In Charlotte's Eyes

ONE: [P] If Only You Were.

As previously foretold, Audrey had shown up to Charlotte’s house bright and early. Parker made it his mission to get up and go early, but he still got beat to the house. Not that it was a competition.

It was a goosebump-raising cool temperature outside, the day not having warmed up yet. Dew laid in the grass, as it had rained last night. He made his way to the door and knocked loudly before entering. The door creaked open, unlocked.

“Audrey?” He called out as he stepped inside.

“Good morning, Parker!” She shouted back.

“Good morning!”

“I'm in Charlotte’s room!”

“Right.” He muttered to himself, going down the hallway to his friend’s room. He waltzed in, looking at the boxes on the floor.

“Hey.” She greeted without looking at him. She was digging through the books Charlotte kept.

“Hey. Is there anything you want me to get done right away?”

Audrey huffed, bouncing up to her feet. “Yeah, actually.” She dusted her knees off and turned to Parker. “I was sorting through her books, but could you do it for me? I want to focus on pricing and cleaning the furniture.”

“Well.. okay.” He shrugged.

“Figure out what you want to keep, sell, or donate.”

“Is there anything you want to keep?”

“No. I was breezing through them, and she does not have the same taste as I do when it comes to reading. If you want to donate all of them, be my guest.”

“..Sure, alright. What should I do after?”

“Just focus on the smaller things she has. I don't want to ask too much of you.” She scurried out of the room.

Parker looked down at the spread out piles of books. “..Well.. okay then.” He quietly plopped down to the ground, grabbing the first book.

It’d been a while since he'd been to Charlotte’s house. Audrey didn't really need the assistance anymore, so they only met up on Sundays. Parker’s eyes scanned through the various books. He didn't know anything about almost all of them, so he was considering making his life easier by just tossing them all for donation, but then something caught in his mind and his eyes widened.

Wait, there was..

He slimmed his eyes, going through the books quickly. What color was the cover again? He couldn't even remember what the title of the book was, it'd been so long. The only thing he remembered was the author’s name.. Jackson Trent.

He searched and searched for the book that he had found in her room all those years ago. It was deja vu. He was honestly hoping he wouldn't find it; that Charlotte got rid of it.

Of course, that wasn't the case. Eventually he found the bold, cursive title, complemented by a beautiful illustration of adolescent Charlotte and Jackson dancing. For some reason, a frustrated feeling welled up inside of him—something that wasn't present the first time he found out about this book.

“She really never got rid of it..” Even after he addressed it.

He sighed, feeling disappointed. Why was he so bitter? He was over Charlotte. Charlotte never wanted to be his girlfriend, anyway. Why bother feeling sour? It was a waste of time.

He sighed again, through his nose this time. His eyes fell, barely open. He looked away from the beautifully crafted cover. He felt this way, because.. he was hoping that all that he did for her would change her mind. He looked back at the book, blinking vesselless-ly. She really never considered him, did she?

He knew that already, damnit. He shook his head. He needed to stop feeling so ridiculous. He wasn't going to let his selfishness ruin the image of Charlotte that he knew was true.

Beautiful, unrelenting, funny, and bold. Among other positive words he could describe her as.

Parker’s brows furrowed, and he drew in a deep breath. He held the book close to his chest, and would end up taking it back home with him.