Charlie

Chapter 5 - Shopping, Stopping, and Jaw Dropping

Chapter 5 - Shopping, Stopping, and Jaw Dropping

"Ooo!" Peyton smiles, holding up a pair of lacy black panties. "This is cute right?" I force yet another grin and nod my head, mentally begging for this mall to catch on fire so we can leave.

What am I gonna do about Tom? Especially Peyton! The plan of me confronting her about Nathan has just been thrown out the window, beeecaauuse her still boyfriend kissed me. This is different now, I'm fucking involved!

Tom's going to break up with Peyton because he likes me, he fucking kissed me last night and the TRUTH comes OUT when under the INFLUENCE!

Oh yeah, Mom and Dad has not found out about the party because I booted everyone the fuck out of the house and forced Peyton too lean by herself.

Anyways, I'm at the mall with Peyton not by choice and we're in Victoria's Secret, which forever makes me feel uncomfortable. Too many half naked girls and...exposure. Peyton tosses me 2 different colored lacy bras and I catch it with my 3 free fingers. I don't even know what I'm carrying, I have all these store bags and underwear and bras piling up in my arms.

I know that there's a display table in the front, so I'm just going to...dunk everything there and forget about it. I take my time getting there because I can barely see anything over the mountain of lingerie, but I end pup bumping into someone and knocking everything to the floor.

"Charlie?" Ohhhh just my luck. Ramsley chuckles cruelly, flipping her curls over her shoulder. "What do you think you're doing in here?"

"What are you doing here Charlie?" She frowns.

"Same reason why you're here. Trying to find lingerie for my job at a strip parlor."

Ramsley looks me up and down and snorts, soon shoving pass me to go wander inside the little shop. I know my body isn't...like a model's and I probably couldn't work anything that's in this store, but I have a decent body to know that....yeah, I don't belong in here.

I sigh and bend down to pick up our stuff, feeling my self-esteem tear a bit. Damn Ramsley AND this stupid store.

"Charlie?" I look up and it's Nathan, looking down at me. He looks like he just caught some new species to the universe and is stuuunnned to see it in such a public area.

I mean.... That's literally me all the time, I don't go out.

"You actually...go out? T-To this store?"

"I'm surprised myself." I mumble, tossing some panties on the display table nearby.

He gets down on his knees and begins to, for some reason, help me gather everything that I dropped. "Damn." He raises the black laced pantie and starts stretching it, glancing at me with a slight smirk. "Who're you going out with tonight?"

"For the-" I snatch the pantie out his hand and toss it to the side. "This shit isn't even mine, its all Peyton's...and if you're looking for Ramsley, she's in here somewhere."

"Oh!" He rises from the floor and scans the passing customers and the corners of the place. "Do you know which way she went?" I stand up too and shake my head. I WAS going to say something salty, but its been a long day...though, its only the afternoon, its been a long fucking day.

He kisses his teeth out of annoyance, continuing to look around the store "God," he begins to mumble, "this store is too big and Mom's going to flip shit if she keeps running off."

I blink. Wait what?

"Alright!" Ramsley comes back and pushes past me, just to lock arms with him. "I'm good to go!" Wait what?

Nathan averts his attention back to me and his lips curl back to a smirk. "Have fun tonight!" He winks and finger salutes me goodbye, then immediately takes Ramsley out of the store.

... Wait what?

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Dinner time is usually...an awkward, embarrassing time because it goes from being normal to completely fucked. I haven't gotten a text from Tom at all today and I'm debating on whether to message HIM first to see if he remembers, or to just...wait till I see him again.

God, its tough.

"So how was the mall!" Mom smiles, twirling her fork in the Alfredo pasta that she made which is BOMB!

"I found some good shirts!"

"Oh thats nice Pey, I wanna see it later."

Dad eats a broccoli off his fork and looks at me. "What about you Charlie? Find anything you like?"

I shake my head, playing with my side piece of bread. "Y'know Charlie." Mom smirks, taking her wine glass to swirl the alcoholic red liquid inside it. '"I can always help you with your clothes if you need it-"

Aaaaaand here's where we spiral.

"Idon'tneedit." I say, reaching for my cup of water. I just need to drink so I won't be able to say anything because...again, this is where we spiral.

"Stacy." Dad says, nodding to her glass of wine. "I think you've had a little bit too much wine."

"Oh cmon Brian! You knew how I was in high school." She snickers, nudging him lightly. I side eye Peyton, who too looks confused on what the hellll that nudge meant. We know how she was in high school, but is there something moore that we don't know because that's literally terrifying. "I had the BEST clothes in that school AND at the parties, you know? Everything hugged my body SO well and all the boys were gaaaagging over it."

I choke on my water.

She did not just say gagging.

Ohhh she said gaaaagging dooll.

"Damn, I had a great time back then! Everyone loved me and when I entered college—HOH!"

"Mom!" Peyton gasps.

"Alright, alright, Stacy-"

Mom shudders...but I guess it's a good shudder, because she's smiling to the ceiling and remembering her past life and shit. "That's a WHOLE nother' story..but Charlie sweetheart, if you let me help you, you will be the hottie of the entire school and Nathan Logans will be all over you."

"Mom I don't WANT him all over me, I want him away from me."

"Hell!' She shrugs, raising the rim of the wine glass to her lips. 'If things work out well, I can finally clean out the guest bedroom."

Dad's fork hitting his plate just....fucking stopped everything in the room. It stopped time, it stopped our breathing—I'm pretty sure Peyton's fucking frozen dead over here, whaaaat the fuck is going on! "Stacy." Dad says sternly, narrowing his eyes at her warily. "Are you encouraging our daughter to have sexual intercourse with Nathaniel Logans?"

She shrugs. "Just a suggestion."

..........