Part One: Chapter Nine

Part One: The Spider

Charlotte slipped in the door. The walk home hadn’t been too long, she thought until the she noticed that it was dark out.

The clock on the wall dinged seven times for the hour.

“Half an hour late,” Ellen stepped in front of her; startled, Chuck leapt back. “Was your little Wiccan discovery trip worth it?” She hissed.

“Excuse me?” Charlotte asked. “The way that I spend my personal time is none of your business.” She started to walk around her.

Ellen yanked on her shoulder. “You’re sealing your own fate, Charlotte. Mr. and Mrs. DiRagno won’t tolerate a trained witch in their house!”

“What are they going to do? Eat me?” Charlotte snapped still whispering. “Mind your own damn business.”

“You can’t fight them. I’m trying to tell you,” Beneath her anger, a tone of desperation lay in Ellen’s voice. “Please, Charlotte, stop this witch business and you’ll be okay.”

“No! It’s the only part of me that isn’t dead yet. You can’t make me stop.” A sharp stab in the side of her arm startled Charlotte.

Ellen pulled the syringe out. “It’s for your own good. Three days without the use of your powers will make you stop this garbage.”

“Are you a witch?”

Sighing, the maid tucked a piece of loose light brown hair behind her ear. “No, I bought that brew on the black market. I’m only a seer.”

“A seer who works for another pair of…whatever Mr. and Mrs. DiRagno are? That’s not a coincidence, is it?”

“No, it’s not. Look, I saw what’s going to happen. You can’t fight them.”

Charlotte ground her teeth. “What is it with you seers that makes you so unwilling to even try to change the future?”

“What happened when your mother tried to change her last vision?”

Charlotte snarled, “She saved my life.”

“She died. Your family died. She threw off your mystic karma. She ruined your leg. Doesn’t any of that matter to you?”
            “Yes, I’d much rather be dead with people who actually like me!”

Ellen sighed, “I’m trying to protect you!”

“Protect me from what?” Charlotte asked innocently.

Huffily, Ellen controlled herself. “I’m not going to play that game, Charlotte! It’s better that you don’t know what you’re dealing with! Now go! Mr. and Mrs. DiRagno want to talk to you. They’re not happy.”

Chuck ground her teeth together, not so content either. She stepped into the parlor. She sighed when the DiRagno’s eyes met hers. 

Mr. DiRagno’s fuming glare said everything. “Charlotte, sit down.” As she did, he continued, “Are we in the dining room?”

“No…” Chuck kept her head down. Dark curls fell in her eyes.

He nodded, “That means dinner is over and you weren’t at the table, which means you weren’t home when we asked you to be. We can’t trust you. You are grounded.”

“From what? I don’t do anything!”

Mr. DiRagno rose. “That’s enough, Charlotte! Do you think you have a bad life here? Would you prefer that you return to that dump foster home? I can very well arrange that!” His temper flared as he roared at the girl.

“I’d prefer it if you got off my back! It was half of an hour! You wanted to adopt me so, treat me like your daughter and not like a prisoner!” Defensively, Chuck stood to meet his gaze.

Mrs. DiRagno nearly spilled her steaming tea all over their expensive rug at Charlotte’s words. “I didn’t know you felt that way,” she said softly. “Are you truly unhappy here?”

Charlotte bit back a snarling reply. She barely understood her powers, let alone, the DiRagnos’.

“Charlotte, go to your room. Don’t come out until we send Ellen for you,” He sentenced her.

Chuck clambered up the stairs. When she stumbled into her bedroom, Ellen was dusting. “I’m sorry,” she murmured before quietly shutting herself away. Charlotte lay on her bed; she had never had many memorable dreams, even fewer nightmares. That night was different.

“Charlotte, how did you achieve such an impressive goal at such a young age?” Perfectly groomed hair topped the man in the blue suit.

Her mind wondered what he was talking about, but her voice said, “I really only have my family to thank.” She wore her track uniform, silky white shorts with a black stripe down the side. A tank top of the same material rested on her shoulders. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail. She even had her contacts in.

Her parents smiled at her behind the cameraman; Robbie gave her thumbs up. “Chuck, smile! You’re not dying or anything!”

“Dying?” Chuck clutched her head confused. Everything started spinning. A seatbelt was pressed tightly against her chest. The sound of a banjo and a strong southern accent played loudly. She squinted against the sunlight to see a swerving car headed at the side of theirs. “Dad!”

He turned. “What’s wrong, Ch-”

Then an awful crunching sound filled her ears. She squeezed her eyes shut as the car did flips down the road in a rhythmic one two three. When she opened her eyes, her seatbelt wasn’t strapped to her chest. She wasn’t sure where she was. “Mom? Dad? Robbie?” Her throat ached when she spoke.

“Chuck, thank God. I thought you weren’t going to wake up,” Robbie breathed heavily. “Don’t move your head or talk, okay?”

Charlotte just looked at him quizzically, unable to do much else.

“Promise not to freak out, Chuck. Part of the windshield is in your neck. I love you. You know I love you, right?”

She had to speak, “I love you too,” Her voice came out hoarse. It was strenuous to even whisper it to him. 

“I think- I think, mom and dad…are dead.” His voice cracked. Tears trickled down his cheeks. “I’ll make it all better, I promise. You and I will go away where you can finish high school. BC can wait. I won’t have my little sister stuck in some foster home. Oh, s**t, Chuck. Your leg,” He reassured her quickly. His voice filled the deathly silent air.

He hadn’t needed to tell her.

Immobilized by the crushing metal of the car impaling her left leg on both sides, it was the reason the glass in her neck went nearly unnoticed.

A paramedic stuck his head in the shattered window. “Hello? Anyone alive in here?” He peeled off the falling door. “Oh my god.” He gasped peering at the bodies in the front seat. He jumped out. “Ted! I’m going to need some help over here.” When he reemerged, he saw Robbie. “You okay, kid?”

“I’m better than her.” He pulled his arm up to point at Charlotte.

“Sweet Jesus.” He went to yank out the left side of the door.

In agony, Chuck tensed doing her best not to scream.

“Sir! Sir! Her leg is caught in the door.” Robbie rushed an explanation out.

“F**k, no kidding.” Another paramedic noted as he inspected how to remove Robbie from the misshapen car.

It was slow and extraordinarily painful as the paramedics pried Charlotte’s leg from the car; it was sticky with red blood and limp. The shape wasn’t even like that of a leg. “That might need to be amputated.”

Chuck recoiled; Robbie consoled her, “They won’t have to do that. It’ll be alright, Chuck, okay?” His thick hands shook as he stood next to her.

“Sir, I really need you to lay down. You’re in just as bad a shape.”

“I love you, Chuck.”

Charlotte swallowed. “I love you too,” she croaked. She trembled violently as well. She breaths were shallow from the torture of the pain it caused.

“We’re going to remove the glass from your neck. I’m warning you. You’re probably going to die.”

Death wouldn’t be as painful, would it? She mused waiting.

Charlotte gasped as she awoke. Her hand clutched tightly her thigh. In remembrance, her leg felt engulfed in flames. Quivering, she removed her spectacles and changed into her pajamas. As cold as she was, sweat still drenched her. “It’s going to be a long night.”

 

Author's Note

Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment.

Reviews

[Ardeth Lane]

I love the memory in the end there. If you hadn't said earlier that her family was all dead I'd almost think Robbie was still out there. Which would be cool. Way cool even. But what about Mrs. D? Her reaction when she spilled her tea seemed like she actually wants Chuck to be happy there. Makes me wonder if Mr. D is in a way holding her there like he is to Chuck. Hmm... Good chapter :)