Charley Chambers

by Rachel Kennedy

  ‘Darling?’ came a deep voice from the doorway.

  ‘Hello, Fergus.’

  ‘How are you, dear?’

  Tabitha sighed. ‘Spectacular.’

  Fergus frowned and simply said, ‘Aiden?’

  ‘Gone to his room.’

  ‘I’ll go–’

  ‘He doesn’t want to talk.’ She closed her book and placed it on a small wooden table beside her.

  ‘When does he ever want to talk?’

  ‘This ‘Charley’ problem isn’t going away.’

  ‘We’ll make it go away, Tabby. It’ll be all right.’

  ‘Well, you can think of something then. I have a headache, I’m going to bed.’

  She got up from the chair and walked past her husband into the hall, stopping a few feet from the door. She glanced back at him and tried to smile. He could see it was forced.

  Aiden was the spitting image of him, although blonder and slightly taller. Apart from the similar hair colour, her son didn’t resemble her at all.

  ‘Do something, Fergus.’

  ‘I will.’

  She nodded and then made her way down the hall.

  ‘I’ll try,’ Fergus breathed once she was gone.

  ‘Where are you taking me?’ Charley asked as they made their way down the crowded street.

  Aiden had insisted he was taking her out, mainly to distract her and stop her thinking about the recent hallucination. She’d barely slept for days, the image of Aiden falling into a never-ending pit haunting her every time she closed her eyes. He could tell her it meant nothing until the cows came home – she knew there was more to it. There had to be.

  ‘So where do you want to go?’ Aiden asked, gesturing to a row of cafés and restaurants. ‘There’s plenty, so take your pick.’

  ‘I really don’t mind. You can choose.’

  ‘If you insist,’ he said, linking his fingers through hers. Her dainty hand fitted perfectly inside his, like the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Like it was meant for his hand and his hand alone. She never wanted to let go. ‘We’ll grab something to eat, then go some place quiet. I want to show you some more–’

  Before he finished speaking, Charley was already shaking her head frantically.

  ‘No. No way, I can’t.’

  ‘Chambers, come on. You need to get past this. It was only a vision, it wasn’t real.’

  ‘Aiden–’

  ‘I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.’

  ‘It’s not me I’m concerned about,’ she said in a low voice.

  ‘You worry too much, Chambers. If you don’t do this now, you’re gonna get a complex about it.’

  She knew he was right. She was already developing a phobia about using her powers. She had to get past it, deal with it somehow.

  ‘All right,’ she said reluctantly. ‘I’ll try, but I’m not promising anything. Dinner first though?’

  ‘Of course.’

  Eventually, they came to a halt outside a small Chinese restaurant. Aiden held the door open for her, but just as she was about to step inside, her phone rang.

  ‘I better take this, it’s Abbie.’

  ‘Cool. I’ll get a table.’ Aiden let the door close behind him as he went to find a waiter. Charley pressed the accept button on her mobile, but just as she put the phone to her ear it rung off.

  ‘Dammit,’ she said, tossing it into her bag. She didn’t have any credit to call back, so she pushed open the restaurant door instead, deciding she would ask Aiden if she could borrow his.

  Before she could go in though, she heard a voice saying, ‘Charley?’

  A voice she knew far too well. She froze at the familiarity of it.

  ‘Marcus,’ she said, glancing back at him over her shoulder.

  ‘It’s good to see you,’ he replied stiffly. ‘Listen, I’d really like it if we could talk.’

  ‘It’s not good to see you, Marcus, and I don’t want to talk.’

  ‘I know I was completely out of line, Charley. I can’t apologise enough. Please, at least let me try to explain.’ She let her eyes wander to his face – his impeccable features, his big brown eyes. She immediately turned away, wishing she hadn’t looked in the first place.

  ‘I don’t have time for this. I have–’

  ‘I get it, you’re busy. You want any excuse not to speak to me. I understand that. But if you change your mind, I’d really like to talk.’

