Charlotte
So it's been a while and I guess it's strange but we've all actually been kind of happy. Piper is with that delivery guy who turned out to be really cool and gets along really well with Henry and Jasper. Chloe and Jasper are back together and they seem happier now. Henry and I have yet to actually be together. Bianca has left us alone, she's actually apologized and gotten her act together once it dawned on her that she's really having a baby. She dresses more appropriately and is trying to actually do things on her own instead of relying on someone else to do so. All of her friends ditched her since she stopped going to parties. I'm actually her only friend and she's preparing to be home-schooled since everyone has started ridiculing her and she refuses to let me defend her. Of course I still threaten people if they say something but they usually do it when I'm not around.
"Char?" Henry calls pulling me out of my head. I look at him.
"Yeah?" I ask him. He just smiles and grabs his car keys off his nightstand.
"Want breakfast?" He asks and I nod. We get up and make our way out. We both scoop up a puppy and head outside and to the elevator.
"Henry isn't it like 3 o' clock?" I ask him. He just laughs.
"Breakfast can be eaten at any time." He says and I laugh this time. Finally the elevator stops and we walk out, starting our short trek to the car. We put the pups in the back and get in the front.
"How about we go to Ron's house?" I suggest and Henry nods then starts up the car.
"Call and tell him we'll be over later." Henry says and I unlock my phone and call.
"Ronald?" I ask once the phone is picked up.
"Oh no, it's me Dory. Hi Charlotte, is Henry with you tell him hi for me." Dory says and I laugh. I love her accent.
"Dory says hi Hen." I tell him.
"Heeyy!" He yells out loud enough for Dory to hear him.
"Uh hey Dory, is it alright if we come over later?" I ask her.
"Yes that's perfect, we were going to invite you guys anyway. Bring your father." Dory says.
"Alright we'll be there in about 3 hours or something." I say and Dory just 'mhms' into the phone then hangs up.
"I guess Ron has something to tell us, Dory said he was gonna invite us all over anyways." I say.
"Huh, I wonder what's going on. Can we just grab something from McDonalds? I really want like 5 McGriddles right now." Henry asks me.
"Sure, I've got like $15 on me" I reason.
"You're not paying, keep your money for your Dad's birthday, aren't you taking him out?" Henry questions me.
"Yes omg, thanks for reminding me, I totally forgot. I definitely don't want to be broke for that." I say slightly embarrassed I forgot I was saving my money for my Dad.
"What do you want?" Henry asks as he pulls into McDonald's.
"Whatever you get and an orange juice please." I say politely.
"Alright," Henry rolls down his window
"Hi! Welcome to McDonald's, what are ya getting?" Some high-pitched voice asks.
"Can I have 5 bacon, egg and cheese McGriddles, 2 Oreo McFlurry's, a large fry, Orange Juice and a Strawberry Fanta." Henry orders, damn he sounds fat. (A/N WHEN I FOUND OUT MCDONALD'S SELLS STRAWBERRY FANTA LIKE 2 WEEKS AGO I NEARLY DIED, I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT! Oh and by the way this price is 100% made up)
"Alright sir, your total will be $16.32." The voice says.
"That's wassup." Henry says and I roll my eyes then giggle.
"Don't laugh at me." He says as he pulls up to the window and starts to fumble around looking for money. He pulls a twenty out of his back pocket and smiles then smoothly hands it to the stupid brunette smiling devilishly at him.
"Thanks handsome." She says and I roll my eyes.
"Here's your change baby boy." She says and hands him the change and receipt. I clench my jaw.
"Hey um, please don't call me that. It makes me feel uncomfortable." I hear Henry say even though I know damn well he's saying it for my sake.
"You got it Daddy." The girl winks and then disappears. I'm triggered.
"Henry switch fucking seats with me right god damn now." I seethe out. Henry immediately gets out while I climb over into his seat. He grabs my hand and draws circles on it after he's sitting down in the passenger seat. Soon that thirsty ass bitch comes back.
"Oh eww, it's you." I hear and that's when I see it. One of my sister's fucking dumb ass friends.
