Post by lisajane on Apr 19, 2009 3:47:21 GMT -5
I finally managed to start and finish a short story (this doesn't happen very often). This was going to be a novel with these characters, but just the idea of a novel exhausted me so I wrote a short story instead. There's a bit of a naughty scene, but nothing graphic. No title yet, but enjoy!
*
Mid-morning on a Saturday, Adam drives down the coast.
With one hand on the steering wheel, he guides his ute through the narrow tunnel. It’s sunny above but beige rocky walls tower on either side of the road, reaching for the skies. Adam knows from experience that soon, one wall will break away and reveal the glittering azure ocean, but for now, the walls trap them in to safety.
His other arm wraps around Charlotte, nestled against his side. Neither wears their seatbelt and Charlotte rests against him in the middle seat, her pale legs reaching across to the passenger dashboard , her ankles crossed over on top. A thin silver chain that Adam gave her sparkles on her ankle and the little crystal hanging on the chain catches the sun, sending rainbows around the cabin.
Adam doesn’t worry about how she’s seating, or neither being strapped in safely. They haven’t passed a single police car, there aren’t any cars in front or behind of him, and no one has passed in the opposite direction for a long time. Everyone has left them alone, and for once, that is what he prefers.
The wall breaks away now, providing Adam with an unbroken view of the sea, horizon and sky, all three stretching on forever. The ute hugs the cliff face, staying away from the metal road barrier, the only thing protecting them from flying.
He rests his cheek against Charlotte’s head; the warm, salty wind lifts her long dark hair around her head and flattens his t-shirt to his chest. They both wear heavily shaded sunglasses but Adam can’t tell if Charlotte is awake or asleep through hers. They had been talking earlier but Charlotte has been still for a long time, they have both been silent for a long time.
The radio plays softly, and much to Adam’s distaste, some new pop song comes on the radio. Without a word, Charlotte comes to life and starts pressing the radio buttons. Smashing Pumpkins begins to play, and satisfied, Charlotte leans back against him once more.
*
Adam’s step-father owns a small sea-side cottage. Adam thinks this is the nicest thing his step-father has ever done for him. It’s so nice that it’s out of character, so nice that Adam’s not sure if there’s malicious intent behind the key handed over. Unless his step-father can read minds, Adam doesn’t think so, but he knows that his step-father isn’t all there anyway.
On the off chance that Charlotte’s parents come home while they’re away, they might think that she’s been kidnapped. This is entirely understandable, as Charlotte is underage, didn’t leave a note and has only left the house with her wallet and a suitcase of summer clothes, as per Adam’s instructions. Both of their mobile phones are lying in their rooms somewhere; if worse comes to worse, there will be a pay phone along the roadside somewhere.
*
Charlotte builds a sand castle. She found a plastic bucket and shovel inside the cottage, and went down to the beach while Adam drove into town for food supplies. The sand castle is quite high, with a moat around the bottom and a finger indent in the top serves as a window for Princess Charlotte, nestled safe and sound inside. Satisfied, Charlotte starts digging a trench from the castle to the water’s edge, knowing from the experience of being an innocent child that if she brought water with a bucket to the castle, the sand would soak it up immediately.
It’s only when Charlotte turns at the water’s edge to see the water racing up the trench, that she sees the old man.
The old man stands on the grassy knoll between the cottage and the sand, watching her quietly. Despite the heat bearing down on her, Charlotte’s blood turns to ice under his stare, on the realisation that Adam isn’t around. The old man also wears sunglasses and Charlotte can’t read his expression from such a distance, but doesn’t want to go any closer. Please, stay away – she doesn’t know what she would do, or can do, if he takes a step towards her.
Charlotte slowly draws herself up to stand, her legs shaking beneath, wondering if they can support her weight. Charlotte knows that she has no defence against him if he attacked, and only wearing a bikini would certainly make the situation worse. But perhaps if she stands, pretending to be defiant, then maybe he won’t try.
For seconds but what feels like minutes, Charlotte and the old man stare each other down. But then, maybe because he grows bored or remembers something to do or realises he won’t get lucky, the old man turns and walks away, without looking back at her. Charlotte watches him through a mixture of surprise, astonishment, relief and to her disgust, disappointment. She wipes her hand over her eyes, the sand burning her eyes, and her legs give out on her, dropping her to the beach, for Adam to find.
*
After a dinner of fresh seafood, Adam and Charlotte lie in the dark bedroom. The chiffon white curtains float outside like ghosts in the breeze, safely away from the candles lit on the other side of the room. Charlotte can hear the waves, folding on top of one another, eventually crashing onto the beach and wiping away her castle; Adam can only hear Charlotte’s breathing.