  With that, he was off, suddenly lost in the bustle of people who were rushing through the crowded street, shouldering one another out of the way.

  Charley stood for a moment, mulling over what he’d said. Should she give him another chance? A voice in her head quickly interrupted her thoughts.

  Are you for real? Do you remember your vision, the one where Marcus tricked you?

  But–

  The one where he tricked you so that Aiden would die?

  Aiden said it was a load of nonsense. What was she meant to believe?

  It’s your funeral–

  ‘Shut up,’ Charley said aloud, causing a few passersby to look in her direction.

  Great, she thought, now I’m talking to myself.

  She shoved open the door and walked in, deciding to put Marcus out of her mind completely – for the time being anyway.

  ‘Chambers,’ she heard Aiden call, ‘over here.’

  She took a deep breath and smiled, walking over to where he was sitting.

  ‘Everything okay?’ he asked, passing her a menu.

  ‘Of course, why wouldn’t it be?’

  ‘I dunno . . .’ He gave her a puzzled look. ‘How’s Abbie?’

  Right, she was meant to be speaking to Abbie. ‘Yeah, she’s fine. Just wanted to ask my advice on . . . washing machines.’

  Washing machines? That’s the best you could come up with?

  ‘Why?’ Aiden snorted, closing his menu and nodding to a nearby waiter. Charley watched him intently; he looked a lot older than sixteen.

  ‘What?’ she said, momentarily distracted. ‘Oh, right. Yeah, her machine broke. They need a new one.’

  ‘And you were the best person to ask?’ He raised an eyebrow and looked at her doubtfully.

  ‘Apparently so. The waiter’s coming, can we just order, please?’

  The waiter took Aiden’s order, then turned to Charley who quietly mumbled, ‘I’ll have the same.’

  ‘You all right, Chambers? You’re awfully quiet.’

  ‘I’m okay. I’m just . . . you’re right. I need to get over whatever issues I have. I need to try and use my powers again.’

  ‘You’ve changed your tune.’

  ‘I can’t let the fear of what was probably nothing, stop me from exploring something so wonderful. I have this amazing gift, it would be foolish not to take advantage of it.’

  ‘That a girl,’ he said, giving her a knowing smile.

  After they’d eaten, Aiden paid the bill, refusing to take any money from Charley. Once they were outside, he took her hand and led her away from the restaurant. There was a path behind the buildings that led down to the boathouse, and it was normally deserted.

  ‘So what will I try?’ she asked timidly, immediately feeling anxious.

  ‘Whatever you like,’ Aiden said, taking a seat on the edge of the dock. ‘There’s no one around, and I think it might be better if you judge this one for yourself. I don’t want to interfere.’

  ‘You won’t be interfering. I don’t know if I can do it on my own. What if–?’

  ‘I’m right here, Chambers. If anything happens . . .’ He paused as she looked at him, her bright eyes pleading. He could see how scared she was. ‘I’m right here,’ he repeated, and she gave him a slight nod.

  Ready, Charley.

  She turned away from him and began b
reathing deeply, finding it somewhat soothing. Her concerns began to slowly seep away, and she let her mind wander – only a little though. She was still terrified of falling too deep into her own imagination.

  Raising her hands, she pictured the sea; a far cry from the dirty lake that stretched out in front of her, but more pleasant to visualise.

  ‘You doing okay?’ she heard Aiden murmur, cautiously though, as he didn’t want to disturb her.

  ‘So far.’

  He watched her for a while, still unsure of what she was trying to do. He thought about stepping in, telling her to take a break, but decided to leave it, at least for a moment or so more.

  Just as he was finally about to intervene, he noticed the water beginning to ripple. He took a step back and watched as it began to pucker, small waves forming at the edge of the pier.

  She’s doing it, he thought.

  As the waves got bigger, forming a pattern over the water’s shiny surface, a small whirlpool developed in the middle, directly in front of where Charley was standing. She raised her hands higher and the vortex got wider, deeper, white foam frothing at the edges.

