You're Not What I Was Expecting To Find

Just as she was about to walk out of the kitchen for the last time that day, Charlotte heard Lily calling her name. She turned to see her walking toward her, with a white piece of paper in her hand. “Those men told me to give this to you,” Lily said as she handed the paper to Charlotte.

“Uh... thanks,” she replied absently, opening the note.

Charlotte,
If you do come tonight, we need a story. We’ll say you’re a friend of the family and my mom told me to show you around and introduce you to some of my friends while we’re both in town. Matt will buy it. And try to get there before we’re all drunk.
Brian

After folding the note back in half, she waved goodbye to Lily and the rest of the staff. Refusing to glance at the table in the corner where the men sat, Charlotte made her way out the door and down the street to the bus stop. On her ride home, she contemplated the pros and cons of going to meet them at the club tonight.

On one hand, she had nothing better to do. The only thing waiting for her at home was her TV. And she didn’t have many friends here. She could always use more friends. Plus, she hadn’t gone out for a long time.

But on the other, Charlotte didn’t really have money to spare. The cover charge and cost of drinks could be put toward rent, a new car, a new shirt even. But once she unlocked her small apartment and realized just how quiet and lonely it was, she made up her mind.

Before she started getting ready, Chalotte checked her messages. Quickly deleting the ones she didn’t want, she stood in her living room and stretched. She looked around at her life, and knew that she was proud of herself. She had wanted to live on her own almost her whole life. Now, here she was, independent and living life the way she wanted to live.

When she had first come out here, she had nothing. No friends, no family, no money, not even a job. But she had found her apartment, and settled in. She quickly found a job at Charlie’s and had known her life was on the right track. She knew she was doing the right thing.

But every once in a while, she was reminded of her past by way of a phone call. She dreaded those phone calls, and was glad she was barely ever around to answer them. It usually happened at the worst time. When she had finally forgotten about them, she noticed there was a new message waiting on her answering machine once she got home.

Charlotte glanced at the clock and noted she had a few hours before she had to leave to make it there by eleven-thirty. She didn’t want to be early, that would make her seem desperate. But she didn’t want them all wasted when she got there.

Charlotte walked into her room and toward the closet, surveying her wardrobe critically. A skirt was out of the question. She decided on jeans and a dark red top, throwing these and a pair of black heels onto her double bed before walking into her bathroom. She straightened her hair after pulling it from the pony she had sported at work. Creating a dark look on her eyes, she returned to her room to change. Once she’d pulled on her jeans and top, she grabbed a black clutch and piled in her cell, lip gloss, a bus pass, cash, and a compact.

She brushed her teeth and checked her make-up one last time before heading out.