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Shrink: Let’s talk about Charlie.

Ron: What about her?

Shrink: [shrug] Anything. What can you tell me about Charlie?

Ron: What’s there to tell? She’s one of those girls that was there one minute and gone the next.

Shrink: Well, let’s start from the beginning. How did you two meet?

Ron: At a party. We had both just gotten dump from a really serious relationship. We were both drinking. We woke up the next morning next to each other, naked. You can put two and two together I think.

Shrink: [sly smile] I see. How did that go?

Ron: Well, she didn’t run away screaming, she just asked, what happened. I said I didn’t remember but I could take a guess. She just rolled her eyes and went back to sleep.

Shrink: And what did you do?

Ron: I sat there, I didn’t know what to do. I looked at her and she just looked so perfect. She looked dead almost but beautiful; like an angel. So I stayed and slept beside her until the people who owned the house sobered up enough to kick us out.
After that, we went to get coffee and we talked. And it was nice. We exchanged numbers and promised to meet up at school sometime and a few weeks later we were dating.

Shrink: What was that like?

Ron: Good, I guess.

Shrink: Just good?

Ron: Well, I mean what else would it be? I guess it could’ve been amazing but I mean, no one really wants to be stuck in amazing for the rest of their lives. We think we do but really, sometimes, good is good enough.

Shrink: Was good enough for her?

Ron: I don’t really know. She didn’t complain at all. She seemed happy. Then she left.

Shrink: Do you know why or where?
Ron: [shaking head] No. I don’t know. I told you, she was there and then she wasn’t. She didn’t leave a note or anything. She just left. I thought maybe she was kidnapped or something but then I thought about it that didn’t makes sense.

Shrink: Why not?

Ron: Because Charlie is not the kind of girl that gets kidnapped. I know, people must say shit like that all the time but really, she’s just not that kind of girl. I can’t really explain why, she just isn’t. Beside, she took her stuff.

Shrink: How long were you two together before she left?

Ron: [thinking] About a year I’d say.

Shrink: That’s pretty long for a relationship in high school.

Ron: I guess. She was my second serious girlfriend. The real deal, you know.

Shrink: Did you love her?

Ron: I don’t know. I mean I think I did. I think I do. [bitterly] But it’s a little late for that crap isn’t it?

Shrink: Well, did you ever tell her?

Ron: Well yeah.

Shrink: And mean it?

Ron: [shrugging] I don’t know. I mean, Charlie she said it all the time. So I said it all the time. Then I asked her if she meant it.

Charlie: I don’t know.

Shrink: What do you mean?

Ron: I asked her and she explained.

Charlie: ‘I love you’, is just a phrase. It just words and words tend to not mean much of anything. ‘I love you’ is so over used for all the wrong reasons so it’s lost all meaning to me. To the world, really, they just don’t know it.

Ron: So then why do you say it?

Charlie: Just cus.

Ron: Isn’t misleading to those that, you know, love you and stuff?

Charlie: [shaking head] Not really. I mean if you really need me to use that phrase to express my feelings about you then that’s kinda sad. I mean, yes I say I love you and mean it in the sense that I care about you. That’s what I love you means to me. In the kidna love you’re thinking of, ‘I love you’ doesn’t mean anything. You don’t need those words to know that someone loves you.

Ron: Well, it’s verbal confirmation-

Charlie: But if it’s true love then it isn’t needed don’t you see? You should know I love you by the way I hold you. The way that I look at you. You shouldn’t need me to tell you unless there’s some deep, conflicting issues going on in your mind and even then it’s the look in my eyes that should tell you when I say it, not my words.

Ron: Do you love me?

Charlie: You should know that.

Ron: Okay, do I love you?

Charlie: [looking hard into his eyes] Yes. You love me. You love me very much.
[standing up] I gotta go to work, I’ll talk to you later.

Ron: And she got up and left.

Shrink: Was that the last time you saw her?

Ron: No. That was a few months into the relationship.

Shrink: Let’s talk about the last time you saw her.

