A/N: This is another long one folks! There is also a warning for drug use. I will mark off where it begins and ends with a horizontal line. I hope you enjoy it!
So much was happening. Too much was happening. In what felt like seconds, Charlotte went from talking to a panicked Henry to being kissed by her…ex? She had no idea why Eddy was here or why he was kissing her but she had to get it to stop quickly before Henry-
"Fuck this shit," he muttered and brushed past them to stomp down the stairs. Eddy broke the kiss and looked back at the stranger as he left, Charlotte watching him as well.
"Fuck! Henry, wait!" she called out as she tried to wriggle out of Eddy's embrace. She felt her heart break as he continued to walk away. She was so close, they were so close to fixing things. It was like the universe was determined to keep throwing obstacles at them and keep them apart. She blinked back tears that started to build up and looked at Eddy, anger quickly starting to replace the hurt in her heart. She stomped hard on his right foot, causing him to cry out in pain, and finally let her go.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" she shouted at him. Diana looked around to make sure no one left their homes to see the commotion. She quickly cleared her throat and looked at her daughter.
"Maybe we should deal with this inside," she offered. Eddy stood up straight and shook his foot to help get over the throbbing pain, nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, baby, let's go inside," he said. She narrowed her eyes at him and folded her arms stubbornly.
"I'm not your baby and you're not coming in my house."
"It's my house and it's cold out here, so he's coming in," her mother said sternly before pushing past them and going inside.
Tati had already made her escape upstairs, rushing to her bedroom amidst the chaos. She stripped out of her pajamas and changed into a pair of joggers and a plain tee, tying her hair up into a messy bun. The smile on her face was big and almost too vengeful for her. She shouldn't have found so much amusement in what was probably the worst day her friend ever had. But she had to pat herself on the back. She definitely didn't think that Henry would find out about her lies so quickly but calling Eddy was an amazing idea that saved her in the nick of time. She would have to thank him at some point. After putting on a pair of sneakers, she tucked her phone and a baggie of weed into her bra before opening her window. A ladder made of ivy leaves and vines against the house for decoration made for the perfect escape, something Charlotte told her she often used when she snuck out when she was younger. She would have to thank her as well. She giggled to herself as she climbed out of the window and carefully climbed down, jumping down once she was close enough and sneaking off to the Hart house.
Downstairs, Eddy had made himself comfortable on the couch as Diana went to the kitchen to make them some hot cocoa. Charlotte stood there frozen as she watched the display. She couldn't believe it. He sat there cockily, talking to her mother about how excited he was to finally meet her. A part of her wondered if she entered the Twilight Zone. He was acting as if he hadn't cheated on her, as if everything was fine and like they were still together. He placed his feet up on the glass coffee table and the dark-haired woman scowled. She stormed over and roughly shoved his feet off, causing him to stare at her with raised eyebrows.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" she questioned through gritted teeth.
"I'm here to see my girl-"
"I'm not your girl!" she snapped. "You fucking cheated on me and you expect me to just run back into your arms because you showed up on my doorstep?!" Diana looked at them from the kitchen. She had no idea what was going on but figured it was best to leave them alone and figure things out on their own. She took the warm milk out of the microwave and set the cups down on the counter before grabbing her car keys.
"I'm going to go to the library for a bit while you two talk, okay?" She gave her daughter a knowing look and for a moment, fear struck Charlotte's heart. She knew Eddy and while he was a charming and sweet guy when he wanted to be, he also had his anger problems and a tendency to swing when he was pushed far enough. She learned that the hard way once and since then knew to tread lightly during their fights. But that was then. Stanford Charlotte was made weak due to the heartbreak Dystopia Charlotte faced, she didn't push too hard lest she lost another man due to her own needs and she let Eddy have full control. Swellview Charlotte was there somewhere inside her and was slowly pushing her way back to the surface. She could handle Eddy.
"Okay, mom," she said with a nod. Her mother nodded in return and left the house, leaving the two former lovers to face each other. Eddy rubbed his palms together and looked up at Charlotte.
"What's your problem, Char?" She scoffed and rolled her eyes incredulously.
