The night was warm, in contrast with how Charlotte was feeling inside the bus. She felt like a traitor.
The lowest piece of trash.
She had agreed to leave… Out of fear.
She was the one who decided to seduce her teacher so shamelessly, to fight her own battles just that morning, and she still left when it was clear that her father was going to kill her.
She seriously left!
Who even is she? To leave her young siblings to fend for themselves like that?
And Rebecca…
Her sweet stepmother, Rebecca. What will happen to her now that she's gone?
The bus had already reached the terminal when Charlotte decided to return home.
She started the mess, so it was only right that she should be the one to clean it.
Then she heard her name being called out loud from outside, again and again, only to see a woman holding a piece of dirty paper with her name on it, like at airports.
Charlotte smiled at that.
Rebecca called the woman, Nessa, the crazy kind, and looking at her now? Charlotte had to admit that the woman was following her own rules.
The woman was clearly the opposite of Rebecca.
She wore the tightest dark-skin jeans Charlotte had ever seen, paired with some kind of see-through yellow crop top, with a casual chic pink sweat jacket on top.
Her makeup was really bold, a blend of blue, green, and black, to the point that you had to take a second just to take it in.
Charlotte got off the bus before waving at her, hiding her own embarrassment.
"Charlotte…" Charlotte said, pointing at the piece of paper with her name on it. "That's me."
Vanessa took a good look at her for a second before blowing her gum, bored.
"Okay…" she started, then frowned, thinking again.
"You're too old to be Rebs' girl," she pointed out at last.
Charlotte laughed. She didn't even find it funny, but her no-filter personality was somehow amusing.
"You got some health insurance on you?" Vanessa asked, half joking. "I can't afford an asylum."
Charlotte stifled her laughter. "I'm her stepdaughter, Charlotte Goodman."
She then added, "She has twins, though. Erin and Egbert. Eight years old. Sweetest things ever."
"You hungry?" Vanessa asked suddenly, making Charlotte laugh again.
Vanessa was very weird, and Charlotte loved weird.
"I could eat," Charlotte replied before Vanessa took the lead to a restaurant near the station.
Vanessa chose a seat beside the window, overlooking the busy bus stand, with Charlotte sitting opposite her.
Vanessa looked at Charlotte before handing her the menu.
"Any allergies?" she asked.
Charlotte shook her head. "No."
Vanessa nodded as if weighing her next words.
Then she asked, more interested this time, "How old are you now?"
Charlotte narrowed her eyes at her, nervously. "Almost sixteen."
"Too young for boys, no?" Vanessa said with concern.
Charlotte frowned. "Well, I don't want to waste my time on an impossible future."
Vanessa regarded her reply for a moment.
"You think having a man is a guarantee for a better future?"
Charlotte didn't want to explain herself, but something pushed her to defend her point.
"School is hard. The subjects, the schedules, the punishments… But boys? I understand boys. I get money, attention, and nobody cares if I can't be a doctor at the end of the day."
Vanessa stayed quiet as the waitress came to take their orders, only clearing her throat once she left.
"I get it," Vanessa said softly. "And I don't recommend it."
Charlotte stayed silent.
Vanessa sighed. "Listen, kid, boys are still as stupid now as they were when I was your age. Why don't you just finish your education first? And if you're still an idiot… you're free to pick whomever."
Charlotte didn't like the sound of that, but she held her tongue.
Vanessa sighed again. "What's your type, then?"
Charlotte shrugged. "I don't know. Handsome? Tall? Gentle?"
"The opposite of your dad, I presume," Vanessa concluded softly
"I guess?"
Vanessa nodded.
"But you're more than his daughter, aren't you? You're also Charlotte, a person with her own beating heart. A girl who has dreams… and I know for a fact that you're comfortable and happy in them. Am I right?"
Charlotte nodded.
"You won't get that now. Not like this," Vanessa reasoned. "Money has channels, and humans have connections. You can't connect with your dream husband in a place like this. Never."
Vanessa continued, "They're at high-end hotels, playing golf or tennis, and some of them are at expensive schools right now."
Charlotte didn't really understand Vanessa, but she had to ask, "I was in a government school. How would I have met a rich boy there?"
Vanessa smiled, but held her tongue when she saw their waitress returning with their food.
The waitress placed the plates down neatly before turning to Charlotte.
"I didn't mean to eavesdrop," she said, "but girl, you need to have what they need, and it's not sex."
Charlotte was afraid to ask, but she did anyway.
"What is that?"
The waitress shrugged. "Who knows? I'm still a waitress here, aren't I?" Then she walked away.
"Auntie? What do you think they need?" Charlotte asked Vanessa, who was busy enjoying her late dinner.
Vanessa swallowed her bite before replying, a twinkle in her eyes,
"To meet you at their circle."