All of a sudden, it was as if all of my senses were overloaded in an instant. My whole body petrified like I was staring directly at Medusa herself. Even my vision began to fog over like a cool glass left in the winter snow.
"W-What..." Those words barely escaped my lips as Charlotte's smile reached the tips of her cheeks.
"What? Cat got your tongue, Sir?"
She giggled, her eyes closing shut as that smile never faltered.
D-Did she just say what I thought she said?
I quickly shook my head, trying to convince myself I misheard her in some way.
"I-I must have ya wrong. It sounded like-"
Charlotte gently placed the tip of her index finger on her bottom lip, sending a wink my way. I think in her mind she was coming across like a princess or something.
"Nope. You heard every word correct, Sir."
More like a horror film creature...
My palms began to pool with sweat as she slowly made her way towards me.
She may as well have been a starving wolf cornering a tired bunny rabbit.
I had never been so terrified of anything in my entire life...
And I think she knew that.
"No reply to that? Is that a yes then?"
She clapped her hands together, bouncing up and down in excitment.
"Oh, I knew it! Charlotte Greenwood! Doesn't it just roll off the tongue? I love it!"
Her words hit me like molten lava being poured into my ears.
Her smile grew ever more as those bright blue eyes lit up like a midnight lamp post.
"It's really a storybook romance, isn't it?"
The moment she got close enough for me to smell her perfume, I was done for.
I twisted around on my right foot before bolting as fast and as far as I could over the bridge.
Anywhere but near her was far better alternative.
With each step, my raging heart pounded like a wardrum in my chest.
S-She's insane! A crazy girl!
Halfway across the bridge, I heard her yell for me, a positive giggle in her tone.
"Oh Tucker, learn to take a joke why don't you! Come back, I swear I'll drop it!"
I ignored her.
Joke or not, that burning heat in my face had never raged quite so hot. That girl was a walking wildfire, consuming every and all things in my life without care or remorse.
Everytime I attempted to treat her like a genuine friend, she had to go and do something like that.
Something to watch me squirm...
Shoulda went huntin with Andrew and Dennis!
Her laugh echoed through the Luisianna trees as I finally reached the edge of the bridge. When I turned around, she was in clear view all the way on the other side, holding her stomach in a vain attempt to contain her laughter. She quickly stuck her tongue out and pulled her right eyelid down.
"S-Stupid girl!" I yelled before turning to finish my sprint home.
However...
I didn't evem make it but a single step before I collided head first into something broad and sturdy.
"Ah!"
Bouncing off of the hard surface, I stumbled back, my arms flailing in a desperate attempt to grab onto something, anything to catch myself mid fall.
I found nothing.
My body collapsed onto the dirt road, my back slamming hard against it.
I winced in pain, a sting started at my spine before coursing through my whole body like a scorpion sting made of pure liquid. Dust scattered throughout the air before the back of my head bounced off of the ground.
I couldn't even get my eyes open in order to see what I had ran into at full speed before a deep voice bellowed from the depths of someone's gut directly over me.
"Watch where you're goin kid!"
I know that voice...
I slowly inched my eyes open, my right hand already softly rubbing the back of my sore head.
How do I know that voice?
Standing over me, repeatedly patting his side, was a familiar looking man.
But, I couldn't quite place where I knew that face from...
His eyes were scrunched up, his teeth clenched tight in an annoyed cringe.
Who is...
I had always been so bad with faces...
He was a short and broad man, unkempt stubble dotting his strong jawline. Dangling loose around his chest was a formally white shirt, now stained with brown grease top to bottom. A baseball cap, ripped around the brim, clung tight around his buzzcut hair.
He finally stopped rubbing his side before raising his hands and patting his shirt loose of any dust that may have clung to it.
Fruitless if you ask me. That shirt was already long past any point of saving its white coloring.
He sighed, finally looking down at me.
"You're just lucky I wasn't carryin anything, kid. Where in the world were ya goin like that?"
He squinted his narrow eyes, slouching down in an attempt to get a better look at my face.
"Wait just a second. I knows you... You's that kid always hangin round my sister."
That's how I know him! Yeah yeah yeah... Church when she first moved here. Charlotte forced him to go. He's her brother!
My eyes slowly widened at the realization of who I was looking up at. If I focused hard enough, I could just barely see a faint hint of a resemblance between him and Charlotte. He had the same blue eyes, though his golden hair was far more of a dirty blonde compared to the pristine honey shine of his sisters.
A faint chuckle hit his throat as he adjusted the ball cap atop his head.
"Suppose I should count myself lucky for bumpin into ya, kid. You's seen my sister? She was supposed to come on home right after school to help me clean out the shed. She ain't show up."
