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.You should have just told me that you were gay.I noticed the way you acted around each other and the way he looked at you.”“I'm not gay,” Charlie snapped, “and it's too late now.We're leaving in the morning.”“Charlie, you can talk to me,” she said, reaching out and touching his arm gently, “I'm your mother.”Bowing his head, he could feel more tears starting to collect along his lash line but he didn't want to let them out.It's too late to cry.“It was complicated,” Charlie whispered, “I didn't plan it.”“Come here,” she sighed, pulling Charlie into a tight hug, “I love you no matter what you do.Oliver is a nice boy.”But it's too late.Charlie wanted to pull away and run back into the street to hold him and never let go, but he stopped himself.He knew it would only make things harder than they already were.“I'd better finish packing,” Charlie said, pulling away from his mother.“You can stay in touch with him,” she suggested, “and visit.Where we're going is only half a day's drive.”Smiling, Charlie admired his mother's optimism because as far as he was concerned, Oliver might as well be in on the other side of the world.What they had wouldn't work down the phone or with the occasional visit.Heading into his bedroom to collect the socks that had found their way under his bed, he tried to convince himself their weird relationship was doomed from their very first meeting, but even as he did, he knew he was trying to kid himself.I really do love him.Chapter 25As he stood in the middle of the apartment, clutching his bags, he could feel the sleep tormenting him in the back of his mind.He'd spent the majority of the night drifting in and out of a restless sleep.Each time he closed his eyes, Oliver's face would burn loudly in his mind.“Where's Coralado?” Poppy cried, dragging her bag from the bedroom, “Will the house be pink?”“It's called Colorado sweetie.It's a couple of states over, and I don't know if Amber's house is pink or not.”This didn't surprise Charlie.She'd never mentioned an 'Amber' before and she had been vague about how well she really knew her.He doubted she even knew what the front of her house looked like.It made Charlie realize that they could have ended up at Amber's instead of Aunt Evelyn's and he might not have ever met Oliver.Maybe that would have been a good thing.“I hope it is pink,” Poppy sighed as she dragged her bag next to Charlie before sitting on it.“We'll have to wait and see,” their mother snapped, glancing at her watch nervously, “that taxi should be here by now.”Charlie clutched his hands tighter around his bag as he stared around the apartment.He couldn't look at the paint on the walls or the furniture without thinking about Oliver.Dammit, stop wasting your thoughts.A horn beeping outside echoed up the staircase and hit Charlie.“The cab's here,” she cried, grabbing her bag and running down the stairs “Charlie, grab Poppy's bag.”Charlie picked up his sisters bag as she ran excitedly towards the door after her mother, but he didn't follow.Instead, he looked slowly around the apartment.“Charlie! What are you doing? We need to go!”“I'm coming,” Charlie sighed.How did it come to this? He switched the lights off, and slowly walked down the pink staircase, closing the door with a loud thud.Why does it always come to this?As the cab drove through Surf Bay, Charlie sunk down into his seat.He didn't want Oliver or Porter to spot him making a backdoor exit.When they drove past the Surf Club, he was suddenly filled with guilt for not even saying goodbye to Porter.The way I've acted these last few days, I'm surprised he didn't sack me.When they drove past Aunt Evelyn's pink house, the guilt grew even deeper.He noticed his mother glance the other way and fix her eyes on something in the distance.She had been there in a time when they really needed her, and they weren't even saying goodbye to her.This isn't right.“Can you drive a bit faster please?” his mother asked, glancing nervously at her watch.“There is a speed limit y’know,” the driver snapped.He mumbled something that sounded like 'damn tourists' under his breath as Charlie was sure he felt the cab slow down.“The train leaves in 15 minutes,” she fidgeted in her seat, “we can't miss it.”Maybe that wouldn't be so bad.As they headed up the winding cliff side road, they drove past the place where Oliver and Charlie had sat drinking wine and watching the small town until the sun rose, but he couldn't bring himself to look.It was like he was being taken on a tour to remind him of all the happy times he'd had in Surf Bay.When they reached the other side of the cliff and the cab started to descend towards the train station, Charlie could feel his stomach bubbling with guilt.“What sort of work are you doing in Colorado?” Charlie asked, trying to distract his mind.“She said it's a cleaning job in a factory of some sort,” looking ahead out of the cab window, “I think she said it manufactures tinned food.I could be wrong.”Well I'm glad you know so much about our new life.When the cab finally pulled up outside of the train station, they had just over 5 minutes to unload their luggage and find their train.Even by his mother's usual standards, they were cutting things fine.“Here,” she thrust the cash into the driver's hand, “keep the change.”Charlie wanted to roll his eyes, but it didn't surprise him that his mother was being so loose with the money that her friend had wired.She was the type of woman who never had money, but when she did, she didn't know what to do with it.That's what got us into this mess.“Come on kids,” she cried as they ran across the train station car park towards the platforms, “we don't have long.”Carrying both his and Poppy's bags, he joined his mother in jogging across the car park, but when he saw a familiar silver sports car out of the corner of his eye, he stopped dead in his tracks and the bags slid out of his hands.Loads of people must have that car.He paused, raising a hand to his brow to shield his eyes from the bright sunlight as his heart thumped faster than it ever had before.“Charlie!” his mother screamed, “We don't have time for sightseeing!”Charlie snapped back and glanced at his mother who was dragging Poppy across the car park yards ahead.Quickly, his eyes darted back to the silver car, and as he squinted trying to see through the tinted windows, the door suddenly opened and the last person he wanted to see jumped out.The thumping in his chest sped up before stopping completely as he held his breath.Oliver slammed the door of his car and ran across the hot asphalt towards him.No.Not this.Not now.“Charlie,” he panted as he reached him, “I thought I'd missed you.Oh god, I thought you'd gone.”“Oliver,” Charlie cried, “I don't have time to do this.I need to go.”His heart started to race again, but it was racing because of the urgency of the situation.He needed to go, and fast.“Charlie!” she screamed, “The train is pulling in! C'mon.”“I need to go,” Charlie whispered, the tears already welling up in the corners of his eyes, as his lips twitched and trembled, “I'm sorry Oliver.I need to go.”Frantically, he bent down and clutched the bags with his shaking hands before standing up and heading towards his mother, blinking away the stinging tears.“You don't need to go,” Oliver called after him.“I do Oliver!” Charlie turned around, “We've been through this.”“You don't,” Oliver laughed.What's so funny? Why doesn't he just get it [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]