STAMP OF APPROVAL - a selection story

the tough goodbyes

C H A R L O T T E

written by animationchic/aOK706

round twelve ||

April 24th

7:36 pm

"Charlotte, can I ask you something and you swear to not get upset?" Hellie asks as she lounges on my favorite chaise.

I narrow my eyes at her. "Like that's ever stopped you before?"

Henley snorts in laughter and Hellie throws a grape at her. Helena coming back completely changed their dynamic. Before Hellie always thought Hen was a bad influence, only using me for my name. But something seems to have changed between them. Now, they're closer than ever. Hellie sighs and leans her head back, closing her eyes like she can't stand me but when she looks at me I know she's serious.

"Why do you still have Frankie here?" she asks the question so bluntly I startle.

"What?" I ask on a choke and I'm not the only one startled by the question. Wynnie practically spits out her water.

"Why would she, he's like the sweetest guy here," she asks when she gets her coughing under control.

"Exactly, he's sweet, but what else?" Hellie asks, looking around at all of us. We'd opted for a girls night, sequestered in my room with junk food, instead of going to dinner with everyone. I bite my lip, wanting to retort but I can't. Truth is, I forget about Frankie a lot. He's nice and sweet but when he's not there, I don't always notice, and boy, that makes me feel awful. Helena shifts. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing. Sweet is good, but what else is he? Does he make your heart race? Can you honestly say that he's your match?" She gives me a knowing grin. "I don't think so."

"You've had one conversation with the boy," I argue, feeling defensive even as I know she's right.

"Ah, but see what you said there? 'Boy'. You don't need a 'boy', Charlotte, you need a man." Hellie grins like she's won the fight I didn't even know we were having.

"She's not wrong," Natalia chirps, shoving another chip into her mouth and looking at me like she's known all along even though just last week she was going on and on about how cute Frankie is. She always does this, sides with whatever Helena says. Just because Hellie used to babysit.

"Like you'd know what a man was." Henley snorts and shoves my cousin, saying the things I can't. She raises her voice in a falsetto, mocking Natalia and sounding absolutely nothing like her, "'He's SooOOOooo cute!'"

"Yeah? I'm 18, they're all cute." Natalia shrugs, not even bothered by the teasing.

"I mean, they are all cute," Wynnie says, agreeing with Nat, and am I imagining things or are her cheeks tinted with a blush?

"Yes, yes, they're all cute." Helena waves off the commentary and looks me in the eyes. "But is cute enough? Or do you want someone to support you and protect you? And is Frankie that person?"

I say nothing as a silence falls over us as we all realize how right she is. I do want someone to support and protect me. I also want someone to call me on my wrongs and celebrate my successes. I want someone to love me and who I can't stop thinking about. And unfortunately, Frankie is not that guy. Not for me, at least.

"You're right," I say softly, slouching back into my couch and Henley's embrace. I glance up at my sister and ask, "You got all this from one conversation with him?"