Goodnight Hollywood Boulevard

Charlotte groaned as she stirred awake. Her eyes were stinging already and she hadn’t opened them yet. She slowly peeled her eyes open, her head throbbing against the light pouring into the room. She threw the blanket off her body and gasped, realizing she had nothing but her under garments on. Afraid Wyatt would walk into the room and see her, she scrambled to her bag and pulled on the first pieces of clothing she touched. She had changed her undergarments, then pulled on a red plaid button up and a pair of faded jeans. Her glasses were lying on top of the pile so she slid them on, too confused to bother with contacts. She grabbed her makeup bag and retreated to the bathroom to wash up and get ready for the day ahead.

She couldn’t remember much from the night before. Her last clear memory was of Rocky, the host of the party, chatting with her and welcoming her to Hollywood. She had met quite a few designers and photographers last night and she wondered where she had put their business cards. She paused momentarily to pick which eyeshadow colors she was going to wear, then resumed her quick makeup routine. She hoped Wyatt would have some answers.

She flicked the lights off after applying her lipstick and quietly wandered through the apartment. Wyatt must have slept on the couch; there was a pillow and a blanket neatly folded up next to it. She ventured into the kitchen to find him, following the smell of burning eggs and overcooked hash browns.

“What happened last night?” Charlotte asked curiously as she hopped onto one of the breakfast bar stools.

“You don’t remember anything?” Wyatt asked, concentrating on the frying pans in front of him. It was obvious he had never made breakfast before.

“Well, I remember meeting everyone and then it gets weird when I met the host,” she explained and picked out an apple from the bowl of fruit in front of her.

“Who was the host, anyway?” he asked, turning the stove off and removing the pans. He sighed as he slid the contents onto two plates.

“Rocky something,” she shrugged. “He never told me his last name.”

“Oh,” he mumbled, pushing a plate toward her. “Um, yeah. He doesn’t really have a last name.”

“You know him?” she asked and bit into her apple. She wasn’t going to even try the eggs he made, and starch in the morning made her stomach turn.

“He’s kind of notorious,” he said nonchalantly. “He’s a big.. um.. player? I guess.”

Charlotte sat in thought for a moment. He had given her a drink, she remembered that much. But had she actually drank it?

“Wy, did we..” Her voice trailed off purposely.

“No!” he shouted, nearly choking on his burnt potatoes. “No, we did not.”

“Okay, good,” she said with a nod. “So, anyway. What are the plans for today?”

Wyatt hadn’t planned anything special, so they ended up going to the Hollywood Museum at the Max Factor Building. They spent a few hours there, had lunch at a quiet café, then strolled along the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

“I can’t believe I lost my phone,” Charlotte whined, seeing everyone around her on their phones.

“I’m sure it’s not lost,” Wyatt offered. “Maybe you just left it at home.”

“Could we go back so I can find it?” Charlotte asked. “If it’s lost I need to get a new one, you know? It’s literally my life.”

“Your life?” Wyatt laughed. “A phone is not a life, Charlotte.”

Charlotte frowned. “It is, though. I need it for work, so I need to know if I need to buy a new one before I go back next week.”

Wyatt eventually agreed to drive back to Santa Monica so Charlotte could look for her phone and on the way, she called Bobbie.

“Hello?” Bobbie answered.

“Bobbie, it’s Char,” Charlotte said. “Have you seen my phone anywhere? I can’t find it.”

“Uhhh,” Bobbie stalled, and Charlotte could hear doors opening and closing. “I haven’t seen it, no, but I can look real quick.”

“It’s fine, we’re on our way back,” Charlotte said. “I was just wondering if you had picked it up yesterday.”

Bobbie looked on tables and tossed around some papers. “I don’t see it, Char.”

Charlotte sighed. “Crap. We’ll be there soon.”

Bobbie nodded to herself as she fell onto the couch. She was about to ask Charlotte what they had done in Hollywood so far when she felt something underneath her. She dug under the pillow and her hand brushed against what she thought was Charlotte’s phone. Before she could tell Charlotte she had found it, she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

“You’re not here yet, are you?” Bobbie asked, staring at the door.

“No, we’ll be there in probably five minutes,” Charlotte answered. “Why?”

