Charlie Mulgrave

It was also very typically Elif. A mother hen to the max, her aunt just couldn’t help herself from micromanaging in almost every area of her children’s lives. Then again, Shay did have a habit of pushing limits. “Something like that, but I guess my track record kind of justifies it.” Her mouth curved with an impish grin - one that only grew and intensified when he seemed unable to finish his sentence. 

“Since I’m so obviously what?” Hilarious? Inventive? She paused a beat to see if he’d squirm under pressure, but a moment later she let him off the hook. “She’s stuck working longer shifts the next few days since they’re short staffed and wants to get started on her fall garden as soon as possible.” Apparently, planting schedules were a thing. “That’s where I come in. And I mean, I get to squeeze a free dinner out of it, so I guess personal shopper’s not that bad of a gig.” 

. 

She reminded him a little of one of his younger cousins, Laura. They shared the same slightly horrifying air of mischief about them. The thought came with an inexplicable wave of fondness. “Dinner is a pretty good payment,” he agreed, wishing he could also con somebody into feeding him in exchange for small errands. “But what makes a fall garden different from any other kinda garden? She growing pumpkins or some shit?” Clearly, he needed to up his game in the gardening department. Charlie groaned internally—was he going to need to buy an idiot’s guide? “Hey, would your aunt maybe be willing to help a guy out with some tips if he were to show up with the stuff she actually asked you to buy?” 

~

She hadn’t meant to startle the man, maybe he wasn’t in the mood to talk to her. He looked familiar enough. Thea saw so many faces, it was hard to keep track at times, but his face did look like one she’d seen at the speakeasy before. She gave a nod, although that was not the experience she had growing up didn’t mean she wasn’t angsty and rebellious in other ways. “Their first taste of freedom, getting to make their own choices. Oh, I’m an alumni, so just helping out with the event. Showcasing what exactly graduating from Providence University could do for you.” She smirked a bit, letting him know she didn’t actual hold herself in that extreme of high regards. When he asked about Holy Spirits, she was glad that she was able to confirm in her mind that was where she’d seen him before. “I actually own it, but yeah I do fill in the spot of bartender on days where I need to. And what about you? You’re a professor, right?”

.

He nodded in understanding and then again in confirmation. It made sense. Holy Spirits was the favourite drinking hole for a lot of his students and he’d been there enough times to know the owner must be making a decent profit. Getting local business owners involved was a good idea by the university, though he was fairly sure only a few of the kids actually cared about where their degrees were going to get them this early in the year. Party mode was switched on. They wouldn’t be focusing for another few weeks, not until the initial moving in hangovers had died off. “Yeah, I teach lit. Got no idea why they wanted me here, really. I kinda got railroaded into it. Ah well. Might be nice to blow off some steam.”

He was far from a rookie when it came to the gym, but the other was right. Leaving a machine unattended, despite the towel marking his place, was a rookie mistake for certain. “If they want it, they can have it.” Ultimately, the joke would be on them. He’d put in a lot of work within that short time and the damp towel was proof of that. If they wanted it, they could have it. “I guess so. I was thinking about hitting the weights next. I’m not sure if you lift, but if you wouldn’t mind spotting me for a few reps, I’d do the same for you?” He didn’t want to assume one way or the other, but he figured he’d at least offer. “Khalil, by the way. Feel free to call me Khal or whatever you want, really.” 

.

This was one of the things he’d come to realise he missed about being social, the gym was always a surprisingly good place to make new, if not casual, acquaintances. In the months that Charlie had spent drinking or panicking himself into a low spiral, he’d left his old routine from Boston in the dust. Recovering it was already doing wonders. “Sounds good to me,” he replied, straightening up. Usually he reserved weights for days where Benji was with him, too nervous to interrupt anyone else’s routine and ask them to spot him. It’d be nice to get an extra day in. “I’m Charlie. Nice to meet ya... just don’t judge me for my form, I only got back into lifting recently. Still scraping off some of the rust.”

It was a coin toss on whether or not things would be okay between them. While she wanted to remain heavily on the side of her gal pals, she had to give Charlie credit where credit was due. “I always have that around. It’s a city favorite.” With his order rattled off, she shifted behind the counter to make the coffee first. “Do you want anything in your coffee? Sugar, milk, creamer?” It was typically served as it was, but she always gave her customers a chance to add whatever they wanted within reason. “So, what are you doing these days?” Drinking wasn’t everything, but it did make life a bit more fun. While his coffee was brewing fresh, she scooped out a healthy amount of lokma onto a tray and added a side of his usual dipping sauce. “I hope you didn’t give up honey too,” she teased as she slipped the tray onto his table. “Coffee will be. out soon.”

