After they'd finished up at the steakhouse, Jessica had finally talked both Charlie and John into going to the nearest shopping center to get some winter clothes. Though the chilling weather and the realization it would probably get worse played a big part too.
This was how Charlie found herself standing in front of a mirror in a puffy white jacket. As she turned herself around to give it a good examination, Jessica took a few steps away to properly examine the jacket while letting out a curious hum.
"I think it looks great, but you'll need to be careful it doesn't get dirty." She advised, causing Charlie to turn back with a raised eyebrow. "White clothes stain very easily, so while it's not impossible...it'll be very hard to get stains out." Jessica clarified.
Charlie examined the coat once again, it did look nice but she didn't like the sound of it being maintenance. "If that's the case then I may go for something darker."
"Hey don't let what I said alone be the deciding factor and I do know some methods of getting it clean." Jessica helpfully offered. But Charlie just shook her head and pulled the white coat off, setting it back onto its hanger.
"Eh, it sounds like it'd be more trouble than it's worth." She walked the coat back over to the rack it'd been pulled from. She glanced back over to where she'd laid the coat she'd worn along with another that she'd already decided to buy. That one had been a nice shade of green she'd really enjoyed.
"Maybe I ought to just get another green one," she thought aloud. Jessica looked up at her, already to object and with a counter-argument.
"I mean if you want to, sure. But not everything goes with green, and some days you might want to mix it up."
Immediately, Charlie began trying to think of her own counter but couldn't come up with anything. She sighed with an inaudible grumble before turning towards the other racks.
"Where's that blue one we saw a while ago?" " She slightly rolled her eyes upon glancing back and seeing Jessica's victorious smirk. But said nothing as the taller girl strolled past her.
"Right here." Jessica pulled the coat from the rack and thrust it into Charlie's hands. She then spun Charlie back around, lightly pushing her back towards the mirrors.
"Go and try it on already, I'm getting cold just looking at you." Charlie laughed humorlessly and walked back over to the mirrors. She unzipped the coat and slipped it on, noticing it was nearly identical to the white coat she'd discarded in all but color. She didn't even bother checking the tag to see if it was made by the same company. But there was one thing that put it over the white one, an extremely soft interior that felt like she was wearing a blanket. She smiled while zipping up the coat and doing a little spin. She looked back to Jessica while flashing a teasing grin.
"Got anything bad to say about blue?" She asked.
"No, it looks very good on you actually, if you like it then go for it."
"Then I think I will, it feels almost as nice as a hug," Charlie said while nestling herself further into the jacket.
"Don't get too comfy, they're not just going to let you walk out wearing it." Jessica reminded gently. Charlie slumped down her shoulders with a playful pout on her face.
"Are you sure? It's so soft and comfy." She pouted, barely finishing the sentence before breaking into a laugh.
"Trust me, I've tried." Jessica laughed. "But the sooner John gets back from his hat hunting, the sooner you'll be able to buy it."
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear," John called out, then followed it up with an impressed whistle. Both girls turned to face him as he walked back into the little store area, holding out a white hat with a little furball on top towards Charlie. Charlie perked herself up and pulled down the collar.
"You're not exactly what I'd call a devil." She teased while stepping over to him and then lovingly tousling his hair. "Actually I'd say you're the exact opposite." The comment made John flushed and Charlie took her hat from his hand.
"You got a hat for yourself too right?" She asked, a little worried that he may have neglected himself. But that fear was quelled as he held up a couple of hats in various shades of blue and gray.
"I got hats for...almost everyone since Jessica didn't ask."
"Nor do I need one, I have some at home and tonight's about keeping you two alive when it snows," Jessica said while snatching up the hat and then placing it over Charlie's head. Once it was nice and snug Jessica stepped back, while Charlie turned back to the mirror took herself over again.
"I like it." She said before starting to remove the winter ensemble. "You think we need more stuff, Jess?"
"Not really unless you two need matching mittens for when you two hold hands." Jessica jokingly said while slightly leaning against a mirror.
