In Charlotte's Eyes

Confirmation Received

Parker sat on his dining table, eating the small meal he had created. He stared at his window. It was dark outside. As he chewed on his food, he noticed how quiet it was in his house. The past few weeks he'd been noticing it more and more. It was a bit lonely. It made him wish for a spouse to bring more life. In the past he had been stuck chasing Charlotte—a pointless chase. Maybe he should start looking for a date.

After eating, he walked through his silent house and brushed his teeth. After that, he went to his tv and skimmed the channels for something to watch.

Then, his phone rang. He picked it up from his side and looked at who it was.

Suzuki.

“...”

..Suzuki?

“...”

..Suzuki.

He hesitated, unbelieving that his old friend was approaching him with a call. What in the world could Suzuki of all people want to talk to him about? He hadn't contacted him even once since Charlotte disappeared. He answered his call. “Suzuki?” He opened, flabbergasted.

“Hello, Parker.” His tone was gentle, apologetic. “I hope I'm not interrupting something.”

“No, no, not at all.” He replied quickly. “I'm just shocked to see a call from you.”

The shuriken on the other end loudly chuckled. “That's.. fair. I, ah, actually wanted to apologize to you, first of all.”

“Really?” Parker quietly blurted accidentally.

“I'm sorry for being so cold to you for so long. Something happened today, and I.. realized that I was wrong. About you, and, just.. what I thought about what happened to Charlotte was completely off.”

“Well-” A smile came to his face. “I'm- glad?” He laughed, his words bottled up, emotions all over the place. “Really, I'm relieved. W-What made you change your mind?”

“Yeah, I actually wanted to speak to you in person about this. It's really, really important. I can't speak about it to you over the phone.”

“Really? Why not?”

“Well..” Suzuki paused, mulling over his words. “It's hard to explain. I-.. I can't really say. I don't think I'm allowed to.”

Parker shook his head confused. What could that possibly mean? “You're not gonna try to kill me again, are you?” He joked, unsure of what else to say.

“God-, no, I-” Suzuki cringed. “I'm really, really sorry about that, Parker. I shouldn't have done that. Fuck.” He paused again. “Okay, I'll tell you. You deserve to know.”

Oh. Parker wasn't exactly trying to squeeze that info out of him, but sure. “If it's really that delicate, I can wait till we meet up.”

“No, it's okay.” He sighed. “The reason I need to talk to you is.. because Charlotte is back.”

Parker’s brows furrowed. “...”

“...”

“..What..?” He said, barely audible. Charlotte is back? But that was impossible.

“Yes. That's why it's really important we meet up. She wants to see you.”

Maybe Suzuki really was trying to kill him again. Charlotte couldn't be back. Even if her body was found, she'd be dead. The mold would've killed her. “Wh-” Parker shook his head. “What are you talking about? Charlotte-” A confused huff escaped him, his heart rate increasing. He leaned forward, elbows on his legs. His free hand caressed his forehead. “She- She can't be back, she’s.. gone.”

“I know. It sounds crazy, but it's true.” Oh, the irony. “She's here at my house.”

He took a sharp breath. “Let me speak to her.”

“Oh.” A pause. “Okay, yeah. I'll get her.”

Parker sat in silence as he could hear faint noises. Walking, a door opening, Suzuki calling out for Charlotte. A bit of rustling. A faint sound of tired confusion.

“P-Parker?” An exhausted feminine voice greeted him. Immediately, he could hear the Charlotte behind her voice. It almost brought him to immediate tears.

“Charlotte?” He asked, aghast.

“H-Hi.” More rustling. “It's me.”

“Wh-” A wave of emotions crashed on him all at once. “H- Wh- Sh-” No thoughts or words were coherent. “H-How?” He finally mustered.

“It's a long story.” She sighed, oddly sadly. “I'm too tired to explain all of it right now. Can we meet tomorrow? I have a lot of things I need to tell you.”

Once Parker gathered himself, he immediately answered, “Yes. Yes, tomorrow. No matter what. I'll come there as soon as I can.”

A long, sleepy sigh. “Okay. Thank you. I don't deserve you, Parker.” Her voice slipped. Parker grimaced when he heard that.

“When and where are you two meeting up?” Suzuki had control over the phone now.

“Uh-” Parker felt scattered. “Tomorrow. Your house.”

“What time?”

“As soon as I wake up.”

“Oh. But what about work?”

“I don't care. Fuck my job.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow, then.”

Parker hung up. Charlotte was back. Somehow, she was back. Alive. Things didn't make sense. Had she poofed back into existence the way she had poofed out of it? That's the only explanation that made any sense. Even that didn't make much sense. Her funeral hadn't even happened half a week ago.

Did he really have to wait until tomorrow?

Fuck.