Saving Lotte Sullivan | Collingwood/Carlton

87: Ella ElLiar

TW: police themes and SA discussed in chapter. Reader discretion advised.

...

'Thank you so much for giving me a lift'

Looking over at him, still awaiting a response, the girl sighed. He hadn't spoken to her once, not even to ask where they were going. He'd just gotten all his information from Jack Silvagni, Adam Cerra, and then walked to his ute, Lotte Sullivan awkwardly waddling behind.

'You don't really say much, do you?' Lotte asked him, sounding a little downcast. He avoided all eye contact with her and kept his steely glare of regret on the road ahead.

'Charlie, man. The woman's speaking to you' Zac Fisher mumbled, from the back of the Ute where he wasn't supposed to sit.

'Fish, put your seatbelt on. You're stressing me to the high heavens' Charlie Curnow uttered, attracting a surprised look from Lotte.

'Okay so you do talk, just not to me' she said, nodding and looking out the window. 'That's just great' she continued.

'Charles, are we nearly there?' Zac asked, anxiously bouncing his leg.

'I'm dropping her off first, and then I'm taking you to Harvey Norman for your new laptop or whatever, you can wait' Charlie said, suddenly turning a corner. Lotte uncontrollably hit the door beside her, and Zac nearly went flying in the backseat.

'But why? Why do I have to wait? You were always taking me there!' He whined, gripping onto the seats in front of him.

'You've been waiting 25 years, what's another 5 minutes?' Charlie asked, feeling like he was arguing with his four year old son. Zac whined, again, in protest. 'But Charlie!'

He sharply turned another corner.

'And you're the man who criticised ME giving your wife a ride home last year? I mean, at least I can drive' Lotte said, uncomfortably placing her hands on her large bump. She wanted nothing other than to be curled up in bed or on the couch resting, safe in case labour broke out. And here she was fearing for her life in Charlie Curnow's car.

He suddenly pulled up outside Darcy's house, nearly knocking a fence out in the process. 'Bye' he said.

'Bye? What, just like that?' Lotte asked.

'Sorry. Get out, bye' Charlie said, sarcastically correcting his mistake.

'And what if he's not home? What, do I have to stand here all day and wait for you to make a reappearance?' Lotte asked, suddenly feeling pressured, like she was being rushed. And like nobody in the car cared about her.

'That sounds a whole lot like your problem, I've got a child in the back to take shopping' Charlie said, gesturing towards Zac who looked like he was gonna implode if she didn't get moving.

'Well, someone has to help me! I'm not as small as I once was!' Lotte whined, groaning at her intense back and hip pain, and any other pain she had with her overdue twin bump in the way.

'Zac, help the girl' Charlie ordered.

'What am I, a lackey? If you didn't have so much junk in your Ute, maybe I could jump out and help her but no, seeing as I had to climb across her seat to even enter the back-'

'A lackey would help with a lot less complaining' Charlie pointed out, undoing his seatbelt and leaving the Ute.

'Where's he going?' Lotte asked, realising he was moving away from them, and not to her door.

'Colour me intrigued' Zac said sarcastically, trying to free his left foot from under all the rubbish on the floor. 'Jesus Curnow, clean up once in a while' he muttered.