Chapter 25 #2
She licks cream off her spoon in such salacious fashion, Charles snorts out the tea he just drank.
When Elsy runs to the toilets ten minutes later, he reopens the chat with his friends.
18:24 Are you free on Thursday? Let’s brainstorm lies for Spencer all together.
Charles is never the spearhead of a gathering, so this message should be singular enough to secure their attendance.
He doesn’t want to advertise that he has news to share.
They would speculate in writing, and he would rather avoid it, even if they probably won’t guess that his relationship with Elsy is over.
That he has no intention of going to business school and that he’s finding exponential purpose on the goalless path ahead of him.
That one afternoon, he entered a pub to retrieve his pen, weapon against the worst of himself, and discovered the best he had to offer in the eyes of a man who’s now turning his senses upside down.
***
When they were kids, Charles and his friends loved roleplaying wild adventures set in universes spawning from their favourite films.
George was the brain of the gang, Phil the fearless muscle, Alex a healing wizard, and Spencer enjoyed being rescued. As for Charles’ part, it varied depending on the mission. His main task was to stage them.
Fifteen years later, he would gladly invent new fantastic scenarios, but they would be short-lived.
He can’t imagine his friends enacting his ideas anymore.
And he’s still incapable of putting a compelling action scene down on paper, which drives him mad.
His story is so vivid in his mind, he could ramble on about it for hours.
Perhaps he should just do that. Describe it to someone who could bring it to life for him. Not necessarily with words, but with… epic colourful plates. That could work.
A graphic novel.
Loris’ digital style would be perfect for—
‘Phil, can you please hit Charkespeare out of the brain-orgasm he’s having?’
Charles jumps up from George’s sofa before Phil can kick him with his socked foot. ‘I’m listening! Hannah’s older brother is the human equivalent of the colour beige.’
‘We’re five minutes past that.’
‘Oh. Sorry. What did I miss?’
‘Never mind.’ George smiles and raises his tumbler. ‘Get me a refill while you’re up.’
‘Another beer for me.’
Phil chugs what’s left in his bottle and sets it down on the coffee table, between the empties from their previous rounds and Spencer’s boot-casted leg.
‘Can you find me a cushion?’ Spencer asks, stirring in the armchair.
‘Anything for you, Alex?’
‘No, but I’m gonna steal your spot, my bum is numb.’
Alex hauls himself up from the carpet he had settled for instead of bringing a chair from the dining area.
Charles goes to George’s guest room to grab a pillow and to the kitchen for beers. He then makes for the drinks cabinet, humming the song coming out of the speakers, but he quickly realises there’s no other background noise, because his friends have gone silent.
Puzzled, he whirls around to face their stares. ‘What’s going on?’
‘It’s your turn.’ Phil spreads his legs over Alex’s laps. ‘Why did you gather us?’
‘For the unmatched pleasure of your—’
‘Cut the crap. You always summarise your way out of conversations at the beginning. Today, you’ve been waiting for us to be done with our boring life updates. What’s up?’
Charles edges towards George to hand him his whisky.
His friend is on stand-by, waiting for a sign that he should come to his rescue.
And Charles is tempted to blink twice, unsettled to be put on the spot, losing the little control he felt he had.
But it was stupid to scenarise the evening.
They’re not characters he can stage. They will improvise and take him aback. He needs to adapt. And trust them.
‘I have news, yes. Pretty big news, it’ll be a lot to take in so—’
‘Hang on!’ Alex narrows his watchful eyes. ‘Does big mean bad, and we all need to switch to something stronger than beer?’
‘No, you should be fine.’
‘Okay, good. Good news, then? About Elsy?’
‘Partly…’
‘Oh! Are you guys moving—’
‘Did you dump her?’
‘—in together and— Jesus, Spencer!’ Alex leans over Phil’s legs to slap the toes sticking out of the cast. ‘You and your crush are sick!’
‘I don’t want Elsy, I’ve got a date!’
‘You sounded excited!’
‘Didn’t mean to.’
Alex shakes his head and Charles giggles awkwardly.
He really should have prepared his friend who, just yesterday, was sending him his favourite destinations for a cruise together with their girlfriends.
‘The truth is that Elsy and I, we… Well, we…’
‘Broke up ages ago, but carried on playing couples because it was somehow convenient.’
Alex scoffs. ‘What?’
Charles gapes, giving Phil the confirmation he didn’t need.
‘Ha!’ He claps his hands and waves his shoulders. ‘I knew it, I knew it, I knew it.’
‘What?’
‘I applaud your perceptiveness, Phil.’ George bows. ‘But you ruined Charles’ diplomatic announcement, whatever he was going to reveal.’
‘What?!’
‘How do you know?’ Charles asks, trying to ignore Alex and his increasingly high-pitched exclamations.
