Feared

Twenty-One: Trust

As the third day dawned, the final day for Wallace and her friends to produce any leads to James, Charlotte woke to a warehouse alive with expectation. They all knew the significance of the day, and Charlotte had no doubt they were imagining what would happen the new-comers if they had nothing to offer her and Ethan.

She wondered if this worried them. Did Wallace and her friends stay awake at night anxious about what would befall them should they fail? Or did they know how weak and helpless they all felt here and that with each passing day punishment would become more difficult?

Charlotte tried to focus on one moment of her day at a time. Looking too far ahead caused her chest to tighten and anger to rise in her throat like bile. Instead she focused on trivial tasks like breakfast, checking the food stores, inspecting those guarding the perimeter. The others had left before dawn, but she was the best at defending the warehouse and she was forced to stay behind. She was not the only one. Ethan, Ian, Ronnie, Callahan and Nathan went, but the others stayed back, passing the time with other menial jobs.

Charlotte felt marginally better than she had since they had left Washington. Harris had forced his help upon her, offering her his homemade remedies to try and bring some strength back. A sleep draught had ensured a deep sleep the night before and though she had been reluctant, Harris promised he could reverse it if they needed her help with anything. She was glad of his pushiness as she climbed up to the loft and sat down at the desk with a bowl of soup and a packet of crackers.

She hadn't been alone long when she heard the steel staircase rattle with the approach of somebody else. Matt appeared from the stairwell, his eyebrows knotted together in a frown, his dimples appearing as her pursed his lips.

Charlotte didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say, instead she busied herself with her lunch as he approached.

"Hi," he said standing opposite her but not looking at her. Hesitating for an awkward moment he dragged up another seat to the desk and sat across from her.

Charlotte could feel the flush climbing up her cheeks, but she continued forcing the soup between her teeth.

"Hi," she nodded, spooning another mouthful of the orange liquid into her mouth.

Matt took a deep breath, breaking the silence that had begun to stretch between them.

"Look, I'm sorry for being here. This isn't what I expected but..." he trailed off. "I know I'm the last person you want to see. To be honest I'm not exactly thrilled to see you... I mean I am, but I'm not. It makes everything harder and then..." He frowned at the table. "Look I just want to be clear on that. It wasn't my choice and I know you don't want me here but..."

"Matt I am glad you're here," she sighed. She set her spoon down and met his dark gaze. "I am distracted. I am freaking out at the moment. Every moment, every thought of my day is with him. I keep wondering if there is something I could have done differently, something I could have changed, but I keep going in circles. Helpless, damn circles".

She ignored how he winced at her words, relishing at how good it felt to voice her pain, to talk to somebody she trusted beyond a doubt, a person who was actually listened to her.

"Right now something is wrong and I can't do anything about it. We don't know who is trying to hurt us. They don't have a face or a name. For all we know they are already here," she whispered. "Matt I can promise you this is not personal. Until I get James back... Until I know I can trust those people you brought here, I am going to be on edge".

"I didn't bring them here – they brought me. And Charlotte, you can trust them. If they weren't on your side we would know by now – you at least would know".