SWNOVELS Chapter 80: CHARLOTTE
CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT:
CHARLOTTE
--
Althea hit her until Charlotte begged and apologize, saying she was just kidding, and she knows Tyler. Althea huffed and
squinted her eyes on her; of course, how could she forget about him? Charlotte rubbed her arms that were reddening from her
pinches, honestly, Althea felt bad, but she didn’t show it. Serves her right.
Charlotte complained that it stings, she sneered at her. “You want more?”
“No thanks,” she mumbled while flinching away. She continues to rub her arms and look at her. “Is he really with him? Of all
people?”
“Hmm.” Althea just hummed in agreement and recounted the events of what happened as how Becca did to her. Charlotte
nodded in understanding before turning silent, it was brief, but Althea saw guilt flashing in her eyes.
She pursed her lips and smack her with the pillow. She didn’t dodge and let the soft thing smack her face before saying; “I really
need apologize to Kyle, I almost made him motherless.”
“Shut up!” She hit her again, not bothering to correct her.
She frowns, “I don’t want him to be motherless after being grandparent-less-“
“Charlotte- just shut up- never mind that- come here, let me pull your hair out.”
“Don’t, my husband will not like me even more. But- kidding aside,” Charlotte stole the pillow and hugged it. “Why did you let him
go with him? Can I safely assume that your over-“
“No.” She answers immediately, not even letting Charlotte to finish her sentence.
The temperature in the room dropped by several degrees again, it was okay after they broke the ice earlier, but the atmosphere
changed for the second time. Unlike a couple of minutes ago, it was Charlotte who’s refusing to have an eye contact with Althea,
but now, Althea was looking anywhere but her eyes.
She looked at her in silence. Her heart aches every time she sees her like this, like she was trapped in an endless maze.
Charlotte thought she was already okay after therapies, but it seems like she was blind enough or pretended to be blind to not
notice.
The silence was madly suffocating, Althea begun biting her lips again and holding the ring finger- but the ring that keeps her
nerves in check was gone. It made her sunk into a dangerous pit. She started to overthink things in her head, and it got darker
and darker. In silence, she began fretting over things. Months ago, she should have stopped it early and not fall into something
she wont like, but the past events unearthed memories that accelerated her fall even more.
Lost in the sea of her past memories;
She lost her reasoning.
-
Charlotte pursed her lips into thin lines before breaking the silence.
“Althea-“
“- Charlotte, I only gave him back to Tyler temporarily, okay? Take him- take kai from him later- hear that?” Althea begun to
mumble almost incoherently. “I- he- he should not know that we got-“
“Althea?” Charlotte stood up, alarmed. Althea was having an anxiety attack. She called her out again. “Althea?”
“He must not know- he mustn’t!” She almost shouted, but she was catching her breath as it becomes ragged and uncontrollably
short. Her chest aches and she can feel her head spinning in spiral. Althea wants to vomit.
She was staring at the wall, and it was swirling spirals and shapes until a silhouette of a man was standing by the wall. It had no
facial features, it was just a hazy, black, smoky silhouette, but Althea knows it was looking at her. He was looking at her with his
usual cold with amusement smile.
It was him.
The smile sent thousands of shivers in her spines. Like a broken switch, she saw different places, a hospital, and an old,
abandoned factory. The places she saw switches every second, distorting with her vision. The only thing that remained standing
there, unmoving; was that one particular black silhouette.
Then she heard a familiar chalky voice.
“I told you,”
It’s him.
Althea widens her eyes, and she can feel her throat tightening; she was choking. Her mouth was dry, and she was sweating
heavily. She can feel big beads of sweats dripping down on her forehead.
He smiled even more, stretching his lips in an impossible length.
“I would come for you.”
He’s really here!
“Althea- good god!” She can hear Charlotte’s voice faintly, she felt- or maybe it was just an illusion- her holding her trembling
hands and squeeze it weakly before calling for the nurses up.
Whether it happened or not, Althea doesn’t know.
Her head was throbbing in pain, and she was fighting from being unconscious and not. Althea wants to calm down, but the
shadow of that man was walking slowly towards her. She tried calming herself by breathing in and out deeply but her breathing
stuck in her throat. It was swirling, it was only a distortion, she knew it was an illusion, because he can’t be here, it was
impossible, but her mind still panicked, and she can’t take her eyes away from it.
Someone shook her and called her name many times.
