Bad News In A Letter

Philip had disappeared from having breakfast with Charlie pretty quickly after getting a letter from his mother. He read the first line of the letter and couldn't handle being in the Grand Hall. So, the only logical response would be to go to run as fast as he could to the grounds and read it, where he was alone. Philip knew his father wasn't doing well health wise, but apparently it was much worse than even his mother thought. He read the letter with shaking hands and closed his eyes. His father had passed away and he didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. His relationship with his mother was still pretty rough, but now what was he supposed to do? He ran his hands over his face. There would be the company to figure out. Philip was only seventeen! He couldn't be in charge of a huge company like that. He folded the letter up and sighed heavily. Soft footsteps slowly approached. Philip wasn't surprised. From the way he had bolted, Charlie wouldn't be too far behind.

When Philip left, Charlie had a hunch what it was about and wanted to be at his side throughout all of it. She gave him a few minutes of space between them before following him. She sat down right behind him and wrapped her arms around him, snuggling her face right into his back with a sigh. "I love you so much, Philip. I'm here for you." She assured him and just held onto him tightly. She loved Philip to death and back and if they had to run a company at seventeen they would figure it out together. They would make it work and live a happy life together even if it killed them.

Her presence calmed him slightly, she certainly made breathing easier. One hand covered both of hers and squeezed tightly. His face was buried in the other one. He wasn’t sure if he was crying, he didn’t think he was. Philip would wait until he wasn’t in public for that. He looked down at the letter in his hand and held it out to her. “You can read it if you want.” He took a deep breath. “Thank you, Charlie, thank you for being here.” Philip's voice was soft. "I wish I could've been there." He took one of her hands in his and held tightly onto it.