"OH SHIT"

01 | that damn girl

WARNING this chapter contains:
- physical child abuse
- very very mild sexual hints
- underaged drinking
- cursing

a sharp left hook snaps charlotte's head in the respective direction. the girl falls hard to the floor, glancing up at her father through scared eyes.

"don't look at me like that." he mutters, crouching down to be at eye level with her. "now, wanna tell me why your teacher called saying you're failing?" he asked rhetorically.

"dad, i—"

"shut up."

"the class is really hard! i'm trying my best!" she defended loudly.

"what did i just say? shut up!" he said, grabbing her cheeks and smooshing her face.

the girl squeezed her eyes shut and tilted her head away, anticipating the worst. she felt his other hand get nearer and nearer to her face before it all dissolved from her mind.

"charolette!"

the girl's eyes shot open as she looked ahead. she saw the sandy beach laying sideways in her eyes. she lifted herself and slowly, the ground became level again.

she turned to look over her shoulder, her eyes landing on a familiar blonde.

"finally. i've been trying to wake you for, like, two minutes."

"oh, sorry. guess i fell asleep." she shrugged. the other girl chuckled at the ground.

"you think?"

"no, actually i was just flying an airplane." they shared a laugh as she held out her hand to help her stand.

"come on, let's get you home before mom gets upset." she nodded and took her sister's hand, using her own strength to pull herself up and dust off her light-washed jeans.

"sounds good." she reached down and grabbed her book, throwing it into her bag and tossing it over her shoulder. she linked her arm with her sister's and the two walked down the beach to their house.

as they strolled along the setting sun, charlotte's mind kept drifting to her dream.

"oh, there you two are!" her mother's voice cut her thoughts short, her head raising to see the older woman on the porch. "come inside, dinner's ready."

the two teens went inside, charolette setting her bag and shoes by the door, before they sat at the table.

"where's dad?" madeline asked, picking up her fork.

"oh, he flew out an hour or two ago. he's going on that business trip, remember?" her sweet voice rang.

"oh yeah." charolette whispered, madeline following it with a 'hmm' of realization.

the table grew quiet for a moment before their mom spoke up once again. "so, charolette, what were you doing all day? i haven't seen you since you packed an apple in your bag at 8."

"oh, i was just out. i did a little shopping, found a bracelet," she held out her arm, and her mother placed her hand underneath to get a good look at her new jewelry, before nodding and releasing her limb. "and then i went down to the beach and read for a while."

"fun day." madeline mumbled, charolette kicking her under the table.

"what about you, maddie? what did you do today?" their mother aimed her attention at her younger daughter, charolette turning her head towards her, too.

"yeah, mads. what'd ya do today?" she smirked.

"i hung out with wheezie." she shrugged at them.

"ok, sure. whatever you say."