a/n

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─☼☼☼─

"𝙒𝙃𝙔 𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝙔𝙊𝙐 driving like a complete maniac?" Charlotte demanded from the back seat as her best friend took yet another sharp turn on their way to the country club. 

Kensington turned her head slightly. "I'm not." She argued, almost running them off the road. "This is how I've always driven."

"I think that's the problem, then." Charlotte muttered to herself as she ensured that her seatbelt was secure. 

Willa rose her brows at Charlotte. "You've probably just forgotten because you've been spending all your time with your sister and her dirty little friends."

Charlotte shot Willa a glare. "Don't call them that." 

"Seriously, Char." Kensington said as she pulled ─ maybe veered is a better word ─ into the parking lot. "I get that things with Rafe messed you up but there's no need to slum it over on The Cut."

Always about Rafe, wasn't it?

"I'm not slumming it." Charlotte corrected. "I've always been friends with them. There's nothing wrong with me hanging out with them after barely seeing them for a year. John B just lost his dad, you know. I'm trying to be a good friend."

Pulling her keys from the ignition, Kensington rolled her eyes. "That crazy old geezer went missing, like, a year ago. It's been forever."

Charlotte had to convince herself to breathe, to not snap at her best friend. "Kens, please don't talk about him like that. I'm not asking you guys to start hanging out with them. But please just understand the fact that I'm allowed to."

Willa and Kensington shared a look for a brief moment. "Okay, Char." Willa finally agreed. "We just want to see you where you belong."

This isn't really where I belong.

That was what Charlotte wanted to say, but instead she just forced a smile. "I know, guys. And that's why I love you."

"Good." Kensington chirped as she threw open her door. "Now let's get in there before we lose our favourite table."

Charlotte hated the fact that they had a 'favourite' table at the country club. I mean, how prissy could you get?

In fact, as Charlotte walked through the air conditioned building, she realized she hated a lot of things about it. 

The paint colour was ugly and obnoxious. The people were loud...and also obnoxious and the whole feel of the place was just off. 

Maybe because he wasn't walking in here with her. 

"Ooh!" Willa squealed. "Our table is free!"

Charlotte had to tell herself not to roll her eyes. And then she had to tell herself to stop being such a bitch! These were two of her best friends after all. And one year ago, Charlotte would have also likely been squealing in excitement that no one had stolen their favourite table. 

When their waiter came over, a young boy likely from The Cut, Kensington and Willa barely even looked at him. "I'll have a water with extra lemon." Kensington all but demanded. "And light ice."

The young boy nodded, his cheeks growing red as Willa began speaking. "A Coke. And make sure it's a plastic straw, not a paper one."

Sighing, Charlotte looked up at the boy, like actually looked at him unlike the other two. "Can I please have a Sprite? Either straw is fine."

A small smile came to the boy's face as he nodded. "Of course. I'll be right back with those."

"Thank you." Charlotte smiled as Kensington rolled her eyes.

"They need to stop hiring Pogues to serve us...they always mess up our orders."

"Kens." Charlotte warned, arching a brow. "What did I literally just saw in the car?"

Kensington scoffed. "You told us not to talk about your sister's little friends like that...you said nothing about the rest of them."

Charlotte didn't have the energy to argue, so she simply took a glance around the club. This was her first time in the Figure Eight ─ aside from her own house ─ since she had returned. 

She saw a lot of familiar faces and part of her felt slightly content at being back. The other part resented it. 

"Hey, guys."

Her observing was cut short when two people arrived at the girls' table. Charlotte glanced up to see Topper Thornton and Sarah Cameron smiling down at her. 

A smile came to Charlotte's face ─ a genuine one. In her four, almost five, years with Rafe, she had gotten to know Sarah very well. And despite the incessant claims from Kie that Sarah was the 'biggest bitch on the island,' Charlotte couldn't say she disliked her. 

"It's really good to see you back, Char." Sarah said as she leaned into Topper slightly. "It's not the same without you here."

Topper let out an awkward laugh. "Yeah. Sorry we didn't get to talk to you the other night at the Boneyard. Things got a little fucked up, didn't they?"

Charlotte grimaced as Kensington gasped. "Yeah, that psycho Maybank kid could have killed you, Topper!"

Topper nodded, eyes widened slightly. "It could have been bad."

"Oh, come on you guys." Charlotte interrupted. "You're leaving out the part where Topper almost drowned John B."

Silence fell across the group as Willa and Kensington shared a look, then Topper and Sarah, and then the four of them meanwhile Charlotte watched on with raised brows. "Am I wrong?"

Clearing his throat, Topper quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, we came over here to invite you guys over tonight. Party at my place."

 Willa's face lit up as she nodded. "Oh, we'll be there!"

As Topper, Kensington and Willa dove into a conversation about who was going and who wasn't, Sarah looked to Charlotte. "You'll come, right Char?"

