C H A P T E R ( 1 5 )
Charlotte sat cross legged on her bedroom floor just knowing she had a silly smile on her face. She caught herself touching her mouth lightly with her hands and wanted to roll her eyes at herself. She was being lame. She knew that. She didn't care though.
Jumping up from her spot she opened her wardrobe and started rummaging through the boxes she'd neglected to unpack. She spotted a small wooden box, little red jewels lining the outside with a big antique looking lock on the front. Charlotte took the box and sat on her bed, locking her bedroom door as an afterthought she found the key in her bedside drawer, quickly opening the box and taking out what she was looking for.
A small flip phone.
Switching it on, Charlotte waited for it to boot up biting her lip. She always felt slightly guilty turning her secret phone on. She knew her mother and Chuck would kill her if they found out she had bought a random cheap phone and swapped the number with Stacy, her old friend from back home. But she wasn't an idiot, she kept it turned off at all times, only switching it on for a minute at most to send a quick text or read one.
Stace, I seriously wish you were here right now! Remember that annoying guy I told you about? Well long story short - he just kissed me! He said it was an apology for being such an ass... But who makes out with someone as an apology? Well we didn't really make out, it was more a lingering peck? Peck? Haha I'm rambling and writing you an essay. Love and miss you! xo
Charlotte smiled at her phone quickly shutting it off. She placed it back in the box, locking it and hiding it away again. The friends she'd made in Winchester were incredible, she couldn't have been more lucky living next door to Max and slotting into his group so easily. Even after the few hiccups with Eli. But she missed Stacy, and she knew how hard it had been on Stacy too. Poor Stacy had gone through all the same horrors as Charlotte, only she hadn't been able to escape it. She was stuck in the town, answering all the probing questions from their nosy town.
'So was that Eli?' Grace asked trying to keep a straight face as Charlotte joined them in the living room.
'Oh you mean the guy outside with me you were spying on? Yeah that was him,' she rolled her eyes picking up a magazine and flicking through it absent-mindedly.
'I don't like him,' Chuck said and Charlotte glanced up at him in surprise.
'What? How come? You don't know him.'
'Oh I know guys like him,' Chuck shook his head. 'I was a guy like him.'
Charlotte giggled catching Grace's eye in amusement.
'I bet he took you around the corner to make out, am I right?' Chuck didn't look impressed. 'I invented that guys moves.'
'Chuck!' Charlotte exclaimed feeling her cheeks blush bright red. This so wasn't the kind of conversation she wanted to be having right now. 'Not cool.'
Grace burst out laughing, 'Well I don't know how I feel about you making out with boys around the side of the house darling, but I am sorry for spying. And I'm sure Eli is a nice boy.'
Chuck made some kind of non committal grunt in his throat, Charlotte bit her lip smiling and focused on the article she had opened up on.
DON'T KID YOURSELF...KNOW WHEN HE'S A PLAYER
Charlotte frowned at the article, how fitting. She scanned it briefly with pursed lips deciding to skip over this one. Flicking through some make up tips and new hair styles she opened up on another article.
TEN SIGNS HE'S CHEATING!
Charlotte let out a small laugh scanning some of the tips. Did girls actually believe this stuff?
#3 Girls you don't even know come up to him and flirt with him like they're best friends. Ladies, let us tell you. If she's such a good friend of his why haven't you heard of her or met her before?
Suddenly an image of Candice perched on the edge of Eli's desk flashed through her head. Charlotte frowned and turned the page quickly. She was being ridiculous and acting like her and Eli were a bloody couple!
HOW TO DEAL WHEN YOU'RE ONE OF MANY WOMEN IN HIS LIFE
Charlotte slammed the magazine shut and threw it across the table quickly. God what a depressing magazine!
'Cosmo a bit too much for you?' Chuck raised an eyebrow at the magazine lying on the floor between them.
Charlotte stood up with a huge sigh heading for the door, 'I'm going out for a waIk, I need some air.'
She heard Chuck mutter something faintly about teenage girls and how he would never understand them before she slammed the front door.
++++++++++
Charlotte's mind was going a million miles an hour as stormed down the street toward the small town centre of Winchester. She shook away thoughts the magazine was trying to tell her something, she wasn't a complete nut case. Although she needed to be realistic, just because Eli kissed her against the wall outside her house didn't mean anything. It was barely a real kiss anyway! It only lasted for a few seconds, and he'd told her it was because he was apologising. Her hands touched her mouth again before she realised what she was doing. She remembered the way his hands had touched her waist, how electric it felt.
