Saving Lotte Sullivan | Collingwood/Carlton

7: Secrets

TW: some topics involved in this chapter involve discussion around Lotte's ptsd. Can be triggering for certain audiences.

'Promise you won't tell them?' She asked, out of breath as she laid in the bed next to him, finally letting her body catch up with it all.

'I won't tell them, if you don't' he said in agreement, very anxious over the same thing.

'Okay. Okay, I've gotta go. Gotta get to work by six' Lotte whispered, as she sat up and ran a hand through her long messy hair. Her friend looked up at her, squinting his eyes, struggling to see her in the dark. She was always going to be a no lights, in almost silence type of person. It was going to be a change he'd need to adjust to.

'Lotte, wait' he said, also sitting up.

'What?' She asked, as she felt around the floor for her clothes from 12am and hurriedly put them on.

'Are you sure you don't want to stay? You can get to work on time, it's only 4:30' he said, somewhat disappointed. It had been over a month since they'd met in South Yarra again, and the month before that, they hated each other. Things moved on fast, even if Lotte still wanted to hate him. Even if she still couldn't say his first name. She just settled for his initials or surname. It was easier for her.

'I'm going. I'll...see you around sometime. And you and I say nothing about this to anyone. I mean it. If Ashlyn and Nick find out, it never happens again and we go back to hating each other' Lotte replied, as she shrugged her jacket on and awkwardly zipped it up.

'Lotte, we've been doing this for almost a month. Eventually, they're going to find out' he said, feeling a little hurt at how she always just shut off from her feelings immediately after sleeping with him, and then she'd make some excuse and rush out of his apartment. It was annoying. It left him feeling a tad used, and she never cared anyway.

'I pick eventually or never. See you later, Daicos' Lotte said, smirking at Josh as she opened the front door and stepped out, covering her messy hair under her hood as she rushed into the elevator and down to her car.

...

'Late to work, again' Ella chorused, as she looked up to see an exhausted Lotte rushing into the warehouse with her bag strung over her shoulder, hair thrown up in a messy bun, not her usual braids.

'I overslept' Lotte said, sighing as she clutched her forehead, trying to shake off the nasty migraine she'd been having for a few weeks.

'Yeah, by a whole hour and a half' Ella said doubtful, as she looked at Lotte in disbelief and amusement.

'I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were the manager and you could have a problem with my attendance. I have to go sign in and put my things away' Lotte groaned, as she walked away from Ella towards the corridor.

'Stay awake!' Ella childishly retorted, as Lotte flipped her off, unimpressed.

'That's the fourth time she's been late in the past fortnight. She's holding back our orders, and she's getting paid for doing nothing, because when she is here, she's stuck in some other world. What do you think?' Jake, their nosy dickhead colleague asked as he raised his eyebrows at Ella.

'I don't know what I think, but it probably has something to do with Ashlyn Addison, or should I say, Ashlyn Daicos. She's always the cause of any issues going on in Lotte's life. Always' Ella said, smirking as she returned to her work, but then casting an uncomfortable glance towards the hallway at the thought of her workmate's best friend, who was somehow - in a relationship with her favourite player? For her favourite team?

Lotte kneeled down by her locker as she looked around, making sure no one could see anything as she discreetly swallowed yet another pain killer. Her head was on fire. It had all started with him. It was the stress of keeping it a secret, the guilt of doing it with him, and the trauma from 2017. She constantly tried to push it back to just ignore it, pretend it wasn't there, pretend it didn't happen. Until two nights ago when he somehow noticed in the pitch black bedroom that she was crying and he wanted to know why.