A party was exactly what Charlotte needed right now. After John B was arrested after their little endeavour at the lighthouse, she had removed herself from the treasure hunt indefinitely. It was time for her to try and have as normal of a summer as possible. So, she gave Sarah a small nod and smile. "Yeah. I'll be there."

─☼☼☼─

Music thudded from the Thornton house as Willa, Kensington and Charlotte pulled up. 

Charlotte leaned forward from her seat in Willa's Jeep. "Sometimes I feel too old to go to these things." She muttered. "Do I look too old?"

Kensington scoffed. "Charlotte, we're nineteen, not forty five."

Taking a sip of the drink she had opened in the car, Charlotte shrugged. "Fair enough."

"Look who's here!" Someone yelled as the three girls entered. 

It was Caden Koffer, the Kook from the Boneyard that Kensington and Willa had saved Charlotte from. 

If she thought he was drunk the other night, that was nothing compared to tonight. 

"Cade." Charlotte greeted, her smile slightly lopsided. "Wish I could say it was good to see you."

Caden grinned at her, shoving a drink into her hands. "There's the Charlotte Carrera we all know. You know, I was kind of worried about you the other night."

She handed the drink back to him, picking up an unopened one. "Worried about me?" She wondered, watching as Kensington and Willa disappeared somewhere into the crowd. "And why is that?"

"You seemed down." Cade shrugged as if he knew her inside and out. 

Charlotte rolled her eyes as she took another sip of her alcohol, her body now beginning to buzz from the pregaming the three girls had done at Willa's house. "How do you know what I look like when I'm down?"

Caden pointed to his head briefly, his eyes slightly droopy. "Brain power."

A loud laugh fell from the girl's lips, melding into the noisy chatter of the party as she leaned toward Caden. "I didn't know you had any of that?"

"You can be mean all you want, Charlotte." Caden slurred as he threw his arm around her. "I know you like me deep down in that little heart of yours." His finger pressed into her chest, just above her heart. 

Within seconds Charlotte had shoved his hand away. "Hands to yourself, Cade."

He gave her another sloppy smile. "My bad."

Trying to distance herself from him, Charlotte's eyes darted around the party. When she finally saw someone she knew, a relieved smile came to her face.

"Look, Cade. I've gotta go. I'll see you later, alright?"

Caden frowned for a moment. "Leaving me so soon?"

Charlotte ignored him this time and made her way through the crowd. "Summer!" She called, catching the attention of a certain blonde. 

The girl turned toward her, a small smile coming to her face at the sight of Charlotte. "Hey, Charlotte." 

Something about her face made her seem almost guilty?

"How are you?" Charlotte wondered, giving the girl a genuine smile. "I haven't seen you in, what, six months?"

Summer nodded, biting down on her lip slightly as her eyes danced around the crowd. "Yeah. Something like that."

Furrowing her brow, Charlotte looked straight at the other girl. "Am I missing something or─"

"Char!" Kensington called, grabbing onto the dark haired girl's arm and pulling her away from Summer. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Talking to Summer. What does it look like I'm doing?"

Kensington paused, pulling them off the pool deck and onto the grass where it was slightly less noisy.

An impatient look covered her face as she cast a glance back in Summer's direction. "You know she slept with Rafe, right? She was like the first one to jump at the chance the minute you two broke up!"

A pit settled in Charlotte's stomach, but she simply pushed the feeling away and plastered a fake smile onto her face. "So?"

"'So?' " Kensington repeated. "You don't sleep with your friend's ex! I don't care how convincing he may be."

Charlotte rose a brow. "Convincing?"

Kensington's usually tan face went pale for a moment. "Summer told me all about it, okay?"

Something didn't feel right, but Charlotte decided that she was here to have fun, not dwell on drama. "Just drop it, Kens. Rafe's a big boy, he can do whatever and whoever he wants. Especially girls that I'm barely friends with."

The look on Kensington's face was one of conflict as she finally nodded. "I need another drink."

"Yo! Topper's on the roof!" 

The shouting came as Kensington and Charlotte approached the drink table. Looking up, Charlotte wore an amused smile as she spotted Topper trying to hype up the crowd from the roof.

"He's an idiot." She muttered, taking a drink from Kensington's outstretched hand. 

"Oh, God." Kensington gasped as she downed most of her drink. "Sarah's up there, too."

Charlotte laughed, turning to watch the exchange as memories came rushing back to her. Not long ago, the couple on the roof would have likely been her and Rafe. Now, they were nothing more than a memory and some hurt feelings. 

Enough about him, God.

Finishing the drink in hand, and then grabbing another, Charlotte grinned lazily at Kensington. "Let's go find something to do."

"Something or someone?"

Charlotte shot her a look as she dragged her toward the balcony where a game of beer pong had been set up.

"Doubles!" Charlotte announced to the surrounding crowd, the alcohol buzzing through her. "Two very unlucky loser against Kens and I. Who's up?"

