After Oliver's breakdown, Charlie insisted he stayed with him. Afraid Oliver would harm himself, he refused to go home and instead comforted Oliver as he cried for the remainder of the night. Even as Charlie's shoulder got soaked in tears and his arm stiffened from patting Oliver's back, he remained by his side.
The next morning neither of them addressed what had happened and Oliver felt much better. They had spent the day cleaning up the destruction he had caused in his apartment. Oliver had to leave in the morning for a few hours just to sit in on a meeting but when he returned he found Charlie sorting through all the broken furniture and he immediately got to work collecting all the broken glass. The two of them being all domestic and responsible was a rare sight but the blunt hanging out of Charlie's lips was a reminder of who they really were.
Oliver reached out and plucked it from his mouth before taking a long drag from it.
"Don't do that," Charlie scorned.
"Do what?" Oliver mocked taking another drag from his blunt.
Charlie sighed and dryly took the small blunt from Oliver, putting it out with his fingers and flinging it behind his back.
"Hey! What was that for?"
"I promised Spencer I wouldn't deal to you anymore."
"You... wait. What? Spencer knows you deal?"
"He has always known I deal. But it was the fact that I was dealing to you..."
"Shit. When did he find out?"
"He saw one of the texts you sent me the day after you got engaged. You were ordering coke in it. And he's smart so he realised I was dealing to you."
"He never mentioned it..."
Charlie shrugged. "It wasn't your fault so there was no reason for him to give out to you."
"It was my fault though. I shouldn't have put you in that position. I'm...sorry."
The word 'sorry' seemed almost foreign to Oliver Scott, but he felt genuinely guilty for coming between the two brothers.
Spencer had always known Oliver was into illicit substances. That didn't mean he approved. In high school, every time they went out and Oliver got too high or drunk, Spencer would always get angry. Apparently he always ended up having to take care of Oliver. But as much as he complained and got angry, he always ended up forgiving him the next day.
But to find out your best friend's dealer is your brother must have been tough. It wasn't even true! Charlie wasn't even Oliver's regular dealer. He had his own dealer (who, just that morning, had so diligently dropped off a paper bag with a week's supply of cocaine for him). Oliver only resorted to buying from Charlie when his regular dealer was unavailable. And technically he never really bought anything since Charlie always refused to accept his money.
"Spencer had every right to be angry at me. I'm his older brother. I should have known better. God... I'm such a fuck-up. I just... I always mess everything up..." Charlie tore his eyes away from Oliver and put down the broken wood he was holding. He made his way to the sofa and flopped onto it, gazing up at the ceiling.
Oliver stared at Charlie with a blank expression on his face. He was silent and watched as Charlie's chest rose and fell with each deep breath. Neither of them spoke. Oliver probably should have said something but he didn't know what to say or do. He was caught off guard by Charlie's sudden confession. He wasn't used to comforting Charlie. It was always the other way around. In fact, ever since they had been reunited at Ivan's party, Charlie had become such a good friend. He was there for Oliver whenever he was down. It was Oliver's turn to reply with something inspirational like 'you're not a fuck-up' or 'you can do anything, Charlie!'.
Except that wasn't really the case. And Oliver knew that because he and Charlie were on the same boat. They were both outcasts in their families. Of course they both had multiple chances and opportunities to 'reach for the stars' and fulfil their dreams but white lines and pale pills got in the way. Their ineptitude and incompetence had become something engrained into their character and they would probably never change.
"I know how you feel. I wish I wasn't a fuck-up, either. I wish... I wish I could stop disappointing people. I wish I was someone that could be loved...."
Charlie laughed dryly. "I wish I was loved too... You know, just last week I visited Dustin. And I realised, as I was talking and he was half-listening, that he doesn't love me. I told him we should take a break and he... he just shrugged."
"Oh. That sucks. I'm sorry... You were too good for him anyway. And at least you can stop selling now."
Charlie let out another sardonic laugh. "The gag is.... I still love him. And he'll be out in five months so for some twisted reason I don't want to stop selling. Don't get me wrong, I hate it but maybe when he comes out he'll realise what a devoted boyfriend I am. And then he might love me too."
Oliver couldn't reply. He was too shocked at Charlie's words.
"Hilarious isn't it?" Charlie said bitterly.
"Charlie... that so fucked up. And I'm one to talk..."
"I know. It's like the rational part of me knows how dumb I'm being but the irrational part is winning the battle because it's telling me what I want to hear. That Dustin still loves me. We have been on and off for the last five years. And when I'm with him I just feel so...so loved! And needed!"
Oliver strode over him and patted his shoulder. "You don't need him to feel those things..."
"And you don't need Nora," Charlie shot back.
His hand recoiled. "That's different."
Charlie put his hands up in surrender. "We're not having this argument again. Let's just agree to disagree."
Oliver smirked. "Deal."
"So.... I was thinking of going back to my apartment later...." Charlie said, swiftly changing the subject.
"Oh. Why?"
Oliver really wanted him to stay. It was nice having a friend around. He only called Nora three times that day instead of the usual eleven, all because he had Charlie there to distract him. In fact, he was much more than a distraction. Oliver couldn't understand why but he just loved being around him.
