I can't believe just seeing him would bring back so many memories... Charlie thought to herself, trying to hold in tears as best she could. "Ugh... my damn... head!" She put effort into keeping herself from screaming out the agonizing pain she felt both mentally and emotionally as flashbacks began to act up again, "No... not now..." She whined, closing her eyes, clenching her head as she tried to bear the piercing pain she continued to suffer from within her mind.
Tell me what the hell you were going to state you goddamn good-for-nothing-
"No..." Charlie whimpered, struggling to wash away the past.
Over Sixteen Years Ago...
"I'm sorry, but I can't go tonight..." Charlie sighs, hoping it'd help her as an excuse, "I know this was planned weeks ago, but I can't. I need to finish on some paper work." She hid her growl, hoping her friend will stop pestering her, "I promise I'll take you out next week as an apology. Okay?" She hoped this will work, and luckily enough, it did.
Charlie sighed deeply, hanging up and putting her phone away. Once she set her phone away, she stopped in her tracks with a growl, suddenly face palming her forehead a few times for how stupid she felt. The young woman's friend tried to get her into a relationship since she's just been so lost into her work to where she avoided having fun almost completely.
Once her friend set her up for a blind date weeks in advance from the day, Charlie was both excited and annoyed. She was interested in socializing with others and felt she should have a little fun in life. Though if having to be honest with herself, she wasn't prepared for a relationship. She especially always hated being set up. Charlie knew her friend meant well, but she was a bit irritated. The young woman wanted to give it a shot, but once the day was coming nearer and nearer, she backed out immediately.
"Why must I always be like this?" She groaned.
"Hey! Get a fucking job you hobo!" Somebody shouted out.
Charlie looked over, wondering what all the commotion was about. She noticed it was a tough looking junky throwing a can at a more brute looking man. The young woman scoffed by the sight of how idiotic a man was acting to the other who looked way tougher than him. She decided to stay in the shadows and examine them, wondering how a redheaded ruffian like him would let the other man bully him. Charlie was filled with disbelief and anger struck her when the man finally went too far once kicking the man's stomach a few times, the redheaded man not even fighting back. Rage arrived, leading her to walk up to him to stop the fight.
"Hey! Leave this gentlemen alone!" She shouted, "What in heavens name has he done to you, huh?" She pushed him by impulse.
"Stay out of this lady!" He growled.
"Make me, you asshole!" She spoke back.
"Why you!" The aggressive man growled, instantly stomping up to her with clenched hands, about to deck her.
Charlie backed away, her eyes widening by what was heading her way. She held her hands up, prepping herself to avoid getting hit, but as she did, she saw a tall man stand in front of her, his back facing her.
"You can hit me, but never a woman!" The brute man grabbed the others hand without effort, gripping it tightly, close to breaking it. "Now get out of my damn sight and leave this lady be! She hasn't done a damn thing to you!" He released the other man's hand.
"How fucking dare you!" The man didn't back down, he was so filled with rage that he wasn't really putting any thought into the outcomes.
Before the outraged man could put his fist in the air, the redheaded one struck him with one helluva punch. Charlie's eyes widened out of surprise once seeing the man down and out. A part of her felt sorry for the guy, but was relieved she didn't get hit. She gawked up at the man who stood before her, not even realizing she was standing there like an idiot. The young woman didn't know what to do, let alone what to say.
Thank you for standing up for me? She thought, sensing it would sound polite, yet also stupid. I'm sorry you had to stand up for me? No... Charlie groaned, rolling her eyes, feeling pathetic. What the hell do I say? The young woman struggled to find the right words.
"Miss?" The brute man cleared his throat, turning around to look at Charlie.
The young woman froze in her spot, a little frightened by the tone in his voice. She couldn't tell if he was angry, annoyed, or just speaking. Charlie didn't sense any negative aura around him, but she surely sensed intensity from him. Once the beastly looking man finally turned around, she was about to faint. His largely rough looking hands looked as though they could snap someone's neck with just one effortless grip. His thinly haired arms looked all ragged, scarred, and burned to the second degree, only lightly covering his strong, muscular arms. His tall, broadly looking figure towering over her led shivers up her spine. Every part of him made her fear him, but once her eyes landed on his, everything felt as though things eased in an instant.
