Chapter 2

"Charlotte!" yelled Bella as she ripped open the sliding door. Her rapid heart rate froze when she heard giggles coming from the small yellow playhouse stationed in the yard. Bella raised her hand to her chest, a sigh of relief escaping through her lips.

"Mommy, come find me!" the noise echoed across the yard.

Out of view, as per Charlotte's orders, Peter watched from the tree adjacent to the playhouse. From there, he could see a woman frantically looking for her child. He then remembered Charlotte's words, smiling a little to himself, picturing her toothy lisp.

"You have to hide for a little bit. My mommy will freak out if she sees you now. Hide! Stay behind the tree until we go inside, then come back into the playhouse. You'll be safe. Just stay here, nobody can get you. I'll bring you some leftovers from dinner in a while. I'll leave the blankie from my bed in the playhouse."

"Charlotte!" yelled the woman.

Peter's chest tightened as he watched the evident love in the mother's frantic steps. At the still opened sliding doors of the dark blue house, another female gripped the doorframe, holding her breath.

"Bella, she's not upstairs!"

"Jessica, she's out here," Bella called.

Bella dropped to her knees, half expecting to find a sobbing child, injured and unable to get to the main house. But right now, it didn't matter what had happened, Bella saw nothing except for the sweet

brown eyes that mirrored her own. Charlotte was packing her stuffed animals into the small toy chest in the back corner when she heard the door being opened. Clutching the red-headed doll, she ran into her mother's arms.

"Charlotte, what in God's name were you thinking? Why didn't you come when you heard me calling? I was so scared!" Bella said frantically, pulling the little girl to her chest.

"I'm sorry, Mommy, I was playing with my friend." Charlotte cried, hugging her mother's torso. Her heart hurt after Peter talked about his mom. He said he missed her, but he had to leave.

Jessica stepped outside seeing Charlotte's unharmed condition for herself. She hung back by the house, her breathing steady.

After a few moments, Charlotte pulled away from her mother. She retreated into the playhouse to finish putting her toys away. Charlotte stared down at the toy box throwing the red-haired doll inside. The only toy remaining on the ground was the stuffed lion. She reached for it before just as her mother grabbed her hand.

"Don't worry about this right now; we can clean the mess up later. You must be starving or thirsty or hurt, Char! I can't believe this happened." Bella pulled her child behind her, the shock of the situation finally wearing off. She tightened her grip on Charlotte's hand as she steered her towards the house.

Swallowing her anxiety, she raised her eyes to meet Jessica's as they moved past her. She'd deal with her later—what was important right now was making sure Charlotte was all right, getting her fed, and then cleaning her up.

Jessica trailed them as they entered the house, shutting the door behind. Her gut was telling her to scram as Bella ushered the six-year-old into the kitchen, but she ignored it and followed. As if to make matters worse, Bella's raised voice caught her attention.

"Seriously, Jessica?"

Jessica took in the scene in front of her—the kitchen seemed hazy, a cloud of smoke coming from the bottom of the oven. Shit, she thought, Charlotte's lunch.

Charlotte sat in the enormous bed, as the chilled summer air blowing in through her window. She burrowed her small body deeper into the blankets her mother had wrapped her in. Usually, she slept safe and sound with her purple comforter, her butterfly blanket from her Aunt Rosalie, and her pale blue blanket from her Grandma Renee. On most nights, the latter was a must, but tonight, it was missing. A cheeky grin stretched out over her features, knowing the blanket's whereabouts. Her toothy smile didn't go unnoticed and unfortunately, neither did her shivering.

What's got you all smiley, Char? "Bella asked, returning from the dresser where she was laying her daughters clothes out for the next day. As she neared the bed, Bella raised her hand to Charlotte's forehead, brushing away some loose hairs. Furrowing her brow at no sign of a fever, she looked down at her daughter.

"Feeling all right, baby?"

Her brown eyes widened, and she nodded quickly, "Yes Mommy." Bella smiled and bent to kiss Charlotte's forehead when she noticed the lack of blue. She pulled the blankets down, examining the sheets. She sighed and started to search for it

"Where's the blanket you got from Grandma last year? No wonder you're so cold." Charlotte's cheeks started to get hot at her mother's words… another trait she had inherited. However, this one ratted out her fibbing. She rolled over into the pillows in an attempt to hide.

