Searching (Bad Girl Book Two)

Chapter 19

(Drake's POV)

I stare down at Charlotte, frowning. My thoughts swarm of the whole operation going down that Charlotte is participating in. I don't want her to get hurt. I want her to be able to come home to me. I don't want to lose her. The thought of possibly losing her causes my chest to hurt. I can't bear the thought of it.

I swipe the stray hair out of her face and she stirs slightly. She moves closer to me, squeezing gently. "I love you, Charlotte," I whisper. She seems to smile, but I'm sure I'm just seeing that. She's asleep so it's not like she heard me.

I'm sitting staring at Charlotte for about another hour before she finally wakes up. She hums, stretches slightly, and then speaks, "Morning," she whispers.

"Morning, beautiful," I say.

She smiles softly, snuggling deeper into the covers. She looks so adorable all snuggled up like that.

"What are we doing today?" I ask her.

"Working," Charlie sighs.

"Damn it," I huff. She smiles and sits up, running a hand through her hair. She looks so beautiful right now. I think this is one of my favorite times to look at her. She trudges out of bed and out of the room. I begin to follow her, of course.

She's already grabbing a Monster. "Charlie, do you drink one of those every day?" I ask her, frowning.

She nods, "Yeah, why?"

"That's really unhealthy," I say, scrunching my nose. She laughs lightly.

She walks over to me, lightly touches the tip of my nose, and speaks, "You're so cute when you scrunch your nose like that." My frown deepens and she just watches me. "Okay, well, while you're pouting, I have to go to work," she says. I'm about to say something, but she just kisses my cheek and walks out to get ready. I sigh, shaking my head.

I walk into the kitchen after she leaves and search for something strong. It's going to be a long day.

(Charlotte's POV)

As I get into the squad car, I realize something. It's something I knew in the back of my mind, but something that suddenly seems really clear for some reason.

I'm just a rebound. Drake doesn't love me; he doesn't care. Okay, maybe that's bit exaggerated. I just think that I don't really mean as much to Drake as he's making me out to be.

I don't want to be that girl. I don't want to be the kind of girl that Drake is with just to get over someone else. That's the worst kind of relationship I could be in. I want so badly for Drake and I to just work out, but I can't force this. I want for us to get married and be happy together, but maybe I'm just fooling myself.

Maybe I'm just getting desperate. I want for us to be okay. I want so much with Drake and I know I can't have it. I want him to be happy first. And if I don't make him happy, it won't be good for him. Or me.

"Charlotte," Chad says. My eyes widen slightly and I look over at him, giving him a questioning look. "Pay attention, why don't you?" Chad says, laughing. I sigh and look out the window, nodding. I watch everything around us, searching for something we may need to stop for.

I look over at a group of kids and speak, "Stop." Chad frowns and looks over.

"I don't know, Charlotte," he sighs. There's a small, frail girl sitting in the middle of a bunch of boys, seeming as though she's attempting to hold her ground. I rush out of the car and walk over, making sure they don't notice me.

When one of them do, I grab him by the collar and pull him back over. "Don't move," I snap. They all stare at me, their eyes wide. I walk over to the girl and take her under my arm. She stares at me, tears in her eyes.

"Would someone like to tell me what's going on here?" I ask.

They all stare, none willing to speak. I'm beginning to get really fed up. I look down at the girl, hoping she may answer. "They were being mean to me," she sniffles.

"What were they saying to you, sweetheart?" I ask her, squatting down so we're eye level.

"They called me ugly..." she trails. I stand back up and glare at all of the boys.

"Listen to me. Each and every one of you better have your ears open right now." My voice is dangerously agitated and they all stare, seeming to fear what may come next. "You will not speak to this girl that way ever again. Do you understand me? What if I went around and said you're ugly, huh? Hey kid, you're ugly," I snap. The kid I directed that at puts his head down, upset. "Doesn't feel too nice, does it?" I ask them. None answer. "Does it?" I ask. They shake their heads and mumble a small 'no'.

"You're all so young. Don't start now being the very person you'll hate when you get older. Listen to me, you're all so much better than that. Find something better to do with your time. Do guy things. If you're going to speak to this girl, you better be nice. I should call your parents, but I'm letting you off with this. If you're caught being cruel to someone else, the next person may not be so nice as to let you walk away. Do you understand?"

I hear a chorus of eager, 'yes ma'am's' and they all try to run away. "Ah, get back here!" They all sulk back. "Apologize."

They say sorry and run away. I look towards the girl. I squat back down and wipe the tears from her cheeks. "Are you alright?" I ask her.

She nods, grinning. "Thank you," she giggles. She throws her arms around my neck and squeezes. I hug her back and stand. "I'm Harley," she says proudly.

"Beautiful name for a beautiful girl. I'm Charlie," I say.

"Hi, Charlie," she giggles again. I swear she's the cutest thing.

"Where's your mom, Harley?"

She looks around and at a woman rushing towards us. The girl giggles again and rushes to her mom, hugging her. The woman looks over at us. "What happened?" she asks, breathless.

"We found her over here being antagonized by a bunch of boys. We handled the situation, ma'am," Chad says.

She sighs and hugs her girl. "You know, your daughter gives really lovely hugs. Harley, don't ever lose that," I say to the little girl.

"Thank you, Charlie," she grins. Her mother thanks us and begins walking away, keeping a gentle hold on her daughter.

These are the kinds of things that make me want to keep doing my job. These are the kinds of things that wake me up in the morning, content with possibly sacrificing my life to save another.