Keeping Secrets (Completed)

Fourteen

Charlotte Evans

"Char, where are you?!" I heard my mother cry into the phone, after finally answering her thirteenth call. I had to prep myself before I could pick up the phone, I knew something had gone wrong; and it made me feel even worse to know that this time it was all my fault. "Hello! Charlotte, are you there?"

"I'm here mom." I said, forcing myself to pull it together. "What's up?"

"Sweetie, I have been trying to call you all night. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine mom. On my way, home right now."

"I need you to make your way to our hospital," she said with a sob "I will explain everything to you when you get here."

"What... Why?"

"I will explain it all, just be safe please." She hung up the phone and I placed my cell onto the passenger side seat, making a U-turn into the direction of the hospital.

That was the call I was dreading to get. I acted out on an impulse, yes, I wanted to go to Julliard badly, yes it was my dream to get accepted, and yes it hurt me that my father got in the way and ruined that for me but I really let my pride get in the way. On the other hand, I had told Alonzo to make it just a little warning, after all he didn't seem like the type to do anything too hard core in the first place. I'm sure whatever plan he had for my dad couldn't have been that bad; maybe a couple bruises and scratches that he could recover from.

With that being said; I was done with this whole mess, I didn't want anything to do with Alonzo or this little bet I had going on with Alex, it was turning me into something I wasn't. I had totally forgotten the number one rule of acting; to become the character but to never take that character home with me. Which is what I did, became something I wasn't; something I should never have been.

-

I pulled into our hospital driveway and swung my car into the reserved family parking spot. It was no surprise that the place was filled with ambulances, and police cars but this was the first time I had seen so much. I used the arm of my sweater to fully wipe off the fake bruises on my body, before I got out of the car.

I didn't even take a step into the hospital before I saw Anthony at the entrance, he stood there with a phone pressed against his ear; pacing the ground he walked on. I cleared my throat to get his attention and he just stared at me for a while, he clenched his jaw as he spoke Spanish into the phone, then within minutes he hung up. "Are you alright?" he asked, walking up and examining my whole body.

"Yes, I'm fine. Do you know where my parents are?" I asked.

"Yeah, they're inside. I'll take you." He gestured for me to go in before him, and I did just that. I walked past the triage, emergency waiting room and up the elevators into the private presidential ward. We walked down a hall where I could see a bunch of police standing outside a room at the end of the hallway, a knot built up in my throat with the sight of them and I stopped dead in my tracks.

"How bad is it?" I asked Anthony, before I took another step.

I felt Anthony place his hand against my back. "I'm here for you Charlotte." he said softly, comforting me.

"Answer my question, how bad is it?" Anthony ran his hand against the side of his face and looked away from me before he parted his lips to say another word. My heart beat accelerated at his demeanor "Tell me now!" I yelled.

"No, no, no!" my mother's yell broke our attention, sending it down the hall to where we saw a nurse dragging her out of the room. I ran over to her, and pulled her into my arms so I could calm her down. The nurse returned to the room and shut the door behind her, leaving us out in the hall way. I had never seen my mother like this, nor did I ever want to again. My mom stood there in her pjs, her hair a complete mess, makeup was streamed down her face, both her nose and eyes were red. I felt her pull away from me and try to run back to the room, where one of the cops that stood outside stopped her. "I'm sorry ma'am, but you can't be in there at the moment."