The Chronicles of Carlos and Charlotte

by Charlotte Stone

These are a bunch of really short stories about two people at different stages in their relationship. Imma randomly whenever I think of another idea be adding more stories into this as they come to mind.

Will you do me a favor? (14)

Once upon a time, there was a 14 year old girl. Her name was Charlotte. Charlotte was very distressed. She was almost 15 years old, and still hadn't kissed a boy. She had friends who were already having sex. She couldn't let them know that she hadn't even kissed anyone! Charlotte wanted so bad to just get her first kiss over with so she wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. One night, she was at a football game with her friends and sister. She and her friends were standing in the grassy area behind the bleachers talking. As they stood there, a boy named Carlos that Charlotte had met once or twice (and had since taken an interest in) came up to them. He stood very close to Charlotte.
"I know you." he said.
"Really? How?" Charlotte replied. They had gone to the same school the year before. At the end of the year, Charlotte moved up to highschool, and Carlos went to the eighth grade. They were only a year apart in age, so she didn't see any problem with developng feelings for this boy she barely knew.
"Were you on the track team last year?" he asked. She had been. One of the only reasons she stayed in it was to see him every day.
"Yeah I was." she replied.
"I remember you. I think you kicked me in the balls during practice one day." Charlotte cracked up. She had never done that. At least, if she had, she didn't remember.
"I think you're mistaking me for someone else." Charlotte said as she was trying to regain her composure. As Carlos thought about it, he looked very thoughtfully at her. His eyes had been the thing that had gotten Charlotte's attention in the first place.
Finally, he said,"Maybe...but I really think it was you." Charlotte turned away, still mesmerized by his dark, deep eyes. I have to try and draw his eyes when I get home. That's something I don't ever want to forget. She walked away from Carlos, almost hoping that he would call her back. He didn't. Later on, with Carlos still on her mind, Charlotte walked with her friends behind the bleachers. As they were walking, they passed a group of boys and a few girls who were talking about who was stronger. Carlos was one of the boys. They were arguing. To make a point that he was stronger, Carlos lifted up his shirt to show his abs. Charlotte saw, and silently gasped. He had a six-pack, but not a scary-strong one. He had one that didn't look SUPER strong, but it was definately there. It was like an I-will-kick-your-ass-if-I-have-to way. She looked up to his face, and he was looking right at her. She blushed and looked down. She sneaked a peek back, and he was still looking. The night ended without any more encounters with Carlos. Days passed. Charlotte went to the library after school one day. It was just a couple blocks from the school, and it was a nice day outside so she decided to walk. She was thinking about her kissing problem again. She was deep in thought when she heard footsteps behind her. Charlotte didn't want to look back at the person, so she looked at the shadow that was following her. She could tell it wasn't a man, but a boy. Charlotte turned around, and guess who? Carlos.
"Can I help you?" Charlotte asked him.
"No, why do you ask?" he replied.
"I asked because you've been following me for a couple blocks." Charlotte said.
"No, I don't need anything. I just don't have anywhere to go right now. Where are you going?" She told him the library to do homework because she didn't want to be at home. "I'll walk with you. I don't have anywhere to be." They walked in silence. When they got to the brick building that was the library, it was too nice to want to go inside and do her homework. Charlotte remembered the garden out behind the library. It had a picnic table where she could sit.
"Where are you going to go now?" she asked Carlos.
"I don't know yet." Charlotte didn't hear him. She was thinking. She hadn't said anything the whole walk there because she was still thinking of her issue. They walked behind the library to the garden, and Charlotte leaned on the brick wall of the back of the library.
"What's up?" Carlos asked. "You haven't said two words this whole time we were walking. Something wrong?"
Charlotte shook her head and said,"Nah. It's nothing. I'm fine."
"And you're a terrible liar. What's the deal?" Charlotte had no idea why he expected her to trust him, but for some reason, she did. Maybe it's the eyes, she thought to herself.
Again, she said,"I'm fine," and tried to walk away from the wall. Carlos blocked her way and put one hand against the wall next to her.
"Tell me." he said really firmly. Funny, she thought. He never seemed like one who would care that much about someone he just met. I'm suprised he even talked to me and walked with me.
"It's ridiculous. You don't want to hear it." and Charlotte tried to push past him as her eyes teared up because even though she completely trusted him, he still kind of scared her. It didn't work. He only trapped her with his other arm, so now she was against the brick with his hands on the walls on either side of her. He looked at her with complete seriousness and said "It can't be that bad, and I'm not letting you sit down until you tell me what your problem is."
Charlotte let a couple tears fall. Carlos wiped them away. She pulled herself together, sighed, and looked him in the eyes. "You are going to think that this is the most pathetic thing you've ever heard, but I'm going to tell you." He listened intently. "I am fifteen years old and I have never kissed a boy. My sister is twelve years old, and she and her boyfriend have makeout sessions whenever they're together. I have friends the same age as me who have sex on a regular basis. I can't let them know my situation, and that's difficult because the subject comes up a lot. I just want to get it over with. Pathetic, right?"
"Yeah, pretty much. What are you gonna do?"
Charlotte thought for a while, then said with a smile,"My homework. Will you move now?" Charlotte finished her assignments, put them away, and sighed.
"What?" Carlos asked her.
"It's just that I have to go home now. I don't have anything else to do."Charlotte told him.
"You don't have to go home. Walk with me for a little while."
"Where?"
"I don't know. Just walk with me." They did. They walked around their little town together. Charlotte and Carlos ended up back in the hidden garden. Then Charlotte's cell phone went off. She looked at the time and swore.
"What was that for?" Carlos asked her.
"I have to call my dad. He thought I was gonna be home a half hour ago. But where are you going to go?"
"I still don't know. How long till your dad gets here?"
"Fifteen minutes? I'm not really sure."
"Then I should figure out where I'm going. Parents don't really like me, so I shouldn't be here when your dad comes. He wouldn't like it if he saw you with me."
"Well then before you go, uh.. nevermind."
"What were you gonna say?" he asked Charlotte.
"Uh...well, can you do me a favor?" Charlotte asked him.
"And what would that be?" Carlos replied. He didn't get a response, though. Charlotte just stared at him, her eyes troubled. Then he realized what she wanted. Charlotte had been thinking so hard the whole time they were together who she could ask to solve her problem. She finally decided to ask this boy who she barely knew, and would probably not talk to again.
"Forget it." Charlotte said. She knew it was too weird to think that he would help her. She turned to walk away. She made it about twenty feet up the garden path, then turned around to look at Carlos. He was standing in the exact same spot that she had left him. Her eyes filled with tears as she turned to continue walking. Charlotte started putting one foot in front of the other, then heard quick footsteps behind her. Just as she stopped, she felt a hand grab her arm from behind and spin her around. As soon as she was faced the other direction, and looked up at him. She felt a hand on her lower back, another on the back of her neck, smoothing her hair. She looked into the big, bottomless, brown eyes that were looking back at her. Charlotte put one hand on Carlos's side, the other on the back of his neck. No words were spoken. His neck bent down, her neck bent up. Eyes closed. Breathing stopped. Lips met. Gently, firmly, smoothly, perfectly. His arms supported her. For once, Charlotte did not think. She only felt. Wanted, secure, happy, but above all, protected. She didn't want time to stop, but she wanted the seconds to last longer. Then her phone went off. They broke away, but he still supported her. Only far enough apart for her to reach her pocket. She read the text from her father and smiled. "Char im srry but cn u wait a bit there was an issue at home just stay where u r for a couple hours ill call u when im coming" Charlotte didn't even care what the issue was.
"What did it say?" Carlos asked her. Charlotte only smiled. He played along. They continued. This was more perfect than Charlotte had dared hope. The only thing that bothered her was the fear that this might end. There was no chance that anyone could see them, because the back wall of the library was completely brick, and they were surrounded by a dense mini-forest, blocking them from the public. Charlotte went to readjust her footing when she slipped. She did not fall, though. Strong arms held her up. She let Carlos push her to the brick wall a few feet away. He pressed her to the wall with his body, and whispered something in her ear as she kissed his neck. Charlotte didn't understand, because it was in Spanish. She was too content to care, didn't want to ruin the silence with questions. A little tiny bit louder this time, he whispered in English, "Is this what you wanted?"Charlotte only responded by pulling him closer. The kissing kept going for a few minutes, then they decided they needed a little air. Carlos and Charlotte relaxed on the ground against the brick. She had her head resting on his chest, one hand on his stomach. He had one knee bent, the other stretched out in front of him. With one hand on her waist and the other occupying her free hand, they closed their eyes to enjoy the silence. It lasted a while, until Charlotte's cell rang. She didn't answer it though. Carlos realized she had fallen asleep. He gently but quickly woke her to answer her phone. Her father, leaving their house to come get her. She tried to stand up, but her knee was numb, and she collapsed again. She didn't hit the ground, because the same strong arms that she had spent the last few hours in were there.
"Thank you, so much. Although, when I ever kiss anyone from now on, I think I'll be dissapointed." Charlotte said with a smile.
"I don't think I can ever kiss again. Nothing has ever been or could ever be as perfect as that was for me. But I think you're lying. You can't tell someone that you're a lip virgin, then go do something like that." Charlotte only smiled, stepped closer to him, and kissed him. Carlos caught his breath, and returned the favor. They looked at the other, said goodbye, and walked away.

