Page 12 of One Cry Too Loud
“You were just you,” she said.
Holly turned to Charlie. “Charlie, I just want to-”
“It’s okay,” he said, taking a deep breath and looking away from the woman. “I need to go out on deck for a moment, but it’s okay.”
My eyes widened. What was going on? Was Charlie reacting poorly to this? Was his reaction so bad that he was actually walking away?
“Charlie,” Holly started. “If you would just-”
“It’s okay,” he said, already walking toward the door. “Honestly, it really is. I’ll be back soon.”
And, with that, he was gone.
“What was that? Holly asked, obviously brokenhearted.
“I don’t know,” I said, standing up myself. “But I’m going to go find out.”
I followed Charlie up to the deck. A sweet salt air breeze brushed against my face as I moved under the moonlit sky.
I found the man standing there, facing the pier. As I grew closer, I saw that his fists were balled and his face was red. He was angry. No. It was more than that. He was absolutely furious.
“Charlie,” I said, walking toward him.
“I need a minute,” he said without looking at me. “I told you guys I would be back soon.”
“She thinks you’re upset with her,” I said, still bridging the gap between us.
“I told her I wasn’t,” he reminded me.
“Yeah, right before you stormed out like she had betrayed you or something,” I said. “Listen, I guess this was a shock for you. I know you and Holly are close. Maybe you had an idea of her in your mind and this bit of news changed that, but that’s not her fault. She needs-”
“That’s not what this is!” He shouted, finally meeting me with his gaze, more angry than it had been just a few seconds before. “This isn’t about anything she did. I don’t blame her for any of this. Of course, I don’t.”
“Then tell her that,” I said. “Because she needs you, and the look on her face when I followed you out says that, right now, she thinks she doesn’t have you.”
“She has me,” he answered, his fists still balled up “She always has me, but I can’t do that right now. I can’t do anything right now. I need to go. I need to leave.”
“Charlie, this is important to her,” I said.
“Don’t you think I know that?” He balked. “A child is missing, the child of someone I love. I understand that I’m needed, but I can’t right now. I need a second. I need-I need to leave.”
“You’re leaving?” I asked, my eyes wide. “You can’t just-”
“I’ll be back,” Charlie said. “Tell her I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Then the man, a man I had seen face down things that would make comic book heroes run away scared, bolted off the ship. As he yelled how sorry he was back to me over his shoulder, I thought he might have been crying.
I turned and walked back into the War Room. As I did, Holly stood to meet me.
“Is he okay?’ She asked, her accent tipping up the end of her sentence.
“He’s gone,” I said mournfully.
Her eyes filled with something like regret, something like shame.
“He said he was coming back,” I added quickly. “He said to let you know that he doesn’t blame you and he’s sorry.”
“He’s sorry?” She asked, her mouth turning down into a broken frown. “I am too.”
