Enduring Everything (Marked Heart #1) (18 page)

31

Misplaced
Blame

Standing in my back yard with Honey, I watched as she hopped around in the grass. The thought of bringing her with me to see Charlotte made me more excited than it probably should have. She was adorable and I knew the Roberts' kids would love her.

It was almost like packing for a baby. I place
d her green and black plaid travel carrier in the back seat after sticking her bowls, a water bottle and a few chew sticks and toys in a compartment on the back.

Parking o
n the back driveway at Emerson and Amila's, I noticed all the kids were outside. The second they caught sight of me and Honey, it was all I could do not to get knocked over. Every one of them wanted to pet or hold Honey.

Smiling at their enthusiasm toward her, I asked Trent to keep a good eye on Honey while the
younger kids played with her.

As I headed into the house, Silvia cautioned, "Are you sure you want to go in there?"

"Pretty sure," I laughed before she shared, "Charlotte's in trouble,
again.
"

With a heavy sigh, I thought 'great' as I continued into the house through the back door.

When I walked in, Amila was crying, Charlotte was screaming and Emerson appeared livid.

"Why won't you listen to me!" Charlotte shouted before Emerson sternly replied, "That is not how this family behaves."

"News flash Mr. Roberts, I'm not a part of your family," Charlotte spouted.

Seeing the hurt in Amila's eyes, I offered, "Maybe Charlotte and I can talk for a minute before things get out of hand."

"It doesn't matter what I say or do, I'm always wrong!" she snapped at me.

Glancing at Emerson, I asked, "What happened?"

Charlotte glared at me, yelling, "Just forget it. I'm not talking anymore about anything. No one cares anyway," before leaving the room.

I started to follow her when she whipped around and griped, "No."

I waited a few minutes before taking a seat at the kitchen table. Reaching out to Amila
, I rubbed her arm as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"What happened?" I quietly asked.

Before Amila could open her mouth, Emerson stated, "Apparently it is too much to ask for her to behave."

"So you're not gonna tell me?" I questioned.

Amila turned to me and shared, "She's suspended for the remainder of the school year."

"Why?"

Emerson interrupted, saying, "Another fight. The teacher saw Charlotte attack another girl in the hallway. She claims she was defending herself but she wouldn't say what happened. We never should have taken her on."

Before I could ask another question, Amila jumped up from her chair and slapped him right across his face.

"Don't you ever say that again!"

From his expression
, this was a first and I may have been just as stunned as Emerson at Amila's outburst.

Emerson stood in front of her for a moment before walking out of the kitchen with a hurt yet confused expression on his face.

Sitting back down, Amila placed her hands on the sides of her head and shared, "Ren," pausing as her eyes welled with tears, "Charlotte made me swear not to tell Emerson. They were saying because of the scar on her mouth she likes it rough then they pulled her shirt up over her head and pushed her into the boy's locker room."

Sitting back in the kitchen chair
, I couldn't hold back my own tears, knowing every boy in there saw what she looked like under her shirt.

~

Tuesday morning, I was awaked by whining and barking as Honey let me know she was up and ready to play. Hesitantly getting up, I stayed awake far too late the previous night worrying on Charlotte's behalf. I knew what life was like in a small town especially when rumors start but this was ridiculous and on top of that Auggie's name was mentioned in the mix. Somehow, because she was at Auggie's house, the story got turned around to the two of them and William was now left out of it. With the thought of 'just wait until I see him again' I hoped he had nothing to do with anything that happened to Charlotte at school.

Stepping outside into my back yard with Honey
, I wondered if there was a way to give Charlotte some hope for a future here. Sophia had asked that I come to watch Braden and Ailin's band rehearse for the soft opening and planning an exciting way to choose Jackson was lingering at the back of my mind. Shaking my head at myself as Honey and I made our way back inside, I decided to call Mrs. Thomas and invite her over for lunch.

~

Sharing the outdoor sofa with Mrs. Thomas on my back porch, I was happy to have someone to discuss things with. She was smiling as she watched Honey play with a dog toy in the grass.

"Are y'all coming to the soft opening Friday?"

Turning her attention to me, Mrs. Thomas answered, "We are going to wait and go for the official opening."

"Can I talk to you about Charlotte for a minute?" I asked.

With a slight scowl she replied, "What about her?"

"I guess I thought that if she... Why is it that the more progress she makes, the harder life gets for her?"

Giving me an odd expression, Mrs. Thomas replied, "I can't believe you're asking me that."

It occurred to me she probably wasn't Charlotte
's biggest fan.

"I'm sorry, I'm sure you don't want to talk about her," I said before she laughed, "You're taking it the wrong way."

Softening her smile, she shared, "You already know the answer to that question."

Stopping to think for a moment, I said, "Yea, I guess I do."

It always seems that when you're trying to do the right thing, the whole world comes down on you. Hard.

The thought occurred to me, life for Charlotte here, might never get better.

"Do you think it would be a mistake for her to leave?" I asked.

"That depends," she replied before sharing, "I think it wasn't the best idea for Sarah to send Penny away but..."

Quickly interrupting her, I blurted, "She did what?"

With a heavy sigh, Mrs. Thomas explained, "Penny's pretty wild. She had a little pregnancy scare and Sarah sent her to stay with her grandmother."

"But she's nineteen..."

Smiling, she replied, "And Sarah is still her mother. Penny has no job and was living there. She didn't have much of a choice, none of her brothers would let her stay with them."

