Thank you so much for the interest in the story so far, here's another chapter.
Sorry it's so late but you know what Christmas is like, I hope you all had a great time!
Again I don't own any of the characters except Jenna.
She sat in the car, not saying anything as they drove to the airport. She'd barely said anything about the visit in general- she'd diverted conversation whenever it was brought. She hated the idea of someone else in the one place she felt safe, she hated the possibility she'd flip out and look like a mental patient and most of all, she hated the fact it was someone from Cooper's family- and that she was meeting them when she was still damaged goods. But, when would she not be? Her hands were clenched into claws in her lap, her nails bitten and unpainted. She never painted them now; makeup was as far as she went, but whenever she looked at herself in the mirror all she saw was the bruised and bloody face staring back at her. She'd cut her hair too, it had grown back since the drastic cut but it still didn't have quite the same length. Her hair had been linked to the attack, everything had been linked to the attack- but her hair and clothes were easy to change.
Her jaw was clenched in an 'I'm not letting my emotions show but I'm not happy' way that was so typical of Charlotte King. When Cooper reached out to take her hand she pulled it away, angry at him for making her do this. "Let's just get this over with Coop", her voice was tinged with resentment but her eyes were cool, she was frowning slightly. Cooper sighed as he climbed out the car, she walked a few steps behind him; her head bowed as she carefully took in everyone around her, searching for a face, his face. Cooper knew she'd never truly be at ease until she knew that Lee McHenry was either behind bars or dead.
That was when he spotted his cousin. She'd grown since he last saw her, she was tall, skinny but with an hourglass waist; her brown hair tumbled in waves past her shoulders and her kind brown eyes searched the crowds for him. She wasn't the kid he'd played with at Thanksgiving anymore, she was almost an adult. Their eyes locked and with a teenage squeal she raced toward him, hugging him tightly "Cooper! I've missed you so much!" she pulled away and looked at him, she was wearing too much makeup in his opinion "Jeeze, you look old" He couldn't suppress a laugh, one of the few real laughs he'd experienced recently "No, no" she backtracked quickly, her eyes wide, realising what she'd said "I mean, you look tired. They obviously work you too hard in LA, I don't understand why you haven't come home and…"
She was rambling, that hadn't changed, she always rambled when she felt nervous or uncomfortable- the opposite of Charlotte who closed down in silence. "It's nice to see you too Jen" he turned her round to face Charlotte who was looking at them, her hands forced in a neutral position, clasped in front of her. Her whole body was tense but Jenna took no notice and before Cooper could stop her she'd raced toward his fiancé and pulled her into a tight hug- not a good move, but to his surprise Charlotte handled it quite well.
As she was released she coughed awkwardly before mumbling "Nice to meet you". She walked quickly past Jenna whose brow was furrowed in confusion, grabbed one of the suitcases and headed towards the door. It was obvious the case was far too heavy for her delicate frame and Cooper rushed to her side and tried to take it from her "Damn it Cooper I'm not a child I can do this" she snarled "Go get the other case and I'll meet you in the car".
Cooper stepped back as if he'd been stung, watching her go as she heaved the suitcase into the car. He felt Jenna stand beside him and he turned to look at her. She simply raised an eyebrow at the blonde "Well, she's really something" there was no accusation in her tone but that made it all the worse. He'd spent hours gushing to his family about Charlotte but the first member of his family she'd met now probably thought her to be rude.
He gave a long sigh "She's amazing" he said quietly "Just give her time and you'll see it" and with that he turned to grab the remaining suitcase and headed toward the car leaving Jenna standing there. She watched as he whispered something in Charlotte's ear; it seemed to have the desired effect as she stepped back and allowed him to put both the cases in the car and give her a chaste kiss on the cheek.
"Wow" she mumbled to herself quietly, "this is going to be a long two weeks".
So sorry this is so short but please review... it makes me more likely to update the story next time!