─☼☼☼─
"𝙁𝙄𝙑𝙀 𝙆𝙄𝙇𝘿𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝙏𝙀𝙀𝙉𝙎 who went missing nearly six weeks ago are now reported alive, safe, and back on Kildare Island."

Charlotte chewed on the inside of her cheek as a the newscast played on her phone, a picture of her appearing on the screen. It was her high school graduation picture...back when she was actually happy.

"Now a live update from the sheriff's department."

Pulling out one of her AirPods, Charlotte disregarded the rest of the news report, not really caring to see it.

She wasn't sure if the coverage meant less people gawking at her, or more. She really hoped it wasn't the latter.

As she fretted over the attention she so desperately wanted to avoid, a text popped up on her screen.

Charlotte bit back a laugh, deeming it inappropriate in the current setting she was in to break out into laughter. Instead, she forced her lips together, quickly typing a response.

rafe: can't believe I'm in love with the girl who just made the news. talk about dating up.

lottie: don't worry babe. you can be my plus one to every red carpet <3

lottie: and if you're EXTRA nice, I'll even give you an autograph

rafe: fuck you're too good to me

Neither of them acknowledged the fact that he was the reasons she was on the news. That he was the reason she had been declared missing.

"Charlotte?"

Her head shot up, locking her phone as if she had been doing something wrong. Maybe she had been by talking to Rafe.

A woman, likely only ten or so years older than Charlotte, was watching her with a warm smile.

"That's me." Charlotte answered, clearing her throat as she gathered her purse before standing up.

"I'm Dr. Wallis." The woman greeted, extending her hand once Charlotte was close enough. 

Charlotte accepted her handshake, giving her a small smile, "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Dr. Wallis nodded, stepping back to allow Charlotte entry to her office. "Come on in and have a seat."

Stepping inside her office, Charlotte's eyes danced around the room. It was sophisticated...put together. But it was too beige for her liking. She knew it was supposed to be calming, but somehow it had the opposite effect on Charlotte. 

Dr. Wallis sat in the chair opposite Charlotte, her eyes scanning the pile of paperwork that Charlotte had filled out prior. A sense of nervousness, maybe embarrassment, flooded the Carrera girl as she thought about how she jad answered some of the questions. They were heavy questions, to which she had heavy answers. 

But part of her hated the idea of someone getting to know her deepest thoughts. Charlotte had always been good about keeping to herself, suffering in silence, solving her own problems. Therapy had never been her idea, and she didn't know if it ever would be. 

"So, Charlotte," Dr. Wallis began, setting the paperwork aside. "Tell me a little bit about you."

The question was straightforward enough, but for some reason Charlotte didn't even know where to start. 

Who was she really?

To her, she was just a fucked up girl with no real path. Lost somewhere along the way. 

Noting Charlotte's apprehension, Dr. Wallis gave another prompt, "Have you always lived on Kildare?"

"Yes," Charlotte answered. That was easy enough. "Well, except when I'm away at school."

"Where do you go to school?"

"Duke." Charlotte answered before the anxiety crept in again, "But I'm taking a break right now."

Dr. Wallis didn't force her to elaborate, "Any siblings?"

"A younger sister." Charlotte answered, "Kiara."

"What's your relationship like?"

Back to the hard questions.

"It's good." Charlotte lied. Because good was not a big enough word to encompass the relationship those two had. Sure, good was part of it, but there were a hell of a lot of other words that could be used. 

Dr. Wallis smiled softly. If she was off-put by Charlotte's short responses, she wasn't showing it. "Are you in a relationship?"

Jesus. Another hard one. 

Rafe swarmed Charlotte's thoughts before she nodded, "Yes," She answered. "We've been together since high school."

Not entirely true. But Charlotte didn't need to detail their rocky relationship right now. 

They went back and forth like that for a while, Dr. Wallis trying to learn more about Charlotte while the latter tried to keep her walls up, not reveal too much about herself. 

Finally, they arrived at why Charlotte was actually here. A simple prompt from Dr. Wallis sent it all unravelling. 

"What are you hoping to achieve in our session today?" Dr. Wallis wondered, truly curious and prepared to help. 

Picking at the skin around her nails, Charlotte let out a shaky sigh, "I was injured. Went through some stuff," She admitted, the words tasting heavy on her tongue, again not the full truth. "My mom's worried about me." 

Dr. Wallis had an excellent poker face, barely reacting at all to the statement. "I imagine that was a lot to deal with." She said softly. 

Charlotte shrugged, "I was more worried about my sister and friends at the time. And my boyfriend. I didn't really have time to focus on myself."

"Do you do that a lot?" Dr. Wallis wondered, her face still calm. 

"Do what?" Charlotte wondered, not understanding. 

"Worry about others."

It felt like a weight had been dropped on Charlotte's chest as she met eyes with Dr. Wallis, weighing over what she had just said. She didn't like that this woman was already peering into her brain, pulling her apart. 

"If I don't, no one else will." Charlotte finally answered, her voice lower this time. 

Dr. Wallis gave her a sad smile, "When's the first time you remember taking care of someone?"

Charlotte paused for a moment, truly trying to think back. 

