You belong to me

Chapter 7 - Parker

"This speech is my recital, I think it's very vital," I begin to chime in the hopes that this will get Charlotte to talk to me. I can see a small smile creep on her face, that gets bigger and bigger as her dimple appears. I turn the music up and carry on singing the words, even if Charlotte doesn't sing with me, I at least know I have made her smile again. Charlotte moves her legs from facing the window and is now almost sitting in the seat the way it is designed for you to sit and opens her mouth, "I met this little girlie, her hair was kinda curly," she sings, reciting the dance we used to do as children where she would grab her hair and mess it up. She looks at me in the eyes and I mean for the first time properly looks me in the eyes and laughs. I've miss hearing her goofy laugh, her eyes sparkling as she completely relaxes around me and her skin is glowing. I don't want this song to ever end because I don't know if Charlotte is going to be cold with me again, I just want to stay like this for as long as I can with the happy Charlotte not the sassy whatever she was last night, Charlotte. "Whew that brought back some memories did it not?" Charlotte laughs. I can't believe she is still laughing and joking on with me. "Ha yeah it did, I knew that would get you to talk to me," I say instantly regretting even saying that to her. Charlotte opens her mouth but no words come out, back to the pissed off Charlotte it is then, way to go Parker. "It's not that I'm annoyed at you, well I am, but I had in my head that you wouldn't be here. Then I guess I don't know, you didn't even talk to me since you moved and now you want to be all like Charles and shit with me. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I don't know," Charlotte finally says.

I wish the drive was longer so we could talk about the five years I've been gone but we've arrived at the paintballing and I vividly remember how serious Jake takes this, every year his team wins even when we switch up teams, Jake's always wins. I look at Charlotte and bravely place my hand on her knee, to which she doesn't pull away, "we need to beat Jake, this isn't about me and you, it's coming together to beat Jake," I say in my best superhero voice. Charlotte laughs and replies in her Darth Vader voice she would do all the time growing up, "Yes Parker, we beat Jake." We all get ready into our paintball kit and load the guns and receive the briefing but I'm not even listening, I'm just looking at Charlotte, she's so beautiful just sitting there like that even when she's wearing a body vest and a helmet and vizor. "Okay so, since Parker is home for the first time in a long time I'll let him go first in picking out what team. This year the teams are red or green," Jake announces, he's so serious. I put my hand in the bucket and rummage through the folded over bits of paper, "Green team," I say showing everyone my bit of paper with green wrote on it in green marker. Jake goes next and he gets red, "may the best giant win," he says grinning at me, with his hand out to shake. The teams aren't very even at all this year, I have my mum, Angie, and grandpa and a very smug Jake has my dad, Warren and Nanny. It just leaves Charlotte to pick, I've never wanted anything more in my life than for Charlotte to pull out a piece of paper with the word green on it. She slowly unfolds the piece of paper in her hand and looks at Jake. Shit, she's team red. "You're going down this year," she says sticking her tongue out at Jake. I can't even help it, this surge takes over my body and I fist bump the air, "Yes!" I shout. Everyone looks at me like I've just grown two heads or something as I recompose myself. "Bit excited to have Char on your team there mate?" Warren asks me shaking his head but laughing. "Something like that," I mumble.

I feel a bit sick, I'm not sure if it's the nerves of having to play paintball again and remembering the sting as the ball of paint collides with your skin or if it's pure adrenalin. "Parker, you're supposed to hide," Angie hisses at me. Oh shit yeah, I forgot how strategic this game really is, especially with our families. I search for Charlotte but I can't see her, I should have just stuck with her the whole game and used that as an excuse to be close to her. A siren screeches and I jump at the noise, I guess that means the game has started. I'm hiding behind a hay barrel, how stereotypical. Maybe this hiding spot is so obvious that no one will actually think of coming here to shoot me. I can hear a rustle behind me but I can't work out which direction of the woods it's coming from and I for sure hope it's not Jake. A bullet of paint brushes past my vizor, a little too close for comfort if I do say so. I peep my head over the barrel and fire into the woods, I must have hit something as I hear a groan. I've just fucking shot my nanny. Nanny stands up as a clear green paint marking stains her chest, she looks up to see who shot her so fatally and ended her game early, at first she looks super annoyed but she quickly realizes it's me and shoots me a thumbs up before walking away with her hands in the air.

It feels like we've been playing for hours now, I'm pretty sure my mum and Angie got fatally shot on purpose so they could bugger off and drink in the bar. Warren was fatally shot by sniper Charlotte, and I'm also pretty sure my dad and grandpa shot each other so they could sit down. That just leaves, me, Charlotte and Jake left in the game. "Parker," I hear someone hiss but I have no idea where it came from, "Parker," I hear it again. "Behind you," I spot Charlotte hidden in a bush, I stop, drop and roll towards her. My breathing is heavy and so is Charlottes. "How long have you been here?" I ask. She blatantly ignores my question, "I know where Jake is, follow me" she says between pants and gestures me to follow her. "I'll go this side, you go the other and I say we just fire," she says so serious, furring her brow. She's so cute, I don't know why this is making her attractive, she's literally running around planning to shoot her brother with paint. I love that she's so different, I don't know any American girl that would willingly want to do this. "Did you hear anything I said there Parker? We're going to win," Charlotte snaps at me. I nod my head in agreeance and keep low until I reach the point and wait for Charlotte to signal me.

Charlotte signals in the air with her hands and we simultaneously stand up and fire down below to a very clueless Jake. It's like money to my ears hearing Jake groan in pain but we both continue to fire, "Stop!" Jake shouts holding his hands up. We stop firing below and Jake throws his helmet on the floor. He doesn't even say anything, he just storms off the pitch. I can feel my smile and my heart is pounding, I take my helmet off and hold it in the air with joy, we've finally beat Jake at his own game. Charlotte comes bounding towards me, her hair half in a bun and the rest flowing in the wind. She quite literally launches herself at me and I catch her. She wraps her legs around my waist with the biggest smile on her face and then she leans in towards me and presses her lips against mine.