‘Divya’s party last year. You were overacting, it felt like watching a trashy soap opera.
So I thought ‘Shit, are they faking?’ but in the end I blamed the booze.
Except it stuck with me, and from then on I couldn’t unsee it.
I had doubts on occasion, but that’s because you’re still shagging.
Right? A no-strings-attached sort of thing? ’
‘Right…’
‘What?!’ Alex pushes Phil’s legs so bluntly, his ankle knocks a bottle off the table. ‘Last year?’
‘I’m just the observant messenger, don’t take it out on me!’
‘Or on my flat.’
‘You broke up with Elsy last year?!’
Charles tilts his head back with a moan. Planning this conversation was definitely a waste of his morning at work. He’s already facing an unexpected dilemma. Should he outrage Alex even deeper or juggle three different versions of the story in the future?
Luckily, the latter makes him dizzy as soon as he envisions it.
‘No. She dumped me four years ago.’
Alex’s jaw drops and his eyes go round as an owl’s.
‘Elsy was available all this time?!’
‘Spence.’ George tuts. ‘Don’t.’
‘I could have had a shot!’
‘Maybe Elsy lied to make sure you wouldn’t take one.’
‘Shove it! That wasn’t it. Was it?’
Charles brushes off Spencer’s question and wipes a layer of stress-sweat off his neck. ‘You can’t tell anyone, guys.’
‘That you broke up?’
‘Yes! Well, that we broke up now, you can. Not just yet, but it’ll be common knowledge soon. But not that we were pretending to be together. Elsy’s family and friends can’t find out. Apart from Divya. She knows.’
‘I’m confused. Who knew what and since when and what is there to know exactly?’
George squeezes Spencer’s shoulder. ‘I’ll write everything down for you.’
‘I think we broke Alexander.’
Phil waves his hand in front of Alex’s face and, getting no reaction, he pokes his cheek, which makes him groan.
Charles sighs. ‘I’m sorry, Alex. For what it’s worth, I hated hiding this from you.’
‘It’s not worth shit! You lied! And you were crazy good at it. How am I to ever trust you again?’
‘Overdramatic much?’ Phil rolls his eyes and shrinks to avoid an elbow kick.
‘You, you could have shared your suspicions!’
‘No. I figured Ledwell had valid reasons to play it close to his chest. And George knew as well. Bark at him.’
‘George informed us long ago that he’d sell our organs on the black market to help Charles, I’ve made my peace with that. And give me one valid reason to bamboozle your friends about your love life?’
‘Off the top of my head? Milton.’
Alex opens his mouth, only to shut it close. He folds his arms, visibly reluctant to tone down his vexation, but raises an eyebrow at Charles.
‘Yes… I wanted to spare myself a bunch of stressful and humiliating dinner conversations. And it was just easier to put on the same act in front of everybody. But it wasn’t a complete scam, you know. I was involved with Elsy in many ways. We were… in an open relationship.’
‘But that’s over? How come?’ Phil spreads his legs back over Alex’s now that he’s calmer. ‘You don’t give a shit about Milton anymore? Or is he less of an arse?’
‘There’s a bit of that.’
‘That Charles doesn’t give a shit.’ George gets up to reach the drinks cabinet. ‘Milton is more than ever a world-class fuckhead.’
Charles shoots him a warning look. He’s not planning on sharing the truth behind Fred’s accident tonight. The general indignation it would inevitably provoke could supersede the enthusiasm he’s hoping to stir with his personal news. Alex’s caring nature has already bristled at the comment.
‘But nothing new here,’ George completes, filling up a glass. ‘Our boy is just done denying himself what he wants.’
‘An open relationship with Elsy Buchanan isn’t what you want?’ Spencer frowns. ‘Sounds like heaven in my book!’
‘There’s been an unexpected twist in mine. I’m… seeing someone else.’ Charles takes a deep breath and exhales a brittle laugh when George gives him a large whisky. ‘Thank you.’
‘Amen to that!’ Phil claps his hands again. ‘Do tell!’
‘So we’re supposed to instantly move past your deception and be happy for you?’
‘You do you, Alex.’
‘No, you don’t do you,’ George replies sternly as he takes back his seat. ‘The answer is yes, we’re happy for him.’
‘Relax, Daddy Bear. You know I love love, I’m gonna be chuffed in a minute.’
‘It’s not fair,’ Spencer grumbles, tapping the top of his cast with his bottle. ‘If you swear off a perfect relationship, join the back of the queue. Let the poor souls single since forever go first.’
‘I don’t think you’d be interested.’
‘We’ve got similar tastes!’
‘His name is Loris. He’s my boyfriend. I… I have a boyfriend and his name is Loris.’
This is another declaration that sounds perfectly right, but it echoes heavily when the room goes silent again.
Side-eyeing George, Charles drinks to burn the butterflies jostling in his stomach.