𝐈𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐘, 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒 fell from his tongue, my mind went blank and my heart started to race.
"Wh— what?" I said, breathless.
Jj looked at me blankly, "Are Danny and Cecile Collins your parents, Charlie." he persisted.
I didn't know what to do or say. I knew that one wrong move would blow my cover, but yet, I had no idea how to play my cards right, either. I blinked repeatedly, as if it would help an idea come to mind.
"Wh— why, do you think that?" I stammered, my voice coarse. It was hard to speak, almost like the words were getting trapped inside of my throat.
"Don't lie, Charlotte," Jj shook his head from side to side forcefully, "Just tell me the truth."
I didn't expect to have this kind of conversation with Jj.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I swallowed a bubble of air. My hands were shaking.
"Yeah you do," he disagreed, turning himself to face me directly, "Your grandpa literally just said Danny, referring to your dad, and your last name is Collins," he stated impatiently.
"There's a lot of people named Danny in the world, Jj—"
"And it makes sense why you've never been on the island before," he pointed a finger at me, "Your grandparents have never mentioned you ever, and what? Showing up on the island out of the blue is supposed to make sense?" He wasn't being aggressive, but I could tell that he wanted to know.
"Jj, my parents are not famous," I lied. I tried my best, ultimate best, to sound like it was true. But through my soft voice and pleading eyes, he was able to see right through me.
"Bullshit, you look just like Cecile," he claimed with confidence. "Tell me I'm wrong."
"I don't even know who you're talking about," I shrugged.
"Are you kidding me— Charlie, they're like the presidents of every romance movie, like, ever," he said with wide eyes, "You've never seen 'A Night In Paris' before?"
"What the fuck is that," I narrowed my eyebrows. That was the only truth I told— I did not know any of my parents' movies.
"You're lying." He leaned his back against the window.
I rolled my eyes, "Could we not do this right now, I need to be—"
"See!" He pointed another finger, "You're not fucking denying it, Charlotte!"
"You think my parents are famous actors, Jj." I pretended to think he was stupid, lowering my eyes at him. "Wouldn't you know if they even had kid by now, if they were so famous."
"That's why you've never left New York," he stated, referring back to when I had told the Pogues about where I was from, on the boat ride to the motel, the first day I met them. "And also why your grandparents haven't mentioned you, because your parents are famous." he lowered his eyes. "Danny and Cecile live in New York City."
"Well don't you just know your facts—"
"And you were homeschooled too!" He said with a loud tone, when he realized, cutting me off, "This is crazy— Charlie, your parents are fucking famous—"
"Jj stop," I cut him off at the turn, my voice angry. "You're being crazy. You realize how idiotic this conversation sounds right now?"
"What's your mom's name, then." He asked, with a nonchalant shrug.
My stomach tensed. "Melanie," I said after a moment. I was too focused on finding a quick name, that I didn't even make sure my face was alright. In my expression, it was obvious that I was lying.
He looked at me. "Then why do you look so much like Cecile Collins."
"I don't fucking know, Jj," I spat, "Maybe you're high, seeing shit."
"Daryl looks exactly like Danny too," Jj said, sounding sure.
"And?" I furrowed my eyebrows.
"That means you're related to them." He shrugged again.
"No, Jj," I rolled my eyes, "that's not how it works."
"Then where are your parents right now." He asked, tilting his head at me.
"I already told you guys, they're on a work trip," I stated, sounding sure of myself.
"How long are they gone for?" He questioned.
"A year," I shrugged, careless. I figured that if I told him the most logical-fake information, he would believe me and drop the theory.
"That's funny, because you know what," he sat up straight, his eyes pinned on me, "Danny and Cecile are also gonna away for a year to film that new show, you know what show I'm talking about?"
"That doesn't mean shit, Jj." I said strongly. "And no, I don't."
"No, Charlie, I think it does," he retorted, "All the dots are connecting perfectly."
"You have zero proof," I looked him straight in the eye.