“Someone just knocked on the door,” Bobbie replied, cautiously standing up and heading for the door. Whoever it was knocked harder this time and she hesitantly looked through the peephole.

“Who is it?” Charlotte asked. “Where’s Dad?”

“Oh, God,” Bobbie sighed deeply. “I’ll call you back,” she said to Charlotte and hung up before Charlotte could respond. She pulled the door open and came face-to-face with Garrett.

“Where’s Charlotte?” he asked in a demanding tone.

“She’s not here,” Bobbie answered, slipping Charlotte’s phone into her back pocket so he wouldn’t question why she had it.

“Don’t lie to me, Bobbie. Her car is here,” Garrett said and looked past Bobbie and into the house.

“That doesn’t mean she’s here,” Bobbie defended. “You have some real nerve showing up like this.”

Garrett sighed. “I messed up, I ruined everything. I wrecked her trust in me and I did exactly what everyone told her not to do to me.”

“Do you love her, Garrett?” Bobbie asked, noticing Wyatt’s car turn the corner onto their street. She knew Charlotte would be cursing by now, the little yellow car in plain sight.

“I love her with all of my heart and then some,” he mumbled, hands buried deep in his pockets with his eyes cast downward. “That’s why I’m here.”

“If you love her,” Bobbie began, and two car doors slammed shut. Garrett’s head snapped up. “If you love her, you won’t freak out right now.”

It was too little too late. Garrett had already turned on his heels and his body was tense at the sight of Charlotte getting out of Wyatt’s car.

“What’s going on?” he demanded as Charlotte approached the house. Wyatt walked along beside her.

Charlotte shook her head, walked past him and into the house. “Did you find my phone?” she asked Bobbie. Bobbie didn’t hesitate in handing over her sister’s phone.

“Charlotte, please,” Garrett tried, following the girls into the house. Wyatt hesitantly walked into the house after everyone else.

“Dude, seriously, leave her alone,” Wyatt sighed. “Just let her do her own thing and she’ll talk to you when she’s ready.”

Charlotte didn’t have enough time to process what happened next. Garrett was swinging at Wyatt, and Wyatt was swinging at Garrett. Bobbie was standing in shock, her hands covering her mouth. Charlotte wasn’t sure what to do to stop them. Her Dad wasn’t home, and Bobbie was no use. She hated how immature Garrett was being and she wished Wyatt had been more adult and not joined in by throwing punches too.

“I’m not doing this!” Charlotte yelled over the ruckus. “I’m done, Garrett!”

Charlotte grabbed onto Bobbie’s arm and dragged her upstairs. She wasn’t going to stand around and watch the boy she loved fight with one of her good friends because he’s jealous and hurt. And she wasn’t going to subject her younger sister to witness it, either.

They sat in Bobbie’s room in silence for a while until they heard the front door open and close. A car pulled away but because of where Bobbie’s room was located, they couldn’t check to see who had left.

“Charlotte,” Garrett called out as he walked up the stairs. “Char, I’m sorry I’m being such a moron. Wyatt left so we could talk.”

Bobbie opened the door slightly. “I think it’d be best if you just went home to your apartment or whatever,” she said to Garrett.

“Can you please just let her know how sorry I am?” he asked.

Bobbie looked over her shoulder and slowly opened the door wider to let him in. He walked into the room and hesitated in front of Charlotte. She looked him up and down; his hair was a mess, his clothes were rumpled from the tiff downstairs. She couldn’t see any bruises or scratches yet, which was good. She hoped Wyatt had escaped with minimal damage, too.

“I hate you sometimes,” Charlotte said softly. “And I never want to give you all of my love ever again.”

“I understand,” he nodded.

“I miss you,” she whispered and bit her lip. “I miss you a lot, but there’s something bigger going on that you aren’t telling me. You keep saying you’re sorry and you keep saying you love me, but something else happened that you aren’t telling me.”

“Char-”

Charlotte shook her head. “I don’t want to hear anything else from you until you’re ready to tell me the whole truth.”

Charlotte closed her eyes tightly as Garrett nodded and took that as his cue to leave. She exhaled sharply when he closed the door on his way out. She wanted nothing to do with him anymore. He had taken her heart and put a few cracks in it, but now he had taken her trust and completely smashed it into pieces. She couldn’t willingly give him her heart again. Fate and true love were no longer on her side.