Riverton High School

~26~

On Tuesday Charlie went to school, she didn't want too deal with anyone but she felt the need to touch base with teachers on her absence discretely in case they didn't already know. She got crowded in the hallways by random people, she got cards and food. She was surprised by all the positive attention and love. She thought she didn't need it, but it was actually healing. She liked that she was missed and recognized by people she barely knew. She told people though, not to worry about her, and that she was just fine. She didn't tell students what happened to her. She knew that the attention would soon become overwhelming so she considered he option of online school. She was still terrified and edgy and mentally was no where near recovered even though her body was healing. She didn't want to become popular off of something as terrible as being missing. After school she left with a book bag full of gifts. Some people's sympathy seemed very plastic and rehearsed. Like the cheerleader, they seemed as if they had been practicing what to say on the acting stage for weeks. They hugged Charlie very lightly. It seemed they did it only to say they 'talked to the girl that was missing.' When Charlie got home and laid in bed trying to clear her mind she jerked up in remembrance. She noticed her valuables where missing. She had been so caught up in the stress of it all that she forgot about her phone and wallet and purse. She looked through her whole house for it and it never turned up. Then she assumed that she had it the night she was raped and the man has her things. When she realized this she cried to her mother that day. Every male in her life was a suspect to her case, every man on her street corner, any man she had been in contact with for the last 7 weeks. Charlie though distraught told her mother she would still go to school. Her mom didn't agree because she didn't trust anyone anymore. Charlie insisted, so her mom gave Charlie a pocket knife to carry with her for safety. At night she got ready to shower, every time she looked at her naked body she felt disgusting knowing someone else had seen it, and used her. She considered her body defiled and anything but pure. She closed her eyes as she laid down after her shower and thought back to simpler times in her life. Her long golden braided pigtails swinging as she ran with fresh picked dandelions in the summer sun on her grandmother's farm. She raced after her into the barn to learn to how to milk a cow when she was only 5. She watched the milk spill into the metal pale as she wiped the sweat from her forehead into her inner arm. Her grandmother smiling brightly over at Charlie who eagerly wanted to sit in grannies lap to help. She giggled as she squeezed the squishy utters, laughing with pleasure as she cow swat the flies away with it's tail. She remembered chasing the pigs and chasing squirrels up trees, and sitting inside her grandmas cottage like home, eating turkey sandwiches and fresh milk for supper. She practically fell asleep in the thought. When an earthquake of a knock at the front door fizzled away her daydream. Her tired eyes peeled open an she poked her head sleepily through the doorway in her floral shorts and wife beater. It was Ashton. "Hey uh, it's late what are you doing here?" She mumbled. He had a bouquet of flowers in his hands and one of his famous goofy grins on his face. "Missed you Charlie," Ashton smiled handing her the flowers. "Thank you." Charlie smirked. "I'm okay really, these are beautiful.." She nodded, smelling them.
"May I come in? " He asked softly. She shook her head nervously. "Its late, I was half asleep, look I gotta go okay." She shut the door and locked it. He made her strangely nervous and she remembered how serious her mom was about being carful of every male in her life. She remembered that Ashton was sexually attracted to her. She set the flowers down on her kitchen counter, considering this In the dim light. She grabbed her favorite purple fuzzy blanket and curled up on her green grandma recliner flipping through TV channels in the dark. Ashton kept popping up in her head, she couldn't press the buttons, her fingertips went numb, her face drained of all color, she felt cold with chills all over. "No." She said whispering. The TV light bouncing off her face. "Can't be, if so why would he show up here." Charlie said aloud shaking her head. She took a deep breath and tried to block the thought and keep flipping through channels. "He wouldn't, that's crazy, he's not crazy.." She reasoned.
"It was probably a stranger." She nodded, hugging her knees. Her thoughts though kept trailing back to Ashton. She just had this pecking, this feeling, this itch, throbbing, tingling. She jerked up and ran to her front door swinging it open. He has left. The wind took up her hair pushing it over her eyes. The night was black the streetlights where dead she looked up the streets and along the sidewalks with only the moonlight to guide her. She ran back to her house locking her door pressing her back against it. She closed her eyes, and bit her lip. "I-I need to know.." She said firmly.