Chapter 50 – Charlie
CHARLIE
Dinner is a rather sombre affair. We’re scattered throughout the dining area, kitchen and loungeroom. Mitchell, Mum, Ariana, Ethan, Declan and I are seated at the table while Ryan, Elias and Elijah quietly talk amongst themselves at the breakfast bar.
Gathered around the coffee table in the loungeroom are Charlotte, Caleb and Eric, Max lying behind Charlotte so she can lean up against him.
They’ve managed to cheer her up a little, even getting a giggle out of her, but she’s quieter and less energetic than I’ve grown accustomed to and honestly, I can’t blame her. She’s coping better than I did when Bonnie and Jace disappeared the first time.
The tension around the table grows with every minute that passes. No one says a word, but I see the looks they’re sending my way when they think I’m not looking. Dad might have thought I wasn’t listening when he warned Mitchell earlier, but I was.
Hearing Mitchells promise to Charlotte, to me, that he would find them and bring them home…triggered something in me. Even if he didn't make the promise directly to me.
I push the food around on my plate, thinking about the similar promise my mum and dads made to me as a teenager that they would find out what happened and where they went, but weren’t able to deliver.
Then later, the promise I made to myself and then to Jace, that we would find Bonnie and her baby. The six long years of searching, the hopeless feeling that grew with every passing year, with every lead that turned up empty.
It is a dangerous promise to make.
Dad gently nudges my elbow resting on the table with his. “Hey,” he whispers, waiting for me to look up before gesturing to my plate with his fork. “Eat your dinner.”
I grit my teeth, wanting to head upstairs as much Mitchell does but there’s nothing we can do right now. He already loaded the dashcam recording onto the computer and the only clear image we got of the kid is running through whatever program he has to try and identify him.
He also has a list of people on that street that have doorbell cameras and managed to get into their systems, downloading any recordings that were triggered by movement when they were taken to try and get better angles.
Then Mum dragged us back downstairs to eat dinner. Spearing a potato with my fork, I shove it into my mouth and absently chew, not tasting it on my tongue before I force it down.
Sighing, Dad purses his lips when I look to him as if so say ‘happy?’ and he focuses back on his own plate, not calling me out on my shit, but I see the concern in his eyes.
Nobody wants to say it. Nobody wants to even think it, but the chances of finding a missing person after nearly seven years is almost impossible. It was a miracle we found her not only alive, but doing well. The chances of doing it a second time…
This time is different. She didn’t run away. She was taken. And Jace…he’s finally gotten to a good place. What will this do to his mental health? To hers?
I hate this. We have no idea where they are, who has them or what they’re going through right now and I’m expected to sit and eat dinner?
How the hell did my mum and dads do this back then? How are they doing it now? How were they able to force a smile on their faces whenever I was in the room and tell me that everything was going to be okay?
How the hell do I do that for Charlotte? How do I keep it together enough, so she doesn’t panic or sink into the despair my parents saved me from?
I shove another potato in my mouth, chewing mechanically and swallowing it down, over and over until there’s nothing left on my plate. Then I silently get to my feet, grabbing mine and Mum’s empty plates and taking them to the sink to rinse off before putting them in the dishwasher.
When I turn around, Carlotte is standing right there, her own plate in her hands and a wobbly smile on her face. She steps around me, standing on the tips of her toes and I reach over to turn the tap on when she fails to reach it herself.
“Thank you,” she whispers, rinsing her plate and handing it to me so I can put it in the dishwasher and close the door. “Charlie?”
“Yeah, munchkin?”
Charlotte bites her lip, picking at her nails before she takes a deep breath and straightens her back. My heart hurts a little at how familiar that gesture is, but I shove it down and focus on her. “Can I sleep with you guys tonight?”
“Oh sweetheart, of course you can,” I answer, pulling her into my arms and hugging her tightly.
“Hey Charlotte, want to watch a movie with us?” Ari asks her, stepping into the kitchen with her dirty plate but before she can move to rinse it, Eric is taking it from her hands. Ari rolls her eyes but lets him take over.
“Okay.”
“Oh! I know,” Eric exclaims, wiping his hands off and slamming the dishwasher door shut before racing around the breakfast bar and grabbing Elias’ arm, pulling him to his feet. “Come with me.”
Elias is forced to drop his fork, stumbling over the barstool as Eric drags him outside, the sound of the front door locking behind them echoes through the house and Ariana and Charlotte start discussing what movie they should watch.
I start washing the pots and pans my dads used to cook just to give me something to do and Ethan finishes packing the dishwasher then turns it on.
The girls are just settling onto the couch, preparing to turn The Little Mermaid on when there’s a knock at the backdoor. Rolling my eyes, I go let Eric and Elias in, holding the door open so the two of them can come inside.
“Do you have a spare extension cord?” Elias asks Mitchell.
“Yeah, in the hallway cupboard. Why?”
“It’s a surprise,” Eric answers, turning to the loungeroom and pointing a finger at the girls. “Don’t turn the movie on yet.” Then he walks over and starts digging through the hallway cupboard for the extension cord until Mitchell takes over and hands it to him.
Eric holds it up and frowns. “You got a bigger one?”
Sighing, Mitchell tells him there’s more in the garage and the two of them head back outside. When they return, Eric turns the TV off and unplugs it.
“Hey!” Charlotte cries out.
“Trust me.” He holds a hand out to her, she narrows her eyes at him but takes it after a beat.
“Grab the speakers, Li!” Eric calls over his shoulder as he and Charlotte disappear outside and Elias quickly follows behind them carrying the TV.
Ethan sighs before gathering the speakers and following them out.
Everyone just stands there for a second before we all move to see what they’re up to. As I step outside, I see a giant tent has been set up, the front sides pulled right back so there’s an unobstructed view of the TV they’re reconnecting outside.
“Where did you get the tent?”
“He bought it the day after you and Jace left to come here,” Ari explains, looking a little sheepish. “I told you we held him off as long as we could.”
Shaking my head, Mitchell and I quickly head back inside and gather up a bunch of pillows and blankets, handing them out so everyone can get settled.
The opening notes of the movie start to play, and Ryan nods his head toward the house. Mitchell and I share a look before we go back inside to continue our search.