Little Girl Don't Grow Up Too Fast

Lost

"How was your sleepover?" Karen asked her granddaughter as they made lunch together. Karen always loved to teach Charlotte some of her cooking skills when she was growing up. She missed having her around dearly.

"So much fun!" Charlotte squeaked excitedly. "I've missed my friends a lot. I miss everything a lot."

"I'm sure you do, honey," Karen remarked. "But do you like it in Nashville? Or when you were on the road, at least?"

"It's okay," the teen shrugged. "It's just not the same."

"How do you mean?"

"Sometimes I feel like I don't fit in there at all," Charlotte spoke as her voice cracked. "I just don't understand why Dad had to get traded. We were so close to you and the rest of the family. I have so many friends here and I don't hardly have any there."

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry," Karen apologized, her heart breaking for her granddaughter as she wrapped her arms around her. "I didn't know this was such a sensitive subject. But do you at least like being closer to Carrie?"

"I love my mom," Charlotte nodded through the tears. "But sometimes I wish I could just have the best of both worlds, you know?"

"Mom, it's us! We're home!" her dad announced through the house as she can hear them coming in through the front door.

It was only a couple of seconds before Mike and Carrie had made their way through the foyer and into the kitchen where he knew he could always find his mom. She turned her attention from Charlotte to her son immediately glowing, "Michael! I'm so glad you're finally home."

Karen greeted the couple with hugs and warm welcomes. She immediately began talking to her son as Carrie enveloped her daughter in a hug after not seeing her since the day before. Immediately, the mother was able to notice the young teen's blotchy face and tear filled eyes.

"What's wrong? Have you been crying?" Carrie asked lightly lifting Charlotte's chin up so her eyes would meet her own.

"Oh, it's nothing," she turned away, trying to brush her mom off.

The mother rubbed the side of her daughter's arm soothingly, wondering what could have happened that made her daughter so hurt. "Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, I swear," Charlotte wiped the last few tears and gave a weak fake smile.

Carrie's eyebrows knitted closer together as she refused to believe that her daughter was completely fine at that moment, however, her attention got diverted by the rest of Mike's family making their way into house to join for lunch. Charlotte was thankful that all of the attention had drifted away from herself. She had grown comfortable at sharing her feelings with her mother actually more so than with her dad, but this was something that she felt would be hard to explain.

Charlotte kept quiet the rest of the day, being sure to avoid being left alone with people, not wanting to answer too many questions. The Fisher clan spent practically all day together hanging around the house catching up. As night time came around and the aunts and uncles and cousins were slowly heading out one by one, Charlotte also excused herself and headed to her room leaving only Mike, Mike's parents, and Carrie.

"I need to go check on Charlotte in a few minutes. Something's been up with her today," Carrie informed the group of her concern.

"What do you mean?" Mike wondered, completely oblivious to what she was hinting at.

"We were talking in the kitchen earlier this morning," Karen mentioned. "I was just catching up with her on life like we always do, but something hit her hard I guess."