She forgot about the world around them (15)

Once upon a time, there was a girl. She was fifteen years old. Her name was Charlotte. She was a dreamer. Although lately, lots of her dreams seemed to be coming true. Charlotte had just met a boy a few months ago, a boy who helped her with a big problem. The problem brought them very close together. Literally. The boy's name was Carlos. Charlotte hadn't seen Carlos for a few months after their, uh, problem-solving. She was starting to wonder. Had he just taken advantage of her, then forgotten about her? Maybe he was avoiding her on purpose! Charlotte felt really stupid for believing that he actually cared, and actually wanted to be with her. She became very mad at Carlos. As she was thinking about that, she decided she had to get out of the house and clear her mind. She went to the only place she knew she could be alone. Who would want to go to the library on a Sunday in the middle of summer break, anyway? She walked down the empty street to the brick building. She didn't go inside, though. She walked around back. There was a hidden garden with a stone picnic table back there. She stomped to the table, kicking the brick wall of the library on her way. She sat down and banged her fist on the table. Charlotte didn't know what else to do, so she cried. She cried and cried, and cried some more. She couldn't believe she had let her emotions get played with again. How could he do that to her? She trusted Carlos! Trusted him with her biggest secret, and he made it so she didn't have to worry anymore. Then he disappears off the face of the earth, not even bothering to leave her a note, a message, anything. Charlotte sat up and brushed the fallen tears from her eyes. She sat and breathed, thinking about what to do now. She sure couldn't go home looking like this. She got up and went to the brick wall. She sat down in the grass and leaned against it. She was absent-mindedly playing with the grass when she heard footsteps coming up the garden path. She quickly went around the other corner. Nobody could see her like this. She risked a peek around the wall and narrowed her eyes. What was he doing here? This was her place. Nobody was supposed to be here, especially Carlos. She looked at his face. He looked so forlorn and depressed, like a lost puppy. Well good, she thought. That's what he gets for leaving me in the dust. She walked out from around the corner. Carlos looked up and saw Charlotte's expression. He looked confused. She just stared at him.

"What? What's that look for?" he asked. Charlotte could not believe he just asked that. She went off on him.

"How can you seriously ask that? Did you completely forget everything that happened? Or were you just avoiding me? You are unbelievable, you know that? You just think it's completely okay to give a girl a kiss that makes her think that she's living her dreams, then disappear from her life for three months! If you didn't want things to go farther, why didn't you just say so? I would have been fine with that! But no! You had to just pretend I didn't exist, that your kissing me never happened, and that you had no idea who I was!"

"I'm sorry." Carlos said, without expression. "I was just confused is all."

"Confused...wow, Carlos, that's uh.. that's really something." Charlotte couldn't believe that he had the nerve to say that. She turned around, took a few steps,and stomped toward the path. She couldn't handle this anymore.

"Charlotte wait. Let me explain--"

Charlotte interrupted. "Explain what, Carlos? How you made me happier than I had been in a really long time, then disappear off of the face of the fricking earth? How you, you kissed me, and held me, and..and..you know what? Save it. I don't need this." She started to storm up the path. Carlos chased after her. He grabbed her arm. "Let me go! Don't touch me!" She tried to pull her arm away. He took her and picked her up. He tried to drag her to the picnic table. Charlotte was kicking and screaming,"Let go! Put me down! Ahhhhh!" Carlos covered her mouth to quiet her, but she bit him. He couldn't take her all the way to the table, so he just pulled her behind the wall and pinned her on the ground. He waited for her to stop fidgeting and yelling obscenities at him. When she did, she just glared at him.

"Can I talk now?" No response. "Fine. Be like that. For your information, I didn't try to find you after, well, you know..because I didn't know how you were going to act around me. I didn't want to try to find you, and have you pretend like it never happened. Like you said, you just wanted to get it over with so you didn't have to worry anymore. I don't know if I could have taken it if you did. So I eliminated the possibility."

"You didn't stop to think how that would affect me? That, maybe, I wanted to see you, and talk to you? That, maybe, I was feeling the same? No. You didn't. Now get off me!" Charlotte struggled some more. She gave up, remembering that night at the football game, and how strong he was. She knew it was useless. "What do I have to do to make you get off of me?"

"You have to try and see this from my point of view. Try and understand where I'm coming from. Think about how much I wanted that day to last forever."

"Alright. I won't try and kill you now. I can't promise I won't try and kick your ass, though." That was good enough for Carlos. He let her get up. She didn't stay calm for long though. As soon as she was up, she landed a punch in his stomach. She stepped back, hoping she had hurt him. She didn't get the chance to try again. As soon as she swung for his face, he grabbed her arm. She tried to kick him, but couldn't reach. He grabbed her foot and pulled her off fell and she landed on top of him. He looked at her with deep brown puppydog eyes. Charlotte knew she couldn't hurt that.

"Are you done?" he asked, with a little laugh.

