A/N - apologies for the lack of updates, I took a short break.
Immediately after Mia's revelations, all hell had broken loose. Reece had punched Roger with so much ferocity it had genuinely frightened Marjorie for a moment. Autumn had grabbed her bat and stormed outside, completely battering every inch of her Fathers expensive car. Roger had very sensibly called Siobhan to collect him immediately, muttering that he'd sort his car out tomorrow. He fled, like the coward he'd always been - the game was up and finally, his true intentions had been completely revealed. Nobody had ever really believed that Roger loved his children but now, his distain for his own flesh and blood was painfully clear for all to see.
Once Autumn had calmed down, Reece had led her into the nursery and up to the staff room before making her a cup of tea. Winter had now arrived despite the fact that his food poisoning hadn't completely subsided. As Reece watched Winter gently stoke Autumns arm, clearly fighting to keep his own sickness at bay, he felt grateful that his sister had found such a good and loving partner. Reece desperately wanted to talk to his sister but as they sat in silence he realised that at that the moment, the words simply wouldn't come. They'd both been betrayed and manipulated by the man that should have loved and protected them and now, there was nothing they could do to change things. All they could do, was keep hold of each other no matter what.
Charlotte had dutifully gone back to work, but before long, she'd decided to go home. She'd told Carly that she was getting an awful migraine, a white lie to hide the truth. As she drove home, she felt sick and so ridiculously alone. Once she'd arrived home she'd immediately got changed and climbed into bed, wondering why nobody seemed to truly care. Her friends, the people she'd known for years - none of them had noticed her light fading, her smile falling or her eyes dying. Charlotte knew that she desperately needed to speak out, to vocalise her feelings and tell someone what she was dealing with. Mia was gone and as much as Charlotte wanted to believe she'd see the red head again, she couldn't be certain. So she needed to talk but the longer nobody noticed her pain, the more resentful she'd felt and now, she wasn't sure who she'd feel comfortable with. Later that evening, as Charlotte drifted off to sleep, her hopeful, positive heart was the thing she held onto and her last thought was simple - "everything will be alright, things will get better."
It genuinely didn't occur to Charlotte that things could get worse. A few days later, when Marjorie called Charlotte down to the office, the brunette had known exactly why. It was her ten year anniversary, ten long years since she'd started working at the nursery. Marjorie had beamed at her and suggested a pub lunch and for a moment, Charlotte envisioned the conversation they could have. Maybe today was the day, perhaps she was ready to open up and tell Marjorie that she and her husband had separated. When the doorbell rang Reece had offered to get it, promptly returning with a large bunch of flowers. He set them down on the desk, allowing Charlotte to see that they were beautiful black roses. As she reached out to grab the little note nestled between the velvety petals, she thought how sad it was that the simple elegance of black roses and their inky petals were always overlooked, in favour of the more vibrant, or familiar. Marjorie's voice was starting to irritate her, insisting that the roses must have been sent by her husband - she wasn't to know, but they certainly had not.
Happy 10 year Anniversary, hope you like them Sweetheart.
Charlottes heart felt fit to burst as she realised - the flowers were from Mia. Her handwriting was so beautiful and ornate, a tell tale sign of the true depth of her heart and the intricacies that made up her facade. Later that day as she sat in the pub with Marjorie, Charlotte decided not to tell her manager the truth, she didn't want to rock the boat on what was meant to be a happy day. Maybe soon she'd find the right time.
The next couple of days passed by in a blur and Charlottes thought were mostly preoccupied with flowing red locks and beautiful black roses. The morning she found herself stood in the car park with Marjorie, waving off an ambulance transporting a little boy to hospital, her heart dropped like a stone as she realised that Mia had been right all along about Jodie. Although well meaning, once again Jodie's actions had caused havoc, this time - a little boy having his seizure on the hard, gravelly ground. Initially, Charlotte tried to speak to Marjorie calmly but their conversation quickly descended into a blistering argument. Marjorie was insistent that they could handle Jodie but Charlotte was sick of covering for the young woman, it was never really Marjorie who suffered while Jodie caused chaos. As the two longtime friends argued, both looking into the other's eyes, neither recognised the person they were talking to. They'd reached a stalemate but for once Charlotte didn't back down just to diffuse the situation, she held her ground, completely unaware that she'd shortly pay the price for doing so. Charlotte didn't understand, everyone had been telling her for years that she needed to grow a backbone. Now that she had, those very same people were turning away from her, unable to deal with the new version of her that refused to be walked all over. She thought that her friends would finally be proud of her, instead they seemed agitated and frustrated with her.
Nothing got better, it continued to get worse. When Charlotte overheard Summer bitching about a woman that had been brave enough to leave her marriage, she snapped. Before she knew what she was doing, she'd shouted in Summers face, telling her to shut up. Marjorie had witnessed the entire thing and for a moment, Charlotte thought that her manager and supposed friend had finally noticed the pain in her eyes. Instead, she'd sent her home for the day and spat that Charlotte would be working at Reece's nursery from now on. The brunette felt completely discarded, left to fend for herself as her life fell apart.
Nothing lasts forever and everything works out in the end - that's what Charlotte always told her daughters. When Reece had made it clear that he was perfectly aware that Mia had sent the flowers, Charlotte braced herself as she awaited his judgement. Instead, he seemed to understand and as he told Charlotte that she was correct - there truly was more to Mia, the brunette felt vindicated. Reece had invited Marjorie over to his nursery to work things out with Charlotte and just for a moment, things were looking up.
But then, Marjorie spotted the reports that Reece had left scattered all over his desk. The reports that Mia had completed, showcasing her beautiful, intricate hand writing. As Marjorie's eyes surveyed the reports, Charlotte saw red, hot anger flash across her managers face. Marjorie started to shout, totally ignoring Charlottes pleas to just listen. How could Marjorie genuinely think that Charlotte had cheated on her husband? She had no idea that things were far from that simple and as she berated Charlotte for 'associating' with someone like Mia, she looked at Charlotte as if she was disgusting.
She told Charlotte to stay at Reece's nursery. She told Charlotte that was done with her. She walked away, without looking back at her now former friend. She caused Charlottes already struggling heart to finally shatter.
Charlotte was all on her own now.
YOU ARE READING
THE LAST LEAVES OF AUTUMN - (TNN - PROM NIGHT- AUTUMN/REECE/MIA)
Fanfic**WORK IN PROGRESS** What really happened before, during and after prom night? How did Roger's treatment and manipulations affect Autumn, Reece and Mia?
