𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃. ᵒᵘᵗᵉʳ ᵇᵃⁿᵏˢ ²

03

03 . 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 .

    𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐈𝐑 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐏 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒 as she rode in the wind. It was two days before September and the first day of school, and the summer sun was still present— but, like all things, it was diminishing by the day. Only forty-eight hours separated Charlotte and her first year at a public high school, and only minutes separated her reunion with the Pogues. It was an exhilarating feeling to be pedaling on the roads of the Cut again, it sent her mind spiraling with all kinds of memories, and simply put, it just felt lively to be back in the spots she'd missed for a while. 

    Biking to the Chateau meant more than just seeing her friends— it, quite evidently, meant John B. And the fact that Charlotte believed he was dead didn't help the matter of facing his absence. The Pogues didn't know what to think about it all, but they'd be lying if they said that, deep down, they thought he was alive and well. It was a looming thought, the thought that he really was dead, and it was creeping up as the days went by whether they liked it or not.

    Dead or alive, he was still missing. And the Chateau was his home, it was where the Pogues gathered most of the time, and it was where everything sort of tethered to. So, naturally, it created a heavy feeling in her chest— becoming more profound and noticeable with the nearer she got.

    On her bike, she'd passed the street that lead to the corner store, she drove by Lana Grubbs' pink house, JJ's house, Pope's, and all the other spots she could recognize. She even spotted Heyward down by the community center, loading bags onto his fishing boat. Community center— she'd also driven by the little blue house with the docks and the swarming people. All on the way to where she wanted to be. In reality, she'd only been gone for a month— but it felt longer to her, and it felt longer to everyone else.

    Back at home, Caroline and Daryl were unloading the truck. They slid her suitcases into her yellow room, and hung her pinboards back up on the walls. Caroline wanted to set up her room the same way she did when Charlotte first arrived at the beginning of the summer, and she didn't mind, of course. She really wanted it to feel like home again.

    Charlotte turned at the corner of George and Wendell street, riding over the potholes in the road and the cracks in the pavement. The tree roots were overgrown and seeped into the street, and the grass was wild and long. The leaves of the oak trees crowded overhead and created an umbrage on the ground as she pedaled, and concealed what was at the very end of the street.

    She flicked her eyes upwards, and landed them on the white shiplap of the Chateau— rather, the back of it since the overgrown trees were covering most of the house. She could already feel her throat begin to close up.

    With a few hard blinks, and readjusting her grip on the handlebars, she pedaled all the way until she reached the opening. As soon as she made it to the familiar entryway that the Twinkie used to always drive in by, she pulled the breaks and stopped.

    She swung her leg off the bike, and paused for a moment to inhale a long breath of air, feeling her lungs expand against her ribcage and feeling her chest rise as much as it could. With the exhale, slowly dispersing from her nose, she gripped harder on the handles, and pushed forward over the protruding tree root and threshold of grass.

    She walked with her bike, feet pounding on the green grass that hadn't been cut in a long time. She could feel the soil beneath her shoes, and the smell of salt water enveloped her senses and as usual, left a piquant taste on the tip of her tongue. It was consuming, every little bit— from the smell of it, the taste of the air from the water down in the distance, and the paint-chipped walls of his house coming into view with every step further. A butterfly fluttered between the wildflowers she didn't even remember he'd had, along the edge of the property, its wings white and quick. A few bumblebees feasted on them as well, buzzing in the back of her ear.