"For now..." Her words faded away as she drew closer to Carlos. When their lips touched, she forgot all the anger she had ever felt toward him. She remembered why she wanted to see him, why she had taken interest in him. She forgot about the world around them. To her, the only things in the universe were Carlos, the wall next to her, and the garden around them. She remembered how it felt to be wanted, supported and protected. She forgot what it was like to be forgotten.

Carlos wrapped his fingers in her hair. Charlotte traced the tan planes of his chest. They moved like they had done this a million times before. Then they were snapped back into reality when the ever-present cell phone rang. They rolled apart and Charlotte answered her phone. It was her sister asking if she was okay. She said that Charlotte had to be home by dinner, but other than that, her parents just wanted her to stay in town. Charlotte was amused how whenever she needed it, she had permission to be gone as long as she needed. She turned to Carlos. He pulled her back and kissed her forehead.

"You know, this doesn't mean I forgive you." she warned him. He pulled her close to him and kissed her with passion. "Alright, I'll think about it." Charlotte said. Carlos didn't reply, he just held her tighter, kissed her firmly, and didn't let go. He held her waist with her hands and moved his lips to her neck. Charlotte felt his cool breath down her back, and it made her shiver. "Okay, you're forgiven!" she she said quietly. Carlos didn't stop, though. He pulled the strap of her tank top off her shoulder with his teeth. He brushed his lips over her shoulder.

"Do you understand how this was for me now?" he whispered to her. "To think about not being able to have this again? Torture, isn't it?" Charlotte could not respond. Her heart was beating hard, her breathing was shaky. She pushed his face back up to hers. She ran her lips along his jawbone. She felt Carlos shudder. She smiled. Charlotte had to get back at him for what he just did. She pressed her lips below his ear.

"You really shouldn't have done that, you know. 'Cause now, it's gonna come back to haunt you..." she whispered in his ear. She moved her lips down his neck, across his shoulder. As she kissed his shoulder, she unbuttoned his blue shirt. She laid her cold, pale hands on his warm, tan chest. She brushed her lips back up his neck as she ran her hands slowly down his torso. Charlotte could hear his breathing and heartbeat speed up. She got her lips back up to his jawbone when he grabbed her hands.

"You really hate me, don't you?" Carlos breathed. "I thought you said you forgave me?"

"I did. but then you had to kiss me like that, and I knew I had to make you pay." Charlotte giggled. "Did it work?" Carlos didn't answer her. He just let her wrists go and put his warm hands up her shirt on her back. She kissed his jaw and slowly made her way back to his lips. He pulled away from her.

"I can't do this anymore. You're killing me." Carlos breathed to her. "We could do this all day, and it still wouldn't be enough for me. We have to stop before it--" Charlotte cut him off. She put her hand over his mouth in the universal sign for shut up. He stopped talking. Charlotte stood up. She pulled up her shirt strap while Carlos stood. When he was up, Charlotte stepped toward him and put her hands on his front. He stopped breathing. She paused, then smiled, and started to button up his blue shirt.

"Why do you wear blue?" she asked him.

"I don't know. It's my favorite color, I guess."

"Hmm..." said Charlotte absentmindedly. When his shirt was all buttoned up, Charlotte laughed and started unbuttoning it again.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Charlotte didn't answer. She just pulled out her cell phone and looked at the time. 1:00 p.m. She laughed and continued unbuttoning. "Okay, stop..Charlotte..please don't do this to me..." His pleas went unheard. Charlotte stepped closer to him. She could see the restraint in his eyes, but also the desire. He stepped back, but he ended up against the brick wall of the library. Carlos rolled his eyes and smiled. He grabbed Charlotte and turned them around so now Charlotte was against the wall. He got rid of all the space inbetween them and looked down at Charlotte. "Just remember you brought this on yourself.."

"I'll deal with it." They were lucky the library was closed on Sunday afternoons, because that's when Carlos lost his shirt.

+++It's not what you're thinking. Charlotte didn't lose ANYTHING that day. Well, besides her shirt. But you don't need to know how.+++

Te quiero (16)

Once upon a time, there was a sixteen year old girl. Her name was Charlotte. Charlotte went to a little hick school in a little hellhole. She hated her village with a passion. There wasn't much keeping her there besides her boyfriend. That, and the fact that she was still a minor. But she could never leave Carlos alone here. He hated it as much, if not more than Charlotte did. The only thing that kept her going to school everyday was seeing Carlos. Well, and the little detail about needing to graduate. That was pretty important too. Charlotte was on her way to her favorite little hickschool on a windy fall day. She was in a rush to leave so she wouldn't be late again, but she forgot her jacket. She didn't realize until she was in her white Chevy. Forget it, she thought. It's not that cold, anyway. She told herself that all the way to school. But when she got out of her truck, the wind started blowing. She ran into the school, wishing she had grabbed her jacket because she really was cold. Charlotte walked to her locker, still shivering. She was unloading her books from her backpack and stood up. Suddenly, there were hands on her hips. Although, they weren't her's.

"Morning, mi novia. God, you're so cold! What, did you sleep covered in ice last night or something?" said the deep, confident voice behind her. Charlotte smiled and shivered even more at Carlos's touch. He wrapped his arms around her torso from behind and pulled her close. His strong, supporting arms warmed Charlotte. He loosened his arms to back away, but Charlotte turned around and slipped her arms into his zip-up hoodie.

"I'm cold. Don't leave yet." Charlotte said into his chest.

Carlos laughed and held her. "Baby, my first class is all the way upstairs. I can't be late again. Here, take my sweatshirt." He pulled off his black hoodie to show the tan, strong arms that Charlotte loved so much. She took it and put it on. It was way too big for her, but she loved to wear his sweatshirts. It made her feel like he was with her the whole time she was wearing it.

"Thanks," she said with a smile. "Now we have an excuse to see eachother after school. Where do you want to meet?"

"Just go to our place." said Carlos, smiling. They loved to go to the hidden garden behind the public library. That was their special piece of the world. The bell rang, and Carlos kissed Charlotte quickly on the forehead and they went their separate ways for the day. Charlotte went to her English class. They were reading Lord of the Flies. She just pretended to read during class. She really spent the majority of the class just breathing in the cool scent of the warm sweatshirt that she was wearing.

A few hours later, school ended. Charlotte hurried from her biology class to her locker. She had very little homework. Quickly throwing things into her bookbag, she slammed her locker and rushed out the door. She went to her truck and threw in her bookbag, slamming the door and walking away. The library was only a few blocks away so Charlotte walked there. Pulling Carlos's sweatshirt tight around her, she went quickly to the library. She walked past the door around to the back of the brick building. Just as she rounded the corner, she was captured by a tall, dark figure. She panicked for only a second, until she realized who the eyes she was looking into belonged to. Charlotte let the long, muscular, dark tan arms hold her.

"Still cold?" said Carlos, smiling. Charlotte hugged him tight, mumbling into his chest. "I'll take that as a yes. One problem, though. So am I. Now what are we going to do about this?" Charlotte grudgingly took off the sweatshirt and handed it over. Carlos put it on, but didn't zip it up. "Come here. We can share." Charlotte questioningly stepped closer. She slipped her arms under the black fabric and around Carlos. Carlos reached around her and zipped it up. Charlotte laughed.