Charlotte feels safe in this vulnerable position, lying under Adam. He keeps himself up on his elbows, and he tells her that he’s comfortable like this, despite being on his elbows for the better part of three hours. Charlotte feels a bit childish and stupid for having taken three hours to get to this point, but Adam’s patience is unlimited and he knows that the earlier confrontation with the old man has spooked her.
She’s relaxed now, but Adam kisses her forehead and asks her one last time if she really wants to do this; he completely understands if she doesn’t want to. Charlotte finds it extremely comforting that he asks this, as he has done for the previous attempts, but she has grown tired of the question. Maybe that’s a positive thing, because she’s not scared at the idea with him, as she is with anyone else. Adam makes her fear go away, if it is for just a few minutes or forever.
So Charlotte digs her fingers into his back, covered lightly in sweat, and kisses him, attempting to kiss away the pain from the heaviness filling her. It hurts, a burning kind of hurt through her muscles, making her cry out more than once; but then the pain drifts away, leaving only emotions that makes it all worthwhile.
*
The rising sun wakes up Adam, the pale sky sweeping into the bedroom.
He sits up, drawing the sheets with him. It’s chilly, but not as bad as he would expect a seaside morning to be. The curtains only drifts a little now in the gentle breeze, but the candles have been blown out.
Charlotte is not in bed beside him, or even in the bedroom; this doesn’t surprise him in the slightest. Swinging his legs around the edge of the bed, keeping the sheets up around his waist, Adam stands and looks out the window, over the beach.
Charlotte stands in the sand, looking out over the ocean. She’s wearing a long t-shirt of his, barely covering her modestly, but she doesn’t care and there’s no one around watching anyway. Adam can’t see her face but knows by the way she’s standing still and not making a sound, that she’s crying. He pulls on board-shorts and an old grey jumper, grabs a second jumper for Charlotte and makes his way out onto the sand.
Charlotte sinks down into the sand as she hears Adam approaching, and he sits down beside her as she crawls into the jumper. Adam cuddles her against him as she cries, he feels her lungs sucking in as much air as they can, in an attempt to calm herself down.
They both know what the other is thinking – that this is a baby step of recovery for Charlotte and that this is a moment where Adam isn’t trapped in his own loneliness. But no matter how many times Charlotte asks and no matter how many times Adam says they don’t have to go home, they both know that his response is just lies.
*
Mid-morning on a Saturday, Adam drives down the coast.
With one hand on the steering wheel, he guides his ute through the narrow tunnel. It’s sunny above but beige rocky walls tower on either side of the road, reaching for the skies. Adam knows from experience that soon, one wall will break away and reveal the glittering azure ocean, but for now, the walls trap them in to safety.
His other arm wraps around Charlotte, nestled against his side. Neither wears their seatbelt and Charlotte rests against him in the middle seat, her pale legs reaching across to the passenger dashboard , her ankles crossed over on top. A thin silver chain that Adam gave her sparkles on her ankle and the little crystal hanging on the chain catches the sun, sending rainbows around the cabin.
Adam doesn’t worry about how she’s seating, or neither being strapped in safely. They haven’t passed a single police car, there aren’t any cars in front or behind of him, and no one has passed in the opposite direction for a long time. Everyone has left them alone, and for once, that is what he prefers.
The wall breaks away now, providing Adam with an unbroken view of the sea, horizon and sky, all three stretching on forever. The ute hugs the cliff face, staying away from the metal road barrier, the only thing protecting them from flying.
He rests his cheek against Charlotte’s head; the warm, salty wind lifts her long dark hair around her head and flattens his t-shirt to his chest. They both wear heavily shaded sunglasses but Adam can’t tell if Charlotte is awake or asleep through hers. They had been talking earlier but Charlotte has been still for a long time, they have both been silent for a long time.
The radio plays softly, and much to Adam’s distaste, some new pop song comes on the radio. Without a word, Charlotte comes to life and starts pressing the radio buttons. Smashing Pumpkins begins to play, and satisfied, Charlotte leans back against him once more.
*
Adam’s step-father owns a small sea-side cottage. Adam thinks this is the nicest thing his step-father has ever done for him. It’s so nice that it’s out of character, so nice that Adam’s not sure if there’s malicious intent behind the key handed over. Unless his step-father can read minds, Adam doesn’t think so, but he knows that his step-father isn’t all there anyway.
