In Charlotte's Eyes

You're The Last One

Even though everything seemed to be coming together in Charlotte’s life, one thing was still nagging her. Carlos. She hadn't noticed—or maybe she subconsciously noticed, rather—how distant he had been since she came back. He didn't directly greet her during that big get together, he never really interacted with her in the group chat, the only times they spent time together were with the other boys, never alone. She wanted to directly apologize to him. When she had done it in text, he had accepted and dismissed the conversation really quickly.

At the time, she thought it was genuine. But now, she clearly knew it wasn't. So, she contacted Aaron to help her set up a meeting. Carlos certainly wouldn't agree to it if she asked him directly.

After lying about a “blind date”, Charlotte made her way to Aaron’s art bridge. Carlos’ car was already there.

She trekked down and turned the corner. Sure enough, he was there, hands on his phone. A cigarette hung on the corner of his mouth, and a little bag was slung over his shoulder. He side eyed her, a brow raised. “Hey, Carlos.” She greeted him.

He paused, presumably waiting to see if another person would round the corner with her, but nobody came. He shut his phone off and slid it into his bag. He grabbed his cigarette. “Charlotte?” Smoke poured from his mouth as he breathed out. His brows raised in a strange way, eyeing the now unblemished area of her head. “Huh.”

Looking at the smoke, it suddenly reminded Charlotte she hadn't smoked in almost a year. “How's the blind date going?” She joked.

She could see the understanding on his face. He giggled, though she could hear the annoyance behind it. “Ahh, using my own tactics against me, are we?” He flicked the cigarette from his fingers and stomped on it. “What do you want, Charlo?”

Despite his casual facade, she could tell he was being passive aggressive. “Sorry for lying to you. I needed a way to meet up with you alone.”

“Whatever, you have me now.” He responded quickly, impatient. “What do you want?”

“I wanted to say sorry.”

“You just said that.”

“No, like, I'm sorry if I wronged you in the past.” She sighed. “Since I've gotten back, I've been trying my best to make up for being a shitty person—apologize and- just be better, and all that.”

“Uhuh.”

“Aaron told me you don't like me, and I’ve been trying to think of a certain time in the past that would make you hate me.” She put her hands on her hips. “But I can't think of anything, so I wanted to ask you why. And apologize for whatever I did that was wrong.”

“Hmh.” He crossed his arms. “Unlike you, I don't think so selfishly. I don't dislike you because of anything you did to me. It's what you've done to others that really pisses me off.”

Oh. Charlotte looked down.

“If you're on this apology crusade, then I don't see a reason to repeat the things you've done to others—your friends and family, no less. You aren't a good person.”

That stung. An old part of her wanted to lash out at him. “You're right. In the past, I wasn’t.”

“So you claim you’ve changed now?”

She took a calm, sturdy breath. “Yes.”

She glanced up at his unconvinced expression. “If that's what you think, then who am I to say against it?” He tried walking by her, but she physically stopped him.

“Where are you going?”

“This conversation is pointless.” He shoved her hands off him. “You're not gonna get me to budge.”

“Well,” Charlotte’s old nasty scowl returned for a moment. “That's a bit selfish, isn't it?”

Carlos lowly growled, and he took a step away from her. “Don't try to compare me to you.”

“I'm not.” She countered. “But think about my perspective. I didn't wake up every day purposefully trying to be an asshole. And since I was stuck in that Plane purgatory, all I could think about was making myself better.” Her expression softened, but her tone remained strong. “We've been friends for years, Carlos. Can't you give me some leeway? I'm really trying to be better.”

“Hmph.” He crossed his arms, looking away. “Trust is much easier to lose than it is to gain. You have a short leash. That's all you'll get from me.” He retreated from the bridge.

Charlotte stared at the corner he had turned. That wasn't ideal. She looked at all the beautiful pieces of art that Aaron had made. She had to be grateful she was getting anything at all. She was confident she wouldn't screw it up.