"Oh, let's see. You cheated on me, embarrassed me, broke my heart, and threw away four years of our relationship just because I wanted to come to see my damn family. And then you show up at my house out of the blue kissing me as if everything is okay!" she explained with her arms folded and eyebrows knitted together. The young man let out an exhausted sigh and stood up.
"Listen, I'm sorry but you just left before I could explain myself! I didn't even know that girl," he said softly. She stared at him for a few seconds before laughing dryly.
"That doesn't help, Eddy. So you screwed someone you didn't even know?" she countered.
"No, I didn't mean that. I just…" he sighed. He threaded his fingers through his hair and licked his lips as he looked around, searching for the right words to say. It was hard. He was used to girls falling at his feet and believing anything he said. But Charlotte was a challenge when she wanted to be. She fought him and while he liked it sometimes, it could get so frustrating.
"Okay, look," he breathed out a loaded breath, "yeah, I was annoyed that you wouldn't join me in Colombia but that wasn't why I cheated. She was just an itch to scratch, you know? But I came all the way here- I landed just yesterday and drove all the way here because I love you and we can work through this!" He took her hands in his own and squeezed them gently as he looked into her eyes with all the sincerity he could muster. But Charlotte saw right through it. He didn't want her, he just didn't want his pride hurt.
"Why are you fighting? What are you fighting for?" she questioned him. His eyebrows furrowed together briefly and he shook his head as her words permeated his brain.
"What are you talking about, baby? I'm fighting for us!"
"No, you're not," she shot back as she pulled her hands away. "Eddy, something brought you here and it wasn't me. You're not chasing me because you actually loved me because if you did, you never would've cheated. What made you come here?"
Down the street, an incensed Henry shoved the door open with all his strength and stormed into the house, slamming it shut and whipping around to deliver a hard punch to the wall. The pain radiating through his knuckles and traveling up his hand temporarily numbed the pain in his heart but it didn't fully help. He was pissed, he was confused, but worst of all he was incredibly hurt. His heart and brain were tossed back and forth and he was just left in a cloud of confusion and regret.
He turned away from the wall and let out a heavy breath, realizing he was home alone. His parents were still out and it seemed like Piper and Jasper were gone as well. That left him alone to put together the jigsaw puzzle that was his heart and brain. A part of him was angry that they left. They were the reason he even went over there and messed himself up even more. They told him some bullshit story knowing how he felt and then they just left, leaving him to mend his shattered heart on his own. It wasn't fair, he wanted someone to yell at, someone else to blame, someone to unload all of his pent up anger and hurt on. He ascended the steps and entered his bedroom, plopping down on the bed and sighing heavily.
His mind couldn't stop replaying everything. The guy, who he figured was Eduardo, looked like he stepped right out of a magazine or a soap opera that his grandmother watches. He was handsome and maybe even taller than Henry. No wonder she was marrying him. He probably had everything going for him - he already went to college and got his degree, he probably already had a good paying job to add to the money that he already had. He and Charlotte probably were going to move into a nice high end apartment when she went back to California and were going to live happily ever after. Henry would just become an afterthought, that stupid high school flunk out who became some loser in Dystopia. A two-bit superhero as she once said.
"Fuck," he sighed and ran his hands over his face. He was feeling things and he hated feeling things. He hated being back home because he had to deal with things he spent four years trying to bury. Fighting crime helped even if he started doing it less and less, casual carefree sex helped, and the drugs he discovered definitely helped. That reminded him of something. He got out of his bed and went to his closet, grabbing one of his jackets and fishing around in the pocket. When he felt the plastic, he pulled out the little bag that was filled with cocaine. Sidney swore by his product and if the ecstasy he took last night was any sign of the quality, snorting some of this would help him. He just wanted to forget things and feel good again.
"Henry?" Tati's voice called out, pulling him out of his thoughts. He raised a curious eyebrow and tossed the baggie on his bed before leaving his room. He stood at the top of the steps and looked down, seeing the young woman as she looked around his house curiously.
"Tati?" She turned in the direction of his voice and smiled at him a little.
"Hey! Sorry for just walking in-"
"What are you doing here?" he interrupted. He rested his body against the wall and watched her as she released a defeated sigh, walking up the first couple of steps.
