"Do you want to know why I call you Forest?" Charlie chuckled while straddling my lap.
We were making out in my room after we discovered the ecstacy of s*x a few days ago. We were supposed to be at the museum right now to see some historic art installation she really wanted to see, but our make out session made us run much too late.
"Is it because of my forest green eyes? I asked and started tickling her. "Is it because you were a nine year old and were too smitten to think of anything else that's as green as my eyes?"
She was giggling and laughing while I tickled her. When I finally stopped, she was out of breath and still trying to stop laughing.
"No, that's not why I called you Forest." She was finally able to steady her breath.
"My parents liked locking me outside when it got dark." She explained. "They especially liked doing it when it was raining and when there was thunder outside and a heavy storm that would scare any adult."
I put both my hands on her hips and pushed her closer to me. Moments like this are rare with Charlotte. She doesn't open up this easily. She's the type to never talk about things and just pretend they never happened.
"They liked hearing me cry outside and beg them to let me back in." She said with a reluctant smile. "And they really liked the thought of me going to school with matted hair and smelling like I slept outside. It isolated me even more from other kids and made me think that it just wasn't possible for me to look and smell as clean as they did...especially considering the state my hair would be in."
I pulled at one of her curls and she chuckled.
She's always told me that taking care of her hair is not something that just anyone can do. I've seen her on days when she would dedicate an entire morning to washing her thick curls, conditioning it and braiding it and doing all kinds of things to it. It's a whole process, but she loves it so much. There's music playing when she does it, she's dancing and she just seems at ease.
"Well", she continued, "one night when I was locked outside, I decided I'd find some shelter instead of crying and begging for them to let me back in. I ran into a nearby forest. It should have scared me, but I knew I had no other choice. It didn't take me long to find some shelter. It was some kind of cave or natural covering that was warm and kept me dry. There was no mud inside that cave and there were these little fireflies that chased away the dark. When I found that place, I felt safe for the very first time in my life." She smiled and tucked her head in the crook of my neck.
"After that night, being locked outside wasn't so bad anymore because I had that forest. I had a place where I was safe from my parents, safe from the rain, the mud and thunder and safe from all the scary noises and shadows that lurke in the night."
"That's how you make me feel." She chuckled lightly. "You're my forest, my safe place. You'll always be my forest."
...
That memory played in my mind each time she called me Lucas, something that's been happening more and more often nowadays. Everytime she calls me Lucas, I know that in her own way she's telling me that she no longer sees me as her safe place.
I want to protect her. There's nothing I won't do to protect this woman. I want to be her refuge, her sanctuary, but how can I do that when she won't tell me a damn thing.
Her mouth is always shut when it comes to what's going on in that heart of hers that some people think is a block of ice.
And now here I am asking her why the hell she punched Lauren and she's looking at me like I just swore at her.
Lauren is on the floor crying and trembling like a leaf. The only thing that seems to calm her down is holding on to my hand. However, unlike her, Charlie doesn't even have the tiniest sign of any distress on her face. She's cold, calm and if those eyes of hers could kill, Lauren would be dead right now.
"Lauren here won't go to the police." She said with a cold and excited smile. "Because if she does, I'll tell her precious Lucas why I punched her."
Those words made Lauren freeze. Her eyes grew wider and the fear in her eyes turned into terror. She was petrified.
And I knew in that moment, while Charlie's voice cut through the tension with another threat and Lauren froze at those words, that Lauren deserved to get punched in the face. I may not know the reason, but she deserved it. So I chose to de-escalate the whole thing and get to the bottom of things.
Charlie wasn't going to tell me anything. That much was already clear. She's too proud and knowing her, she probably punched Lauren because she felt no words could explain whatever emotion she was feeling.
Christian was of no help. Charlotte has ensured that this man is more than prepared for his upcoming exams, but he still treats her like she's an enemy. I wanted to kill him for the way he spoke to her, for the way he was looking at her. I would kill this kid for looking at Charlie like she's a lesser human being than him.
There was too much going on.
Charlie was looking at me like my mere presence was suffocating her. Christian was glaring at Charlie and I was hoping Christian would glance up, see my eyes and understand that this was the last straw. I was going to kill him for the way he's been treating Charlie. He would pay for the disrespect he has made her endure even while she helped him.
But then I saw Charlie's eyes.
She thought my rage was directed at her. She thought my disgust was directed her.
As if that could ever happen. As if I could ever feel all this rage, shock and disgust at her. That can never be.
I was about to take her into my arms. I wanted to tell her I was wrong to ask her to apologise to Lauren without knowing what happened. After hearing what she said and seeing how Lauren tensed up, it was clear that Lauren said something she would never say infront of me; something so terrible that Charlie had no choice but to...
"Let's get you girls out of the sun." Mom's calm voice suddenly pierced through my thoughts.
She took Charlie inside. I wanted to follow them, but I needed to take care of this s**t show.
"You!" I grabbed Christian's shirt collar. "If you EVER talk to Charlotte like that EVER again...if you EVER look at her like that again, I will end you Christian. You are my brother, but whatever this vile and bitter human being it is that you are turning into, I will not tolerate it!"
He tried punching me, tried getting me to let go of his shirt collar, but none of it worked.
"She punched someone!" He shouted when I threw him on the floor. "Look at how scared Lauren is. Did you just expect me to keep quiet?"
