Sweet Charlotte

「 twenty-nine: final escape 」

Willow could feel her left leg bouncing as she sat on the bleachers, eyes scanning the field and everyone approaching it. She was searching for four people: Mara, Sunni, Carter, and Seth.

Mainly, she was searching for Seth.

Something was wrong. Something about Sunni and Mara's story no longer held up, and biting her tongue as Seth played a game in front of them felt wrong, in a way. He deserved to know what was happening. Letting him believe otherwise for any amount of time felt like she was lying to him; like she was portraying a facade.

Then, as she'd hoped, she recognized a familiar tuft of blond hair. He was wrapped in his football uniform, bag slung over one of his shoulders, chattering with some of his teammates as they approached the field. Willow's chest clenched, and her feet moved quicker than her head as she darted out of the stands. She fought the urge to yell at him — the attention grab wouldn't be worth it — and instead quickened her pace.

Spotting her, Seth's walk slowed. Just before he came to a full stop, he waved distantly to the teammates he'd been talking to. She could see his smile as she approached, but as she drew nearer it shifted to panic. "Willow?"

"Seth," she wheezed, skidding to a stop.

Seth reached out, hands clutching her shoulders steady her. Her rubbed them gently; hands brushing soothingly against the skin. "Hey, hey, what's happening?" He asked. He reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind one of her ears, watching the way the pastel rolled through his fingers.

"Something happened," she fumbled out, chest squeezing. "You need to know what's going on."

Seth blinked, brows squishing. "What's happening? Breathe with me."

"It's about Mara," she forced out, "and Sunni, and maybe Carter."

Seth's brows shot up, his grip on her arms squeezing. "What?"

"Seth?" A voice sounded.

Seth waved his hand past his shoulder, not bothering to see who the person was. "I'll be there in a minute." He said. The figure, whoever it was, left with a shrug. "What's going on?" Seth asked, eyes fixated.

Willow watched the other player wander away a few paces and wait, arms crossed, staring at the two of them. "They're lying about something. They haven't been honest with us."

"What? How do you know?"

"I was told. I saw it."

"Saw what?"

"Their poster board. They--"

"Seth." The player called again. "Coach is gonna be pissed, dude. We gotta go."

Willow's heart crashed as Seth's grip loosened, his pained gaze still brushing over her. "I need to go. We're starting soon." He reached forward, squeezing her hand, watching the way her eyes quivered in response. "I'll be right down here. We'll talk about this after, okay?" He squeezed her hand again before releasing it. "Be safe."

Willow could feel her chest clench. That's what she was going to try to do. That's what she wanted to do. But now, knowing that she knew, she was going to be so on edge and hyper-paranoid that she wasn't to sure how safe she was actually going to be.

"Willow!" A voice said from her side. After flinching and turning, Willow spotted them. Carter and Mara, hand-in-hand, with Sunni trotting up the rear.

There was only one way to find out.

"Thanks for waiting for us down here." Carter said. Willow smiled, playing along. "Let's go grab seats?"