"Damn, I can't check up on you? I just wanted to see if you were okay," she explained.
"Of course I'm not fucking okay," he snapped. "I just watched some guy run up and kiss Charlotte like nothing else even mattered. I have to deal with the fact that she's moved on from me and really doesn't care about me. She's getting married to someone else and I'm…just left in the dust." He pulled himself off of the wall and turned his back to her as he made his way back to his room. The brunette sighed and jogged up the steps as she followed him.
"What happened? I mean, you seemed alright last night," she commented as she entered his room with him. She was almost taken aback by how big it was. It was such a quintessentially cool teenage boy bedroom, one that all the spoiled kids in the neighborhood she grew up in would brag about having. Henry didn't seem like that type though. As her eyes scanned the room, they finally landed on the small twin mattress adorned with space themed sheets which she snickered at. She then noticed the small bag filled with a white powder that seemed rather familiar. An eyebrow raised and she glanced at him before stepping over casually and sitting on his bed.
"I was fine, I mean…I was mostly fine," Henry spoke up as he climbed up onto his loft. "You absolutely helped me to feel a lot better but then this morning, my sister and friend tell me that everything I thought about Charlotte was wrong and she wasn't getting married. That's why I went over there earlier. Bad idea obviously." He looked down at his nails and picked at his cuticles idly, a pout on his lips that made her chuckle.
"I'm sorry you were hurt by Charlotte's mess. Your sister and Jasper are her friends too so they probably just wanted to help get you two back together, not knowing that she's up to some shady stuff. It sucks. She's my friend but I can admit that she's a mess sometimes. You have to pick your battles with her," she said. A part of her felt bad that she was lying about her this way and disparaging her character. But then she'd look at Henry and remember their fun last night, and that guilt would disappear almost instantly. He looked at her with sad puppy dog eyes and he nodded a little before exhaling a sad little sigh.
"I guess…" he mumbled. She bit down on the corner of her lip briefly and stood up, holding the baggie behind her back.
"What can I do to make you feel better?" she asked. He glanced at her and shrugged. Truthfully, he wanted to be alone and mope. He wanted to wallow in his self pity and feel bad for himself and what his life became. But the playful glint in the chocolate brown eyes looking at him told him that he wasn't going to get any alone time anytime soon. When he didn't audibly answer, she walked up the steps and sat next to him on the couch. She held up the small bag and watched as his eyes widened slightly.
"I'm guessing you were going to use this to help?"
"Yeah…" he admitted. He felt a little ashamed and he looked away from her, staring down at his hands again. "Back in Dystopia, I found that sex and drugs helped to numb my feelings and forget about…her." She hummed quietly in response and nodded her head.
"Well, I think we both know I can help in the sex department," she said, the two of them chuckling a little. She opened the bag and looked at him, their eyes meeting as she grinned a little. "Let me help you with this too. Ever did a bump off of someone's acrylic?" she asked with a playful smile. Henry chuckled slightly and looked away from her for a moment before returning his eyes to her own.
"I haven't, but I'm definitely down for trying," he replied. The brunette nodded and carefully scooped up some of the white powder underneath her pink nail. Once she was satisfied with the amount that she had, she held her pinky out to him. With half-lidded eyes and a lazy smile on her lips, she watched as he leaned in closer and plugged up one nostril then snorted the drug up with the other nostril. He leaned back and quickly tilted his head back, inhaling deeply to make sure he inhaled every last crumb of the cocaine. Tati repeated the steps, scooping up some powder under her nail and raising it to her own nostril, snorting it up then tilting her head back as she inhaled deeply. Henry slumped back against the couch and breathed out softly. This was what he needed.
Back at the Page-Bolton household, Eddy and Charlotte found themselves at a standstill. He was left speechless after her question. What did he come there for? He came there for her. He came there to repair their relationship and for him to get his girl back. And more importantly, he came there to keep that ex of hers away from her. He had been working on her for four years, dealing with her stubbornness, her arguments, her attitude. He'd be damned if she left him because she caught him with some girl and some guy from her past whispered sweet nothings in her ear. She was his and he wasn't going to give up that easily.