.

“Just a li’l bit of sugar. Thanks.” Charlie couldn’t help but feel a ping of sadness as he looked around the shop. Had it not been for his own foolishness and months of moping, this place could’ve been a comfortable regular spot for him by now. He’d shot himself in the foot in more ways than one with his inability to think straight. The only consoling thought was that Ver wasn’t kicking him out on his ass. “Well, I moved into a new place up in Bighorn Hills,” he said, mouth watering as she put the food down. Coming in had been an excellent idea. “New to me at least. It’s pretty shabby, but I kinda like it. Only problem’s the yard, I’ve been trying to sort it out but it’s putting up a fight. Gardening’s not really my strong suit, y’know? I figure I might as well stick to it though.” Tearing through the dirt with his hands had turned out to be surprisingly therapeutic and he was starting to understand why people made such a big fuss about it. “What about you? You get all that old drama sorted?”

Once his shy smile committed with words, and he didn’t say anything about her being weird because they were total strangers, she smiled and offered a single nod.  “Okay, then.  Happy to help.  Mine needs some work but it isn’t a project.  I could use a project.”  She bit her lip and started looking over the gardening supplies through a different lens, which was difficult if she’d never seen his property before.  Who knew what they would need?  Not her.  “Coffee and snacks are the best payment.  Maybe we could, you know, also start with names.  I’m Natalie.” 

.

It would be nice to have some company at the cabin, even just for an afternoon. Not that Charlie was really the kind of man to engage with neighbours anyway, but all the nearby houses were just far enough away from him to make socialising difficult. Although he liked the quiet, he knew he probably shouldn’t let himself settle in with only his dog to talk to at all times otherwise the temptation never to return to civilisation would become too strong. “Charlie,” he introduced himself, awkwardly sticking out his free hand for her to shake. “Nice to meet you. And the offer goes both ways, by the way.” It was only fair. If she helped him he could at least return the favour. 

location: peak fitness

character: @charliemulgrave​

If there was one thing he always tried to keep up, it was cardio. He could bench as much as he wanted or crank out a hundred push ups, but sometimes a good foot pursuit made all the difference. However, it just so happened that every other person in Providence Peak also wanted to keep up on the treadmill. He’d been nearly a half hour into running when he’d taken a short break to grab water. He’d even left a towel on the machine in hopes of it marking his spot. Turns out, that didn’t work. “Son of a bitch,” he exhaled as he pulled the earbud out looked over every taken machine before dark hues settled on a man taking in his defeat. “Word of advice, if you ever get on one of those things, don’t ever get off.” 

.

Charlie watched the scene unfold with some amusement. He’d just finished cursing the Stairmaster, his legs burning as he leaned against the wall to regroup, when he looked up to see a girl dart over to steal the treadmill. Huffing out a laugh, he shook his head. “Rookie mistake, man,” he said, though the guy certainly didn’t look like a rookie. “Y’know, that once happened to me and they stole my towel too. You better hope you get that back.” There was a special place in hell for gym rats who threw etiquette out the window, he thought. Machine thieves were just behind people who refused to wipe down the equipment after they were done. “But hey, at least you got some work in.”

—

“She’s not a fan of my general inability to follow instructions,” Shay mused without once dropping her smirk. “But I guess she’s probably not too fond of homicidal maniacs, either, no.” Even in the fictious sense. Aunt Elif always found an excuse to be out of the house on horror movie marathon nights while Shay was growing up. She sure as hell didn’t accept any invites now.

The tiny slip down memory lane in her head didn’t distract her from the mission, though. His or her own. “I once watered a house plant someone gifted me with beer, so…” That pretty much said all that needed to be shared on whether or not she harbored any sort of green thumb. “Either way, I do think those might be your best bet.” Considering he’d shot down her initial suggestion and all. 

As for her gathered tools? “I’m gonna give it all to my aunt.” Pleased as can be with her plan, she flashed the widest grin. “I’ll play nice and get what she asked for, too, but the fact that she went out of her way to give me this—” her carefully laid out list, complete with hand drawn map, slipped into view— “means I at least get to fuck with her first. As if I need it.” She absolutely did.

.

