Amelia spent most of the dinner subtly squeezing Charlotte's thigh under the table. She expected her hand to be slapped away but was pleasantly surprised when Charlotte intertwined their fingers. Amelia tried to ask for confirmation with her eyes; Charlotte smirked at her, agreeing to giving them a go. Mama King and Addison pretended not to notice this and focused their attention back on Mason's story.
Mason was enthusiastically talking about the time they played Life. "And I chose the college route because Mama said that it would help later on. I had student loans, but I got one of the good jobs. I had this ugly house at first, then I got a better one. Mama had to have two vans because she kept landing on the spot to have kids. Mama had 10 kids when the game was over", Mason said laughing. Charlotte ran her free hand through his hair and laughed, "There is no way that you're getting 9 siblings." Everyone at the table laughed. Addison was happy that Charlotte and Mason were in better spirits, but she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't going to miss the both of them. Although they had quite a rocky start, Charlotte had really grown on Addison. Amelia was family; Addison knew that they had the potential to be something great together, so who was she to get in-between that?
After dinner, everyone went back to the beach house to prepare for their morning flight. She was a little wary about Charlotte and Mason stopping by Cooper's place.
Charlotte and Mason slowly got out the car and walked up to Violet's house. They both heard the arguing from outside the front door. Charlotte pushed Mason behind her when the front door swung open. Violet was red-faced and swaying; Charlotte could tell that she was drunk before she even smelled the booze. Violet rested her body heavily against the door and slurred out, "The blonde devil is here." Cooper yanked her out the doorway and ran a frustrated hand down his face. "I'm sorry about that Charlotte." Cooper tried to make eye contact with Mason, but he'd buried his face in Charlotte's side. Charlotte cleared her throat, "I brought Mason by to grab anything that he left and to say goodbye."
Cooper sad eyes almost made Charlotte pity him, but she relented. Cooper crouched down in front of Mason. He placed his hand on Mason's arm—urging the boy to look at him. "Mase, I was so wrong and I am beyond sorry for what I put you and your mom through. I'm pretty sure that you don't like me right now, but I needed to tell you that. Do you want all of your things?" Mason pulled away from Charlotte's comforting body to face Cooper. The little boy squared his jaw, "I don't dislike you. I hate you." Mason's words sliced right through his heart; his widened brown eyes matched Charlotte's green ones. Mason looked down and let out a breath. "That's what I feel, but I shouldn't. I have 2 great moms that taught me not to hate people. You hurt the both of them because you're selfish. I don't want to be near you, but Mama wants me to give you a chance. I don't want that chance to be anytime soon. For once, just let us be happy—away from here and away from you. The only thing that I want is my baseball glove chest." Mason slipped past Cooper and quickly sprinted through the house.
Cooper stood back up to full height, "Char." Charlotte didn't say a word—she just stared him down as he spoke. "I never deserved the loyalty you had for me." Charlotte put a hand up to stop him, "I don't want to hear any of this shit Cooper. You're not gonna crawl back to me because you're on the outs with Violet. Why the fuck is she drinking if she's pregnant? I smelled it seeping out of her." Cooper shrugged his shoulders, "She won't listen to me."
Charlotte rolled her eyes, "Ever stop to think that she's not actually pregnant?" Cooper let out a pathetic laugh, "She is pregnant…it's just probably not mine. She should be 9 weeks if it's mine. She's only 6 weeks." Charlotte had an inward evil grin that she fought hard to not let out. She saw Mason coming back, "Sounds like you got a taste of your own medicine. Ask Sheldon how it feels when Violet lets you think for an entire pregnancy that she's carrying your child. I know that you want me to feel bad for you, but I don't. When I needed you the most, you weren't there—you were with her. I cradled one child as I was losing the other. All I wanted was my husband. My 'supposed' life partner for better or worse. You cherrypicked which vows to keep. In time, I might've been able to forgive if it hadn't been Violet. How was I supposed to get past your cheating when I see the bitch you cheated with every single day? You judged the hell out of me for Billy and not telling you about that marriage. There are a lot of things that I will take to the grave. You have no idea what happened when I got with Billy. You never deserved to know either because I clearly couldn't trust you with anything. Cooper, you don't get to judge me. You need to take a long look in the mirror." Charlotte grabbed Mason's hand and they both left Cooper standing in his doorway.
Charlotte let Mason play video games while she got her thoughts together. She could hear Amelia in the shower; Charlotte knew that she wanted to see if her and Amelia could amount to anything, but she had to be completely honest. She walked into the bathroom and turned her back to the shower. She called out, "Amelia, it's me." Amelia laughed, "I kinda figured that when a gust of cold air kissed me on the ass." They were both silent for a moment too long. Amelia was halfway out the shower, complete with shampoo in her hair, before she asked, "Is something wrong with Mase? Did Cooper do something to you?" Charlotte shook her head no, "I just needed to talk to you. You can keep showering; I won't turn to face you." Amelia chuckled to herself, "Ooookay. So what's up?"
Charlotte for once was having trouble getting her words out. "I feel like there is something building between us. I'm hoping that it can turn into something real." Amelia started conditioning her hair, "I feel a but coming." Charlotte chewed on her lip, "But I have to be honest about something. I have to be honest with you about something in my past. You're the only person that I trust to tell this to." Amelia turned the shower off and grabbed a nearby towel. She stepped out the shower, "You can tell me anything." Charlotte wouldn't make eye contact but said, "I need to tell you about my first husband and why it happened."
A/N: Charlotte's background with her first husband will be AU. Trigger warning. Flashbacks to sexual assault in upcoming chapter.