“Yeah, right,” he said and gave a small snort of disbelief.
“I am right.” She bent and picked up her bag. “Play your part tonight and then get out of my life.”
With that, she turned on her heel, walked out of the room, and out the door to his car. She stood by his Corvette and waited for him to come out after locking up. They didn’t speak on the ride to her house.
Charlie stared out the window, refusing to think about her shattered dreams or the heartbreak she felt for her innocent baby. She had to formulate a plan to keep her baby safe; the only problem was she had nowhere to go, no money, and parents who wouldn’t allow her to remain in their house as an unwed, pregnant teen.
They arrived at her house, and she climbed out of the car. All through dinner, whenever she spoke, Chad tensed as if waiting for a blow and wouldn’t relax until she finished. Usually, she didn’t talk much to her parents, but she enjoyed his discomfort so much that she found herself discussing the surprisingly warm, March weather they were experiencing for almost a half an hour.
When dinner ended, she walked Chad outside like she normally did, bid him goodnight, and watched while he peeled out of their driveway. He never looked in the rearview mirror as he fishtailed it around the corner and stomped on the gas. Standing there, his obvious need to get away didn’t anger her, but his stupidity for breaking their usual façade with such reckless behavior did.
When he was gone, she turned and headed back into the house. Unwilling to have this hanging over her head, Charlie did the dishes, went upstairs to retrieve her test, and went to find her parents in the living room.
If there was any chance they would let her get a job, she might wait a few months and try to save up some money, but they would never allow it. The sooner they kicked her out, the sooner she would have a chance to get a job, though she had no idea how she would survive. She stole the pregnancy test while she was at the pharmacy with her mother, how could she possibly afford rent and a baby?
She’d find a way; she would do anything for this baby. They would be poor, but this baby was already loved more than she’d ever been.
Maybe, if she waited, she’d have a home for a few more months, but her parents would expect her to return to Chad’s studio tomorrow; she’d rather face a fire-breathing dragon than be anywhere near him again.
Her mother was knitting a scarf while her father read the paper and smoked his pipe. This was their nightly, perfect-family routine, and she was about to blow it sky high.
When she revealed the pregnancy test, her mother sat mutely while her father slowly lowered his paper to stare at her over it. Her mother’s eyes darted anxiously to her father. Was this relentless, harsh woman afraid of him?
“Who’s the father?” her dad asked in a calm voice that was somehow more terrifying than a booming shout.
“No one you know,” Charlie replied. Even if she told them the truth, once they heard Chad’s lies, they would believe him over her.
“I will have his name.”
Charlie gulped. “I don’t know his name.”
Her mother lowered her knitting and crossed herself before bowing her head to pray. Her father stared at her with a look so murderous that for the first time, Charlie feared he might harm her. She’d expected shouting and for them to throw her out, but would he physically attack her too?
Chapter Sixteen
“You don’t know his name?” her father bit out.
“No. He… he was just some guy at a competition. I’d never seen him before, and I haven’t seen him since.”
Her father didn’t reply as her mother continued to pray. Then, her dad neatly folded his paper, set it on the table, and removed the pipe from his mouth. It took everything Charlie had to stand her ground when he rose from his chair. Broad through the shoulders, he was a couple of inches over her, but he was thin. He’d never been an intimidating man, but the gleam in his eyes caused Charlie’s knees to knock together.
“Why have you fouled my house in this way? I did not raise a whore.”
Charlie refrained from replying she wasn’t a whore, but if he believed her to be so, then he must have raised her that way as few others had any hand in her upbringing. She didn’t think speaking was wise right now, never mind giving him what he would consider a smart-ass reply.
“We will send you away to have this baby, and you will give it away,” he stated as if it was settled.
She was a little terrified of him right now, but she couldn’t remain silent. “I’m keeping my baby.”
Her mother gasped, and her head flew up as fury clouded father’s face. Unlike when her mom was angry with her, his wrath made Charlie want to cringe. She laid her hand protectively over her belly.
“You’re what?” he grated.
“I’m… keeping… keeping my baby,” she stammered out.
She now understood what people meant when they said someone looked apoplectic. A vein throbbed in her father’s forehead as his face became the color of a tomato. And then he was stalking across the room toward her. Charlie backed away, but she wasn’t fast enough to avoid him as he bared down at her.
“You dare disobey me in my house?” Her father’s voice remained terrifyingly low as spittle flew from his mouth to splash her face.
“I… I…”
Charlie didn’t get any words out before he snagged her hair and dragged her toward him. Unwilling tears sprang to her eyes as her neck twisted awkwardly to the side and strands of hair were torn free.
“Elon, no!” her mother cried. Her knitting needles clattered to the floor as she leapt to her feet.
“You dare bring your spoiled filth into my house and tell me no!”
Charlie’s fingers clawed at his hands as he jerked her head one way and then the other, using it to punctuate his words.
“You will give up this child,” he commanded.
Terrified he would hurt her, and possibly her child, Charlie had no idea what to do. She couldn’t be sent away; they would take her child from her. “No.”