She remained fixated over the incoming image. As it advances, she moves backward on the bed. Her eyes were reddening from
not blinking too long and tears were peeking out. She was struggling to give more distance between the two of them, she was
trying to escape. But like a rubber band, the man’s hand stretched out towards her and goes longer and longer, it was nearing
her.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. She watched in horror as his hands inched closer to her throat. It was about to choke her.
“No-!!!”
Slap!
-
“Goodness Althea!” A crisp slapping sound penetrated the cold atmosphere as Charlotte’s delicate hand landed on her face. She
was now facing on other side, her neck looking broken. Charlotte panicked, thinking she accidentally killed her with her slap. She
placed her hands on either side of her cheeks and forcefully turn them to make her face forward where her body faces.
Seeing no reaction, she grasped her shoulders and shook her furiously, her one knee is even on the bed’s mattress now,
embedding. “Althea- Althea snap out of it!”
-
Like being fished out from the water before drowning to death, air madly attacked Althea’s lungs that it hurts. She gasped for air,
and she realized that she was breathing again. With her heavy breathing, she looked around and saw that the distorted place
returns normal. That man was not there anymore, like he never existed in the first place.
Her breathing was short and fast. Her whole body is cold. She was still shaking.
The only thing that made her slowly calm down was the gentle caresses of Charlotte’s thumb on her shoulder. “Althea- are you
okay?”
Althea raised her head and she saw her looking at her with concern. “I...”
Charlotte pursed her lips after hearing the crack of her voice, after some hesitation, she finally asked what she was meaning to.
“So I was right, you’re still hung up in the past.”
Althea did not speak. Charlotte tightened her hands on her shoulders. She gently shook her. “I let you stop your therapy just
because you said you’re already okay, but- what’s this?”
Althea’s jaws tightened and she gripped her arms and tried to pry them away. The other is usually weak but she had a little bit
more strength today, she won’t budge. Her grip tightened even more. “Althea, it’s been years-“
“Do you think it’s easy to forget it, Charlotte?” Althea spat at her after being silent. The surpassed anger in her made her voice
cracked and shaking. “Do you think it is? If it was- I would have forgotten it already!”
“Ha!” Charlotte sighed loudly and looked at her. She was still shaking, and her hands were cold. She doesn’t know what she saw
or imagined but basing on the fear in her eyes and voice earlier, it was related to ‘him’. “Your mother will not be happy to see you
like this...!”
Glaring, Althea responded. “She’s dead.”
“And so is ‘he’!” Charlotte shook her. “He’s dead! No one’s coming for you just because you get closed to him again!”
“...”
Sighing, she clasped her cheeks and stared dead on her eyes. She spoke softly, as if trying to coax a child. “I know why you are
hesitant. Because of what he said to you, but Althea, he’s dead! You told me yourself-” Her voice lowered. “-you killed him...!”
“His body wasn’t found Charlotte. It was never found.”
“But still-“
The door opened. The two stopped and looked at it. Becca was standing next to the door, awkwardness on her face.
“Uh,” she pointed outside with her thumb. “Uh, sorry- I’ll just come back-“
“No.” Althea said, brushing Charlotte’s hands away from her face. The latter looked at her helplessly and sat on the bed,
defeated. “It’s okay.”
“Althea-“
“Charlotte, I don’t want to talk about it now.”
Sighing, she stood up. “Okay fine.” She hugged her tightly and Althea responded weakly. “I’ll get going now, then.”
Althea nodded and said nothing more. Charlotte broke the hug and looked at her in worry. Seeing that she has no plans talking
to her, she went for the door, an expression slowly formed in her face.
Before going out, she looked back at Althea. “By the way. I’ll be busy for the whole month. I can’t take care of Kyle. Let him stay
with him for a while- shut it, don’t think for yourself only- ask the kid whether or not he wants to be with him. If not, okay, take him
away, but if he took liking, why not?”
Then, she left.
-
Becca, who was standing by the door did double take before wondering about whether her brain and eyes were playing tricks on
her or not. Althea noticed her standing frozen, with creased brows, she called for her.
“Close the door, what are you spacing out there for?”
Becca snapped out of it and looked at Althea, asking herself;
What was that? Did that lady just smile? Why does that look mocking and amusement?
“Oh, nothing.” She mentally shook her head. Stupid, she might just be imagining things. “Nothing at all.”