enemies | rc

trente-sept

charlotte's point of view

when i woke up again, the doctor was talking with christopher. they talked in a hushed tone, as if they didn't want me to hear them even though i was supposed to be asleep.

christopher glanced at me and noticed my open eyes. "char! slept well?" he smiled.

i raised my eyebrows as i looked between him and the doctor. he cleared his throat as he walked towards me with his clipboard. "charlotte, good afternoon. how are you feeling?"

i scoffed. "as well as i can after being trapped in my own body for a month." i tried to sit up, but once again my arms failed me.

the doctor quickly moved to the side of the bed and pressed the buttons to move the bed into a sitting up position.

"charlotte, when you arrived here you had a gunshot wound to the stomach. the paramedics tried their best, but you were bleeding out uncontrollably and we had to take you to surgery immediately."

i listened carefully to what the doctor said, even though i knew this bit. he took a x-ray out of an envelope i didn't notice he had. it looked like a chest x-ray, with a small line barely brushing the spinal cord. my eyes widened when i realized this was me.

"i operated you myself, i can guarantee you that even though you see the bullet very close to the spine it made little to no damage—"

"then why can i only fucking move when my body feels like it?" i shouted. christopher held onto my hand and squeezed it in reassurance.

"when i say little to no damage, i mean permanently." he glanced at christopher before continuing. "you have a temporary paralysis, with enough therapy you'll be jumping around in just a couple of months– or weeks."

i looked down. i couldn't just fucking wait a couple of weeks. i had a job, i wouldn't be able to see richard. my uncle would make christopher become my shadow. an annoying shadow.

i heard them murmur something before the doctor left the room. i looked up at christopher, my eyes tearing up. he pressed his lips together and held his hand out. i looked at it, then i slowly raised my hand a couple of inches off the bed to reach for him. he met my hand halfway and held it between both of his.

"i know how stubborn you are. you won't try to force yourself in the therapy, will you?"

i scoffed and shook my head.

"hey, at least this time you can't leave the bed before the doctor gives you his permission." he joked.

i bit my lip to suppress my smile, but christopher started grinning at me and i couldn't help but laugh at his dumb joke.

"asshole." i giggled and squeezed his hand, since i probably wouldn't be able to move it any further.

the door opened and christopher shot up from his seat. it closed and someone walked in holding a giant bouquet of red and white roses. i smiled once they lowered the bouquet and richard appeared.

"oh my god." i blinked rapidly as i felt the tears begin to form. "richard, i–"

in a single second he dropped the roses on the bed and pressed his lips to mine, leaving me no room to protest. he pulled away, but kept our foreheads pressed together, our lips only a movement away from touching.

"i love you." i looked directly into his eyes. "i love you so fucking much, richard."

he closed his eyes. i nervously chewed on my bottom lip. the corners of his lips finally curled into a smile. "i love you too, princess."

"stay with me." i begged him. "with my family, i mean. i'm sure if we talk to my uncle, he'll understand. you're not your father."

he took a step back and turned his back towards me. i frowned, did i say something wrong? he finally turned back around and faced me. his hand rested on my cheek as his thumb rubbed small circles. i closed my eyes and sighed happily, leaning into his hand.

"he's not your uncle, charlotte."