  Where’s she going with this? Aiden frowned, beginning to worry that she was pushing herself too far. A few small waves were one thing – a whirlpool was something else entirely.

  ‘Chambers,’ he said, taking a step towards her.

  ‘I’m all right.’

  He walked over so he was standing next to her; her eyes were open and the smile on her face was infectious. She looked euphoric.

  ‘I’m doing it, Aiden. Look.’

  She lifted her hand and swept it to the right. A wave crashed down in front of them, sending water up over the dock and soaking their shoes.

  ‘And this . . .’ She moved her arms apart and the whirlpool got wider again. She then brought them closer, and when she touched her hands together, the whirlpool was gone, the bubbling foam the only evidence that it had ever been there at all.

  ‘I had every faith in you,’ Aiden smiled.

  ‘Don’t lie. Part of you thought I was gonna crash and burn again.’

  Aiden looked at the ground before glancing back at her and smiling, just ever so slightly.

  ‘All right, a little,’ he said, ‘but that doesn’t mean I didn’t believe in you. I’ve been where you are. I know how difficult it can be.’

  ‘What if it was just a one-off?’ she said, suddenly beginning to worry.

  She turned to face the tall trees that stood to one side of the water, stretching up towards the beautiful steel-blue sky.

  Charley looked at the trees, and they immediately began to sway gently in the wind. The longer she gazed, the more they shook, crisp leaves falling and landing in the lake.

  ‘I think you’ve got it down to a tee,’ Aiden smiled, taking her hand and pulling her close. She smelled like peppermint.

  ‘I hope so.’

  ‘How d’you do it anyway?’ Aiden asked. ‘The water?’

  ‘I just thought of a mini hurricane,’ Charley giggled, twisting a lock of hair around her index finger.

  God, she’s cute, Aiden thought to himself.

  ‘How do you do it?’ she asked him. ‘You seem to have it all mastered.’

  ‘Do what? Magic? It’s all kind of second nature now. I used to . . . nah, never mind. It’s dumb.’

  ‘Tell me,’ Charley said, nudging his arm. ‘Please.’

  ‘It’s stupid, Chambers. Forget it.’

  ‘It won’t be stupid to me. Please, I really want to know.’ She clasped her hands, smiling, and Aiden sighed and gave in to her pleas.

  ‘All right, but if you laugh, we’re done.’

  ‘Deal.’

  ‘When I was learning, like you are now, I used to struggle–’

  ‘I know the feeling,’ Charley interrupted.

  ‘Way worse than you. I was . . . pretty out of control, put it that way.’

  ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘Let’s just say, bad things happened when I was around. I couldn’t grasp it, any of it.’

  ‘So what did you do?’

  Charley gazed at him. He was tall and slim, but muscular too. He looked as though he could squeeze every last breath out of her if he tried. She looked into his eyes; kind eyes, possibly the kindest she’d ever seen. So deep . . .

  Full of secrets, probably.

  ‘I used to pretend I was a puppet.’

  ‘A puppet?’ Charley gave him a quizzical look.

  ‘Yeah. Told you it sounds daft. But it really helped me. Think about it. A puppet’s stuck, tied down with strings. They can’t move the way they want, they can’t control their actions. They can’t think for themselves.’

  ‘Puppets don’t think, full stop,’ Charley said in jest.

  ‘Shut up, Chambers.’

  ‘Sorry.’

  ‘That’s how I felt. I couldn’t control the things happening around me. I couldn’t control myself. It was like someone, or something, had taken over my mind. They were pulling the strings, deciding what was going to happen.

  ‘It wasn’t until I really thought about it, really thought it through, that I discovered ways to deal with it. I had to cut the ties to regain the power. My power.’

  ‘I never knew you were so cryptic.’

  Aiden smiled, but it wasn’t his usual smile – it seemed false, somehow.

  ‘Thank you for telling me,’ she said. ‘And just for the record, I don’t think you’re stupid.

  ‘Well I appreciate that. You wanna head back?’

  ‘Sure thing, Pinocchio,’ Charley giggled.