Ron: It was at her dad’s old place. That’s where we would sleep most of the time. See, my parents are always gone and her mom is always drugged out so no one noticed us being gone on those nights. And if they did we told ‘em we were over at friends for the night. No one would bother to call. Her dad had been gone awhile but kept the place for some reason but never used it. So we used it when we needed to be together or get away. We were just hanging out; reading, doing homework, talking. It was a normal night.

Shrink: Did you suspect anything?

Ron: About her maybe leaving? [SHRINK nods] No. She never said anything; didn’t act like anything was up. I think her leaving was a surprise to her as well.

Shrink: Why do you think she left?

Ron: I don’t know. Really I don’t.

Shrink: Think hard.

Ron: [thinking] She was…unhappy.

Shrink: Unhappy how?

Ron: Wouldn’t you be? Her father’s new wife was three years older than her. Her mom was either drugged out or in rehab for drugs. Half the time her mom didn’t know her own daughter. Charlie would come to my place crying, half starved sometimes. I’d get my car and drive her over to our place. I’d calm her down and we’d talk or say nothing.

Shrink: Do you miss her?

Ron: [incredulously] What do you think? [pauses] Yes. I miss her. Sometimes I miss her so much that I forget if she’s real or not.

Shrink: [confused] What do you mean?

Ron: [rubs face] She left so suddenly I’m not sure if she was even there. Sometimes I wake up thinking she was a ghost or a dream. Maybe I slept a year of my life away and dreamt the whole thing. Maybe she was just a ghost and I thought I maybe I was the only one that knew her or could see her. [laughs gently] But then I still find her cigarettes all over the place. See, she always smoked the same cigarettes. Salem cigarettes I think. She’d never smoke anything else even if she was having a really bad day. If she didn’t have her Salem’s she wouldn’t smoke. And she’d always just smoke half a cigarette. I asked her about it once and she said she didn’t know why she did it, she just did. Even if she was just going to have another right after it, it was always just half. [sniffs] It’s those things that make me miss her. Those things, that make her real. Those things that make me love her.

Shrink: You miss her a lot don’t you? [RON nods] Is that why you tried to kill yourself?

Ron: [looking up, angry] Is that what this about? You think I slit my wrists because my girlfriend ran out on me? Is that what my parents told you?

Shrink: It could be a reason. I sincerely doubt it but really, Ron, I am just trying to get to the bottom of this. That is my job.

Ron: [standing up, yelling] Did you stop to think that maybe I slit my wrists because my father is too busy with his work and latest affair and my mother is too caught up in her own depression and drinking?! Did they ever consider that to be a factor in my failed suicide attempt? But they never think that their one and only fucked up son could be fucked up because of them!

Shrink: Ron, please calm do-

Ron: No! Let’s face it, these therapy session are the one thing they’ve done towards raising me! And even then they never both to check in. You know, the parent meeting you wanted to have? They were both too busy to even call to tell you they weren’t coming! [grabs coat, moves towards door]

Shrink: Where are you going?

Ron: I’m leaving! I’m not coming back! [opens door] You can tell my parents they are never going to see me again. I’m going to look for Charlie and start my life. I’m dropping out of school. And I’m never coming home! [slams door]

[Fades away in a scene in a park]

Ron: I’m never going home. I don’t have a home to go back too. I’m not looking for Charlie either. I decided that, if she wants to see me again, she’ll find me. When I said that Charlie never gave hint to leaving, I lied. I lied to that damn shrink and I lied to myself. All she ever talked about was leaving and how unhappy she was. I don’t think she was kidnapped; she’s not that kind of girl. She’s not the kind of girl that would kill herself either. She’s not like me. I knew Charlie very well but at the same time, I didn’t know her at all. She’s out there, somewhere, probably singing songs or writing books. She always said that’s what she wanted to do and I know she’ll do it. I love her and I hope she knows that. I hope I see her again but I don’t think I will. She’s that kind of girl. The kind of girl that’s there one minute and gone the next, making you doubt your sanity and at the same time, changing your life and giving you the courage you need to start it.

