Finding Charlie

The last time I saw Charlie, he was standing next to a large oak tree, shirtless and tan, with his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. His blonde hair was blowing in the wind. He bent over, snatched a blade of grass to chew on, then turned and walked away.

If only I had known that would be the last time I saw him, I would have stayed. I would have chased after him and not allowed him to walk away. As it stands now, there is absolutely nothing I can do to change what happened.

I climbed into my car as he walked off, and headed towards town. Although I didn't really want to leave Charlie, I also didn't want to stay and not explore my options. High school was over. The future was ahead, bright and mysterious. I begged Charlie to come with me. I told him he could work as a mechanic anywhere, and we could get a place together, but he wasn't interested in leaving our home town. I knew long distance wouldn't work, so I grudgingly ended our relationship. Charlie didn't bat an eye when I broke up with him, even though I was crying my heart out.

After two months, I went home for a weekend visit. I told my parents that I went home to see them, but in reality I wanted to see how Charlie was doing. I was disappointed that he wasn't around anywhere and wouldn't answer his phone or texts, but I figured he was just angry with me. My parents hadn't seen him since we had split up, but that wasn't a big surprise.

When the semester ended, I rushed home. I was beginning to get very concerned, because I still hadn't gotten a response from Charlie. I figured he might at least have contacted me to tell me to stop bothering him, but he never did.

After a good night's sleep, I went off for a walk. I walked out to the giant oak tree ~ the last place that I had seen him. There he was, sitting beneath the oak tree drinking a Coca-Cola. When I approached him, he glanced in my direction, took a deep breath, and stood up. "I missed you, Charlie," I told him, smiling at him. He shook his head at me and walked off. "Wait," I called after him, but he wouldn't stop. I tried to keep up, but he soon disappeared into the woods.

I tried for days to run into him again, but it didn't happen. Finally, I decided my best course of action would be to go to his house. I knocked and knocked, but no one answered. I headed around to the back yard, and that's where I spotted his dad. "Mr. Walters," I called, "do you know where Charlie is?" I asked, approaching him. He gave me a look that would give ice water chills. I took a couple of steps back from that hard, stony stare. I had always gotten along with Charlie's dad, so I didn't know why he was so angry with me.

"You really want to know where Charlie is, Girl? Do you really want to know?" he growled.

"Yes, please, Sir," I stammered.

He pointed his wrench towards the back of the property. "He's in the woods over yonder," he responded through gritted teeth. "Now get the hell out of my sight before I make you sorry you ever showed up here!"

I ran off past him towards the woods. I didn't stop until I reached the point where the field ended and the woods began. There, I stopped so suddenly that I nearly fell over. A cross was planted right on the line where the forest began. On it was inscribed Charlie's name, birthdate, and what could only be a death date. It was dated the day that I left for school.

I fell to my knees, sobbing and crying. Hours later, weak, dehydrated, and in great despair, I slowly headed back towards the house. "What happened?" I asked his dad as soon as I was close enough for him to hear. My eyes were red and puffy, and nose was so stuffy that my voice sounded odd even to my own ears. "You left him ~ broke his heart, you did. He came home and got his rifle. Said he was going hunting, but we heard the shot loud and clear. No matter how fast we got to him, nothing could have been done. All your fault, I hope you know!"

I ran home in tears. I asked my parents why no one had told me about Charlie. They tried to make it okay that they hadn't told me, stating that they didn't want to be the cause of anything going wrong at school.

That night, I returned to Charlie's grave. This time, I was prepared. I had snatched my mother's sleeping pills from the medicine cabinet, and I sat next to Charlie, swallowing the pills and sipping the bottle of whiskey I had nicked from my dad's stash. I talked to Charlie until I could no longer make words that made sense. I laid on his grave, covered myself with the blanket I had brought, and drifted off. As I floated away from reality, I could once more see Charlie standing by that oak tree, just as beautiful as the day I left. Only this time I was running into his arms. This time we weren't splitting up ~ we were closer than ever and we would spend eternity together.