Charity's Storm (Charity Series Book 4) Read online

  He grinned at me. “I hate I missed that. Staring at a guy, huh? Since when are you boy crazy?”

  “Mr. Bell, there are a lot of things you don’t know about our darling Charity here.”

  His eyebrows rose. “Oh yeah? Like what?” He looked genuinely curious.

  Ashley was about to answer when I glared at her, silencing her.

  “Oh, you know. Usual female stuff,” she stammered.

  Just then a group of seniors walked past our car, a string of profanities pouring from their lips.

  My dad sighed. “Now, why do they have to talk like that? Don’t they know how bad it makes them look?” Then he turned to me. “Promise me, Charity, that you’ll never talk like that.”

  I beamed up at him. “Of course not, Daddy.”

  He smiled back as he stroked my cheek in an adoring fashion. “That’s my girl.” Then he looked back at Ashley who was sitting quietly and observing the whole thing in silence. “And you too, Ash.”

  She giggled and covered her mouth. “Of course not, Sir.”

  The main reason she covered her mouth when she laughed was because she hated her braces. She said they made her look like Jaws from the old James Bond movies. He was a giant with a mouthful of metal. Personally, I didn’t know what she was talking about. But I did just what best friends are supposed to do, I nodded and agreed with her. You know, just making sure she doesn’t get a big head.

  “Hey, Dad, can we stop at the Westside Drug Store? I need a few things.”

  “Oh yeah, can we?” Ashley asked, bouncing in her seat. “I need some things too.”

  “Well, I really need to get home to work on my presentation for tomorrow.”

  My dad was a big wig for our local bank. I still didn’t really know what he did there, but I really didn’t care to know either.

  “Pleeeeaaase,” we both begged in unison.

  He laughed. “Okay. Anything for you two.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” we both said.

  As soon as the car came to a stop, Ash and I jumped out and headed for the door of the Westside Drug Store. “What things do you need?” I asked Ash.

  “I need tampons, and eye shadow.”

  My eyes widened. “Ash, you don’t need any more eye shadow.”

  “Sure I do. I’m sick of gold. I wanna try silver next.”

  I rolled my eyes, not even trying to hide the gesture from her.

  “What about you?” she asked me.

  “Well, my lips have been cracking a lot lately. I wanna see if I can find some good lip balm.”

  We walked around the store for a few minutes, and Ashley picked up her things plus a few additional things. I strolled over to the lipstick area while Ashley went to pay for her things. Nothing was catching my attention. Then I noticed an older woman with a straw hat and orange sneakers putting lip balms on a special display. I walked over to observe her but said nothing.

  “Oh, hello there, dear. Are you looking for lip balms?” the lady asked me.

  “Oh, yes I am, actually.”

  She smiled widely and handed me one. “Here you go. I make these in my greenhouse. You won’t find any better. They’re made with all natural ingredients. This store just started carrying them. As a matter of fact, this display is my first.”

  “Really? Wow, that’s so cool,” I responded, genuinely impressed.

  “I’ll say. And you can have that one for free, just for trying it out and giving me an honest opinion.”

  My eyes widened. “Really? I can have it?”

  She smiled sweetly as if she was touched by my question. “Why yes, dear.”

  “Wow, thanks. No one has ever given me something for nothing before.”

  She smiled and patted me on the shoulder. “Well, now they have. So try it and tell me what you think.”

  “Oh, okay.” I took off the lid and saturated my lips heavily. I rubbed my lips together and was suddenly transported into Heaven. I closed my eyes, enjoying the silky feel and amazing smell. “Oh my jolly green jelly beans! I am totally in love with this stuff. What is this called?” I looked down at the simple tube in my hand.

  “That one is called raspberry ice,” she answered with an almost singing in her voice.

  And that was that. I knew I was hooked for life.

  “I love it. Thank you so much,” I said, and I truly meant it.

  “Oh, you are very welcome. Who knows, maybe someday my lip balms will be so popular that they stay on back order. Now wouldn’t that be nice?”

  “Well, that’s what I’ll pray for when I go to church this Sunday,” I said to her.