“Man... that is detailed,” Charlie chuckled, peering down at the list. He half wished he had his own miniature map of the store, at least then he would know where to start. “She really doesn’t have a lot of faith in you, huh?” In fairness to the woman’s aunt, he thought to himself, she was did have the air of somebody who liked to cause trouble and her current actions only reinforced that image. “How come she didn’t come herself? Y’know, since you’re obviously, uh...” He gestured to the tools, wondering if there was a polite way to phrase ‘totally insane and a little scary.’ 

character: Charlie Mulgrave @charliemulgrave​

location: The Break Room; University Heights

She couldn’t believe that it was already the week that Providence University was already welcoming back students for the new semester of school. As an alumni and local business owner she had decided to come to both promote the speakeasy as well as be a model of what these college students could become if they set their minds to it they too could be like the mayor’s daughter. Her “Hello my name is…” sticker being prominently shown. The idea of getting out some pent up aggression by chucking axes sounded nice too but she felt like the angsty teens and early twenty year olds might need it more than she did. There seemed to be plenty of college kids there, but she hoped there might be a few more people her age or older. Spotting a semi-uncomfortable looking man in the crowd, she chose to go over to him. “You know I wish this place had been around while I was in college. I feel like this event would have been better during midterms or finals though.” 

.

It wasn’t that Charlie didn’t enjoy university events, it was just that this particular event hit all the wrong nerves. Coupled with the fact that the students were all in high spirits, amped up and ready to cause some well-earned beginning of the year destruction, the whole affair put him a little on edge. He glanced up in surprise as a woman approached him, half-expecting it to be another professor, only to find it was someone he recognised from behind the bar of one of the local drinking holes. “You’re probably right,” he agreed, wondering what had inspired her to talk to him—he was fairly sure he’d spent the last ten minutes looking like he might growl at anyone who approached. “I spent all of my high school years being told not to break shit, so showing up to college and being offered this might’ve been interesting. What brings you here, anyway? You work at Holy Spirits, right?”

RACHEL: Hi Charlie, I apologize that this news is just coming over text. But, I wanted to share something with you, because I know Avery is also an important person to you.

RACHEL: Unfortunately her parents both passed and Avery is of course taking this extremely hard. I don't think it'd be fair of me to go into full detail for her, but I think hearing from you might mean a lot to her.

RACHEL: Mars will be staying with me for awhile so that both of them can have some time to adjust to this new reality. If you see us around and feel comfortable you can say hi.

CHARLIE: Hey. Thanks for letting me know. I'm sorry to hear that, I know it must be hard for you too. I'll give Avery a call. Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help her out.

CHARLIE: Give Mars a high-five for me, but I think it's best if I don't come over. I don't think it would be a good idea.

“It’s easy for me to imagine you’re right.  When I look around and realize I’m the grown-up responsible for its appearance and upkeep, well, that’ll be a reality check.”  She tucked her hands into the pockets on her zip hoodie.  Even in the summer, she always had one layered over a tank because if air conditioning existed anywhere, like in a store, she was instantly cold. 

And then he was speaking the language of her childhood because he mentioned Sleeping Beauty.  And it was not a bad kind of nostalgia at all. 

“I know exactly what you’re talking about,” she admitted.  “But in terms of yardwork, that sounds like a huge job.  This could be a weird question, but do you need any amateur help?  I may not know what I’m doing, but I’m selfishly wondering if it would be cathartic to rip out the hedges and reveal the kingdom underneath.” 

     .

He was a little taken aback by the offer. It wasn’t a weird question at all, he didn’t think, or it wouldn’t be were it aimed at someone else. No, the part that Charlie struggled with was that she was asking to help him. He’d gotten so used to isolating himself now that it seemed strange for anybody but Rachel to actively want to spend time with him. His smile widened and he ducked his head, suddenly feeling a little shy. “I- yeah, sure, that would be great, actually. I don’t even know where I’m gonna start, maybe you could help me figure it out. I can pay you in coffee and snacks, if you like.” 

She hated that she still liked him. It broke every ounce of girl code that she could think of and yet, she wasn’t quick to rush him out or to tell him off either. No, this was the part where she played Switzerland and let everyone else figure it out for themselves. “No.” The woman shook her head and bit down harshly on her bottom lip for a moment. If this came back and bit her in the ass later, she’d deal with it. “I technically knew you first and even though I’m still a little mad about the thing we don’t have to talk about, you’ve never done anything to me and as long as you aren’t a super big asshole again, then I think we’re fine.” With no customers in earshot, she didn’t feel guilty for laying out the truth. “You don’t have to go. If you want to sit down, feel free to. I might even join you.” If he didn’t mind, at least. “Do you know what you want?”

