Summary: MC (Charlotte) learns some shocking information about Chris.
It had only been a few hours, but the cabin felt so empty without Kaitlyn. Charlotte missed the noise and energy of her sister and, without her, she was only left with her own overwhelmingly loud thoughts to fill the silence.
“Hello?” Zack said when he answered the phone.
“Hey!” Charlotte said. Even she could hear the tightness and false brightness in her voice. “I’m just calling to give you an update on the book.”
“Kaitlyn left, huh?”
“No!” Charlotte protested. “I mean, yes, but that’s not why I’m calling you.”
“Uh-huh,” Zack said. Charlotte could practically hear the eye roll in his voice. “You never voluntarily call me with an update.”
“Sure I do …”
“Okay, fine, you do. I never have to leave multiple threatening voicemails for you to call me back and when I do get you on the phone, you never pretend like you’re driving through a tunnel even though you’re sitting on the couch,” Zack said.
“I’m sure I’d never do such a thing,” Charlotte said with faux innocence.
“Right. Anyway, I did want to tell you how well your chapters are doing over here,” Zack said, deciding to let it slide. “Everyone loves the book so far and there’s even an office pool going to bet on who Ana will choose in the end.”
“Oh yeah? Who’s the favorite?” Charlotte asked interestedly.
“It’s pretty evenly split at the moment,” Zack said casually.
“Who do you think Ana should pick?”
“Charlotte …” Zack sighed. “I’m not going to pretend like I don’t know where this story is coming from. I can’t answer that for you.”
“Oh, come on,” Charlotte pleaded. “Who do you think … Ana … should pick?”
“Whoever will sell the most copies.”
“So, I have some big news,” Chris said as he leaned over the bar at the Hull Hole.
“Oh yeah?” Charlotte asked.
“My brother is getting married in Germany this fall.”
“That’s amazing!” Charlotte exclaimed. “Are you going?”
“Yup!” Chris said happily. “It’ll be my first time out of the country and I’m so excited.”
“That’s so awesome, you’re going to have so much fun,” Charlotte said as she reached over to squeeze his hand.
“Thanks,” Chris said with a grin. “Actually, I–”
“Chris!”
Chris turned to see someone calling him from the other end of the bar. “Shoot, hang on, I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Charlotte said as she finished off her beer and slid the empty glass to him. “I have to run to the bathroom anyway.”
After she used the bathroom, Charlotte exited the stall and began to wash her hands as a tall, beautiful redhead entered. The redhead paused before entering a stall to root through her purse.
“Hey.”
Charlotte glanced over and saw the redhead looking at her, looking slightly embarrassed.
“Sorry to bother you, but do you have a tampon?” the redhead asked.
“Oh, sure,” Charlotte said. She dried her hands, dug through her own purse, and then handed over the tampon.
“Thanks,” the redhead said. “I’m Nicole, by the way.”
“Charlotte. And don’t worry about it.”
“You know,” Nicole said, holding up the tampon. “I keep telling my fiance that he needs to start keeping a box of tampons behind the bar for female customers.”
“That would certainly be helpful,” Charlotte said, then stopped. “Who’s your fiance?” she asked, knowing there was only one possible answer.
“Oh, he’s behind the bar now,” Nicole said. “Christopher Powell.”
The blood thrummed in Charlotte’s ears. “Oh, I didn’t realize Chris had a girlfriend.”
“Fiancee,” Nicole corrected, a cold smile on her face. “And now you do.”
Nicole set the tampon on the bathroom counter and walked out, leaving Charlotte alone in the bathroom. Nausea roiled in her stomach as the truth settled in and she gripped the edge of the bathroom counter for balance.
“Again,” she whispered to the empty bathroom. “I fucking did it again.”
She closed her eyes and took several slow, deep breaths, in through her nose and out through her mouth until the nausea began to subside. Charlotte opened her eyes again and glanced at the cracked mirror that hung above the sink. When had she become this person? Was this always inside of her, lying dormant and just waiting to destroy other people’s happiness? She looked away, unable to face her own reflection any longer.
Charlotte took a steadying breath and exited the bathroom. She glanced over towards the bar and saw Nicole perched on Charlotte’s former stool, her long, shapely legs crossed as she leaned across the bar. Chris slid a cocktail towards her with a slight smile and Charlotte turned around, heading for the door. She’d seen enough. She’d done enough damage already.
Back at the cabin, Charlotte lay down on her bed, not even bothering to kick off her shoes. From the nightstand, she could hear her phone chirp with incoming text messages. However, rather than look at the screen, Charlotte rolled away, curling herself into the fetal position. She lay there for a long time until, finally, she fell into a fitful sleep.
