Blinded [One Direction] ✔

Chapter 29 - Home

(A/N) JUST FOUND IT NECESSARY TO POINT OUT THAT WHILE I'M PLANNING LOUIS AND ELEANOR'S ENGAGEMENT PARTY IN THIS STORY, ZAYN AND PERRIE ARE PROBABLY PLANNING THEIRS IN REAL LIFE I'M SO DONE OKAY BYE HAPPY READING. 

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*Charlotte's POV*

I was somewhat awake when the overwhelming glare of the sun found its way straight onto my face. Groaning, I grasped the blanket in between my fingers and pulled it over my head, submerging myself into the Spring scent of the sheets.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!" Danielle sang as she pushed back the curtains even more, destroying any chances that I had of falling back to sleep.

"Be down in ten, I'm making breakfast." 

The soft click of the door closing followed, and I knew that I was once again alone.

Alone. It seemed that no matter how many people I surrounded myself with, I still somehow felt alone.

It would be fair to say that I didn't sleep a wink. The storm's merciless thunder was only a small fraction of what kept me awake and alert. I could easily have blamed the constant ticking of the analog clock that hung just over my head, or the continuous barking of a dog that lived nearby, but I knew better than that.

After Danielle and I arrived at her house, she let me borrow a pair of pajamas and gave me her guest room to sleep in. If it was anyone else, I would have felt as if I was intruding, but Danielle didn't allow me to feel that way. Though I did feel a little bit bad for asking so much of her, she insisted that her home was a home to me, too. 

And after what happened last night, a home was everything I needed. Mother had called me after we left the house, when the clock struck one. I remembered our conversation perfectly, the hushed words she spoke through the speaker ringing in my mind, clear as crystal, the way her voice shook reminding me of the magnitude of this mess.

"Charlotte, where did you go? Are you alright? I'm so, so sorry, I shouldn't have let you leave--"

I had only answered the call when mother began firing questions at me, only some of them being comprehensible. 

"Mum, I'm fine, don't worry. I'm going to stay with Danielle until things... cool down. How's father? Did he say anything to you?" 

Truth be told, I was more worried about my mother than anything else. My father was irrational and proved to be unpredictable last night, so the thought of him taking his anger out on my mother made me anxious.

"No, don't worry, he ignored me for the rest of the night, and honestly, I'm thankful he did. Listen Char, I don't know what's gotten into him. He's never this bad--"

"Mother," I sighed, "You don't have to apologize for him. I'll visit you soon, alright? It'll be fine, I promise. Just... just be careful."

It was the second promise I had made to her and the second one that I had no idea how to fulfill. I was weak--beaten over and over again until there was nothing left of me. I was tired of fighting, tired of having to go fetch people to come back into my life. If my father didn't want anything to do with me, then so be it. It was his decision and no matter how much it pained me, I could do not a single thing about it. 

I sat up in bed, a spell of dizziness hitting me as soon as I lifted my head. I groaned and allowed my head to fall back so that I was leaning on the concrete wall. The throbbing in my skull that failed to subside and the scratching at my throat made it seem quite possible that I had grown ill.