.

It was a surprise to say the least, but Charlie wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He hesitated for only a moment before nodding jerkily and saying, “You got any of that great lokma you make? And a coffee. Please.” As she took his order, he shoved his hands into his pockets and looked awkwardly to ground. “n if it’s any help, I’m really really trying not to be an asshole. Gave up drinking and everything.” Maybe that was an overshare, but he wanted Ver to know he wasn’t bullshitting this time. When he’d told Rachel he needed to clear his head and get some perspective, he meant it. That wasn’t going to change this time. He wouldn’t let it. “Thanks, Ver,” he finished, then went to settle himself at one of the tables.

“Isn’t that what I’m doing with you?” Benji said with a laugh since he was working out with him and providing some guidance here and there. Getting paid would be interesting but he was too nice to tell people no and he’d stretch himself too thin. Plus, he didn’t know when he would be able to work out if he was stuck having to help everyone. Right now, letting his services go to his friends was likely the best option for him. “Don’t even make me think about that. Though, I don’t know why.” He was conventionally attractive but so was half the people in the gym so he doubted he’d be any more special than the dark haired male in the corner right now. “I’m fine with the bros club minus the frat style because I hate frat bro’s even though I look like I’d fit right in with them.”

.

“Bad experience with the Greek scene?” Charlie asked, faintly amused. He wasn’t the biggest fan of frat boys either. They were either the most disruptive or the most absent in all of his classes, and the entitled they walked around with could be downright terrifying at time. More trouble than they were worth, in his opinion. He got a few more reps in, then allowed Benji to help him re-rack the bar and gazed up at the ceiling for a moment, letting his muscles reacclimatise. “It feels good to be back in here, y’know? I’m glad you agreed to come with me. Not sure I could get the motivation up all by myself these days. I dunno how you do it.”

Shay glanced at the wide assortment of totally unhelpful items she’d already gathered, the left edge of her mouth curving with a smirk. “I’m being funny,” came her reply next. “But whether or not the police wanna interview later on all depends on whether or not my aunt can take a joke.” She leaned in somewhat conspiratorially to murmur, “Between you and me? Pretty sure the answer is no.”

 She knew Elif’s aggravation was swift and sure, but it didn’t stop her from laughing about the coming tirade. Or from tossing another random pair of oversized shears into her cart. Which, come to think of it— “If not a machete, maybe some of these?” Exhibiting a bit more care, she plucked another pair from its little peg and waved them for his inspection. “More time consuming, but it’d give you a bit more control and finesse if that’s what you’re after.”

.a

If this was her idea of a joke, then Charlie was a little afraid of what she must be like when she was actually mad. He smiled nervously, taking the shears from her if only to get her to stop waving them around like they were a harmless bouquet of daisies. “She’s not a fan of serial killers either, huh?” He joked. 

The shears did look like they might get the job done, even if he was a little concerned he’d injure himself in the process. “I don’t think finesse was ever gonna be the achieved result with me, even if I wanted it. I’m not much of a gardener.” He thought about how some of the houses in the richer neighbourhoods had perfectly manicured hedges lining their lawns, all cut into different shapes, and wondered how infuriating they’d been to design. “I’m more of a ‘hack at it and hope’ kinda guy. Hopefully that’s not the vibe you’re going for, though.” He peered at her collection again, amused at the growing pile of tools. “What are you gonna do with all this anyway?”

Benji couldn’t help but laugh when he mentioned being a life coach. “I’d be too exhausted to do that. You’ve got to deal with a whole bunch of people and I don’t think that I’m made for that.” Benji had always been a simple dude who was content about living a simple life in the shadows without being noticed by anyone so the idea of people commenting or asking him questions on tik tok was frightening. “I would end up in the middle of the gym talking to a phone while everyone is looking at me and that just isn’t what I want.” Folding his arms across his chest as he looked over at Charlie, he couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t tempt me. I wouldn’t charge you anything and that would probably be my downfall. I’d likely lose money more than I’d make it.” He was too nice of a guy and charging friends felt wrong.

.

Damn, he really was just like a puppy. Charlie huffed out a laugh, wishing Benji wouldn’t be so amusing while he was trying to focus on lifting the bar without slipping. He could just imagine it now; an endless list of clients clamouring for his attention while Benji’s eyes grew wider and more stressed as he tried to accommodate everybody. Maybe he was right. The kid was too sweet for it. “You’d basically end up just being a volunteer gym buddy,” he grunted, taking a short break after the first five reps. “God, you’d probably end up with groupies.” Was there such a thing as gym based groupies? Maybe not, but he was confident if anyone was to change that it would be his friend. “I changed my mind, you’re not allowed to abandon me for your little fan club. This is a bros only zone. We’re going frat style.”