John looked at her thoughtfully and rubbed his chin. "That's not a bad idea…"
"Don't give him any more ideas please!" Charlie pleaded, though mostly as a joke as she pulled her arm from the sleeves. Unknowingly hiking up her left shirt sleeve in the process, which exposed a four-inch-long scar on the upper arm. One of a few physical memories of how dangerous her father's creations had turned out to be. Unfortunately, because she'd waited too long to get stitches, the scar had started healing over and consequently would never fade.
It was a permanent reminder that John knew she hated being brought up, mainly because they would always ask questions she wasn't able or ready to Upon spotting the exposed, he made a little noise to get Charlie's attention. It worked as she looked up and followed his discreet gestures towards her arm. Her eyes widened for a second before she pulled her shirt sleeve back down and then gave John a knowing smile that he returned.
Thanks." She whispered before resuming fiddling with the coat and removing her hat. John began to step away and gather up their other merchandise when he heard the sound of quick-paced footsteps coming towards them.
He looked up and stumbled in surprise as Arty brushed past Jessica and began moving over towards Charlie. John then stepped back to place himself between Charlie and Arty, who stopped short of running into John with an angry glare.
Charlie turned and jumped when she saw what was going on. "Arty? What are you doing here?" She drew away seeing the angry look on his face, that quickly morphed into a rather smug look with a crooked smile.
"Whatcha trying to hide there John?" He asked with a voice now devoid of the friendliness he'd displayed back at the restaurant. Now it was becoming clouded over with anger as he peered around John to look at Charlie.
"Nothing that you need to see." Charlie reached out and held her arm, squeezing her hand around. "Did...did you follow us here from the restaurant?"
Her suspicions were confirmed when Arty tried to ignore the question by glancing first at his feet and then off to the side. Charlie felt her jaw drop and looked at her friends, who both now giving Arty disdainful looks.
"You actually followed us," Charlie said in disbelief and became a bit angry as Arty guilty met her gaze. "I can't believe this, why did you think this was okay?"
"That's not important right now Charlotte, I'm here to help you." He reached out to try and pull her away from John but she stepped further back from him.
"Thanks but your help isn't needed or even wanted."
"Yes it is needed, I need to get you away from him!" Art protested, reaching for Charlie again before suddenly being pulled away by Jessica who then put herself between them all. After stumbling back, Arty moved forward but Jessica held out a hand into his face. He stared upwards at her, his rage-filled face diminishing due to Jessica's intimidating stature and her own look of anger.
"Alright we're done playing nice with you, so either you walk away or security's getting called to drag you away." Jessica leaned in closely to Arty who fell briefly silent before plucking up the courage to speak again.
"Don't call security on me, call it on that abusive deadbeat over there!" He pointed past Jessica and at John who became more than a little insulted as well as further confused.
"I'm sorry, what?" He said in unison with Charlie. However, their confusion only resulted in Arty becoming more belligerent.
"When I talked to Charlotte she said you were a good writer but that must be a lie since you're unpublished!" His tone became more disapproving then angry as he continued. "Then you tell me at the bathrooms that Charlotte's doing all the work while you partied it up at college. Then I saw him ordering her to cover up that scar that he probably gave to her." There was a brief moment of shocked silence because none of them knew how to respond to Arty's insane claims. It was only broken when Arty continued speaking again.
"It's no wonder she barely talks to anyone at work, she's probably terrified he'll do something even worse if she goes for help!" He swung around to look at Jessica with a scowl. "It's kinda funny, I thought girls were supposed to help each other. Not stand by and watch this kinda crap happen."
A pin could be heard dropping in the silence that followed. Charlie and John both stood together in horrified shock. Neither knowing what to even do. But Jessica said as inhaled sharply and striated herself to be as tall as possible. "You know what, I've heard enough out of you, so I'm giving you ten seconds before I call security kid, maybe even the police if you don't get out now and leave all us alone." She advanced towards Arty and he started backing away from her the closer she got. All the while Jessica continued talking in an almost serene tone.
"Not only are your claims bullshit, but you don't have anything to back them up outside of your imagination," She tapped Arty's forehead with her finger, causing him to jump back ", and Charlie is a pretty tough girl so if John really was acting that way don't you think she'd have dumped him already?"
"I-I guess, but what about the scar?" Arty stammered in a last-ditch effort to prove his point. "I saw him order her to cover it up!"
