Mark's dad was frustrated with us, but I didn't care. I wasn't going to give in to him.
"We're all going home tomorrow morning," his mom said, "I told your mom she doesn't need to come up."
"Are you over this?" his dad asked us warily, gesturing at nothing specific.
"Yes, sir," Mark told him, staring at his father's feet.
His dad looked at me for confirmation. I shrugged, acknowledging him, but said nothing.
They looked at each other, doubting us.
Mark's mom told us to get some sleep, and they retreated into the cabin's second room, closing the door behind them.
After a moment, Mark whispered, "Thank you."
I got up and approached one of the two cots against the far wall.
"Can we forget this happened?" he asked.
I was too tired to change out of my clothes, so I decided I would sleep in what I was wearing.
"Charlie?"
I pulled back the blanket, "Your dad shouldn't talk to you like that. It's like child abuse." Then, I turned around to face him, "But just so you know, that's no excuse."
He looked up at me.
"I know. I'm sorry."
"Isn't that kind of what you said to me when you came over that first time?"
I didn't wait for an answer. Instead, I went outside to use the outhouse, a wooden shack by the side of the house. The only other time I'd ever seen anything like it was at an old ghost town my mom and I had visited on one of our road trips. That one was just for show. This one was for real.
Afterward, I decided to stay outside awhile, by the back of the cabin, and take it all in while I still could—I'd never seen so many stars in my life.
It felt good to breathe in the cool mountain air.
I heard Mark walk up beside me, crunching leaves beneath his feet.
"Hey, Charlie."
I ignored him and kept looking at the sky.
"Charlie? Are we good?"
Instead of answering, I asked him a question.
"Why did you come over?"
"I just wanted to see if we were good."
"No, I mean the first time. When you came and knocked on my door."
"To apologize."
"But why then?" Why did you wait until school was over for the summer and you already had your last Charlie Day?"
He didn't answer for a few seconds.
"Does it matter?"
"I got my head slammed into a brick wall on the last one, so yeah."250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0ODE1MLvn
I gave him every chance to explain, but he wouldn't do it.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQDPgw7jPM
I heard something scurrying through the woods nearby and an owl hooting in the trees above our heads. Then, something in the distance howled.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOUaR6UJ6AV
Still, he kept quiet.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJNpjOJypt
"Did you know that Charlie Day made me want to kill myself?"
Now he answered, but in a small, quiet voice.
"No."
"I didn't think so."
It used to be that I felt so desperate to make a friend that I would do anything. But that wasn't me anymore.
He wanted me to say I forgave him. To be honest, part of me wanted to—it was obvious that Mark was acting like his dad. 250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvgmOnPCDXR
But I already told him that was no excuse for what he did to me.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLBZW3bRW3j
I was looking forward to school in the fall. I felt like I was a totally different Charlie now. A better Charlie. I was a good person. Friendship with me was worth something. Mark showed me that.
I didn't have to take tolerate anything.
I went inside and left him there. 250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5fg0ZLbvd
When we pulled up outside my building, Mark decided to walk with me up to my apartment while his parents waited in the car. He even grabbed my backpack and carried it up to my door.
We'd hardly said a word to one another all the way back from the mountains.
He tried asking me one more time, "Are we good?"
I looked up at him straight in the eye.
"Not yet."
He put down my backpack in front of me, forcing a cautious smile, "That wasn't a 'no.'"
I didn't respond or even return his smile.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGtgh4o4uo
I'm not saying I won't forgive him eventually.
But not yet.
This time, he'd have to earn my friendship.
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THE END
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Author's Note:
Thanks for taking this journey as Charlie finally got what he deserved. If was a rough summer, but he grew from being a scared, desperate kid to a confident boy with a better sense of right and wrong than most kids his age.
Your comments and suggestions are always welcome. I would love to hear how you felt about Charlie and his rocky friendship with Mark. What do you think might happen from here?250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtLI8n8fuw
I'm considering adapting this for a short novel. Is there anything in the story you would like to know more about?
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