He shrugged. "It's your apartment and to be honest, it just feels like I'm overstepping boundaries."
"That's bullshit. I...I like having you here."
Charlie met Oliver's eyes and smiled in surprise. Oliver could feel his face go red. He didn't mean to sound so soppy. It was just the truth.
Charlie was quiet for a few moments before speaking. "I like being here too."
Oliver tried to suppress his grin but he really couldn't. He realised then that Charlie had a really nice smile. It was contagious and made his heart beat quicker.
His phone rang in his pocket and he was forced to tear his eyes away from Charlie's beaming face to answer. He nearly hung up on whoever was calling because he wanted that moment that he and Charlie just had to last longer. But once he realised it was his step-sister calling he had to excuse himself because, as she once emphatically declared, 'nobody puts Mai in the corner'. He always answered her phone calls because he didn't want a death sentence from her.
"Hello?"
"Oliver! I'm so glad you picked up."
"Why? Is something wrong? What happened?"
Mai chuckled. "No! Nothing happened! I just wanted to invite you to family dinner tomorrow."
If he wasn't worried before, he was definitely worried now. Oliver hated his stepfather and refused to enter the house as long as he was there. Mai and his mother had both given up years ago on trying to get Oliver to come home. So the sudden invitation Mai was giving him definitely threw him off.
"You already know what my answer is going to be."
"Yes but before you say no I should tell you that I'm making an announcement at dinner tomorrow. And I need you there."
"Just tell me now."
"Oliver! Please! It's really important."
Oliver sighed. He couldn't say no to Mai. She was one of the few people in the world who actually cared about him. "Okay... I'll come."
"Yay! See you then. Love you, Ollie!"
When Mai first entered his life with her asshole of a father, Oliver hated her too just because of her association with Steven. However, he never would have anticipated they would become so close. Or that he would actually love her like a biological sister.
After she hung up, Oliver stared at the screen of his phone. He was about to return to the living room area where Charlie was but his eyes landed on Nora's name in his call logs. He pressed 'call' even though he knew the chances of her answering were very slim. She had been ignoring him ever since they broke up.
He didn't even know why he was still trying. She made it clear she didn't want anything to do with him. If only she knew how much he loved her. If only she knew how much he needed her. If only-
"Hello?" An angelic voice answered. Nora.
"Hello? Oh my God, Nora!" Oliver was stunned. He couldn't believe it. It was really her. "I've been worried sick!"
"Oliver?"
"Yes! It's me. Nor please talk to me. I love you so much and I miss you and I need you Nora. I need you!"
"I...." Nora started but she didn't finish her sentence.
"Please say something," Oliver begged, his voice cracking. He just wanted to hear her speak again. He missed her soothing voice.
"I...."
"Anything. Please, I just want to hear your voice..."
After a long pause, Nora finally spoke. "I love you, Oliver. But I can never forgive you for what you said and did. You... you broke me. I'm slowly recovering so please stop calling me.... It's best for both of us."
Oliver fell back against the wall. What was she saying? It made no sense. He didn't break her. He would never harm his girl. He messed up when he was drunk and high but it wasn't intentional. He didn't mean to upset her.
"That's not true! You know we're good together. Stop-"
Nora hung up.
Charlie slowly crept into the room and sighed. "Was that Nora?"
Oliver couldn't speak. He was in too much pain. He nodded his head and slowly closed his eyes.
"She told me to stop calling her... Why doesn't she want to talk to me?"
Charlie leaned down beside him. "So why don't you?"
"Huh?"
Charlie reached out and took Oliver's phone. He swiped down to Nora's contact card and handed it back to him. "Stop calling her. You're not giving yourself the chance to move on because you think that maybe one of these days when you call her she'll answer and take you back. But she just made it clear that she doesn't want to talk to you."
"But... Nora can be very fickle. She'll change her mind. I'm sure of it."
Charlie shrugged. "Then give her a chance to think for herself. You're just driving her away by bombarding her with all these calls. Delete her number and wait. If she truly loves you, she'll come back."
"She does love me!"
"Well then put your trust in her love! This isn't healthy! I hate seeing you like this."
Oliver glanced at his phone and then back at Charlie. "I love her so much..."
Charlie looked away. "Then let her go."
His thumb lingered over the trash can icon for a few seconds, contemplating what to do. One thing he knew for certain was that he was miserable. This would be good for him. He sighed solemnly before pressing down and deleting her number.
"There."
Charlie smiled. "Good for you. Now, come on. Let's finish cleaning up."
Oliver nodded and sat up. Charlie looked proud. Of course what Charlie didn't know was that Oliver had memorised Nora's phone number years ago. He could still call her whenever he wanted. But Charlie's words resonated with him. Maybe he would stop calling Nora. And then she would love him again.
"Let's go!"
⢠⢠â¢
I updated 'Off-Screen' a few days ago with a chapter about Amelie's aftermath so check it out if you haven't already! And add it to your libraries because I'm going to update soon with Blake's aftermath (Blake was Madeline's fiancée if you forget) as well as Ben from Gilded Butterflies.
Tell me a joke. I think we can all use something to cheer us up.
I'll go first. "I invented a new word!
Plagiarism!" Hahahahahahaha. Now your turn!
Love,
-hexed
xoxo