Page 88 of From the Ashes

“She was so mangled… and her face…” I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to force the memories out of my mind. “We couldn’t tell if it was her or not.”

“Good god…”

“They ended up having to do dental records,” I muttered, staring at the floor. “And even then, they could only do half. There was hardly anything left.” I lifted my gaze to Tony. “That’s why I’m not mad at Charlie. I don’t know what he saw as they were tumbling down that mountain. I can’t imagine what he’s been through. And I don’t blame him for having panic attacks every time he gets into a stressful situation. It was my fault for pushing him to get in that car before he was ready. And when the accident happened… he panicked.” I paused, reaching up to wipe my eyes. “I’m still mad at him for telling me to go away, but I understand why he did it.”

“Why?” Tony asked, his voice soft. “Why would he do that if he likes you so much?”

“For the same reason he wouldn’t tell me if he wanted to be in a relationship or not,” I said. “He’s terrified that if he gets too close to me or anyone else, they’re gonna leave him just like his mom did. With no warning and in the most painful way possible. The accident he was in was the equivalent of winning the bad luck lottery. And now he’s convinced it’s going to happen again.” I shook my head, rubbing my palms against my face. “I just wish I knew how to convince him otherwise.”

“Well,” Tony replied, getting up from his chair and placing a hand on my shoulder. “You better figure it out because we’re gonna be in Eugene in a week.”

I looked up. “R-Really? You mean it?”

He sighed. “Do you really think I’m gonna let my best friend sit around here a mope for the rest of his life? You love that boy and from what I could see, he loves you too.” He chuckled to himself. “I’ll admit, I’ve been a bit jealous of the chemistry between you two. Watching you interact with him made me realize how much distance has always been between us. I could never get as close to you as he seems to without effort.”

“I’m sorry…” I began.

“Don’t be. I knew from the start that you and I were always gonna be just friends. And that’s fine, Phie. I don’t mind. But I hope someday I can find someone that looks at me the way Charlie looks at you. If I found that, I don’t think I’d need anything else.”

Before I said anything, I pulled him into a tight hug. He put down his bottle, hugging me tightly in return. I don’t know how long we stayed like that, but it felt nice knowing that I had such a wonderfulfriend by my side. Tony could be a handful, but he was one of the best people I’d ever met in my life.

“Well,” he said at last, pulling away. “I better get on the phone and get some plane tickets arranged.”

“Thanks, Tony. I really appreciate it.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll take it out of your pay, don’t you worry about that.” He put down the bottle and headed for the door. “I gotta get back to the office though. The boss’ll be pissed if I stay away too long. Even if it is for ourstarauthor.”

“Hey Tony?” I called as he neared the front door.

“Yeah?”

“Can you get my bike on the plane again?”

He let out a long, exasperated sigh. “This is thelasttime, Phie. I’m not flying that thing across the country again.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “You’re the best.”

“Yeah,” he groaned. “I know.”

With that, he was gone, and I was left standing in my apartment once more. But this time at least I had a plan. I was going to get Charlie back one way or another.

Picking up my phone again, I flipped to his contact and started a new message. Last time I’d practically forced my way back into his life. But this time I was going to do things better. I had to. Charlie deserved that and if I wanted him to listen to me, I had to do what I could to accommodate all of his needs instead of plowing through his life like a bull in a china shop.

Me: Charlie. I’m coming home next week. I would like to see you. We need to talk.

I hit the send button with a smile. Then I quickly wrote a second message.

Me: Because I love you.

CHAPTER 37

Charlie

The mountains were on fire.

It wasn’t the first time, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last. But things weren’t looking good this time around. Of course, I wasn’t paying much attention to it though. Wildfires had been coming close to Creekside for my entire life. More than once the fire reached the furthest edge of town andstilldidn’t burn down any of the businesses or houses. Fire never moved into the valley. And as far as I was concerned, Creekside was immune to flames.

Besides, there was something else occupying my mind. I sat on the couch, my phone held in my hand as I read Phoenix’s texts from the previous week for the ten thousandth time.

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