It Comes In Three's

Chapter 5

Charlottes POV

The town was dark and eerily quiet when the bus arrived. My newest friend Lola was no longer with me as she had gotten off at the stop before – quickly reminding me of how alone I actually was here.

I walked the streets nervously, following my gut instinct as I didn’t have access to a map or a phone. I didn’t know where to head, and nothing nearby seemed to be open this late.

The place from what I could see was clean and pretty, flowers and bright street lights glowing along each road. The houses looked big and expensive, signifying that the area was more affluent as compared to back home. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

If I could even call that my home.

I continued on, ignoring the sickening anxiety that lay in the pit of my stomach, before turning a corner to find a girl around my age cursing down at her phone as I immediately slow in my steps.

“Piece of shit!” She grumbles, as I get closer, curiosity getting the better of me.

“Are you ok?” My quiet voice fills the silence before I can stop it, causing her to glance up at me.

I watch as her mouth falls open, as her eyes gaze over me from head to toe.

Oh no here it goes…

I prepare myself for a harsh remark, before she offers me a smile, causing my eyebrows to furrow.

“I’m fine! I finished work a while ago and dropped my damn phone out here so now it’s broke and I can’t get a cab!” She shrugs with a sigh, as I nod slowly.

Her long wavy auburn hair was tied back in a neat ponytail, and she looked well put together for just being at work.

“Are you… ok? You look really lost.” She ponders next, as I awkwardly shuffle from foot to foot.

“Uhh yeah… I’m not actually from here… I didn’t expect for my bus to arrive so late so I don’t really know what I’m doing.” I shrug, feeling the wind blow as I shiver slightly.

“Are you… homeless?” She asks quietly, as I grow nervous from the strangers questioning.

“Well… I guess I could officially say that I am now… it’s just some trouble at home I suppose.” I try to explain, knowing that I couldn’t exactly lie and say that I ‘just wanted to go a walk at this time looking like a crazy homeless person’.

By the look on her face, she seemed to pity me, before she offered me another comforting smile.

“Well come on then you can come back with me, I’m a twenty minute walk from here if you don’t mind that!” She grins, as my eyes widen at her sudden offer.

“I’m Anna by the way!” She begins to walk, as my feet instinctively follow her.

She seemed to be my only hope and It was a far better option than the typical creepy old men that you see in the movies! It seemed that Anna also wanted the company tonight – having broke her phone – which I was guiltily thankful for.

“Chiara!” I lie again, deciding to stick with the false name I had given Lola on the bus.

“So you’re not from here huh?” She asks, as I follow her lead down the quiet streets.

“No I just wanted to come here to get away for a bit. I was always interested in attending the college here and I don’t really like where I live currently so I decided it was time for a fresh start.” I let the

story fly from my lips, as she nods along in understanding.

“Well if it makes you feel any better, I’m sort of in the same boat!” She chimes, as I furrow my brows at her.

“You are?” I question, as she nods.

“My parents are never here, I’m lucky if I see them twice a year for a birthday and Christmas! They just send me money and let me figure things out on my own.” She grows quieter towards the end, showing a deeper sadness, before she quickly masks it with a smile.

“But that’s good for you because you can totally crash at my place until you get on your feet!” She states, as I giggle – enjoying her company more than I probably should.

I was no longer nervous walking these streets, having luckily found probably the nicest girl I had ever spoken to in my life. She wasn’t judging me on my appearance, she wasn’t pushy for more answers on what had happened to me, and oddly enough – I think she wanted the company as bad as I did.

“You must think that I’m wild!” She laughs out, as we cut down another street.

“Not at all! It’s been a while since someone has been this nice to me… the girls at my old school were…” I trail off.

“Bitches!” She exasperates, as I nod with a smile.

“Exactly that!” I agree, feeling strangely comfortable talking to Anna having only just met her on the street.

“I hate those types! There’s many of them at my school too, but thankfully they’re too scared to bother me because of the boys I hang around with!” Anna explains, picking at my anxiety at the

mention of her male friends.

“So you prefer to have guy friends?” I find myself asking next, as she shrugs.

“One of them is my cousin, so they sort of have to put up with me because of that! But sometimes I wish I had a girl around, it’s not the same shopping or getting my hair and nails done alone! Or even having a good gossip every once in a while!” She throws her hands up dramatically, making me giggle.

I couldn’t understand why but if you were to ask me, we were getting along extremely well. Almost as though we needed to meet one another… I’m actually beginning to think that after meeting Lola and Anna, God is seriously on my side after the incident with Tommy.

I gulp at the memory of Tommy… Anna would be running if she knew what I had done…

“I’m just around the corner!” She breaks me out of my thoughts and concludes, as we pass by more houses that seem to get larger the further that we walk.

“Are you sure I can crash at yours? You don’t realise how thankful I am for your help tonight!” I tell her, as she waves me off.

“Nonsense! I am a master of judging someone’s character and I can already tell that you’re harmless! I like you already!” She stares at me briefly, as I smile.

She seriously is being so nice I could cry!

“I’m glad I met you when I did!” I admit, as we turn down onto – what I’m assuming is – her street.

“I hate to sound soppy… but me too.” She states back, as she slows down towards a decent sized house.

“This is me!” She states, heading up the pathway as I glance over the freshly painted exterior and flower coated garden in awe.

I watch Anna fumble with her keys, before she unlocks the door and enters – gesturing for me to follow her in.

“Seriously if this is too much hassle I can leave!” I begin to say again, overwhelmed with how kind she had been to me tonight.

“Get in here already! I have three spare bedrooms so there’s more than enough room for you here!” Anna waits until I am inside before closing the door and flicking on the hallway light.

Her house was beautiful – clean, bright and inviting. The walls were painted a fresh cream colour and the furniture and decor was brown and gold with some subtle hints of pink.

“Follow me! I’ll make us some hot chocolate to heat up!” She takes her coat off, hanging it on the stand, as I do the same – handing her my flimsy, dirty coat.

“I have spare clothes you can borrow too if you want to shower and stuff there’s lots of spare toiletries in the guest en-suite!” I follow her through her cosy home, feeling like it was a life long close friend that I was visiting.

“Thank you… so much for all of this!” I enter the kitchen, noticing the large central island in the middle surrounded by bar stools.

This place was amazing!

“I’m here to help and when you’re ready to tell me more about what happened to you, I’m all ears, but I couldn’t just leave you out there wondering the streets!” She admits, as I take a seat and she begins to whip up some drinks.

“Like I said, I don’t mind having some company at home too for once!” She sighs, as my heart tugs at how anyone would ever want to leave this girl on her own.

I was scared at this moment, that this was all just a dream. I didn’t want to wake up, to find myself back home.

I wanted a fresh start, and so far, I’m doing pretty ok here!