"I came here for you," he finally answered. "I came here because I'm sorry that I slept with that girl and I don't want us to lose all that we have because of a stupid lapse of judgment. I love you and I want us to try again." His hands found their way to her waist and he pulled her body closer to his own. His green eyes looked into her brown eyes earnestly, doing his best to lay on the charm that worked on many girls before and even worked on her years ago. But that was a different Charlotte. She wasn't swayed by his charms or his good looks anymore. The rose colored glasses had fallen off long ago.
"You don't love me," she responded with a shake of her head. "I think you like the idea of me, you like chasing me, and you don't like the idea of people knowing that big stud Eduardo Ariaz was dumped by nerdy little Charlotte Page." He sucked his teeth and pulled away from her, rolling his eyes as he turned away. She was right, but he would never admit that out loud. This was all about his wounded pride.
"That's not true," he countered.
"It is, Eddy!" she argued. "If you actually loved me, you wouldn't have cheated!"
"That was one fucking time!" he roared. He turned around and stalked up to her quickly with a hand raised. Her heart stopped a moment and she quickly took a step back from him, clenching her fists to stop her body from shaking. She wasn't going to let him intimidate her, she wasn't going to let a man break her down again.
"It wasn't one time!" she shouted back at him when she found her voice. "I fucking know you Eddy, I know there were other girls! I put up with your bullshit enough and I'm sick of it! We're done! And as a matter of fact…" She held up her hand and moved past him, going to the steps and quickly climbing them. He scoffed and quickly followed her up the stairs.
"Okay, so maybe there were a few others!" he finally admitted. She rolled her eyes and scoffed in disbelief as she continued to walk away from him. He continued, "But I always came back to you! You were my rock, my main girl!"
She continued to ignore him as she made her way into her bedroom. She walked up to her dresser and paused for a moment when she noticed some things were out of place. Was someone looking for something? Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Eddy's hurried footsteps as he entered her bedroom, prompting her back into action. She started to look around until she spotted the garishly large diamond that she always hated. It was so tacky, so flashy, so Eddy. Grabbing the ring, she turned to her ex and held it out to him.
"We're done, Eddy. Take your ring back," she said firmly. He let out an exasperated breath and ran his fingers through his hair.
"Come on, Char! Four years gone just because of a couple of bitches? What, is this because of Tati? That was only a couple of times, I swear. It was just sex, it really meant nothing."
"Eddy, this is just a cumulation of eve- wait. What?" She felt her entire body tense up once his words fully hit her and permeated her brain. Her stomach twisted up and a lump quickly built up in her throat that was likely full of bile that was threatening to spew out of her. Her head was suddenly light and one gentle push would easily knock her off her feet and take all the wind out of her. Eddy stared at her for a few moments before his eyes widened slightly and he realized what he had done. She didn't know.
"Fuck," he breathed out. Her mouth closed slowly and her jaw tensed slightly. There was a pain in the back of her throat that she did her hardest to suppress. She wasn't going to cry in front of him, she wasn't going to show him her hurt. Rather, she'd show him her anger because that would be a much better emotion to display at the moment.
"Get out!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. He tried to stammer out some excuses, explain that he didn't mean it, but she didn't want to hear it. She heard enough from him already. She stormed up to him and shoved the ring in his hand before shoving him towards the door. "Out! Get out of my house!"
"Fuck, where am I supposed to go?" he queried as he stumbled out of the door.
"Home! A hotel! To hell! I don't fucking care!" she answered. He stared at her in shock. For the first time in his 25 years of life, Eduardo Ariaz had been dumped. He usually did the dumping, the heart breaking, the leaving, but now he had been dumped. And he was dumped by a girl that he saw as a project when he first met her, a homely little thing that he could easily manipulate and use for his own pleasures. And now she was dumping him. He chuckled mirthlessly and shrugged his shoulders in an attempt to appear nonchalant.
"Fine. Whatever. Just know, you'll never meet a man like me ever again," he said. She smirked a little and nodded triumphantly.
"Thank God! I'd rather jump off a bridge than deal with a three pump dump fuckboy like you again," she retorted. He frowned and flipped her off before he finally walked away. She listened as he descended down the stairs, muttering in Spanish before the door opened and slammed shut, causing the house to shake slightly. She walked over to her window and pulled the curtain aside to watch as he stalked over to his car. He stuck his middle finger up at the house before he finally got into his car and sped off after a few moments.
