The Unforgiven | Charlie & Raine
It was Thursday afternoon when Raine realized that of all of her friends that she’d spoken with about Justin’s passing, she had yet to talk to Gabe. He hadn’t gotten in touch with her, she assumed that somehow word hadn’t gotten to him yet. She decided that she’d stop by the gallery after her classes and her shift at the bookstore. She knew that Gabe hadn’t known Justin well but they had met, talked at least a few times, and, from what she knew, they’d gotten along. She didn’t want his condolences, she just wanted him to know.
As the day wore on, there was something else, something potentially more, weighing on Raine’s mind than Justin’s death and the guilt she’d found herself feeling once she’d put together that he’d gotten hit while trying to text her. She hadn’t wanted to tell him that she and Brandon were trying to work things out over the phone or in some public setting. But their schedules kept conflicting and then Justin was gone. Maybe if she had just gone to the play with him and told him after the show, or called him, then he wouldn’t have been texting her and he might’ve been more aware of oncoming traffic while he was crossing the road. Maybe he would’ve been able to step back or jump out of the way or he wouldn’t have been in the street in the first place.
Life could be so fleeting and tomorrow was promised to no one. It made her want to hold on to Brandon, for neither of them to ever let the other go again, and yet, at the same time, the thoughts and memory of Justin, how they’d become friends and why they’d started dating in the first place, had her thinking and feeling like she was being too easy on Brandon, too forgiving, and that maybe he didn’t deserve another chance, after all the other seconds chances she’d given him. Even if she wanted nothing more than to forgive him and for them to move forward, together, perhaps this umpteenth chance at love and happiness together wasn’t something either of them deserved.
When Raine arrived at the gallery, she reconsidered how good of an idea it would be to tell Gabe while he was at work. He and Justin might not have been besties, but the news of someone’s death is never an easy one to receive. Before she found Gabe, she turned around to leave. She would just call him later that night or text him. As she crossed the lobby, she wasn’t paying that much attention to her surroundings but she caught a glimpse of something, someone, that made her stop in her tracks. Charlie. Oh, as if anything could make any of this any worse for Raine, it would be running into the girl who had unwittingly and yet not innocently assisted Brandon the last time, far too recent, that he’d torn her heart to pieces. Raine bowed her head and resumed walking, hoping the other girl had not, and would not, see her.
It had taken some encouragement from Max for Charlie to finally decide that maybe letting Gabe in was a good idea. He had been supportive and kind throughout the whole ordeal and it felt wrong, somehow, to push him away or brush him off. He had gone to her birthday dinner, for one thing, and assured her that he didn't care about what happened between her and Raine and in a way, Charlie felt compelled to thank him.
The offices at ABM were quiet recently due to Justin's passing and Charlie didn't really feel like being in the building for her lunch break. She needed to breathe fresh air. She laughed quietly to herself about the idea of bringing Gabe lunch at work. A visit was enough this time. Lunch reminded her a bit too much of her run in with Cece.
Arriving at the gallery, she found that she had just missed Gabe as he ran out for supplies. She figured she would text him later and hopefully meet up with him later in person. But, just as she was about to leave, there was Raine. The one person whom she had been working so hard to stay out of the way of.
Was it better to run off and pretend she hasn't seen her? Or should she at least greet the other woman and attempt to create some form of civility between them - regardless of whether or not that civility was reciprocated? She had promised Travis she could take care of herself. That things in New York would be okay. It was stupid to avoid the inevitable. She was friends with Gabe and he was friends with Raine so they were going to run into each other at some point.
She walked over, making a point of not looking overconfident or unnatural. "Hi. Raine. How are you?" She asked, also careful not to sound timid.
