Charlotte's Scars

Chapter 5 - Charlotte

Chapter Five

Charlotte

Monday morning came far too quickly. I was sitting outside on my front porch waiting for Karla to come pick me up. Usually I would just ride my bicycle to school, but today my backpack was filled with textbooks, plus I had my saxophone. It was much easier to just get a ride; although, I was starting to regret calling her.

Now that I actually thought about it, I realized Christian would be driving Karla. He needed the truck on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, which was when he had his afternoon classes at The University of Bridgewalk. Tuesdays and Fridays were his morning classes, and Karla always dropped him off before she went to school. The truck was technically Christian's, but he had decided to share it with Karla until she could get her own.

A small part of me knew I shouldn't get too close to Christian. The image of him looking at me in that predatory way was still too fresh in my mind. It terrified me and excited me in the same breath, which only scared me more. The logical part of me said I had nothing to fear, and I wasn't that stupid, but my heart begged to differ. If given the opportunity, would I truly be able to say no to Christian? I didn't even know if he was interested in me in that way, but no matter, I still couldn't afford to test that theory.

But alas, I wasn't able to change my mind about the ride even if I wanted to.

I watched grievously as Christian's truck pulled up in front of my house.

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my backpack and saxophone case before hustling over to the vehicle. I was probably over reacting anyways. I have no idea what had caused his sudden interest in me yesterday morning, but chances were he would be back to normal today.

"Good morning Charlie!" Karla yelled out the window. A large smile was spread across her face, and it made her dark blue eyes brighten. Although I doubt it was possible, it seemed to make her look even more stunning. The Steele family had great genes apparently because they were all exceptionally attractive people.

"Well, you seem to be feeling better this morning," I mused.

She opened the truck door and pulled her seat forward so I could climb into the back. "Yah, I decided life is too short to let such mundane things bother me." She leaned in closer and whispered only loud enough for me to hear, "Plus, I decided high school boys are too immature for my liking anyways."

I chuckled while getting comfy in the backseat.

Christian turned to look at Karla and raised his eyebrow. "What mundane things were bothering you?" He had that overprotective, brotherly look in his face as he pulled out onto the street.

His eyebrows were creased, his jaw clenched and his eyes were burning with fury, and my heart leaped. I don't care what anyone says—Christian looked positively scrumptious when he showed his dark side.

Karla tapped the dashboard with her fingers. "Nothing really-"

He cut her off. "And since when do high school kids say things like mundane?"

"Charlie uses much more sophisticated words than that—and I am not a kid!"

"Yah well, Charlie is different—and you are definitely not an adult."

My head snapped up when they mentioned my name. I was different? Okay, I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult. Maybe it was both.