Charlie never saw the hand that delivered the blow to her cheek, but she saw the stars that exploded before her eyes afterward. Her knees gave out, and she would have fallen to the ground if he hadn’t yanked her up by her hair again.
“No!” her mother cried and flew at them. She threw her hands up to ward off the next blow, and her father’s hand froze in the air.
It was the first time in Charlie’s life her mom ever defended her; Charlie was sure she paid for it later. Then her father’s bulging eyes were back on Charlie, and he was pulling her from the room. Charlie staggered to keep up with him. If she went down, he would only drag her across the floor.
Her mother scurried after them as her father reached the front door. “Whores will not be tolerated in my house.”
The front door opened, and he shoved Charlie onto the porch.
“Do not come back.”
Charlie didn’t have a chance to reply before the door slammed in her face. She stood there and stared at it until it opened again. Terrified he was coming out to retrieve her, Charlie scampered down the steps. Keeping her head bowed and refusing to look at Charlie, her mother tossed something onto the porch and shut the door.
When Charlie realized it was her winter coat, she scurried forward, snatched it up, and ran before her father changed his mind and took away her chance to escape.
But escape to where? She had nowhere to go. She didn’t have close friends; she had no money, no job, and no vehicle. She had nothing more than the clothes on her back.
She roamed the streets with her hand on her belly as she tried to think of a way to feed herself and her child, but she kept coming up with nothing. How could she take care of a baby when she couldn’t take care of herself?
She spent the entire night wandering around, shivering, and crying. She was desperate to curl up somewhere and sleep, but she didn’t dare stop moving for fear she’d never get up again. She wept with joy when the sun rose, and she s
ettled on a bench in the park to take a nap. It was still cold out, but not nearly as bad, and she was exhausted.
After a few hours, she woke and started rambling the streets again until she found herself staring through the plate glass window of a familiar and hated place. Within, she watched as the children fumbled around the floor while they pirouetted. Their parents looked on and laughed at their children’s sweet attempts.
Maybe, if things had been different, she would have laughed and bumbled around like these kids. But at five, ballet wasn’t something for her to enjoy; it was something to master.
She didn’t know what drew her to the door and inside the studio, but she found herself standing at the back of the class, watching as Miss Dodd instructed the children who were more interested in staring at their feet or the ceiling. For the first time in her life, Charlie found some joy in ballet as she watched the kids. She had one of these innocents growing within her.
Charlie didn’t realize the class had ended until she found herself standing all alone in the corner of the studio. Miss Dodd glanced at Charlie while she spoke with the last mom who was upset about not being able to sew her costume for the upcoming recital. Miss Dodd assured her that she would help if it became necessary and her daughter would not be the laughingstock of the class.
The woman finally left. Miss Dodd remained staring at Charlie for a second before gliding across the room toward her. In her fifties, Miss Dodd’s pale blonde hair was turning silver, and her face remained remarkably unlined. She’d retained the lithe body of a ballerina and could easily pass for a woman in her mid-thirties.
The smile left her face when she saw the right side of Charlie’s face, which still throbbed from her father’s blow. She had no idea what it looked like, but it sure didn’t feel pretty.
“What happened?” Miss Dodd cried as she rushed forward. “My God, you’re freezing!”
The tender touch of her hand against Charlie’s cheek was her undoing. She’d been so foolishly happy yesterday morning, but all she’d encountered was cruelty since then. This kindness, after all the awfulness, caused Charlie to burst into tears.
Miss Dodd draped her arm around Charlie’s shoulders and guided her into her office. She settled Charlie into a chair, handed her a cup of coffee, and rested her hand on Charlie’s knee as she sat across from her. Charlie poured her heart out before she could stop herself.
She didn’t reveal who fathered her child, that was a secret she would keep until her child was old enough to decide if they would like to meet their father. However, over the following years, she suspected Miss Dodd knew it was Chad. Miss Dodd was warm and loving to everyone, but whenever they encountered Chad at ballet recitals, she became as cold as ice.
When Charlie finished telling Miss Dodd the awful tale, her eyes were nearly swollen shut from crying, and she couldn’t stop sniffling. “I have nowhere to go. My baby—”
“You’ll come home with me,” Miss Dodd said firmly.
“Oh, no, I couldn’t,” Charlie protested.
“You can and you will.”
“But it’s such an imposition.”
“You came here for a reason. What was it?”
Charlie looked at her as she tried to answer that for herself. Why did she come here? And then she knew. “You’re the only person who’s always been kind to me.”
Tears formed in Miss Dodd’s eyes as she rested her hand on Charlie’s cheek. “No child should ever give those words as an answer. You’re coming home with me, and that’s final.”
Charlie wanted to argue with her, but she had nowhere else to go, and she couldn’t stand the idea of spending another night on the streets. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I won’t stay long.”
“You’ll stay as long as necessary, even if it’s years.”
Charlie gawked at her. “I couldn’t; there’s a baby coming. You don’t want a baby in your house!”
Miss Dodd leaned forward and clasped Charlie’s hands. “I never married, and I’ll never have children of my own. I have a small house, but it has three bedrooms. My sister occasionally visits, but she’s the only one who ever stays with me. It’s my dogs and me, and while I’m fine with that, it does get lonely. You don’t deserve what happened to you, and that baby deserves to live somewhere it will feel safe. You’ll both have that at my house.”
