“Not much to talk about these days!” Andy shouts back.
“Fuck you dude,” Ben says as he rounds the corner withCharlie right behind him. Ben is carrying a suitcase, and she has a duffel bag hanging off her shoulder.
“Where were you guys?” I ask them, eyeing the luggage.
“We went to my place to grab some more stuff.” Charlie is blushing. A common occurrence but it’s usually for a reason.
“And that’s all you did?” Andy counters, waggling his eyebrows.
Before either of them can answer, I notice the knuckles on one of Charlie’s hands are swollen and bruised. “What happened to your hand?”
“Her ex from Van was sitting on the front steps when we got to her place,” Ben says gruffly. “And sweet Charlie, who cannot throw a punch to save her life, decided to take matters into her own hands.”
“I’m fine,” Charlie pipes in, smiling at me.
“Okay but like, what happened? Why is he here?” I ask, feeling worried.
Charlie flops down on the couch near Andy and throws her legs across his lap. He immediately pulls her closer so her can wrap an arm around her.
“He said that we had unfinished business, and that was about as far as I let him get,” she says, trying and failing to sound nonchalant.
“That is not the whole story.” Ben’s voice is stern.
Charlie rolls her eyes. “Okay, fine. He said something terrible, so I punched him. When that didn’t work, Ben punched him. And then he ran away like a little bitch. The end.”
“What did he say?” Andy squeezes her tighter to him.
“Does it matter?”
“Yes,” the three of us say in unison. We need to know if more action needs to be taken.
Charlie grumbles, but Ben answers “He said that he needed someone hotter to get his dick wet so that he could stomach sleeping with her fat ass. “
Andy and I both growl. “And all you did was punch him?” I look over at Ben.
“All that was needed really. He went down in one hit and I told him to get out of town or I would bring you guys with me next time.” Ben shrugs. “He really is a little bitch.”
“Fuck that, let’s go find him and fuck him up better. Make sure heknowsto stay out of town.” I jump up from the couch. I can feel my rage coursing through me.
“No Max, it’s okay, really. Ben scared him good and I'm so tired. Plus, we all work tomorrow. Can’t we all just stay here and watch some tv or something?” Charlie pleads.
I soften. “Whatever you want, gorgeous. I’ll go order us some food. You guys get comfortable and pick something to watch.”
Charlie gets up. “I’m gonna go shower and get changed. Should we all meet back down here in like an hour?”
“Sure, that works,” I tell her with a smile.
“I’ll come with you,” Ben chimes in, grabbing Charlie’s bags for her.
Andy gets up quickly and pushes Ben down onto the couch. “I don’t think so, dude. You had her all afternoon. I’ll go with her and you stay and help Max with snacks or some shit.”
Andy snatches Charlie’s luggage from Ben’s hands and follows her up the stairs. Ben watches them go, then looks over at me.
“She’s incredible,” Ben whispers softly.
When I get back into the living room with all the snacks I made, Andy and Ben are sitting on either side of Charlie and listening to her talk about what happened with Brad. Ben chimes in every once in a while, adding to the story but it ends with Andy saying, “You need to stay here. Permanently.”
Charlie sighs, looking between the three of us. “I’m really grateful that I am able to stay here until we’re sure that Chuck and Brad won’t bother me anymore, but I don’t want to totally invade your guy’s space.”
