cherry (h.s)

five

shits getting real y'all.
//

Charlotte Thompson

When my mother and father came home that night, I had to be normal.

I couldn't tell them anything. I had to sit at the dinner table with them and act like nothing happened to me today, like I wasn't threatened by a criminal after I found out my best friend was dead.

My mom and dad hadn't seen the news at all that day, because they'd been out. They didn't know what had happened to Zoe.

But they were bound to find out eventually.

And they did. I was laying in my dark bedroom, on my side, facing away from my door.

I was wide awake, and I heard my bedroom door creak open.

"Charlotte?" my mom's soft voice speaks.

"Is she sleeping?" my dad says.

I shut my eyes, pretending to be sound asleep in hopes that they'd leave me alone. I knew why they were in here. They found out about Zoe's death.

I wasn't ready to talk about it...but as they kept approaching my bed, I realized I didn't really have a choice.

The weight on my bed shifts. My mom sits behind my body, and she slowly starts to rub my back.

"Baby, are you alright?" my mom asks.

I nod.

"Are you sure? We heard what happened, honey."

The moment she says those words, my body tenses and I pinch my eyes closed tighter. I was about to explode into tears.

"Why didn't you tell us, Char?" my dad asks.

I sniff. "I-I couldn't."

"What do you mean you couldn't? Look at us." she says, grabbing my shoulder and flipping me over to my other side.

I wipe small tears in the corners of my eyes. "I j-just...couldn't tell you."

My mom and dad exchange a look of concern.

I wanted to tell them everything that was going on. I wanted to tell them how some man has been targeting me and stalking me to make sure I keep my mouth shut because not only did I witness him about to kill someone at a club, I also witnessed him in the midst of a shooting. It's been such an unbearable weight on my small shoulders. I can only take so much.

Were Harry's words empty? Would he really hurt my family if I told them? How would he even know?

"There's something going on." I wipe my eyes.

My mother and father's faces fall at my words. "What is it, sweetie?" my father comes and sits by my mother on my bed.

I sit up fully, bringing my knees tight to my chest. "I-I know who's killing people."

I can't even describe the expression on my parent's faces. They looked confused yet on high alert at the same time.

"What are you saying, Charlotte?" my mom says in serious tone

"I'm saying that I know the person who's behind all of these murders. H-he threatened me because I saw him try to kill someone." I spill.

There's no going back now.

My parent's eyes widen in shock. My mom grips onto my dad's arm.

"Go call the police." she says cautiously.