Sweet Charlotte

「 thirty-two: final wishes 」

"Let's get the hell out of here." That had been Seth's catchphrase whenever the two of them left school. It perfectly captured how both of them felt being forced to attend school.

At this point, the school year was beginning to roll to a close — something both of them were thankful for — which meant that in a matter of months, both of them could graduate and vanish.

Thank God.

After a year as hectic and traumatic as theirs, if they could never see a single high school peer again, they'd be thrilled.

The drive home was quiet. Those days, it often was. They had nothing to say anymore. They knew how their days had gone. They knew how they were doing. They knew what was on their mind. The mindless chatter did nothing to make them feel better or distract them. All it did was make them feel worse.

As per usual, they rolled up to Seth's house in silence. Seth parked his truck in the driveway and made their way inside. They'd hardly gotten in through the front door — Willow taking the lead knowing it was unlocked — before they heard voices.

"Seth?"

"And Willow." She said softly, smiling into the house. She could tell Seth's Mom was in the kitchen, and kept her smile on until she came out to greet them.

The moment Seth's mother's eyes settled on Willow, her face lit up. "Willow! I'm so glad you're here."

Seth closed the door behind the two of them and kicked his shoes off, starting in ahead of Willow as she fumbled with her own. It had been a while since either of the teens had seen Seth's mother with a genuine smile on.

"Do you mind coming to sit down for a minute?" She asked, drawing closer to the teen. Willow's expression shifted to surprise, glancing past her shoulder to study Seth. He stared at her differently, a way she couldn't describe, and nodded in his mother's direction.

"Of course I don't mind." Willow said, turning back to her smile.

She smiled so big her eyes crinkled. "Wonderful. It'll only take a minute. Come down here." She set a gentle hand on her shoulder, guiding her toward the living room. Passing Seth, Willow stared at him. Given the way his eyes landed on hers, she could tell he knew why she was being brought in.

Something was happening. Something planned was happening. Willow stiffened even more as she entered the room and spotted Seth's father already there. Seth's mother took a seat beside him while Seth stood, propped up against the small stairwell that led from the kitchen into their space. Nervously, Willow took a seat in front of the family.

"I'm sorry hun," Seth's mother said, adjusting herself. She wound her arm through Seth's father's. "We don't mean to startle you. We aren't here to tell you anything bad."

"We wanted to talk to you about something." Seth's father elaborated, sitting upright.

Seth's mother cleared her throat. "We had a reward set up for finding Charlotte. I'm sure you saw it on all the missing persons flyers."

Willow nodded, nervously fiddling with her hands.

"And she didn't come home safe, like we wanted," Seth's father began. His hands intertwined with Seth's mothers. Her reaction — vacant and hollow — showed no signs of change. "But you found her. You both did. And I don't think we would've found her if it wasn't for you."

Willow's heart clenched, her gaze darting to Seth before flickering back to the adults.

"So, we want to give you the reward money." Seth's mother said, tears now lodged in her throat.