LOGINCharlotte had no idea how far back she had planned to go. At first, she wanted space, but then curiosity got the better of her, and she quickly grew determined to find the back of the property. Assuming there would be a sign or a fence, the girl continued onward, even after her feet grew numb. Apples of different colors still clung tightly to the trees forming a wall around the girl, like Christmas ornaments. They glistened as moonlight broke through the thick fog overhead. … Still, Lotte shuffled along, her back hunching against the icy breeze. She didn’t know what she planned to do once the orchard came to an end, or if she discovered that it already had and that she was currently on someone else’s property… The idea of turning back and making the journey home sounded daunting, no matter how many ways she looked at it. And her cell phone… Whose last few minutes were a haunting reminder that she needed money soon, was still sitting in her borrowed room back at the house. Sighing, t
“Oh, David,” the moan came again. This time, Lotte was certain it was Lila. Unable to help herself, the girl moved back toward the small crack she had made in between the doors. She was lucky that it was already growing dark and that the three in the corner weren’t able to make out her silhouette. By now, she was able to just make out that Alana was actually sitting cross-legged over the table top. The legs that Charlotte had originally thought were hers actually belonged to David. The Doctor was lying on his back, his head resting on Alana’s lap. As for Lila, she was on top of David, riding him with a slow, steady pace. “Mmm, David,” the redhead moaned again. Her rhythm slowed just a bit more, as if she wanted to make that moment last as long as she could. Shock spread through Charlotte - David was cheating on her Aunt? Yet even as the girl’s astonishment subsided, it surprised her even more that anger wasn’t even an inch of an emotion she was feeling. Shouldn’t she be enraged for
Filing into the house, Lotte was immediately met with shouting… Brandon’s shouting. “You are such a bitch!” The younger teen roared. “Why do you have to ruin everything?” “Language,” Henry warned. “And it doesn’t sound like she is trying to ruin anything. Romy just enjoys spending time with you boys. Doesn’t that sound nice?” “Dinner is almost ready,” Levi cut in. “Grandpa, I’ll get you a plate to go.” “Thank you, sweet boy,” The older man called back. “I absolutely appreciate that. I’ll bring out my electric skillet for breakfast tomorrow morning, should anyone like to join me for pancakes.” “But I want to eat dinner with Grandpa,” Matty protested.“See!” Brandon started in again, “Even Matty doesn’t like this. Why are you so against our family spending time together?” Before Romy could answer, James and Lotte stepped into the mess. “What the hell is going on?” The muscled man demanded, his eyes already full of fire as they settled in on the drunk blonde sitting at one end of
When David finally made it to the truck, Lotte was buckled into the middle seat, trying desperately to sit as far away from James as possible. Though they still hadn’t managed to wrap up their discussion of her living arrangements, Charlotte was grateful the man behaved himself around his brother. David was beside himself with smiles. “I can’t wait to show the boys the church. Levi is going to lose his mind. He once tried to sneak out and visit it when he was younger; however, he couldn’t find the way and came home spooked about the woods.” Lotte could sympathize. “Those woods are terrifying at night…” James eyed her, “And what was Chris talking about back there when he said you claimed to see someone in the woods?” Charlotte shrugged, “Honestly, it was probably my imagination. I had never seen bones before, it was getting dark, and I was worried about Romy and Megan…” At the waitress's name, the girl looked back toward the Diner. She could just make out the outline of Megan throu
Leading the way out of the church, the Mayor stopped to stretch just out of reach of the soft rain droplets hitting against the stone steps. He fixed Lotte with a grin. “So are you heading back with these guys, or were you going to pull another all-nighter here?”Charlotte rolled her eyes, “Are you kidding? I have work tomorrow… Good God, do I want to bake something.”“That a girl,” The man cheered. “And don’t think this gets you out of volunteering for the winter festival… I’ll be faxing Barbara what we need.” “Faxing?” Lotte snorted. “What, are you 50 or something?” “Ah, now,” Mayor Moone scoffed. “See, and I was about to offer to carry you over all this nasty mud.” Hopping about, Charlotte had just managed to get her sneakers on and pinned Chris with a look. “You don’t think I can manage a bit of mud after everything I’ve been through the last few weeks? Your girlfriend hit me in the face, and I took it like a boss!” Just as the muscled man flinched at her words, a pair of arms
The look David gave her was enough to chill Lotte to the bone. All of the amusement she had felt over catching Chris and Sara vanished in two heartbeats. Clenching her fists together, the girl took a deep breath and then rotated her body so she could face the Doctor. “It was very dark when we came in. Romy and I were using our cellphone flashlights… Though I know for a fact that Megan was here, and will be more than happy to discuss that with her later. If anyone else had been in the building, they had done a good job of hiding it.” A sudden popping sound to Charlotte’s left had her gazing over to James. He was also clenching his fists together, though it was clear from the expression on his face that he was doing it out of rage, not fear. “Why the fuck were the two of you out here to begin with? Did you have some kind of death wish?” Lotte sighed, “Romy wanted to see this place after hearing all about it from Lucy, Lynn, Allison, and me. My Aunt loves haunted places, and the way th
Romy babbled through the whole ride into town. Her excitement was a massive slap to Lotte’s ego, as the woman seemed unable to stop talking about the fact that Matty had crawled into bed with her and David that night. “He was just SO cute!” The woman cooed, her gaze consistently falling to the new
The next morning, Lotte woke and everything was quiet. She slipped out of bed and made her way to the kitchen where Levi was flipping a couple of pancakes. “Morning,” the boy called out, scooting a few on a plate and passing them to her. “Did you sleep okay?” Lotte nodded, even though it was a l
With a squeal, Lottie fought against the large stature that had pulled her to them. She didn't have many self-defense skills, but was willing to do whatever she had to do to protect herself. Lucky for her, the sound of laughter brought her struggling to an end and revealed three familiar faces. Ga
Lotte did her best to keep up an enthusiastic conversation throughout the whole ride home. It was a bit easier because today had been such an exciting one. The more people in the area who learned the bakery had been reopened, the more customers she obtained. Of course, she opted to leave out the ch







