N I N E
By noon the next morning, I had a text with an apology from Kai. The apologies were short-lived, followed by a scolding for leaving on my own in the first place.
Brothers.
I did do something a bit stupid.
Though I could argue it's more stupid that a woman can’t walk a few blocks in the city without worrying about being catcalled, kidnapped, raped, or worse.
It’s an unacceptable downfall of this generation. Men get off by doing whatever they please, below and above the law while women are terrorized by both. Laws are constantly threatening a woman's life, even the laws that are specifically placed to protect them.
I felt as if Charlie’s actions were an acceleration, but I did understand after taking a moment to myself. I understand that he wanted to protect me. And resenting him for dragging me out in the first place wouldn’t change anything.
So I stopped at our favorite bistro and got him his favorite sandwich on my way home from work.
Tonight is a full moon, which means Charlie would only be in one place.
No one ever comes up to the roof, which is unfortunate given how beautiful it is up here. Yet, also in our favor since it’s never trashed like the one at Kai’s building.
He stands just a few feet from the edge, with a small handheld telescope as he peers up at space .
I try to catch the door before it slams, but I’m not fast enough, causing him to turn.
He flashes me a half grin.
“I thought I might find you up here.”
“And I think you have a sandwich in that bag?”
I cross the rooftop, sitting the bag on the lip of one of the edges.
“I’m sorry,” Charlie murmurs.
“I’m ready to talk about it.” I pull the container labeled Charlie from the bag and hand it to him.
“I shouldn’t have done what I did.”
“Probably not,” I nod. “They could have had a weapon or—”
I stop myself. My intent wasn’t to punish Charlie.
The two of us sit, pressing our backs into the wall. Charlie hands me a water bottle, which I take a sip from.
“Thank you,” I say. “For coming after me.”
He chews.
“I got lucky that you caught up to me when you did.”
Charlie stares at me but remains quiet.
“You get why I was upset, right?”
His head bobs a bit in acknowledgment but not entirely a nod.
“I didn’t want to go out in the first place. I was… exhausted,” I exhale. “I was scared… and it was just a lot of emotions at once. Exhaustion, fear, frustration… I’m not explaining very well, am I?”
“It’s never my intent to scare you, Banks. Ever ,” he says. “I may have overreacted but I can’t say that I wouldn’t do it again. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t promise I would change anything. I am just sorry for how it made you feel. ”
“Violence matched with more violence isn’t the answer.”
“Arguably yes.”
My lips form a line at that.
“But sometimes, the only way to survive is to fight back.”
“There’s better ways to do it.”
Charlie shrugs. “I suppose that’s where you are better than I am.”
“I’m not,” I assure him.
“Forgive me?”
He says those two words so softly, filled with remorse and sparkles of hope.
“Promise you’ll just walk me home next time?”
“Promise you won’t leave without me?”
I offer him my hand. “That’s fair.”
He gives me a squeeze.
We sit together and eat our sandwiches before Charlie insists on having me look at the sky.
“What do the stars say tonight?”
“It’s a full moon in Aries.”
“What does that mean?”
“Full moons are typically a good time to release or reflect, but in the sign of Aries which is ruled by Mars, it might be a more passionate or aggressive time. Depending on where Aries sits on your chart, it will manifest in different areas of your life.”
“What about us then?” I murmur, drawing my gaze from the moon to him. “What are we passionately releasing?”
“It can be a bit complicated.”
“The simplified version then.”
Charlie smiles at me.
“What? ”
“It’s difficult to simplify.”
“Do your best,” I suggest with a smirk.
He scratches his neck. “Well, it has to do with houses, which house Aries sits in and then what planets are there, if any.”
“How would you figure that out?”
“I’d read your birth chart.”
“Have you?”
“Of course, I have,” he winks. “Aries rules part of your second house. The second house is typically reduced to money but it’s many things.”
“So I’m passionately releasing money?” I gape. “Am I going to be broke?”
