Sweet Charlotte

「 thirteen: hesitant questions 」

She seemed different that day.

Charlotte was quieter; seemed more enclosed within herself. Willow was tempted to ask if something was going on, but decided against it. She didn't know if they had that kind of friendship.

"Has anything exciting been happening here?" Charlotte asked, her french-manicured nails rubbing against the paper cup filled with green-tea in her palms. Delaney had fetched it for her as a gift. Really, Willow knew it was a thank-you gift for coming to visit. Those days, Delaney had started to feel more like an embarrassing parent rather than a nurse. Maybe she felt as though she needed to.

Willow stared at Charlotte silently for a moment, trying to formulate the nice way of saying 'this is a hospital, so it's always dull as rocks.'

Before she could figure what to say, Charlotte chuckled. "Sorry, dumb question."

Willow smiled. "Not a dumb question. I appreciate it." She shrugged. "It's been the same here."

"I always thougaht that hospitals were such cool places," Charlotte hummed, looking down into her cup. "So exciting with so much going on. I guess it's not the same when you're in a room."

"Yeah, hospitals are exciting if you don't have the boring job."

"Resting?"

Willow nodded and, softly, both of them chuckled — Willow out of weakness, Charlotte out of courtesy. Their floor was peaceful, mainly from all the patients being too tired and weak to cause much disturbance. It was a calmness that was tainted with melancholy; it wasn't thanks to genuine peace. It was there thanks to sorrow, exhaustion, and loneliness. It oozed from every crack in the walls.

Charlotte sighed, leaning deeper into her seat, closing her eyes and getting comfy. It had been the first time Willow could remember seeing Charlotte get comfortable, as if she was going to stay for a while. It wasn't common, not even remotely, as Charlotte normally only stayed for a little while — not longer than half an hour — before up and vanishing for another week or two.

Checking the clock and realizing that Charlotte had been there for almost an hour, Willow cleared her throat. "Are you gonna stay for a while longer?"

Charlotte opened her eyes and sat up. "I'm sorry, am I overstaying my welcome?"

"No, no! Not at all!" Willow quickly scoffed, throwing herself into action. "I'm just not used to having visitors this long." She shrugged. "It's nice."

Charlotte smiled, rubbing the back of her neck. "I'm glad my company's appreciated."

"It always is."

It wasn't after much talking that Charlotte's phone began buzzing on the couch. She glanced over at it hauntingly, as if it was a weapon, before reaching out to touch it. Willow could see the colour wash from her face as she studied the screen. Charlotte swallowed hard. "I'm so sorry, Willow. I need to go deal with this."

It was comforting to know that it wasn't until Willow waved her hand, dismissing Charlotte's worry, did she stand to gather her things.

"I'll be back soon, okay? I'll try to come back early next week."

Willow nodded. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Charlotte scoffed, sighing and swinging her bag over her shoulder. "Just one of the kids I tutor wants emergency help for a quiz tomorrow."

Willow blinked in surprise. She didn't realize that Charlotte was a tutor, let alone that she had active students she was tutoring. She wondered why Charlotte seemed so panicked for something as simple as a tutoring session.