Finally Safe

Chapter 14

JASE'S POV

I'm flying on cloud nine after my date with Charlotte. I wake up with several missed calls and a text all from Lexi. She didn't leave a voicemail so I check the text.

Lil'Lex: •Hey I really need 2 talk 2 u today, can we have lunch around 1 it's important

•Sure what's going on

Lil'Lex: •it's about Char

•fine I'll meet u @ Lil Athens

If she was going to tell me she was against me and Charlottes relationship again, then I will strangle my sister.

....

I got there before Lex, got a table, and ordered for us. She was ten minutes late and arrived when our drinks showed up.

"So what's going on Lex, what's sooo important," I roll my eyes so she knows I'll be pissed if this is nonsense.

"Do you.... have you noticed anything about Char... I mean she's like not good with people...do you think something really bad might've happened to her..." my sister stops talking and stares at the floor.

"Yeah I have noticed and I think something did. She doesn't like crowds, parties, she told me last night she doesn't drink alcohol, and I sort of saw her have a panic attack,"

Lexie's eyes widened, "what do you mean sort of,"

"Well it was like she was there but not mentally, I touched her shoulder and she started screaming and hitting me, she maced me too,"

Lexi and I start laughing but it's forced.

"Why are you asking about this,"

"If I tell you, you CAN NOT tell anyone, do not say a word," she stresses this and I'm starting to get worried. I agree to the terms and Lexi begins,

"Last night after your date, Char went to her room. After a few minutes we started to hear her sort of running around in her room. I went to check on her and ask her if she wanted to watch a movie. I opened the door without knocking and she jumped ten feet in the air and grabbed her mace. She luckily didn't use it but I was more concerned about what was on her window. She noticed and tried to cover it up but I saw it."

She stops, my sister looks generally scared, and I'm worried about what she will say next.

" At first glance I thought someone had wrote it with blood, but when I got close I could smell the paint. It had said something like, 'I told you I'd ruin your life. I'm going to finish what I started. see you soon.' But that wasn't even the scary part, it was written on the inside of the window."

I'm furious and worried for Charlotte and my sister. I was going to get to the bottom of this and Charlotte wasn't going to stop me.

"What did she say about the window?"

"She said Emily did it and it was a prank. She claims her and Emily do stuff like this all the time. So I called Emily this morning when Charlotte left for class. She said...She said she didn't do it... and we should make sure to keep an eye on her. She wouldn't tell me anything else besides that."

I'm in shock and even confused. I want to protect Charlotte but I have no idea what to protect her from. She won't open up to anyone even my sister. What could be so bad that it causes her to act the way she does...

"Lexi I'm not sure what to do about this. She won't even talk to me about it. I'm going to do whatever I can to figure it out but in the meantime watch her when she's home."

After lunch I head over to my dad's friends office. I walk through the door not even acknowledging the secretary. His office is huge and made of glass windows. He's sitting at his big oak desk on the phone.

"Hey, Mr. Williams, I'm going to have to call you back, something came up." Dave hangs up the phone and walks over to give me a quick hug and slap on the back.

"How you doing J, do you need something,"

"I'm good and actually I was wondering if you could do me a favor,"

"Anything for you kid, you know that," Dave has known my dad since college so he's sort of like our uncle.

"I need you to gather everything you can about a girl named Charlotte Rose Pierce. I want everything, even the smallest details can help. She's originally from California."

"Piece of cake, I'll do it but your not stalking this girl are you,"

"No, she's Lexi's roommate and we need the info,"

Dave is one of the best private investigators in Florida. He can get any information.

After a little while longer I head back home.

....

It's been a two weeks since the window incident and Dave still hasn't contacted me back. It most likely means that there is a lot of information about Charlotte.

Since then Charlotte and I have hung out almost everyday and had gone on several dates. She's been a little jumpier than usual but other than that she's been okay.

I had also tried talking to Emily about what's going on but all she would say was that they weren't her secrets to tell. I tried everything I could think of to get Charlotte to open up about her past but nothing worked. Charlotte was completely closed off and her walls just kept getting harder and harder to break down.