Becoming his Surrogate

Chapter 1

Chapter 1.

            Charlotte groaned as she was awoken from her slumber by the sound of loud music, that was coming from her cell phone, which was right next to her ear. She turned onto her stomach and quickly turned her alarm off before it could try to replay. She rolled over and sighed. She looked up at the ceiling as she tried to recall her dream but unfortunately could barely make out faces. After a few more minutes of speculating, she reluctantly decided to get out of bed.

Sitting up, she stretched her arms and back, and threw the comforter off herself, causing her cat, Cleo to jump and run off into the next room. Laughing to herself, Charlotte walked to her closet and peered in, debating what to wear. Should she wear her new dress? She looked out her window and shook her head, as she spotted clouds overhead. Should she wear a pair of leggings and a sweater? She shook her head at that thought, she knew she'd be burning up by the end of the day if she wore a sweater. She smiled to herself and grabbed a pair of jeans and her favorite shirt. ''Perfect' She thought to herself, holding the outfit against her body and admiring it in the mirror.

Satisfied with her decision, she headed into the bathroom and took a quick shower. Once she was done, she changed into her new clothes and walked out to the living room. On her way, she checked her mail. She grabbed what few pieces looked like mostly Junk Mail to her- of mail there were and plopped down on the couch and put the mail on the coffee table in front of her. She frowned slightly, as she sorted through it. She stopped as she picked up an envelope, addressed to her that appeared to be a bill. Rolling her eyes, she opened it up and started to read it, frowning even worse as she did so.

Dear Miss Williams,

As of June 5th, the current rent that you are paying, $1,250 will be increased to $1,550 a month, due to new management.

If you feel that you won't be able to pay this increased amount, we're advising you to move as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Jefferson Realty

Charlotte stared in disbelief as she reread the letter over again. Her rent was going up, again she was barely able to afford the current rent and be able to pay for food. How was she going to be able to afford another $300? She was already working 2 jobs, there was no way she'd be able to take another one on. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. She put her mail down and instead, grabbed her phone from her back pocket.

She quickly pulled up her contacts, scrolling through them, she found the right one and hit call. It only took a few rings, before Charlotte heard the familiar voice of her longtime best friend, Marianne on the other end.

"I need help" She stated after they had exchanged formalities. Charlotte could hear commotion on the other end, a staple of Marianne's life, full of noise and family, very different from her own, in recent years. Charlotte could make out the voices of Marianne's young son and husband playing in the background.

"What is it, Lottie?" Marianne asked, sounding concerned. Charlotte picked the letter up again and shook her head.

"My landlord is increasing my rent, yet again. I can barely afford to pay the bills I have now, how can I be able to afford even more." She told her. She could hear Marianne sighing on the other end.

"Oh, Lottie. I'm sure that's very stressful, I can't imagine what you're dealing with." She sympathized. "Is there anything I could do to help you?" She added.

Charlotte sighed and shook her head, knowing Marianne couldn't even see her doing it. "I'm not entirely sure. I just need some time to figure out where I can live now" Charlotte stated, She could feel my eyes start to sting as tears began to flow down her face.

"Do you want to come over and binge watch 'Hart Of Dixie' while we stuff our faces full of ice cream?" Marianne offered. Charlotte gave a short laugh, her best friend knew just how to make her feel better.

"I'd love to"

"Great, see you in ten?"

"Yeah, see you then" 

Charlotte hung up the phone and got up off the couch. She grabbed her shoes and put them on. She made sure Cleo had everything from food to access to toys, then headed out. She locked her front door,greeted her neighbor, then headed out of the building.

She sighed and started walk to the nearby bus stop. Up until recently, she had no reason to need a car. Her college was within walking distance,as was the stores she needed to go to. Now that she's graduated, she seriously needed to consider getting a vehicle for her daily commutes. She rolled her eyes at the thought, there was no way she'd be able to do that. Once the bus came to a stop she climbed on and took a seat.

**

"So, how do you think I should handle my problem?" Charlotte asked. After about an hour of arriving at Marianne's, she had  devoured 3 bowls of ice cream, trying to forget her  problems for a little while. It was already established that she'd have to move. To where and how, was a different story. Sure, she had money, but barely enough to afford food let alone rent.

Marianne looked up from her phone, where she was researching different jobs and looking up job offers. "It's starting to look like that you'll need to pick up another job." Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"I figured that much out for myself,thanks" she teased. "But, what job could that be? I can't give up my other one. Not yet, anyway." Charlotte sighed and looked back at the laptop, on the coffee table in front of her.

After a few more minutes of research, Charlotte pushed the laptop back and rubbed her temples. "I think we should take a break. My head is killing me" she said, getting up.

Charlotte walked into the kitchen and grabbed a couple bottles of juice for the pair from the fridge. As she walked back into the living room, she noticed Marianne staring at her phone, rather intently.

"What is it?" Charlotte asked, handing her the bottle of juice.

"I think I know how to fix your problem."

"How?"

"Now, don't be upset with me for suggesting this." Marianne started, putting her phone down and looking at Charlotte.

"Spit it out already!" Charlotte practically shouted, eager to know.

"You could become a Surrogate"

* Thank You so Much for reading My first book! I've worked so hard to write this and very excited to hear your opinion on it. Please keep in mind, that my writing isn't perfect, so there will be errors through out. I hope you enjoy it!*