classic ☾l.h

chapter twelve | charlotte

chapter twelve.

"I hate you so much." Charlotte playfully glared towards Luke who just smirked and opened up his trunk.

"Well you looked like you were having fun in there." He winked and she rolled her eyes.

"Because you forced me too! You pushed me off the damn boardwalk! What if I couldn't swim?" She crossed her arms over her soaked t-shirt and shivered slightly, raising an eyebrow. Luke shrugged then smiled.

"I would've saved you."

"And if it was too late?"

"Healed you with a true loves kiss."

Charlotte blushed but hid it with an eye roll.

"This isn't a fairy tale, Hemmings." He smiled and grabbed a pair of underwear and a jumper out of a bag and slowly walked towards Charlotte. When he reached her, he leaned close to her and grabbed her waist, pulling her close. Charlotte looked into his eyes with a shocked expression. He smirked and leaned in closer to her, but instead of inching towards her lips, he moved his mouth to her ear.

"We could make it one." Charlotte shivered but didn't respond. He gave her a devilish smile and placed the American Apparel underwear and jumper into her hands before slamming the trunk shut and moving past her, walking towards the drivers side of the car.

Charlotte looked at her surroundings and ran to the bathroom to change into the clothes. She felt small in them and cuddles herself into the sweater, pulling the sleeves over her hands and pulling it closer to her body. She was more on the short side, 5'3, so it went down nearly to her knees.

"Fucking tall boys," she rolled her eyes, but deep down she knew she loved it.

When she reached Luke's Shelby Mustang, she opened the door then slammed it shut once seated.

"You have clothes in your trunk?" She asked bluntly, pulling the visor down once again to check her wet and tangled hair. He shrugged and she slammed it closed.

"Never know when you might need them." She tapped her fingers on her lap and sighed.

"How can you afford this car?"

Luke gripped tightly onto the steering wheel, his face clenched and his eyes were no longer the pretty blue they always were, they were dark. Charlotte instantly regretted saying those words and he cleared his throat and they spoke at the same time:

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that -"

"It was my fathers -"

Charlotte awkwardly scratched the back of her neck and pulled Luke's jumper closer to her body.

"My parents recently divorced." He shrugged and played with the black metal on his lips and Charlotte looked at him with a shocked expression.

"You don't have to tell me." She whispered.

"He cheated on her." He rolled his eyes, ignoring Charlotte's protests. "After the divorce, my mum and I were out. She told me we were moving to California and I was confused, of course. I didn't find out until when I moved here that my dad had cheated on her."

Charlotte hesitantly rested her hand on Luke's knee. "I'm sorry." She whispered. He shrugged. "I'm over it." Charlotte removed her hand and placed it back on her thigh.

"You have your mom right?"

"Yeah." He nodded. She looked straight ahead at the roads and headlights then sighed.

"Don't take her for granted," she whispered. "I would love to know what it would be like to have a real mom. Mine left when I was born, she didn't want me, and she didn't want my brother telling my dad what he saw and living with the memories of watching her leave and never come back, so she took him too. He was five, and I was a week old."

"I'm really sorry Charlotte -"

She waved it off.

"It's fine," she sighed. "I've gotten use to it."