Charlotte's Scars

Chapter 13 - Charlotte

Chapter Thirteen

Charlotte

Later that night, I lay in bed next to Karla unable to fall asleep. It was probably around midnight, and I had been tossing and turning for at least three hours. Karla, that lucky duck, passed out the minute her head hit the pillow. I just had too much on my mind and no matter what I did I couldn't seem to force my brain to take a rest.

I was so confused about Christian and I had no idea what to do about it. Earlier in the evening, Karla gave me a good tongue-lashing about kissing her brother – she told me to stay away from him because he was bad news. She loved her brother, but she was worried about him hurting me through his womanizing ways. I couldn't blame her, because for the past week I'd been worrying about the same thing.

But now, I just wasn't sure what to think.

I knew letting myself get too close to him wasn't a good idea because I had my future to think about. I never wanted to end up like my parents - my plan was to put all my energy into school, get a scholarship to University and actually do something meaningful with my life. Every time I looked at Christian, all I could think about was my mom being played by my real dad, and having her future ripped away from her. I got my brain from my mom, but to look at her now, you'd never know it.

On the other hand, Christian made my palms sweat – he made my stomach flutter like a thousand butterflies were let loose inside me. Every time he touched me my toes would curl, and when he kissed me, it felt like the entire world melted away until there was nothing left but him and me.

The pessimist in me ignored all those feelings before, because I never thought Christian could actually care about a girl like me, but after tonight I just didn't know anymore. He actually defended me in front of everyone when Kale was being a jerk, and then he told me he didn't want anyone to hurt me.

I was so frustrated because I wasn't lying when I said the only person that could hurt me was him. It was terrifying but it was true.

God, I needed some fresh air before my mind exploded.

I got off the bed and left the room. There were four bedrooms on the yacht, so Adrian, Kale and Nate got their own rooms, each with a female companion no doubt, and Karla and I got the other room. Apparently there was no way the Steele brothers were going to let the only girl in their family sleep in a tent on the island. Sometimes I almost wanted to laugh at how protective they were with Karla.

I walked down the hallway and made my way up the stairs to the main deck. It definitely was a nice warm night and when I looked up there wasn't a cloud in sight. You'd never see stars this bright in Bridgewalk – the town lights made them dull and lifeless. But here, they were phenomenal. Between the moon and the stars, you didn't need a flashlight to see.

I looked toward the Shore of Silver Sand Island and I could see a few tents scattered down the beach. I wondered if Christian was in one of those, or more specifically, if he was with anyone. Maybe it was better if I didn't know.

I looked back up to the sky and was completely taken by how beautiful the stars looked. I could probably stay out here all night and stare at them.

And that was exactly what I decided to do – but if I was going to stargaze all night, I figured I should try and get as close to them as I could. I climbed up the latter that lead to the top deck but just as I reached the top, I froze.