Part One: Chapter Two

Part One: The Spider

“Charlotte! You’ll hurt yourself again if you go too fast on those crutches.” Ms. Watson warned holding open the door to the doctor’s office.

“Thanks, and I’m sorry, it’s just…it’s finally coming off. I can’t wait. When do I start physical therapy?” Her green eyes glowed with anticipation.

“Just slow down there, Chuck. This is the most excited I’ve seen you.”

Until she came to a doorway with wreath of autumn leaves on it, Charlotte continued speeding through the hallway. Once inside, Chuck and Ms. Watson sat side by side. After a seemingly interminable twenty-minute wait, Chuck plodded into the room where her cast would be removed.

A doctor, middle aged with a friendly smile, asked her, “So I bet you’re ready for that to come off?”

“Yes, sir.” Charlotte contained herself.

He sliced through the cast quickly and discarded it with Charlotte’s permission.

Admiring her leg, she asked, “When can I run again?”

The man’s smile dispersed quickly. “Run?”

“Yes, run. I run track. When can I start up again?” She asked impatiently.

Grimly, he exhaled, “Charlotte, your leg was shattered in that car crash. You’re lucky to walk. Even so, you’ll have a limp. I’m sorry, but you’re never going to run again.”

It took so few words so hollow her. She had already felt this, even more intensely, but a few months ago. “No…no, no, no! Physical therapy? The Way of the Peaceful Warrior? Pilates? Anything! Please, I need to.”

“None of that would do you any good. Charlotte, I’m terribly sorry, but you’re not going to run again. That’s it.”

Tears dripped down her cheeks. That was it. The one thing that was left, was now gone. She hopped off from the table. Her leg buckled beneath her. She clutched the wall and kept walking despite Ms. Watson’s pleas for her to stop.

“Charlotte! Get back here!” Ms. Watson grabbed her shirt collar, dragging her back to the room.

“Don’t you get it? I lost my family! And I have to move in with some creepy old couple looking for fulfillment! And now I can’t even run! It was the one thing I thought the car crash couldn’t take from me! And it did!” Charlotte screamed. Frustrated, more tears rolled down the girl’s cheeks. 

“Charlotte Montgomery, calm down!” Ms. Watson snipped.

Anger fled Charlotte as sadness settled. Her tears turned into hysterical sobs into her hands.

“Are you ready to go?” Ms. Watson asked her tenderly. Helping her to stand and walk, she led Charlotte back to her car. “Mrs. DiRagno wanted you to stop by and see the house. Are you up to it?”

“Uh-uh,” Charlotte mumbled in agreement.

The drive was long and sitting in the one position for so long made Charlotte’s leg ache. After a two-hour drive, they arrived in the western half of the state mostly consisting of farms and scenery.

The house before Charlotte and Ms. Watson looked as if it had been taken from the set of a horror movie. It was a dark Victorian with peeling paint and a small tower in the back.

“It’s so…”

“Ancient?” Chuck tried.

Ms. Watson gave her glare. “I would love a house like this. It’s gorgeous.” She led the way to the creaking porch, undoubtedly rotting beneath their feet. The autumn breeze ruffled Ms. Watson’s short straight hair.

Walking was now an awkward motion to Charlotte. Her left leg felt like dead weight beneath her. She no longer strode in the fashion she was accustomed to. To ease her sorrow, she pulled a folded photograph from her pocket. Nodding as if the picture encouraged her, she tucked away again.

Ms. Watson knocked at the door. “Are you ready to meet her?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be…”

A young woman in a maid’s uniform answered the door. “Come in. I’ll take your coats.”

Inside, Ms. Watson shed her thin jacket and handed it to the woman.

Charlotte gave her a friendly smile as she removed her own jacket.

The maid scowled at her. She gestured them into the parlor.

The inside of the house was dreary. There were old paintings of stern disapproving men set above outdated wallpaper. The rugs had intricate designs woven into them. Everywhere Charlotte looked sat either an expensive vase or a frowning bust.

“I feel like I’m in a museum.” Charlotte murmured, noting the cobwebs in the corners.

The parlor was just as dark and sophisticated as the entry. A fire burned in a stone hearth. There was a painting of Mr. and Mrs. DiRagno above the fireplace. The furniture was stiff and uncomfortable.

A stout rotund woman sprawled over a chair drinking tea. She had white hair and a powered face. “Ooh! You must be Charlotte. My name is Annette DiRagno.” She pulled Charlotte into a tight embrace. “If it makes you feel better, you can call me Mummy.”

She longed to be out of her grasp. “No thank you. I still miss my mother very much.”

“Oh, Giovanni told me how polite you were! He forgot to mention how beautiful though! Look at those green eyes!” Her long unusually spindly fingers held up Chuck’s chin.

“Thank you.” Charlotte said enduring the woman’s constant touching.

Ms. Watson pulled Charlotte back also discomforted by the instant signs of affection.

“Oh, this is an application for you to fill out.” Mrs. DiRagno pushed a stack of papers into the girl’s hands.

“An application?”

“Well, we don’t want you in a grungy public school. With your grades and extracurricular activities, you’ll have no problems getting a spot at The Leman School for girls.”

Chuck nodded though the thought of an all-girls school was odd.

“Please sit, Charlotte and…”

“Amy Watson.” Ms. Watson held her hand to the short plump woman.

“Hmpt.” Mrs. DiRagno sat in her armchair.

Charlotte and Ms. Watson placed themselves uncomfortably on the couch.

“So Charlotte, I hear that you’re a champion track runner.”

Charlotte nodded, “I was until I banged up my leg in that car crash.”

“What a shame,” She said robotically.

Chuck couldn’t quite understand it, but she knew the DiRagno’s weren’t looking for a daughter in her. They wanted something else. 

 

Reviews

[Kasey Jones]

I'm already hooked on this. It has a nice blend of normal characters and eccentricity. The foreshadowing is effective but not cheesy.
Just one typo, you said "powered face" instead of "powdered".

[snapjack]

Just a few things to change:

"It took so few words so hollow her"
"“Uh-uh,” Charlotte mumbled in agreement"

but besides that, the story leads me to wonder what comes next.