On the off chance that Charlotte’s parents come home while they’re away, they might think that she’s been kidnapped. This is entirely understandable, as Charlotte is underage, didn’t leave a note and has only left the house with her wallet and a suitcase of summer clothes, as per Adam’s instructions. Both of their mobile phones are lying in their rooms somewhere; if worse comes to worse, there will be a pay phone along the roadside somewhere.
*
Charlotte builds a sand castle. She found a plastic bucket and shovel inside the cottage, and went down to the beach while Adam drove into town for food supplies. The sand castle is quite high, with a moat around the bottom and a finger indent in the top serves as a window for Princess Charlotte, nestled safe and sound inside. Satisfied, Charlotte starts digging a trench from the castle to the water’s edge, knowing from the experience of being an innocent child that if she brought water with a bucket to the castle, the sand would soak it up immediately.
It’s only when Charlotte turns at the water’s edge to see the water racing up the trench, that she sees the old man.
The old man stands on the grassy knoll between the cottage and the sand, watching her quietly. Despite the heat bearing down on her, Charlotte’s blood turns to ice under his stare, on the realisation that Adam isn’t around. The old man also wears sunglasses and Charlotte can’t read his expression from such a distance, but doesn’t want to go any closer. Please, stay away – she doesn’t know what she would do, or can do, if he takes a step towards her.
Charlotte slowly draws herself up to stand, her legs shaking beneath, wondering if they can support her weight. Charlotte knows that she has no defence against him if he attacked, and only wearing a bikini would certainly make the situation worse. But perhaps if she stands, pretending to be defiant, then maybe he won’t try.
For seconds but what feels like minutes, Charlotte and the old man stare each other down. But then, maybe because he grows bored or remembers something to do or realises he won’t get lucky, the old man turns and walks away, without looking back at her. Charlotte watches him through a mixture of surprise, astonishment, relief and to her disgust, disappointment. She wipes her hand over her eyes, the sand burning her eyes, and her legs give out on her, dropping her to the beach, for Adam to find.
*
After a dinner of fresh seafood, Adam and Charlotte lie in the dark bedroom. The chiffon white curtains float outside like ghosts in the breeze, safely away from the candles lit on the other side of the room. Charlotte can hear the waves, folding on top of one another, eventually crashing onto the beach and wiping away her castle; Adam can only hear Charlotte’s breathing.
Charlotte feels safe in this vulnerable position, lying under Adam. He keeps himself up on his elbows, and he tells her that he’s comfortable like this, despite being on his elbows for the better part of three hours. Charlotte feels a bit childish and stupid for having taken three hours to get to this point, but Adam’s patience is unlimited and he knows that the earlier confrontation with the old man has spooked her.
She’s relaxed now, but Adam kisses her forehead and asks her one last time if she really wants to do this; he completely understands if she doesn’t want to. Charlotte finds it extremely comforting that he asks this, as he has done for the previous attempts, but she has grown tired of the question. Maybe that’s a positive thing, because she’s not scared at the idea with him, as she is with anyone else. Adam makes her fear go away, if it is for just a few minutes or forever.
So Charlotte digs her fingers into his back, covered lightly in sweat, and kisses him, attempting to kiss away the pain from the heaviness filling her. It hurts, a burning kind of hurt through her muscles, making her cry out more than once; but then the pain drifts away, leaving only emotions that makes it all worthwhile.
*
The rising sun wakes up Adam, the pale sky sweeping into the bedroom.
He sits up, drawing the sheets with him. It’s chilly, but not as bad as he would expect a seaside morning to be. The curtains only drifts a little now in the gentle breeze, but the candles have been blown out.
Charlotte is not in bed beside him, or even in the bedroom; this doesn’t surprise him in the slightest. Swinging his legs around the edge of the bed, keeping the sheets up around his waist, Adam stands and looks out the window, over the beach.
Charlotte stands in the sand, looking out over the ocean. She’s wearing a long t-shirt of his, barely covering her modestly, but she doesn’t care and there’s no one around watching anyway. Adam can’t see her face but knows by the way she’s standing still and not making a sound, that she’s crying. He pulls on board-shorts and an old grey jumper, grabs a second jumper for Charlotte and makes his way out onto the sand.
Charlotte sinks down into the sand as she hears Adam approaching, and he sits down beside her as she crawls into the jumper. Adam cuddles her against him as she cries, he feels her lungs sucking in as much air as they can, in an attempt to calm herself down.
They both know what the other is thinking – that this is a baby step of recovery for Charlotte and that this is a moment where Adam isn’t trapped in his own loneliness. But no matter how many times Charlotte asks and no matter how many times Adam says they don’t have to go home, they both know that his response is just lies.