STAMP OF APPROVAL - a selection story

lightning strikes

C H A R L O T T E

written by animationchic/aOK706

round six ||

February 13th

9:45am

"Maybe we were wrong to ask this of you." Dad sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "I just can't believe this happened." He shoots a glare at my uncle and Bard. "You two are supposed to be helping her, stopping things like this from happening. Explain yourselves."

"They don't have to explain themselves, Dad," I say wearily. I knew he'd find someone to be angry at, especially since James was swiftly dealt with. I'm not surprised he's choosing to blame my uncle or Bard. I see Bard open his mouth to protest and I meet his eyes. "I'm serious. This is not your fault, either of you. It's not even my fault. The fault lies entirely with James, and he's gone now."

"Yes, but Charlotte, that had to be terrifying," my mom says from beside Dad.

I sigh. "It was. I still don't know how to fully process it. But it's no one's fault, at least no one here can be blamed."

"Do you want to continue?" Dad asks me harshly and I'm surprised. What James did was terrible, yes, but to give up? I hadn't fully thought about it.

"I— I hadn't really considered that," I admit.

"No one would blame you if you called this whole thing off," Mom says softly and I can't tell which way she's leaning. I can't tell which way any of them are leaning.

I take a deep breath, really thinking about it. If I called off the Selection, I don't think any of the guys would blame me, not really. I think they would understand. But is that fair? Should I let the actions of one person determine my future? What if one of these guys were it, my future, my heart, and I threw it all away because... what, because I'm scared? These guys deserve better.

I deserve better.

"I don't think I want to?" I say it more like a question because it's so hard to really know. Dad gives me one of his signature looks and I try my best not to shrink in my chair.

"Charlotte, let me be very clear," he says it slowly and I'm almost scared of what he's going to say next. "I don't care about the fall out of this. Yes, it will be a PR nightmare but we will weather that. We have before and we can now. I will not put you in a situation where you are not safe, I won't. You are worth more than all of it. So what do you want to do?"

His words touch something in me that I almost forgot. He's protective and caring and it's a side of him I haven't seen in so, so long. It makes me want to be better for him, it makes me want to try harder.

"I don't think I want to discontinue," I say, a bit hesitant. "I don't know that I'm ready for anything completely alone again, but I don't think all of these guys are bad. I feel like I've made some connections so far and—" I break off, realizing I'm about to say that I'm not ready to lose them. And I'm surprised by the notion.

"Well, you can't have them all here and just ignore them," Dad says, frowning at me.

"But one on one dates are what got me into this mess in the first place," I argue.

"You can't have your cake and eat it too." Dad shakes his head. "I don't know. I'm leaning towards ending this entire thing. Maybe we will try again in a year or so with a much more thorough vetting system."