  She seemed genuinely impressed by my statement. “That would be lovely, dear. My name is Nana Butterfly, by the way.”

  I was surprised by the unique name. And as I studied her, I could make out red hair under her straw hat. She had beautiful flowers in different colors wrapped around her hat. Suddenly her name seemed to fit perfectly. “Umm, Nana Butterfly? Really?”

  She laughed. “I know, but that’s what I’ve been called for years.”

  “Well, Nana Butterfly, it has been a pleasure meeting you. And thank you again.” I shook her hand.

  “It was my pleasure, dear. And you are?” Her eyebrows rose in question.

  “Oh, sorry. My name is Charity.”

  “Well, Charity,” she said, patting me on the shoulder, “I will be praying for you as well.”

  I smiled widely. I truly liked this woman. “Thank you so much.” I left then and caught up to Ashley while she was paying at the front counter.

  As we walked back to the car, I told her what had happened. She wanted to borrow my new lip balm, but I was sure I would never let anyone but me use it—ever.

  Chapter Three

  “Happy birthday, Sunshine!!” my mom and dad said as they came into my room and opened the blinds. I squinted against the blaring light of a new day, but despite my sleepiness, I bounced with excitement in my bed.

  “What did you get me?” I asked with eager anticipation, continuing to bounce. My mom always got me something special, and my dad always made me something special. He went into the hall and brought back with him something wrapped in a white sheet. I had a suspicion as to what it was and jerked off the sheet to reveal a breathtaking painting of a lake with a canoe and some ducks floating in it. “Oh, Dad, it’s beautiful. Thank you. I know exactly where I want to hang it.” I gave him a big hug. I always loved his paintings. He was a very talented painter in his spare time.

  “You’re welcome, Sunshine.”

  My dad always called me Sunshine because he said my smile could light up any room. And sometimes I really felt like that was true. My life was pretty perfect. I mean I couldn’t really complain about much of anything. I had the best friend anyone could ever ask for. I had great, loving parents, and I had a happy spirit. I was pretty tall for fourteen, and I didn’t have zits like Ashley and a lot of other kids my age. Yes, my life was perfect.

  My mom gave me a small diamond necklace since the diamond was my birthstone. It was beautiful, and I loved it. And that night they took me and Ash to see Charlie Brown on Ice. I know it seemed like a young thing to do for my age, but I loved Snoopy. I’m not totally sure why, but then again who didn’t. Afterward, we stopped at a nice restaurant and had dinner. My mom and dad held hands on the drive back home while Ash and I took turns braiding each other’s hair—that was when she still had long hair. It was a great and memorable day.

  At school the next day, I showed off my new necklace and Ash and I told all of our friends about our trip. Delaney teased us, of course. She always seemed to do things like that, but it didn’t bother either of us too much. Stacy seemed slightly jealous that she didn’t get to go. I had to explain that I was only allowed to take one person. She said she was okay with it, but she still seemed bummed. I felt bad. I knew I would need to plan something with her soon.

  As I sat in my first period class, I thought again about my weekend with my parents, celebrating my birthday,
and I smiled, twirling the diamond from my necklace around my fingers. It was a great weekend; one of the best we had ever had, actually.

  “Charity?” Toby whispered from behind me.

  I quickly turned to him, my eyes growing wide in surprise. He didn’t talk to me much, but he was friendly and kind of cute, in a dorky sort of way. His dark hair was slicked back a little, and he had a huge smile that you couldn’t help but respond to. “What?”

  “Does your friend, Delaney, have a boyfriend?”

  I snickered and covered my mouth. That was the last thing I had expected him to ask. “Not one of her own.”

  “Excuse me, Miss Bell,” Mrs. Harper said. “Do you have something to say to the class?”

  I stiffened and could instantly feel my face turn beet red. Why did these things always happen to me? “Um, no ma’am. I’m sorry.”

  “Very good.” She continued with the lesson.

  Dang it! I stirred uncomfortably in my seat, sure the entire class was studying me. Last time I checked it wasn’t me that started these conversations to begin with. I huffed and blew my overgrown bangs out of my face.

