Warning- Sensitive Subject Matter Regarding Racism and Police Brutality

"Hey babe, do you know where the extra gumball tubes are?" Henry asks while walking through the door.

Charlotte jumps slightly, sniffles and wipes at the tears streaming down her face with the back of her hands. She was so focused on her phone that she didn't hear Henry come in at all.

Plus she purposely chose to hide out in the storage room because no one really went in there. She wasn't expecting for anyone to find her at all, especially not in such a vulnerable state.

"What's wrong Char?" came the concerned voice of her boyfriend.

"Nothing. It's nothing, don't worry about it." Charlotte mumbles while standing from her crisscrossed position on the floor. She eyes her shoelaces and dusts off her jeans nervously.

Henry steps further into her space, lifts her head with a finger to the chin and attempts to make eye contact. Her eyes are red and puffy.

"It doesn't seem like nothing. You're clearly upset. What's going on?"

"It's personal. You wouldn't get it anyway."

A flash of hurt flickers in Henry's eyes and he nods. "Okay. Well if you decide that it is something, let me know."

Henry backs up slowly and then turns to leave the room. He walks back into the Man Cave with a frown on his face. There is obviously a problem, Henry has never seen her cry in all their years of knowing each other.

He contemplates his girl's words. I wouldn't get it? Personal? What is that supposed to mean? I thought we told each other everything.

Ray had recently started participating in what he called Superhero Self-Care Sunday. He was currently in a full face mask with his head rested back against the edge of the couch and cucumbers over his eyes.

Henry walks over to the other side and plops down moodily.

Ray whips his head in Henry's direction, cucumbers flying. He gives him an annoyed glare for disturbing his peace.

"Why are you being so noisy?"

"I haven't said one word."

"Yeah, well your teenage angst is loud."

Henry rolls his eyes in response.

"Who peed in your cereal?"

"Eww dude. No one peed anywhere. It's just Charlotte."

"She finally realized that she was slumming it with you and kicked you to the curb?"

"What?! No!"

"It's true though" Schowz gives his unsolicited opinion from his spot at the console.

"We did not break up!"

"Then what's got your panties in a twist?"

"I wear boxers."

"Whatevs" Ray says while swatting the air in nonchalance.

Henry sighs. "Something is upsetting Char but she won't tell me what it is."

"Wait. You're mad that your girlfriend isn't complaining to you about all her troubles?" Ray asks incredulously.

"That doesn't seem like an issue to me" says the shorter man while walking towards them.

"Ugh. You guys don't understand. She was crying. When have you ever seen her do that?"

Both men looked stumped while trying to think of a single instance where Charlotte had let tears fall in front of them.

"I know! There was that one time when she cried about missing that really good sale for crop tops" Ray offered.

"That was Jasper" Henry deadpanned.

"Oh yeeeeeaaaahhh" he agrees.

"Jasper is strange" adds Schowz.

"Hm. I guess that is out of the ordinary. So what was wrong with her?"

"I don't know! That's the whole point."

"Right. I forgot."

"Did you ask what caused her sadness?" the foreigner wondered.

"Of course I did! She blew me off. Said that I wouldn't get it."

"Maybe she thought that you couldn't handle it." "She probably doesn't trust you" the two older men say at the same time.

"You guys are no help" Henry says frustratedly while getting up from the couch and walking towards the elevator.

"Where are you going?" Ray inquires.

"Away from you" came the reply as the blonde stepped into the elevator.

"Rude" he mutters under his breath before picking up a cucumber from the table and biting into it.

Once upstairs Henry walked towards Jasper who was at the register.

"Hey Hen, how goes it?"

"Bad Jasp. It goes bad."

"What? Why?" Jasper asks confused.

"Charlotte is going through something but she won't tell me what it is."

"Ok and?"

"What do you mean 'Ok and?' Char is keeping things from me."

"Yeah but it sounds like she wants to work through it alone. It probably doesn't concern you."

"Charlotte and I always tell each other everything."

"You guys don't tell each other everything, that's impossible. Look, I get that you don't want to see her hurting."

"Why does it sound like a but is coming?"

"But…if she has something happening that she wants to keep to herself, then you have to respect that."

"I hate seeing her so broken up, I want to help her through whatever it is."

"You have to understand that you aren't entitled to her every thought and feeling just because you guys are dating. That's bonkers."

"I guess you're right. When did you get so wise dude?"

"I don't really know. Maybe it's just my natural state of being." Jasper responds while trying to lean his elbow against the counter.