"This is SO not going to work," she said inbetween giggles. "I have to stand on your feet to not fall!"

"Okay. Then stand on them." Even so, they struggled to keep their balance. Finally, they gave up and collapsed on the ground laughing. Carlos struggled to unzip the black hoodie. It was halfway undone, when the zipper caught Charlotte's hair. She yelped. "What did I do?" Carlos asked.

"It's caught in my hair. Ouch, stop pulling!"

"Okay. Uh, hold still." He took the sweatshirt off of him and Charlotte. Now it was hanging behind her back by her hair. After a little pulling and tugging, it finally came off. Charlotte stepped away, holding the back of her head. They stood in silence for a few seconds. Then, Carlos was in front of her. He put his hand over hers, the one that was still on the back of her head. "I'm sorry baby. That was my fault."

"Of course it wasn't! I'm the one who forgot my own jacket in the first place!" Charlotte said, appalled.

"Either way, should I kiss it and make it stop hurting?"

"If you want..." Carlos stepped behind her and took his hand off of hers. He kissed her hand first, then her hair. He moved his lips to her neck as he slowly walked back in front of her. His lips never left her. He moved them halfway along her jawbone, then up to her lips. She kissed his top lip, he kissed her bottom lip. Charlotte wasn't cold anymore. She had two tough, strong, warm arms around her back (and a hand in one of her back pockets). She ran her fingers through Carlos's wind-tangled hair (the breeze was picking up) and pulled his body closer to hers. They didn't get to see eachother very often, so they didn't get to kiss very often. When they did, they made the most of it. Carlos broke away.

"Charlotte? Okay...uh, we've been together almost two years now, right?" Carlos said, unsure of himself. Charlotte nodded. "Well I want to tell you something." Then the cell phone rang. Never fails, thought Charlotte. It was her sister. Her volleyball practice was done, and she needed a ride home. "Can't you just wait a while? I'm with Carlos." Her sister persisted. The wind blew harder. "Alright, I''ll come get you. Just take a breath, I'll be there in a little while."

"Uh, Charlotte--"

"I have to go. She's in a pissy mood and doesn't want to wait."

"But--"

"Can I have a goodbye kiss?" Charlotte asked with sparkly eyes. Carlos wasn't going to even think about arguing with that. He smiled and grabbed her hips. They kissed gently at first. Then, with both of them realizing that they probably wouldn't get to do this again for a while, they kissed with a little more passion and meaning. Carlos tried to do the dip-the-girl-while-still-kissing-her-thing that was in all the romantic movies. It didn't work out quite as well in real life. Charlotte was standing on a stick, and when she leaned backward, the stick rolled out from under her foot and she fell. Well, almost fell. But the ever-present, fall-preventing arms were there. It seemed that whenever Charlotte was going to hit the ground, Carlos was there to catch her. She tried to stand back up, but couldn't regain her footing in the windblown leaves. Carlos laughed and twisted quickly around. They fell, but he made sure that she would land on him and not the ground. She pressed her lips to his cheek and stood up. "I have to go now. Okay?"

Carlos sighed. "No, not okay. But if you have to..." He hugged her and moved his mouth near her ear and whispered something. It was hard to hear with the wind, but it sounded something like "te quiero".

"Huh? I couldn't understand." Charlotte said, confused.

Carlos just laughed. "Go get your sister. I'm sure she's getting impatient."

"Alright. I'll see you again soon, right?"

"Of course, mi novia." Charlotte walked back to the school to get her sister and her truck. The whole way home, she was trying to think of what Carlos said. Charlotte and her sister got to their house and Charlotte went to her room. She went to one of those free translating sites on her laptop and typed in "te quiero". She got just one result. It said, "TE QUIEROtranslation_spanish/englishte quiero: I love you".

Don't leave me (17)

Once upon a time, there was a seventeen year old girl. Her name was Charlotte. Charlotte was sad, confused, and worried. Lately, her boyfriend Carlos had been spending less and less time with her. A while ago, he told her that he loved her. Charlotte knew that she loved him too. She just never got to see him anymore. He assured her that he still cared about her, but other things had just come up. Well, one night, Charlotte was driving her dad's white chevy through a crappy part of a crappy city that was near her crappy little village. She drove by an auto garage, and saw a familiar figure standing outside it. She immediately stopped the car and got out. Carlos was standing outside the garage wearing the blue shirt that Charlotte loved so much. It was unbuttoned, hanging over the side of his jeans.

"Carlos, what are you doing out here?"Charlotte asked, unsure of what to think.

Carlos turned around in suprise. "Charlotte?! Shit, I think the real question is what are YOU doing here? This is a really unsafe place for someone like you to be at night! Go home, please?"

"I want answers first. Number one: What are you doing here? Number two: Is the answer to number one the reason you can't ever see me anymore? Number three: What is the problem with me being here? Number four--"

"Charlotte, novia, I promise I will answer all of your questions. Just not right now."

"No Carlos, I want the answers now!" Charlotte said, really angry now. Just then, a couple of guys were driving by in a big gray Landrover.

"Damn, man. She's got you on a two inch leash! Wrapped around her little finger!" shouted the man in the driver's seat. The other two in the car started laughing and whistling at Charlotte. She was too pissed off to really pay attention to them. She just flipped them off and turned back to Carlos. The men in the car stared at eachother. They didn't look so amused now. The car shut off and the guys got out. They were bigger than they had looked from the car. They walked slowly up to Carlos and Charlotte. "We don't appreciate that rude gesture, do we, Pedro?" asked the biggest one.

"No, Edilio. We don't." They moved really close to Charlotte. They smelled like gasoline and weed. The big one that was apparently named Edilio put his hand up to Charlotte's face and stroked her cheek.

"Aye, this is no place for a pretty girl like you. Carlos, you're really taking a risk, bringin' her here...if someone were to get mad at you, well...you know what could happen to someone of...value." Carlos just glared at Edilio and pulled Charlotte away from the big, burly man and stepped in front of her.

"Edilio, don't bring her into this. This is between you and me. It has nothing to do with her. Now, you're on my territory, so leave before something bad happens to you." Edilio just laughed at him. Carlos put a protective arm around Charlotte's shoulders and pushed away one side of his shirt. Edilio stopped laughing. Charlotte looked down and saw the black gun that was in the waistband of his jeans. A million thoughts rushed through Charlotte's mind at once. She wanted to run away from the strong man with the gun, but she also wanted to move closer to him because she knew he would protect her. She was scared, anxious, worried, mad, afraid, confused, and curious, all at the same time. Why would Carlos need a gun? Edilio said nothing, but got in his car with his little minions and drove away. When he was gone, Charlotte stepped cautiously away from Carlos and backed toward her truck. "Charlotte, please--" Carlos started.

"No. Just...stay where you are...while I...slowly back away and leave.." She got to her truck, got in, locked the doors and sped away leaving Carlos in the driveway of the garage. Charlotte's eyes were too filled with tears for her to see the road, so she turned into a parking lot of a Sears warehouse. She was trying to get a grip on her emotions when she heard a knock on her window. She looked up and saw one of the guys from the car. Pedro. He signaled for her to roll down her window. Charlotte rolled it down just a crack so she could hear him.