  At lunch, my friends ragged me about getting called out in class. Ashley had told them, of course.

  “So, what did Toby ask you?” Stacey asked as she shoved another bite of chocolate pudding into her mouth.

  I shrugged as I took a sip my soda. “Oh, he just wanted to know if Delaney had a boyfriend.”

  Delaney spat out the piece of apple she had just taken a huge bite out of. It landed on the table right in front of my hand. All of us, except Delaney, burst into laughter, and it wasn’t because of the apple piece lying on the table, it was because of what was inside the apple piece. Stuck inside the chunk of apple, lying on the table in front of us, was a huge hunk of Delaney’s front tooth. Her eyes widened in horror and the entire table grew silent. She covered her mouth as she glanced around in shock at all of us, and then she stood and quietly exited the lunchroom, careful not to let anyone else see. We tried to hold our laughter, but it was almost impossible to do. And once she was out of the room we all burst into roaring laughter. It might not have been a nice thing to do but it was a natural one. To understand more, you would have to know Delaney. She was a snob of sorts. She stole other girls’ boyfriends, had a snarky reply to almost everything, and was purely focused only on herself. Why then were we her friends? None of us really knew the answer to that. One day Ashley invited her to sit with us in the lunchroom because she said Delaney looked lonely, and she’d been sitting with us ever since. Ashley thought everyone deserved a chance, and back then I agreed with her.

  Chapter Four

  Later that day, Ash and I were walking through the hallway toward our lockers, discussing an upcoming history test, when we noticed a girl who appeared to have someone cornered against the lockers. As we approached, I recognized the girl, Bunnie. I had heard rumors that this Bunnie was a mean girl and liked to cause trouble, but until that moment I had never seen it for myself. And I had managed to keep a safe distance. She had a poor girl pushed against the lockers and was saying hateful things to her. I felt bad for the girl, who was crying, Hannah I think her name was. Ashley and I exchanged worried glances. I started to say something to Bunnie until she turned around and glared at me, daring me to intervene. I gulped, never having experienced a glare so mean, and cowed down and continued to walk. Ashley followed dutifully beside me.

  “Wow, that was intense,” Ashley said under her breath. “I thought you were gonna say something to her there for a minute.”

  “Yeah,” I said, my voice a little shaky, “I thought so too.”

  Ashley didn’t press the matter further, and I was thankful for it. The truth is, that Bunnie girl scared me, and I didn’t want to admit it to Ashley. She had always sort of looked up to me, like she admired me, and I didn’t want to disturb that.

  “So, Ash,” I asked just as I finished with my combination and opened my locker. “Are you gonna get to come over and watch a movie with us on Friday night?”

  “Oh,” she looked down, her expression sad, “I can’t come this week. My mom wants us to go to my aunt’s birthday party in Happy. I really don’t like that town. The only thing good about it is Happy’s Ice Cream Parlor, and I think we’re gonna go there after the party.”

  I frowned. “It’s okay. Maybe next week?”

  She smiled brightly. “Definitely.”

  * * * * * *

  Friday after school, I hurried to finish up my homework and complete the chores my mom had left on the note by the fridge. I was actually looking forward to a night with just my parents. We hadn’t had a movie night with just the three of us in a while. Usually Ashley would join us, and sometimes even all of my friends. But tonight it was just us, and Dad was picking up the movie, his choice, along with the pizza on the way home from work.

  I swept and mopped the kitchen and hall floors, vacuumed the living room, put the dirty clothes in the wash, made a gallon of fresh sweet tea, wiped down the kitchen counter, and washed the last of the dishes from breakfast that morning. I had just finished putting the clothes in the dryer when I heard my mom’s car pull into the driveway. I met her at the door and helped her with the few bags of groceries she had in her arms.

  “Hey, Annabelle. How was your day at school?” she asked, right on schedule. That was always the first thing she asked me when she saw me after work.

  “It was good,” I answered her. “I made an A on that history test. Thank you for helping me study for it.”

