Let me take care of you

Older sister always knows

Charlie and Tori stayed silent, Charlie just staring at the houses that passed by and Tori looking ahead silently. Charlie had no idea where they were going, but he knew Tori always knew what she was doing.

Charlie's eyes narrowed when the road started to disappear and houses faded away, being replaced by a thick layer of trees, blocking out sunlight and seemingly deserted apart from their one car.  The pathway they were on was rocky and narrow and seemed endless.

Charlie was about to ask where they were and where they were going but heard Tori on the phone to someone,
"Yeah he's my brother, I'm not sure how long we'll be staying, not long though. Don't worry Micheal, no you don't need to be there, he'll be fine with me. Okay, thanks, see you soon." She hung up the phone and took a deep breath, not taking her eyes away from the road.

"Tori..?" Charlie said quietly. Tori looked at him quickly, as if she forgot that she had basically just kidnapped him from court,
"Yeah Charlie?" She replied, turning into deeper darkness into the forest,
"Where are we going?" He asked, sitting up a little more and squinting to try to see past the thick layers of trees, for some sort of light, nothing.

"Just a little place where I like to... Escape, for a while." Tori simply said, her voice seeming uncertain for a moment. Charlie wondered if this was just some way to murder him, leading him into the middle of a forest on his own with his sister who he knows wouldn't be afraid to do such a thing. But before he could let dumb irrational thoughts get to him, the car stopped.

Charlie looked out the car window and saw a small, vine covered, old little cottage standing Infront of him.
"Well come on then." Tori said, already out of the car and staring at him. Charlie nodded and fumbled with the door knob before opening the car door and with struggle, making his way through the bumpy, rocky, weed covered ground to the front door. Tori used keys which magically appeared out of her pocket to open the old door. She let him in and he was presented with a cosy, nicely decorated little hallway,
"Ta da! Welcome to my little home!" She said, smiling with pride, something Charlie didn't see often.

Charlie took a moment to look around, Tori turned on a couple of lights, giving the room a warm dimly lit sort of lighting that worked so well with the messy yet well arranged aesthetic of the place. Charlie admired it for a while, before being gestured to sit in one of two seats Infront of a coffee table,
"What is this place?"  Charlie said, his voice in awe, Tori smiled slightly,
"Our comfort house." She said, her voice quiet and coming from a small little kitchen counter area.
"Our?" Charlie repeated, looking around for another person.
"Me and Micheal, we made this place y'know." Charlie had met Michael, he was Tori's closest friend, he was really nice and Tori loved him.
" Wow." He simply said back.

Tori fumbled around in the kitchen for a while before coming out with two cups of hot chocolate, which she set aside on the table. She sat down on the other chair beside Charlie and picked up her hot chocolate, looking at him,
"So, talk." She said, sipping her drink,
"There isn't anything to talk about." Charlie replied, quietly, not touching his own drink. Tori sighed,
"You know there is, that may be enough to fool mum and dad, but this stuff doesn't get past me." She was right, Tori noticed anything and everything, and she kept note of it.
"I don't know, I don't know what that was. Okay?" He replied, his shoulders tensing up and voice becoming louder.
"You don't know what made you react like that to his insults. What makes you have nightmares and what made you scream and run from the only person who you properly love?" Tori said.

Charlie went silent, she knew, why did she always know, he could never hide anything from her, fears, anxiety, she always knew, how?
"I... It's just... Why do they-" Charlie tripped and stuttered over his words for an answer, Tori raised her eyebrows. Charlie sighed, his eyes glinting with tears.
"Why do they care?" He said, more of a question to himself then to Tori,
"Because you mean alot to them Charlie." Charlie scoffed at her answer,
"You sound like my therapist, but I don't care that they care. And I'm a dick because of that, they want to help me and yet I just don't let them. I'm just an annoying rude teen, but yet they still continue praying into my head." Charlie said, anger rising in his voice. Tori nodded,
"But they sort of have to. What happened, it's crazy, and your recovery from it was even more crazy. It's hard to believe that it doesn't effect you that badly, something like that can't just have a happy ending like that. And you have a history of hiding you feelings away, and this is pure trauma. People just want to make sure nothing else... Happens to you."

Charlie had never thought of it like that, he knew they were worried, they were always worried, but they didn't think he would actually, do anything to his own life..?

Charlie thought about this for a moment,
"I-" He stopped himself, all of his thoughts started twisting together, he opened his mouth but no words came out. He chocked on his words,
"I'm sorry..." He finally muttered out, putting his hands in his face and wiping away his tears.

Tori stood up and put a hand on his back,
"You don't need to be. You don't need to be sorry, and you don't need to give me an answer. Just breathe." Tori hugged her brother, running her hand down his back in a comforting way, she had a sad look on her face, but her hair covered it.

Charlie silently cried in Tori's arms, and she continued hugging him tight,
"I would never do that." He said, shaking his head and grabbing at his hair,
"Never, I would never leave you all." He said, louder this time. Tori nodded,
"Mhm, I know, I'm so glad that you wouldn't." Tori's voice went higher pitched, and sounded more upset.

She held herself together though and comforted her brother.

Once he calmed himself down a bit, taking small sips of his hot chocolate, Tori having already finished hers. They say in comfortable silence, not needing to know what the other was thinking.

Finally, after a while of sitting in silence and thinking, Charlie spoke,
"I need to go apologies to Nick." Charlie said, Tori looked up at him and looked at him with an unsure look. She then nodded,
"Then let's go."