Way Down We Go

Chapter 5: It Comes In Waves

Chapter Five: It Comes In Waves

Charlotte's Point of View

After dinner with Mrs. Rylee I took the gun she gave me and went back over to my house, glancing over my shoulder every now and again, when I got inside I leaned my back against the door closing my eyes, today had just been like waves were crashing up against me, that the life that I was trying to build here was being swallowed up and dragged down into the deepest pits of the ocean.

All of this made me think of when I lived in Chicago, it was one of the first times Jimmy had showed who he really was, I'd been in this blissful little bubble of not seeing it, I didn't want to see it, but this night, this particular night it hit me right in the face, I wasn't expecting it.

It was my parent's dinner party, they were that rich that they threw dinner parties, it was one of the many parties that Jimmy and I had attended, my parents loved him more than any guy I'd ever dated, then again I didn't bring a lot of the guys I'd dated around them because I knew they'd never approve, but they approved of Jimmy once they heard he was a cop, they were all for it.

We were standing in the main room where the party was being held everyone was wearing fancy clothing, tuxes the whole nine, I wasn't a fan of these parties I wasn't really the type to dress up like this but I did it to please my parents, it was the only time they'd act like they had a daughter, even if it was ridiculing me and making me feel like I wasn't enough for them.

Jimmy was talking to one of my father's friends while I stood off next to him, a waiter was walking around offering glasses of red and white wine, along with champagne which I didn't like very much, one of the waiters was walking right passed us and he stopped giving me a smile.

"Wine?" he asked.

The poor guy was just doing his job, and I was being polite, I gave him a sweet smile. "Thank you." I said taking the glass of red wine off of the serving tray he was carrying, I felt a grip on my waist glancing next to me, Jimmy gave me a look then he looked to my father's friend.

"If you'll excuse us, I need to have a moment with Charlotte." He said and then glanced at me, his eyes were dark and I didn't understand what was happening right then, he grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me out of the main room out onto the patio, that wasn't really littered with people, there were guests walking in my mothers garden but they were too far off to hear anything.

Jimmy still had ahold of my wrist gripping it. "What the hell was that?" He sneered.

I frowned confusingly pulling at my wrist but his grip tightened. "Jimmy, I have no idea what you're talking about." I glanced down at my wrist. "Let go of my wrist." I said pulling again but that just made it all worse.

"You know what the hell I'm talking about." Hhe raised his voice louder, and I jumped because he'd never raised his voice like that before. My heart was racing so bad that I could hear it in my ears. "Jimmy I don't understand- I started shaking my head.

"Flirting with the waiters in front of me." He shouted again. "Do you really think I didn't notice?" He asked letting go of my wrist finally, his eyes were wild and I stepped back away from him.

I scoffed slightly. "Flirting? I was being polite to the poor guy I wasn't flirting." I said shaking my head. "You're being ridiculous, I'm going back inside, you can stay out here and cool off." I turned to walk away but I felt his hand wrap back around my wrist to stop me, pulling me towards him.

"Don't lie to me Charlotte, I saw what I saw, you are not going to make a fool of me in front of your fathers friends you understand." His tone was different, angry actually his eyes were dark I'd never saw this side of him, my heart was racing. His grip was tightening around my wrist as he looked down at me.

"Jimmy you're hurting me." I said staring up at him.

Jimmy chuckled softly looking around as people walked passed us giving them fake smiles brushing them off then he looked back down at me. "For the rest of the night you're not going to talk unless you're spoken to." It was at that moment that I knew, that he wasn't the guy I thought he was.

I looked down at the gun that Mrs. Rylee had given me, walking down the hallway I stepped into my bedroom and placed it in the drawer of the nightstand, it was strange, Mrs. Rylee cared about me more than my own mother did, my mother told me that I was exaggerating everything that Jimmy had done to me, even when there were bruises on my body as proof, she blamed me said it was my fault. I sat down on the bed and leaned over placing the gun in the drawer of the nightstand, It wasn't my fault though, no woman should be treated like that and I wasn't going to run anymore, I was going to stay and fight, like. Mrs. Rylee said, this was my home now.

WDWG

Mrs. Rylee's Point of View

I was clearing off the kitchen table, Charlie had just left. That girl had been through so much and I wasn't going to stand by and watch as a man scared her, he drove her away from her home a home where nobody there had a care in the world for her, I didn't understand how her mother could stand by and watch her daughter get abused and taken advantage of, that wasn't a mother that was a careless woman who had no business having a child if she wasn't going to care.

There was a knock on my front door pulling me out of my thoughts and I peaked my head out of the kitchen seeing Jackson peak his head in the front door.

"Back for dinner?" I asked jokingly.

I'd put his plate in the microwave.

"You know it." He stepped into the house and the screen door shut behind him as he headed for the kitchen. I backed up and continued putting the dirty dishes in the dish washer. "In the microwave." I motioned.

I watched his eyes scan the kitchen and I laughed slightly shaking my head as I closed the dishwasher and started it then I looked at him. "She's already ate, then went home Jackson." I said letting him know.

The tall now grown man looked at me arching his eyebrow, he was going to tell me that he wasn't looking for her. "Don't try and lie to me either, I know you, it doesn't take much to see that you've got an interest in her." but he wasn't ready for someone like Charlie he was too set in his ways right now of sleeping around and she'd been through enough.

Although I did think they would be good friends for one another right now, lord knows he needed someone to knock some sense into him, I was getting too old to do it, and Gemma, lord she never did it. "I'm not interested in her Wynonna." He said as he pulled his plate out of the microwave.

"What did I just say Teller?" I asked shaking my head and I walked over to the table to wipe it off. "You are interested in her, but it's not a good idea right now, she's got a lot going on thing's that I'm not going to tell you but." I paused and turned to look at him. "Do an old woman a favor okay." I said in all seriousness.

Jax frowned slightly. "Everything okay?" He asked and set his plate down on the counter.

I sighed. "Just look out for Charlie okay, keep an eye on her for me." I said simply. "I'm not going to tell you everything Jackson, she'll tell you when she wants you to know but, just do that for me."

Jax nodded his head he didn't ask anymore questions because he knew I was being serious, that girl was like my daughter and I'd only known her 5 months but I cared a lot about her, because I knew she'd been through hell and back she needed someone to look out for her and that's what I intended to do, I wanted Jax to do the same, if her ex was as obsessed with her as I think he is, then she's going to need all the help in the world to keep her from running away again.