Girl in Pieces

Charlie discovers the extent of Riley’s substance abuse problems and finds herself growing increasingly numb to the harmful path she is traveling down.

One morning at Riley’s, Charlie finds drug paraphernalia hidden under his floorboards. His former bandmate Tiger Dean comes by to ask him to participate in a benefit concert for their friend Luis, who is dying of cancer. Tiger mocks Riley for his breakdowns and divorce. After he leaves, Charlie interrogates Riley, but he distracts her with sex, praising her for not asking too much of him.

At work one day, Riley insists that Charlie have sex with him in Julie’s office. She arrives in time to hear them and, after the breakfast and lunch rushes, calls Riley into her office to scream at him, noting that Charlie may not even be eighteen, making his relationship with her statutory rape. Hurt and scared, Charlie runs off. Riley later comes to her apartment to tell her that Julie is moving her to the night shift. She tells him that she did not want to have sex; he made her. He claims she got something out of it too, but she privately disagrees.

Riley notices her suitcase wedged under the tub and pulls it out, asking if it holds the key to who she is. He finds her tender kit and is horrified. Explaining in detail what she uses it for, she asks him where he thought she got her scars from. He replies that he did not think about it but kept it “abstract” (273). She asks sarcastically if her being a real person has ruined things for him, adding that she is the one trying to get better and he is mistreating her for it. She pounds on his legs, and he pulls back his hand. She accuses him of being about to hit her, and he leaves. Charlie curls up in her tub, imagining herself locked in to prevent herself from either cutting or going to Riley and apologizing.

Riley is waiting for her at the restaurant before her first night shift. He insists that he would never hurt her. Before Charlie can respond, Linus interrupts to tell Charlie that Julie is waiting to speak to her. Julie tells Charlie that she and Riley grew up with a physically abusive father. She will always protect her brother, but she will not allow Charlie to become “collateral damage” (278).

The night staff is all women with a camaraderie, but the work is harder. The coffeehouse has live music that brings in a rowdy, drunk crowd. Though the staff is friendly and talkative, the environment feels oppressive and lonely for Charlie. Riley shows up at the end of the night saying that he has “come to collect my girl” (283, italics in original). Charlie notices that Riley is unsteady on his feet and wonders if he will remember calling her his girl in the morning.

Charlie feels herself growing “heavy and numb” (284). She knows that she should take Ariel’s art class and care more for herself, even if no one else does, but she feels better with Riley and drinking, though she knows they are taking her further from recovery.

Charlie suffers both setbacks and progress. Mikey and Bunny’s marriage devastates her. Realizing that she has been neglecting herself, she submits her art to a gallery show and begins making more of an effort to befriend her coworkers. 

At work, Charlie’s coworker, Temple, shows her a Facebook photo of Mikey and Bunny getting married. Charlie feels so sick that she has to leave work. She goes to Riley’s, collapses on his porch, and is in bed vomiting for three days. He covers her shifts and makes her tea and soup. He asks if she has taken drugs, but she says only that she has “lost something” (287). On the fourth day, she goes to the library and finds eleven emails from Mikey that she deletes unread.

For the coffeehouse’s open mic night, Riley stays to set up the stage and hear the acts. He and Charlie do not interact, per Julie’s new rule. His evident delight at a young woman called Regan’s performance fills Charlie with jealousy, both because Regan is poised and confident and because Riley obviously admires her: “I’m always losing things,” she reflects (293). Not wanting to spend time away from Riley, Charlie chose not to take Ariel’s class and regrets it. Later, she decides to submit her charcoal drawings of her fellow tenants for a gallery show and is accepted.

Linus warns Charlie that Riley is on a downslide and will take her down with him. Charlie knows that Linus is right but wants to believe that she can help Riley. At the library, she finds nine new messages from Mikey; he tells her that he will be staying away longer than expected. The band received a record deal, and he is taking a leave of absence from school. He adds that he has something important to speak to her about when he returns and wishes her a happy birthday. She had forgotten it was her birthday and treats herself to a fancy coffee and pastry, wondering what Mikey’s news is and feeling left behind.

Charlie meets some of the other artists who will be in her show, including Holly, whose installation involves her lying on the floor nude. Noticing Charlie’s scars, Holly calls her cutting “fucking revolutionary” and tells her she will make her a reading list (303). Charlie just thinks cutting is sad and painful.

At True Grit, Charlie begins making more of an effort to talk to her coworkers. She notices that they never invite her to go out with them after work, though she is too young for bars. Linus pays attention to her in a motherly way. She never joins the other women because she is an alcoholic who is in recovery.