Charlotte's Secret Mafia Family

Fourteen: Safe house and Pressures

Charlotte POV*********************************

I woke up in a bed that I didn't recognize, an ice pack under my head. Emma was next to me. She had a tear-stained face, and I felt like shit. My head hurt but not as bad as when Remy hit me with the gun. I slowly walked out and used the bathroom and paused though found fresh period panties to wear and put those on. I didn't care about rewashing the panties, so I just threw them away. I slowly opened the door and looked at the seats, Sampson, Noah, Zach......No Henry or Dean. Tears instantly came to my eyes, fear for my two older brothers. Again, we were separated. Everything had been going fine; it was all good. Paris, Provence, then we were supposed to go to Italy. If we had just stayed home, wouldn't it had been safer.

Henry would be here.

Dean would be here.

Everyone would be safe.

I held onto my ears at the thought, and I could still hear the gun firing. Dean hadn't been in the room. I hadn't seen Dean. I hadn't gotten to say goodbye. Gentle, strong arms wrapped around me. Zach's colognes perforated my senses, and I wrapped my arms tightly around him and he just held me for a little bit.

"Char," Zach said, "Look at me, sweetheart."

I looked up and he smiled gently, "It's going to be okay."

"You.." I had tears falling now, "You don't know that, though."

"Henry and Dean are going to be alright."

How does he know that? They own a business, I know they own guns, but this...this was so overkill what was going on. Why were we getting shot at. Why was all this happening? So many questions were racing in my mind and I couldn't keep track of them. Zach just soothed me, telling me things were going to be okay. I had a feeling they were not, and a small feeling that I was being lied to. 

Or not lied to I guess, but something was being kept from me. Something important and I didn't like it. He kissed my head and walked me to the chair's sitting me by him and watching me. He got up and got me a bottle of water and I drank it. 

"I need to ask, did Remy hurt you at all?" He asked, I didn't want to talk about this right now. He ran a hand along my head, finding the sore spot where he had jabbed the gun hard to my temple. 

"Just there," I told him, "He grabbed my ankles too, but that was it."

Sampson made a sound, and I watched Zach give him a look that would have made me wither on the spot and start crying. Sampson just mumbled an apology. I looked down was this my fault? Why was Sampson so upset with me. What did I do wrong? 

"Do not mind Noah or Sampson, they are just upset and scared like you, but know better than to take their anger out on their family," he said sternly. He moved so he could look at my ankles, dark purple marks on my legs. I looked at Noah and Sampson and they were fixated on my legs.

"I'm Sorry, Charlotte," Sampson said. Noah just hummed in his agreement with Sampson a little. 

"I..it's okay," I said softly.

"It's not okay," Zach told me, "I do not like that statement when someone apologizes, I want you to say you forgive them, just like they will with you, if you apologize, from now on."