"You look exactly like Cecile Collins, Daryl and Danny Collins are practically the same exact person, you've been homeschooled your whole life, same fucking last name, lived in a damn penthouse apartment in New York City— the city where the Collins coincidentally live too— that band around your wrist is at least ten grand, your parents are gone for a year— oh and so are the Collins— you don't have any social media, and you've never said your parents names, ever." He said in one breath. "Oh, and," he put a finger up, "Your grandpa literally just said your dad's name out loud."
I swallowed the air in my throat, and looked down at my hands. I didn't know what else to say. Even though there was no written-proof, or a damn birth certificate, it made sense. I bit down onto my bottom lip.
"You're parents are fucking famous, Charlie." He said with a calmer voice, staring down at me.
I breathed out unsteadily. As of that moment, other than my grandparents, Jj was the only person in the world that knew Danny and Cecile Collins had a daughter. "You can't tell anyone." I said, lower than a whisper.
"Holy shit—" Jj's eyes widened at my words, and he slowly sat up straighter, his hand gripping onto the dash board as if to keep himself steady. "I'm right?" He breathed out, "Holy shit, Charlie! I'm right!"
"Jj, I'm serious, no one knows about this," I looked up to him with sad eyes. I couldn't believe myself that I let him know about it.
My whole life, I've been cooped up in the same penthouse apartment, had no friends, and was online-schooled for a reason. No one in the world was supposed to know my parents had a kid. And I just told a teenage boy, the biggest secret that I was forced to keep inside, that I've been keeping inside for a whole sixteen years.
"Charlie are you serious— this is fucking insane!" He was starting to hyperventilate, excitement filling his blue eyes. He grabbed the steering wheel and tapped it with excitement. "Holy fuck, your parents are the Danny and Cecile Collins!"
I felt my stomach drop again, "Jj, my parents aren't even that famous—"
"You shitting me?" He turned his head and looked at me as if I were the stupidest person he'd ever seen. "They're literally in every romance movie, ever made! Your parents are like the fuckin' Muhammad Ali of boxing, except for films, Charlotte!"
"You can't tell anyone," I looked him straight in the eyes. My stomach was doing backflips, and my hands were practically shaking with nerves. "I'm being serious."
"Charlie, you could be a damn Kook— hell, even new Kook princess!" He exclaimed loudly, "Forget about us, man, you're the richest on the island, now! Fuck the Camerons, Charlie, you know how rich your parents are—"
I felt my eyes begin to water, "Stop it, please," My voice was quiet compared to his, and I looked at him sadly.
"Come on— I'll drive you down to that new house on Hamilton Street, you tell em' Danny and Cecile Collins are your parents and you're fucking set! Holy shit, man, you're filthy rich—"
"Jj, stop," I begged, but he didn't hear me. My vision was blurry. This was exactly what I didn't want to happen.
"Dude!" He glanced over to me for a split second, "Forget about Sarah Cameron, man, once she hears you're fucking famous, it's over for her—"
"Stop, Jj!" I yelled, grabbing his forearm, to stop him from reaching for the keys.
He was about to continue with his rambling, but then looked at me. His face automatically softened when he saw the tears on my cheeks.
"No one knows about me," I said, so quiet you could barely hear it.
"What the hell do you mean 'no one knows about you'?" He calmed his voice down, his eyebrows forcefully narrowed, dangerously concerned. The mood had shifted.
"I'm being fucking serious, right now," I wiped my cheek, "You can't tell anyone about my parents, not even John B." my voice cracked when I mentioned his name.
"Why not?" He questioned, with a softer voice.
I sniffled, and then looked at him sternly. "You have to promise me this is our secret."
___
Around six o'clock, I was sitting on the leather couch in Ward's office, Sarah next to me on her phone, my eyes staring down at an old map of the island. Ward sat on the other side, shuffling through different pieces of parchment, showing me old documents, that I pretended to be interested in.
He didn't seem mad at me, or annoyed when I had showed up at their front door. The first thing I had said to Ward after greeting, was an apology for embarrassing his family at the party, since everyone had seen me walk in with them. He surprised me when he had laughed humorously, and waved a hand in the air nonchalantly, saying that it was alright. I still couldn't figure out if he was lying, and if he was actually upset, but I refrained from saying anything and stayed quiet while he called for Sarah.
