Death of the Perfect Girl Book 2

9- Three Years Before

       Charlotte sat in the waiting room with her phone on her lap and her hands on her knees. Her phone sent vibrating cries from the other three through her thighs, but she couldn't feel it...think about it. She couldn't think about the three cops who had walked past her in the waiting room. Her eyes remained fixed on the little girl cross from her. The little girl's almond eyes like Sadie's, her face round and cheeks pink from her soft weeping. Her mother's head was bowed, her lips curved at their corners as she wept aloud. Tears dripped from the tip of her nose. The girl rubbed her mother's back comforting her as if she was the adult. Charlotte didn't know their story. She didn't know what was wrong with the mother or why the little girl's clothes were torn and bruises covered her arms and cheeks. But the pain in both their eyes brought Charlotte back a few years. Three.

Charlotte ran out of her bathroom and threw herself on her bed. Her face buried in her pillow as she wept. She held her stomach in disbelief. A warm hand touched her shoulder. "Char?" She flinched.

"Charlotte." A warm hand touched Charlotte's shoulder. She flinched and turned to the person sitting beside her. "Charlie," she said his name softly with a smile, tilting her head as if stuck in a forgetful trance. As if she'd forgotten why she was there. 

"You said the cops were here?" Charlie whispered.

Charlotte's smile faded. "They are," she turned away.

"Are they in the room with her? Did you go see her?"

"They just...walked by."

"What do you mean? Did you see them-"

"Am I a bad person, Charlie?"

Charlie froze. He shrugged. "Why are you asking me this right now? Are you high-"

"Am I a criminal?" She stared at the little girl holding her mother's hand and whispering to her.

Charlie's jaw locked. He looked down then sat back in the chair with a sigh. "Charlotte...I sold drugs for nearly three years of my high school life. I never knew why I did it because I never wanted to know. I never wanted to understand myself and my bad side...my darkness."

The little girl knelt on her seat to wrap her arms around her mother. Charlotte's eyes met the floor.

"After Sadie took my book with a record of everyone I sold to...I lost it. Yeah, I thought I was going to jail...but I thought I'd lost who I was. Then we...did what we did and I...I guess I became who I was after that. I realized why I did what I did. Sell drugs I mean."

Charlotte looked at him. "Why'd you do it?"

Charlie shrugged. "Because I hated who I really am...Mason was the cool guy who got the girls...who got Sadie."

Charlotte bowed her head.

"And I was the boy who couldn't say a word to her without tasting bile in my throat."

Charlotte snickered.

"I wasn't just a shy kid... I was innocent and I loved bright colors and pop music. I liked to raise my hand on class and hug my guy friends when they did well on their tests. I'm not gay...but I loved people. But apparently guys aren't supposed to be so loving. I stopped talking to people. And then...I found out that my dad was a drug dealer in prison and lost who I was for good. My anxieties got worse and I developed tons of other issues and I started stealing meds from my stepdad's folks and my mom's pharmacy. And I started selling my own."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah...I'm sorry too." Charlie looked at Charlotte. "I'm not the best person. I was a bad person. And I really want that to change. If the cops are really in that room with Jenna and we're going to jail, then I'll never get this moment with you again. So, I need you to tell me something so that I can forgive you before I never get the chance to understand you," Charlie stared into Charlotte's eyes. "Why did you do it?"