Miss Mayhem

"Charlotte," C.J. took a cautious step forward, only to force me back another foot. He paused, a hand stretched out as if asking me to take it. I shook my head, very nearly burying my face in the bouquet of sunflowers. "Please, just listen to me."

"I-I can't. Why did you trick me?"

This stopped him. He lowered his hand slowly, raising a brow in question. "What do you mean?"

I inhaled sharply, getting a strong whiff of the flowers. They didn't smell like real sunflowers, not exactly, because the stores usually sprayed them with some sort of chemical to make them last longer. Still, they smelled sweet, but sickeningly sweet this close up. "I thought you were real, C.J. A real boy with a real life with real problems."

Silence. I took this chance to continue.

"U-Usually monsters give off some sort of feeling, and I know they're monsters." Without looking, I somehow knew that he was tense. "But you didn't. I thought you were a human being, who was just being nice to me because you didn't know. You're not, though. You're a monster."

"Charlotte... why do you call me a monster?" The male hesitated. "You really don't remember me?"

Frustrated and confused, I tossed the flowers to the ground, only feeling a moment's guilt before I met his gaze, which seemed just as lost as my own felt. "What is there to remember? I've never seen you before today!"

"But if you'd just let me explain--"

I tried to interrupt him, but the attempt turned into a squeak, and my breath caught as my eyes fell onto the accessory around his neck. A simple silver chain with two beautifully antique wedding rings. I don't know if I was captured by their prettiness or by an odd familiarity that tugged my heart to them, but I didn't want to acknowledge either of the choices.

Catching my gaze, Christian looked down as if just remembering what he was wearing, and he placed his hand lightly over the rings, brushing fingertips across them protectively. There was a fondness in his eyes that felt more sorrowful than anything else, and it hurt. "These are--"

I found my voice. "Get out."

C.J.'s attention snapped back to me, bright green eyes widening slightly. "What?"

"I said get out! You have no right to be here!"

Footsteps pounded up the staircase, and he held my gaze for a little while longer before turning away, dropping out of the window just as Seth and Lauren arrived in the hallway, breathless. I ran to the window at the end of the hall, stopping myself with hands planted to the sill, half of my body inside and the other half outside as I tried to see where he had fallen. The handsome boy landed perfectly on the ground, as if the earth moved to please him, and cast only one look over his shoulder before disappearing.

"Charlotte, darling, are you alright?" Lauren had her hands on my shoulders, and for the first time in forever I didn't try to shrug her away. I stared out at the night sky, trying to remember when it had gotten so dark out. Finally, my head nodded, though it felt more like a reflex than an action. The woman pulled me away and hugged me, mumbling an apology. This shook my from my daze.

"What are you apologizing for?"

"We heard you talking to someone, but we waited to see if everything was okay," Seth replied for his wife, looking intently at us as if something had in fact gone wrong.

"...you could have been hurt," Lauren whispered, and it was only then that I realized that she was crying. Oh my god, she was crying for me. Worried for me.

Hesitantly, I hugged her in return, patting her back awkwardly with one hand as the other smoothed out her hair. A wave of relief seemed to watch over Seth and the tensity in his shoulders loosened some. "I'm alright, Lauren. I am."

The Chinese woman nodded, making an attempt of recollecting herself as she pulled away. It was only then that the fallen sunflowers were noticed, and she picked them up with careful hands. "Where did these come from?"

I didn't answer, and the two seemed to let it drop. I asked for the bouquet, and once it was handed to me, I sat in my room and stared at them until I fell asleep.