Charlotte tried to turn the water off and on before it clicked in her brain.

"Shit," she whispered. "This can't be happening."

They had turned the water off. Charlotte didn't think the two weeks had passed, but when she remembered what today was, she realized it had.

Charlotte grabbed her towel and wrapped it around herself. She had to think for a second. She didn't know how much more money she had to go before she could pay the water bill.

Maybe she could shower at the club or the bakery when no one was there. She had seen Amelia do it when she got really messy at the bakery. Charlotte could spill something on herself and take a shower.

She knew that she needed to figure something out because she would smell after a couple shifts at the bakery and cafe. There was no way around it. She sweated too much after she worked at both places.

Right as Charlotte stepped out of the bathroom, her lights started to flicker.

"No, no, no." Her voice raised as she talked.

The electricity couldn't be going off at the same time. She wouldn't be able to handle that as well. Charlotte didn't like the dark.

The lights turned off, and Charlotte let out a scream. She scampered to her bed and got under the covers.

"I can do this. Just fall asleep," Charlotte whispered to herself.

Her whole body shook as she laid in her bed. She took several deep breaths in to try and calm herself down. She just needed to fall asleep, but Charlotte knew she wouldn't be able to.

How long would it take for her to pass out from exhaustion? Charlotte didn't know, but she hoped it would be soon.

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHARLOTTE

Charlotte slowly woke up from slumber, and it took her a couple minutes to realize where she was. She felt a lot worse than she had before she fell back asleep, and she didn't know why.

Could she be getting sick? She hadn't gotten sick in years, and she didn't want to get sick now. She had to work two jobs so she could pay for her electric and water bill.

She needed those to be paid for so she could relax some. That's all Charlotte wanted to do right now.

She opened her eyes and realized she was still under her covers, shaking from how cold it was in the room. She knew she hadn't been asleep long because her hair was still damp from the shower. Which meant it was still dark outside.

A shiver ran through Charlotte at the thought of it being dark. With the electricity cut off, she didn't have her night-light anymore.

The floorboards creaked, and Charlotte let out a little scream. Was someone in the house? Should she call Diana or her Daddy about this? Wait for them to come and see if anyone was in her house.

She didn’t want to call either of them since it was late at night, but she knew she had to. If either of them found out that her water and electricity turned off and she didn’t call either one of them, it wouldn’t be good.

Daddy would know when he came tomorrow to pick her up. What if he asked to use the bathroom and couldn’t flush or wash his hands? She needed to call him or Diana.

"H-hello?" she timidly called out.

She didn't know what else to do in this situation besides call out or look. Right now, she wasn't brave enough to look out from under the covers.

There wasn't any noise after she called out which made her relax a little. Maybe she could look out since there wasn't any noise.

Charlotte took a deep breath in before she peaked from under the cover. Her eyes immediately went to the corner, and she let out a scream before she realized it was just clothes hanging up on a couch.

With her mind made up, she scampered across her bed and grabbed her phone. Her towel was long gone on her bed, and she started to shiver from the cold air hitting her bare skin. She really needed to get clothes on, but she also needed to call her Daddy. Charlotte didn't want to wait any longer in this house alone.

She turned her phone on to realize it was at five percent battery. Charlotte had forgotten to plug it in before the water and electricity turned off. Her mind was too scared, and she forgot Daddy’s reminder to plug it in.

Charlotte dialed Daddy’s number and put it against her ear. She hoped that Daddy would pick up before her phone died.