  She turned to me and smiled her brilliant, wide smile. Her eyes squinted, revealing small wrinkles just in the corners of her eyes that were barely even noticeable. “Oh, Annabelle, that’s great. I know how much you stressed over that test. I bet it feels good to have it over with though, huh?”

  I chuckled. “Oh yeah.”

  My mom had always called me Annabelle. She wanted to name me that, but since my last name was Bell, well let’s face it, Annabelle Bell just sounded downright stupid. Thank the maker for Charity, my grandmother’s name. I actually always liked it. And according to the tales, my grandmother was quite the character, a hoot in her own right. My mom had told me many times of how much I was like her and how naming me after her was a great decision.

  “I bought you something.” She dug through her purse and then handed me a king-size Snickers bar. She knew they were my favorite at the moment. I was a fickle girl, and next week it would probably be something else completely.

  “Oh, mom! Thanks!” I said, ripping the paper off and taking a huge bite. I closed my eyes and moaned. “Oh, sweet Mother Nature. I never get sick of these things.” My eyes practically rolled back into my head.

  I heard the car door shut outside and ran to the front door, swinging it open and running into the yard to greet my dad. “Hey, Dad,” I said, giving him a giant hug and then helping him get his things from the car. I was still chewing on my Snickers when I studied the movie he’d picked. “Oh man, Star Wars Episode IV! Thanks, Dad!”

  He laughed. “You’re welcome, Sunshine. And don’t talk with your mouth full.”

  “Yes, sir,” I answered with my mouth full.

  I danced off into the house before him. “Look, Mom, Dad got us Star Wars Episode IV.”

  “That’s great! I love that movie!” she said in response.

  We had been watching the Star Wars movies ever since I could remember, and no matter how many times we watched them, they never seemed to get old.

  “Oh, honey,” my dad said to my mom as he stepped into the kitchen. “Jim is coming to pick up your car and take it in for a tune up. We’ll be down to one car until tomorrow afternoon.”

  She contemplated that for a moment and then shrugged. “Oh, okay. I guess that’s fine.” And then they kissed…and I playfully gagged.

  Soon, Jim from Tony’s Auto came and picked up the car, and we all waved as he pulled away with my mom’s car in tow. My mom sighed. “Now maybe that car will stop makin
g that squeaking racket I have to listen to all the way to work.”

  “My dad rubbed his hand across her back. “Jim will do a good job. I told him about the squeak. He’ll take care of it.”

  I ran up to my room and dressed in my comfiest clothes, eagerly anticipating the evening ahead. Afterwards, I went downstairs and into the kitchen to make the popcorn. After all, no movie night was complete without the popcorn.

  Minutes later, I grabbed the ginormous bowl of popcorn and joined my parents who were already cozy on the sofa eating their pizza. The movie started and all was quiet as my favorite part, the opening words going up the page, began. I glanced around me in complete contentment. These were the times I lived for with my mom and dad happy and cuddling while we shared an evening together. It’s what kept our family united and strong.

  The movie was almost over and my mom was sound asleep just like always, when there was a knock at the door.

  “I’ll get it,” I said quietly as not to wake my mom.

  I flipped over the arm of the sofa and skipped to the door. I peered out the peep hole, but I couldn’t see anyone.

  “Charity, if you don’t see anyone don’t open the…” my dad was saying from the sofa just as I carelessly swung the door open wide.

  My mouth dropped and I gasped as three hooded men dressed in all black burst into the room and shoved me aside.

  Chapter Five

  I gulped down deep breaths as Levi pulled me into his arms. I gripped his tight arms and clung to him as hard as I could as the panic attack consumed me from head to toe.

  “It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you. Take slower breaths. It’s okay. It’s okay,” Levi repeated into my ear as he stroked my back in a reassuring fashion. I hadn’t had a panic attack in years. I used to get them all the time, but those were nothing in comparison to this one. Levi, just like before, helped me through it by focusing on my breathing.

  As my breathing slowly became more regular, I pulled back and peered into his compassionate eyes. “I’m sorry, Levi. I can’t do this. I haven’t told anyone this, and I didn’t realize how bad it hurts to revisit the memories. I just can’t do it.” I cried as I buried my face into his rock-hard chest.