Charlotte was brimming with emotion, which didnât happen often. She didnât like it. Emotional outbursts only projected weakness and instability, which was why she usually channeled her aggression into getting what she wanted instead. But at this pointâwith the way things now wereâwhat was the point? Sheâd never have her old life back. She had no life; she was dead. All any of them were left with were the broken shards of a mirror world. One where anything and everything that happened from then on out would be inconsequential. With nothing left to strive for, it didnât matter if anyone was there to watch her explode. It had been one of the first decent things sheâd done in god knows how long and her only reward was an eternal residence in purgatory. Nothing about this was fair, and she planned on making damned sure he knew it.
If not Chris, she wouldnât have anyone left to blame save herself, but that wasnât an idea she was willing to entertain anytime soon. Perhaps subconsciously, she knew it had been unintentional. That maybe he hadnât even seen her fall after him. But something about that version of the story left her even more dissatisfied. Without anyone to blame, she had no way of seeking justice; her death would be excusable and go and unavenged. And where would that leave her? Perpetually alone and stuck in high school? This place might not have been hell, but it couldnât be too far from it.
She wasnât sure if it was his calm demeanor or his complete denial of having and knowledge on the topic, but it only set her off even more. Of course there wasnât much to expect. Nothing he could do now would restore things to their rightful order or even begin to make up for what he did to her, but the least he could have done was apologize or admit that it was his fault. This bullshit with pretending to have no idea of what she was even talking about reeked of cowardice. Her scowl deepened as he motioned for her to settle down. If she had been closer, sheâd have undoubtedly smacked his hand away, but as it was, her fists remained balled up at her sides. âDonât play dumb with me. We were both there that night, and unless you somehow went blind and deaf both at once, you canât just pretend you had no part in any of it.â Clearly, he was too ashamed of his own actions to own up to them without some prompting. As he should have been. If not for Chris, this conversation wouldnât be happening.
"No." His words had her shaking her head furiously, already beginning to talk over him for lack of interest in any argument he could give her. "No, donât try turning this around on me or trying to act like I give a shit about calling you a terrible son." That was beginning to delve further into emotional affairs than Charlotte wanted to get. A long time ago sheâd known the little boy he once was along with his parents. Sheâd done a lot of nasty things,  but going that far below the belt wasnât what she had intended. He had to have known that, just as he was feigning his innocence. If he thought trying to guilt her for her accusation would make her back off, he was wrong. "This has nothing to do with your mom and everything to do with you and me. Youâre selfish because you knew I was there on the bridge too that night! I called out for you and you still ignored me. If you wouldnât have jumped after I tried pulling you back, weâd both still be alive, but you didnât care. You didnât care that youâd kill us both, because itâs all about you!â
Chris was absolutely baffled by Charlotte. He was stunned beyond comprehension. All the adjectives and none of the understanding of why. Who knew that someone who used to be so sweet and innocent could be saying the things she was saying, and worse, really meaning them. "I'm the one playing dumb?" He scoffed. "Then you must really be daft because, Sweetie," He lingered on the pet name, making sure it was patronizing enough for her. "When you're about to commit suicide, you're really not thinking all that much about anything around you. Why? Because none of that fucking matters once you've kicked the bucket." Chris' hands settled on his hips, but for no more than a couple of seconds as they were animated not a short while after, waving them around incoherently as he spoke. "Even if I did believe you, that I had something to do with you winding up here, you don't think I would have confronted you? Possibly to gloat in your face, torment you, or even apologize?" The truth was that it wold have been the latter. He was a complete jerk, contrary to the tone that he spoke to her currently with. He would never wish upon the early and undeserved death of another person, not in a million years.
"No?" His face scrunched up in distaste to show the shock and disbelief in her denial. "You know what? I don't actually think you do give a shit about calling me a terrible son, and that's what makes youâwell, kind of a bitch."
"Whoah," Chris' eyes widened, and then he was taking a few slow steps backwards. His hands were raised in mock surrender. "Looks like we've found our winner. Miss Charlotte Reed, the Head cheerleader truly is that selfish." He really couldn't believe it, there she was again, making it out to be like everything was about her.
And then she was saying more, revealing more about her side of the story. The longer he let her go on without interrupting the more he was able to fit together. "You have got to be kidding me." He finally said, mouth agape.Â
"Shit."
Chris was too shocked, surprised, and in disbelief to try to explain to her that he hadn't intended to pull her over the rail that day. He let her continue to yell at him, because at this point, the weight of it all was crashing way to heavily upon him. Her voice was beginning to sound like like it was being funneled through a tube, under a blanket, and away from him.Â
Go figure, Charlotte was his fucking angel.Â












