The Maroon Beret

-Sean-
I’m so nervous for today. Tomorrow is my birthday, and I had originally planned to come down to DC this morning to surprise Charlie with a romantic night. But instead, I’m here meeting a bunch of people at the hospital so that Charlie can prove that Kelsi never slept with me. I have no idea what her plan is, but Charlie is confident that she can catch Kelsi in a lie.

I’m here at the hospital earlier than the others. Even though my plan was ruined by this whole Kelsi thing, I still want to spend a little bit of time alone with Charlie. I walk through the doors and press the button for the elevator, but before the doors can open Charlie’s nurse spots me and calls my name.
“Mr. Couturier, I don’t think we ever officially met. I’m Charlie’s nurse, Christina.” She sticks out her hand and I shake it.
“It’s nice to meet you, Christina. But please, call me Sean.” I say.
“Well, Sean. You’re headed the wrong way if you’re here to see your fiancee. She’s in the sunroom right now talking to her brother.”
“Drew is here?” I ask, surprised.
“No.” She laughs. “He called her.”
“Oh, okay. Thank you, Christina.” I say, heading down the hallway towards the sunroom.

I open the door and I see Charlie sitting in the same chair she was in last time, with a phone to her ear. She’s smiling like crazy and laughing.
“I don’t believe you actually did that. I swear you Army men are crazy!”
She look up at me and I see surprise in her eyes. If at all possible, her smile grows even bigger.
“I want proof!” She laughs.
I sit down next to her and grab her free hand, bringing it to my lips.
“Okay, you do that.” She chuckles. “Hey Drew, Sean is here and I have to get ready for therapy in a couple of minutes.”
I’m kissing her fingers.
“Okay, here he is... Hey babe, drew wants to talk to you.” She says to me.
I quickly kiss her lips and take the phone from her.

“Hey Drew.” I say. “How’s Japan?”
“It’s pretty good, thanks.”
“What’s up?” I ask. He sighs.
“I need you to do me a favor.”
“Sure, anything.”
You can give me just a yes or no answer, but tell me the truth.” He says. “Is Charlie doing okay?”
“Yeah man, she is.” I say honestly. He breathes a sigh of relief.
“Thanks, Sean.”
“No problem. Anything else?”
“Nah. Just take care of my sister.” He says.
“I’m doing the best I can.”I promise.

I hand Charlie back the phone and she says a quick goodbye. After she hangs up, she focuses her attention solely on me.
“I thought you were coming later.” She says, lifting my fingers to her mouth and kissing them.
“Everyone else is coming later. But I figured I’d come now and spend some time with you. If that’s okay?” I respond nervously.
“Of course it’s okay!” She smiles. “I have therapy like right now, but I’d love it if you were there with me.”
“I think that would be a fantastic idea.” I say.

Just then, Christina comes into the sunroom and tells Charlie it’s time for therapy. I help her get into her wheelchair and push her out the door, following Christina towards the therapy room. When we get there, I help her up onto one of the treatment tables and she smiles at Christina.
“Before John comes over, can you take a picture of me and Sean?” Charlie asks with a wink.
“Of course.” Christina replies, taking Charlie’s phone.

We smile for one picture and then I decide I want another one of me kissing Charlie’s cheek. We’re all caught up in the moment when a man comes over with a velvet bag.
“Ah, Ms. Coleman. I see the fiancee is here today.” He says, placing the bag on the table.
“Yup! He’s going to help me with therapy.” Charlie says.
“Fantastic. Does he know what we’ll be doing?”
“He doesn’t have any idea.” Charlie is beaming. The man turns his attention to me for a second.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Couturier. I’m John, one of the physical therapists here. Would you mind helping me move a piece of equipment over?”
“It’s nice to meet you too, John.” I say. “And of course I will.”

He leads me over to another part of the room where we grab a small set of about five portable stairs. I’m not really sure what we’re going to be doing with them, but I help him pick them up. I almost run into one of the treatment tables since he has me walking backwards, but we finally make it over to the open space where he wants us to be and we put them down.

“Let’s get started.” I hear Charlie say behind me. I turn around and gasp, my eyes instantly filling with tears.

Charlie is standing up. On two legs. I slowly walk over to her and my eyes drift over her whole body. I catch myself staring at the prosthetic on her leg.

