It Comes In Three's

Chapter 7

Charlotte’s POV

“When I was twelve, I didn’t live in this town. I originally lived just outside of New York.” Anna begins, shuffling on the sofa to get comfy.

“That’s also why my parents are never really here – they still work out there at their company.” She adds, as I choose to remain silent to show that I am listening to her. Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

“The school I went to there was fine, but I eventually got caught up in an incident… with an older boy named Reece…” Anna grows nervous, pausing to glance me over briefly, as I nod steadily for her to continue.

I needed more details already as my hands grew sweaty from the tension.

“At the time, I guess I was just young and stupid. I had lots of friends… all girls I mean… not like the guys I hang around with now.” She adds, as I remain silent giving her the freedom to talk.

“Reece was seventeen and popular, and I was only thirteen and easily persuaded…” She pauses before she goes on-

“In my old school It was seen as an honour to even be looked at by him let alone spoken to so Ignoring him just wasn’t an option! It would have been total social suicide for little thirteen year old me – If I would have been the only girl to ever reject thee – Reece Caval.” Anna grits out his full name, throwing her head back to breathe before starting again…

“So one thing quickly led to another and he eventually asked if he could take me out on a date, and I stupidly said yes thinking that he actually liked me and so I lied to my parents and went out with him…” She scoffs at the memory, as my stomach churns with thoughts of where this story could be heading.

“Anyway, I went on the so called date, and it only resulted in me being assaulted in the back of his damn car!” Her hands ball up into fists as she rushes the information out at me – the water gathering at the brims of her eyes.

“I should have known…” She whispers, shaking her head at herself as my mouth opens and closes to find the right words.

Oh god… I can’t believe she’s trusting me with this…

“I’m so sorry…” I breathe out, unable to comprehend how terrifying that must have been for her.

“That’s not the end…” She states warily, as my eyes widen…

“After what happened, I tried to tell two of, what I believed were, my closest friends at the time.” Anna’s voice grows hoarse, as I nod for more.

“But they turned on me. Told everyone that I was just lying for attention. They made my life a living hell after that until one day I just snapped… I beat up one of the girls with a rock – her name was Ginny – and I hit her so bad that the doctors said I nearly killed her.” A single tear falls from Anna’s eye as she continues…

“I was seen as a total monster after that… My father had to pay masses to settle the matter privately too or I would have been locked up or sent to a facility!” She sobs, as my heart cracks for this poor girl.

It was starting to make sense to me now… Anna needed to meet someone that hadn’t heard the rumours about her past… someone who wouldn’t judge her and could listen to her real story… someone that was also broken like me.

“My parents agreed to move me away from all of the drama and so they sent me to be closer to my Aunt and my cousin Jace who you heard me talking with on the phone earlier. I hang around with

him and his friends everyday because rumours quickly reached the school here about what I did and people began to hate me here too…” She closes her eyes to calm herself slightly, as my heart hammers in my chest.

It seems I’m not the only one with a horrible story…

“What about… the guy? What happened to him?” I question, deep down wanting to know if the guy had been punished for what he did to her.

“I haven’t told anyone else until now… not after what my so called ‘friends’ did to me… I don’t know what he’s doing with his life.” Her eyes meet mine, as she holds a deep vulnerability in them.

“You didn’t do anything wrong!” I state instantly, grabbing her hands and squeezing.

It was as though, in this moment in time, fate had brought us both together…

“I was made to feel evil for so long, until I eventually faced the reality that what Reece had done to me was horrific… any girl that age would have lost their mind after that! But I did feel seriously terrible for what I had done to Ginny – despite how nasty she had been to me for months before that!” Anna rants, getting it off her chest.

“I understand.” I find myself saying, meaning every word.

“When I first saw you… I saw the same look in your eyes… I don’t know how to explain it, but I know that you’ve dealt with something haunting… similar to me… I just had to help you… I didn’t have any girls around to help me at the time – and I wish that I did!” Anna’s eyes widen, as she looks me over with concern.

“I don’t want to pry too much either – you can talk when you’re ready!” Her eyes search mine, as I nod in silent agreement with her words.

We were both pretty much still strangers but in this moment, I felt like I had made a best-friend, for the first time in my life.

“My real name is Charlotte… but I always preferred Lottie… but now I sort of hate both… because it just reminds me of back home.” I try to open up about something, a way to show Anna that I trusted her too.

I eventually did want to tell her my story… but it was still too raw… I didn’t want to hear myself admit it out loud yet… that I stabbed Tommy… and could have killed him…

“I like Lottie…” She smiles weakly, as I smile too.

“I just don’t want them to find me here… I want to start a new life.” I admit, as she nods eagerly.

“Lottie is fine, and we can give you a new last name how about that?! If any issues come up then my father can help you too! So can my cousin and his friends – they will protect you here so don’t worry! That’s one thing that the three of those boys are damn good for!” She states eagerly, as I struggle to return the reaction.

There was three of them… just like Tommy, Jason and Holden…

“Don’t look so scared! Just think… you can be a completely different girl in this town! You could change your hair, change your style – you name it!” Anna tries her best to pick up the atmosphere as my mind races with thoughts of the three boys that I was to now meet.

“Y-Yeah…” Is all I manage, as she sighs sadly at my flat response.

“Let me take you shopping whilst it’s quiet today… it might help you prepare for tomorrow… and after your first day, if you still totally hate school then I guess you can just hide out here and ditch!” She laughs, as I offer her a half smile.

“Come on! Go and get ready!” She pushes, as I laugh slightly at her sudden eagerness.

“I have plenty of clothes in the drawers upstairs… take your pick!” She pulls me up with her from the sofa, dragging me towards the stairs.

“Let me help you…” She smiles, with genuine sincerity.

Will Anna still want to help me after she knows what I did… how could she…