4 a.m. ☞ dt

1.3 - charlotte

4 a.m.
1.3 - charlotte

"hey," i greeted ethan kindly, "i'm sorry i took so long to open the door, i was still getting ready." i giggled.

"it's alright," he smiled at me, holding out his hand, encouraging me to take it. i'm weary, but i put my hand on his, and we end up holding hands. i feel very strange the whole time, but quickly enough, he opens his car door for me. i thank him politely and hop into the matte black jeep. he gets in on his side and turns on the radio. trap music starts blaring, and he blushes, turning the song down.

"sorry," he mumbles, pulling out of the parking lot. i laugh.

"where are we going?" i ask him. he smirks in reply, not budging with a response. i sigh, pouting my lips and looking away from him. my curiosity began to bother me, with my mind swirling to ideas of him taking me somewhere to hurt me. but quickly my suspicions were dismissed when he pulled into a steakhouse called the flame.

"this okay?" he asks me after opening my door and holding his hand out to help me out of the tall car. i nod swiftly, wanting to argue its expense, but i choose not to. he wouldn't listen to me anyways. not with his ego. he opens the door for me cutely and i rush inside quickly. the dress i'm wearing doesn't protect me from the cold winter blaring outside.

"dolan," he told the hostess. she nods in response, grabbing two menus and silverware, gesturing for us to follow her towards the back of the restaurant. he pulls out a chair for me to sit in, surprising me once again with his gentleman-like acts. i smile and thank him. the waiter brings us out two glasses of water without even being asked. i went to look at the menu, being shocked when i see an appetizer costs twenty dollars. i don't even have twenty dollars to spend on food for myself. everything goes towards paying for the motel room or savings to get out of there. i feel embarrassed to be here.

"you're cute when you blush," ethan said, staring at me intently. intentions of what, i wondered? my blush only deepened.

"how was your day?" he asked.

"tiring; people at work can be insanely demanding." i responded, thinking of the middle-aged who wouldn't leave without a double discount that i was not allowed to give her. he laughed at my expression.

"yeah, i get it. i'm an assistant at my uncles law firm and it gets tough when his angry clients come in."

"really?" i ask, intrigued, "that must be a lot of work." he nods.

"yeah, it's a lot of work but i love it. it drives me to work for what i want." ethan winks at me, taking a sip of his water. i blush at the gesture, feeling inclined to find comfort in the flirty man.

after ordering and getting our food i have warmed up to ethan. he was very cocky, yes, but it seemed as if that's the only life he knew. it was hard to remember that this was the kid who had left grayson to be beaten up every day. i knew ethan had to have felt terribly, but i didn't understand why he wanted me so badly.

"so am i any better than grayson?" he asks once we've finished our food. i stare at him with a peculiar look on my face.

"what do you mean?"

"do you enjoy being with me rather than grayson?" i furrow my eyebrows, questioning it myself. we had a good time tonight, telling stories from our past and laughing at cringey pickup lines. i felt badly for even thinking this over, knowing how much it would hurt grayson.

"i like both of you," i sigh finally, still confused. i liked them for different reasons. i didn't have romantic feelings for ethan, not yet at least. the only one clearly in my mind was still grayson. he had done everything to ensure i was safe ever since the moment we met. i'm not so sure if ethan would keep me safe.

"i'm sorry i ask so many questions," he sighs, placing his hands on the back of his neck. he looked back and forth from the ceiling to me, but i knew he was nervous. he didn't seem like the kind of person to be honest with most people.

"it's just, i'm worried about you, charlie. he's only ever been like this with one girl and the way he treated her was scary. she was so precious to him and she loved him back, too. but he got obsessive, scary even, and so... so paranoid that she would leave him. she got so terrified that she had to leave him. i don't want that to happen to you charlie." he made eye contact with me throughout his entire speech, which worried me. if he was telling the truth, my sweet little grayson, who i would share a home with, could possibly be someone i never thought he could be. it was impossible, i thought. he had never acted that way before. today was the closest i had ever seen him to getting jealous.

"why are you telling me this?" i ask shakily, still processing all of the new information he had just given me. he held my hand across the table.

"i don't want to see that happen again. not to you. not to my brother. i don't think he could handle another aria." i nodded.

"thank you for telling me." i told him, still unsure if that was my grayson he was talking about.

"hey," he gestures, placing his hand on my thigh, "i know it's hard to understand, but i promise you this is real. he has a notebook he keeps, i don't know if you've seen it anywhere, but i'm sure there could be some answers in there to any other questions you may have." i became increasingly anxious at the things ethan was spilling to me. it was so believable. i had seen his notebook and maybe that's why he didn't want me to read it. maybe he was acting strange about me being near ethan because i was just another aria.

i was nervous to go home to the motel, but once ethan had dropped me off the reality had settled in. i walked up to the door and knocked, realizing i had forgotten my key. grayson came to open the door with a big, messy grin. his hair was quite messy as well, sticking up every which way like he had been tugging at it.

"hey baby," he pulled me into an embrace. i felt my body go stiff, but i hugged him back gently. i kiss his cheek lightly, not wanting to seem off. i was nervous to stay with him tonight, even though it would be just like every other night. knowing what ethan told me i felt very uneasy. i couldn't believe him yet but i couldn't not take what he said into consideration. my choices were obvious - i needed to find the notebook.

a/n

wOoow i made this one longer than anticipated bc you guys deserve it 😘

i really hope the plot is building well, i don't rlly know what i'm doing anymore. i have a lot of ideas, just not sure how to transition and stuff. it'll be okay, i'll figure it out !

i love n appreciate u guys (: have a good day loves