He was gone. She was finally free of him. She was officially single again. It was such a good feeling to be able to say that she was single, that Eddy was finally out of her life and she didn't have to deal with him again. It was so long overdue and now that it was finally done, she could focus on…
Tatiana.
That two faced, lying, backhanded, sneaky, messy little bitch. Jasmine was right, Charlotte more than knew that now. Tati wasn't her friend, she was worse than an enemy. So many things were making sense now. Charlotte could remember when they were in college and Tati would suddenly be dating or have slept with any guy who seemed to show an interest in Charlotte. When she finally started dating Eddy, she remembered the side glances and passive aggressive comments that came from her "best friend". She noticed how cozy she and Eddy would be sometimes. Not only did she sleep with her fiancé, but she had also clearly been plotting behind her back to get with Henry. She went out with him last night, she probably told him a plethora of lies to poison him against her, and she probably called Eddy over to cause even more issues for her.
Charlotte felt sick again. The signs were always there but she was so desperate for companionship, so desperate for a connection that wasn't just Jasper or Henry that she willed herself to turn a blind eye to Tatiana's behavior. She had been stupid, she had been incredibly stupid and now she was paying the price for her naïveté and stupidity. But no more. Now, it was time for that bitch to get what was coming to her.
She pushed back her hurt feelings and let her anger take over again. She'll be hurt and sad later, she had spent so much of her time in Swellview sad and scared of what could be. And the faint happiness she had was snatched away from her so quickly and was replaced with more sadness and confusion. She never allowed herself to be angry and now it all came to a head. If she had been in the movie Inside Out, the red personification of anger would look a lot like a red version of the Hulk. And it only grew bigger as she let it stew and thought about everything. Everything she and Tati had been through as friends, everything she and Henry had been through both as friends and lovers. All of that was burned to the ground in just a matter of days. And all by the hands of someone she trusted.
She threw the door of Tati's room open, prepared for a shouting match and to knock her brain loose in that head of hers. Instead, she was met with an empty and cold room. Her eyes scanned the area in slight confusion before they settled on the open window that let in the cold November air. She made her way over to the window and looked outside, scanning the quiet neighborhood curiously. The sky was growing darker as dark rain clouds began to roll in, the day slowly drawing to a close as it was well past 3 pm now and in just an hour, everything would be dark. It took Charlotte a moment to put it together but Tati was gone, and she was sure of where she was.
"Bitch," she hissed underneath her breath as she pushed away from the window and stormed out of the room. She walked down the steps and rushed out of the door, not bothering to grab a jacket as her anger and adrenaline blinded her to the cold. The faint rumbling in the sky matched the rumbling of anger in her head and provided a soundtrack to her angry walk down the street. She didn't even hear her mother's calls for her as she parked outside of their house, her mind focused on one thing only. Her heart pounded more as she neared the familiar Hart household, pounding against her ribs as she stepped onto their property.
She briefly noticed Jasper and Piper as they climbed out of the BMW, both of them watching her curiously as she stormed up to the door. They both called her name but she ignored them as she shoved the door open without knocking and entered the house that was once a wonderful and comforting place for her. Now, it filled her with both dread and painful memories and she was sure there were going to be more awful memories made. She stormed up the steps until she reached the second floor, beelining straight to the bedroom she often spent her childhood and teen years in. Without knocking, she thrust the door open with all her strength and stepped inside the bedroom.
I fucking knew it. That's all that came to mind as she stared at the scene in front of her. Henry and Tati in bed together, their clothes carelessly scattered across the floor and the covers barely hiding his half naked body as he lay atop her "best friend". If she was a second or so later, she was sure she would've caught them mid-coitus. The sound of the door opening alerted both of them and they both stared at her, their mouths slightly agape. Tense silence filled the room as moments passed before Tati suddenly started to giggle and Henry soon followed suit, both of them looking at each other and laughing. It made the scene worse. They were laughing, they were laughing at her.