She shook her head hoping no one could see her internal mind battle with herself because she probably looked stupid walking down the street shaking her head. Why did she even care? It's not like she had feelings for Eli...Did she? Being honest with herself, she thought he was gorgeous.
Sexy, confident and mysterious too...
Charlotte groaned, she totally wanted to kiss him again. Which was exactly why she needed to avoid him for a while. Get him out of her system.
She felt marginally better now that she had a plan of action and decided to do a little shopping in the small selection Winchester offered.
'Don't you dare touch me!'
Charlotte spun around at the angry female voice immediately spotting a young looking couple clearly having a domestic. They were in a heated argument and Charlotte noted with some unease the guy had gripped the girls arm and looked to be shaking her about.
'You need to calm down!' The man roared.
'You need to not screw my best friend!' The girl cried out finally breaking free of his hold. She leant up and took a swing at him but the guy dodged her easily.
Charlotte cheered the girl on from her vantage spot across the road.
'You know what? Fuck you Thalia, she was ten times better than you in bed anyway!' He yelled at her and took off down the street in a huff.
Charlotte froze, Thalia? She squinted over at the girl who'd now broken down in tears sinking to the ground in a heaped mess. Thalia as in Eli's sister Thalia? Charlotte looked around the street noticing she was the only one around. She could hardly leave the young girl sitting on the floor crying.
'Hey Thalia,' Charlotte approached the younger girl carefully. 'Are you ok?'
Ugh stupid question Charlotte, she scolded herself. The girl clearly just found her boyfriend slept with her best friend.
'Who the hell are you?' The girl stopped sobbing to spit out the question.
'Um, I'm a friend of Eli's,' she said awkwardly. 'Kind of.'
'You're kind of his friend? How does that work?'
'It's complicated,' Charlotte shrugged, it probably wasn't the best time to tell Ei's sister about their kiss. Plus she most likely wouldn't care.
Thalia started sobbing louder and Charlotte patted her shoulder, 'Come on don't cry. Guys are not worth your tears.'
'But he was the one,' she wailed.
'Of course he wasn't, he slept with your friend. There is no way he's the one.' Charlotte shook her head comfortingly but it only made Thalia worse.
Charlotte glanced around, Thalia was near hysterical now. She needed to get this girl home, but she recalled Eli's house being a good ten minute drive from here.
'Give me your phone,' Charlotte said gently.
'What? No,' Thalia glanced up at Charlotte as though wondering why this crazy girl was still standing over her.
'Just give it to me, trust me,' Charlotte took the phone out of Thalia's hand flicking through her contacts looking for the name she'd hoped to find.
It rang for five rings before he answered.
'What?'
'Well that's a lovely way to greet your sister,' Charlotte scoffed into the phone.
'Wait what?' Eli's confused voice said through the phone and Charlotte bit back a giggle trying to remember this was a serious situation and she had a crying girl on her hands.
'Charlotte?' Eli said slowly. 'What the hell? Why do you have my sisters phone?'
'Thalia is a little upset. She needs her big brother to come and pick her up.' Charlotte explained turning her body away from Thalia's so she couldn't hear. 'We're outside Tim's Hardware Store, down a side street.'
'Are you serious?'
'Of course I'm being serious,' Charlotte frowned at the phone. 'Why the hell would I call you off your sisters phone and tell you she's hysterically crying for a laugh?'
'She's what?' Eli groaned. 'Ugh, I'll be right there.'
The phone line went dead and Charlotte gave it back to the crying girl. She tried to sooth her, rubbing her back and listened to her sob until Eli's car pulled up next to them.
So much for avoiding Eli, she thought rolling her eyes as he climbed out approaching them.
'Thalia, pull yourself together jeez,' he shoved his hands into his pockets as he stood next to her awkwardly.
Charlotte scowled at him, how insensitive.
'You called my brother?' Thalia turned to Charlotte sounding annoyed.
'Yes I did Thalia you need to get home. You'll be much more comfortable there, than here on the street believe me,' Charlotte nodded her head standing up. She held out her hand, 'Come on.'
Thalia grudgingly took it, standing up and climbing into the back of the car.
'So what happened?' Eli asked her.
'Boy troubles,' Charlotte shrugged. 'Boys suck sometimes.'
The corners of his mouth turned up slightly in a smirk, 'Only sometimes.'
'Go easy on her, her boyfriend cheated on her.'
Eli winced, 'Oh I can't do this.'
'Sure you can,' Charlotte rolled her eyes. 'You can't tell me you can't be a little sensitive for your own sister.'
