I Hope You Stay » [J.B.B]

Chapter 1

Charlotte Blayne

"Come on Lottie, I know you wanna!"

"Do you?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do Blayne."

"And how's that?"

"Because I know the last thing you want to do right now is go back to that table and finish having dinner with your parents."

I bite down on my lip, rolling my eyes as I let out a breathy laugh through my nose.

"They're leaving tomorrow morning for Italy. It's their mandatory 'pre-travel' country club dinner."

"Oh please Lottie, it's more an 'appease their own guilt' dinner for leaving you alone and besides, they basically live at this stupid country club..."

"They're not just gonna let me leave Arla." Her eyes visibly brighten up at my words, taking them as an acceptance to go with her instead of staying here.

"You leave that to me Lottie." She holds her arm out, allowing me to hook my arm in hers before she tugs me towards the table I was just sitting at.

"Mrs and Mr Blayne." Arla's voice catches my parents attention, both of their eyes turning to focus on the her, as their own conversation cuts out.

"Arla-Mae, so nice to see you darling." My mom says, flashing a smile towards Arla.

"It's lovely to see you too! I heard you're both leaving for Italy tomorrow."

"Oh we are. Isn't it exciting?
As soon as we're finished here we need to set off to finish packing."

"You two should get to that, you don't want to leave it too late." I stay silent next to Arla, letting her speak to my parents as they barley pay any mind to me next to her.

"That's alright, we can get to that a bit later, we have to finish dinner with Charlotte."

I inwardly cringe at the use of my full name as well as the light resentment bleeding through her tone.

Have to.

You'd think my parents were being held against their will just to take me out for one dinner.

"If that's the case, don't worry about it. I'll take her off your hands and you two head home to pack and get an early night."

As usual, my father stays silent, just communicating silently with my mother through not so subtle eye contact.

Trust me when I say they barley needed to be convinced because not even a second later my father was signaling for our regular waiter to bring over the check.

"That would be lovely!" My mother exclaims, clearly not worried about cutting our family dinner short.

"It will be good for Charlotte to get out a bit." My father pipes in, muttering a thank you to the waiter and without even lifting his gaze he places the cash on top on the check as if it was just a bunch of autumn leaves in the garden.

It was no secret that my family had money. A lot of it.

"I agree! Well I hope you two enjoy Italy." Arla smiles, greeting my parents before leaning in closer to me, speaking so only I could hear. "I'll be out front when you're ready. Don't be too long."

I give her a small nod in recognition of her words, watching her walk away towards the entrance of the country club.

I nibble on my bottom lip, having to refocus my gaze onto my parents as they both stand up out of their seats and move towards me.

"You'll be okay alone Charlotte?"

"It's Lottie Mum and I always am."

"Lottie. Your name is Charlotte." She scoffs, wrapping her chiffon shawl around her shoulders as she speaks up again. "Your father has put some cash in the safe for you. It should be sufficient until we return."

"How long are you leaving for?" I don't understand why I asked, because I already knew the answer would most probably be their usual two weeks.

"We'll be home in two weeks." I nod weekly at the confirmation, knowing that there was nothing I could say or do to change their minds.

I was used to being left alone for weeks on end while my parents upped and left to travel the world. "Stay safe Charlotte."

My mother briefly wraps me in an embrace, which was so short lived that by the time I had lifted my own arms to return the action, she had already pulled away, adjusting her coat.

"We'll see you soon." My father places a light kiss on my head before following my mother outside, leaving me alone at the table.

I stand in my spot for a while, staring at the check on table in front of me, noticing the very generous tip that my father left for our usual waiter Danny.

If only he was as generous when it came to loving his own daughter.

"Is everything alright Miss Blayne?" I lift my gaze, seeing Danny standing by the table.

"Yes Danny, Thank you!" I smile gently at him, leaning forward to grab my coat from the back of the chair before speaking again. "Oh and Lottie is just fine!"

"Of course Lottie. Enjoy your night."

"Thank you Danny, you too!"

I make my way out front, immediately spotting Arla leaning against an open cab.

"Lottie, ready to hit the road?" She smiles widely, tapping on the top of the cab as she gestures for me to jump in first.

"Yep, let's go." I slide into the cab, Arla following directly behind me before shutting the cab door.

"Mel's Drive-in please." Arla leans forward, speaking to the cab driver as she rests her hands on the side of either front seat.

"S'that the one corner 8th and Melody?"

"That's the one."

"Sure thing."

Arla sits back in her seat, resting her head against the head rest as the two of us sit in silence, relishing in the sound of Elvis playing softly in the background.

"I know you probably don't want me to ask, but-"

"I'm okay Arla." I smile at her, turning my head to meet her quizzical gaze. "I promise."

Before Arla gets a chance to respond, the driver pulls up outside of the diner, preventing her from speaking to let us know we've arrived.

I hop out of the cab, handing the driver the fare for the ride before letting my eyes land on the diner once more.

The bright neon sign could definitely be seen from miles away if you were paying attention and the numerous cars parked outside were a clear indication of just how busy the diner was.

"There's a lot of people here." The music could be heard from inside the diner, only enhancing the liveliness of the place.

"Well of course, it's a Friday night. Not all of us have dinner at the country club on the weekend. You know, we go out and have fun." I scoff at her words, knowing she was only being playful.

"I do have fun."

I laugh at her dramatics as she wraps her arm around mine before tugging me towards the entrance.

"If that's the case, let's go have some fun Lottie."