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serenitybymoonlight · 2 months ago

Text

cauterized - heartstopper - 18+ Twilight AU: 1. Home

Summary

After an incident in the UK, Charlie Spring moves to Kentwood, Oregon, to live with his estranged cop father and kid brother. He finds himself in the middle of a supernatural war and the love interest of two men on opposite sides. Charlie has scars, mentally and physically. He doesn't know what he wants for breakfast, let alone who he chooses to be with. Are you Team Nick, Team Ben, or Team Tao?

Wattpad

AO3

TW: Mentioned Gun Violence and Trauma

I've been sacrificed. My heart's been cauterized Hanging on to hope Shackled by the ghost -Halestorm

August 23rd, 2005 10:22 AM

Portland International Airport, Portland, Oregon

Julio was ecstatic and overjoyed that his firstborn son would move in with him. Though he was anxious since he hadn't seen him since Charlie was 13. Julio felt so disappointed in himself that he always told himself he would be a better father than his, but it turned out he was just like him.

Julio and Jane only got married because Charlie was on the way, so it took a little while for Julio's attention to wander. Charlie was about 3 when they got divorced. Jane hated America, so she moved back to Britain. Julio had just landed the job as sheriff then. He made sure to get it every summer, at the least.

As Charlie got older, Julio felt he had a grudge for what he had done to Jane, but he wanted Julio to save him from Jane's erratic behavior. When Olly came along, Charlie told Julio that he had a new family now and that there wasn't a point of him coming to visit anymore. It was harsh, but Charlie wanted his father to be there for Olly and felt he would burden them.

Julio's heart nearly stopped when he got the call in the middle of the night. After all these years, Charlie still memorized the landline. Words couldn't express how more terror Julio felt when he heard what his baby boy had endured without his knowledge.

Jane had poor mental health. She didn't know how to be a mom because her mom used to beat her. She had man after man in the house until she married David Nelson, a man a decade younger than her and with tenfold mental illnesses. Charlie had lost his mother... he had been there for everything. He jumped from the second floor of the house to escape the burning down house. Julio could have saved him from this if he had fought more.

"Olly baby," Julio kneeled in front of Oliver. He had grown up so much since Charlie had last visited. Charlie always wanted a baby brother, so they would exchange letters and emails when Olly was old enough. Oliver was so excited to meet his Bubba in person. "I know you are excited, sweetie. Just don't jump on Charlie like you do when greeting others. He is injured, okay?" Julio reminded Oliver as Charlie's plane landed and people started coming out of the gate.

"Okay, Dad," Olly said like a little angel with a halo above his head. "I know Bubba is hurt. That's why I am going to take care of him,"

"You are now?" Julio chuckled

"Yeah! I cleaned his room and made his bed! I even saved him one of my favorite candies because he must be hungry after the longest flight,"

"Atta boy, you have always been the strongest of the two of us," Julio pinched his cheeks and ruffled his hair before standing straight to look for Charlie.

Charlie had waited for everyone to get before him. He didn't want anyone to bump into him. It had been two months since the fire, and Uncle Antonio squished him in a big hug before boarding the plane, so he was still sore.

He walked out to see his little brother alone. Charlie raised an eyebrow, looking around for Julio. "Charlie Barley!"

"Ack!" Charlie gasped. His father had mistaken him for another passenger. He picked him up in a hug and spun him around. "Daddy! Daddy! Ribs are still broken!" Charlie panicked.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry," Julio gasped, setting him down and searching to see if he had done any real damage.

"I'm okay, you just scared me," Charlie hugged his dad with one hand.

"Y-you said you got your cast off. Are you still in a sling?" Julio widened his eyes, and his lips trembled. Charlie was so tiny, to begin with, but he looked skinnier from the back when Julio rushed to his bedside in May.