"Hello, baby. I know you was scared and all, but I came to explain about what happened back there with your little boyfriend. So if you get out, we can talk about it. Come on, I don't bite." Charlotte was still a little shaken and not really using her best judgement, so she got out to talk to Pedro anyway. "Alright, ain't that better? Okay, so your boyfriend Carlos, he scared you, right? Well, he should. He's in a gang, but you probably already knew that." Charlotte looked confused and shook her head. "Oh, you didn't know? Well, sorry to spoil the suprise for you, beautiful. But he is. And it's a bad one. What's so bad, you might ask? Well, they are the mortal enemies of my gang. We're supposed to hate eachother. So we do." Pedro was starting to creep her out even more. "But you shouldn't side with them anyway. Why don't you, eh, come with me? I can show you that I'm better than him, anyway." Now, Charlotte was scared. She shook her head quickly and backed away to her truck to leave. But Pedro caught her arm. "Come on, pretty lady. Just come with me." Charlotte struggled to get away. Pedro started to get angry. He grabbed her more violently and pushed her against her truck. He pinned her arms against her and pressed his lips against her cheek. Charlotte started to scream. Just scream. She couldn't think of any words, so she just started to shriek. Pedro growled and raised his hand. He struck her hard enough to send her to the ground. Charlotte scrambled to her feet to try and run, but Pedro just caught her arms and pulled a knife on her. He held the knife to her back as he started to laugh menacingly. The blade was cutting Through the fabric of her shirt. Just as she was about to scream again, she saw a black truck speed into the parking lot. It squealed to a stop and out of it got Carlos. Pedro saw him start to run toward them, but he just laughed some more. "Try anything, prettyboy, and see what happens to your pretty girl. You shoot me, I stab her." Carlos ignored his threats and pulled his gun. Charlotte felt the knife dig deeper into her skin. She let out a cry, and then Carlos looked at her. He looked at her terrified, painfilled expression. Charlotte saw his eyes fill with terror when he realized what could happen to her.

"Pedro, let her go. This is between me and Edilio. Charlotte doesn't have to be brought into this."

"But what if I want her to be?" said Pedro with a scary smile. That sent Carlos over the edge. He aimed the gun at Pedro's head. The knife was wedged deeper and deeper into Charlotte's back. She cried out in pain. She closed her eyes, waiting for the knife to be thrust all the way into her back. She waited, prayed, and then heard a shot. But then Charlotte's scream overtook the sound of the gun. Charlotte felt the hands release her. She heard Pedro's head crack as he hit the ground. She heard Carlos's footsteps as he raced toward her. She heard the sound of her heartbeat, the sound that was almost louder than everything else. But she couldn't see anything. She heard, felt, thought, but didn't see. She opened her eyes as she fell forward into the arms that were always there. She tried to get her feet to move forward, but she couldn't. She collapsed into Carlos, sobbbing.

"It's alright, baby. It's alright, I'm here. You're okay. It's over." Charlotte didn't respond. She just tilted her head up and looked at his eyes. Carlos saw that something wasn't right. Her eyes didn't sparkle.

"Carlos, te quiero.."

"Yes, yes, I love you too. I love you..." His voice trailed off when he slid his hand up her back, and felt it. Carlos's expression changed to one of horror when his fingers brushed the hilt of the blade that had been driven into Charlotte's back. "Oh my God...holy shit.." Carlos started to realize. Charlotte sank lower and lower, towards the ground. She looked at him with tear-filled eyes as her knees gave out. She slipped even more towards the ground. Carlos took hold of her arms and lowered her to the pavement. He sat on the ground and pulled her into his arms.

"Charlotte, you're..you're gonna be okay. It's okay..." he said in between sobs of his own. Charlotte's eyes started to glaze over. Carlos ripped the cell phone out of her pocket and called an ambulance. He threw the phone down and cradled her. The blood dripped from the knife in her back to Carlos's blue shirt. The red droplets were blended with the black ones from tears. Carlos's tears. They were streaming from his eyes as Charlotte weakly tried to brush them away. As Carlos was mumbling to her in spanish, she said to him, "Carlos, I love you. If I die right now, I want you to know that." She cringed in pain as she stretched her neck up to kiss his face. "God, Carlos, it hurts so bad. Take it out. Take it out now!" Charlotte yelled at him.

Carlos knew what would happen if he did. "Baby, the ambulance is on its way. They'll take it out when they get here real soon." He wanted so much to be able to take her pain away, but he knew if he did, she might bleed to death.

"Dammit Carlos, pull the damn thing out!" Charlotte said, out of breath.

"I can't! It'l kill you!" Carlos said with desperation, while trying to convince himself that he was doing the right thing. Charlotte cried out in pain. She screamed once, then her breathing bacame shallow and uneven. She closed her eyes and tears started falling like a waterfall. Carlos didn't know what to do. He started talking to her, hoping it might take her mind off the knife embedded in her back.

" You can't go. You can't leave me here, alone. I love you. If you go, then I'll just follow you. 'Cause I can't be here alone, by myself. Not without you. If it was just me and you, alone in the world with no one else, that would be alright with me. But if the whole world stayed and you had to leave, I wouldn't have a reason to stay either. I need you, here. You can't leave. Just hold on, alright? Just keep going..." The sound of sirens got closer and closer. The ambulance drove into the parking lot The paramedics climbed out and ran to Charlotte, lifting her away from Carlos onto a gurney. They rollled another one out of the back of the ambulance and put Pedro's dead body on it, covering it with a white sheet. They turned their attention back to Charlotte.

"We gotta get that knife out before we can move her. You," one of them pointed to Carlos. "come help us. Hold her arms while we take it out." Carlos did as he was told. He pressed Charlotte's arms to her sides as the medics prepared to remove the blade. As soon as the doctor touched the blade, she screamed in agony. A bloodcurling, gut-wrenching scream. Carlos felt as if his heart was being ripped out of him. With every cry from Charlotte, Carlos cried harder and harder. Finally, the five inch blade was removed from her back. She was screaming and sobbing hysterically as she reached for Carlos. The look of total agony on Charlotte's face was too much for him. He started sobbing uncontrollably, clinging to her hands. The medics rolled the gurney toward the ambulance, leaving carlos standing alone in the dark. The red and white vehicle sped in the direction of the hospital. Carlos didn't follow it, only stood in the night, thinking how all of this was his fault. He brought this on her. By being with her, Charlotte would always be in danger from people like Pedro and Edilio. He should have told her about the gang. Then at least she would know why she had been stabbed. He walked toward Charlotte's white truck, got in , and drove. Not anywhere in particular, just driving to get away from the bloodstained pavement. After a couple hours of aimless driving, he found himself going toward the local hospital. Charlotte should have her truck when she gets better, he thought. He parked the truckin a space and walked into the tan building.

"I'm looking for a girl named Charlotte? Seventeen, she came in with a knife wound..." Carlos said to the big nurse behind the desk.

"Visiting hours are over. Are you family?" she asked him.

Carlos thought for a minute. "Yeah. Stepbrother."

