Toxin

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑒𝑒

For two days, Johnathan had not seen Charlotte's shadow following him. Had she given up on him? Had she grown to despise him? Had he hurt her feelings somehow? He had no clue, and he began to worry about her. They had been friends for a whole week after they escaped from Alex's wrath. Why had she vanished so suddenly?

He had asked all her teachers about her whereabouts, but they all gave him the same vague answer: "I don't know, but I think she might be in the school infirmary." He had searched for her there, but he had never found her.

He remembered that she had told him how to get to her house when they were walking home together after school one day, so he decided to pay her a visit. He told his grandma that he needed to go see a friend for a group project.

He reached her house and knocked on the door lightly. He heard a loud voice of a grown woman shouting from inside. "Oh, for God's sake!!" The door swung open, revealing a black-haired woman with green eyes, holding a cup of wine. She glared at him and asked, "What do you want, kiddo?"

"Is Charlotte here?" Johnathan asked, staring at her with intensity.

"Yes, why?" She asked, taking a big gulp of wine.

"I need to give her some papers because she was absent. Her teacher told me to give them to her," Johnathan lied.

"Well, let me take them, and I will give them to her," she offered, extending her hand while she leaned on the door frame.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. I have to explain them to her myself because there are many details that you might forget, ma'am."

"Well, you either give them to me or get out of my sight!" She snapped, making Johnathan hesitate for a moment. He gave her a cold look and handed her the papers slowly. She snatched them and slammed the door in his face. She didn't even let him say anything else about the papers.

He stepped back and looked at the window above him. He knew it was Charlotte's room because the shelf in front of the window was full of school books. He wondered what she was doing in there.

He spotted a wooden ladder behind their house and moved it to the front of Charlotte's window. He climbed it carefully, making sure he didn't fall. Not because he was afraid of getting hurt, but because he could make a noise and alert her aunt.

When he reached the window, he knocked on it gently. There was no response, so he peeked inside the room. It was completely empty, and her room was as messy as he expected. Papers were scattered everywhere. Chocolate wrappers were overflowing from the trash bin. He wondered if her aunt ever cooked anything for her or just bought her chocolates.

He sighed as he realized she was not there. Where could she be? He remembered there was a hammer next to the ladder, but he knew he would make a loud sound, breaking the window. He needed a distraction.

He had an idea. He got down the ladder and headed for the blue truck that was parked beside the house. He grabbed the hammer and approached the vehicle. He knew it belonged to Charlotte's family because there were names written on it: "William Bauldelair and Charlene Bauldelair," and a happy face was drawn on it. They looked like they were a happy family once.

He smashed the truck's lantern, and the alarm went off immediately. He quickly ran back to the ladder and climbed it, hearing her aunt cursing and checking the truck. He swiftly broke the glass and jumped inside.

He groaned as he landed on the floor. He looked around the room again. There were pictures of her dad and mom's wedding on the nightstand, which was worn out by time. He felt a pang of sadness for Charlotte. She must have missed them a lot.

He opened the wooden door slowly and stepped out of it. There was a wooden railing that overlooked the living room. He saw her aunt entering the house again, storming to a door.

"CHARLOTTE!!" She yelled, banging on the door. "Yes?" A weak voice answered. "Who the hell broke the lantern!?" She screamed. "What lantern!?" Charlotte asked, confused. Her aunt didn't reply and sat on the red couch, lighting up a cigarette and pouring more wine into her cup.

Johnathan wondered what she was doing in there. Maybe she was studying. He decided to find out.

Her aunt had her back turned to the stairs, so Johnathan seized the opportunity and crept down the old wooden stairs to reach the room where Charlotte was locked up.

When he got to the ground floor, he kept crawling to the door. He reached the lock and turned it. He thanked his lucky stars that it wasn't secured with a key.

He pushed the door slightly and tried to slip in quietly. When he entered the room and closed the door behind him, he was engulfed by darkness. He hoped fervently that her aunt wouldn't notice the door was unlocked.

"Charlotte?" He whispered softly. "Johnathan?" Her feminine voice whispered back.
"Yes," he confirmed. "Where are you?" He asked again.
"In the left corner of the room," she whispered. He crawled slowly until he felt a cold hand on his shoulder. Charlotte hugged him tightly, and he stiffened until he wrapped his arm around her back.
"Johnathan, I'm scared," she sobbed, and he felt her breath on his neck. "It's okay," he comforted her.

"How long have you been here?" He asked. "I don't know, I can't see anything. But I slept three times, so I think it was three days."

"No...it was two days,"
"Oh,"
"Have you eaten anything?" He asked, and she nodded slightly. "Bread," she said.

"Why did she do this to you?" He asked. "Well.. remember when we ran away from Alex?" She sniffled, and he nodded, recalling the incident.

"There was a pop quiz, and my teacher told my aunt that I missed it.."

"I'm sorry," he apologized. He never said sorry. He never thought he would feel compassion for anyone.

"It's not your fault, you defended me, Johnathan....no one ever did that for me after my mom died,"

"Are you hungry?" He asked, and she shook her head. "I'm used to eating bread every day, even when I'm not locked up. I'm full." He now understood why she was so thin.

"Are you afraid of the...dark?" He asked, and she nodded faintly. "I see... things. I know they are just hallucinations... but I'm still petrified, " she sniffled again.

"I try to tell myself...it is only the lack of photons, but it doesn't help," she muttered, yawning and resting her head against his shoulder
"Photons?"
"Particles of light," she explained, in an exhausted voice.

He felt her breathing become slower. "Charlotte?" His hand touched the back of her head. He realized that she had fallen asleep. He gently laid her on the floor and took off his jacket, covering her body with it to keep her warm.

He hoped that his grandma wouldn't notice that his jacket was gone.

He opened the door carefully and saw that her aunt was nowhere to be seen, so he dashed out of the house after making sure the door was locked.