"I'm fine, Daddy. The doctor said to wear the sling for just a couple more weeks," Charlie said and looked down at Oliver, who was cautiously approaching. "Hi there, Olly," Charlie said softly, seeing Olly wanted to hug him but didn't want to break him. "C'mere, this is my good side... just don't hug too hard, okay?" Charlie said, and Olly nodded before hugging him like a glass figurine. "Are... you crying? Why is he crying?"

"He loves you, baby. He is worried about you," Julio knitted his eyebrows together. He was tearing up, even more so because Charlie was extremely confused.

"I'm sorry..." Charlie frowned before Julio hugged him on his bad side but was careful.

"You're home now, Charlie Barley," Julio kissed his forehead.

"I will be a good little brother and protect you, Bubba," Olly sniffled, and Charlie remained a little emotionless. He didn't know how to react to this from Olly or Julio.

"Okay, Boys." Julio ruffled Charlie and Olly's hair before standing up. He placed a hand on Charlie's shoulder. He looked down to see the burn on the side of his neck, which was on the side he was touching, so he quickly moved to the other side. "Let's get your luggage and head home, okay?"

"Yeah!" Holding Charlie's hand, Olly pulled at him, "I can't wait for you to see your room and meet Peanut!" Olly bounced a little hyper, not wanting to keep the emotional atmosphere between all of them.

"Peanut?" Charlie asked.

"It's Olly's cat he got for his birthday," Julio said, taking in his son's appearance. Emotion overtook the moment, so he only took in his injuries. Charlie was wearing all-black clothes and had on smeared emo eyeliner. His hair was dyed jet black with a purple streak. Julio saw this as Charlie going through an emo phase. It was clear how much pain he was in.

"Oh, you have a kitty?" Charlie smiled. He loved animals—dogs more than cats, but he didn't hate cats either. Jane was allergic to pets, so he had never had one before.

"You talk silly," Olly said, pointing out his brother's accent.

"No, you talk silly, you little rascal," Charlie giggled, patting his head. He started to grab his bag from the area when he saw it, but Julio swatted him away to get them himself. "Thanks, Daddy... Were you able to take off work for the weekend?" he remembered his father saying that in his latest email.

"No baby, I am so sorry," Julio sighed, and Charlie gave him a reassuring look, "It's just... there has been a lot of m-u-r-d-e-r-s lately," Julio spelled out, and Charlie raised an eyebrow.

"In a small town like Kentwood?" Charlie asked

"Yeah... we think it has a tie-in with a c-u-l-t," Julio said. He pinched the bridge of his nose and stopped. "Shit, I am so sorry, I don't want to trigger you,"

"It's okay... it's just life," Charlie said, not wanting his dad to panic.

"I know what you spelled. I am nine, not five," Olly said proudly. Charlie chuckled and high-fived Olly.

"While we are on the topic, Charles... he has never been caught," Julio said, referring to David and Charlie's faces dropping. "Now I trust you to be alone at the house, but I am gonna have a guard for you until he is caught... and when the crime goes down in Kentwood,"

"Daddy?" Charlie sighed, thinking his dad treated him like a baby, just like Olly felt.

"I know. I told him we didn't need a babysitter. I could protect you alone," Olly huffed.

"I know, you two are completely capable of protecting yourself. It's just precautionary," Julio told them both. Come on, we can eat at Harry's before I have to head in," Julio said, and Charlie tried to contain his face.

"Char! Youre going to sit in the back with me, right!?" Olly said, bouncing, "I can protect you better like that and show you all the pictures I have drawn for you!"

—- 3:29 PM

Harry's Dinner, Kentwood, Oregon

Charlie hadn't been to this restaurant in years, and he used to ask his father to go every day in the summers when he would visit. However, Charlie had developed many eating rules, and all this place had was greasy food and meat.

"Are you sure you just wanted a soup?" Julio raised an eyebrow as it wasn't even soup. It was just some vegetable broth with ice cubes. "You used to love getting country fried steak and a big chocolate cherry milkshake, buddy? You don't have to worry about money,"

"Oh... I'm not worried about that," Charlie explained. I am sort of a vegan now," Charlie said, and Julio widened his eyes as he was nowhere near equipped to cook for a vegan. He was still determining what he could eat on the menu if he were to list other things. "I am picky about salad, and I don't like hot foods because they're um..."