The memory came to her quickly. "I was four." She recalled, "My sister was two...she wouldn't sleep unless I slept with her, sang her a lullaby. I spent every night in her bed just so she'd sleep. I never slept though. I'd wake up with her foot in my face or her elbow shoved into my back. But it was worth it if Kiara slept."

"Why did you do it?" Dr. Wallis inquired. 

Charlotte's voice was quiet now, shame creeping in again. "Because if she didn't sleep, then neither did my parents. And I didn't think that was fair because I knew they were already exhausted."

Not saying anything on that point, Dr. Wallis nodded. "You mentioned your boyfriend...you worry about him too?"

"All the time." Charlotte answered instantly. "Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person who can keep him alive."

Her confession felt like the room had been dragged down, already a thousand times heavier. The words had tumbled from Charlotte's mouth before she could even think about what she was saying. 

Dr. Wallis was watching her with an expression that looked almost proud. As if she was proud Charlotte had admitted these things out loud and to herself. 

"I think, Charlotte," Dr. Wallis began, leaning forward slightly. "It's time for you to start worrying about you."

─☼☼☼─

Forty five minutes later, after Dr. Wallis had picked through Charlotte's brain some more, she had been set free. 

She was partly relieved that she had made it through at least one session, hoping that maybe her mother wouldn't make her go back. But her relief was overshadowed by the seeds of doubt that had been planted, causing her to re-evaluate everything. 

Even now as she arrived at the Chateau to convene about the whole cross issue, Charlotte's skin still prickled with anxiety at all that Dr. Wallis had uncovered.

"Where the hell have you been?" A voice called as she approached, sticking out amongst the group. She was happy to see them all together, this being the first time she'd seen anyone aside from Sarah and her sister since their return to the island. 

Charlotte flopped down on the seat next to JJ, letting out a puff of air as she waved him off. "Therapy." She muttered.

"Therapy?" JJ repeated, as if it were a foreign concept. "Really?"

Kiara jumped in, "Our mom's on a tirade. Therapy, wilderness camp, you name it."

"Yeah," Charlotte breathed, propping her legs up on JJ's lap, "So if I go missing one day, assume she's checked me into the mental hospital.

Cleo looked astonished as she listened to the two sisters speak. "Everyday you Americans amaze me."

Charlotte shot her a grin before turning to Sarah, "Sorry, you can start now." She declared, knowing that they had just been waiting on her. 

Sarah nodded, addressing the whole group. "Okay, so when I went back to Tannyhill, Rafe was on the phone with Ward, and he kept saying 'this is my thing. My thing.' That has to be the cross, right?"

She thought she could handle it, but at the mention of Rafe's name, Charlotte tensed, so obviously she was fearful JJ would feel it from where her legs rested atop his knees. As slyly as she could, Charlotte pulled away from him, crossing one leg over the other."

Pope already wore a determined expression, "Absolutely."

"And," Sarah continued, "It's coming into Wilmington at eight o'clock tonight, and it's being shipped by train to Raleigh from there. But this is─this is our chance to get it back."

JJ and Pope were sharing a look of eagerness, meanwhile Charlotte was trying not to look like she wanted to crawl in a hole and pretend this damn cross never existed. 

"You get any other information?" Pope wondered, his face neutral once again, as if trying to contain any excitement for fear of disappointment. 

Sarah and Kiara looked at Charlotte, pulling her back to reality. She was the one with the information. 

Clearing her throat, she weakly held up her phone. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I got the cargo number."

JJ quirked a brow, "How'd you get that?"

Pressing her lips into a thin line, Charlotte shook her head, "We're not gonna discuss that right now."

Trying, and failing, to hide his contempt, JJ didn't press the issue any further. 

"Okay, well that's a start." Pope approved. 

"I mean they're definitely fencing that shit off as we speak, so we should get a move on." JJ declared, his mind already running over the threats they were sure to face. 

"Sarah, you hear from John B?" Pope wondered. 

It was now that Charlotte realized he was missing. Somehow it didn't occur to her that the only official resident of the Chateau wasn't even here. 

Shaking her head, Sarah let out a small sigh, "No, I mean he's probably off somewhere with his dad."

Charlotte still wasn't used to hearing Big John spoken about in present tense. The fact that he was alive and had just so happened to be in the Barbados in the same area the kids were, it was a damn miracle. 

"Problem is, they have the Twinkie." Sarah finished. 

"Our transportation." Pope muttered. 

"We could take my car." Charlotte offered before she even considered the implications. 

JJ shook his head, "No way your car could handle the weight of that thing." 

Charlotte slumped back in her seat as Pope let out a small curse, "I could ask Heyward if we could take his truck."

"Uh, what?" JJ challenged, Charlotte echoing his concerns.

"Pope, need I remind you what happened in Charleston?" She wondered, cringing at the thought of what they did to that poor truck. 

Pope exhaled, "I know, but it's our only option."

Silence fell over the group for a moment as they all tried to think of alternative solutions. Charlotte considered stealing her father's truck for a moment, but knew that would actually earn her a one way ticket to a psych ward no doubt. 

"So it's decided?" Sarah wondered, "Pope asks Heyward?"

"Guess so." Kiara mumbled, not at all convinced. 

Standing up, Charlotte placed a supportive hand on Pope's shoulder, "Godspeed, Pope. Godspeed."

─☼☼☼─