"Upstairs, floor six, room eight." said the nurse, rolling her eyes. Carlos ran to the elevator and punched the buttons. The elevator slowly moved up floor 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The doors opened and Carlos bolted down the hall. He skidded to a stop in front of room eight. He peeked around the corner of the doorway and saw the tiny, pale figure he was looking for. Cautiously, he stepped in toward the bed. Charlotte turned to look at him with red-streaked green eyes.

"You came. I thought you were gonna leave me."

Carlos was dumbstruck. "Leave you?? Why the hell would I choose now to leave? Mi amor, if I was going to leave, I would have done it already." Charlotte smiled a weak smile.

"Come here," she patted the space on the bed next to her. "but take off your shirt. It still has blood on it. Oh, and that one's my favorite, too. I'll have to wash it." Carlos slid off his blue button-down shirt off and placed it on the chair next to Charlotte's bed. He climbed on top of the covers next to her.

"God, Charlotte, I can't tell you how sorry I am," he said as he wrapped his warm, bare arms around her cold shoulders. "This is all my fault. I have to tell you something," Carlos said with regret.

"I know. You're in a gang. Pedro told me that. But what I'm wondering is why you didn't."

"It's not exactly like that, but I didn't want you to freak out or anything."

"Oh, yeah. Who in their right mind would freak out when they found out that their boyfriend was a Mexican gang-banger?"

"Technically, I'm not in the gang. I was taking a friend's place. You know Issac? He's the one in the gang. I had to go do a job for him since he's out of town. The gun was for the mission. It's not actually mine."

"What kind of mission would they send you on that you would need a gun for?"

"I was spying. I actually was about to leave to go to Edilio's territory, when you showed up."

"Why would they pick you, though?"

"My dad was in that gang. He used to be, at least. He fought his way out of it, though. Edilio and my dad have a fight going way back, but now that my dad is, well, you know how his leg is, he can't fight like he could when he was younger. So when the time comes, I'm going to take my dad's place in the fight."

"Why didn't I know about this? But Carlos, you can't be serious! Edilio is, like, two feet taller and about two hundred pounds heavier than you. He'd kill you!"

"If that's what it takes..."

"Then I'll follow you when you go."

Carlos sighed. "I know. That's why you're not going to see me anymore. It'l be safer for you."

"No. I won't-- you can't-- no-- it's just-- you're-- no! You can't say stuff like that to me! You can't! Please, don't leave me.. I.. no! Just, no!"

"Baby, calm down! It's okay. I'm not going right now."

"No, you're not going at all!"

"Charlotte, please. Maybe something will happen, and we won't have to worry about it."

"Change the subject..please?"

Carlos thought. Tears welled up in his eyes again as he asked, "How much did it hurt?"

"I don't really remember. I tried to block out pretty much everything except your voice. It was actually kind of peaceful, you know? Kind of like when you're just floating under the water, weightless." Carlos dropped a tear.

"I promise I won't ever let anything happen to you like that again." he muttered. He brushed the brown hair out of her face and kissed her forehead. He moved his hand onto her back without thinking, and touched the long row of stiches. Charlotte sucked in a breath. "Oh God, I'm so sorry.."

"No, it's nothing. It's alright." Charlotte said with a smile. She put her hand on his face and kissed his lips. He kissed back gently as he could. Charlotte couldn't resist, and rolled herself on top of Carlos. The pain in her back hurt, but she didn't want to stop. She kept kissing him until she couldn't handle it anymore. "Carlos, stop...I can't. Moving like that makes my back hurt. I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I should know better. Here, move over here." He gestured to the empty space on the hospital bed. She carefully slid off Carlos into the little space. He put his arm around her cold shoulders and held her. She laid her head on his chest, wrapped her arm around his stomach, and fell asleep.

Someday, You'll thank me (18)

Once upon a time, there was an eighteen year old girl. Her name was Charlotte. Charlotte was a happy girl. She just turned eighteen. She was driving home in her and her father's little gold volvo. She pulled into the driveway and saw a big silver truck that her dad had been wanting. Her dad told her that if he got the truck, Charlotte could keep the white chevy for herself. She smiled and jumped out of the little car into her sister's arms. They cheered and laughed and danced.

"I'm free now!" Charlotte exclaimed. Before she could drive her own truck, her life revolved around her family's schedule, and whether or not her dad wanted to let her use the truck. That didn't happen very often, after the incident with the gang. If she just needed to get out of the house, the farthest she could go was down to the creek. Now, she could go to the forest preserve and draw for as long as she wanted. She could go to the library in the winter, when she didn't want to walk. Mostly, she could go to meet Carlos now. Charlotte couldn't ever ask her mom or dad to use the car to go see him, because they didn't approve of them being a couple. Only her sister liked him. His parents liked her, though. Well, at least his dad did. Charlotte liked his dad. He was an easygoing, accepting, happy guy. He greeted her with a smile whenever she saw him. Even after four years, Charlotte had never met Carlos's mom before. Honestly, she was a little afraid to. He had told Charlotte that his mom was a strict woman, and probably wouldn't approve of him having a girlfriend who was older than him, even if it was only five months older. Charlotte was pretty sure that if she ever met this woman, that she would forbid Carlos to see Charlotte. Charlotte was a thin, pretty girl who liked to wear eye makeup. It wasn't exessive, but it was a decent amount. She dressed in torn jeans, skinny jeans and hoodies. She loved her Converse high-tops. One thing she was described as a lot by her sister was "emo". Charlotte had no piercings besides her ears, her hair was its natural color, and she definately didn't cut herself. She owned regular, normal clothes too, she just liked to wear her other clothes if she could. Her mother sometimes told her she looked like a slut, and Charlotte didn't like that, so she would go change. These were mostly all things that Carlos said his mother wouldn't approve of. Charlotte lucked out today, though. She could go see Carlos alone today because his mom had to work and extra shift, and his dad was working his usual shift. that didn't happen very often. Charlotte went up to her room to change her clothes. Just in case, she thought. Lately, she had been wanting to do more with Carlos than just kissing. Without getting too graphic, let's just say Charlotte knew he wanted to too. He always found an excuse not to, though. She put on her short-shorts (her only pair) and her yellow tank top (there was a story behind that). Her cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hi, baby. Are you coming soon?"

"Just getting ready to leave."

"Good. I'm lonely in this house all by myself..."

"Keep your pants on, I'm on my way."

"Well when you get here, can I take them off?" Carlos said with a little laugh.

"I'll think about it..."

"You know I'm just kidding."

"I'm not. I have to go though. I just got the truck, so I can't crash by driving and talking at the same time. Bye, baby." Charlotte hung up her phone and got in her truck. She pulled out of the driveway into the long gravel road. Carlos lived about ten minutes away in a subdivision. She drove the whole way humming her favorite song at the moment. She got to Carlos's house and jumped out of the truck. She went up to the doorway of the little grey house and went in. She took off her high-tops and walked into the house. "Carlos? Where are you?" she called. No answer. She walked to the hallway where his bedroom was and looked around. No sign of Carlos. She started to walk into the living room, but he came up behind her and grabbed her around the waist. Charlotte jumped and screamed. Carlos cracked up and pulled her backwards down the little hallway into his bedroom. Charlotte joined him in the laughter. When they got to the room, Carlos picked her up and threw her on the bed. He jumped and landed next to her. He rolled on top of her and buried his face in her hair. She breathed in his nice, cool scent and sighed. He smiled.