Description
Shrink: Let’s talk about Charlie.

Ron: What about her?

Shrink: [shrug] Anything. What can you tell me about Charlie?

Ron: What’s there to tell? She’s one of those girls that was there one minute and gone the next.

Shrink: Well, let’s start from the beginning. How did you two meet?

Ron: At a party. We had both just gotten dump from a really serious relationship. We were both drinking. We woke up the next morning next to each other, naked. You can put two and two together I think.

Shrink: [sly smile] I see. How did that go?

Ron: Well, she didn’t run away screaming, she just asked, what happened. I said I didn’t remember but I could take a guess. She just rolled her eyes and went back to sleep.

Shrink: And what did you do?

Ron: I sat there, I didn’t know what to do. I looked at her and she just looked so perfect. She looked dead almost but beautiful; like an angel. So I stayed and slept beside her until the people who owned the house sobered up enough to kick us out.
After that, we went to get coffee and we talked. And it was nice. We exchanged numbers and promised to meet up at school sometime and a few weeks later we were dating.

Shrink: What was that like?

Ron: Good, I guess.

Shrink: Just good?

Ron: Well, I mean what else would it be? I guess it could’ve been amazing but I mean, no one really wants to be stuck in amazing for the rest of their lives. We think we do but really, sometimes, good is good enough.

Shrink: Was good enough for her?

Ron: I don’t really know. She didn’t complain at all. She seemed happy. Then she left.

Shrink: Do you know why or where?
Ron: [shaking head] No. I don’t know. I told you, she was there and then she wasn’t. She didn’t leave a note or anything. She just left. I thought maybe she was kidnapped or something but then I thought about it that didn’t makes sense.

Shrink: Why not?

Ron: Because Charlie is not the kind of girl that gets kidnapped. I know, people must say shit like that all the time but really, she’s just not that kind of girl. I can’t really explain why, she just isn’t. Beside, she took her stuff.

Shrink: How long were you two together before she left?

Ron: [thinking] About a year I’d say.

Shrink: That’s pretty long for a relationship in high school.

Ron: I guess. She was my second serious girlfriend. The real deal, you know.

Shrink: Did you love her?

Ron: I don’t know. I mean I think I did. I think I do. [bitterly] But it’s a little late for that crap isn’t it?

Shrink: Well, did you ever tell her?

Ron: Well yeah.

Shrink: And mean it?

Ron: [shrugging] I don’t know. I mean, Charlie she said it all the time. So I said it all the time. Then I asked her if she meant it.

Charlie: I don’t know.

Shrink: What do you mean?

Ron: I asked her and she explained.

Charlie: ‘I love you’, is just a phrase. It just words and words tend to not mean much of anything. ‘I love you’ is so over used for all the wrong reasons so it’s lost all meaning to me. To the world, really, they just don’t know it.

Ron: So then why do you say it?

Charlie: Just cus.

Ron: Isn’t misleading to those that, you know, love you and stuff?

Charlie: [shaking head] Not really. I mean if you really need me to use that phrase to express my feelings about you then that’s kinda sad. I mean, yes I say I love you and mean it in the sense that I care about you. That’s what I love you means to me. In the kidna love you’re thinking of, ‘I love you’ doesn’t mean anything. You don’t need those words to know that someone loves you.

Ron: Well, it’s verbal confirmation-

Charlie: But if it’s true love then it isn’t needed don’t you see? You should know I love you by the way I hold you. The way that I look at you. You shouldn’t need me to tell you unless there’s some deep, conflicting issues going on in your mind and even then it’s the look in my eyes that should tell you when I say it, not my words.

Ron: Do you love me?

Charlie: You should know that.

Ron: Okay, do I love you?

Charlie: [looking hard into his eyes] Yes. You love me. You love me very much.
[standing up] I gotta go to work, I’ll talk to you later.

Ron: And she got up and left.

Shrink: Was that the last time you saw her?

Ron: No. That was a few months into the relationship.

Shrink: Let’s talk about the last time you saw her.

