Five: Charlie

If anyone asked Charlie what he remembered from the party at his place he would say not much. This wouldn’t be any stretch of the truth. He didn’t recall stumbling in through the front door, tripping over the pile of shoes. He definitely didn’t remember that it was Lucy and Micah that found him and helped him up into the living room. There was no recollection of them propping him up against the wall, hoping he would sober up just a little. They tried to talk to him, but he wasn’t responding. His eyes were vacant and almost bored their their conversation. Lucy laughed and said in her sweet little British accent, “Oh, this is so like you, Charlie.”

He didn’t remember when they left him to join all their friends during the count down to midnight. Lucy and Micah wrapped their arms around each other and whispered ‘I love yous’ in French. They were a cute couple, but Charlie remembered standing against the wall, thinking about how sad it was that they weren’t going to last. He could see it in the way Micah pulled her closer while they danced and the way Lucy spun out of his arms to wave at her friends. But he forgot what happened after someone handed him a shot. It took it minutes before the clock struck midnight.

Charlie grabbed a girl and began to kiss her hard. At first she let him, but made no attempt to kiss him back. When he pulled away for a second she asked, “Aren’t you gay?” When he kissed her again she reciprocated it. They fell against the wall and touched each others’ bodies without hesitation. None of this Charlie would have believed actually happened if Parker hadn’t caught it on camera.

Parker also captured the point when Charlie left the girl and found a boy with two shots in his hand. Distracting the boy with a kiss, Charlie slipped one shot from his hand and whispered something into his ear. No one, with the exception of that boy, would ever know what Charlie said that night. Not even Charlie.

Charlie was a mess. He hadn’t shaved or showered. His golden blonde curls were heavy under the weight of their uncleanliness. The red lipstick from the girl he made out with had smudged around his mouth, but he had no idea. His shirt and jeans were damp with melted snow. His hands were red from the cold. He’d come into the house without a jacket, which he had definitely left the house with earlier that day. His cellphone was gone too. Neither would be seen again.

Nobody, not even Charlie, was sure if his condition was only alcohol induced or if there were some chemicals added to the mix. His eyes would focused on nothing. He pulled a pair of aviator glasses from his back pocket and put them on with shaking hands. They had been bent from falling on them at some point during the night, but he wore them anyway.

People flocked to Charlie, wanting to know where he’d been, how he was doing, if he wanted another drink. They danced with him and put their lips to his mouth, to cheeks. They handed him more drinks and never once thought enough was enough. He was about to take a sixth or seventh shot when Parker walked over and interrupted with a simple, “yo.” Charlie looked up at him. This was something he remembered. He almost wished he couldn’t, but Charlie could recall the entire scene that followed.

“Charles. Where you been, dude?” Parker asked. His voice was sympathetic, but Charlie knew better than that. He kissed Parker on the cheek and said, “Happy New Year!”

Parker wrapped an arm around his shoulder and whispered, “Dude, let’s go talk some where.”

Charlie raised his shot glass and said, “There’s nothing to talk about, babe. It’s a new year. Every thing’s in the past now.” He was about to bring the glass to his lips, but someone pulled the glasses from his face, knocking the alcohol out of his hand and all over the floor. He glared at Parker before realizing the only thing in Parker’s hand was his video camera. The one holding his sun glasses was Stella.

She was wearing a Germs t-shirt that he’s seen before. Charlie knew it wasn’t hers. Her hair was messy, tangled and unwashed. When she took one step toward him he took two steps backward. Despite her composed face and steady hands, he could tell she was furious. Even completely wasted he could see it in her eyes.

He wanted to tell her that he was glad to see her, that she looked really good, that she looked healthy. Charlie wanted to kiss her face and hug her and tell her to stay. But he feared he would look guilty. It occurred to him that she already knew everything, before he even said a word.

The way her eyes were baring straight into him frightened Charlie. He backed up two steps more, bumping into people he didn’t know. Stella just stood there, reading him like she’d always been able to do with such ease. All of his secrets would be exposed if he waited there for just a minute longer. Before she could say anything to him, Charlie turned around and pushed his way into the group of dancing people. He found a boy that he remembered, whose name he forgot, and dance with him. He turned the boy between him and Stella. He watched as Lucy handed her a bottle of rum. She drank it straight and gave up, disappearing into the kitchen.