Haven't Had Enough → Chenry

↝ Chapter Eleven

     With a single tap of a button on the keyboard, I woke my laptop's sleeping screen. A blank white page stared back at me, taunting me with its emptiness.

The day after my parents' departure, I came home from work and headed straight for my room. The ultimatum that they gave ignited a new fire in me. If I wanted to win the Penbrooke before, it had now become a burning need.

Unfortunately for me, my productivity didn't take me much further than that. I sat in front of the barren screen and chewed on my bottom lip as I desperately racked my mind for even the smallest shred of inspiration.

After a few minutes of this, I knew I was at my wit's end. I clasped my hands together as if in prayer and closed my eyes. Please, I begged internally. Please, someone, give me an idea.

"Charlotte!" A distant voice boomed.

I jumped at the sudden exclamation and placed one hand over my heart to help slow my erratic breathing. I looked up at the ceiling in confusion. "God? Is that you?"

Suddenly, my bedroom door swung wide open to reveal a fuming Jasper. His chest was rising and falling in sheer anger – or maybe he was just winded, I couldn't tell. My next move would have been to ask, but then Lyah barged in after him, looking equally as inflamed.

I pursed my lips and looked back and forth between the two of them. "Neither of you are God. Neither of you can answer my prayers."

Lyah's face shifted and she opened her mouth, probably to make some comment about how she was pretty godly in her own eyes, but Jasper cut her off. "Charlotte, can I ask you something?"

     "Oh, here we go," Lyah said to herself, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest.

     Jasper gave her a sideways glare before giving me his attention. "If you don't mind me asking, how would you feel if you were getting to know someone and you found out they were talking to their ex?"

I looked over at Lyah, who snorted and erupted into laughter. "Getting to know someone? Really?"

Jasper didn't even flinch, his gaze steadily resting on me. I closed my laptop and sighed. "Shitty. I would feel shitty."

"Thank you!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "Now could you please explain that to her?"

"Alright," Lyah began venomously, pointing an accusing finger at Jasper, "that's not fair and you know it!"

Jasper turned to Lyah and shouted back, prompting her to raise her voice even higher in return. I looked on in awe as their yelling escalated into a full-blown argument. As much as I loved to read, I had to admit that not many books could measure up to the level of drama I was witnessing firsthand.

While the two of them continued to argue, something behind them captured my eye. In through the doorway walked Henry, who must have overheard the commotion from the outer room. He leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms in front of his chest, watching the two of them with a knowing smirk.

After a few seconds of silently observing them, he glanced at me and quirked an eyebrow. "These two are having a cat fight and you didn't think to invite me?"