Charlotte pulled up to the motel and killed the engine of her car. She unbuckled her seatbelt and took a deep breath. She stepped out into the parking lot and searched for the room Amelia had said she was in. She was praying that Amelia wasn't sending her on a wild goose chase, and that she was in fact still at the hotel, and still wanted Charlotte's help. She closed her eyes and could smell beer, incense, and charred paper as she got closer to the door. She knocked and tried the doorknob. It was locked, which she figured. She knocked louder and then the door opened. Amelia was standing there, pale, her eyes sunken in, hair a mess, tears dripping down her cheeks. She opened the door wider and Charlotte walked in. She looked around and the place was in shambles. There were beer bottles on the table and strewn across the floor, along with clothes, and burned dollar bills and foil. "Amelia," Charlotte whispered.

Amelia swallowed. "Thank—you."

"Why now?" It had been the one question that had been on her mind the whole drive over here. Why was Amelia choosing to get help now?

She sat on the edge of the bed and pushed her hair out of her face. "I need you to give me an HIV test and I need the morning after pill."

Charlotte's eyes widened. "Um."

"I woke up with a bunch of guys in my room—Ryan's friends—I was naked, confused."

Charlotte nodded. "Ok."

"Does everyone know?"

"That you have a problem, yes, that I'm here, no." Amelia grunted. "People are worried about you, Amelia. I was tryin' to protect you by keepin' this a secret, but you're writin' prescriptions for yourself. People needed to know how bad it was. They want to help you."

"I…I don't need their help." Charlotte teetered back a little. Then why the hell was she here, then? "I need your help."

Charlotte nodded. "Well, you have it." She paused. "I can research rehab facilities—."

Amelia shook her head. "No."

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"No, rehab. I can do it alone."

"That's not a good idea, Amelia."

"Just help me."

"You should really go to—."

"Either I do this alone, or I'm not doing it at all, Charlotte."

Charlotte sighed. "Fine, but detox is a bitch to do by yourself."

She rolled her eyes. "It's a bitch either way. I've done it before, Charlotte. I know."

"I have some conditions then if you wanna do this yourself." She paused. "I either move into Addison's house with you, or you move in with me and Cooper. Take your pick." Amelia grunted. "Take your pick."

"Move in with me," she finally said after a few minutes of silence.

"Ok." She paused. "It's worse the first three days, but you know that already."

Amelia nodded. "Can you tell me something first?"

"What?"

"What's your damage? Why do you care so damn much about what I do with my life?"

Charlotte swallowed and sat on the edge of the bed. "I killed someone." Amelia scooted away from the blonde. "Not in cold blood, Amelia. I was driving under the influence of prescription medication and fell asleep at the wheel. A woman swerved to avoid me and ran into a light post. She went right through the windshield, and was pronounced dead at the hospital." She paused. "I couldn't see what I was doin' either, Amelia. I don't want you screwin' up your life, like I almost did." She took a breath. "I let my ex-husband control me. I made excuses for myself, kept tellin' myself that I was in pain from the concussion."

Amelia stayed silent for a minute before saying, "Damn."

Charlotte laughed. "Yeah, well." She paused. "I know you hate me for taking away your privileges, but what would have happened if you killed someone operatin' 'cause you were under the influence of drugs or alcohol. What would that have done to you mentally or professionally. I did it to save your ass. I kept this to myself to prevent you from losing your license." She hooked her arm around her and pulled her closer. Amelia rested her head on Charlotte's shoulder, while Charlotte rubbed her side. "I'll help you fight this, but you have to let me." Amelia nodded. "Get your stuff together. I'll clean up this mess."

Amelia didn't move. She only lifted up her head and stared at the blonde. "After your rape, how did you not turn to drugs?"

"Cooper," she said simply, "and I was determined not to lose that bit of control when I had hardly any to start with." She stood up and started collecting the beer bottles. "Amelia?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for callin'." Amelia just nodded and continued packing up her stuff.


Charlotte called Cooper on the way back to Amelia's house. She told him everything. They didn't keep secrets from each other anymore, and she wasn't about to start now. She pulled into Amelia's driveway, after a quick stop at the hospital, and they walked into the house. Charlotte helped her up the steps and into the bedroom. She got her a glass of water and a wet hand towel from the bathroom and handed them to her. She wiped her brow and pulled the sheets over her. Amelia rolled her eyes. "You're not my mommy. I don't need you tucking me in," she snapped.

Charlotte nodded. "I am your mommy right now, so shut up and relax," she retorted.

There was loud knock on the door downstairs and Amelia grunted. "I'm not up for visitors."

"I'll get rid of 'em." She paused. "Oh, wait, do you have any drugs?"

"Finished them all." She paused. "But there's a stocked bar downstairs."

Charlotte smiled. "Ok. I'll clean you out and be right back."

"Close the door." She nodded and disappeared downstairs.


Charlotte walked over to the porch door and saw Addison standing outside. She opened the door and rested her hands on her hips. "Addison."

The redhead turned around and blinked. "Oh, Charlotte. I thought you'd be Amelia." She paused. "Have you seen her?"

"She's upstairs." Addison tried to walk into the house, but Charlotte pushed her back outside, guarding the door in anticipation for reentry. "I can't let you do that, Addison."

"This is my house."

"You're the landlord, but Amelia is payin' rent. I can't let you come in. Go home. I've got this handled."

"How do I know you're not helping her get high?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Does it look like I wanna get her high, Addison? I just organized an office meeting to talk about how big a problem she had. I'm helpin' her through this. She called me, not you. So leave. You don't know the first thing about what's goin' on."

"And you do?"

"Yes, actually, I do. Now go and tell the others they can save money on gas 'cause they're not welcome." Charlotte slammed the door and locked it, but before Addison left, she opened it again. "You and Sam low on alcohol? 'Cause there's a stocked bar in here and I'm just gonna toss all of it, unless you want it."

"Might as well. I did pay for it. I can't drink because I'm trying to get pregnant, but Sam can." She started walking into the house, but Charlotte held her hand out.

"You stay out there. You can't pull a fast one on me, Addison. If I let you into this house, you'll run up the stairs 'fore I can stop you. So you stay there, and I'll bag all the alcohol and hand it to you." She shut the door and locked it. She walked over the bar and emptied the bottles into a garbage bag. She came back and opened the door. "Here. I know you care about Amelia, but I need to handle this my way."

"If she's detoxing, she'll need a medical professional—."

"Um hello, I am a medical professional."

"I mean, one who specializes in detoxification."

"I can handle this. I've been in her shoes. Now, just go back to Sam, and don't come back until I tell you otherwise." She paused. "And I will not be at work for at least the rest of the week."

"Does Cooper know you're here?"

"Yes, he does, and he respects me enough to stay away and let me handle this. Maybe you should take note and follow his example."

Addison crossed her arms over her chest. "Charlotte—."

"And tell Sheldon that his precious Amelia is safe and in good hands. Goodbye, Addison." Charlotte shut the door before Addison could say anything else and locked it. She took a deep breath and walked back up the steps. She kind of wished Cooper was here.


Thank you for reading/reviewing (keep the reviews coming) and I hope this chapter explains some questions you might have had.

if parts are confusing or you have suggestions, let me know. I'm open.

:)

:)