His eyes wondered around the orange sky overhead before ultimately landing on... nothing.
He simply stared above, like the wind itself had put the man in a trance-like coma.
Is he... alright?
His eyes slowly fogged over in a strange way that I had never quite seen before. His greasy hand rubbed the pointy hairs on his chin, his eyes continuing to stare at absolutely nothing.
He's.... scarin me...
"Ain't seen her though..." He whispered, though I felt as if his words weren't aimed at me anymore. Like he was talking to a ghost of some kind.
A strange silence filled the air for a brief moment, the breeze slowly rustling through the half dead leaves around us.
I knew full well how bad I was with people. I had never been good at all when it came to reading others emotions. But, even I could recognize that everyone I had ever met had this gleam in their eye. This small shimmer that clearly told the world around them, "I'm alive."
Not his...
For just a flash of a second.
Such an insignificant span of time at the end of the day.
I noticed something...
His eyes lacked that gleam...
That spark...
All I saw was just a dense and overbearing mist. Like the morning after an intense rain when the coming sunrise only thickens the foggy air along the ground.
And just as quickly as that fog had crept into his vision, it rolled away as that familiar blue color like his sisters returned.
He blinked a few times, glancing around like the world had just come back into existence for him.
He smiled warmly at me, resting the tips of his fingers onto the bill of his hat.
"Anyhow... Have ya seen my sister round by any chance?"
My eyes quickly shot towards the other side of the bridge before setting on him again.
"Um... I- I don't-"
"Brother?" Charlotte's voice rang out from behind me, soft and subdues. It was like her throat was being held tight and the words barely managed to escape.
I turned towards the sound of her voice, a chill running down my spine before my eyes even landed on her.
Charlotte was behind me, he hands folding in front of her waist like a dutiful maid greeting her master.
That felt so strange to witness...
What had happened to the Charlotte that was usually out and about with the sunlight? That bright and cheerful girl who never stopped laughed at everything and nothing all at once. The girl who just a moment before was cackling to herself.
Where was she...
This version of her was only supposed to awaken with the moon...
Like a lonely werewolf howling at the stars.
Something like that shouldn't be seen in the light of day...
It was too vulnerable.
Too sensitive.
Too heartbreaking to see in the broad daylight.
"There ya are! What happened, Char?" Her brother said.
He took a step closer, his back straightening causing his shoulders to broaden more than they already were.
"I specifically told you's to come straight home! You deliberately disobeyed me yet again, girl!"
He tightly grasped the furrowed skin between his brows with his index finger and thumb.
Charlotte began to shiver... shaking like a dog being scowled for ripping up a blanket or something. Those usually glowing eyes fogged over as her golden bangs hung low.
"What in the world am I goin to do with ya, girl? I give you simple-"
"My fault, sir..." The words slipped out of my mouth without permission.
There goes my body... actin on its own again.
His head slowly averted away from his sister, squarely focusing onto me.
I quickly picked myself up and onto my feet, throwing my bangs out of my face.
I grasped my hands around my jean shorts, pulling them tight enough to dig my fingernails deep into the worn out denim.
"I... um... I-I took her book bag and ran away with it. Thought it'd be fun to tease a girl..."
What am I doin?! Why should I throw myself under the bus for her not listenin to her dag gum brother?!
"I-I knew she'd go chasin after me, cryin and yellin... Just a stupid game. I'm sorry."
He flicked the bill of his hat with his index finger, his body shifting towards me and away from Charlotte.
That made me happy...
I breathed a sigh of relief.
"That so?" He mumbled.
I hesitated for a brief second before nodding.
"Yes, Sir. I-I didn't know I was keepin her from chores... I-Im sorry, sir. It was a stupid thing to do."
With my head hung low, I glanced over at Charlotte. Her eyes had grown far wider than I ever imagined possible. To say she was surprised would be the understatement of ghe century.
Her brother sighed, rubbing his chin again.
Odd habit of his...
"Well, kid... You's stupid teasin set me back. What ya plan on doin to make up for it?"
I looked down at the dirt under my feet, my dusty shoes shifting slightly.
"I'll... um... clean you's shed. That work?"
He chuckled, slamming his open palm against his chest like it was a marching bands heavy drum.
"Good kid! Ha! Well, Char, I can see why ya like the lad."
He threw his arm over my shoulder like we were old pals before forcibly pulling me towards the direction of his house.
"Suppose I can't blame a boy for teasin girls. I used to do the same! Well, let's get after it, kid!"
I glanced over my shoulder at Charlotte.
She was shaking her head slowly back and forth, but her eyes... those blasted blue oceans spoke volumes.
I could hear her soft voice in my head.
"Thank you..."