“You’re standing.” I say in complete shock. She giggles. “I don’t know whether to be incredibly excited and proud that you’re standing or completely hurt that you got your prosthetic and didn’t tell me.” I joke. She laughs out loud and I wrap my arms around her waist, planting a huge kiss on her lips. We both instinctively deepen it and my fingers find their way into her hair, holding her face close to mine. We don’t break apart until someone clears their throat and I remember that we’re not alone.

“Happy birthday.” Charlie says quietly.
“This is the greatest birthday present ever.” I kiss her forehead.
“You two are so cute, it’s sickening.” Christina says, and that’s when I notice she’s got Charlie’s phone in her hand and is pointing it at us. I guess she took a video of that. I smile and pull away from Charlie, marveling as she carefully walks over towards the set of stairs I just helped carry over. She holds onto my hand the entire way there and I love the feeling of being her support. When she reaches the stairs, she looks at me and squeezes my hand.
“You’re amazing.” I whisper, making her blush.

“Okay, Ms. Coleman. Let’s get up these steps.” John says, interrupting our almost-moment. “Mr. Couturier if you’ll stand behind her and make sure to catch her if she falls, that would be perfect.”
“I’ll always catch her if she falls.” I say honestly.
“My God, stop being the perfect man.” Christina says. Charlie laughs and I blush. I didn’t realize what I said made me the perfect man, but okay.
“How does it work?” I ask, fairly curious.
“It’s a simple hinge.” John explains. “When she lifts her leg, the knee part is free to bend with the help of gravity. Weather she’s walking normally or it’s bending more because she’s going up steps. And when she’s standing, it locks into place. There’s also a manual lock if she knows she’s going to be standing for a while. That gives her a little more stability.”
“That’s a lot more simple than I thought it would be.” I admit.
“Sometimes simplicity is what works the best.” He responds and we turn our attention back to my girl.

Charlie is holding onto the railings on either side of the steps so I place my body directly behind her.

“Alright Charlie, remember what we talked about yesterday. Focus on shifting your weight and distributing it evenly between your real leg and your prosthetic leg. Let’s start with the easier one, good leg up bad leg down.”

I have no idea what he’s talking about, but Charlie nods her head. She quickly looks at Christina holding her phone up and smiles at her. She takes a deep breath and focuses her attention towards the step in front of her. I’m completely amazed when she shifts all her weight to her prosthetic leg and lifts her right leg up onto the first step. She quickly stands up and her left leg comes with her. She does the same thing the entire way up and before I know it, she’s at the top. She turns around and smiles at me and all I want to do is kiss her.

She repeats the process backwards, coming back down the stairs with her prosthetic leg leading the way. On the fourth step she wobbles a bit and I put my arms on her hips to stabilize her. When she’s finally on the ground, I can’t help myself and I press my lips to hers.
“Amazing.” I mumble against her lips. She blushes and it’s one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen.
“Again.” John says, breaking us from our thoughts. Charlie repeats the process with little problems.
“Okay, Ms. Coleman. Now the opposite.” John says as she reaches the floor for a second time. “Mr. Couturier, be aware she will have more difficulties with this one. Only go up two steps please.”

Charlie takes a deep breath before picking up her left leg. I know I shouldn’t be since I did so much research, but I’m a little surprised when the prosthetic bends where her knee would be allowing her to place the sneaker-clad foot on the first step. She pushes up with her left leg and gets half way towards being on the step when she begins to tilt backwards. I put my hands on her back and stabilize her, gently helping her fully stand on the step. She tries again, going to the second step and again she tilts backwards. She sighs and I can tell she’s unhappy with it.

“It’ll get easier.” Christina says. “This is only your second time on the steps. You’ll get better.” She promises.
“I hope so.” Charlie says. I can hear the frustration in her voice. She turns around and faces me. I give her a smile and her face relaxes a little. She returns her gaze to the step in front of her and slowly lowers her right leg to the lower level, balancing on her bent prosthetic. She does fairly well and I can tell it eases the pain of messing up on the way up. As she’s lowering herself to the floor, she leans forward a little too much and my arms instantly wrap around her, steadying her body. Charlie lets out a frustrated groan and I chuckle a little, gaining an evil glare from my beautiful fiancee.

“What’s so funny?” She growls.
“You’re such a perfectionist. This is literally your second time walking up and down stairs with a prosthetic leg and you’re upset because you didn’t do it perfectly.” She rolls her eyes but I see a hint of a smile on her lips.
“I’m doing it again.” She declares, turning back to the stairs. This second time she leans backwards less on the way up, and doesn’t lean forward on the way back down. She’s still frustrated that it wasn’t perfect, but not as much since she did a little bit better.