  ‘Pinocchio?’

  ‘Yeah. Puppet, no strings . . .’ She shot him a mischievous smile and began running up the grassy bank, Aiden in close pursuit.

  Marcus woke with a start, panting desperately as he wiped the sweat from his damp forehead.

  He’d had another nightmare, the same one he always had. She was back – Bud – she was alive, and she was standing right in front of him. He’d reached out, the way he always did, but as his hand got closer, she got further away. He’d started running, determined not to lose her again. Not this time. But it was no use; the closer he got, the faster he ran, it was never enough. When he was finally too tired to run any further, she would stop. Her eyes were open wide, full of pain, full of disappointment.

  ‘Help me, Marcus,’ she would say.

  ‘I can’t reach you, Bud.’

  ‘Marcus, help me. I’m scared. Don’t let it hurt me.’

  ‘I’m trying . . . I can’t get to you!’

  This time when he’d tried to run, his legs had buckled beneath him. It didn’t matter what he did, the dream was always the same.

  ‘Goodbye, Marcus.’

  Those two words broke his heart every time he heard them. And hearing them every night was tearing him apart.

  ‘Oh, Bud,’ he murmured, sitting up in his bed and wiping away a stray tear as it ran down his cheek.

  He pushed his hair back and made for the door, heading towards the bathroom at the end of the hall.

  ‘Morning, son,’ came the cheery voice, just as he was about to close the bathroom door. ‘How are you?’

  ‘I’m fine. Going for a shower.’ With that, he shut the door and climbed into the cubicle, turning the dial as far as it would go. He wanted a hot shower. The hottest. It always made him forget.

  ‘Nice to talk to you, too,’ he heard his father say before carrying on down the hall.

  Marcus gasped as the scalding water began to pour from the showerhead above him. He should be used to it by now – it was becoming a daily ritual – but still, the shock of the boiling water on his skin reinvigorated his senses.

  When he finally emerged from the shower, he had completely lost track of time. He’d spent so long baking himself that
his skin was now a deep shade of scarlet and he was starting to feel disorientated.

  He fumbled for his toothbrush and, without much success, tried to squirt a dollop of toothpaste on to the end of it.

  ‘Marcus, there’s a visitor coming to the door,’ he heard his mum call from outside. ‘I think it’s for you.’

  ‘What . . . who?’ He spun around but, no longer having the sink to steady himself with, collapsed on to the hard, marble floor.

  ‘What are you doing in there?’

  ‘Nothing,’ he called, his voice hoarse, ‘I’ll be out in a minute.’ He heard her footsteps making their way back towards the kitchen.

  Get a grip, he told himself, before struggling to his feet with the aid of the towel rail. He splashed a handful of cold water on his face and quickly grabbed a towel from the rack, wrapping it round his waist and heading towards the front door.

  ‘Charley?’ he frowned when he saw her. ‘What are you doing here?’

  Her eyes ran over his body and her cheeks immediately turned pink.

  ‘Hey,’ she mumbled, ‘I was just passing. I, eh . . .’

  She looked down at the ground. Why did he have to be practically naked?

  ‘I wanted to . . . to chat. See if we could, I don’t know, work things out? We didn’t leave things in the best way.’

  ‘No, that’s true.’

  Marcus held on to the door frame, wheezing slightly. He felt better than before – probably due to the fresh air – but he was still a bit light-headed.

  ‘You okay?’ Charley asked, noticing him flag.

  ‘Yeah, I’m fine. Spent a bit too long in the shower, that’s all. Why, am I not looking too hot?’ He raised an eyebrow playfully; he couldn’t resist joking with her.

  ‘Actually, that’s exactly how you look.’

  ‘Ooh, Charley, buy me dinner first, eh?’ He managed a smile, and she couldn’t help but return it, gently punching his arm in fun.

  ‘Marcus, you’re roasting.’ This time she put her palm flat on his shoulder. She could only keep it there for a few seconds, it was that hot.

  ‘Told you,’ he said, ‘too long in the shower.’