Stalking Charlie

Glasses and Mustangs

Marco Stone

"Are you hurt?"

Charlie didn't answer. She kept her face averted away from me, looking out the car window.

I focused my attention to the road. To be honest, I wasn't proud about what I did back in the diner. I misdirected my anger, putting it all on this fragile little girl. I had hurt her, I said bad things. I forgot all about her unstable state, all because of Alex.

Alessandra's my princess, and to hear her weak voice over the phone, telling me things I was afraid to happen and it actually came true.. I was scared.

To think that someone had hurt her, I wanted to punch something. I wanted to hurt someone. I wanted to hold Alex and never let her out of my sight again.

"You're a good man."

I glanced quickly at Charlie. Her face is still averted, she didn't turn to look at me. Her eyes is hidden again with dark glasses and her face is an expressionless mask.

"I'm not." I shook my head. I don't have any idea where that came from. "Look, Charlie.. I'm so sorry. I'm not proud of what I did to you and I didn't mean what I said-"

"Yes, you do." she said, her voice emotionless. "I'm not your daughter, Mr Stone. Yet I am your burden. A paid burden, but still a problem."

I gripped the steering wheel tightly. I hate that she's back to being this again, not the cheerful girl I saw this morning.

"Devin should be taking care of me, not you. He should be by my side, like you do for Alex. And Nick. You're always there for them." she turned to me. "You're a good father."

"Devin loves you, Charlie. He does. He's just torn between you and your brother."

I noticed her small hands balled to a tight, white knuckled fists. Her jaw is clenched and her posture rigid.

"Lukas is not the problem." she said quietly, her voice suddenly taut with anger. She turned away from me again and didn't say a word the rest of the drive to her therapist.

"She's all clammed up. What happened?" Greg Horn asked, Charlie's therapist. He removed his glasses, rubbing at his forehead. "We were making progress the last few weeks, but today she shut me out."

I looked at the door to Greg's office where Charlie is. He left her to talk to me.

"She had a bad day." I said, telling him what happened.

He nodded, looking at me worriedly.

"This will be tough, you know. Taking care of her." he said. "She will keep trying to hurt herself, you have to be around her as much as possible."

I nodded, wondering until when is Charlie gonna live inside her own misery.

--*

Bryan Murdock

Everything's changed.

I eyed the glass window of Brewer's family diner wearily. It was intact this morning when I came here, now it was broken to pieces.

Like my town. It was quiet and peaceful before, but it has turned into something I am scared of. It's not my beloved hometown anymore.

"That Raven girl is batshit crazy, I tell ya. She has crazy eyes, man."

I just nodded my head absently to the policeman who were at the scene when Charlie Raven broke the window. He said the girl was staring at the pool of blood Ian Mcgregor left behind while they were cleaning it, then she grabbed a stool and threw it to the window.

I walked out of the diner and headed to my car. My old, tired bones are begging for a hot shower and long, overdue sleep it had been deprived for days now. Thoughts of Madison Carter, however, keeps popping inside my head a minute after I close my eyes.

I keep wondering how is she now. Where is she? Is the girl still alive? My heart bleeds everytime I think of what could have happened to the poor girl. Her folks are nice people who had been in this town long before my own family came here.

They say I'm too soft hearted to be in this profession. But I do care for this town, and everyone in it. It had been my home since I can remember.

I stopped before my car and looked around. A sleek black car is parked at the edge of the parking lot. The window is down, and the driver is smoking.

I approached the car, nodding at the driver, who waved at me. He put out the cigarette unhurriedly, throwing the butt to the nearest trash bin which is some feet away with just a flick of his fingers.

It went in unsurprisingly.

"Nice." I smiled. The kid has skill, no doubt with that.

"Hello, Detective. Please don't arrest me for smoking." Dustin Maxwell smiled at me too. He looks horrible. He's got dark bags under his eyes and his skin is pale. His hair is also messy and looks greasy, like he haven't showered for days.

Compared to him, I look more presentable.

"Dustin, how are you?" I asked, standing beside his car door. He didn't climb down his car and I don't mind. I didn't say anything about his smoking. He looks distracted and hopeless.

"Not well, Sir." he admitted, smiling shyly at me. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, looking intently inside the diner. "I heard there was an assault."

"There was some problem with a couple of kids here. Alex Stone was harrassed." I supplied for him. "But it was stopped right away."

"I bet Mr Stone drew blood in there. Or Nick." he smirked. It was common knowledge how tight the Stones are, and how protective they are of Alex.

It was actually a good thing neither of those two were in the scene. I bet Dustin's Mustang that it will be more trouble if they were there.

"No, not really. They weren't here. Someone else did, though. Slammed Ian Mcgregor's head hard enough to crack his skull like a freaking coconut."

The kid's eyebrows flew up, interested.

"Must be one hell of a slam."

"Yeah, the kid's not from here, and he's no wuss."

"I'm sure he's not." Dustin agreed. "Ian's no lightweight. And that window was thick."

I looked back to the diner's now broken window he's gesturing at. I shook my head at him.

"No, Raven did that."

Dustin snapped his head at me, brown eyes confused.

"Sorry?"

"Charlie Raven broke the window. Threw a fucking chair on it and made a scene inside. The Stones took care of her."

His eyes dimmed, and I can see concern inside his brown eyes. I watched as he look around, his face suddenly a mask of puzzlement.

"That girl has issues with glasses.." he murmured. "Did she hurt herself?"

"People here said no. Marco and Nick managed to hold her before it get worse."

Dustin took a deep breath, he looks troubled. I didn't say anything else. The kid look perturbed enough. Besides, there are things I've been looking for. People I've been looking at.

And Dustin Maxwell is one of them.

"Well, I should go home." I bade goodbye to him, tapping his car door lightly. "You go home and take care of yourself, Dustin. Stop smoking."

The boy just smiled distractedly.

"Aye, aye, Sir."

I sat inside my car for a minute, watching Dustin maneuver his Mustang out of the parking lot of Brewer's. I took note of the car plate.

Doesn't match.

The video Marco Stone gave me showed the same car, same brand and same unit. But with a different car plate.

Well, the Maxwell's rental car business must have a lot of Mustangs.