"I missed you, baby." he told her.

"Missed you more."

"Lies. How have you been?"

"Lonely."

"Well I guess I have to make up for that now, don't I?" He turned his head and started kissing her neck. Charlotte closed her eyes and smiled. She had missed this. They hadn't seen eachother in two weeks. They just didn't have time. Carlos moved his lips up her neck. He brushed them along her jawline and up to her lips. He pulled on her bottom lip with his teeth, letting her know to kiss back. They put their hands on the other's necks, backs, heads. Carlos entwined his fingers in Charlotte's hair. Charlotte locked her hands behind Carlos's neck. He moved his hand down her body and stopped at her hip. Charlotte put her hands up his shirt and pulled it off of him. She ran her fingers down his torso. He slid his fingers through her beltloops and pulled her as close as she could get. She kissed his neck, his shoulders, his lips, everything. She tried to undo the button on her jeans. Carlos stopped what he was doing and grabbed her wrists. "What are you doing? Charlotte, we talked about this." he sighed. "I know that you think that's what you want, but, I don't know...I don't want you do do something you'll regret."

"You know how much I want this..."

"I do know. And I also know that you'll regret it if you do."

"If you don't want to, just say so. I won't be hurt." Charlotte said.

"Oh...but I do want this. More than you'll ever know. I'm only thinking about you right now though, and I think we should wait."

"Alright. Whatever you want."

"Someday you'll thank me." Carlos said as he started kissing her again. Charlotte rolled away from him and got up.

"Where are you going?" he asked, confused. She didn't answer him, just walked into the living room. He got up and followed her. "Aw, baby, don't be mad. I'm doing this for your own good! You really want to risk getting pregnant when you're only eighteen? I'm not ready to be a dad, either!" She stopped walking and turned to face him. He pulled her into his arms.

"So we'll use protection. Then we don't have to worry! Carlos, I know I love you, and I want to prove it to you. Can't you just--"

"Charlotte, novia, I know you love me! I don't doubt that for a second. And I love you too. It's because I love you that I'm not gonna do that to you."

"Do you really, Carlos? 'Cause I think if you did, then you would understand." Carlos didn't reply. He just held her face and kissed her very gently. She didn't respond. She just stood there. Carlos continued. Charlotte sighed and kissed back. She couldn't resist when he did that. She moved close and put her fingers in his belt loops. She felt Carlos smile. He moved his hands to her hips and pulled away. He dragged her toward the couch. She laid down and he laid facing her. He ran his hand down her body. He stopped at her hip, but then kept going. He continued down her leg until he got to her calf. He took hold of it. He pulled it up and hitched it around his waist. He felt Charlotte's body stiffen. Am I actually going to get my way for once? He usually gets me with those eyes... Just Carlos was pulling off her shirt, the front door opened. They stopped what they were doing and looked up. There was a slender, tan woman with long beautiful black hair standing in the doorway, staring in horror.

"Mom..." Carlos said with fear.

"Carlos Alejandro Montoya, you get vertical, and you get vertical NOW!" Carlos jumped up and tried to make himself look decent. Then Mrs. Montoya looked at Charlotte. "Excuse us for a second, will you?" she asked her. Charlotte stumbled to her feet and ran to the bathroom with terror in her eyes. Just as she calmed herself, she heard a screaming match from outside the door. "Tu muchacho estúpido, yeobtendrá embarazada! You are only eighteen years old! Do you really want that on your conscience, that you made a girl drop out of school because YOU got her pregnant?! Aye, yo soy demasiado joven ser un abuela!" His mother went on in Spanish about what she saw, and Carlos yelled right back. He told her that they weren't actually going to do that, how they talked about it and were gonna wait. He also yelled about how he was eighteen and legally an adult, that he could do what he wanted. "As long as you live under my roof, you will do what I say!" said Mrs. Montoya. Carlos briefly thought about leaving, but he had nowhere else to go. He kept his mouth shut. Charlotte heard footsteps coming toward the door. She opened it, and Carlos was standing there redfaced.

"She wants to talk to you. Just agree to whatever she says. The only thing you should say is 'yes ma'am'. If you do that, you'll probably be in the clear." Charlotte nodded and walked timidly out to meet Carlos's mom.

"Hello," said Mrs. Montoya. "Como te llama?" Charlotte didn't understand what she was saying. Mrs. Montoya rolled her eyes and laughed. Then, she said in English, "Honey, what's your name?"

"Charlotte, ma'am."

"Hello, Charlotte. I've heard much about you, but have never had the real pleasure of meeting you in person. Oh, don't look so scared! I don't bite."

Charlotte risked a nervous laugh. "Yes, ma'am."

"Now Charlotte, what exactly did I just walk in on?"

"Mrs. Montoya, it wasn't what you think. It was Carlos's...uh...apology to me. I was the one who wanted to do more than that, but Carlos just talked me out of it. He felt bad, I guess. I've been trying to convince him for a while. See Mrs. Montoya, I really love Carlos. I wanted to show him."

"I can tell that he loves you too. That's my problem. He's my first son, and I don't want him to get hurt by false promises. If he gets in over his head and something happens between you two, I couldn't live with myself, knowing I could have done something to stop it."

"Mrs. Montoya, I would never hurt Carlos."

"Not on purpose, no. But if you were to fight and end your relationship, he would be devastated." She waited for an answer. Charlotte had none. "Well Charlotte, you seem like a very nice young woman. I would love to get to know you better, but I think we've had enough for one day. You should go home and rest, you don't look very well. Come back again another day, and we can talk some more, yeah?"

"Of course, ma'am." She walked back to Carlos to say goodbye.

"What did she say? What did she threaten you with?" he asked her with concern.

"Nothing. She told me that I should go home for now, and to come back another day. She wants to 'get to know me' better, I guess."

A look of shock crossed his face. "She said that?" Charlotte nodded. "Oh. In that case..." He pulled her close and kissed her forehead. "Hasta luego, mi amor." Charlotte walked out of the house, got in her truck, and headed home.

Tell me a story (19)