"Shit," Tati finally said between her giggles. "I guess the cat's out of the bag now!" Her laughter bubbled out louder and she leaned her head back against the pillow, Henry's head laying on his shoulder as he laughed as well. Charlotte could only stand there frozen as she watched them. She felt sick to her stomach again. As she stood there watching as they laughed together, Piper and Jasper soon joined her side and looked to see what was happening. As the blonde's mouth fell open in shock, the raspberry blond sighed heavily and visibly cringed.
"Fuck," he sighed.
"Oh hell no!" Piper protested. She began to remove her earrings and plopped them in Jasper's hand before tying her hair back into a ponytail. "Charlotte, you hold that bitch down, I'm gonna knock out as many of her teeth as possible." Jasper rolled his eyes and grabbed the girl's arm, yanking her away as she protested and demanded she be allowed to fight. The curly haired woman remained frozen in her state as Henry finally sat up, left only in his unbuttoned and unzipped pants while Tati lay there completely naked and still giggling.
"What are you doing here?" he finally asked as he tried to keep his own laughter at bay. Charlotte slowly pulled out of her daze and stared at him. His usually warm and inviting brown eyes were almost glazed over and distant. He was high on something but she wasn't exactly sure what. They were both high. They were both high and laughing at her and had been playing her the whole time. And suddenly, her shock was replaced with her Hulk like anger that had now bubbled over and grown into an even larger beast.
"You dirty fucking bitch!" she snapped as she stormed over to the two of them, her eyes glaring dangerous daggers at the giggling brunette. Henry quickly stood up and held Charlotte back but it didn't stop her from trying her hardest to get at her. "Bitch, you're supposed to be my friend but you're fucking my exes and calling them over to fuck with me?!" As Tatiana simply continued to laugh and cover herself up with the blanket, Henry held Charlotte back and started to walk her towards the door.
"Come on, cut this out," he said with a chuckle. She looked at him and shoved him off of her before landing a hard slap to his face. It effectively wiped the smile off of his face as the stinging pain radiated through his flesh. It also easily knocked him out of the cocaine induced euphoria but gave birth to his own red anger personified Hulk. He slowly raised his head to glare at her and was met with her own angry and hurt gaze.
"How could you?! Henry, you've known me since we were kids, we've been to hell and back together, and you let that bitch come between us?! You don't even fucking know her!" she shouted at him as she felt angry tears start to well up in her eyes. She didn't want to cry, especially in front of him, but the more she looked at him, the more her tears wanted to fall.
"Well, at least she's fucking honest with me and isn't only using me when she has a whole fucking fiancé!" he argued back. "Not to mention I just watched as he strolled up and kissed you right in front of my damn face! How the fuck am I supposed to feel? You don't give a fuck about me at all!" She scoffed and laughed dryly as she ran her hands over her curls.
"I don't give a fuck about you? Henry, you wouldn't even let me explain what was going on between me and Eddy. She just tells you whatever bullshit she wants and you fucking believe her when you don't even know her. But here I am, your supposed best friend since kindergarten, and my word means nothing? Are you fucking serious?"
"Oh, shut up," he exasperated with an eye roll. "Yeah, I'm fucking serious because you've shown me you've changed. You're not who I thought you were. I'd rather deal with a liar than a whore." Her face fell as his words hit her. She blinked her eyes a few times and scoffed a little, taking a step back and looking at him. His eyes were so unfamiliar to her and she told herself it was just the drug talking and he definitely didn't mean that. But it still hurt because it came from Henry. Someone she relied on for years, someone she trusted, someone she loved.
"Are you calling me a whore?" she questioned, her voice a little broken and trembling slightly. He shrugged his shoulders coldly and folded his arms.
"What else do you call someone who fucks someone else while they're engaged? Go back to your fiancé, Charlotte." She nodded her head slowly. A tight bitter smile grew on her face and she blinked away her tears, determined not to let them fall in front of them. She wasn't going to give them the satisfaction.
