Bad Girls Club [Editing]

[9] Deal With The Devil

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Alora had taken over and become the mother figure Charlie desperately needed. She had provided Charlie with things she hadn't had in years: a friend, care, attention, and most significantly love. Alora loved Charlie enough to further strengthen her ability to defend herself. Alora loved Charlie enough to help her gain control of her life, which had been spinning out of control.

Without Alora, Charlie would have ended up living in a white walled cell – just like her father. She remembered the day that Alora had dove in so clearly.

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Charlie sat on the curb, foot bouncing widely as she pondered over her current options. Charlie could either:

A) Leave her father and brother behind to fend for themselves – it was, after all, about damn time she focused on herself.

B) Turn herself over to the police. Let them lock her away from the people poisoning her life.

C) Take the gun out of her backpack and steal back some of Damien's cargo

Option A meant quitting on not only her family, but her promise. Her mother had assigned Charlie the task of watching out for her little brother after Bram Sullivan had shoved him off his bike when he was four. That was two days before she died. Charlie was not going to go back on her promise, which sadly eliminated both option A and option B.

Option C was all that was left – but could she do it? Could Charlie risk her own safety to clear her father's debuts to Damien and the other horribly-named 'Kings of Westbrook'?

Charlie had spent nearly every waking hour since her mother died babysitting both her father and Thorn. It had given her nothing but pain. That year alone she had received three school suspensions, two court dates, and a long ride in the back of a police car.

And for what? A father who had missed her birthday? One who had come home drunk more times than none?

Charlie reached into the front zipper of her backpack, yanking out her bus ticket. It was the golden ticket to freedom – to a life that could be hers. To one that meant disappointing her mother. This wasn't the first bus ticket purchased and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

With a heavy heart and a deep pain in her stomach Charlie ripped the ticket. She threw the scraps in the air and the wind stole her hopes and dreams. She watched them drift away. How dare she even consider leaving Thorn with the monster their father had become?

She knew what she had to do.

"Charlize Hasner?" Someone had called from over her shoulder.

"How do you know my name?" Charlize defensively wondered, bounding to her feet in case she needed to make a speedy getaway.