Charlotte felt her mother back away, hearing the thump of her knees on the carpeted floor as she desperately searched under the bed. She let her mother look, but a green monster called guilt started to arrive in her mind. She'd promised Peter she'd come back out before she went to bed to bring him food. He said he didn't remember the last time he had a real meal. This worried Charlotte—where were his mom and dad? Didn't they cook for him? Charlotte didn't know what she would do without her mom's cooking.

"Mama, I can sleep wiff'out it!" Charlotte said, bravely.

"This is for Peter," she thought, her chest swelling with bravery.

For him, she'd happily face the monsters in the closet without her usual protection. After all, he was nice enough to join her tea party this afternoon.

Bella moved to check the closet. She briefly dug through the thick rack of clothes in the back, peering at the floor to see if it had somehow gotten places in with Charlotte 's clothes. Not seeing anything, she gave up, closing the doors behind her.

"Are you sure, sweetie? Do you think these blankets," she said as she gestured to the remaining covers, "will be enough to save you from the… tickle monster?" Bella scrambled her arms, tickling the child's torso.

Charlotte cried out in giggles as she reached up and tried to tickle her mother back.

"Mommy!"

Bella tucked her daughter into bed once again and kissed her small head.

"Goodnight, Baby." Charlotte heard as her mother disappeared, shutting the door behind her. She lay there in momentary silence before another smile appeared on her face. She sat up, wriggling out of the tucked in covers.

"Now… how am I going to get to the playhouse?"

Bella shut the lights off before retreating from her daughter's room, leaving the door open slightly. She paced down the hallway near the top of the stairs, leaning back on the wall. Her hands immediately went to her head, covering her eyes. What a day it had been. Commotion from everyone and their brother at work and then coming home to this? How could Jessica be so irresponsible? Bella was confident Charlotte knew better than to run off with some stranger, but she shuddered when she thought back to the chills in her veins when her little girl wasn't there to greet her at the door. Sighing, she rubbed her hands down the rest of her face. What to do? It was an internal battle between the common sense of a mother over the responsibilities that came with working full-time. An icy chill started in her veins, but Bella decided.

Fuck it, I will figure it out.

Once she was confident Charlotte had dozed off for the night, she sucked in a breath before heading downstairs. When she hit the bottom, hell hath no fury like the anger boiling inside her—the icy feeling long gone.

"Jessica, what in the hell is wrong with you?"

The woman waiting patiently on the couch sat up at her sharp tone.

"Bella, I'm sorry! I went out last night with some guy from my complex. Things got a little out of hand, and I didn't get home until very late—but I know how you are. I thought I would only doze off for a few minutes."

"Jessica, the fact that you would even consider 'resting your eyes' when my six-year-old is out alone in the yard is bewildering. How in God's name am I supposed to trust you with her?"

"Bella, she had some books with her and everything. She took out the cookies and juice you left for her. I thought she was going to be fine—I didn't know she was going to be out there for hours." Jessica put her arms to defend herself.

"Not to mention that I found peanut butter in the kitchen when I was trying to clean up the other mess you made. Seriously? You can't kill my child by leaving her outside, so you decided to bring the one thing she's allergic to into my house?" Bella seethed.

Jessica cringed at the harshness of her words, but the guilt flooded when she remembered Charlotte's severe peanut allergy.

"Shit, it wasn't for her, it was for me."

"I really hate to do this, but I can't have you around here anymore. I know you need the money and I know we've been friends for however many years, but damn it. I will give you the paycheck for the week, but this is it. I'll have to sort this out and figure out someone who can watch her and who has a little bit of common sense." Bella fisted her hair and put her hand on her hip.

Jessica was quick to respond.

"Bella, I can watch her tomorrow—I am not gonna make you scramble around for someone this last minute—"

"Honestly, Jess, it's better if you leave."

An exasperated huff, eye roll, and loud slam of the door later, Bella fell back on the couch, raising her cell phone to her face and began scrolling through contacts.

Charlotte awoke, surprised to see the room still darkened. A grin spread across her face as she looked at the clock on her bedside table; 12:13 AM.