"Fuck you, Henry," she breathed. "You're still the immature, selfish, disrespectful piece of shit you used to be and you're clearly never going to grow up. I can't believe I ever fell for an asshole like you. Fuck you." He simply laughed in her face and shrugged again. A part of him was hurt and pissed at himself for doing this to her. This wasn't supposed to be happening. If he was sober and clear headed, he would've been apologetic and doing all he could to prove that he was better and he could fix it. But his anger and selfishness had taken over and the drugs only accelerated it. All he could see when he closed his eyes was Charlotte kissing that guy, laughing with him about what a loser Henry was, happy with her new family, and leaving him in the dirt. She hurt him so he was going to hurt her back.
"Well, Tati's trying to fuck me right now and I want to do that before this high crashes so can you get out so I can fuck your friend?" He gestured towards the door as he looked at her. "Unless you wanna watch. I don't mind an audience." She chuckled mirthlessly and glanced at Tati before looking at the shell of what used to be her best friend. The man standing in front of her wasn't Henry, he was nothing like him.
"No, I'll go," she relented. "But when you're done with her or when she leaves you for someone with a nice car or a bigger bank account, don't bother running back to me. Unlike her, I don't like used goods." She left the bedroom and jumped a little when the door was slammed shut behind her, letting out a trembling breath as she leaned against the wall.
She spent years mourning the loss of her relationship with Henry, trying to convince herself that she hated him and that she needed to move on. She compared every man she met to him and compared every aspect of her relationship with Eddy to her relationship with him. She saw him as her soulmate and the one she would never get over or recover from. He would be a part of her life forever that she would always look back on fondly with only a tinge of hurt from their breakup. But now, at that moment, Charlotte hated him more than anything. She knew that man wasn't Henry and that once he sobered up he'd regret everything he said. He often said things in the heat of the moment that he didn't mean and would later apologize for. He often made immature mistakes and learned from them. And truthfully, his words didn't hurt as much because she knew he didn't mean any of it.
It was his actions that stung. He believed Tati over her, he didn't value her words as much, and he betrayed her. How could she ever forgive him? She didn't see them ever coming back from this. She wiped at her eyes and exhaled softly before pulling herself off of the wall and slowly descending down the stairs. The sound of Jasper and Piper bickering hit her ears and she saw them standing by the couch as she reached the midway platform.
"I'm not letting you punch her in the throat, Piper," he deadpanned with folded arms. The young woman let out a frustrated groan and stomped her feet.
"Just one! Just one quick- hah!" She showed off a swift punch before she looked up at Jasper again. "Right to the throat! Then Charlotte can finish the bitch off!" Jasper rolled his eyes and looked away from her, spotting his friend on the stairs. Piper noticed her as well and gasped, rushing up the stairs to meet her.
"Did you kill them? It's okay, I'll help you hide the bodies," she reassured her as she held her friend's hands. Charlotte gave her a sad smile and shook her head, causing the blonde's face to fall. The curly haired woman stepped past her and made her way down the rest of the steps as Jasper walked over to meet her.
"I heard yelling…what happened?" he asked softly. She looked at him and laughed dryly, shrugging as her arms slapped against her sides in defeat.
"Well, we argued, he called me a whore, and told me to leave so he can fuck Tati," she explained matter of factly. The broad man's eyes doubled in size and his mouth fell open in shock.
Charlotte did her best to keep up a brave act but repeating it only made everything more real, much more raw. Her forced smile soon crumbled as she sputtered out some broken sobs and covered her face with her hands. Jasper wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in close, holding her head against his chest and letting her cry against him. Piper watched from the steps, her hand on her chest as she felt her own tears forming at the scene. There was only one thing on her mind and it was the same thing on Jasper's mind. They were going to kill Henry for this.
"I have to go," she mumbled as she pulled away from her friend, wiping her eyes and looking away from him.
"Char, no, it's pouring rain outside. Stay until it lets up," Jasper told her as he held her arm. Piper nodded as she joined them again.
"Come on, we can chill in my room and get drunk on my mom's wine," she offered. Charlotte just pulled her arm out of his embrace and ignored the requests of her friends as she left the house.
The rain was ice cold as it beat against her skin but she welcomed it. She felt like she was suffocating and struggling to breathe with every waking moment so the rain was a nice way to force her back into reality. A reality that felt like absolute hell. It was a level of betrayal she never knew she would experience and she didn't know what hurt more: Tati's actions or Henry's. Both were cruel and their laughter played in her head like a sick song on repeat. They had both completely broken her down and turned her into a mere shell of what she used to be. And she hated them for it. But she hated herself more for allowing it to happen.
