𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃─𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

forty five.

─☼☼☼─

𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚, her first trip home since their venture to Charleston, it had taken Charlotte twenty minutes to convince her mother that Kiara was alive and well.

She had received quite the tongue-lashing herself, Anna Carrera livid over the fact that she had spent half the night looking for her daughters when they really just across the island for most of it (Charlotte didn't tell her that part).

But Charlotte was old enough to know not to argue with her mother when she was in this state. She had sat quietly, nodding along and apologizing when she had to. It was a pretty shitty thing they had done.

But, fast forward to that evening, Kiara wasn't old enough to know not to argue. In fact, she knew how to push all of her mother's buttons.

Charlotte sat silently in the kitchen, buttering the same piece of toast she had been for the past five minutes, covertly listening In on the disaster unfolding on the porch.

So far, there had been tears, pleas, accusations and now...they had moved onto yelling. 

Craning her neck, Charlotte watched as he father rounded the corner of the porch, carrying bags of groceries and a stunned look on his face at the scene unfolding in front of him. 

"God!" Kiara snapped, causing Charlotte to pause from inside the house, the intensity of her tone worrying the eldest of the two. "You are so worried I'm going to sleep with a Pogue." Silence followed for a moment before Kiara spoke again. "Well guess what? I already did."

The knife literally clattered from Charlotte's hand, her jaw falling open. I mean she was pretty positive Kie and Pope had slept together, but she hadn't expected her sister to confess that to their mother, much less both their parents. 

The time, the silence that struck was almost painful. Charlotte literally had to force a breath from her lungs as she awaited her mother's response to the bombshell that had just been dropped. 

"Let me handle this." It was Mike Carrera who spoke, and Charlotte could see as he tried to step in between the feuding mother and daughter. 

"No." Anna snapped, moving away from him. "No. No, I'm done!" She threw up her hands before bending down and grabbing a pile of clothes the laundry basket that had been sitting at her feet. 

Silently, Charlotte stepped toward the door, trying to garner a better view of what was happening. 

"I don't think you have any idea how hard we have worked to try to give you and your sister opportunities that other kids do not have!" Anna's voice was wavering, her emotions seeping through. 

Kiara sounded like she wanted to cry as she spoke. "How many times do I have to tell you guys that I don't care about those things?"

"Yeah, well you should!" Anna snapped back.

Kiara threw her head back for a moment. "Well I'm sorry, I don't! Look, I'm a Pogue and I always will be!"

Again, silence. 

Charlotte could feel her heartbeat in her throat as she remained hidden from view, legitimately worried as to where this was going to end up.