"Thanks," she whispered, to nobody in particular. She must have a fairy godmother watching over her or something, she thought. She knew this sneaking out thing was going to be tricky without the aid of her alarm, but she couldn't risk waking up her mom.

Because of her working hours, her mother would be fast asleep by now, and if she wasn't, she'd be too caught up in an old-time movie on television to hear her. At least she had to work tomorrow, it was worse on nights when her mother was off the next few days. Those were the nights she swore she could hear her late in the evening crying at whatever was on the screen.

She decided she was going to have to risk it.

As Charlotte slid out of bed, landing on the floor with a light thump, she grabbed four stuffed animals from the multitude on her dresser. Deceitfully, she arranged them underneath the blankets. When one didn't seem to stay in place, the stuffed lion who rudely didn't drink any of his tea at the party this afternoon, she tucked it under her arm and took it with her as she tiptoed into the hallway.

Lightly walking down the steps, gripping the railing because it was dark, Charlotte again thanked the stars for her mother's bedroom being on the

other side of the hallway. As she reached the bottom, all the lights were off. Her mother must be in bed. With this knowledge and confidence, she made her way into the kitchen.

They were supposed to have lasagna for dinner, but thanks to Jessica's sleeping incident whatever she intended to cook Charlotte for lunch ended up a goopy mess on the bottom of the stove. Charlotte huffed at the thought and grabbed the small container of leftover pizza slices from their plan-B dinner as she adjusted the lion under her arm. After shutting the fridge, she went to the sliding doors and unlocked the handle with her free hand. She slid on her sandals that were abandoned earlier, pushed the long shades aside and opened the door just enough to fit her tiny frame. With a rush of the summer night air, she knew she was free.

Charlotte darted across the yard.

"Peter!" she whisper-yelled quietly, "Peter!"

The front door of the playhouse opened slightly, and Peter stuck out his head. The dirt that had once inhabited his hair was almost gone, leaving dark tints of color on his honey-colored locks. Bags were formed under his tired eyes, but he perked up the moment he saw Charlotte racing towards the playhouse

"Charlotte." He whispered, remembering her rule to stay quiet. He gripped the blue blanket around his body but opened the door all the way to make room for the girl and whatever else she carried. Peter spread out his arms to enclose Charlotte in a hug. She clutched the container and lion to her chest before he picked her up and swung her around until she was inside the house. He was happy to see she'd come back, happy to see she kept her promise.

They made their way to the small table where Charlotte set the container down and watched as Peter's eyes became bright. She then placed the small stuffed lion alongside it.

"Yo-You actually brought me something to eat?" Peter said, opening the lid. He stared at the slices of pizza as if he'd won the lottery. Swiftly, he brought the food to his mouth. Not a damn was given. Charlotte laughed at him before raising a hand to tap his shoulder.

"I also brought you Mr. Lion… he's supposed to be really brave or something. I thought he might help you sleep. Hey, don't eat so fast! My mommy says if I do that, I'll make myself sick. Then she'll have to take me to work with her." she said, her face scrunching up at the idea of going to work with her mother.

Peter dropped the blanket to the floor and used a small remaining piece of his shirt to wipe away the sauce stains around his mouth. He smiled down at Charlotte.

"Is your mom a business lady or something? My uncle Jazz runs a store back in Chicago. It's not very fun." He said, shaking his head.

"My mommy's a doctor, I think. She helps people when they're really sick or hurt badly. I don't like to be in the hospital with her. The people are always sad." she replied.

"Your mom's a doctor?" Peter said, this piece of information catching his attention, "does she work in town?"

Charlotte nodded, "Yeah. When my grandpa takes me to see her at work, he goes down the street and turns. Then we drive for a few minutes, and we're there. Like magic."

Peter smiled a genuine smile. The hospital wasn't far from here.

Peter briefly thought back to the documents he saw on his uncle's desk in Chicago before he left home. He was supposed to have transferred to a hospital in Ohio three months ago. Peter remembered staring at the welcome to town sign, comparing it to the name on the paper he'd stolen from the desk. He hoped he didn't cause too much trouble for his uncle, but he couldn't help it; he needed to get away, and his uncle was the only one who would understand.

