Chapter 4: The Body and The Note

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This chapter includes:

Alcohol use/ mention of drugs

Implied murder

Mentions of domestic abuse 

Peter was waiting for Charlotte. She hadn't told her parents she was engaged yet. Her mother had been busy taking Eli to pageants, and she was too scared to tell her father. Everyday Peter hoped and prayed she'd tell them and move in with him. After what happened he was so scared she'd get hurt again.

Peter was waiting for her at the park. She was supposed to meet him today to spend some time together and just enjoy the early spring weather. He shivered, looking at his watch. She was very late this time, almost by an hour. His stomach twisted, worry filling his brain. He picked up his phone and dialed her number.

She picked up, but it was mostly silent besides the sound of light breathing for about 3 minutes and then he heard some banging and some yelling, "Charlotte, are you ok?" He asked, panicking . He didn't get a response and then there was a loud bang and he got hung up on. He couldn't wait anymore. He ran to his car and started to drive to her house, breaking several traffic laws to get there. He ran to the door, surprised to find it unlocked. He knocked for a moment, then walked in. He was immediately hit with the harsh smell of liquor and the smell of smoke

"CHARLOTTE!" He yelled. He walked into the living room, and that's when he saw it. Charlotte's father was on the floor and she was holding both her siblings close. Her mother was nowhere to be seen and her phone was smashed on the ground. Holy shit he thought before dashing over to her. He tried not to look at her father, already knowing what he'd see. "Charlotte, come on bring them we are getting out of here right now." He said, trying to keep his voice level. She got up slowly, shaking. Her brother and sister did as well, and Peter noticed the brother holding a large shard of glass. He decided now was not the time to take it away.

He led them out to the car and started driving back to his house. He was freaking out, trying to not show it. The car was silent for about one minute, and then Charlotte started crying. "Shhhh. It's ok he won't hurt you anymore, you are never going back there again." Peter said, trying to comfort her with his voice. He could feel her shaking next to him. When they arrived they sat there for a long moment, then he spoke. "Ok. you don't have to tell me what happened right now. I want you guys to know you're never going back there." He said, he still couldn't believe what he just saw. Charlotte hugged him, clinging to him like she thought he'd leave, shaking.

"shhhhh. It's ok. It's ok" He tried to comfort her as much as possible. "Can we get out of this car?" Her brother murmured. Peter looked at him. "Yes, of course the doors open make yourself at home." Her brother took her sister and went inside, but she stayed with Peter. He held her close, trying his hardest to help her through this.

"I-I.... W-We... I.." She choked trying to get her words out.

"shhhhh. It's ok, take your time. what you went through was really hard. Just

breathe." He looked at her. She was struggling to breath through her panic. She hugged herself "Oh my god"She breathed sharply, clutching her ribs. "It's ok, I'm here focus on me." Peter placed his hand on her cheek and gently turned her head to look at him. She stared at him. Her eyes were wide and unfocused, a wild terror in them. He wasn't sure what to do. He smiled at her as gently as he could. "Just breathe." She hugged herself tighter. "I-I'm going to jail"

"Tell me what happened," he said, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "M-My mom left a-and he tried to... " She pulled her hair, anxiously gripping her scalp. "Hey, hey, it's ok." he said, grabbing her hands to stop her from hurting herself. He'd never seen her this upset. "He tried to hurt my sister a-and I tried to f-fight him and.."

"Ok I get it you don't have to say anymore." His mind was racing. She'd killed him. But it wasn't her fault. He knew she'd never do that on purpose. She pulled her knees to her chest, burying her face into them. "I'm a monster," she whispered. "Hey, don't you dare say that again. you aren't you were defending yourself and your siblings." He said his tone turned stone cold serious. "I killed someone" She stared at him wide eyed. "I know. We'll figure this out, I promise."

She was quiet, she was still shaking. He pulled her back into a hug thinking about what in the world he could do to get her out of this. "If they find the body t-they'll blame Jason... he already has a record..." An idea shot through him like a shot of lightning. His stomach twisted as he realized the story his life was spiraling into. "Ok. So we can....we can.....write a note." he offered slowly.

She looked at him, eyes wide with realization. "Oh my god.." she breathed, looking sick to her stomach. "It's that or Jason or you go to jail." He said, "And I don't want that." Charlotte nodded silently, tears slipping down her face. "Ok, should we tell your siblings that we are going somewhere?" He asked. "Yes, we can't tell them where though"

"Yeah I know." He sighed and got out of the car and went in to tell Jason and Eli. Eli was sitting on the couch looking traumatized and Jason was raiding the fridge, he had gotten rid of the shard of glass, thank god. "Jason, Eli. Me and Charlotte are going somewhere, are you two going to be ok?" He asked as he took a step in the house. "Yeah"he shoved a pizza slice in his mouth and turned the tv on. He didn't seem as affected as his sister. It disturbed Peter. "Ok. We'll be back soon, be careful and you know." He said before he closed the door. He locked it just in case.

When Charlotte and Peter arrived she had managed to stop crying, staring off into space silent. Peter tried to pull her back to reality. "Ok. Before we go in there, what should we say on the note?" He asked. "We could say he.. Regretted not being home a lot and being a bad dad or something.." Charlotte stated, her eyes darkening.

"Yeah, That's good." He grabbed a piece of paper out of his car and started writing.

"Alright this looks good let's go put it in there." He said, getting out of the car Charlotte followed him and they walked to the door. She hesitated to go in, fear in her eyes. Peter turned around when he realized that she was a little behind. "Are you sure you want to go in?" He asked, understanding how hard this must be for her. She hesitated, then nodded, catching up to him. He went in and put the note on the floor next to him. He tried to ignore the situation immediately. He had to be strong. He turned to Charlotte."Ok we need to get out of here."

She was staring at the body horrified, not able to pull her eyes away. "Hey, Charlotte, look at me." He needed to distract her. She looked at him, she was shaking again, that wild look returning to her eyes along with guilt. He stepped closer to her and hugged her. "Hey, It's ok. It's not your fault ok." He grabbed her hand and led her outside, knowing she needed to get out of this house. When they got out of the door she pulled away and vomited into the bushes. He stayed with her until she was ready to go, and then they drove back.

When they got back to his house Charlotte went in with him. Eli was watching TV quietly and Jason had gotten into Peter's cabinet and was sitting next to her, drinking a half empty whiskey bottle."OH MY GOD- JASON" He yelled when he opened the door, noticing this immediately. He stuck his tongue out at Peter, looking spiteful. Peter didn't want to deal with this right now. "Ughhhhhhh he'll be ok I guess. Eli, are you ok?" He asked.

"I'M GONNA BLAST EMO MUSIC AND GET HIGH EHHEHEHHEHHEH" Jason ran off. Eli started crying so Charlotte hugged her and held her. Peter looked at her, feeling so bad for her. "It's ok Eli, we fixed things. you and your brother are going to stay here with us for a while, ok?" Eli nodded tearfully. Peter could feel his heart breaking for all of them. He never imagined his day would end up like this, and now he had no idea how to fix this. 

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