CHARLOTTE The ranch was a couple of hours away, so we had to leave a lot earlier than I expected. There was a buzz in the air as the triplets and their friends settled into the cars they’d be riding to the ranch. I avoided everyone as best as I could and navigated through the crowd in search of M
He tilted his head to the side with a smirk and gestured for me to get in. I smiled and muttered a word of thanks before slipping into the car. On my way in, my eyes locked with Taide over the roof of the car as he came up by the driver’s side. It was only for a brief moment before I chose to look
CHARLOTTEI shuffled about to avoid getting elbowed by excited partygoers.Half of these faces, I’d never seen before. And I was sure a good percentage of the people here didn’t attend Lupin prep.The music was turned on at the loudest possible volume, but I could somehow still hear the shouts and c
CHARLOTTE My mind felt groggy. As the fog of sleep cleared, I blinked my eyes open slowly, squinting at the bright light seeping in through the open curtains. I was somewhere I didn’t recognize. My gaze drifted from the white ceiling slowly, taking in my surroundings. My body shifted over the
“Sit down,” he commanded, gesturing to the sofa he had previously relaxed on. Ever so slowly, my feet moved, dragging across the floor with scary levels of trepidation coursing through me. I sat, keeping my hands tucked underneath me. I had no idea where his car could possibly be by this point
CHARLOTTE“Oh my gosh!” Madeline exclaimed, leaning out the open window to get a better view of the beach resort. “Mads!” Sean said worriedly, eyeing his girlfriend as he drove. I laughed at her antics, but I couldn’t help leaning out the window a little as well. The beach resort looked like every
CHARLOTTENot a word was exchanged between the three, but I could practically taste the displeasure hanging in the air. I didn’t know Macrieve, other than the incident at the restaurant, but going by that and the way everyone acted at the mere mention of his name, I’d say it wasn’t too much of a st
CHARLOTTEEven though my eyes were shut, the glare of the sunlight somehow managed to gleam through my closed lids. I let out a loud groan and opened my eyes to squint at the open window. My head hurt, and my mouth was dry. If I didn’t feel like my headache was going to split my head in half, I’d p
CHARLOTTE I pulled my curls into a bun as I walked down the stairs, my feet moving slowly against the wooden steps. The house was quiet, too quiet, but that was normal these days. My thoughts were scattered until a flicker of movement caught my eye. A flash of black streaked across the foyer. I st
CHARLOTTE Taide was growing out his hair. I sat on the edge of my bed, watching him lean over the mirror on my dresser. His hands combed through his dark hair, smoothing it back and letting it fall forward again. It was longer than I’d ever seen it, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it yet. S
A childish part of me felt like defending that Emma had started it, but why did it matter? It shouldn’t matter and I tried to make myself believe that. Taide’s attention shifted away from the menu to me, and I cleared my throat before turning my gaze from Caeson and down to the menu like I had
CHARLOTTE After a short drive, Taide pulled up in the parking lot of the small restaurant that was a hotspot amongst students in the area. The main area was rowdy and full of students eating and talking loudly, but Taide led me past there and into a quieter, more ambient area. It was still c
CHARLOTTE Taide held the door open and shot me a knowing look. But I didn’t move, I remained in one spot, crossed my arms and pouted. “But Taide—” “I don’t want to hear it,” he cut me off, his expression deep and serious. My lips snapped shut, I sensed that there was no point in arguing. So, wi
I pulled them both back into the house and then to the kitchen. With a small exhale, I let go of their hands, immediately missing the comfort and warmth their touches gave me. “I need to find Madeline,” I told them. “Do you know if she’s back?” Just like Taide, she’d been gone almost all day. Rei
CHARLOTTE Caeson walked further outside, his hands buried deep in his pockets as he eyed the three of us with distaste. He drew closer and said with a slight bite to his tone, “Don’t let my interruption stop you,” then lowered himself onto the bench and met my eyes. “But then, you didn’t seem to
CHARLOTTE I thought about how a whole day had passed since the big sibling swap, and I still hadn’t fully processed it. As I sat in the living room, lost in thought when I heard a noise coming from the backyard. Curious to see if it was who I’d been waiting for all day, I got up and walked thro
CHARLOTTE My life… might have been in danger. It echoed in my head, but like a muted siren. Maybe it was because I’d been overloaded with more information than I knew what to do with. Maybe I was just having the world’s slowest reaction to the scariest possible news a person could ever hear.