"Well, you can still eat milkshakes and cake, can't you?" Olly widened his eyes, "Here, you can share this with me!" Olly handed Charlie some toast.

"It has butter on it," Charlie chuckled at his little brother as he gave him back the bread.

"But... But butter isn't meat,"

"It isn't, but it is dairy," Charlie smiled and noogied his brother, "Don't worry about me. Eat your toast, Bubba. I had a lot to eat on the plane," Charlie said. He could tell his father wasn't fully convinced, so he tried to change the subject. "Did I make it into this semester at the high school?"

"Oh, yes," Julio took the bait and explained everything he had been told. "You will start school on the 2nd in the senior year," he said, and Charlie sighed. He had worked hard to get enough credits to graduate early, but it hadn't been enough. "Youre also going to go to physical therapy in Port Higgs on Wednesdays and Therapy at the same place on Mondays,"

"Oh, I don't have to go to therapy anymore," Charlie said, and Julio raised an eyebrow, as that's not what Antonio said. "Dr. Moon said that I was all better," Charlie shrugged. Julio passed on a tell when lying to Olly and Charlie: After they told a lie, their noses would scrunch up.

"Is that so?" Julio said, and Charlie nodded confidently. So it's just like that? Are we already going to start lying to each other?" Julio was a pretty lax father, but he wasn't a pushover.

"It... I don't like PT and Therapy," Charlie sighed, looking down at his soup and playing with his spoon. PT hurts. I went to one when I got the cast-off, and... therapists want time to talk about that day," Charlie said, showing emotion for the first time he was here.

"Daddy, knock it off. You are scaring him," Olly said, hugging his brother.

"Boys... I am not trying to be mean... I want Charlie to get better, and that means PT and talking about hard things," Julio said, placing his hand on top of Charlie's. The boy looked annoyed, but he knew that Julio was right.

"I just... I don't want to," Charlie sighed.

"I know, Bubba, but Daddy and I are going to be there for you," Olly patted him on the back. Charlie held back the pained face as Olly patted the burned side. He didn't want to scare Olly.

"I know..." Charlie hugged his brother and father as they finished their first dinner together of many.

"Okay... Vegematarian," Julio said to himself so he would remember it.

"Vegan," Charlie explained.

"Okay... er, is there anything else I need to know... I should probably go by the store when I get off work," Julio told himself.

"I-I am gay," Charlie exclaimed out. Some older, nosey generation around them cringed at that and clutched their pearls.

"Gay? Like in happy?" Olly asked.

"Er... no, he likes boys and not girls," Julio said softly, hugging Charlie and kissing him on the forehead paternally. "I love you all the same. Do you think I would have a problem with that?" Julio raised an eyebrow

"I dunno," Charlie blushed.

"Well, I don't," Julio shrugged.

"Yuck... Boys and Girls have cooties. I'm never going to like any of them," Olly crossed his arms, making the other laugh.

"I think the guy who is going to be your School Buddy is the head of the SAG club at Kentwood High," Julio said, and Charlie raised an eyebrow.

"Do you mean the GSA club?" Charlie asked as he was surprised a small town like Kentwood had a queer-friendly student body. "School Buddy? Who is he?"

"Oh, it's what they call your guide. The school campus is a bit confusing, so you will have a guide for a week. And... I don't know if you know him, Tao Xu. He is a sweet kid,"

Charlie was nervous about coming to America, a really small town, and he knew there would be homophobes and bullies everywhere. However, he didn't want to be in the closet any longer, especially since he had almost passed away.

This would be different for Charlie. He would make the best of his life but didn't know how different life would be for him in return. Please Vote, Comment, Add to your reading list, and share with your friends:) Check out my subreddit for my writings r/QuinnLake.

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