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Season 13. Age 11. one in the same.
TW: abuse.
☆★☆★→ ←☆★☆★
week one. Charlotte awoke with a jolt, the sound of a car horn outside yanking her out of a shallow sleep. Her neck ached and back felt like it had been folded in half and stepped on, but she'd slept nonetheless.
It took a moment to piece together where she was. The loft, the brick walls, the big windows letting in soft morning light. The worn armchair beneath her creaked as she shifted. Her cast itched under the blanket someone must've draped over her during the night.
She blinked slowly as the memories trickled back—like water through cracks. The bench in the park. The two doctors. The ER. The x-rays. The red cast. The unexpected offer: stay with us, just for now.
She must have been out of her mind to say yes. But she remembered how badly her wrist throbbed, how her eye had felt like it was going to explode, how her whole body had begged for stillness. Desperation, she decided. That's all it was.
"Hey!" a voice called from the kitchen.
Charlotte snapped her head toward the sound, muscles tensing.
Jo stood in front of a coffeemaker, already dressed, mug in hand. "Didn't mean to scare you," she said. "I hope you slept okay. You know, you can sleep on the couch—it's way better than that old chair."
Charlotte shifted awkwardly. "It's okay."
Jo grinned into her mug. "Yeah, that's a lie."
Charlotte stiffened instantly, her back straightening in the chair. She braced for something—sarcasm, mockery, worse.
But Jo didn't move from where she stood.
Instead, her voice softened. "It's okay. Long as you're comfortable."
Charlotte nodded once, tight and uncertain. Her eyes kept moving—window, door, kitchen, couch, Jo. Back to the door.
Jo noticed. She didn't comment.
"It's just me right now," she offered instead. "Alex is staying with a friend for a while."
Another small nod from Charlotte. Still perched, still wary, still watching.
Jo took a slow sip from her coffee, then set the mug down and crossed the apartment to grab her bag from the bed. "I've got to head out for a bit—long shift today. But if you want, you can come with me. I could introduce you to some people. Maybe sneak you into a gallery if—"
She stopped mid-sentence. Charlotte's eyes had gone wide again, her body shrinking further into the chair.
"Or," Jo added quickly, "maybe another time. Honestly, you should just rest today anyway."
