In Charlotte's Eyes

Speak The Truth

The car ride back was silent. Parker wanted to give Charlotte a chance to gather herself. He felt pressing her with the conversation immediately would result in something bad happening.

When they got back to his place, Parker could hear a big breath of air come from Charlotte. He snickered. “Feel familiar?” He glanced at her, heading to the kitchen.

She paused to stare at him. A small smile crept to her face. “..Yeah.”

Parker washed his hands. “Are you hungry?”

“Yeah.”

“Want anything in particular?”

“No.”

Parker watched as Charlotte sat on the couch. “You can watch anything you want.” He offered with a smile.

He could see Charlotte’s comfort in the smile on her face. “Thank you.”

A nostalgic buzz coursed through his skin. The memories of all the times he spent with Charlotte in his home. It made him wish that Charlotte would just live with him. He thought back to something he thought about last night.

…

Parker had a few minutes to wait for the food to cook, so he decided to go to his couch and sit with Charlotte. He had a big, welcoming grin on. Charlotte smiled when she saw him next to her. A few moments passed, letting the closeness settle in.

“Charlotte,” He finally started. “I think you should stay with her.”

Charlotte didn't respond, though she didn't make any negative reactions.

“Do you feel bad about what happened between you and her?”

She glanced at him, then stared ahead at the screen. He waited patiently. “..Yes. I.. do.”

“You don't sound certain.”

An uncomfortable whine escaped her, and she looked away. “I know that I'm treating her unfairly..” She muttered. “But I can’t-..” She huffed, curling her legs.

He hummed quietly. “Let me get something.” Parker quietly said, standing up. He left the room and walked to his room.

He went to his closet, where he had stashed the book away. He thought it would collect dust here until the day he finally got rid of it. He still didn't know entirely why he brought it back home with him that day, but it was here now, and it would help him uncover the truth about what happened to Jackson Trent. He was the reason Charlotte hated Audrey, and what Charlotte told Parker before wasn't the truth. He stared at the cover again—at Charlotte and Jackson. He looked away and took it to Charlotte.

Charlotte had a dark expression on her face when Parker came back. She looked up at him. He handed her the book.

She was taken aback, a small gasp escaping her. She stared at the big cursive letters, then the old, sweet illustration. “You-.. You have this book? Why?” She looked up at him.

Parker looked away, embarrassed. “Honestly, I don't know. When I was helping Audrey organize everything for an estate sale, I just.. took it.” He cleared his throat as she looked back down at it. “Anyways, I thought I should give it back to you, since you kept it for so many years.” He muttered bitterly.

Charlotte continued staring at it, trying to figure out why Parker kept it.

“Can you tell me the truth about what happened to him?” He asked quietly.

Her eyes shot open, and her head bounced up. “Huh?”

“I learned from Audrey that Jackson died.” He saw the guilt blend into her face. “I don't know what happened, but he's the main reason you hate her. Was any of what you told me actually true? Why did you lie to me?”

“Ah..” She looked shamefully down.

He waited a moment for her to speak up. When nothing came, he continued, “You want to be better—make up for all the bad things you did—the least you could do is tell me the actual truth.”

“...”

“...”

She drew in a deep breath. “..Yeah.” She kept her eyes on the book, her voice very quiet. “He died. He had stood up to a group of bullies and got death threats because of it. He didn't want to move to another school again, so I told him I'd protect him no matter what.” Her lip quivered. She stared at the illustration of Jackson. She closed her eyes and sniffled, setting the book down. “I failed him. They caught him alone and beat him so bad that he died.”

Parker wished he hadn't heard that. His heart ached for his friend. “Oh..”

She shook her head, and looked up. “I’m over it.” She silently gulped. “It hurt me a lot then, but I got over him. I still regret not protecting him, but I've moved on.”

That was good to hear, at least. “What does this have to do with Audrey, then?”

She lowly growled. “When I found out, I was really emotional about it. She tried comforting me, told me I'd get over him some day. That wasn't what I needed to hear, and I really resented her for saying that. I realized that that’s an unfair reason to hate her, but I was too.. stubborn to try and be nice to her.”

Parker was surprised at how emotionally stable Charlotte was being. “I see.. So.. Jackson never said anything about her being prettier than you?”

“No.” Her voice was hushed.

“You're afraid of telling her how what she said affected you?”

“...” Charlotte snarled. “..I guess.”

“You need to tell her, Charlotte.” She glanced at him. “Your relationship will never heal if you don't.”

“I know.”

“You should live with her.” He suggested again. “It'll give you the chance to tell her. It doesn't have to be right away, but it'll help you build up the courage.”

Charlotte hummed, though there was no aggression behind it.

“Do that, at least.”

There was a pause before Charlotte sighed deeply through her nose. “..Alright. I'll do it.”

That was relieving to hear. “I'm glad to hear that, Charlotte.” A timer went off in the kitchen. Oh, shit. “I'll tell her to come pick you up this evening, okay?” He hurried to the kitchen.

Charlotte didn't respond, but as Parker walked away, she stared at him. She looked down and picked up the book. She studied it once more. She stared at herself—how happy she looked. How.. clean she looked. She hummed quietly, a smile on her face.