In Charlotte's Eyes

Reap

Another month passed. The day she would finally move to her new house was nearing. She already knew what house she wanted, and she only needed to do a few more things to finalize everything. Other than that, recently Parker's sister, Peni, visited him. They invited her to go to an amusement park with them, and she did. She enjoyed spending time with his sister, getting to know her a little. Peni was an avid plant owner; she had a dozen plants in her house, and she named all of them. She had even hired a plant-sitter while she was gone– it was a friend that she had, so she got a discount.

Charlotte was busy putting stuff away, readying herself to move as soon as possible. She didn't have that many belongings, so she wouldn't need to call a moving company to help her. At the most, she would ask one of her friends to help her out if she really needed to; Aaron already agreed to help her move her heavy furniture with his truck. She was confident she didn't need more help than that. She hummed to herself, closing up another package. She was going to live in this apartment for the rest of the month, then leave.

The doorbell rang. Charlotte hummed, a little confused. She had no plans to hang with anyone today. Maybe it was some girl scouts or something. They would occasionally come to her door asking if she wanted cookies. She made her way to the door and opened it.

A woman was at the door. The woman was a butterfly knife. Her handles were a rugged black color, and her blade was a dull silver. She was about a half foot taller than Charlotte. At her waist, there was a belt with a gun holster, cuffs, and a badge. She seemed tired. Clearly, this was an officer. A little intimidated, Charlotte subtly leaned back, looking up at her. "Uhh, can I.. help you?"

"Yes.” She sucked in a breath. “Are you Charlotte Stern?" The woman sounded tired, too.

Charlotte felt very weirded out. What reason could the cops need her for? "..Yyeah..? Why? What's going on?" She asked in quick succession. She squinted her eyes.

The woman sighed quickly. "Great," She grabbed the badge at her belt, showing it to her. "I am Catherine Butler, an officer at the Glynn county jail." She placed the badge back on her belt. "There is a warrant for your arrest, and I need you to come with me, please."

Warrant for her arrest..? Charlotte instinctively backed a step. The action made Catherine take a hold of the gun at her belt. It stayed in its holster, though. "What..?" Charlotte got out, breathlessly.

"Ma'am, I know you must be feeling stressed, hearing this so suddenly. Please remain calm. Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be." She took a step towards Charlotte.

"But.. But why?! For what?" She half shouted.

Catherine sighed. "Ma'am, I need you to step outside."

"But.. But I don't even know why you're trying to arrest me..!" She took another step back.

Catherine took a deep breath. "Ms. Stern," She said quieter, to try to calm her. "Things will go a lot smoother if you cooperate."

"N-No..!" Charlotte's breathing hastened. "I-.. I have a right to know!"

Catherine's hold on her gun softened. She took a small step back. "You're under arrest for petty theft."

"Theft..?!" What had she stolen?

"You were caught on camera a month ago stealing from a mall in Atlanta." She explained.

It took Charlotte a few moments to think back. Then, she remembered. That fifteen-hundred dollar bracelet. She froze, eyes widening. Catherine's eyes slimmed.

Clearly she recognized Charlotte’s guilt. "Ma'am," She paused. "Please step outside." She asked again calmly.

What other choice did Charlotte have? She couldn't just run away. Grimacing in frustration, she looked down. And, reluctantly, she stepped outside. Catherine slid to the side to let her walk past her. Then, the woman's hands grabbed her wrists, pulling them behind her back. Soon after, cuffs locked around her wrists. Catherine read out her rights to her, which felt more like white noise to Charlotte. She acknowledged Catherine when she asked if she understood, but she kept her eyes low, feeling completely humiliated. Catherine shut the door to her house, then grabbed her arm. "Okay, come on."

She ushered Charlotte to the backseat of the police vehicle, then buckled her in. Charlotte remained silent, watching as her apartment slowly made its way out of view.

-