'I really can't, please come home with us.'
Charlotte looked up from her phone in surprise, 'To your house?'
'No to my shed,' he scoffed. At Charlotte's narrowed gaze he changed his tone, 'please,' he begged. 'I don't know what to do with her.'
Just then Thalia let out a particularly loud wail from inside the car.
Charlotte would have laughed at his panicked look if she didn't feel so sorry for the girl. But she couldn't go home with him. That would completely go against the decision she'd made to stay away from him.
'Don't make me beg,' he bit his lip giving her a slight smile, his eyes doing that thing where they travelled down to her mouth and back up again sending shivers down her spine.
'You already have,' Charlotte said climbing into the front seat.
Eli followed her into the car wincing at the sounds Thalia was making from the back seat. 'I told you that guy was a loser.' He shook his head at her.
Thalia sobbed louder and Charlotte leant over hitting Eli's arm as hard as she could, 'Not the time for an I told you so!' She hissed at him.
'Ouch!' Eli chuckled. 'Ok, ok sorry.' He looked in the rear view mirror, 'What happened Tals?' Eli's face turned hard suddenly, 'He didn't try and force himself on you or anything did he? Because if that's it, I'm turning this car around and finding this dick head!'
Thalia stopped crying for a second to let out a gurgling sound, 'Like you care Eli!'
'I do care,' Eli responded, pretty weakly Charlotte thought. 'See?' Eli scowled over at Charlotte. 'I can't do this, you need to talk to her.'
'I'm right here asshole,' Thalia muttered.
Charlotte felt so sorry for the young girl crying in the back, 'Thalia, sweetie I know how you feel.'
'No you don't,' Thalia replied like any normal hysterical teenager. No one understood her.
'I do, honestly.' Charlotte glanced sideways at Eli, gosh this was awkward having this conversation in front of him. She turned her back to him trying to keep her voice low. 'My ex boyfriend cheated on me, granted it wasn't my best friend so I don't know that extra feeling of betrayal, but Thalia it sucks it really does.'
Charlotte didn't bother mentioning the fact she'd only been dating him a few months and thought he was a bit of a loser anyway. It just didn't seem relevant.
Thalia quietened down to softer sobs and Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief.
'Really?' She hiccuped.
'Yeah, I mean he didn't screw my best friend but it still hurt a lot... Boys are literally evil,' Charlotte shrugged. 'We'd be better off without them.'
Eli coughed loudly, shooting Charlotte an amused eyebrow raise.
'But I got over it, look at me now.' Charlotte grinned, 'I'm happy!'
Thalia stopped crying now and shot Charlotte a raised eyebrows look that mirrored her big brothers.
'If only I'd slept with him when he wanted me to, then none of this would have happened!' Thalia sighed.
Charlotte looked up alarmed, 'What?'
'Thalia!' Eli exclaimed looking horrified.
'Well its true!' She frowned.
'No, no, no way,' Charlotte shook her head. 'Absolutely not, not sleeping with the guy is possibly the best thing you can do.'
Eli made a small scoffing noise in his throat and Charlotte shot him a glare.
'Seriously Thalia, if he was pressuring you to have sex he is not worth your time,' Charlotte couldn't believe what an asshole her boyfriend sounded like. Pressuring the poor thing to sleep with him and then hooking up with her friend when she didn't want to?
They pulled up at the house and Thalia slumped out of the car and into the house leaving Charlotte and Eli to trail her slowly from behind.
'Thanks for talking to her, I'm crap with that sort of thing,' Eli said as they went inside the house.
Charlotte winced as she heard something that sounded like a door slamming. 'It's completely fine, I was like her myself two years ago. It's kind of freaky actually.'
Eli grimaced, 'I knew that guy was trouble when I first met him.'
They could hear her start wailing again from her bedroom and Charlotte bit her lip turning to head for the stairs, 'I'll go and talk to her.'
'You don't have to do that,' Eli reached out catching her forearm in his hand and Charlotte froze glancing down at his grip on her.
'It's fine seriously, why else did you beg me to come with you?' She attempted a little joke but the air was thick with something else.
Eli's grip loosened and his hand trailed along hers eventually pulling it away leaving a feeling of pins and needles along her arm.
'Well, thanks.'
'No problem,' Charlotte cleared her throat and turned to head up the stairs.
Way to go Charlotte, she thought rolling her eyes at herself. She made a distinctly clear decision to stay as far away from Eli as possible, only a bloody hour ago. And here she was.
In his house.
With tingly arms.