In Charlotte's Eyes

Revealed

It was a cool summer day. Noon was upon the world, and Charlotte, Suzuki, and Parker were all hanging out with each other. Aaron and Carlos were doing their own thing that day with another group of friends. The trio were all sitting at a circular table, a large umbrella giving them shade from the potent sunlight. They were chowing down on some food, making light conversation.

“Your brother is an Olympic archer?!” Parker asked, shocked.

“Yeah.” Suzuki responded casually. “That's why I enjoy it. When we were younger, we would go outside and just mess around, shooting arrows. We don't talk that much, because he's pretty busy, but I still admire him.”

Charlotte chuckled, stirring her drink with her straw. “That’s pretty cute.”

“The Olympics are.. when, again?” Parker asked quietly.

“Next year.”

“Ah, right. Well, I'll definitely be watching, just for him.” He smiled lightly.

Suzuki chuckled. “I'll tell him you said that.” A bit of silence passed as they all took bites of their own food. “By the way,” He swallowed the bit of food left in his mouth. “Have you found a place to work yet?”

Parker chuckled. “No.” He admitted, slightly embarrassed.

“Seriously?” Charlotte asked, a few crumbs below her lip. "Nothing?"

“Unfortunately, no.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I'm looking for a job in Georgia, here.”

“Why, though? There are tons of jobs out there that I'm sure you could find.” Suzuki commented.

"Is it because you want to stay with us, hm?" Charlotte teased. As she finished her sentence, her phone started ringing.

Parker chuckled. "Yeah, maybe."

"Sorry." She apologized, picking up her phone from the table. When she read the name of who was calling, her expression fell to disappointment. She brought her phone up to her ear. "What?"

"…"

"What do you want?"

Parker and Suzuki glanced at each other. Parker wondered why she sounded so disingenuous.

"Mhm. Very busy." She rolled her eyes, munching on a fry.

The caller's voice could be heard, although it wasn't possible to make out exactly what they were saying. They sounded annoyed, before switching to a more excited tone.

"Why should I care? Besides, won't he have friends he'd rather hang out with?" She crossed her free arm across her chest, over the table.

"…"

"Audrey, I don't want to waste my time going for nothing."

The caller took a tone of desperation.

"I highly doubt that."

The caller's voice raised, although it didn't sound hostile.

"Audrey, I can't do this right now." She muttered quietly.

"WELL, I CAN!" The caller's voice was now shouting. It was aggressive and angry. Parker and Suzuki both went wide eyed. They both looked at her.

Charlotte paused, eyes darting between her two friends. She growled. "I don't have to listen to you!" She shouted back.

"YOU ARE GOING TO, CHARLOTTE. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CARE FOR YOU IF YOU SHUN ME AT EVERY SINGLE TURN?!" Parker and Suzuki both stopped eating by now, spectating the argument.

"You ever wonder why I don't like you?" Charlotte shot back. She did her best to ignore her friends.

"All the time!" There was a pause. The caller's voice quieted, sounding confused and angry at the same time.

She huffed. "I don't owe you anything. I'm not going to his birthday party. He can hang out with other kids his age."

The caller said something, but was quickly cut off by Charlotte.

"Just shut up! And lose my number, asshole! Or I'll do it for you." She threatened, moving the phone away from her ear.

"CHARLOTTE,-"

She hung up on the caller before they could protest. Her pair of friends both looked at her with expressions of befuddlement. "Charlotte..?"

"Sorry." She apologized quickly and forcefully, looking away. She set her phone down.

"Who was that?" Suzuki asked non-confrontationally.

Charlotte let out a breath through her nose. "It was- nobody. Nobody important." She looked away.

That was clearly a lie. Parker and Suzuki exchanged a glance. "You can tell us, you know." Parker assured.

Charlotte looked at him for half a second, before her eyes darted down again. "We won't judge you." Suzuki added.

Charlotte took a deep breath to cool her mind. "That was.. my sister." She admitted.

"Sister?" Parker repeated, confused.

"I thought you didn't have any siblings." Suzuki commented.

She growled slightly. "I don't like to talk about her." She muttered defiantly. She took another deep breath. "She wanted me to go to her son's birthday party." She crossed her arms, leaning forward. "But, like, he's only seven. He should be celebrating with his friends."

Parker hummed. "Would it hurt to go?"

"It'd be a waste of time."

"Personally, I would love to go to my niece's birthday party." Suzuki said.

Charlotte stopped leaning forward, instead slouching back. "Yeah, but I don't like being around kids."

To Parker, these sounded like a bunch of excuses. "Well, surely you can just send him a letter or something? That'd probably make his day." He smiled optimistically, brows raised.

Charlotte groaned. "Okay! I'll think about it." She frowned sternly.

"Did your sister treat you wrongly, or something?" Suzuki wondered aloud.

"Is she older or younger than you?"

"Ugh! Can you two quit being so nosy about it?!" She put her hands on the sides of her face, frustrated. “I just- don’t like her.” Her tone softened.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Parker asked softly, a hand hovering in front of his face. He smiled softly.

"We're here to listen to you." Suzuki added, further cementing their willingness to be good friends.

Charlotte's face was scrunched into an uncomfortable confusion. Then, she looked down, huffing. "I dunno. There isn't much to say about it."

"Did she do something to you in the past?"

"Well- no. She just.. she's my older sister, and.." A bead of sweat made it down her face. "She was always my parents’ favorite child, to be honest. My parents would always tell me to act more like her, be more like her. So.. I.. resented her for that."

"I see what you're saying," Parker started. "But wouldn't it be more appropriate to have negative feelings towards your parents? They're the ones that made you feel that way."

"I don't like them, either." Charlotte looked to the side, frowning. "I've.. kind of removed myself from my immediate family.. Because they make me feel like I'm lesser."

"Aw," Suzuki felt bad. "I see my family as a gift."

"Same." Parker agreed. "We're sorry that you feel that way."

"It's whatever." Charlotte muttered, dismissing the conversation. "Just- eat your food, already." She smiled lightly. "It's getting cold, you goofs."

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