“You’re doing fantastic, Charlie.” Christina says, reassuring her.
“Thanks I guess.” She frowns, turning herself around and staring at the steps again.
“You can do it again if you’d like, but then that’s it for today.” John says.

Charlie hesitantly brings her left leg up to the step and presses up. I keep my hand on her back, but she only leans backwards slightly.
“Fantastic, baby.” I say. She turns her head over her shoulder and sends a small smile to me. I can tell she’s unhappy, though, since it still isn’t perfect.
The next step is the same, with her only leaning backwards slightly.
“Alright, come back down and we’ll be done for the day.” John says.

Charlie moves to step down, but she bends a little too much and her prosthetic knee buckles. She falls directly into my chest and lets out an angry scream. I look at her face and see tears forming in her eyes. They are quickly starting to stream down her face and I know she’s given up for the day. I scoop her into my arms and carry her back to the treatment table, waving off both Christina and John. I place her on the table and sit next to her, pulling her into my arms. She begins shaking and I can hear her crying.

“Talk to me.” I say softly once she begins to calm down.
“I just want to be normal.” She sniffles.
“You’ll get there, Charlie.” I reassure her. “This is still new to you. It’s okay, love.”
“Why did this happen to me?” She asks and my heart breaks.
“I don’t know, baby.” I admit. “But don’t let the little things get you down. You’re strong enough to get through this and before you know it, this will be normal.” She nuzzles her face into my chest and takes a deep breath. I begin stroking her hair. “You’re so strong, Charlie. You amaze me every day. I feel like the luckiest man in the world because I get a front row seat to watching you succeed. I love you so much, and I’ll always be here for you.”
“I love you too, Sean.” She says. I cup her chin and lift it up, staring straight into her eyes.
“Believe in yourself. Please.” I beg her. She nods her head.
“Okay.”
I press my lips softly to hers.
“Now show me how you take this off.” I say after we pull apart.
She smiles slightly and begins explaining how to take it off. I have a feeling there will be days when she’s too tired to do it herself, so it’s important that I know what to do.

By the time she’s done taking it off, she’s pretty much back to normal. Christina reappears with Charlie’s wheelchair and gives me a thankful smile. I help her get into the chair and follow Christina out the door. We ride the elevator up to Charlie’s room in silence. When we get to Charlie’s room, Christina finally speaks.
“Your meeting is going to be in the sunroom in twenty minutes. Do you want me to stay and help you change, or are you okay doing it with Sean?” She asks Charlie.
“Sean can help me.” She responds. “Thank you, Christina.”
“No problem. Do you want me to come back and get you later, or will you be okay getting down there?”
“You said we’re going to the sunroom?” Charlie asks. Christina nods. “We can get there on our own.”
Christina sends me another small smile before exiting the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

“Help me up on the bed?” Charlie asks. Instead of helping her, I simply scoop her up in my arms and place her on the bed. She giggles. “I’m so used to Christina helping me I forget you can just do that.” I kiss her forehead. “I have a pair of gray yoga pants in the top drawr and a dark green tank top in the second one.” She says, pointing to the dresser on the other side of the room. I walk over and grab the garments from the drawers. When I turn back around, I’m pleasantly surprised to see Charlie peeling her shirt over her head. She grabs the shorts she’s already taken off and tosses both at the laundry basket, flexing her flat stomach. My eyes linger on the sports bra she’s wearing and my mouth goes dry. “Are you going to stare or are you going to help me get dressed?” She asks.

“Charlie, I haven’t seen your naked body in almost six months. I’m going to stare.” I admit, crossing the room to her. My eyes travel back down her slender body and rest on her hips. She’s wearing a tiny thong and I feel myself twitch a bit. Involuntarily, I let out a soft groan and she laughs, grabbing the tank top from my hand. She starts to put it on, but I stop her, grabbing her hands and placing them on my chest. My hands gently roam her body before I finish putting her shirt on for her. My hands rest on her hips and I give them a gentle squeeze. “God you’re so sexy.” I breathe into her ear. Her breath hitches and I feel myself growing hard. I wrap the string of her thong between my fingers and start placing gentle kisses down her neck.
“Sean, we have to be in the sunroom soon.” She says, though I can tell she’s struggling with her words. “And I don’t think you really want to do this here.”
“You’re right.” I sigh, releasing my fingers and pulling my lips away from her neck. “But as soon as you’re back home, we’re spending an entire day in bed together.” She moans lightly.