"That's not any of your business," Jessia said, before spinning Arty around and pointed towards the door. "Now how about you scamper on back to your cousin and we won't have to get anyone else involved."A slight edge crept into Jessica's voice at the end of the sentence, which caused Arty to bolt away from her and out of the store.
Without bothering to look back, Arty kept running until he was out of sight. As soon as he left Jessica stood up straight and walked back over to her friends. Both of them stared at her in shock.
"Well, that takes care of him then." She said while wiping her hands. "I can't believe that little creep followed us like that."
"Neither can I just..I'm so sorry you had to deal with him," Charlie said apologetically while John rubbed her back, still too stunned to say anything. While she was impressed with her friend's handling of the situation she felt guilty that Jessica had to step in for her.
"Don't worry about it," Jessica said while brushing back her hair to help calm her temper. "I've had to deal with worse creeps than him just going to high school."
However much she tried to downplay it though, the entire group was more than a little rattled by the whole event. quickly and quietly they gathered up everything and leave as soon as possible. Just in case Arty hadn't been as intimidated as they thought. The whole thing had made Charlie more than a little angry as Arty had gone far beyond just being a minor workplace nuisance. She felt sickened that his interest may have become an obsession.
Even with Jessica telling him off, she knew he would only get worse and there was no way Jessica could solve any further problems with him. This was hers to deal with, he was her coworker after all. As they walked to the front of the store, Charlie thought long about her options. He hadn't done anything to warrant a police call and she had a feeling his parents would probably defend him.
But...there was one person she might be able to go to who'd at least be willing to maybe at least help her put a little distance between them. But it was something she'd have to save until they got home.
-
'I can't believe I forgot why this town was called Hurricane.' Carlton shivered but carried on in spite of the harsh winds. Slinking through the streets of Hurricane at night was already a challenge, but he'd forgotten about the winds that the town had been named after because they blew stronger in the fall and slowed down his already long journey. It was a trek in and of itself to get to the mall site on foot, but the wind seemed intent on pushing him all the way back home.
'You can't give up now.' He reminded himself, which gave him a little extra push to keep moving. He couldn't give in now. When he and the others had been using Charlie and Marla's cars, the ride to Freddy's had been barely twenty minutes. But on foot, while also trying to stay out of sight in a furious wind was a different scenario. Especially with his bag slung over his shoulder.
It seemed to be only by pure luck that he wasn't spotted as he walked through the town center. But that had been the easiest part as the buildings became more and more sparse the blowing wind became harsher. He'd lost track of how much time he'd spent on his journey but once he saw the unpaved turn-off, he knew it was almost over as he turned down the driveway. Passing by some set-aside police barriers that had been put up after his experience the year prior.
'Odd that they'd be taken down, but it wouldn't surprise me if someone else moved them.' He smirked, recalling all the times he'd told his dad that signs and barriers weren't any good. What good was something that could be easily tossed aside if someone was strong enough?
Another fierce gust rattled Carlton when he saw the looming, skeletal remains of the mall ahead. Though it could also have been a shiver from the now resurfacing memories. The mall stood looming and imposing as it had when he'd first seen it. A cold and lifeless structure, that was more of a tomb than anything else.
Though there was something different about it this time. While he couldn't exactly place it, Carlton could feel something different in the air beside his own fears.
He glanced down and stopped in his tracks upon seeing the deep tread marks. Recently made by something bigger than a car and he quickly scanned the area with his eyes. Despite the darkness, he could make out two trucks like the one he'd seen earlier in the day in his aunt's car. They stood alone like silent sentinels, watching over the mall and its contents. He looked around hurriedly, before dashing over to the pile of sediment that had made up their entrance the year prior.
'Oh thank goodness it's still here.' He ran up the pile and up to one of the holes where a window would have been. Stopping himself before the drop and took a deep calming breath to steady himself,
For a moment Carlton stood alone and silent, in the back of his mind there was a tugging. An urge to just turn around and go back home before his absence was noticed. But then another voice took over, Michael's voice begging him to continue onward.
"Now or never." He whispered before kneeling down and dropping into the mall.