I tried to act like nothing was wrong when she came to the entrance. Tried not to act like I hadn't just made the fattest mistake of my life ten minutes prior. The car ride to TannyHill was quiet, long, and suffocatingly awkward. Jj didn't speak after I warned him to keep the promise. He didn't ask any more questions. I didn't talk. I tried not to cry. In my head, I figured it wouldn't end so badly, if Jj could keep quiet about my parents to the rest of the Pogues. It would be our secret. But it was a big thing to keep, and I prayed that he wouldn't slip up, or that I wouldn't slip up with all the pressure.
Sarah seemed upset when she came down the stairs, but her face lit up, as usual, when she saw me standing there. Jj had helped me fix my puffy-red eyes in the van before we pulled up, with the concealer— in which I rarely ever wear— that I had put in my backpack just in case. I put on a fake smile for her father when he had opened the door, but unexpectedly, a real grin had appeared on my cheeks when Sarah saw me. She instantly gave me a big hug. I had told her I was there to return the dress, but she insisted to hang out, as predicted.
After that, Ward offered to give me a tour of the house, and Sarah gladly agreed to accompany us. With my eyes wide, we went about the whole mansion, her father explaining every detail of every painting, and taking us into every room on every floor. I didn't mind it, though, because it was a beautiful place. When the tour came to an end, we had made it to the office, which is when Ward had offered to show me the history papers, that I had mentioned I was "super interested in".
"This year, I guess," I answered calmly, letting out a light laugh as well.
Ward finally closed the large folder, and it seemed like the hour-long history lesson was over. Sarah was far too interested in her phone, while I pretended to enjoy every piece of old parchment that her father had handed to me, my head constantly nodding at every bit of information.
"I've always enjoyed history," Ward admired the closed folder, giving it a warm grin, as he stood up from the couch. he walked over to the drawers and placed all the documents inside, and I sat with my hands folded together. He stepped over to his desk, and sat in the chair, "So, why don't you tell me how you two girls met," he let out a huff, smiling at us.
I nudged Sarah's arm, and she sat up.
Then, she went on to tell the story about how I had been biking on the road, and she was driving with Topper. Her nose scrunched uncomfortably when she said "Topper", and her dad shifted in his chair, his jaw clenched, but I tried not to pay attention to that. She explained how we hung out at the beach party for a few minutes, and then to when we talked on the docks for hours. He was smiling and nodding for the whole story.
"I'm sorry I keep saying this, but," Ward rubbed a hand over his forehead when the story was done, "I just— I swear I've seen you before, Charlotte," he looked at me.
I awkwardly smiled.
"Who are you living with, maybe I know them," he asked casually. I felt my throat close up.
"With her grandparents, Daryl and Caroline Collins," Sarah nodded with a giddy expression, answering for me.
And then suddenly, the mood in the air flipped upside down.
"Collins—" Ward's eyes suddenly grew to be extremely wide, as he stared right at me, "Oh my— oh my god." he coughed, after examining my face from far, looking down at the desk in front of him. He seemed overly tense, all of a sudden no longer comfortable. If was as if he saw something in my face, or the mention of the name triggered something.
"Is something wrong, dad?" Sarah abruptly stood up, with narrowed eyebrows.
"No! No," He didn't look at us, but pushed himself away from the desk. He looked like he was choking, "Everything's fine." he said with staggering words, while standing up. Then, he walked out of the room without another word.
"I don't know what that was," Sarah turned to me with concerned eyes.
"Is he okay?" I asked.
"I'm not sure," she answered. "I'll go check on him after."
She began to walk out the opposite door, guiding me out with her, but I couldnt stop thinking about Ward's drastic change in mood, and the fact that he had quickly left the room without explanation. Nonetheless, I walked with Sarah to her room in an awkward silence. When she sat on the bed, I looked at her face, noticing that she seemed off. I immediately asked what was wrong.
"Is it Topper?" I questioned, while comfortably plopping myself down to lie beside her.
She was sitting cross-legged, looking down at her hands. "Yeah," She nodded slowly.