She managed to deal with the manic impulsive man child known as Ray Manchester, she managed to deal with the oddball that was Schwoz, she managed to stay sane with Henry and Jasper's stupid antics, so how the hell did she let falling in love with Henry Hart break her so much? How the hell did Tati destroy her so rapidly? She felt stupid and foolish as ever. So, she told herself that tonight would be the last time she'd ever cry over Henry. She'd let herself be sad and wallow in her heartbreak but tonight would be the last night. She was Charlotte fucking Page. A stupid man was not going to continue to break her. And she wasn't going to let someone humiliate her and hurt her and get away with it.
So, when she got home and got inside from the pouring rain, she didn't throw herself on the couch and cry. She didn't get under her covers with a pint of ice cream and a bottle of whiskey and drown away her sorrows. She instead stormed upstairs after grabbing a knife from the kitchen and opened the door to Tati's room. Her breathing was quick and heavy as she grabbed the woman's clothes, something that she knew was precious to the brunette. With a firm hold on the knife, she began to slash up her clothes, happily stabbing and slicing away at the name brand items. Gucci, Givenchy, Fendi, Herve Leger - wait, no, she was going to keep that dress for herself, and the Mirror Palais - items worth thousands of dollars were being destroyed.
Was it a stupid and reckless thing to do? Yes. Was she definitely going to have to pay her back for all of this? Of course. Did it feel good as hell? Absolutely. Charlotte relished in her anger and continued to slash up as many things as she could while keeping bags, clothes, and shoes that she liked for herself. She was owed it anyway. Once she was satisfied, she opened the window and began to toss the destroyed clothes outside into the pouring rain. Shredded and torn designer items rained down from her house, landing in the muddy grass and getting beaten down even more by the heavy rain.
She then grabbed her makeup and hair products as she stormed into the bathroom. Foundation, concealer, hair oils, and grease found their way down the toilet while the knife was happily dug into her eyeshadows and sliced up her lipsticks. Her mother was going to kill her for ruining her plumbing but she didn't care at the moment. All she could do was imagine Tati's face when she saw that all of her things were destroyed and no matter how juvenile it was, she had a predilection for it.
Satiated with her destruction, she made her way downstairs and grabbed a bottle of whiskey that her mother kept. She considered getting a cup but decided to just drink straight from the bottle as she plopped down on the couch. Now, she was left alone with her thoughts and the booming thunder outside. She has destroyed Tati's things, she committed to never crying over Henry again after that night, but now she was still left feeling devastated and betrayed. She was feeling muddled with so many complicated feelings but the biggest one was hate. She hated Tati and Henry, she hated herself for being so stupid, and she hated the fact that she was feeling so much. Why couldn't she just numb it all and not acknowledge them? Why did she have to feel?
"Charlotte?" her mother said, pulling her out of her pitiful thoughts. The woman closed the door slowly and turned on the lights as she stared at her daughter. "Baby, what are you doing here in the dark? And have you been cry- is that my good whiskey you're drinking?!" She pointed to the bottle with a frown. The younger woman just nodded slowly and gave her mother a shaky smile.
"I hate…everything," she breathed out before breaking down into tears again. She covered her face and doubled over as she sobbed with her entire body. Diana was caught off guard and took a small surprised step back before approaching her daughter slowly. She put down her bag and sat next to her, placing a comforting hand on Charlotte's back.
"Oh honey…you clearly needed that whiskey…" she said. Charlotte laughed a little and shook her head before leaning into her mother's embrace and crying on her shoulder, happy to have her comfort. She needed anything to help her forget about the horrible day and her horrible feelings.
A/N: So, this ended up surpassing chapter 20 as the longest chapter, coming out to 18 pages! I keep trying to write out what I see in my head and it ends up being a lot so, if you enjoy longer chapters then I hope you're enjoying it! Chapters won't usually be this long though and will likely return to about the 3k to 5k words usual. I want to thank you all for reading, favoriting, following, and leaving reviews! I love reading your thoughts and the support for this story really means a lot!