I'M HURTING

      Since Faith couldn't resist the taste of alcohol, she went back. Charlotte took out two shots and kept them on the kitchen table, both of them sat on tall stools adjacent to each other. Charlotte poured her a shot and poured herself a shot. Faith gulped down hers and kept the shot for another drink. She didn't like that Charlotte was going to handle the pouring of the drink. She would limit the amount Faith wanted to drink. 

       Charlotte poured her another shot she gulped and she poured her another—a third shot, she gulped it down and looked at Charlotte's hands, they didn't make to pour her another one, she allowed her eyes to trail from her hands to her face. Charlotte was looking at her. She removed her eyes from Charlotte again. 

       Suddenly, she felt like a wine thief—caught red-handed, given the wine to drink to the fullest. But Charlotte's face held no such sentiment. 

         "I'm sorry for taking your wine," she said again.  "I found out that mine was finished so I decided to borrow yours, I promise I was going to replace it tomorrow."

       "Stop saying you are sorry, I understand and besides, it's not even mine but Ethan's," Charlotte said.

    Speaking of Ethan, if it was Ethan that caught her in the act, it would have been a whole different thing.

     "I know you don't know me from anywhere, you probably don't think I'm genuine or you think I'm not showing all of myself, you think I still have a hidden part of me, I don't know what you believe about me, but I want to assure you that I could never do anything to hurt you on purpose. "

       Faith tilted her shot, looking at it. Charlotte poured her a shot and she gulped down and kept the shot back on the table. 

         "You know, we all have problems," Charlotte continued.  "No one is without a problem, but it's how we handle it. So, why are you drinking tonight? What happened?" 

       Faith placed her elbow on the table and used the heel of her palm to support her head. She started sobbing.

       "Hey, hey, hey, it's okay," Charlotte said and held her on the shoulder. She moved her stool closer and made Faith rest her head on her shoulder. She consoled Faith.  "It's alright, it's going to be okay." 

     After a while, Faith raised her head from Charlotte's shoulder.  "I'm sorry, you had to see that," she said wiping her tears. 

      Charlotte smiled.  "It's okay not to be okay." 

      Faith sniffed and propped her arms on the table.  "I fought with Nora." 

        "Your best friend?" Faith nodded.  Charlotte poured a shot of tequila for herself and gulped it down, she poured another shot and poured it down.  "Friends fight aways, that's what makes your relationship stronger." She showed Faith the bottle, asking with her eyes if Faith would be interested in the drink. 

       Faith shook her head. She was okay for now, she just wanted to talk and let her heart out. Charlotte gulped down another shot. 

      Faith turned to her and fresh tears welled up in her eyes.  "I'm hurting," she muttered.   "I'm hurting from a lot of things." 

       "You are a human, you will hurt. It's totally fine to hurt." 

       Faith looked at her and brushed off the tea r that was running down her cheek.