“No,” he laughs. “It’s much more than money, but you told me to simplify. It can represent value, whether that be material, monetization, or your physical world. You moved recently, a change or release of your physical world.”
I tap my nose, thinking about it. It did make sense. I left behind the environment of Kai’s for my own.
“I was pretty passionate about that wall of books.”
Charlie snickers.
“What about you?”
“Aries is in my twelfth house.”
“How many are there?”
“Twelve,” he tells me. “The first house sets the mood for your entire chart, the twelfth is the ending. It’s known as the unseen.”
“Like the afterlife?”
He shrugs. “Not necessarily. It’s basically anything that doesn’t have a physical form. That can mean emotions, dreams… the unknown. ”
“How does that apply to the full moon for you?”
“I suppose I need to reflect on some things.”
I think I might be tiptoeing into off-limits territory, and I don’t want to fight again.
“What else can you tell me about my chart?” I decided to let his answer be.
“Simplified version?”
I smile. “Besides that, I’m a Cancer, I don’t know anything.”
“I know,” he nods. “And it’s to my advantage.”
“How so?”
“Your birth chart is like a cheat code.” He gnaws on his cheek with a glimmer in his eyes.
“To what?”
“You.”
“Me?” I pull my knees to my chest. “Like just by reading it you know everything about me?”
“Not everything, but much more than you’d think.”
“Are you going to leave me in the dark?”
He tips his head back, staring at the moon. “Does it look like we’re in the dark to you?”
“Metaphorically.”
“Your moon is in Sagittarius, your rising is in Aquarius, your Mercury is in Taurus, Venus is in Scorpio, and the sun and Mars sit in Cancer. There are more planets but the big six make up the core of your personality.”
“I have no idea what any of that means, and I’m rather impressed you just know that off that top of your head.”
Charlie grabs my hand, turns it over, and starts to draw on my palm .
“The rising sign is who you are, the moon is your emotion, the sun is what you project to the world.” He traces the lines across the width of my hand. “Mercury rules the mind, so your thoughts and communication style. Venus is how you love and Mars is how you take action.”
“And the different signs influence each of those planets?”
“Aquarians are unique, they walk to their own beat. They desire freedom and are quick-witted. The sun in Cancer hides that from the outside world with empathy and tenderness. Emotionally you have a desire to learn and constantly have new experiences, but it’s also a fire sign so you feel very deeply with lots of passion.”
“Must be why I like to read,” I hum. “It’s like a new experience every time I start a new book.”
“Exactly.”
His fingertip brushes across the tops of mine.
“Taurus is a very stable sign, calm and well thought out. Having Mercury there would lean toward a person who communicates for the sake of getting a point across and not for the sake of simply speaking. You don’t always speak, but when you do it’s typically a solid thought. Perfect temperament for a nurse, I would think.”
I playfully roll my eyes.
“A Cancer Mars may need more assurance than most before they take action. Cancer likes to be nurtured and demands honesty to help them feel safe.”
“Sounds about right,” I scoff. “And Venus?”
Charlie drawls. “Scorpio.”
“Why do you say it like that?”
“It’s deep. Scorpio is a pretty intense sign.”
“How so? ”
He moves to the center of my palm again and starts tracing a star pattern.
“It’s sort of all or nothing with love. Scorpios can be picky.”
“That’s all?”
“There’s a lot more to it, but that’s the gist of it.”
I inhale, taking in all the information he just gave me. It doesn’t take me that long to compute that he did just describe me with nearly perfect accuracy.
“That’s some cheat code. You sure I can trust you with all that information?” I joke. “Sounds like you know just how to ruin me, Charlie Barnes.”
“I don’t want to ruin you.” He softly glances at me. “You’re always safe with me.”
I let my head fall to his shoulder. “That’s why you’re a good friend,” I confess. “I don’t know how you did it, but I felt instantly safe with you.”
My eyes shut as I feel his lips on my forehead. “You make me feel safe too, Banks.”