Thankfully it was time to head home. "Bye Micah," I waved to a colleague of mine, as I hugged the sweater tighter on my body, heading home. It was quite late, and I had to take a shortcut through the back street. I never worked this late but it was a last minute shift that freed up, so I took it.
CHARLOTTE Madeline sighed, "I’m just glad Caeson showed up when he did, and that nothing bad happened to you." We went silent, and it lasted for a long time. I was deep in my thoughts. I had no idea how Caeson knew I was there, or when to arrive, but I was glad nothing happened. Last night I ha
CHARLOTTE"My gosh Charlotte, you look stunning in that dress." Madeline gushed, as she went round me in circles, and I blushed, staring at myself in the mirror.I was having a date with Vance in a couple minutes, and I couldn't help but want to look my best. I straightened a crease on the side of m
"How are you?" Vance suddenly asked, and I snapped my head up at him."Good, what about you?""Splendid." He chuckled, his dimple popping out. "I figured we'd have dinner first before we do anything.”"Mhmm," I was feeling kinda hungry, so I guess it was a win for me. I rubbed my clammy hands, picki
CHARLOTTEMadeline opened her eyes, staring dazedly at me.She rubbed her eyes, blinking slowly. "Uh? Is that you Char?"I pursed my lips, my heart clenched and my mind spiraled with questions.How long had she been doing this? And I didn't notice it?"Madeline?" I called, and perhaps she was a litt
CHARLOTTE“And if I were to cash in that second date request right now, what do you think your answer would be?”I chewed my bottom lip as Vance’s question bled through the receiver.He was asking me out on a second date already.Goddess.My gaze shifted to Madeline’s corner of the room right then,
"I knew it wouldn't be a good movie but you didn't believe me."He gripped my waist, slowly leading me to a corner, "Watch it Char, or I might bite you." He growled playfully at me, amusement flashing in his eyes."Oh yeah?" I followed, lowering my voice, "I'd like to see you try."My voice was bar
CHARLOTTESitting on the bed, I stared at Madeline’s vacant corner across from me.It had been almost a week, and she wasn't back yet.Picking my phone, I dialed her line, hearing it ring till the machine directed me to her voicemail. I cut the call, huffing in frustration. For days straight, her ca
72 HOURS BEFORE JUNIOR YEAR GRADUATION CAESON Our father clasped his hands in front of him and gestured to the laptop, asking sarcastically, “How do you think I got it?” “What could you possibly want to do with this?” Reigh seethed the question. “Taide and I are in the video too.” He made it s
72 HOURS BEFORE JUNIOR YEAR GRADUATION CAESON The hallway was empty as we strolled toward our father’s study. Neither of us spoke. I eyed the bowl of sweets idly placed on one of the bannisters as I walked forward. My hand sank into the bowl as I passed it, snagging up a peppermint. The wrap
I hated him. “We’ll cut to the chase,” he said, glancing at his watch like he had other, more important places to be. “I know what you’ve been doing, Caeson.” Panic seized my chest. He could be talking about a number of things. My reaction could set things off in a way they weren’t already heade
SEVEN YEARS BEFORE JUNIOR YEAR GRADUATION CAESON I was nervous. To say the absolute least. And I meant that—it wasn’t just common English. Nervous was the least of the emotions I was feeling at the moment. Pooled in with so many other grotesque emotions. Like… my fear. My feet were spread apa
PRESENT DAY CHARLOTTE Whoever said a person’s world couldn’t go up in flames in the blink of an eye deserved an award. It was the best lie ever told. I stood alone, even though I was surrounded—by the same people who had set out to destroy me ever since I showed up at this school two years ago.
I just wanted to be alone. Because… I already was. And it was high time I got used to it. An ache built in my chest, growing by the second, no matter how hard I tried to build walls around the pain. Isolate it. It just grew and grew. The journey to getting myself back was most likely going to b
24 HOURS AFTER JUNIOR YEAR GRADUATION CHARLOTTE Numbness spread through my entire being with a frosty, icy bite. But I didn’t feel it. That’s what pain did to you. It broke you to the point that there was no connection for the sensation to travel through anymore. Laughter. It kept reoccurring
His hair… was trimmed once again to a low buzz cut.But the expression on his face was so bitter that I froze in my tracks.Something was wrong.I looked back up to the podium, searching the stage for a particular face, and not finding it.King Auric wasn’t here.Reigh grated out in my ear, “I hated
CHARLOTTEMy feet were already retreating before my mind had even fully registered what I was seeing.My heart couldn’t take it. Not today. Not after everything. I felt it splinter open as I spun on my heel and bolted as fast as the crowd would let me, shoving my way past people back the way he came