Thinking it was strange Sophia didn't offer, I got back on track, saying, "Charlotte wants to leave."

"Then the best thing you can do is help her choose where to go. Because if that is what she wants, she's going to do it anyway."

I sat there thinking as Honey darted up to me. Picking her up and setting her in my lap, I knew there had to be a solution.

Interrupting my train of thought, Mrs. Thomas asked, "How are you and Jacks?"

With a happy sigh, I smiled, answering, "Better."

Raising her eyebrows, she questioned, "Better?"

"We had a...talk the other night and we are going to be okay. He doesn't want to live here though, so I guess after Friday, we will be living at his apartment until we find a house."

Turning her head to the side, she asked, "Why would y'all stay at his apartment?"

Shrugging, I replied, "He said he doesn't want mine or his, he wants ours. He already lived here so I guess it's my turn."

Mrs. Thomas looked confused as she nodded.

"I really don't mind," I assured before saying, "I just want us to be together."

A wide smile replaced her confused expression as she leaned forward and hugged me.

~

Wishing I
brought Honey with me, I wasn't sure if it would be some sort of a health code violation to have a puppy in the bar, even if it wasn't open for business yet. Standing next to Sophia in front of the stage, it was an audience of two as Braden, Ailin and the other member of their band practiced songs for the soft opening.

The fact that Sophia didn't offer her and Ailin's home to Penny was really starting to bother me. They had been friends since before they could even walk.

Turning to her, I questioned, "Why didn't you tell me Penny left?"

Shrugging her shoulders at me, she replied, "I guess I thought you knew."

Shaking my head at her, I asked, "She didn't want to stay with you and Ailin?"

Giving me a 'that's crazy' look, she answered, "She shouldn't have been messin' around and she could have stayed at home."

Thinking that was awfully judgmental for a nineteen year old best friend, I said, "Oh-kay," and dropped the subject.

It wasn't that Sophia was wrong
in her assessment, I was shocked that she felt that way about Penny.

It
struck a nerve with me, how much Sophia reminded me of her dad at that moment. It also made sense that she hated Charlotte, if she felt the way she did about Penny for being a little wild.

I started to ask, "So how's..." when Auggie walked in.

Glaring at him, I watched him ignore me. I didn't mind the ignoring but I did mind if he was the one talking about Charlotte.

Walking towards the bar, I stopped as soon as Auggie did.

"What?" he growled at me almost instantly.

"You need to keep Charlotte's name out of your mouth," I snapped.

Giving me a hateful glare, he griped, "Don't tell me what to do, traitor."

Losing my temper, I heard the music stop as I hollered, "So it was you!"

He hollered back, "Did I say that! I said, don't tell me what to do!"

"Then why was your name mentioned when some girls from her school pulled her shirt up over her head and shoved her into the boy's locker room?" I demanded he answer.

Glancing at Ailin and Sophia with an angry expression, he yelled, "That would be great to know since I've been catching hell for it all day!"

"What do you mean
all day
?" I asked as I started to think maybe it wasn't him after all.

"It's bad enough she was in my house, now everyone's sayin' I was with the little..."

Shoving my finger in his face, I swore, "Say it and your front door won't be the only thing of yours that gets broken."

With a slight smirk, Auggie spouted, "What are you gonna do?"

Standing on my tip toes, I got as close to his face as I could, assuring, "Keep it up and you'll find out."

Auggie appeared furious but didn't say another word.
Turning away from me, he walked straight to the swinging doors and pushed through them.

Trying to calm down, I was so angry, my head was starting to hurt. Shaking my head
, I started to walk back to the stage area when I noticed Sophia and Ailin arguing.

She was trying to hush him, when he griped, "No, my brother isn't going to get blamed for something you started."

Immediately, I questioned, "Sophia?"

Giving Ailin a dirty look, she stepped over to me, saying, "I didn't know that was gonna happen."

Scowling at her, I asked, "Why would you do that?"

"I never said it was Auggie. Sheryl Drekens was asking me about what happened because her sister goes to school with Charlotte and she knows I know the Roberts'. All I said was that she got caught in bed with Ailin's brother," she defended.

A bit baffled, I asked, "Why would you even tell her that?"

Shrugging at me again, she replied, "It's true."

"So! It's also none of anyone's business. Including yours," I fussed.

"What's the big deal? It's just Charlotte."

Hearing my own daughter talk about her like she wasn't even a real person, I griped, "Get off your high horse, Sophia. We can't all be as perfect as you."

She appeared stunned as I shook my head at her and walked to the back to apologize to Auggie.

Auggie was standing in William's office when I walked up to him.

"Get outta my face Ren," he snapped.

Taking a breath, I said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed it was you."

Clinching his teeth, he replied, "Why would I spread my brother's business around?"

"You wouldn't. I'm sorry. I know you don't like her so I..." I tried to answer before he stopped me, growling, "I hate her."

Frowning at the strength in his words, I replied, "Okay."

Shaking his head at me, Auggie said, "I'm gonna get drunk," as he walked out of the room.

Just as he stepped out, Jackson walked in.

Leaning my head against the wall, I gave a loud sigh before looking at Jackson and smiling.

"Guess I missed all the excitement," he laughed before sharing, "Braden is officially afraid of you now."

It wasn't actually funny but I laughed to
alleviate some of the tension that had built up inside me.