Chapter Twenty-Five

Charlotte

Monday evening, I stood in the girl's bathroom staring forlornly into the mirror. I ran my fingers through the short length of my hair and let out a long, heavy breath. Everything happening to me seemed so unfair, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold it together.

When Mrs. O'Donnell saw me this morning, she was speechless. My hair was below my cheekbone, choppy and uneven, and when she demanded to know what happened, I told her I cut my own hair.

Bewildered, she rushed me out the door and to the nearest Hair Salon before we headed down to Bridgewalk to pick up my homework. Because my hair was so short, the only thing the hairdresser was able to do, was cut it into a pixie style. It looked slightly better than Mack's gruesome work, but still, I could barely stand to look in the mirror.

Turning to the side, I glanced at my profile and groaned.

Maybe lying to Mrs. O'Donnell was a bad idea – letting those girls get away with what they did was wrong, but I couldn't shake the feeling that telling on them would somehow cause me more problems.

It was clear, even to a newbie such as myself, that the O'Donnells favored Mack, so I wouldn't be surprised if they believed her over me.

I needed to handle this situation on my own.

"Hurry up in there!" Summer yelled through the door and started banging on it.

Adjusting my glasses, I took one last look in the mirror and quietly whispered, "Be strong, Charlotte."

Opening the door, I folded my arms and looked directly at Summer.

"Well – move already," she demanded unblinkingly.

"No." I stood my ground, looking brave even though my knees were trembling and my heart was pounding. "I want to talk about what happened last night."

Summer's resolve wavered. Biting her bottom lip, she looked almost ashamed before glancing down the hallway nervously. "Okay," she said barely above a whisper. "But not here – meet me in our room at eight."

Taken aback, I slowly nodded. "Uh ... O-okay," I stammered. "Why at eight?"

"The other girls will be downstairs watching Walking Dead." Fidgeting, she glanced down the hallway again and quickly said, "Just be there and we'll talk."

Confused but slightly curious, I nodded and moved out of the way so she could use the washroom.

Ө Ө Ө

Skipping supper, I found myself sitting on the tire swing hanging from the tree in the backyard while looking through the Golden Book of Fairy Tales. I probably could've worked on some of the homework I picked up from Eastcoast High, but spending the day in Bridgewalk triggered memories of my parents. I found myself missing them more than usual, and reading through this book made me feel connected to them somehow.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened to your hair?"

Closing the book, I looked up at Rayden walking down from the house with a plate in one hand and a glass of milk in the other. Reaching me, he handed over the food and leaned up against the tree. He seemed more stiff than usual with a clenched jaw and hardened eyes – something about his demeanor reminded me of someone.

"It was them, wasn't it?" he all but growled.

Narrowing my eyes, it took a minute, but I almost laughed when I realized what it was. He had that overprotective, brotherly look about him that Christian always got with Karla. My heart warmed at the thought and I couldn't help the smile that raised the corner of my lips.

I always wondered what it would be like to have a brother, and it seemed, the closer Rayden and I became, the closer I was to finding out.

Frowning, Rayden asked very carefully, "Why are you smiling like that?"

"You just reminded me of someone, that's all." I tried to hide the goofy grin but failed miserably.

"Well, stop it," he demanded, but it lacked conviction. A smirk ebbed the corner of his mouth and finally, he sighed in submission. "How can I be serious when you're grinning like a five year old at Disney World?"

Laughing, I turned to my food and dug in, not realizing how hungry I was until I finished the entire plate. When I looked back up at Rayden, he was staring at my hair with a clenched jaw. Obviously, he wasn't going to drop it.

"Fine," I lowered my eyes and nodded. "It was them but-"

"That's it." He pushed off the tree, and said darkly, "They've gone too far."

"Rayden," I reached out and grabbed his arm. "Please don't do anything – I need to handle this myself."

"How?" He demanded, his voice like a whip.

When I flinched, he froze.

Rayden took a minute to light a cigarette and took a long drag, collecting his composure. After exhaling a cloud of smoke, he said more calmly, "It's you against four, and there is something seriously wrong with Mack." He leaned back against the tree, looking a bit more controlled. "She's not right in the head, Charlotte, and I don't think you realize that. These girls aren't like the rich, stuck-up bullies from your school."

I stood up and tried to puff out my chest threateningly. "I'm not scared."

"You should be..." He stared at me unblinkingly. When I looked away, he put his hand on my shoulder and then said with a strained voice, "If you won't let me do anything, just promise me you'll stay away from them?"

Biting my lip, I nodded. "Okay," I lied.

We were both silent for a few minutes, lost in our own thoughts. I had to admit that Rayden was right about one thing – there was something psychologically wrong with Mack. The sinister look in her eyes when she threatened me was far from normal, so if I wanted to get a handle on the situation with these girls, I had to start with the other three.

"So, I met a Care Bear this afternoon when you were in Bridgewalk."

Pushing my glasses up the bridge of my nose, I scoffed in disbelief. "You saw a Care Bear? What, like on TV?"

