In Charlotte's Eyes

ONE: Parker Peni

He got drunk that evening. It was nice. He felt better about himself, if even only for a few moments. He was able to get home safely, fortunately. Two monotonous days passed, and the next came.

Even so, he didn't stop thinking about Charlotte. He repeated the scene of her disappearing so many times over in his head over the weekend.

No matter what he did, he couldn't stop thinking about her, nor about his friends. Well, the people who used to be his friends. He didn't feel like talking to Rebecca again. As nice as it was to talk with her, he still hardly knew anything about the lady.

But he needed to talk more about the situation. He needed someone else to believe him, to take him seriously. Someone else he could trust.

His phone rang as he waited patiently for the person he called to pick up.

Finally, there was an answer. "Hi, Parker!"

He smiled, hearing his sister's voice. "Hey, Peni." He muttered.

"You're calling out of the blue. What's up?"

"I-, yeah, uh." He sighed through his nose. "I wanted to talk to someone. I thought, who better than you?"

"Oh." She chuckled. "Well, okay. It's been a while-why not?"

"Thanks. I have a lot on my mind right now."

"Sure." There was a shuffling on her side. "What's up?"

"Well, I'm gonna say something that sounds really crazy." His face fell to a small frown. "But please believe me when I tell you it, okay?"

"Uhh, sure. I trust you."

Thank God. He took a loud breath. "Thank you." He looked out his window. "So, one of my friends went missing yesterday."

She gasped lightly. "Really?"

"Yeah. But that's not even the craziest part." He laughed, inexplicably. "The craziest part was that I was there..!" He grinned wide, but he wasn't happy in the slightest. "Hah- I was at her home when she disappeared. She vanished in front of my face."

"..."

Parker's smile faded as he shook his head, chuckling.

"Are you serious?"

"Really." He sighed. "A-And now all my friends think I murdered her." He sighed, defeated. "I don't know what to do, Peni."

"Did you tell the police?"

"Yes." He let out a soft breath through his nose. "But they're not taking me seriously." He glared at nothing. "So now I'm just.. stuck here-with this awful feeling of, like, guilt, anger, and sadness." He looked up and shook his head.

"That's-.. wow."

He sighed. "I know I sound insane. But I'm not."

There was an awkward pause of silence.

"Sorry, I understand that it's hard to believe." He muttered.

"It is. It sounds so fake. But I believe you. I don't know what's going on with your friend, but I know you wouldn't lie about it. I know you're a truthful person."

A fleeting sense of relief came and went, a small smile crawling onto his face. He chuckled lightly. "Thanks. You're only the second person to believe me."

"Second?"

"Yeah. The other person is one of Charlotte's friends. Her name's Rebecca-she's kind of a crackhead."

"Oh."

"Even though she's kind of crazy, it also feels nice to have someone believe me."

Peni hummed. "Well, I'm glad I could be the second!" She commented positively.

"Thanks, Peni."

"Yeah. But," She spoke the word powerfully. "You're not participating in her crackhead activities, right?"

Ah. He laughed, playing along. He smiled, but it was a half-grimace. "Right."

"Good. But, what about your friend? What are you going to do now?"

He frowned sadly again. "I don't know." His eyes leaned to the side. "I mean, what can you do when your best friend disappears in front of your face?" He sarcastically muttered. "There isn't an answer for my situation."

Peni hummed sadly, but understandingly. "Would you like me to do anything for you?"

"No, no, just-," He half heartedly smiled, softly huffing. "Listening to me and.. taking me seriously is enough."

"Well, I'll always take you seriously, Parker."

"Yeah, if you don't mind, I'm probably gonna call you more often while I.. figure everything out."

"That's okay."

"Hm, thanks."

"Of course. I'm here for you."

"I gotta go to work soon, so,"

"I understand."

"Thanks again, Peni. I really do appreciate it."

"Yeah, no worries. I understand you're going through a lot right now."

A large smile came to his face. "Yeah. I gotta go now, though. Bye, Peni."

"Yeah, bye."

"Bye."