In Charlotte's Eyes

Trusted

He really thinks it's that simple. It's not. Charlotte drove home, kicking one of her boots on the way inside. Why should she be forced to talk to Parker? It wasn't up to them to get involved. It wasn't their business. She sat on her couch, letting out a frustrated huff. She put both of her hands on her cheeks, leaning forward. Her elbows touched her legs. "So much for being productive today." She sarcastically grumbled.

She sighed, leaning back. She pulled out her phone, grateful that she hadn't received any messages from her friends.

Now what was she going to do? Her mind was too clouded with emotions to want to do mundane chores or to be productive. Not that she had much she needed to do in life. Her job wasn't exactly homework heavy. She looked up at the ceiling, her phone falling to her side.

Time passed. All she thought about was Parker, Carlos, and Aaron. A range of emotions from guilt to rage swirled through her heart. Eventually, she received a text from Carlos. He was apologizing. Charlotte slid her phone away from herself. She looked away, crossing her arms. She felt like she couldn't even trust her friends anymore. Two of them tried setting her up to talk about something she didn't want to. And Aaron had even participated in setting her up with Carlos after she had vented to him the day before.

Even so, she felt like she needed someone to confide in. Someone who could keep it to themselves this time. She hummed, eyes half lidded. She looked at her feet, hovering just above the floor, then to her phone. She picked it up.

…

Suzuki rang the doorbell to Charlotte's apartment. She had suddenly requested that he come hang out with her. She avoided explaining it to him more than that. It was weird. He was a little concerned, even. She was acting strange. He had a bit of work to do, but it wasn't urgent and he cared about her, so he decided that he'd finish it later. He watched a pair of kids throwing a baseball to each other on the opposite end of the street. He smiled. They were having fun.

Charlotte's door clicked open. He turned to look at her, smile still present. "Hello, Charlotte." He greeted in a friendly manner.

"Hah." A small smile forced its way onto her. "Hey, Sue. Thanks for coming. Come inside." She slid out of the way to allow him to step inside.

"Of course." He followed her as she went to her couch. "Are you doing okay?"

"I suppose." She sounded unconfident. She sat on her couch. "I wanted to watch more of that show with you."

The one they had binged two days ago. "Oh, of course." He sat by her. He watched as she used the remote to select the show they wanted to watch.

As the show began to play, she paused the screen. "Sorry, I don't have any food or anything. Are you hungry?"

He looked at her. Now that she mentioned it, he was feeling pretty hungry. "Kind of."

She grabbed her phone, clicking it on. She smiled at him. "I can order something. What do you feel like?"

Suzuki hummed, leaning back. He confidently smiled at her. "Does Japanese food sound good to you?"

She laughed lightly. "Sure.”

…

As the show played, Charlotte couldn't help but feel a little guilty. She was beginning to feel like a hypocrite. She was doing practically the same thing to Suzuki as Parker and Carlos did to her: setting up a meeting for an express purpose to talk without being upfront about it. Sure, the topic she wanted to talk about with Suzuki didn't have to do with him, but the principle was the same. What if he was having a rough day and didn't need any more negativity? She glanced at him. His eyes were fixated on the TV. He seemed relaxed.