“Well played. Except, Zeppelin isn’t at my place right now. He’s at a secret location with a few of his friends. Tell your henchmen to not make a mess of my place while they’re looking for him.” Doggy daycare was a beautiful thing when her schedule got too busy and Sophia wasn’t available to take him. However, it was difficult thinking about Zeppelin, or any kind of running joke, when Charlie was standing there. “Mission accomplished. I think you threw a lot of people off with that one. Really covered your tracks.” It wasn’t a dig, but it sounded like one. “Depends on what you consider interesting. Mayor Harris has real competition. She hosted a fun fair and it was… actually a good time,” she trailed off, sounding uncertain. “I think Rachel and I are friends now. Which means I think you’re supposed to be public enemy number one, but she seems too nice to follow through on that.” Or maybe she wasn’t. “Anymore of a recap and I’ll need something to drink.” 

.

“Oh.” That caught him off guard. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Rachel to have friends, of course she could talk to whoever she liked and he had no say over that, but a small part of him wished she didn’t have to keep befriending his friends. It felt like the divorce all over again, things had gotten messy and divided, when Charlie had to stop seeing a lot of their mutual friends because it felt as though everybody was taking sides and though several of them had clearly chosen him that felt wrong somehow, unfair. “She is,” he sighed, looking down at his feet. “She is too nice. I can still go if you want, though. I didn’t realise I was, uh, making you fraternise with the enemy or whatever.” Maybe it was better this way, anyway. After all, she was Sophia’s friend too... but if he was leaving then he was getting a pastry first, goddammit. “Can I at least grab some grub first though?”

Charlie had been sorely missed in Thierry’s life while he was away. There was only a handful of people the cop had been able to call a close friend. Charlie was sitting pretty high on that short list. Learning that the other male was back in town had been the best news Thierry had heard in quite some time.

He walked into the Burger Joint, brown hues scanning the crowd until they fell on the other male. A warm and welcoming smile reached Thierry’s lips as he approached. He clamped a hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “It’s damn good to see you too, man.” The cop dropped down into his seat with a small sigh. “You know me, work, work, work. I have been trying to be better about taking some time off, though. There may be hope for me yet,” he chuckled. “How was your time away?”

.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that before. What is it they say about old dogs?” Charlie grinned. It was a relief to see Thierry seemed to hold no hard feelings about his sudden disappearance. A lot of people weren’t very impressed with him these days. He’d been a little worried that it might extend into the small sphere of people he could call friends. 

Leaning back in his seat, he lifted his hand in a so-so motion. “It was alright. I went back to San Diego for a little while. You know how it is going back home these days. I’m not so used to the heat anymore though. I think I was more sweat than man down there.” Not to mention desperately lonely, but he wasn’t about to admit that out loud. “Got a lot of thinking done. That was good. How’ve things been with you while I was gone? I miss anything interesting?”

Benji stopped and looked up at Charlie with a shake of his head. “Nah. You’re pretty impressive and you’ve got to be happy about the progress you’re doing. A lot of people can’t even get off their couch and make it to the gym so that’s already a big achievement.” Benji said as he looked in the mirror and did another set. When he counted to ten, he put the weights down and then turned back to Charlie. “Of course.” He followed him because it was also the machine he was going towards next. “The gym isn’t always about the weight you can lift and how much weight that you lose. Most people don’t realize that it does wonders for mental health. I know that when I walk into here, nothing outside of those doors can really touch me, you know.” Maybe it was cheesy but the gym and working on himself had really been a big health mentally and physically.

.

It was stuff like that which made it difficult not to like Benji. He was a good kid, always so optimistic—Charlie almost wished he could be the same—like a big, happy golden retriever. Huffing out a laugh, he leaned back on the bench and prepared to do his reps. “You ever thought about being a life coach, dude? Pretty sure you’d be perfect for it. You could start one of those TikTok things, make a fortune or whatever.” Benji was right, though. Since getting back into the swing of things, he’d started to feel much less like he was struggling up a mental mountain. Charlie had forgotten just how helpful working out could be for him. The satisfying burn of his muscles was a pleasant reminder of just how far he’d come. “Hell, I’d hire you... but you gotta give discounts to gym buddies.”