Charlotte Peters hasn't always been uncomfortable and fearful of men, but after a harsh past, she can't help it! Being kicked out of her house and with no where to go, she walks around at night, trying to avoid every man she goes by and try to find...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
* * * *
~ Charlotte's P.O.V. ~
I sat crouched in the corner of my room, knees to my chest as I rocked back and forth. Tears were streaming down my cheeks as I tried to hideaway from my father. The bruises of my back and legs ached, but I tried my best to ignore the pain. There wasn't much I could do about them anyway, not right now.
"Charlotte! Where are you . . .?" A dark voice questioned through the hallway of the house.
All of a sudden, the bedroom door swung open, but this time, I couldn't stop the scream that was able to escape from my throat. My father stood there, a small pocket knife was in his hand, ready for him to use it.
He tilted his head back and he looked like some guy from a horror movie, "You think you could just hide from me!" It wasn't a question, but a statement.
He took a few steps towards me and I did my best to move away from him, but it was no use. He grabbed me by the hair and dragged me out of the closet. My screams filled the house, but no one could hear me. We were so far from the main city, that there were barely any cars that even passed the house on a regular day.
"It's time for a punishment." He brings the knife closer to my skin, getting ready to make another cut on my body.
I jolted awake, my body lurching forward in an upright position. My back aches in the process from the position I was laying in. A couple cracks went through my spine, which makes it feel better. My eyes glance at my surroundings and I notice that I'm all alone, which is a good thing. Street lights lit the area, allowing to see a good amount of the park. I'll probably get kicked out of here soon by the police for loitering here for too long.
Sighing, I sit up, pulling my backpack back over my shoulder. I was using that as a pillow.
The dream I had caused me to have a hard time catching my breath, well, it wasn't a dream at all. Instead of a dream, it was a memory. A painful memory that I don't want to remember at all, but I was unable to forget.
I ran a hand through my hair, taking a few deep breaths, doing my best to calm down. I needed to do something, and sitting here, sleeping my night away isn't going to help any of this. Standing up, a look to my left and then to my right, trying to decide which way to go. With it being night time, there wasn't really any good decision. I couldn't go to some fast food place in the middle of the night, because I didn't have any money in the first place so I would probably be kicked out because I can't buy anything.
It wouldn't really be safe for me to just continue being out in the open, but it wouldn't be smart to even go in the woods either where there's a trail. God, I have no idea what to do. A few tears escape from my eyes and makes its way down my cheeks, but I quickly wiped them away. There was no time to be sad. I needed to find a place to stay fast or I'll end up possibly dying.
My dark, maroon hoodie was messed up slightly so before I even tried to move along, I fixed it, getting as comfortable and as warm as I could get. You could even see my breath, it was that cold.
Turning my body, I start heading for the trail that lead through the woods. Yes, I've seen all of those crime shows and those scary movies, but what are the chances that any of those things would happen to me right now at this very moment.
Before I had been kicked out of the house, I was able to grab onto a flashlight and I pulled it out of my bag as I proceeded for the trees. As I got deeper into the woods, it got darker, but light was being provided by the flashlight and the shine from the moon. The tops of the trees were like shadows on the huge moon. It looked like it was edited in photoshop, but it was making it a beautiful sight.
I stuffed my freezing hands into my hoodie pockets as I tried to warm them up and it was working, but only by a little bit. It was quiet out, and only a few birds were chirping because the rest were the sleep, because it was the middle of the night.
The wind started to pick up and I couldn't help but shriek in shock. I tried to dig my head closer to my hoodie, but it wasn't really helping.
As I continued to walk, I started to think about the past. I used to be apart of one big, happy family, but that all went down the drain when my mom died. My father did everything in his power to save her, but it just wasn't enough. She died on January 15, 2011. That was the day my father started to abuse me. It was painful, but only mentally, but physically as well. It was because of him that I am unable to even feel comfortable and safe around anyone of the male gender.
One day, when I hadn't done something the right way, my father had enough, and he kicked me out of the house. The abuse stopped but now I had another problem on my hands. I'm an eighteen-year-old homeless girl who is in her senior year of high school. What am I going to do?
As I was walking, I end up tripping over a branch and falling. There were a few twigs and rocks that I landed on, that it caused my knee to get scratched up a bit and my leggings torn. Well, this is just great. I brought my knee close up to me. I shined my flashlight onto it, seeing blood starts to run down my knee, slightly soaking my leggings. It wasn't a whole ton of blood, but I still didn't like the sight of it.
I try to clean it off the best I can, but I wasn't able to do it well, because the blood only seemed to get everywhere else.
I hear some twigs snap, making me jump. I knew it wasn't some animal, but I didn't know who was coming.
"W-Who's there?" I asked, trying to sound strong, but failing greatly.
The footsteps grew closer and they were coming from straight ahead of me. I shine the flashlight towards the direction, when I see a silhouette of a man. My heart rate started to increase as he came closer. No, no, this cannot be happening. Not now.
His face started to clear in the flashlight, but it became blurred once again because of the tears that were starting to pour. The t.v. shows and movies were right. I was so stupid for walking in the woods. So completely stupid. It was getting hard to breath and I think I was starting to have a panic attack. Even with my fear and trembling body, I couldn't help but notice the features of his face and how attractive he was. He was tall and well built. I'm pretty sure he had tattoos as well. His overall dimeaner is absolutely terrifying.
"P-Please. S-Stay away." I cried.
The man took another step closer, causing me to scream a little, but the likelihood of anyone hearing me is slim. How could I be so stupid to come out here?
My panic atack was getting out of control and I couldn't seem to get it out of control. My breath is heavy and I felt as if I was going to faint. The woods and trees around me started to get blurry and everything was becoming muffled, even the man. I was going to faint and there was nothing I could do about it.
The tears were still streaming down my face when everything went black.
