𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃─𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

thirty.

─☼☼☼─

𝙋𝙊𝙋𝙀 𝙒𝘼𝙎 𝙍𝙄𝙂𝙃𝙏, Charlotte did eventually snap out of it. 

When they finally reached the water, she had seemed to regain the consciousness that she had lost. She didn't say much, but she was finally aware. 

The other three in the car watched her with concern as she finally absorbed everything that had went down. 

As soon as the car had come to a halt, Charlotte was scrambling out of her seat and hunching over the bushes, throwing up everything that had been in her stomach, which wasn't much, but it was something. 

She wasn't sure if it was the concussion she had surely suffered, or the utter shock of what had just happened. Probably a bit of both. 

"Charls, you good?" JJ called over, he and Pope in the middle of launching the boat. 

Retching once again, Charlotte rose a shaky thumbs up. 

She wasn't sure where they all went from here. Pope had just tried to kill her ex-boyfriend right in front of her. But was it really any different than the numerous times Rafe had jumped he and JJ? Not really. 

So she knew she had no reason to really be upset with Pope. In fact, she felt more worried for him than anything. 

That was not the Pope she knew. Not even close. 

But selfishly, Charlotte was sad for herself. She was sad that her best friends and boyfriend hated each other to the point that they legitimately tried to kill each other. She was sad that she felt so torn, so conflicted. 

"Here." Kie said softly, handing her sister a bottle of water. "Slow sips."

Wincing at the brightness of the sun, Charlotte took the water into her shaky hands. "Thanks." she muttered, her voice hoarse and tired. 

"You okay?" Kie wondered, examining the wound Barry had given her sister. 

"I'll be okay." Charlotte promised, taking a small sip of the water. She studied her sister's expression for a moment, then noting the red marks on her neck. "Did Rafe hurt you?"

Kie's hands flew to her throat. "Not really."

Charlotte knew it was a lie, but part of her wanted to believe it. She wanted to believe that Rafe wasn't as shitty of a person as he actually was. 

For so long, she had ignored all the red flags. She hid away with the notion that Rafe was a good person. But each and every act he had committed over the summer was telling her otherwise. 

But part of her still refused to believe that he didn't have at least some good in him. He was a boy broken by his father, a boy led astray. 

She felt the dams that she had built up inside of her break, everything breaking free all at once. Disgust flooded over her as Charlotte dropped into a crouch, sobs overtaking her body. They were cries of sadness, of frustration, of remorse. "Fuck." She whispered, her head pounding as a mangled cry came from her throat. "Fuck."

"Hey." Kie whispered, crouching down next to her sister. "Char, we're all okay, alright?"

Looking up at her sister, Charlotte shook her head. "I fucking love him, Kie. I love him more than I've ever loved anyone and he's a fucking piece of shit. He's a fucking murderer and I love him." Another sob tumbled from her lips. "I'm a horrible person."