’s alright. I like him. Just watch yourself because that boy doesn’t half get himself into some shit.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“You’ll be fine. He just lets his ego get ahead of him sometimes. He’s real talented but he gets caught up in the booze and the girls and the idea of fame.”

“Does he bring a lot of girls here?”

“Umm…sometimes. The guys are kind of local celebrities so a lot of older girls come to the shows. He usually ends up going home with one of them. He’s brought a couple of girls his age in. Do you know Tay Anderson? I think she’s goes to your school.”

“Yeah I know of her,” I say, picturing the stunning bright blonde-haired girl I sometimes see Charlie with.

“Yeah, she sometimes comes here with her friends. She’s alright and she’s quite a bit classier than some of the girls I see him with. Like no doubt they’re hooking up, but she doesn’t throw herself at him the way some girls do. Anyway, we won’t keep you any longer. Turn right and it’s the first door on the left. Hopefully, we’ll see you around here again.”

I head into the bar and follow the directions that Nick gave, finding myself in a room with a stage at the front where another local band is currently playing. It’s dark and crowded with people but there is a bar running along from the door and down the right hand side of the room. Most people are sat at the bar or dancing and drunkenly falling about in the centre of the room, but there are a few tables dotted around the outside of the room. I head to one near the stage and sit down.

Once the band on stage finish, it is not long before I see Adam, Mason, Stan and Harvey come on stage, followed by Charlie. They are greeted by shouts from rowdy drunk guys and cheers from a group of immodestly dressed girls in the corner. Charlie glances at the group of girls, who I reckon must be in their early twenties, and smirks.

The moment he starts to sing though, I am caught in a trance. His voice is powerful and therapeutic and weirdly comforting. The songs are quite dark but well-written with catchy guitar hooks and fast-paced drum beats. The entire band plays with so much energy and enthusiasm but every word Charlie sings is laced with passion and emotion and it doesn’t take me long to realise this is what he’s born to do.