It kills me, but I pull away and slide her yoga pants up her legs. When they’re on, she slides her right foot into her shoe and I put her back into her wheelchair. We head out the door and down the elevator. When we get to the sunroom, I help her move to the couch and then sit down next to her. She carefully drapes a light blanket over her legs, hiding them from the scrutiny she is likely to receive from our company.

“Help me decide what to post from today.” She says, pulling out her phone.

We go through the pictures and videos that Christina took during the therapy session and there are so many that I want for myself.

We decide on a couple, and she gets to work putting them on her social media sites. The first one is the video of me seeing her standing for the first time. I know I’ll probably get chirped for my reaction, but I honestly don’t even care anymore. The second is a picture of her mid-step on her way up the stairs. I’ve got my hands on her hips and you can’t see her face, but I’m smiling. The third is her at the top of the steps staring down at me. Opposite from the previous picture, you can’t see my face but she’s smiling. The fourth is right after she stumbled the first time, and I was making fun of her for being a perfectionist. She’s halfway through rolling her eyes and I’m laughing. The final picture is one from the end of the session after I had scooped her into my arms. Fortunately you can’t tell that she was upset, but it’s really sweet.

Just as she’s posting the last picture, the door opens. Paul walks in with Ted Martinson, the team’s head lawyer. They both say hello to me and Paul pulls Charlie into a big hug. I introduce Charlie and Ted, and we begin discussing what is going to happen. The next person to ender the room is Malakai Brown, the reporter who Kelsi told her story to. The organization decided that it would be best if he knew the truth, that way he could run a follow-up story telling the truth. If people read that he rescinded his pervious story, they are more likely to believe him than another reporter. I don’t really trust him, since he’s a reporter, but I understand why he’s here. I make sure he sits next to me, so I can keep an eye on the notes he takes. And Ted makes him sign an agreement that he will write the article, Paul will approve of it, and then he will never speak of anything else said in this meeting ever again. The civil court judge arrives next, and he is the one who will be making the final ruling on whether or not Kelsi has been telling the truth.

Finally, Kelsi arrives with a man who introduces himself as Patrick Bassani, her lawyer. He seems like a total rookie, and it settles my stomach a little bit. But as soon as Kelsi walked through the door I tensed up, and I know Charlie can feel it. Her hand finds its way to my back and she begins rubbing her fingers in small circles. It relaxes me a little, but not enough.

Brown takes out his audio recorder and sets it on the table. He also pulls out his laptop and opens a document ready to take notes.
“Okay, I think we all know what we’re here for.” Paul begins. “We are going to figure out the truth behind these audacious allegations and finally put this matter to rest.”
“Ms. Lyndon is completely adamant that her ‘allegations’ are the truth-” Bassani starts to argue.
“That’s why I asked for this.” Charlie interrupts. “As Sean’s fiancee, would you all agree that I am the most qualified person to discuss his sex life?”
I blush. She’s definitely taken off the kid’s gloves. The men agree, but Kelsi is shooting daggers from her eyes.
“As long as you all agree that I hold that distinction, I think we can very easily sort this out.”
“How?” Kelsi snarls. It’s the first time she’s said anything and I honestly want to punch her. I won’t.... But I want to.

“Well, sweetheart. You’re going to share all of the details you remember from your escapades with my fiancee. I’ve actually written down a couple of tendencies Sean has on this paper.” Charlie says, pulling out a paper and handing it to the judge. “Some of them are the kinds of things you would only know about if you’ve had a long-standing relationship like you claim. But there are a couple that you would mention even if you’ve only slept with him once. Believe me when I say they are...... unique. And anyone who has ever been in bed with him would know them.”

I know my face is scarlet red. I had no idea this was her plan.
Kelsi has paled. “I-I don’t really remember specific details.” She stutters.
“Sean’s the kind of guy you never forget. Now tell me, are you going to give up that easily or are you going to think hard and ‘remember’ those details?” There’s venom in Charlie’s voice and it’s honestly incredibly sexy. Despite the fact that she’s encouraging this psycho to share details about the sex she never had with me.

