Page 18 of Claiming Charlotte

“What the hell are you doing here, Thomas?” I asked, remembering that Walker had planned a coup and I couldn’t trust anyone.

“We came to find you,” he said gruffly. “Arthur and I were out tending to Charlie when Walker and his men took over. We almost walked right into his trap, but we were able to get away. I’m sorry it took us so long to get back in.”

“Charlie?” I asked. Last I’d heard he had joined up with the Walkers and was considered a traitor.

“Charlie himself had been kidnapped by the Walkers. I received a phone call from him a few days ago, and he wanted to meet in secret. Apparently, he’d escaped and needed to lay low until it was safe,” Thomas said.

“Oh,” It was all I could think of to say.

“You need to get Charlotte out of here,” Thomas said, pointing down the hallway to the exit.

I shook my head. “No, I have something I need to do first.”

“Okay, I’ll take Charlotte back to my place. I promise to keep her safe, get her checked out, and find a way to get this off her neck. Arthur and Charlie are around here somewhere taking care of?Walker’s men. You're not alone Rowan.”

Thomas put his arm around Charlotte, and I tightened my grip on her. I couldn’t seem to find it in me to trust him. That was what this situation had done to me. His eyes locked on mine in an attempt to calm my racing mind.

“Rowan, you’re like a brother to me. You can trust me,” he said steadily, and I knew that I could. “Find Arthur.”

I slowly released my grip on her and let Thomas pull her away. I watched, full of anxiety, as her terrified face turned to meet mine, fighting weakly against him as he ushered her out of the door.

9

CHARLOTTE

My eyelids drooped heavily as I rose back into consciousness. Where am I?

Taking in my surroundings, I realized that I wasn’t in my home and thought my worst fear had come to life.

The last thing I remembered was Rowan kissing my cheek and telling me to go with Thomas. I didn’t want to go. I wanted Rowan to stay with me, and I remembered the way he held onto me, before passing me over. Why didn't he come with us? Is Thomas a traitor too?

My hands flew to my throat and found it clear, the collar no longer sitting heavy on my neck, and I sucked in a breath of relief. The room was bright with different shades of yellows and sky blues through the sheets and other decor. It brought me back to Hawaii. I need to look at the damage. But did I really want to?

My feet swung over the bed hitting the floor lightly and a pain spread across my abdomen, along with a heavy feeling within my core. Still, I made my way to the adjoining bathroom to take a look at myself.

Taking a few deep breaths my eyes met my reflection in the mirror, disgusted. Although my face was clear of the makeup that was coated and stuck to my face for days, you could still see the black stain that formed around my eyes and fell down my cheeks. There were bruises down the side of my face, the black and blue resting above my lip.

Moving the shirt down from around my neck, I gasped as the pads of my fingers moved to the red and irritated skin. The ring extended around my neck and was almost numb to the touch.

Reaching carefully, pulling the shirt over my head, I threw it to the side in sorrow as I looked at the bruises and superficial marks that littered my body. Now I understood why Roe was so adamant about covering them up. They are hideous, there for life.

I dropped to my knees and my mouth fell open, wanting and trying to will a?scream from deep within me to fight its way through, but I couldn’t bring myself to. I am alone.

Tears cascaded down my face as I thought about everything I had lost, I may have survived. But what was survival if there was nothing left on the other side? My heart raced and my body started to shake as I made my way to the toilet, wrapping my hair in my fingers to heave up anything I could. I couldn’t look at what Lacey did to me, not right now; I couldn’t bear to face what they turned me into.

Wiping my mouth on the back of my hand, a pair of footsteps found their way to the bathroom, and I went on the defense seeing Thomas in the doorway. He didn’t say anything at first, just respected my space and threw my shirt over to me.

Finally I spoke. “Are you coming in here to tell me he’s dead Thomas?”

He sighed leaning against the doorframe of the small bathroom and only shook his head.

“He will make it out Lottie, I would much rather know how you are doing. Are you hungry or anything?” His words were flat and questionable.

“I’m not eating anything from anyone,” I snapped, bracing against the counter to pull myself up. “You left him Thomas, how could you? Unless you're working for them.” My voice was shaky, but I stood my ground.

“Listen, I’m trying to be nice. I don't really know what to do here, and I apologize for that. Charlotte, I’m sorry it took so long, really.” He ran a hand through his hair.

“No,” I said. “Just be patient with me please, there's so much to feel and right now the only thing I can land on is disgust Thomas. Did you see what they did to me?” my voice cracked as new tears formed and his eyes glossed over in response. “What they made me do?”

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