Charlie started crying again. “I have nothing to give you.”
“You don’t have to give me anything, but if it makes you feel better, I know you don’t like to dance, but you’re very talented. I could use help here. I planned to retire in a few years, but I wouldn’t mind relaxing a little more now. If you would like, you can help me teach classes before and after the baby comes. If not, then you can help me around the house, but this is your choice to make.”
Before she could stop herself, Charlie threw her arms around Miss Dodd. They held each other for a long time as Charlie sobbed in relief and joy.
And so, from then on, she taught ballet until she gave birth to Dylan at seventeen. She took some time off before going back to the dance studio. She grew to enjoy ballet when she wasn’t obligated to do it, and she discovered her love for teaching.
Miss Dodd watched Dylan while Charlie got her GED and started college. She became Dylan’s grandmother and the mother Charlie never had. They loved each other and were happy in their tiny house. After Charlie graduated college and got her first teaching job, Miss Dodd retired to Florida with her boyfriend of three years.
Charlie and Dylan left the house, not because Miss Dodd made them—she’d offered them her home—but because the teaching job Charlie received took her a few hours away, and she was excited about breaking away.
Miss Dodd didn’t live in the same town as her parents, but they ran into each other a handful of times over the seven years she lived with Miss Dodd. They never acknowledged each other when they passed, and even though Dylan was five the last time she saw her parents, he didn’t know they were his grandparents. And for that, she was glad.
Grief tugged at her heart as she thought of Miss Dodd. She would have been devastated to learn Charlie and Dylan were missing. Charlie hoped she’d get to see her again one day.
Chapter Seventeen
Jack studied Charlie as her shoulders became more rigid while she walked. He didn’t know what she was thinking about, but it didn’t seem to make her happy.
“Does Dylan ask about his dad?” he asked. It was a personal question, but he hoped to draw her back into the conversation.
“What?” Charlie asked as she left the past behind. “Oh, ah… no. Not in a while anyway. I told him I’ll tell him when he’s eighteen, if he’s still curious then.”
“I see,” Jack murmured. “My dad died in a car accident when I was a baby. I was raised by a single mom.”
Charlie glanced at him, uncertain as to why he was telling her this. “And?”
“And she did a fantastic job.”
Charlie snorted. “Way to toot your own horn.”
Jack laughed. “I’m not; I’m tooting hers. She was tough as nails and worked her ass off to make sure I had a great life. She would buy me things I never asked for because I hated when she worked doubles, but somehow, she always knew what I secretly dreamed about opening under the Christmas tree or on my birthday. Some people would give me this sad look when they learned about my dad, and believe me, I wish I knew him, but she loved me enough for both of them.”
Charlie didn’t want to like him, but sometimes Jack made it so damn tough to dislike him. “Where is your mom now?”
Sorrow swelled in Jack. “She passed away five years after I became a vampire.”
“I’m sorry.”
“So was I,” Jack murmured as he recalled standing by her casket and gazing down at the serene face that resembled his mother but was so different than what his mother looked like while alive. His mother never wore makeup, but it covered her face. It was disconcerting and confusing.
He’d loved her dearly,
but because of what he was and the life he led now, he rarely saw her after turning. He always felt like she would know something was different about him, and because of that, he avoided visiting her.
They talked on the phone a couple of times a week, but it wasn’t the same. Almost a year passed between the last time he saw her and her heart attack. No matter how long he lived, he would never rid himself of his guilt over that.
Charlie almost touched Jack’s arm when she saw the sadness in his eyes and felt the unhappiness radiating from him, but she stopped herself. She didn’t know if he would accept her trying to comfort him. and she couldn’t take rejection.
“How old were you when you were turned?” she asked.
“Twenty-one.”
“And how old are you now?”
Jack tilted his head to the side as he studied her. She was curious about him; that was a good start. A good start at what, he didn’t know, but her curiosity pleased him.
“You broke my nose and tried to kill me, but we haven’t been properly introduced.” Jack grinned as he held his hand out to her. “I’m Jack Conte; vampire, ex-pasta lover, football fan, and one hell of a good-looking guy. My birthday is February twenty-second, which makes me a Pisces and, according to my astrology, it also makes me fantastic in the sack.”
His final words startled a laugh from Charlie before she could stop it. “I don’t think that’s true.”
“Oh, it’s very true,” he assured her. “And I’m fifty-three now.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Jack,” she said and was astonished to realize she meant it as she shook his hand. When the touch of his skin caused a tingle to race through her body, she pulled her hand away.
“And what about you, Charlie? What’s your sign?”
“I’m Charlie Perry. Teacher, mother, ex-ballerina, and vampire or not, if I make it out of here, I’m sinking my teeth into a slice of pizza and drinking some coffee. My birthday is August seventh, which makes me a Leo. I became a vampire at twenty-three; I’m twenty-six now.”
Unforeseen: The Vampire Awakenings, Book 9 Page 10