The Playground.

Charlotte.

&&

Sliding back in through my bed room, I had a glance at the alarm clock sitting on my bed side table that my father had built a few years ago. Before Mom left, and before Vanessa came instead. The alarm clock flashed brightly, '11:45', in bold red lettering. Me and Sam had spent a good while out in the Playground. We hadn't done more than kiss, and I had to admit, I liked it. The sudden change in the embraces we exchanged were though provoking. From giving each other pleasures, to exchanging deep, passionite kisses. I wished they were passionate, deep inside, but I also knew, that they weren't. This was all just a game, a secret. Something to keep our minds off of things. Harmless.
Slipping out of the my old sweats I had worn down, I pulled on a big, baggy, long t-shirt that read some old band from the eighties. I probably stole it off Sam one night when I spent the night in his house. That was when we were careless, when anyone could have found out about us, our secret. Now we were much more discreet about our meetings.
Before the clock stuck twelve, and before my mind dwelled onto the thoughts of Sam, Bryan, and Grace, a picture hanging on the wall across from my bed struck me. It was a picture of my mother, father,older brother, and I. I was about ten then, and my dark hair was pulled into a ponytail. I was wearing a bright green bikini, showing off my sun kissed tan I had earned that year from the Mediteranian beach we had visited. Another one of Daddy's pleasures.
My brothers short, blonde hair was spiked up in different directions, and he was twelve then. He was smiling at the camera, showing off his pearly whites. We were all smiling, then. The last person my eyes laid on, was my mother. Jane. Her blonde hair was down, salon curled. Her nails were so perfectly detailed, with little swirls even I could see from my place on the bed. She was wearing a white bikini, showing off her perfect tummy. Her smile was perfect, and it reminded me of Vanessa's. The last thing, was her eyes. They were deep pools of greens, swirling as you looking into them. But they weren't perfect. They weren't honest eyes. She was already doing it by then. Dirty bitch.
Again, my eyes trailed to look at the alarm clock, seeing it was already one A.M. Aiden would be in my room in the next six hours to wake me up for school, but that didn't even cause my eyes to twitch, or droop, even in the slightest bit. There was no way I was going to fall asleep tonight. Another sleepless night. Although, tonight was different. When I had to get up in the morning, I would be met with Aidens grim expression, mine mirroring his. It was the anniversary, the anniversary of my mothers departure. Something no one else would understand. Except for him, Sam. He did.

&&

"Charlotte! Wake up!" yelled my brother, Aiden. He was eighteen in two months, while I was still sixteen.
"Okay, okay, I'm up." I said, pretending to wipe the sleep from my eyes, but there hadn't been any there. I was wide awake through the whole night. Too scared to close my eyes.
"Hurry, you need to get dressed. I'm taking you to Starbucks before school. Oh, and were going somewhere after school, ok?" he told me, not waiting for my reply, just dragging me out of my bed.
Once I was dressed in a pair of O'Neills tracksuit bottoms, and an old worn out jumper from Aiden's room, I was making my way to the kitchen down stairs. Before I walked in, I stopped on the last step, and looked at the scene before me. Aiden was making a sandwich while eating a slice of toast, and grabbing two bottles of coke from the fridge. Dad, Harry, was sipping his coffee sitting on the stool, talking to Vanessa, while she was flipping pancakes.
"Here's your lunch." said Aiden, passing me a peanut butter sandwich, my favourite, and a bottle of coke. I knew why he was doing it, he knew today was the day.
"Thanks." I told him, putting them into my shoulder bag.
Without another word, we both left in his big, shiny black truck that I loved. He only gave me a ride on this day, or on rare occasions. Glancing at me, he smiled, and reversed, driving the direction to Starbucks. I gave him a side ways glance, and smiled at him, too. There wasn't something right, something was missing.
Sam..