Once upon a time, there was a nineteen year old girl. Her name was Charlotte. Charlotte was standing in a garden that was hidden from the public view. It was behind a brick library. She had lots of memories there. Today, she was waiting for someone. The breeze blew on the warm spring day, rustling the leaves in the trees surrounding the garden. She looked around and smiled. Life was much better for her than it had been a few years ago. There had been nothing particularly wrong in her life, she just wasn't happy. Charlotte was depressed for a few years when she was younger. Her mother told her to wait it out, so she did. Finally it paid off. She turned sixteen and got her driver's license. Her life didn't have to revolve around her family's schedule anymore. She even had her white chevy pickup, so she didn't have to ask to borrow the car. Charlotte closed her eyes, put out her arms, threw her head back and laughed. She had always dreamt of being a bird, or being able to fly. This is what it feels like, I imagine, Charlotte thought. As she was enjoying the moment, she felt something around her waist. She put down her arms without opening her eyes and touched the set of hands that was now holding her tight. Charlotte smiled, took the hands and kissed them. There was a familiar laugh behind her. She turned around and gazed into the dark orbs that were Carlos's eyes. He pulled Charlotte close and kissed her. They stayed like that for a few seconds, then Carlos pulled away.
"Ready to go?" he asked his girlfriend. She laughed and nodded. Charlotte didn't like to talk all the time, because when she did, she usually didn't stop for a long time. Tonight, they were going to go to the beach. Carlos and Charlotte both loved the ocean. Carlos loved the sand and the rush of the waves, and Charlotte loved the sound and the smell. They didn't live very far from it, so they went there often. They walked toward Carlos's black truck and got in. Carlos had turned sixteen right after Charlotte did, so he had his license too. He climbed in the driver's seat and started it up. They got onto the road and headed to the freeway. Charlotte rolled down her window and closed her eyes. She loved the way the wind blew her hair. She was thinking about what it would feel like to fly, when all of the sudden she heard several car horns and Carlos cursing at the car in front of him. Charlotte snapped her eyes open and gasped.
"Whoa! What the--" she got cut off, because at that moment, Carlos swerved the truck to avoid rear-ending a car that slammed its breaks in front of them. He swerved too hard and went off the freeway. They rolled down the hill and ended up hitting a tree. Neither of them remembered that though. As soon as they started rolling, Carlos hit his head on the steering wheel, and Charlotte's hit the dashboard. When they hit the tree, it crunched the front of the truck, crushing Charlotte's feet. Carlos was holding on to his seatbelt when the truck lurched forward and broke his wrist and collarbone. They didn't feel any of it though.

Charlotte woke up. She was in a white room, lying in bed next to an open window. She was dazed. Then the pain hit her. It felt like her right leg had gotten run over by a truck. In a way, it sort of did. She looked around the room. What she saw was her foot in a thick blue cast in one of those slings at the end of her bed. She also had one IV needle in her arm. Just as she was about to push the button for someone to come to her room, a nurse walked in.

"Oh good, you're up. You were out for about 6 hours. That's after the surgery, though. You were unconscious for about 3 before that." The nurse was a large black woman with a loud voice.

"That's great. Where's Carlos?" Charlotte was impatient. She had to know if he was okay.

"Oh honey he's fine. Just broke his arm is all. He's with your father explaining what happened. Although, it doesn't sound like your dad's too happy." Great. I'm in a hospital with a broken leg, but I'm still alive, and more importantly, so is Carlos. Carlos is talking to my father. He's explaining-- Wait, Carlos is talking to my FATHER??? Ohhhh, shit! She tried to get up, forgetting about her leg. The sharp pain reminded her.

"Can you go get my dad? Please? It's important." The nurse left to get Charlotte's dad. He came in with a red face. They argued. Her father told her how Carlos was a terrible choice for her, and this was why. Charlotte told her dad how it wasn't Carlos's fault. Eventually, they both got frustrated and decided to talk about it later. Then Carlos came in with a big blue cast on his arm. Blue had always been his favorite color. Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief because he was alive and relatively okay. He came and sat by the bed. Charlotte patted the space beside her, telling him to lay down with her. They got settled in and Charlotte laid her head on his chest. They talked about what had happened. Neither of them remembered, and they were the only ones in the car, so what transpired would forever remain a mystery. It was silent for a while.
"How much did it hurt?" Charlotte asked Carlos.
"Didn't feel a thing."
"Hmm. I'm sure." Charlotte smiled and laid back. "When can we get out of here?"
"I can go whenever. You can too, now, I think. They were just waiting for you to get up."
"Then let's go."
Carlos hesitated. "There's a problem with that. We don't have a truck, and neither of us can drive right now. Wanna walk somewhere instead?"
"Okay. How far is the beach from where we are?"
"I was hoping you'd say that," Carlos said with a smile. "It's only about half a mile, and we don't have towels. Do you have that in you?"
Charlotte laughed. "I've been asleep for nine hours. Of course I do. I don't care about towels. Let's go." They walked down the road. Charlotte had the help of crutches and Carlos's good arm. They made it to the beach and collapsed in the sand. "Can you help me to the water? I want to get my toes wet." He helped her hobble to the water, where she balanced on her good foot, closed her eyes, and smiled. The breeze, sound, smell were so nice and refreshing. Charlotte's foot got cold, so they walked back to the spot where they were laying. They settled down and watched the waves crash.
Then Charlotte said,"Tell me a story."

"About what?" Carlos asked, amused.

"I don't care. Just make one up."

"Alright, fine. Ergh....once upon a time, in a land far--"

"Carlos, I'm serious."

"So am I. Now do you want a story, or not?"

"Yeah.."

"Then shut up. As I was saying, once upon a time, there was a boy. He lived in a little craphole town that nobody liked. He went to their crappy football team's game one Friday night. He was walking with some guys, and then he saw a girl. When she looked at him with sparkly green eyes, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. It felt like there was a balloon in his stomach. He knew he had to talk to her. When he got the nerve to, he mumbled something about her kicking him in the nuts. She cracked up and said it wasn't her, but he never believed that. He only let her believe it so he could have a few more seconds to look at her green eyes. She walked away. Then later, this boy was arguing with some wimpy idiot about who was stronger. The boy saw the girl again, and saw a perfect opportunity to show off. As she walked by, he pulled up his shirt to prove a point to this wimp that he was stronger. Then he looked over at the girl who was staring. She looked away fast though. Then she walked away." At this point, Charlotte was laughing and blushing. Carlos continued. "So a couple weeks went by until he saw this girl he did, she was walking to the library. She was alone, so he had to go talk to her. He told her he would come with 'cause he didn't want to go home. The girl didn't say practically anything the whole time they were walking. So when they got to the library the boy made her tell him. Apparently, the guy was so intimidating that he actually made this girl cry. When she did tell him, the guy thought it was stupid that she was freaking out over something so little like a kiss, but as soon as she was done telling the story, he knew he wanted to be the one to fix her problem. When she asked him to, the boy didn't respond. He was thinking how incredible it was that this pretty girl actually wanted to kiss him. The girl started to walk away. Then the stupid boy realized that he was letting her go. He ran up behind her, spun her around, and looked into the green eyes. Then he bent down to kiss her. He was expecting the worst, 'cause this girl had no experience. But when they got into it, it was like she had kissed a thousand times before, it was so perfect." Carlos paused for a second to see Charlotte's reaction to his story. He didn't get a word, only Charlotte staring up at him with a relaxed expression, waiting to hear more. He went on. "When they really got into it, the girl's cell phone went off. The boy wanted to take the phone and throw it off a cliff so it couldn't interrupt anymore. He let the girl read her text. She smiled and put her phone back in her pocket. The boy assumed that meant that they had lots of time to fix the girl's problem. And they did. Then they got tired so they sat down. She fell asleep on his chest, and the guy was enjoying every second. Then her cell started ringing again. The boy woke her up so she could answer it. Her dad was coming to pick her up. The girl kissed him, said thank you, and walked away. But the guy stood there like an idiot for ten minutes before he noticed it was dark outside and he had to go home. So he did. The end."

"How did you know that was my favorite story?" Charlotte asked Carlos with a smile.

"Lucky guess?" With that, they got up and walked back to the hospital where they went their separate ways for the night.