Messed Up Fairytale.

The next morning Charlotte woke up to the golden sun slipping through the curtains of the window above the bed she had been sleeping on. She glanced over to the bedroom door when she heard it open, it was Elliot and he was holding a bundle of clothes and a towel.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you up?” he asked, standing in the doorway. The scent of eggs and bacon followed behind him and Charlotte’s stomach rumbled at the smell of the food, she shook her head as an answer to his question. Elliot must have heard her stomach growl because he laughed. “I came to bring you some clothes to wear, I put the ones that were in your backpack in the wash but they won’t be done for another two hours and I thought you might want to get out of your dirty ones, these were mine from a long time ago but I think they’ll fit you” he said, seeming unsure of himself for once. “And I brought a towel in case you wanted to take a shower, the bathroom is right through that door” he added, gesturing to the brown door on the opposite side of the bed.

“Thanks,” Charlotte said, not sure of what else to say at the moment. It had been awhile since someone had tried to take care of her.

“Well, I’ll be downstairs in the kitchen, you can come down for breakfast once you’re finished if you’d like,” he smiled once more before setting the clothes and towel on the bed and leaving.

Charlotte got up and taking the clothes and towel to the bathroom with her. She took off her dirty and smelly clothes, only leaving her locket on. Before she got into the shower she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She was black and blue almost all over her body. Her arms had bruises from where the man had grabbed her and her sides and her stomach had their fair share of bruises. She took the gauze off of her arm and noticed a considerable amount of scratches there, a few deep but most of them were very minor. They had all healed over mostly during the night. She looked dreadful.

The girl got into the shower and ran the water as hot as she could stand it, just standing under its stream for a moment before washing off the dirt covering her and shampooing and conditioning her hair. Once she was finished she got out and dried off, feeling much better already. She hadn’t had a hot shower with soap in such a long time. Once she had dried off Charlotte pulled on the clothes Elliot had given her. They looked like they had been his when he had been around her age, the pants were slightly baggy on her and she had to roll them up a bit but they fit nonetheless. The shirt displayed a picture of some sort of band Charlotte didn’t know but she had never been the most musically literate. When she left the bathroom she noticed her boots on the floor by the end of the bed and she thought about putting them on just in case she had to make a run for it but she didn’t. Some desperate part of her wanted to enjoy this feeling of being taken care of, this feeling of being a kid again. She set her clothes by her boots and left them room.

“Elliot?” she called out, not sure of where the kitchen was.

“Down here!” Charlotte followed his voice and went down a small flight of stairs, she noticed him in the kitchen when she reached the bottom of them. “Feel better?” he asked.

“Much better, thank you” she answered, standing in the open doorway to the kitchen.

“Come sit down, your breakfast is done,” he gestured to a four person, wooden table behind where he stood at the stove. Charlotte nodded and sat down, an unsure smile on her lips.

“Do you like cheese on your eggs Charlie?” He asked, pulling some cheese out of the fridge.

“Charlie?” she questioned, wondering if he had forgotten her name.

“I’m sorry, do you prefer Charlotte?” he asked, turning to face her.

It was a nickname? For some odd reason the idea of having a nickname thrilled her. “I don’t mind being called Charlie at all,” she said, a genuine smile on her lips. “And I love cheese.”

“Alright then,” Elliot said, smiling as he turned back to the stove. He handed her a plate of eggs with cheese on them and a glass of water and set his own down on the table opposite of her.

“Thank you,” she said, her words barely understandable through her mouth full of food. The girl couldn’t even remember the last time someone had made her a nice warm meal.

Elliot chuckled, watching her eat her eggs with a grin, “you’re welcome, now remember to chew your food first.”

After awhile Elliot spoke up once more. “You know, you can stay her for as long as you like” Elliot said, pushing around the last of his eggs on his plate with his fork. He looked up at her when she didn’t say anything. “I’m not forcing you to stay or anything, I’m just saying, I don’t mind the company and its safe here so...” he ended his thought with a shrug, looking away from Charlotte. The thought of staying here with this nice man really appealed to Charlotte, from what he said about knowing what an orphanage was like last night she felt like she could sort of trust him. And she was already growing fond of the company he provided, he reminded her of a dad, of her dad specifically.

“I think I’ll take you up on that offer” she said, glancing at him then back at her plate.

“Well then, welcome to the household Charlie,” Elliot said, his lips curved into a smile that the young girl matched.

Today was the start of a new life, it was a new beginning to a life as Charlie.