He had too.

"My uncle's a doctor too. Have you ever thought about looking at your mom's job in another way? The people are sad, but she and my uncle make them better. Their job is to make them smile again." Peter said.

Charlotte's smile was bright as she watched Peter scarf down the rest of the leftover pizza. After a few minutes, she decided to go back inside, as her nightgown wasn't the best for parading around the yard in the middle of the night.

"Which room is yours?" Peter asked.

"It's on the other side, up the stairs, and down the hallway."

"Do you have a closet?"

"Of course! That's where I keep all my clothes, silly. Why, don't you have one?"

Hours later, the doorknob to Charlotte's closet squeaked lightly as Peter turned it. He looked behind him, shaking his hair from the rain outside, studying the small form tucked into the pillows and blankets on her massive bed. Releasing the doorknob, he moved his muddy bare feet over the carpet towards where a small arm dangled off the side. The neon green glow from the clock signified it was only a few hours until the morning light would flood into the window across the room. Peter's heart pulsed as his instinct took over and he ran his fingers over the thumping vein in Charlotte's wrist. Her heart rate was fast—she must be dreaming of something good.

He stuffed the animal called Mr. Lion under his arm and gulped as he turned back towards the closet. Bravery, right?

"Mom, is that you?" Bella called down the steps from in front of the vanity mirror running her fingers through her hair. After deciding it was probably

going to get messed anyway, she huffed and gave up. She threw her dark brown hair into a high ponytail before glancing down at her watch. Her shoulders tensed, taking in the time and the fact that she was going to be late. She sighed and grabbed her hospital bag off the chair.

"Yeah, sorry, I forgot something in the car," Renee yelled from the living room, setting her stuff down on the coffee table before she sat on the couch.

Upstairs, Bella walked out of the bathroom and opened her daughter's door.

"Time to get up, Charlotte. The daylight is wasting away. Grandma is downstairs!" Bella called, heading over to the sleeping girl. She tickled her sides, causing squeals of joy as she pulled the blankets off and down to her feet. Before Bella stepped back to retrieve Charlotte's clothes from the dresser, she noticed a large blotch on her daughter's leg. It was dark in color, yellow surrounding it.

"Charlotte, what's that on your leg?" Her mother cried, immediately turning all attention to the dirt- covered bruise as her pale hands moved over it.

"I think… I fell yesterday, playing with Pet—" Charlotte covered her mouth with her tiny hand.

"Pet? Who's Pet, Char?"

"Uh, he's my imaginary friend. He plays with me all the time." Charlotte said, the idea suddenly popping into her head. Her old friend at school, Heidi, always told tales of her great imaginary friends.

"Oh really? Well, why don't you tell me about Pet while I clean up your leg? I think there are some wipes in your closet. Why didn't I see that yesterday?" Bella moved towards the white closet doors.

"Why is there dirt all over your carpet? Did you run up here with your shoes after you came in yesterday?" Bela rolled her eyes and kept moving.

"Mommy! His name is Pet, it's short for… Peter.

He's my friend," she said.

Charlotte jumped off the bed, landing close to her mother. She grabbed the side of her shirt and started to tug with tremendous effort.

"Charlotte, stop. What's wrong?" Bella said, looking down at her daughter.

"Peter says not to go into the closet."

"And why would Peter say that?" Bella countered, ignoring her daughter as she opened the white sliding doors.

"Mommy!"

Bella ignored the high-pitched child, reaching forward and stepping inside to grab the wipes at the top of the shelf. When she had them, she pulled back, but something caught her foot. She tripped backward, hitting the floor with a slam.

"Mommy! Are you okay?" Charlotte cried running back towards her mother.

Bella picked herself off the floor, squinting her eyes at what had caused her to fall.

"Charlotte Elizabeth! How many times have I told you to pick up your toys after playing with them?" Bella said angrily.

"I didn't play with any toys, Mommy!"

"Then what's that?" she pointed towards the small stuffed lion on the floor of the closet. Beside the plush animal laid a ruffled blue blanket.

"And here's your blanket!" Bella exclaimed, though she scratched her head, thinking to herself that she checked the closet the previous evening.

How strange.