"Did something happen again?" I propped my elbow up, and leant my head on my palm, looking up at her. "Did he talk to you at the party?"
Her eyes started to water, her face scrunching. Her voice cracked, and I could tell that she'd been holding her emotions in for a long time.
"Oh my god, Sarah," I forgot about the Ward thing when a tear fell down her cheek, my hands immediately pushing myself up to sit. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, and she hugged me back, beginning to sob on my shoulder out of the blue.
"He came— he came here this morning, and, and," she was stuttering through her small cries, "he- he called me a liar, said he didn't— didn't believe I went to Chapel Hill with just you, and then he," she stopped, crying for a second, "he called me a— a slut, accused me of cheating on him,"
I pulled her closer, feeling her tears land on the top of my shoulder. "It's okay," I rubbed my hand on her back, in a comforting motion.
"I just don't want to be with him anymore," she sobbed. "He's treating me like shit, when I didn't even do anything,"
"Then break up with him." I said.
She slowly took her head out from the crook of my neck, her eyes looking into mine, "What?" She breathed out.
"Break up with the asshole," I shrugged, my attitude aimed at Topper, "Dump him."
"You think I should dump him?" She asked with a quiet voice. Her under-eyes were puffy.
"If he's making you feel like this, then duh," I didn't know where my advice was coming from. I shrugged, "He probably has a shrimp dick anyways."
Sarah's tear-stained face broke out into a small smile, which caused me to laugh.
"You don't deserve him, Sarah," I said seriously, "He's not worth your time anymore."
She looked up at me with sad eyes, the smallest of grins on her lips. "Thanks, Charlie." She said with a low volume.
"If you want me to break up with him for you, I'll gladly do it," I said, "I won't hesitate to use a baseball bat and punch him, violently, in the stomach."
She finally giggled, looking down at her hands. She wiped the side of her face, as we sat cross-legged across from one another.
"I just have to find a bat, though." I giggled, like a little girl.
"Do you wanna sleep over tonight, Charlie?" She looked up to me.
"What?" My facial expression was replaced with a small shock.
"You can stay the night, if you want." She softly smiled, her cheeks creasing. "And tell me what happened after Midsummers, and everything."
"Sure— yes, of course," I let out a loud laugh, my eyes filling with new excitement, "I've just never been asked that before,"
"Oh my god," her eyes lit up, "Then we have to watch my favourite movie," she grinned form ear-to-ear, pushing herself off the bed, "'A Night In Paris', It's a necessity for your first girl sleepover, I don't care if you've already seen it," she let out a loud giggle, and then bent down to shuffle through a small cabinet near her desk.
I stayed on her bed, laughing. The name of the film rang a bell in my head, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was.
"We'll get popcorn and— like, do our nails and shit," she rolled her eyes at the cheesiness, as she grabbed a DVD from the cabinet, bringing it back over to the bed.
"Whatever cheers you up," I chuckled at the excitement on her face.
"Your first girls night," she smiled brightly at me, her eyes twinkling. She placed the movie down onto the bed in front of my legs.
I smiled back at her, but the grin immediately fell from my face when I looked down at the DVD cover.
"Holy shit," I breathed out, my words not even audible. While she was fixing her pillows, and grabbing blankets, I began to sweat.
"What's wrong?" She noticed my distress, her eyebrows narrowing with sudden concern.
"Oh— nothing," I tore my eyes away from the movie's case, and acted like I shrugged it off. My heart started to race again.
"I'll go check on my dad and ask if we can use the movie room," she gave me another wide grin, thinking i was fine.
"Okay," I faked a happy expression, but my mind was elsewhere.
When she left the bedroom, I grabbed the DVD right away. There, on the cover of the movie, were both of my parents staring back at me.
✰༄✰
𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐰, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝
𝐉𝐉 𝐈 𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐓𝐎 𝐆𝐎𝐃
- thank you so much for 5 thousand
votes. it always sounds fake to write
it out, but it truly means so much to
me. thank you 🥺✋🏻
𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐓 𝐈𝐒 𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐄
𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐎𝐍
𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐬 :)
𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 !!