(Untitled)

[teenagerenegade]

For the second night, Charlie can't really sleep. It's not that he's not sleeping; he spent a couple of hours dozing on a sofa in the rec-room earlier in the day, but night comes and, suddenly, he's wide awake because, every time he closes his eyes, all he can see is Edmund's mouth and the way his hair slips into his eyes. For a while, in fading

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[little_moons]

I'm sitting in the yard smoking a cigarette, sweat pants riding low and no shirt, bed rumpled but wide awake when I see something moving in the trees. Max wanders ahead first, a goddamn menagerie following along behind him -- Walt and Dexter and even the goddamn pig snuffling around in the roots nearby.

I figure maybe it's just an animal, but in the faint lights coming from down the boardwalk, I see a flash of pale skin and brown hair, and I heave out a sigh, wandering closer and then dropping down next to him, tree bark scratching against my bare back, without a word.

[teenagerenegade]

It takes a moment for Charlie to look up from his hands but, when he does, he's grateful that it's Neil. He likes Neil. He's comfortable.

"Hey," he says, embarrassed by the way his voice gives a little bit. He clears his throat and then tries it again. "Hey."

[little_moons]

"Hey," I say, pretending like I don't notice the way his voice cracks, or the way that he looks like somebody died. Glancing down at the picture in his hand, I ask, "That your girl? She's cute."

[teenagerenegade]

"My girl? Yeah, I guess she was. I mean...she's not really anymore, is she?"

He holds the photo out so that Neil can look at it closer if he wants to. It's him and Susan in the back of his car, Susan in his lap, holding the camera at arm's length and they're both laughing. Charlie's got to figure that part of the reason that he feels so shitty is that he misses Susan, a little.