Part Two: Chapter Six

Part Two: The Tiger

Breakfast the next morning was special. Eve woke up early to make Belgian waffles. She placed a steaming waffle in front of Charlotte with a large grin. “Do you want maple syrup?” She asked sweetly.

Warily, and nervously, the girl peered up. “Are these poisoned?”

Eve laughed. “Oh, Chuck, you’re ridiculous sometimes!” She poured syrup in the divots of Chuck’s waffle and scooped up part of it. “Mmm, delicious!” She swallowed it down and licked the syrup off of her fork.

Cautiously, Chuck bit into it. The warmth and taste reminded her of her mother’s Belgian waffles, made lovingly from a boxed mix. She grinned to herself.

“So, guys, I thought we could all do something special today.”

They all prepared themselves for the return of the real Eve.

She purred, “I thought we could all go for a nice long drive today.”

No one was quite enthralled, but only Chuck’s face fell. “Can I stay home?” She queried. Her voice shook. She refused to meet anyone’s gaze.

“Why ever would you want to do that? I planned this special for all of us.” Eve’s voice had disappointment ridden in it. Though her wide smile remained.

“I get nauseous during long rides. Please, could I stay home?”

Eve grabbed Chuck’s shirtcollar. Her voice became a snarl. “I think you’re lying. Besides, you would touch my stuff and I don’t want your grubby fingers on my stuff.”

“I won’t touch anything. I promise. I’ll just stay in my room and read all day.”

Eve mulled it over. Then she offered Chuck a deal that she would surely refuse. “You can stay home, but the only door that locks from the outside is the basement. So you can spend the day down there or you can go on the car ride.”

Charlotte’s stomach dropped. Her throat went dry and tight at the thought of Eve’s little torture chamber down there. “I’ll go.” She mumbled.

Delighted, Eve squeezed the girl’s cheeks. “Perfect!” She walked over to her seat.

“Chuck, don’t worry. It won’t be as bad sitting next to me.” Danny muttered, kissing her on cheek and gently holding her hand.

Eve said calmly, “Nope. Who knows what you could be doing behind my back while I’m driving. Charlotte is going to sit up front, right next to me. Now finish up, guys!” She grinned cheekily.

Charlotte had lost all of her appetite. “Why is she doing this to me?” She murmured. Her voice cracked on the verge of tears. Weakly, she pushed the plate away.

Eve yanked her arm. “Don’t you dare waste that!” She rolled up the sticky breakfast prying open the girl’s mouth. Despite the girl’s gags, she kept shoving it in her mouth. “I’m sure you’ve had enough c**k in there to handle it, s**t!” She sneered.

Chuck sputtered out the waffle in the end. Her throat was raw with hacking. “I said that I wasn’t hungry! What don’t you understand about that?”

“I pay for food. If you’re going to waste a meal, then you won’t eat for the rest of the day. Now get in the car,” She growled, shoving her to the door. “Damn, waffles.” Eve coughed. She pulled a beverage out of the fridge, a can of beer. She shot-gunned it.

“Eve…I don’t think…” Chuck muttered weakly. “Before you drive…”

She kicked the girl. “I told you to get in the f*****g car! Go!”

Charlotte sat in the front, buckled in as tightly as her seatbelt would allow. Her hands shook and she gripped her knee desperately. A look of absolute pain was across her face. As Eve sloppily backed out of the driveway, Chuck seized the seat.

“Something wrong, Charlotte?” Eve cackled once they reached the highway.

“J-Just woozy, ma’am.” Despite this statement, tears rolled down Charlotte’s cheeks. When she couldn’t stand any longer, she yelled, “Why are you doing this?”

“Because you don’t know your damn place. We get out of this car when I decide how obedient you’ll be.” Eve watched the gauge on the car as it rapidly rose past sixty.

“I… I’ll listen. I promise. I won’t threaten you with my powers a-again. Please, Eve. I promise.” Charlotte stared at it too while it passed seventy.

“Learn to drive, f****t!” Eve screeched out the window at a vehicle going the speed limit. “No wonder he doesn’t know how to drive; he’s from Rhode Island.”

Along with everyone in the back, Chuck was beginning to get queasy as the car swerved between lanes. “Eve, you could get pulled over. Please…”

She let her hands off the wheel. “Did you want to drive?”

“No! Oh, God, just drive the car!” Chuck panicked clutching the fabric of the seat.

“I’m your only god now, Charlotte.” Eve sneered, still not holding the wheel.

Chuck’s heart thumped right against her bones. Her stomach had knotted itself. “Please, Eve, drive the car. I’ll do anything.”

“Anything, you say?” Her voice went deathly quiet with a sly grin parting her lips.

Charlotte opened her mouth wordlessly for a moment before deciding that not only her life was at risk. “Yes, Eve. I’ll do anything as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else.”

“Don’t get so f*****g noble on me.” She slowed the car regaining control of the wheel. “I planned on this being the whole day. Not ten minutes. Oh, well, you can all thank Charlotte for that.”

When Chuck turned, she found six looks of utter relief thanking her. Her heart still beat like a drum. Reaching into her jeans, she pulled out the photograph that always eased her so much. “It had to be done,” she murmured to her parents’ smiling faces.

“What’s that?” Eve snatched it from her hands. She took her eyes from the road to study it. “How sweet! What a perfect little family!”

Chuck tensed, every muscle focused on stillness. “Ms. Lane, please…please…”

“Are you afraid of something, Charlotte?” Eve still clutched the photograph.

Slowly, Charlotte stretched her fingers to retrieve it. A slap stained her hand.

“No, no, no! This doesn’t belong to you. It’s mine.” Eve held it close.

Charlotte’s eyes were glued to the photo for the rest of the drive back. “Could I, please, Ms. Lane…it’s all…” She couldn’t form words, thinking of Eve destroying the picture. She didn’t dare to reach out her hand again.

“Oh, did you want this?” She teased. “You look so happy. Will you smile like that for me?” Tormenting, she pinched her cheek. “Come on.”

She stretched her mouth. A grimace formed. Another slap fell across Chuck’s face, reddening it with the swift hit.

“You can do better.”

Chuck relaxed and grinned at Eve. It was worse than everything Eve had done. Not only was it demeaning, it was voluntary. Easily, Charlotte could’ve refused and let her tear the photograph, but Eve had her at her heels, begging, kissing the very ground she walked on.

“You’re not trying hard enough.”

Forcing Charlotte to please her turned Chuck into a dog, her precious little trophy. Almost broken, nearly broken. Charlotte beamed. Two wet lines streaked her face. A pained noise struggled from her throat. “P-Please, Ms. Lane.”

The photo fluttered into Chuck’s lap. Eve chuckled, “You’re pathetic.” Then she jumped out of the car and into the house.

As Charlotte clutched the photo staring at her past self, proud, strong, and even beautiful, she couldn’t agree with Eve’s words more.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading.

Reviews

[Ardeth Lane]

I don't even know what to say. Like, for real. I don't know what to say other than Chuck shouldn't have agreed to Eve. She should have whispered a spell. But I suppose that's how suspense is born. Good chapter.