𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗘, greys anatomy

both sides now.

chapter 4.
both sides now.

☆★☆★→ ←☆★☆★

When charlotte finally arrives back at the loft with alex, she's surprised to find that the furniture had been moved around. jo greets the two from her spot in the kitchen. "hey charlie," she smiles. "we moved some things around. figured the couch might be more comfortable than the chair."

charlotte turned slightly to eye the new set up. the couch had been angled to face the three more populated corners of the apartment, with the chairs set in a semi circle with their backs to the same areas. at first charlotte was slightly embarrassed her motive had been caught out, but relaxed upon remembering that jo herself was a former foster kid; she must know all of the tricks. "i'm sorry." charlotte apologizes timidly. she wasn't exactly sure for what, but felt as though it was needed.

"what are you sorry for?" alex asks, removing his coat to hang it over a set of hooks nailed into the wall.

"well, i mean, i basically ran away without telling you, and now you had to rearrangeed your furniture to accommodate me and the reason for that itself is ridiculously stupid, and—"

jo cuts off the nervous girls ranting. "charlie, you can stay with meredith whenever you want, and for however long you want. and you did tell us, so we knew where you were. we just didn't know how long for, but that's okay. we knew you'd come back when you were ready to." she gestures toward the couch. "and as for the furniture, we were in need of an interior design redo anyways. it really opens the place up, don't you think?"

"yeah, it does look pretty good." charlotte laughs timidly, slowly making her way over to the couch as she notices alex and jo retreating to their bed.

☆★☆★→ ←☆★☆★

2005
Vicki didn't want this. hell, despite being in college, she still felt like a kid herself. she didn't even want the sex, let alone to be set back with having to raise a newborn. she had tried, though. for two whole weeks, vicki had tried to love her baby. she just couldn't. every time she looked into her child's big brown eyes, she saw his. and it terrified her how much she resented this baby for something she couldn't even control. the young woman was at a complete loss of what to do, but she did know one thing; she could not keep this child.

and so, vicki packed up what little clothes she had bought for the little girl and took her to her estranged aunts home; the one and only place she could think of that wouldn't try to give the baby back or require any sort of long process. vicky just wanted this chapter of her life to be over and done with.

the woman swaddled her baby tightly in a pink blanket, placed her in a small basket, and tucked the babies birth certificate inside before ringing the doorbell and sprinting off. on the piece of paper read a single name: charlotte.

☆★☆★→ ←☆★☆★

2008.
The first time charlotte was removed from her
aunts care, she was three years old. a neighbor of lynn jacobs called child protective services after noticing little charlotte sitting alone for hours on the front steps in the florida heat while her aunt was inside getting high.

that first foster home only lasted a few months; lynn was sent to rehab, and as soon as she was released, charlotte was brought right back into her care.

☆★☆★→ ←☆★☆★

2010.
Charlotte is five the second time she is removed from lynn's care. this time lasted nearly three years before she was returned to her aunts. to this day, charlotte still has no recollection of why she was ever brought back, however it was better than the homes she had been staying in.

this time, it was charlottes kindergarten teacher who had reported to child protection services after noticing suspicious bruises littering the child's skin.

at the first home charlotte was brought to, she was sexually assaulted twice within the first row months, and was only removed from the home when the father was arrested for drug possession nearly a year into her stay.

charlotte was six at her next home, and remained there until the age of seven when her social worker deemed lynn fit enough to care for a child once again. charlotte often questioned what criteria needed to be met in order to be deemed 'fit', because she was quite sure lynn was the most unfit she had ever been.

nevertheless, it's not like charlotte would have preferred her foster home anyways. she had two older foster brothers who pretended the child didn't exist, a foster mother who worked endlessly, and a foster father who was constantly angry and yelling about who knows what. he never hit her, though, much unlike her drunken aunt.

☆★☆★→ ←☆★☆★

2012.
Charlotte returned to her aunts only to find that the woman had added a new stressor to the child's life. "charlotte, this is paul." lynn introduced soon as the social worker had left. "he's going to be living with us now, all right?" quickly reading that this was a rhetorical question, charlotte had only nodded.

paul took a step closer, smiling a sickly smile. "charlottes rather plain...you don't seem very plain." ever the sheep, aunt lynn nodded. "lottie's a pretty name for a pretty little girl." he continued. and from then on, charlotte was lottie.

☆★☆★→ ←☆★☆★

2015.
Charlotte was sick and tired of all of it — the yelling, the hitting, the drinking, the screaming, the shoving. she was tired of staying at parks for days on end until being forced to return and face the consequences of enjoying a few days of peace. she was tired of her aunt doing nothing to help the young girl as paul forced her dozens of different times to do things with him. charlotte wasn't quite yet sure what those things were, exactly, but she knew it hurt and she knew it was wrong. she felt wrong. and disgusting, violated.

deciding she had had enough, charlotte went to the fire station after school one day instead of heading straight home. she had told the firefighters that paul was hurting her, that lynn was hurting her. the ten year old had begged and pleaded until they called the police, who only told the fifth grader her "parents" had already called and reported her missing. they had told the police she was upset and being dramatic because they had told her she wasn't to go to a birthday party that weekend. the police brought charlotte home, ignoring her insistence and pleads and utter fear upon her return.

lynn and paul un-enrolled charlotte from school that evening, claiming she was to be 'homeschooled' instead. of course, no schooling actually took place; charlotte spent the vast majority of her time locked in her room, hiding.

☆★☆★→ ←☆★☆★

2016.
Enough is enough, eleven year old charlotte
thought from underneath paul yet again. as slowly and carefully as possible, the young girl slid a baseball bat out from its hiding spot underneath her pillow and wacked the older man atop the head.

"fucking christ!" he cursed, rolling off of her, but charlotte didn't stop there. she sat upright, wailing on the man until he began stumbling out of the bedroom. charlotte followed, screaming a battle cry at the top of her lungs as she chased after her tormenter with the wooden bat, striking him every time he tried turning around to retaliate.

"lynn, your daughter is batshit crazy!" paul grabbed his jacket off its hook and shoved his feet into his shoes. "and so are you! i never really loved you, you're a bitch!" and then he was gone, just as quick as he had arrived those three long years ago.

"i'm not her daughter, you son of a bitch!" charlotte screamed after him.

distraught, lynn turned on her heels and attacked her niece, sending the child flying back towards her bedroom. although her cheek was now sore and her face bruised, charlotte smiled to herself as she leaned against the shaking door. "totally worth it."