I looked at him, then looked at Lauren and all the servants who were surrounding her. They all looked scared...of me.
Shit!
"Leave!" I ordered them all. "You too, Christian. I'll deal with you later."
I heard him huffing and puffing behind me while the servants gathered themselves and scurried away, leaving me and Lauren alone outside. She was still trembling, sobbing and her eye was already getting swollen and blue.
I knelt down infront of her and she tried holding my hand, but I moved it out of the way.
"What happened?" I asked her.
She didn't answer me. She just bit her quivering lip while playing with the hem of her very short dress.
"Lauren!" I almost growled. "What the f**k happened? Charlotte is a lawyer; the best lawyer in this city. She wouldn't risk her career by hitting you. So tell me, what happened? What did I miss?"
She started shaking her head as more tears streamed down her face.
"She hits me and I'm the one who gets interrogated? You want to know what happened?"
"Yes." I gritted through my teeth.
"The inevitable happened!" She spat out. "What happened is you forced two women who both love you to live under the same roof. I told her you love me and I told her that you want me here. That set her off because she knows just as well as I do that you're denying your feelings for me, Lucas. You think just because you don't feel the burning fire and passion yet that -"
"Shut up." I said as calmly as I could.
I stood up, pinched the bridge of my nose and almost left her right there with her swollen eye.
"Let's take you to my doctor." I headed for the door without looking back.
I was annoyed, angry, frustrated and so ... I don't even know what the other emotion is. All I know is this can't ever happen again. If I pushed Charlie to a point where she punched Lauren, then I pushed her much too far.
Lauren needs to go. I can't delay it anymore.
We were both quiet in the car. I could have asked someone else to take her. I'm pretty sure Christian would have jumped at the chance, but I want to keep the two of them apart from now on. Christian's allegiance to Lauren has turned him into someone I don't even recognise anymore. Mom and Belle will be with us for the next two weeks and they will want me to explain what the hell has happened to him and honestly, I have no idea.
"I texted Christian and told him I won't be pressing any charges." She said softly. "I may dislike Charlotte, but I know you care for her, so-"
"You're afraid she'll deliver on her threat." I corrected her. "You're afraid she'll tell me what happened. That's the only reason why you're not pressing any charges."
I didn't have to look at her to know that more tears were already forming in her eyes.
Of course she's crying.
"You can lie to Christian." I said calmly. "You can even lie to yourself, but I'm not stupid enough to believe that. So, are you going to tell me what happened or are you going to keep crying?"
That made the crying much much worse. She was full on sobbing now, but I was unmoved by it.
I opened a text from mom and just ignored her sobs.
"Charlie is fine as always!" The text read. "I don't think she's proud of what she did today. I'm trying to talk to her, but you know how she is."
I smiled at the text.
Charlie is fine. That's good.
I'll have to figure out how to get her to talk. She'll want to handle this herself. She always does everything herself. She thinks she can only rely on herself. Getting her to talk will be next to impossible.
"Get out of the car, Lauren." I instructed as soon as we got to the doctor.
I was holding the car door open for her and waiting while she looked up at me as if I was being too cruel to her.
And maybe I was.
But then again ...
What kind of friend walks around half naked in your house after your girlfriend moves in with you? What kind of friend walks into the kitchen wearing nothing but a skimpy towel and then cries when your girlfriend tells her it's inappropriate? What kind of friend gets a panic attack every single time you try to have some alone time with your girlfriend? And what kind of a friend keeps taking naps out in the open so we can all witness her moaning my name while she's clearly having a s*x dream?
Fuck! I'm surprised Charlie didn't punch her earlier.
I tried hinting at Lauren to change her behaviour and her clothes. I told her to call a professional for her panic attacks and even started ignoring her calls and texts because it's getting too much. Lauren is getting too much.
"Lauren!" I barked at her and she was a bit startled before getting out of the car.
While going inside the doctor's office, I texted Christian and told him we probably won't make it in time for dinner.
Lauren got x-rays taken, some other tests and examinations were done and after about two or three hours, the doctor confirmed that she's going to be fine. He gave her her meds, patched up the eye and sent us on our way.
"I thought the doctor would have all kinds of questions about my eye." She tried easing the tension with a half-joke. "I was prepared to tell him that you didn't do this to me...you would never do something like this."
I exhaled through my nose and shook my head. "That's our family doctor. I explained things to him. That's why he didn't ask unnecessary questions."
"Oh." She whispered.
"As for me and punching people." I continued. "I would never hit a woman, but I have hit plenty of boys who tried to make a move on Charlie back in school or who spoke about her in a disrespectful way. I've punched more than fifteen guys. I just got away with it because they were scared of me."
"Are you saying this to hurt me?" She asked after a long pause.
"No." I said honestly. "I'm telling you this because it's the truth. I wouldn't punch anyone now. I would just devalue their company or stock, suffocate their products out of the market, poison investors, creditors, regulators and business partners against them. I would leave them wishing that I punched them and I know Charlie would do the same. At our age, punching someone is...a kindness because we have the ability to destroy people's lives." I turned to look at her face that was as red as a tomato from all the blood rushing to her head. "Charlie and I possess the ability to ruin lives, Lauren so tell me why she chose to punch you instead of doing what she's f*****g brilliant at doing?"
Aksara