Except he underestimates how far away the counter really is and ends up almost falling when his elbow meets air.

"Yeah, natural state of being alright."

Henry leaves Jasper in the front and takes the tubes back down. When the tube lifts he notices that Charlotte is sitting at the couch with her forehead on the table. Schowz and Ray are nowhere to be seen.

He walks towards her and clears his throat. She glances up in surprise. "I thought you left?"

Henry sits down. "I was in the store with Jasper."

A few agonizing seconds go by while the couple just stare at each other.

"Listen I didn't mean…" "I just wanted to…" they start simultaneously.

Both stopping and then nervously chuckling, Charlotte jumps in, "You go."

"I'm sorry for trying to pressure you into telling me what was wrong. I just hate seeing you so down in the dumps."

"No, I'm sorry for hurting your feelings. I didn't mean for what I said to come out so harsh. Thank you for caring."

"I will always care. I love you Char."

A soft smile spreads over her face. "I love you too Hen."

Henry leans in and presses a sweet kiss against her lips. Sucking in a deep breath, Charlotte releases it slowly.

"The reason why I was-"

"You don't have to tell me" Henry interrupts.

"I know, I want to."

"Okay" he nods and gives her his undivided attention.

"The reason why I was crying earlier is because I stumbled across the video of Tyrell Watkins getting shot by the police."

"I haven't seen it. What happened?"

"Routine traffic stop. The cop said that his car matched the description of a stolen vehicle. His daughter was also in the car, she got it all on Facebook live.

"Was it?"

"Was it what?"

"Stolen?"

"No, the car wasn't stolen!"

"It seems like a pretty big mistake on the officer's part. That guy should sue when he gets out of the hospital."

"That guy's name is Tyrell. And he can't sue."

"Why not?"

"He's dead."

"Huh?"

"Tyrell is dead. The officer killed him."

"Oh my god."

"The cop asked for his registration and when he went to get it, he shot him several times."

Silent tears stream down Charlotte's face as she struggles to get her words out. "The officer is claiming that he saw him reaching for a gun."

"I-I don't understand."

"What don't you understand?" Char sniffs.

"The officer asked him to get something and then shot him for following directions?"

"Yep."

"That can't be the whole situation. We must be missing something."

"We aren't missing anything Henry. That's the entire scenario."

"Can I see the video?"

"It's pretty graphic. Are you sure?"

"Positive."

After seeing the video Henry was seemingly more confused and upset. "I can't believe this. What kind of half-assed training did this officer get? He needs to be fired!"

"It's not just training Hen. If this was you or Ray, it never would have ended like this.

Henry looked up from the phone with questioning eyes. "What do you mean?"

"You would have been annoyed to have been stopped unnecessarily but you would've survived to complain about it later. This turned out horribly because the man was black."

"No… I don't think- It can't be… I'm not sure if- You really think so?"

"I know so. The cop shot into the car with a minor in the passenger seat. She could have been shot as well! The girl is around your sister's age. If your dad and Piper were pulled over there wouldn't even be a video. She wouldn't have recorded anything at all. Why does that little girl even know to film the police?"

"I'm not sure why she pulled out her phone. But I'm definitely glad that she is okay." Henry answers while scratching his head.

"Because as black people we know that we are disproportionately targeted by the police. We know that recording is the only way to hold them accountable. We also know that even with the evidence of misconduct, officers still literally get away with murder!"

"I-" Henry starts.

Charlotte stands abruptly. "And another thing! The daughter may be okay physically but she is mentally traumatized. Not only will she never see her father again, she watched him get killed right in front of her. She is forever scarred!"

"Did you know him?"

"No. I didn't know him personally. But I didn't have to know him to know that he didn't deserve to die." Charlotte slumps back into her seat.

Observing his girlfriend, it seemed as if she was weary down to her bones. Like the sorrow she felt went down to her very core. Like she was defeated.

Lost for words and recognizing that he didn't have a way to make it all better, Henry wrapped his arms around Charlotte in a tight, comforting hug.

He wanted to communicate how much he wished that the world they lived in wasn't so filled with hate. How he knows that he can never truly comprehend what it means to be Black in a White world. How he was so angry that this was the reality she faced.

But that wouldn't change anything. It wouldn't fix systematic racism. It wouldn't bring Tyrell Watkins back to life.

So all he could do at this moment was show her that he loved her and that he would always be there for her.

She sighed and closed her eyes as she rested her cheek against his chest.

"We will never be unarmed when our skin color is seen as a weapon" she whispers.