“Fine.” Kelsi huffs. “The first time was after a loss. He was at the bar with some of the other players and he was angry. I flirted with him a little bit, he flirted back. Then we got separated because Zac Rinaldo started talking to me. I saw Sean leaving and I followed him to his car. I offered him my.... [i]services[/i] and he agreed. He took me to his apartment and we ended up fucking. It was incredibly rough and we went three times. The next morning, he asked me for my number and told me he would call me.”

This girl is fucking crazy. I know it, Paul knows it, and thankfully Charlie knows it. I can see on her face that she likes what Kelsi said. She already has something to prove that Kelsi is lying, and I know it too.

“Okay.” Charlie says. “Now tell me, in the couple of months you claim you were sleeping together, was it just occasionally or was it often?”
“Often.” Kelsi says. “Probably at least three times a week.”
“So you should know Sean’s tendencies then, huh? What he likes after a win, what he likes after a loss? I know he had a long road trip during that time. How was he when he came home? How often did you suck his dick?” There’s a fire in Charlie’s eyes. I’m slightly embarrassed by the fact that she’s bringing all of this stuff up, but I ignore it. Charlie is on a mission and I know not to get in her way.

“After a loss he was the roughest.” Kelsi says. “He would get so upset, all he wanted was release. He would usually start by making me suck his dick. Then he would fuck me once from behind and once standing up.”

Brown is furiously taking notes and I give him a deadly stare. This shit better not end up in any news stories.

“After a win he would be more excited. He ate me out a couple of times, followed by hard, yet gentle fucking. And there was only one long road trip, but when he came home that’s when he was the most gentle. It was more like love making.”

“Anything else you’d like to add?” Charlie asks. A normal person might not sense the taunting in her voice, but I know Charlie well enough that I know she’s got more than enough to pummel Kelsi into the ground. “Any tendencies he had? Anything he really liked that you did?”

Kelsi stares at Charlie for a second before answering. “He loved when I sucked his dick. Especially after a loss. He practically begged me for it, just to make him happy again. He also seemed to love fucking me from behind. I’m pretty sure he left bruises on my ass from smacking it. And he loved my nipples. Even if he wasn’t sucking on them, he would play with them.” She adds.

“Done?” Charlie asks.
“Yes.” Kelsi responds.

“Great.” Charlie turns to the other men in the room. “Here’s where you all should take note. Most of what I’m about to say is actually written on that piece of paper I gave to Judge Gibson. Judge, you can read it and share it with the rest of the group if you’d like, but it just solidifies what I’m about to say anyway.” She turns her attention back to Kelsi. “I was initially going to ask you to leave while I explain to everyone else why you’re a liar. I don’t think you deserve to know Sean’s tendencies in bed. But to be completely honest, I really want to see the look on your face when I sit here and prove that you have never slept with Sean. So here it goes.

“You got four things right in your whole discussion, and honestly they’re things most men enjoy, so you most likely got lucky. Sean enjoys basic sex after a win, loves nipples and blow jobs, and [i]loves[/i] fucking from behind. But he’s an ass grabber, not an ass smacker. I’ve never once even had a red mark from his hand.

“Now here’s where you’re wrong. Get ready because it’s a long list. Sean is the most aggressive and rough when he comes home from a long road trip. He misses that personal connection, so that’s usually when he takes over everything. And leaves me sore the next morning.... and for a couple of days after that.” She chuckles. “He’s the most romantic after a loss, though. Huge mistake you made there. Unlike most guys, Sean doesn’t get angry in bed after a loss. He gets apologetic. Even if he played a fantastic game personally, he takes losses hard. Sean would [i]never[/i] let you suck his dick after a loss. It’s one of his cardinal rules. If the team didn’t win, he doesn’t deserve that pleasure. Instead, he usually gives instead of takes. Now, you mentioned him eating you out a couple of times. I’m not going to get into specifics with you, because like I said you don’t deserve it, but there’s a certain thing Sean does with his tongue that..... let’s just say you definitely wouldn’t have left that detail out.” She blushes and I know exactly what she’s talking about. I had no idea she loved it that much, but now I’ll be sure to do it often.

“Finally, there are a couple of things you left out that someone who’s slept with Sean as much as you [i]claim[/i] would definitely know.

“Sean loves morning sex. Craves it, and has to start his day with it if he can. He’s actually been late to practice a couple of times because he just had to have it in the morning. It’s slow and romantic every time. Sean also loves shower sex at night, which you never even mentioned once. There’s no way you simply forgot to mention it, because quite honestly it’s completely mind blowing. And finally, you never once mentioned Sean’s..... kinky side.”

