When she arrived at work she sat for a moment in her car with her head firmly pressed against the steering wheel. She was really early because of her rush to leave the house. She was grateful for the moment of peace by herself but it was soon interrupted by a knocking at her window. As she lifted her head up she looked over expecting to see a parent ready and waiting to complain but was surprised by what she saw. Marjorie was stood right there.
Charlotte rolled down her window as her heart began to speed up.
"Charlotte can I talk to you in my office? I think we need to have a chat" she could feel her heart in her throat as the words spilled from Marjorie's mouth. She couldn't handle another argument with her not right now but she knew it would make everything worse if she refused.
"Of course" she sighed as she plastered on a smile and followed Marjorie inside. Once they got inside she noticed how empty it was. Autumn was nowhere to be seen which was strange for her as she was always here early.
"Okay so I seriously owe you an apology. I was such a bitch and was so focused on my own life that I never even noticed what was going on with you. I've known you for so long my love and I should've seen that something was seriously wrong. I'll never forgive myself for making you feel like you couldn't come to me for help. I'm so sorry" the words flew out as her eyes began to well up. Chars eyes shot open she was pleasantly surprised. She was expecting to get screamed at.
"Marjorie it's okay honestly you weren't to know. I didn't tell anybody, you're not a mind reader. And plus I haven't been the nicest either"
"No you have every reason to lash out. Do you mind telling me what happened? Don't feel pressured to of course it your business" Marjorie was attempting to tread as lightly as she could whilst also getting to the bottom of what was going on. She knew a tiny bit from Reece but he didn't know everything.
Char told Marjorie everything that had happened, everything to the present moment. To her surprise she even spilled about what happened with Mia earlier that morning. As soon as she said it her hand flew to her mouth. She had said way too much but it was also a relief to finally tell her best friend what she had been waiting to tell her for so long.
"Oh my god. I don't even know what to say. I'm so sorry I- Are you okay now? Is he gone? I can't believe you were going through all of that by yourself. And don't panic about the Mia thing. I. know we have our... differences but I can tell that she adores you with her whole being. I don't think I have ever seen someone care so much for someone before, it makes sense what you did. I'm not gonna scream at you for being in love" it brought Charlotte so much relief to hear her say that. She threw herself at Marjorie and wrapped her arms around her. They both cherished this moment as a few tears fell from Charlottes eyes. Eventually she let go of Marjorie and wiped her eyes, giggling at herself.
As if her entrance was planned, Autumn walked in strangely followed by Mia.
"I found this one looking like a lost puppy in the car park. You two obviously have some unfinished business" Autumn rolled her eyes as she walked over to her chair.
Marjorie laid a hand on her upper arm and gave her a soft nod as Charlotte went to leave the room. Somehow her approval had made this whole situation so much easier for her. Atleast she knew if everything came crashing down again she could go to her best friend and talk to her about it.
The walk to the car park was silent. Not the comforting silence they once shared on the car ride home, tense awkward silence. They didn't want to talk inside the building in case of any listening ears. They didn't need their business being spread round the entire nursery. Charlotte had no idea what she was going to say to Mia.