"Give us our fucking food bitch." I say and she rolls her eyes at me.
"Fucking have it." She says but still gently gives me everything. She better dare not try anything while she working, I'll have her ass fired quick fast.
"Thanks, ya tracks showing too." I call out and then I drive off. The car immediately fills with Henry's laughter.
"Char, her face, she looked like she was about to fucking cry a river." Henry laughs out and I smirk.
"That was one of my sister's friends. Do you think they're still here?" I ask Henry seriously.
"They could be, I mean they haven't bothered you for a while so maybe they left but you never know." Henry answers truthfully.
"Thanks Hen." I say and we drive in silence the rest of the way. Once again, we eat in the car and once we're done, Henry grabs the leashes from the trunk and we hook the pups up to take them for a walk. They're getting so big so fast.
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3 Hours Later
"Thank you all for coming, I've got real big news. Immediately after this school year ends we're all heading to a cabin for 3 days. I've booked everything and I have all the room arrangements, I even invited Liv." Ron says to us all.
"Okay why are we going there?" Jasper asks.
"Because we're getting married!" Dory exclaims while showing off her ring.
"OH MY GOSH! A WEDDING! YES YES YES YES!" Piper exclaims and jumps in excitement with Dory.
"Wow man, congrats!" Dad says pulling away from shock and hugs Ron. Everyone starts to talk about the wedding and be all excited while Henry and I are quiet.
"Uh Charlotte, Henry you two okay?" Piper asks causing everyone to look quizzically at us. We just nod our heads.
"Uh yeah congrats guys but um we'd already made plans for then." I say.
"Oh but you can like cancel right? I mean, can it wait maybe 2 days?" Ron asks with a big smile on his face. I just silently nod and force a smile. Henry just completely gets up and walks out.
"What's wrong? Should I talk to him?" Piper asks instantly becoming a worried sister.
"No, just give him some time. This was kind of important to him. I'll talk to him." I say standing up.
"Charlotte sit down. I'll talk to him." Dad says shocking us all.
"Are you sure?" I ask Dad.
"Of course, I understand more. I always have since he was a boy and I probably always will." Dad reassures me and I nearly cry. He remembers Henry, I can't believe it. He really remembers him. I just nod, giving him the okay. Dad walks out and I wipe my eyes while everyone looks at me.
"He's known Henry since he was a boy?" Jasper asks. I nod my head and the tears start up again.
"Yeah. Henry will be so happy to know that. But come on, happy occasion. You guys are getting married!" I shout hugging Ron and Dory.
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Henry
I can't believe this, as soon as I make plans to finally get help I have to put them on hold because I can't miss something this big in Ron's life or Dory's for that matter. She'll be apart of the family now. That's truly amazing. Why didn't I just get the help I needed so many years ago? Why am I trying to get help now? What's changed?
"It's Charlotte. I know what you're thinking. I've been exactly where you are. I moved past it. And I'll help you." I hear Derek say. I have no idea what he's talking about but he can't possibly know what I'm going through. I just shake my head and ruffle up my hair.
"Henry, don't shut me out. You didn't do that before. Talk to me." He says.
"What do you mean I didn't do that before? How would you know what I did and didn't do?" I say sharply. I clench my jaw and open my mouth to apologize.
"Don't bother, it took me way too long to figure it out. But slowly I put the pieces together. You're the kid I always spoke to in that damn office." Derek says and I go into shock. I smile sadly.
"You remember? Huh, that kid was so innocent and so far from damaged. You must be disappointed to see what I've become." I say feeling myself choke up.
"Disappointed? No, quite the opposite actually. I'm more than proud and you make my daughter happy, what else could I ask for? I'm glad you've found your way back to me cause I can help you now like you did me. You wanna know why when you choose to get help things come up to prolong that." Derek says and then he pauses. We make eye contact and I can see him recollecting things. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and starts again.
"You wanna get help now but you don't know why. That I know for sure, it's Charlotte. She has this way of making you want to be better for her. Her mother never had that same air about her which is probably why it took me so long to get the help I needed. God knows I'm always trying to make up for that." Derek says and then he sits next to him.