I feel my face flush and I’m completely embarrassed that she’s bringing this up.

“Sean loves mirrors.” Charlie admits. “The one in the bathroom, the one in the bedroom, even the one in the kitchen a couple of times. They drive him crazy.”

I know I’m beet red. I’ll admit it, I love watching myself fuck Charlie in a mirror. The sight of my cock disappearing inside her turns me on like you wouldn’t even believe. Everyone has a kinky side to them, and that’s mine. I think it’s pretty tame, compared to some of the things I’ve heard my teammates talk about.

“Now, considering how much you got wrong and how much you didn’t even mention at all.... I think it’s safe to say you’re completely full of shit and it’s time for you to disappear from our lives for good.” Snarky Charlie is back, and this time she drew blood.

Judge Gibson opens the paper Charlie handed to him and scans it quickly. Paul clears his throat. I’m sure that was as awkward for him as it was for me, seeing as he’s essentially my boss.

“After listening to your stories and reading this paper, I’m going to go ahead and side with Mr. Couturier and Ms. Coleman.” The judge says. “Ms. Lyndon, I am going to order that you no longer have any contact with either of them. I am going to bump your restraining order to the next level, and I am going to mandate that you sign a contract stating that you will never attempt to pull anything like this again. You will also issue a public apology to both Mr. Couturier and Ms. Coleman, as well as the Flyers organization for your actions. I haven’t decided what other legal actions I will take, but I will review this and get back to you in a couple of days.”

Charlie, Paul, Ted and I all let out a visible collective sigh of relief. The judge is ruling in our favor. This is going to be over, and we’re going to win.

“This is an outrage!” Kelsi screams. “Everything I said was the truth! This bitch probably paid you off to take her side!”

Judge Gibson motions to the door and two security officers come in.

“Sean, baby. Please.” Kelsi begs, getting up and grabbing my wrist. “You don’t want to be with someone like [i]her[/i]. I mean, what’s she got to offer you? With her one leg and all those ugly scars?” I tense up. “She’s not pretty enough to be your wife. You deserve a woman who will always look perfect.” I rip my wrist out of her grasp and am so thankful when the security officers escort her out the door.
“I apologize for her actions.” Her lawyer says awkwardly before he chases after her.
Judge Gibson gives us a short nod and follows them.

“I definitely have what I need.” Brown says, closing his laptop and packing his stuff away. “I apologize for the article I wrote, Mr. Couturier. I realize now that I didn’t have all the facts, and that was inappropriate and unprofessional of me. I promise I will make this right.” With that, he shakes all of our hands and leaves.

As the door shuts, I turn to Paul and Ted who are both staring at me.

“Well.... Now that you guys know way more about me than you ever wanted to....” I start. They both laugh.

“I’m sorry if that made you uncomfortable.” Charlie says.
“It kinda did.” I admit. “But I understand why you did it.”
“You do?” She asks.
“Yeah. I mean, who knows me better than my fiancee? If she couldn’t say the truth about what I’m like.... [i]intimately,[/i] then it’s obvious she was lying. I just wish I had a bit of a warning.”
“Next time I’ll be sure to tell you in advanced when I decide to share secrets about what you’re like in bed.” She laughs.
“How about there is no next time?” Paul chuckles.
“I’d be okay with that, too.” I say.

“I’m glad everything worked out, Sean.” Paul says as he stands up. “I never doubted you, but it’s certainly going to make my life a lot easier now that this is over.”
“Believe me, no one is more relieved about that than me.” I reply.
He and Ted both shake my hand and say goodbye to Charlie before heading for the door.

Once it shuts, I let out a long sigh and turn towards Charlie.
“I love you so much.” I say.
“Love you too.” She mumbles, looking down.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” I ask, threading my fingers between hers.
She sighs a little and lifts her eyes to meet mine. They’re filled with sadness for a brief second and then they’re back to normal.
“Nothing.” She says, obviously trying to cover something up.
“Talk to me, Charlie.” I say.
“I’m fine, Sean. I’m just tired is all.” She insists, pressing her lips to mine.
I know she’s lying to me, but I decide not to push it.

Just like after the school bombing, she’ll come to me when she’s ready.

Notes

By far the longest single piece I've ever written.

Hope you guys enjoy it.