Unintended Consequences

Prologue

    Two years ago...

    "Charlotte dear! The boys are in the backyard why don't you go check on them?" Mrs. Johnson called over to me from her place next to my mother. Her voice snapped me out of the hazy thoughts I had been lost in. Go in the backyard? Yeah, no thanks. That would mean facing the person I actively ignored and avoided at all costs.

    "Oh no thank you! I'm fine here with Annie." I replied as I settled further into my place on the living room carpet. Am I above using a child to avoid humiliation? Well, I guess not. I flopped Annie's barbies around in an attempt to actually entertain the toddler. But her oversized-eyes narrowed at me like she knew my heart wasn't in it.. sorry girl.

    My mind drifted towards the Johnson's back door. I knew my brother Oliver was back there tossing the football around with his best friend Archer. Warmth spread through my chest by instinct as I imagined the two boys. They had been attached at the hip for as long as I could remember. They were polar opposites and yet it would be impossible for anyone watching them to not see the close camaraderie.

Oliver was loud and energetic. He regularly placed himself at the center of everyone's attention and thrived in the spotlight. His laughter was contagious and his lop-sided grin allowed him to get away with way too much.

In contrast, Archer was quiet and reserved. His powerful aura and domineering presence naturally garnered him a lot of attention. But unlike Oliver, he never seemed to care. In fact, he never really seemed to care about anything. Up until a few months ago, I was their—mostly tolerated—third wheel.

    I loved my brother and bless his heart he had always been so good to me. I was a quiet kid which made it hard to make many friends, so I tended to attach myself to whatever Oliver and Archer were doing. Oliver never seemed to mind too much, but Archer... well Archer minded. Not that I could blame him.

    See the problem was, for as long as I could remember I had loved Archer Johnson. I loved his dark, expressive eyes. I loved the grumpy way he held his lips tightly. I loved the rare times where his shields dropped and he allowed himself to have fun. I loved him. I wish I could say that I kept my cool and didn't allow this all-consuming love to bleed into my consciousness at all times. But nope. That did not happen.

    I did what any five-year-old with a crush would do. I stared dreamily at my Prince Charming pretty much 24/7. I imagined all the wonderful things that could happen if he just realized that he loved me too. The only issue was that he unequivocally did not love me back. The bigger issue? I didn't stop when I was five. Oh no, your girl is an over-achiever. I kept up with this horribly cringey behaviour right up until a few months ago.

2 Months before...

"God, can you believe our little baby Lotty is 16 today? And she for sure is about to have her first make-out sesh tonight?" Kayla exclaimed while she hung twinkle lights on the wall. I laughed as she wiped an invisible tear away from her pale cheek.

"Heck yeah! Our girl is gonna get some!" Brit chimed in as she peaked up from the stereo.

    "Okay, first of all, I am still about 79% sure no one is going to show up. And second of all, I'm not making out with anyone! There is no one coming that I'd want anyway." The two girls shared a look that I understood immediately... It very clearly said, "This b-word is delusional." And I suppose I was.