Ron: It was at her dad’s old place. That’s where we would sleep most of the time. See, my parents are always gone and her mom is always drugged out so no one noticed us being gone on those nights. And if they did we told ‘em we were over at friends for the night. No one would bother to call. Her dad had been gone awhile but kept the place for some reason but never used it. So we used it when we needed to be together or get away. We were just hanging out; reading, doing homework, talking. It was a normal night.

Shrink: Did you suspect anything?

Ron: About her maybe leaving? [SHRINK nods] No. She never said anything; didn’t act like anything was up. I think her leaving was a surprise to her as well.

Shrink: Why do you think she left?

Ron: I don’t know. Really I don’t.

Shrink: Think hard.

Ron: [thinking] She was…unhappy.

Shrink: Unhappy how?

Ron: Wouldn’t you be? Her father’s new wife was three years older than her. Her mom was either drugged out or in rehab for drugs. Half the time her mom didn’t know her own daughter. Charlie would come to my place crying, half starved sometimes. I’d get my car and drive her over to our place. I’d calm her down and we’d talk or say nothing.

Shrink: Do you miss her?

Ron: [incredulously] What do you think? [pauses] Yes. I miss her. Sometimes I miss her so much that I forget if she’s real or not.

Shrink: [confused] What do you mean?

Ron: [rubs face] She left so suddenly I’m not sure if she was even there. Sometimes I wake up thinking she was a ghost or a dream. Maybe I slept a year of my life away and dreamt the whole thing. Maybe she was just a ghost and I thought I maybe I was the only one that knew her or could see her. [laughs gently] But then I still find her cigarettes all over the place. See, she always smoked the same cigarettes. Salem cigarettes I think. She’d never smoke anything else even if she was having a really bad day. If she didn’t have her Salem’s she wouldn’t smoke. And she’d always just smoke half a cigarette. I asked her about it once and she said she didn’t know why she did it, she just did. Even if she was just going to have another right after it, it was always just half. [sniffs] It’s those things that make me miss her. Those things, that make her real. Those things that make me love her.

Shrink: You miss her a lot don’t you? [RON nods] Is that why you tried to kill yourself?

Ron: [looking up, angry] Is that what this about? You think I slit my wrists because my girlfriend ran out on me? Is that what my parents told you?

Shrink: It could be a reason. I sincerely doubt it but really, Ron, I am just trying to get to the bottom of this. That is my job.

Ron: [standing up, yelling] Did you stop to think that maybe I slit my wrists because my father is too busy with his work and latest affair and my mother is too caught up in her own depression and drinking?! Did they ever consider that to be a factor in my failed suicide attempt? But they never think that their one and only fucked up son could be fucked up because of them!

Shrink: Ron, please calm do-

Ron: No! Let’s face it, these therapy session are the one thing they’ve done towards raising me! And even then they never both to check in. You know, the parent meeting you wanted to have? They were both too busy to even call to tell you they weren’t coming! [grabs coat, moves towards door]

Shrink: Where are you going?

Ron: I’m leaving! I’m not coming back! [opens door] You can tell my parents they are never going to see me again. I’m going to look for Charlie and start my life. I’m dropping out of school. And I’m never coming home! [slams door]

[Fades away in a scene in a park]

Ron: I’m never going home. I don’t have a home to go back too. I’m not looking for Charlie either. I decided that, if she wants to see me again, she’ll find me. When I said that Charlie never gave hint to leaving, I lied. I lied to that damn shrink and I lied to myself. All she ever talked about was leaving and how unhappy she was. I don’t think she was kidnapped; she’s not that kind of girl. She’s not the kind of girl that would kill herself either. She’s not like me. I knew Charlie very well but at the same time, I didn’t know her at all. She’s out there, somewhere, probably singing songs or writing books. She always said that’s what she wanted to do and I know she’ll do it. I love her and I hope she knows that. I hope I see her again but I don’t think I will. She’s that kind of girl. The kind of girl that’s there one minute and gone the next, making you doubt your sanity and at the same time, changing your life and giving you the courage you need to start it.