"I can come over later tonight but I have to be at my house this evening because my family and I are going over to see my cousins. We haven't seen them in a few months. I can just come over after that, though." she answered as she texted someone- probably one of her parents.
"Ok. Text me when you get home and when you get to your cousin's and when you get home again, ok?" I said, sort of trailing off after realizing that that sounded very strange and possessive.
"Why?" she asked, giving me a weird look.
"I'm just a little on edge right now. You know that things have been getting really bad on the streets lately, angel. I just like to know that you're safe."
"Oh yeah.." she said in a defeated voice. She hadn't forgotten all the mornings that I was missing when I should have been laying beside her. "Yeah, I'll do that. I love you." she said, standing on her toes to give me a kiss.
Charlotte's POV
Harry waited until I was inside my house before pulling out of my driveway and disappearing down the road. The second he left though, I was uncomfortable. Knowing how bad things had gotten lately made me very anxious in the absence of his company. I was starting to feel physically sick from having to worry every second of the day. My health was declining the longer Harry was gone and the more I had to worry about my own safety. I set my bag down on the table and walked into the kitchen. I was late. We were supposed to have left to my cousin's house almost thirty minutes ago. So it surprised me when my whole family wasn't standing near the front door, waiting for me to walk through it so that we could go. "Charlotte." My dad gasped. He was crying. My body immediately locked up. My dad looked up from having his head in his hands, sitting at the dining room table.
"What happened? Where's Mom? It's mom, isn't it?" I said, already beginning to cry because I knew that that's what it was. He nodded and tried to stand up but had to sit back down.
"She's dead?"
"N-no. She's at the hospital. There was a mass shooting downtown. They- They already said that she- she has no chance." It felt like a fire started in my chest and ripped through my ribs.
"N-no. I can't- No. She's not- She's ok. Sh-she's fine." I dropped to my knees in the middle of the kitchen. I tried to scream at the top of my lungs. No sound came out.
"Charlotte, it's going to be ok." Dad said, coming to kneel down at my side. "It'll be ok." he said, his voice cracking. He didn't even believe it- why should I?
"Dad, i can't breathe. I can't breathe." I gasped. My entire world- gone. "I can't breathe. I can't breathe." I was so dizzy that I couldn't even see. "I can't see-"
Harry's POV
Charlotte's father was standing by the front door when I pulled back into the driveway for the second time that day. But this time was different. I ripped the keys out of the ignition and ran down the driveway. "I'm so sorry." I said, hugging her dad. Surprisingly, he hugged me back. With how bitter he's always been towards me, I'd never expect something like this. But it wasn't the time to wonder about stupid shit like that. I threw the front door open and ran inside towards the kitchen. He told me that's where Charlotte was. She was curled up in a little ball on the tile floor. Completely unconscious at this point. I knelt down next to her and pulled her into my lap. "Charlotte. Charlotte, wake up." I said, watching her eyes. Finally they were open, but as soon as they were, she started bawling. She grabbed onto my shirt and screamed into my chest. "I'm so sorry." I said, holding onto her tightly.
I drove both of them to the hospital, seeing as that neither of them were fit to drive. Charlotte sobbed in the passenger seat, choking on her tears every now and then. Her dad was essentially silent in the back seat, but it was obvious that he was crying too. They were trying to figure out how they were going to live without the woman that holds them all together. Besides, I couldn't deny the fact that I had to wipe my eyes every now and then as well. Pulling into the parking deck at the hospital was the worst part of the drive. Charlotte was practically screaming and her dad was trying to calm her down but it wasn't helping. All I wanted to do was to help her. I wanted to fix this for her. But there was nothing that I could do now. With a sigh, I got out of the car and held the door open for Charlotte.
Chapter 34 ~Bereavement~
Start from the beginning