It didn't take long for a line of people wanting to play had formed by the table. Charlotte grinned to herself, finally feeling at home as her eyes scanned the faces. 

"Davis and I." A voice announced, coming up from behind Charlotte. "Us against you two lovely ladies."

Caden Koffer and Spencer Davis pushed through the crowd, claiming the spot next to Charlotte. 

"There's a line, Caden." Kensington rolled her eyes. "And you're not at the front of it."

Shrugging, Caden picked up one of the balls. "Am now."

With eyes locked on Charlotte, he dropped the ball back into one of the cups. "I propose a twist on the game."

"A twist?" Charlotte wondered, her heart beat speeding up just slightly from the way Caden was regarding her. 

"Loser takes off an article of clothing."

Kensington was scoffing before anyone else could get a response out. "Grow up, Caden."

Charlotte narrowed her eyes at him, the alcohol running through her system was telling her not to back down. "I'm in." 

"Charlotte!" Kensington was gripping onto her arm. "Are you really going to give into that jackass?"

"If you don't want to play, you don't have to Ken. I'm fine on my own."

Kensington released her grip. "No. You're drunk and you're going to make a fool out of yourself."

Caden was watching Charlotte with a smirk as she picked up a ball. "That's what summer is for, isn't it."

Squaring her shoulders, Charlotte lifted her arm. "I'll go first."

─☼☼☼─

Two rounds later and Charlotte was still fully dressed. 

Her and Kensington had beat Davis and Caden by a landslide each game, which promptly resulted in Davis demanding they switch up the teams. 

So, that's how Charlotte ended up with Caden on her team and she swore to God he was losing on purpose. 

He missed every single shot he took, and no matter how hard Charlotte tried, she could not get the redemption ark she so badly desired. 

Which meant it was her turn to lose a piece of clothing. Caden had been reduced down to nothing but his swim trunks by this point. 

Raising her brows at Caden, Charlotte removed the tank top that was covering her bikini top. 

He threw his head back, and Charlotte could feel Kensington staring at the two of them with ferocity. 

"I don't think that's fair." Caden argued, stepping out from around the table to make his way down to Charlotte. "I think the swim top has to come off, too."

"Caden, shut up." Kensington warned from next to Charlotte. 

Charlotte took a small step toward him as she shook her head. "I don't think that's how the game works?"

Caden cocked his head slightly, stopping in front of the two girls, his eyes scanning Charlotte's body in a way that made her wildly uncomfortable. "Pretty sure I make the rules."

Within second, his hand had reached out and tugged at Charlotte's strap to which she promptly shoved his hands away. "What the fuck, Cade! What happened to keeping your fucking hands to yourself?"

The once buzzing atmosphere had been destroyed. Tension now settled across the balcony as everyone watched the exchange. 

"Cade, just leave her, man. Let's just keep playing." Davis suggested, but it sounded more like a plea. 

"No." Kensington argued sternly. "We're done."

Charlotte kept her eyes on Caden, and watched as he licked his lips ─ like actually licked his lips as if he were a predator sizing up its prey.

"What happens if I don't want to keep my hands to myself, Charlotte?"

This time when his hand shot out toward Charlotte, it wasn't her who shoved him away. 

Stumbling backward, Charlotte's eyes grew wide as someone's fist connected with Caden's cheek, sending him sprawling into the beer pong table. 

Kensington let out a scream of shock as she grabbed onto Charlotte, pulling her away from the scene as the new arrival continued delivering a series of punches. 

Charlotte felt like her heart was in her throat as she quickly identified the person that was currently pummelling Caden despite the latter's best efforts at retaliation. 

It was Rafe.  

Of course it was. 

Yelling had ensued as people either egged Rafe on or begged for him to stop. 

Charlotte simply stood in stunned silence as Kensington maintained a grip on her, trying to keep her away from the violence. 

"Someone stop him!" Davis pleaded for his friend. "He's going to fucking kill him!"

It was then that Charlotte snapped out of her trance, and was instantly stomping toward where Rafe was continuing to beat a now bloodied Caden Koffer. 

"Rafe!" She screamed, her voice carrying above the rest of the noise. "Rafe, cut it out!"

He didn't hear her ─ or chose to ignore her, she wasn't sure which. 

It must have been the large amount of alcohol in her blood stream because what Charlotte did next was absolutely mindless and stupid. But she did it anyway. 

With a finally grunt of frustration, Charlotte grabbed onto Rafe's arm, almost getting a punch in the face herself as she pulled him away from Caden who was sputtering blood and crying. 

"Rafe." She said sternly, his wild eyes finally meeting hers. "Enough."

His face went blank for a moment as he stumbled away from Caden, looking down at the mess he had created. 

And then, as if a switch had flipped, he looked to Charlotte with loathing. "Put your fucking clothes on and let's go."