"You should know you don't have to. Charlotte has long since forgiven you. She's happy that you're here now. I am too." I admit.
"Good so take my advice, don't get help. You don't need it, there's nothing wrong with you. You're not mentally ill, you're pretty healthy and you're gonna drive yourself crazy trying to find a flaw that's not there." Derek says and I laugh humorlessly.
"Charlotte said the same thing when I told her about it earlier." I say.
"It's true, throw away all that crap your parents instilled in you. There is nothing wrong with you." Derek tells me. For once, I think I might just believe it.
My parents did nothing but tear our family apart. They wrecked themselves and everything they touched. Why would I believe a single thing they said? I'm done with that shit, I've got better parents to listen to.
"Thanks Dad." I say honestly and hug him.
"Thanks so damn much." I say into his neck. He just hugs me back.
"You're welcome, I'm happy you're listening." He says. We let go and join everyone else in celebrating. Shortly after banging comes from the front door.
"Who is that knocking on my door like that?" Dory asks angrily. She stomps to the front door, firing Spanish expletives.
"Que!" She shouts as she opens the door.
"Where is that damn beanpole that kidnapped my daughter? Hand the bird shit over or these cops will come in and arrest him!" We hear.
"Oh god, she's back. How'd she know to come here?" Derek exclaims.
"Who is that?" Ron asks while at the same time Dory starts yelling.
"Honey!" Ron yells and runs to calm her down.
"Ma'am is it possible we've got the wrong house?" A cop yells over the noise at the door.
"NO! That little piece of white trash is in there! His name is Harold or something and he kidnapped my daughter!" Charlotte's mother yells and Dory retaliates in Spanglish.
"Henry take Charlotte with you and go. Charlotte take him to my house." Derek orders.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? If she's seen with me then they'll really believe what she's saying." I say worriedly.
"Look at her face, she's not leaving you. It's no use telling her to. I know my child." Derek says then walks off to help Ron diffuse the situation. I look at Charlotte and she's just waiting patiently.
"Come on Hen, I don't wanna hear that woman's voice at all." Charlotte says with a smile and I automatically know it's forced.
"Alright lets go." I say and grab her hand, I kiss her knuckles and she genuinely smiles. We walk out the house through the back door. We're met with about 4 policemen.
"Shit!" I whisper, Charlotte immediately freezes and I sneak us back in the house, closing the door quietly. However there's about 2 other people in the house now, Charlotte's sister and I'm gonna assume her boyfriend.
"Why are you here?" Charlotte declares stepping in front of me.
"To beat up your little boyfriend so you can see how a white man can't defend you like only a black man can." Clair says and then Charlotte tackles her. It happened way too fast for me to stop it. I immediately duck though since a fist came flying towards my face. Since I'm already down I just throw my weight into a pair of legs, knocking this guy over. He stops moving for a second probably out of shock and I take that opening to repeatedly punch him in the face. He eventually shoves me off but I immediately cover my face as he starts punching me in the stomach. While he's distracted I elbow him in the nose and he falls off of me then he swings at me managing to punch me in the lip. Now I'm irritated. I punch him in the jaw and right in his diaphragm. He retaliates by choking me. I struggle for a while but he doesn't know I'm used to being choked. I just smile and watch his face twist in confusion as I grab something and bang it on his head knocking him out. I breathe deeply and at the same time I hear screams and people swarming inside, cops probably.
Next thing I know, I'm being dragged away in handcuffs as Charlotte's mom yells racial slurs at me while Charlotte's sister repeatedly attacks me and gets stopped by other policemen. I'm forced in the car, my head gets "accidentally" bumped on the roof of the car. I look out the window to see Charlotte being held down, screaming her head off and crying. I watch as she breaks free and pummels her mother then dashes to the car before anyone can catch her. She puts her hands on the window and I watch as she cries silently. I lean my forehead against where her hands are on the other side of the glass. She draws a heart on the window and I nod my head, blowing her a kiss before I see her frantically tap on the window. Before I could turn around to see what, I'm hit on the head with something and knocked out cold. The last thing I saw being Charlotte with the look of absolute terror on her face.