Wow... His crystal blue eyes made all her anxiousness disappear within a matter of seconds, How can such gentle looking eyes be on a ruffian like him? She thought to herself with a small cackle.
She continued to examine his facial features. When she noticed the burn marks and scars on his face, tightness filled her chest. The thought of how much suffering this man went through made her think it must have been tremendously painful. His ruffled up hair and beard looked like he hasn't been cleaned in months.
"Miss?" He called her again, lowering down to her level, face to face.
Charlie finally snapped out of the trance, slowly being led back down to earth once her eyes met his again.
"Um... thanks for..." The man rubbed the back of his neck, looking aside, not exactly knowing what to say either, "Thanks for trying to help." A chuckle left his chapped lips, being followed by a heaved cough, "S-Sorry..." He hit his chest, trying to even out his breathing.
"Are you okay?" Charlie questioned swiftly after noticing him suddenly turn pale.
"Y-Yeah, I'm good..." He sighed out, hiding his weakness.
"Sir, you don't look fine..." A look of deep concern crossed her face.
"I said I'm good!" He barked by habit, making Charlie jolt.
The young woman growled, "I can tell just by the look in your eyes and the paleness on your skin, you're not good at all!" She spoke up with a firm tone.
The man's eyes squinted out of irritation because of the young woman not backing down, "So? I'm gonna die soon anyway." He huffed out a cackle, "I've served my time."
After he said that, Charlie noticed dog tags around his neck, "You fought in the war?" She questioned quietly, "You need to get to a hospital! You're getting weaker by the second!"
The word weaker made him snap. He didn't take that word so lightly. If anything, he found it offensive when being told that. A loud growl escaped his lips. He was about to lose it, but within a matter of seconds, he collapsed.
"Sir!" Charlie yelled out, before he fell unconscious.
Present Time...
"Jacob..." Charlie sighed out, a pang hitting her heart.
"Charlie?" The Dep knelt down, placing his hand gently on her shoulder, "Is everything okay? I'm sorry for questioning you about your past. I just thought it'd-"
"It-It's okay... I get it." A small sigh escaped, "You were hoping it'd help you with whatever you're dealing with right now. Right?" She cackled, looking over at him.
"Yeah..." He looked at her, a look of guilt on his face, biting the inside of his cheek.
"Don't worry about it... It may have been awhile since I've last seen and interacted with them, but here's to hoping the weaknesses I knew about them back then are still the same." Charlie gave a small smile at him, before looking ahead, "Shall we get going?" The young woman stood up, grabbing her shotgun and walking ahead.
The Dep was amazed on how she was able to just walk ahead and pretend like it was nothing after he could sense she was going through emotional pain just by the look on her face.
"So... about Jacob-"
"You don't need to talk about him. At least not right now." The Dep stopped her, "Let's just focus on meeting up with my allies. We have to go through this stealthily though. The first group we're gonna have to head to is in Henban River. This woman named, Faith Seed, is under control of that area and afterwards we're having to head to Holland Valley, best be careful there though, John Seed is known to be a bit-"
"Sadistic." Charlie cut in.
"I was going to say bitter, but seeing as to how you have some history with them, I guess we can go along with your terminology on him." He chuckled.
Charlie looked over, a smirk running across her face, "Oh, let me tell you, he's one reason I became quite charming. So to speak." She winked, making Deps face unexpectedly heat up.
The sheriff cleared his throat, "I won't disagree, Miss?" He peeked over.
"Young. But just call me Charlie. There's no need for formality, Dep." She responded, not looking over.
"Okay, Charlie." He smiled, looking ahead.
Charlie peeked over with a soft smile appearing on her face. She couldn't understand what it was that made her trust him so quickly, but she just felt a calming aura around him from the very start. A sigh escaped her lips, her mind beginning to fill her up with past memories. Some she missed. Some she regrets. Some she wishes never happened. And some she wishes she could forget. But of course, with her ability to burn everything she sees and hears in her mind, she couldn't forget anything at all, even if she tried. It felt more like a curse than a blessing. People always said she was lucky to have a great memory, but to her, it was nothing, but a nightmare.
Another sigh escaped, looking straight ahead, not even really focusing on what's ahead of her. As she did, her mind wandered to past memories, which led her to continuous sighs.