Her Knight In Shiny Armor

C4

Her grandparents didn't know about her existence.  She was wrong about them not wanting her .

Charlene felt ashamed of herself for assuming things before finding out the truth .

It was a mistake that many people made in their lifetimes . It still didn't make her feel better , though.

She felt like garbage for thinking like that . Real stinky , gooey garbage .

Her grandparents were old and very sickly . Her grandfather had chronic asthma and her grandmother ....Hmm, too many things were wrong with her grandmother's health that she couldn't even remember the terms for any of it .

Even in her old age , her grandmother resembled Arlene Parker . If her hair wasn't gray , she'd be blonde . And her eyes ....Wow , so lively .

Her grandfather didn't resemble her mother at all , but if she looked long enough ,she could find her in his cheeks and in little actions , like waving his hands in a certain way as he spoke .

He was almost white haired and his cheeks were sunken . Liver spots dotted his papery thin skin like freckles on a young person's face . He walked slightly bend over, using a cane to keep himself steady and to not cause him to kiss mother earth.

He didn't resemble those story book grandads who had big bushy beards and smiling faces .No , he looked ordinary , but nice enough to be her grandfather .

The knowledge of her existence seemed to give them new life and hope because they hadn't thought that they'd ever have the privilege of having a grandchild .

They were so happy that Charlene couldn't find it in her heart to tell them that she might not be Charlie's kid . Though that would be irrelevant because she was in fact their grandchild because her mother was really their daughter .

They offered to let her stay with them and Charlie refused politely .He told them that a child would be too much work for them . They didn't protest because they knew that it's true .
They're too old to care for a child even if said child is a fifteen year old girl that are quite capable of caring for herself.

She would be staying with Charlie Swan until the results of the DNA test . Hopefully it wouldn't take too long .

Nothing was said about social services. Whether he contacted them , she wasn't sure about. He must've, but he didn't disclose it to her , which made her worry that one of these days a social worker would be picking her up .

They didn't visit her grandparents for too long . Charlie wanted to go home and rest because he had to work the next day, whether she was there or not .

They watched TV for the rest of the day and once Bella came home , they ate dinner that Bella cooked.

Charlene offered to help , but Bella said she she didn't need help .

She seemed less nice than in the morning . She probably didn't like Charlene living there for an indefinite amount of time .

It was a shame , really . Charlene really liked the other girl. If Charlie is her father then Bella is her half sister and that meant she's family .

Then the time came for her to go to bed and she dreaded it . That uncomfortable mattress haunted her . But as it is,  she had no choice but to go to bed and try to sleep .

She needed to shower first , though . Even if she doesn't have spare clothes to wear to bed .

That situation bothered her . She needed clothes . Especially pajamas . Warm fuzzy ones with bear or mouse ears .

She frowned as she walked into the bathroom , shutting the door behind her. Why hasn't she packed better when she decided to run ?.

Oh yeah , her backpack wasn't big enough and most of the clothes at the children's home didn't fit her properly .

She didn't pack any of her clothes when her mother died and she was send to the children's home  either. How stupid was she?.

She sighed and turned on the tap , warm water flowing over her hands .

She let the bath fill up halfway and closed it .

She then pulled away and undressed .

Then she got in , sitting there with thoughts whirling around her mind like a whirlwind .

She missed her mother . They had such a great life together .
It all ended so quickly when her mother died after a short sick bed.

Her mother's house was still there , locked up and waiting for her when she turned eighteen in a few years .

Some of her mother's furniture had to be sold  to help pay for outstanding hospital bills . Especially the expensive vintage ones . Some of her own things too .

She didn't have much left except the few personal items in her backpack . The bigger stuff were still in the house .

Yes she could've packed clothes when she left for the children's home , but some of them wouldn't fit her now . She'd still be right where she is now . She grew a bit since last spring. It was no use crying over . She would just have to accept everything now .

She dressed in her old clothes , minus her underwear that she hand washed and took it to the room to dry because she didn't own another pair . She should've packed some at the children's home , but she was stupid and that's that .

Later she lay down in bed again , getting no sleep whatsoever throughout the night , only falling asleep at three in the morning , sleeping only for three hours or so until Charlie woke her for breakfast .

Bella wasn't in the kitchen when she came downstairs and Charlie told her that Bella was already at school and that she'd be back by four .

" She laid out some clothes for you in the bathroom . It's some of her old ones . They're still wearable , so don't worry about them being torn or faded ", he said before he left for work , leaving Charlene to ponder over his words .

She didn't mind someone's old clothes .  She was actually happy to have them .

Being alone in a stranger's house was the problem . However she endured it as she got dressed in the clothes Bella left for her , folded neatly on a small counter in the bathroom.

It consisted of jeans , a blue sweater and a green long sleeve t-shirt . There were trainers too. They were a little big , but she was thankful for them . Hers were too worn to actually keep her feet warm anymore .

She thought of thanking Bella when she came home and decided to clean the house as part of the thanks .

She only hoped that they wouldn't take offence at her doing the laundry and such . She only wanted to be of use . Put in a bit of elbow grease and all that jazz .

" Yeah, Charlene, let's hope they don't bite your head off ," she thought as she started to wash the dishes .

Soon enough she was hard at work and forgot about all her troubles as she focused on getting the house clean .
              _________
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