𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗬 𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗘 - 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗨𝗜𝗟𝗧𝗬

•••

Charlie's POV

I wanted to throw myself a pity party, and maybe that's what i was doing right now. Although it was less of a party and more of a festival, you know like non-stop for days on end. Barely enough time for a couple hours sleep and a mouthful of food but a shit tonne of drugs from people you shouldn't trust.

I've said it before and i'll say it again, life without Nyx is dull. It's like an everlasting winter. Gloomy and dark days, spotted with rain and blustering winds on repeat.

My personal idea of hell really.

Despite the darkness in her name, Nyx was the sun in my life and I hadn't realised this until now.

It has barely been forty eight hours since I had seen her last in that god forsaken bedroom.

I should never had gone, never had listened when Scarlet rang.

Drama follows that girl like a bad smell and Saturday was no different.

Nyx was stood at the end of the hallway, her locker door open as she spoke with both Noah and Alex.

Maybe now I could explain to her what really happened.

I make my way towards the trio, locking eyes with Alex as i do so, in turn, he mouths something to Nyx.

She tosses a glance behind her, locking eyes with myself and I don't miss the millisecond of sadness that shines.

Nyx looked genuinely unhappy, like she'd rather be anyway else in the world than share a hallway space with me and I know I'm the cause of that sadness. I could never forgive myself. No amount of words could describe how guilty I feel.

I watch as she grabs her bag and takes off in a hurry towards her classes, eager to avoid me.

Noah gave me a empathetic look as I got closer and I just let out a small sigh.

"The creator of his own destruction should never wallow in it's remnants" Alex quotes.

"Don't fucking quote Shakespeare with me right now"

"Clearly you've never read Shakespeare before and it shows"

I roll my eyes and turn to Noah, "how is she doing?"

"Better than you, you look like shit"

The truth is harsh, theres a reason doctors don't recommend four hours sleep in two days.

"I think she's more angry and feeling betrayed than she is sad" Alex answers honestly.

Noah asks, "What were you even doing there?"

"I was trying to help your dumbass" I point at him.

"Me? Why were you trying to help me? I wasn't even fucking there?" Noah looks at me as if I had three heads right now.

"You had texted me and then Scarlet called me from your phone saying you were so fucked up and needed taking home"

"I lost my phone on Friday night at yours" he retorts and I don't think he believes me.

I mean why would he, it does sound like a disastrous lie.

"Practice is starting, you can finish this later, coach will be pissed if we're all late" Alex butts in but what Noah just told me had my head spinning.

Noah never sent me a text. Noah was never even at the fucking party in the first place.

I trailed behind them to the locker rooms, the feeling of a come down catching up to me rapidly.

It would only get worse throughout practice, and I couldn't cope with my deteriorating mood much longer, so I hid myself away in a darkened corner of the locker rooms, pulling the little baggy of whats supposed to be cocaine but in reality is probably more gasoline and child labour sweat, out of my school bag.

I look at it before digging some out on the tip of my house key.

"What the fuck are you doing Charlie?" Noah challenged from behind me.

I bring the key to my nose and snort, quickly wiping any fall out before turning to face the now irked looking Noah.

"Nothing" I wipe my nose again.

"You need to get your fucking shit together man, look at you" he shakes his head disapprovingly.

"Don't you dare look down on me for the shit I do to cope" I argued.

Noah scoffs, "cope, you wouldn't have to cope if you just explained yourself to her"

"You don't think I've tried that? As if that wasn't my first fucking idea?" I began, "its hard to explain when they run away at the sight of you"

"Yeah, that's probably for the best" he grumbles, turning his back on me once again.

Noah's words hit me like a slap in the face. Nyx would kill me if she could see me now but the delusions is whats keeping me going right now.

All of practice Noah was giving me sly looks, purposely not passing the ball to me and the rest of the team were beginning to notice. Coach verbally berated us for acting like children and to leave any drama that we had off the field, a very stereotypical sportsman thing to say but neither of us objected, not wanting to piss him off further.

Noah might've left the drama off the for the rest of practice but as soon as we finished, he picked it back up again.

Add another person to the list of people i need to apologise to.

Noah and Nyx successfully avoided me all day, regardless of me pathetically trailing behind them, just hoping for a moment to talk with her. They even went as far as leaving campus at lunch, giving me not a single opportunity to talk.

Despite this, I wasn't going to give up so easily, I wanted to keep fighting for her, even though she didn't want to speak with me, Nyx deserves to at least know the truth. after that, if she wants nothing more to do with me then thats up to her.

Fuck, i hope she doesn't decide to never speak with me again.

Me trailing them like a lost puppy was good for one thing though, Mollie had taken sympathy on my situation and told me Nyx was planning on staying behind an hour to catch up on some work in the art department. I knew Noah and Alex were busy tonight so I was going use this to my advantage.

As soon as the last bell rang, I took my sorry ass to the closest smoothie place and then a florists, asking for a bouquet of twenty four medium shade pink roses.

And then it was just a waiting game, waiting for Nyx to walk out the entrance of the school, conveniently just in front of where I had parked.

It felt like forever until i seen her head of white hair pop out from behind the double doors, she was juggling her art folder as-well as a satchel of equipment and her backpack.

Stuck in her own little world, I called her name, "Nyx? Can we talk?" I ask.

I round my car, standing in front of the vehicle, flowers in one hand and the smoothie in another.

"I don't think its a good idea" she objected, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Please?" I begged.

I continued, "i'll get down on my knees and beg if thats what it takes, just please hear me out Nyx"

Nyx looked torn and I hated that I had her in this position, we shouldn't even be in right now. I should be taking her ice skating or fucking baking Christmas cookies and watching movies, kissing her on the forehead. Not stood in the school parking lot, on the verge of losing almost eleven years of friendship.

"Please?"

Nyx opens her mouth but no words come out, or at least I don't think they do, all I can hear is sirens getting closer and closer until a cop car pulls up and both officers jump out shouting.

"Charlie King?"

I turn my head to the lanky officer, his larger and unhappier friend stood behind him.

"I am arresting you under the suspicion of aggravated assault and battery" The man drones on but I'm not really paying attention, I'm more focused on the terrified look on Nyx's face.

It wasn't until the short, pudgy man began to place me in cuffs that the reality of what's happening dawned on me. I thrashed around, avoiding the metal restraints.

Nyx ran to me, and I tried to make my way to her, wanting to say goodbye, tell her it'll be okay but I was thrown against the hood of my own car.

The spindly man continued reading me my rights but it was all background noise at this point, all I could hear were the sobs that tore from Nyx's throat.

"It'll be okay munch" I shouted to her, hoping she'd hear me.

The air from my lungs was knocked out of me when the officer used more force than necessary, slamming me against the hood once again.

"Don't touch him" Nyx sobbed in the background.

"M'am I'm going to have to ask you to step back"

"Don't fucking touch him!" She cried again.

The officer shoved her back and it was my turn to shout obscenities with great aggression, resisting against the cuffs with as much force as i possessed, the plump man dragged me to the ground, pressing my face to the gravel below, ultimately making Nyx cry harder.

"It'll be okay Nyx, I love you okay?" I announced to the world for the first time ever.

But she wasn't in my line of vision anymore and I didn't hear a reply, instead my eyes focused on the spilt smoothie and trampled pink roses on the gravel floor.