The Society | Completed

Part 48

It's easy to act like nothing happened when they wake up the next day.

Charlotte keeps her mouth shut as they sit down to have breakfast; she's not going to be the one to break the silence as she watches the couple move around at the counters.

Conrad slides a bowl of fruit across the island to Charlotte, who quickly digs in, stuffing her mouth once she realises Carlos is about to speak.

"Charlotte, what are you doing today?" He asks, looking over to Conrad's best friend.

"I don't know. Matt decided to take an extra shift; I couldn't tell him I was coming up in case he ruined the surprise," Charlotte sighs, swinging her fork around.

Conrad sits down with her own bowl of fruit, staring at the melon she chopped up like she's trying to get answers from it.

"Oh. Well, you could meet me and Conrad on our lunch break, if you'd like. I have a doctors appointment for the thing we were talking about yesterday," he suggests, biting into his toast contentedly.

"Oh. Like, do you want me to come?" She asks, raising an eyebrow at Conrad.

Conrad doesn't look at her, and this causes Charlotte to frown again.

Her friend looks pale and smaller than usual, and her hair is wet and dripping onto the counter, barely missing splashing back on her robe.

"Yeah. We'd like you to come for the scan, Con is going to go in on her own for the consultation," he smiles weakly.

His hair is in a tight bun at the nape of his neck, and he's dressed more formally than Charlotte has seen him.

"Do you have a busy day?" She asks, finishing her fruit.

"I have some trials I have to pop into. Nothing too stressful," he shrugs, putting his plate into the dishwasher. He grabs Charlotte's empty bowl and puts it in, too.

He nods to Charlotte, grabbing his coat and keys.

"Goodbye," he whispers to Conrad, kissing her head.

Her head is resting on the palm of her hand as she stares at her bowl, and she doesn't react when he does this.

As soon as the front door closes, she looks up.

"When are my parents arriving?" She asks, putting her fork down.

"They'll be here in a few hours. You need to finish your breakfast, though. If you don't finish, you can't go to work," Charlotte scolds, walking over to sit beside her.

The front door opens, and Scarlet walks in happily.

"Hello, ladies!" She chirps.

Oh, this is not what I needed, Conrad whispers to Charlotte through their mindlink.

Oh, she speaks! Do you want me to get rid of her?, Charlotte asks her, offering a fake smile to Scarlet.

"Hi! How are you?" Charlotte asks out loud, giving her the finger under the table.

"Oh, I'm really good! I came to get Conrad; we have a field study to do today!" She beams, stopping by the table.

Conrad looks up at her, a startled expression on her face.

"No we don't, I would have remembered that. I booked today off in case I didn't get back in time," Conrad points out, pushing her hair out of her face.

She has a towel on her shoulders in an attempt to keep herself warmer and drier, but it's getting heavier and heavier.

"Well, I heard you were back, so I came to get you!" Scarlet shrugs, sitting down.