17 Seventeen: Home Sweet Home

Landon was right, yet again, she had a massive hangover the next day, she could barely get out of bed. When she didn't come down for breakfast, he knocked on her door to check if she was alright. She let his knock went unanswered. She packed her suitcase instead. She couldn't wait to go home the next day. He came knocking again after awhile, she finally opened the door, gave him the cold shoulder.

"Water?" he lifted a big jug of water which she immediately grabbed from his hand.

"Thanks," she chugged it in.

"Are you okay?" he was being nice.

"No ... my head is about to explode, but thanks for asking," she closed the door on him.

He knew she remembered what he had tried to do the night before, thus her unfriendly gesture toward him. She avoided contact with everyone in the last two days she stayed there. She kept her goodbye short and cold, both to her dad and Landon.

"Charlie," Landon tried to talk to her before she went in her car.

"Don't," she said sharply, got in her car without looking back.

**********

Charlotte ran toward her with her arms wide open, "Oh I missed you! How was Gastonburry? Is it as amazing as dad said?"

Charlene smiled and nodded, "It was nice," she wasn't going to burst her bubble just yet. Her mom had prepared afternoon tea snacks in the family room to welcome her home. She was ready to hear all about her first trip out of Bluebridge.

She told her as much as she could, unenthusiastically. All the while she contemplated to tell her about her father's affair, but she felt like the timing was off. When her mom asked her about Landon with sparks in her eyes, she couldn't let her believe that everything was as she hoped it would be. She fell silent at first, trying to find the right words to say.

"What's the matter? I thought you two got along really well at your party?" she sensed her daughter's reluctance.

Charlene shook her head, "There's something about him that I don't feel comfortable with," she said.

"Did he make you feel uncomfortable? What did he do? He seemed like a nice gentleman," Catherine was puzzled by her daughter's remarks.

"He has a way of appearing like a gentleman, ... but he's not," she said it with a hint of resentment in her voice.

Catherine put down her tea cup, looking concerned, "Why? Had he done something un-gentlemanly?"

Charlene took a deep breath, leaned back on her chair and lifted her shoulders, "He's a manipulative person ... I guess it's actually beneficial for him since he's going to be a lawyer, he's insincere ... and pushy, he's different ..." she explained.

Catherine lifted her cup and sipped her tea with a smile, she was pleased that her daughter was smart enough to make her own assessment on Landon. She wasn't expecting Landon to be anything but the perfect gentleman, but the fact that Charlene was able to detect his flaws in a short time they knew each other was making her proud.

"Different from what?" obviously Charlene got her wits from her mom.

Charlene lifted her eyebrows, realizing she had made a slip up, "Different from what you and dad pictured him would be, I guess," she did a quick fix on her slip up.

"It's a good thing you found out early, don't you think? I would never impose on something that makes you uncomfortable, but having friends like Landon would definitely be beneficial to you in the long run ... right?" Catherine was measuring the damage on their relationship.

Charlene shrugged, "He was so confident that we're going to be married one day, it made me uncomfortable of how sure he was ... "

Catherine laughed before she even finished what she was about to say, "Oh dear ... I don't think you should worry about getting married just yet, you're 17 years old, there are things you need to accomplish before you think about marriage." She was relieved to hear her mom said that, a smile finally bloomed on her face.

Catherine went over to her and gave her a hug, she combed her hair with her fingers, "I'm glad you're home, I'm gonna let you freshen up, we'll talk about Gastonburry again later, okay?"

"Okay, mom, I love you," she told her mom.

"I love you too sweetheart," she kissed her forehead. She felt so guilty for not being able to tell her mom about her cheating husband, she weighed on what Landon had said about it, she hated the fact that Landon might have a really good point.

She went upstairs and washed away Gastonburry off her skin and hair. She wondered if Tommy had gotten back from Goldstone, it was the first thing she was going to find out after her bath.

**********

"Where are you going?" her mom stopped her by the door in the kitchen.

"I'm going to see my friends," she said.

"You mean that boy that helped you with the groceries?" she was definitely caught, there was no denying it to her mom who stared at her with a knowing glance. "Sit down for a moment, Charlene," Catherine pulled out a dining chair and took another one for herself.

"This is a small town, sweetie, people talk ... and they're saying that you've been out and about with that blue eyed boy, is that true?" Charlene kept her head down. "I told you to stay away from that boy," her mom continued.

"He's a nice guy, mom, he's really nice to me," she defended herself.

As much as she trusted her daughter's judgment, there are more than a few concerns she had about Charlene dating a guy like Tom, "I'm sure he is ... but he's not for you Charlene, he's ..." Catherine stopped to find the right words to say.

"He's poor, uneducated, he's from a broken family ... but he's good to me," she finished her mom's sentence.

Catherine took a deep breath and shook her head, "He's worlds apart from you, he has a reputation ... a reputation says a lot about a person, if your dad finds out about him, you both will be in a lot of trouble!"

"Dad has a reputation ... not sure what it says about him, anyways ... I'm sure he has other things to worry about right now, mom," she couldn't help being sarcastic about it.

"What does that mean?" her mom asked.

"Nothing ... I mean, he has a campaign to worry about, mom, please don't tell him about Tommy, he won't find out unless somebody tells him ... I really like this guy, mom, he's nothing like what people say about him, he's really sweet to me," she pleaded.

Catherine leaned back on her chair, rubbed her cheek in desperation, realizing that it was too late for her to talk Charlene out of it, apparently she had been taken by the love fairy, the worst one, the first love fairy. "Charlene ..." she had a lot of advise lined up to spray out of her mouth, "Just be careful," that was the only thing she managed to let out.