enemies | rc

quarante et un

charlotte's point of view
i wrote this chapter and when i was rereading it i realized... i wrote that charlotte was fucking waLKING dude i had to rewrite the entire damn chapter i'm sorry it took so long

trigger warning: rape/abuse mentioned near the end, nothing detailed

"you're not going to throw up again, are you?" richard asked as i walked out of a mcdonald's bathroom.

i giggled as i let go of the wall and reached for him. "no, but i wanna get home and brush my teeth."

he nodded and crossed his arms over his chest after helping me sit back down on my wheelchair. he looked like he had something to say, yet he didn't want to say it. i looked at him for a moment, but then he led me to the exit, interrupting my thoughts.

i looked at the ground as i wheeled my way out. i almost crashed into someone, richard quickly reacted and held me back. i looked around, suddenly forgetting where were we.

"i think i'm gonna be sick again." i mumbled and held onto his arm. "is– is the world spinning?"

he laughed. "yes, it's supposed to be spinning."

"but like..." i looked up at him. "really fast. superman fast. didn't superman once like... flew around the world really fucking fast... and– and the world started spinning backwards and went back in time?"

he blinked. "are you drunk? is that why you just threw up?" he sighed and took his phone out. i assumed he was calling christopher.

"i'm not drunk." i scoffed. "i feel hungover, though. my head is throbbing."

he raised his eyebrows and moved behind me to push my wheelchair himself. i heard him talking to chris, but i didn't pay attention. i leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

"so, before you very rudely interrupted me earlier," he murmured. "how did it go yesterday with your parents?"

i scoffed. "it went fucking awful."

last night's events came flooding back. i suddenly straightened up, remembering my uncle's words.

"it's his dad." my uncle interjected. "richard is your brother."

i still don't believe it, which is why i've been putting it off instead of confronting richard.

"my uncle said something..." i trailed off.

"what did he say?" he glanced down at me.

i took a deep breath before a wave of nausea came over me. i didn't feel like i would actually throw up, but it did feel awful. i hadn't been able to keep a meal in my stomach for the past week. it always ended up coming back up, hence why i spent most of my time near the bathroom in case i would throw up.

"char?"

i leaned my head back again so i could look at him. "my uncle said that... that..."

i closed my eyes and dropped my head in my hands. i felt us come to a stop, then his hands placed themselves on my thighs. i opened my eyes and found him already staring at me. he looked at me expectantly.

"your dad..." i began, but couldn't find it in me to finish the sentence. i wish a hole would open on the ground right underneath me and swallow me so i could just forget about all this.

the look of realization in his eyes made me narrow my own. i was about to retort, but he spoke up before i could.

"he's your dad, yeah, but not mine. i'm adopted." i saw a faint smile on his lips. "well, kind of. i'm assuming they told you the story?"

"ew, no. i don't want to listen to my mom's hoe stories."

his smile dropped. "what did they say?"

i shrugged. "i kind of didn't let them explain anything. i-i was just so mad at them. and then..." tears began to blurry my vision. "a-and then my uncle- he just blurted it out! if it wasn't for christopher... i don't know if i could've taken that blow." my voice cracked as i whispered the last sentence. "why- how do you know?"

his gaze switched between my eyes and his hands that were still on my thighs. "he told me everything. i thought it would be a biased story, that he would paint himself as the victim... but he didn't. he... it was so raw. he admitted his blame, he should be in fucking jail."

i couldn't prevent a giggle from escaping me. "excuse me, but you guys kill people for a living. what did he do that suddenly he just must go to jail?"

"they didn't tell you..." he breathed.

"tell me... what exactly?"

he sighed and stood up. he stared at me for a couple of seconds, before deciding to move behind me and push me towards the park. i crossed my arms over my chest and pouted. he couldn't just be like 'hey i know something that you don't' and then proceed to not tell me.

"i don't know how much they told you," he began to say as we arrived at the park. "so i'm gonna start from the beginning."

we got to the same bench we come to with christopher when i try to walk by myself again. richard stood in front of me and held his hand out. i raised my eyebrows, but held onto his hand to stand up. he held onto my arms until i found my balance. he slowly loosened his grip as i began to walk.

he began to tell me a story about a young couple. i looked at him the whole time, afraid to miss any tiny detail.

"that was your mom... and your biological dad."

i tilted my head to the side. "you mean, your dad?"

he smiled and shook his head. "you're getting ahead of the story."

he continued to tell me how the man got his heart broken, then met another woman he tried his best to love yet he couldn't forget his first love.

"that's your mom..." i murmured, loosening my grip around his arms. "that's impossible. you–you're older than me."

he bit his lip. "this is where it gets ugly, charlotte."

tears filled my eyes as i tried to find something to hold on to. i hadn't noticed richard let go of me and i had walked a couple of steps alone. i had no time to celebrate as he told me how my mother was abused and raped. i was the product of a violation, not a love encounter like i always believed. before i knew it my knees betrayed me and i fell to the ground. i kept my head low.

"so he is my father?" i asked out loud, even though i already knew the answer.

oh my god, i'm in love with my brother.