"No in person," he said earnestly - then smirked. "A good looking Care Bear too. Long, tanned legs, slim waist with a busty chest, uncanny black hair and dark blue eyes that were almost indigo."

Eyes widening and jaw dropping, I jumped off the tire with poorly contained excitement. "Karla was here!"

Rayden smiled knowingly, giving his head a slight jerk in affirmation.

"When?" I demanded, my heart thumping wildly, unable form a proper sentence. "Why? How did she – where is she – ?!"

He watched me speculatively before murmuring, "They left."

I halted. "They...who's they?"

"Well, her and her merrily band of body guards, of course," he said, casually stealing my spot on the tire swing. "She said she's your best friend, but if that were true, why didn't she pick up the homework for you?"

Her merrily band of body guards? Did that mean ... Christian was here, too? "It's a long story," I said absently, my thoughts consumed by Christian.

Rayden hummed as he put his cigarette out on the ground. "That's exactly what the pretty boy said."

"P-pretty boy?"

"Yah, one of her body guards was a bit of a pretty boy. White button up shirt, light brown hair and a pearl white smile," he said with a shrug. "He looked like your typical blue-blood, tennis playing pretty boy."

My heart leaped, even if his description was a bit over exaggerated, I knew exactly who he was talking about. Christian was the only one of the Steele boys with light brown hair. Looking down at Rayden, I asked breathlessly, "Christian was here?"

With a raised eyebrow, he said playfully, "Oh Charlotte, don't tell me you have a thing for the blue-blood?" He must've read something in my expression because he starting laughing, "Oh god, you're in love with him!"

My cheeks reddened. "Shut up!"

"Charlotte and Blue-Blood sitting in a tree," he started in a singsong voice, "K-I-S-S-I-Mmm-mmme!"

With my hand covering his mouth, I hissed with burning cheeks, "Stop it."

He pulled my hand away, and there was a hint of humor in his eyes when he said, "Fine, you can have him, but I get the Care Bear."

I balked. "Karla?"

He bounced his eyebrows up and down a couple times while saying, "Oh yah!" After a thoughtful moment, he added, "But I may need to put some work into it. Truthfully, I don't think she likes me so much."

I watched him pull out another cigarette and place it between his lips. "I wonder why," I said dryly.

"If I was to take a guess, it was the inappropriate pickup lines," he said with shrug, oblivious to my sarcasm.

"Inappropriate pickup lines?"

"I may have mentioned something about seeing myself in her pants..." with a sideways glance, he smirked wolfishly.

Gaping, "And you're still alive?!"

Rayden chuckled. "Yah, you can thank your blood blue for that."

"C-Christian?"

He nodded, taking a puff of his cigarette and blowing it out as he said, "Yup, if it weren't for him, Kale Steele would've sent me to an early grave. He was pissed!"

Before I realized it, I was smiling.

Although I had no idea why Christian would do that, there was a small part of me that felt warmed by that fact that he didn't kick Rayden's butt. I knew he was overly protective when it came to Karla, so it didn't make any sense, but if he was able to refrain from punching out a guy who sexually propositioned his little sister, then maybe I should reconsider whether or not people could change.

"-and when she was glaring at me with her glowering, indigo eyes, I realized she is perfect," Rayden was saying as he twisted around on the tire.

It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about, and when I did, I let out a reluctant sigh before sitting down against the trunk of the tree. "Sorry to burst your bubble, lover boy, but Karla won't go for you."

He stopped twirling in circles and looked down at me with a raised eyebrow. "You're delusional," he grinned cockily while pretending to flick dirt off his leather jacket. "Who would say no to me?"

With an amused smile, I rolled my eyes, but then admitted somberly, "Karla is obsessed with the notion of dating an older guy. She's been hurt too many times by immature a-holes, so she is completely against dating anyone from high school."

"Well, luckily for her, I ditch class so much that I barely qualify as a high school student."

I flicked a piece of grass at him. "You're deplorable."

"Speaking of deplorable guys," he flicked the butt of his cigarette and reached into his pocket, pulling something out, "Mr. Blue Blood left this for you."

Widening my eyes, I snatched the paper from his fingers and unrumpled it. It was a library receipt from BPL dated exactly two weeks ago for an Anthropology book. My breath hitched when I realized it was from the day me and Christian first kissed. I couldn't believe so much happened in a mere two weeks.

"Hey Charlotte, I think you're supposed to read the back of it – just a suggestion."

Narrowing my eyes, I turned it over and scribbled on the back in Christian's beautiful, if not slightly messy, handwriting was:

Charlie,

I'll never forget our first kiss but I don't want there to be a last one.

Please call me.

I love you,

Christian

My heart heaved and when I looked up from the note, my eyes were glazed with unshed tears.

I missed him so much.

A/N There, two chapter in two days. Definitely a good way to spend my days off work

So lots of people were wondering how I "viewed" Charlie's new unwelcomed haircut, so I uploaded a picture of what I personally imagine her to look like with it, but you are all welcome to your own personal opinions.

Question of the day: What do you think Summer wants to talk to Charlie about?