Page 65 of Fractured Fate

The rest of the day passed by peacefully. Charlotte managed to forget about the chaos of her life by exploring the town with Aiden. Primarily indoors because the humidity made her clothes want to stick to her skin, and she didn’t want to chance that in white shorts, even though she wore a thong to avoid any see-through mishaps.

Like all good things, the peace wasn’t meant to last.

Sunset approached, and Aiden prepared for the drive back to Rosebrook Valley. However, before he needed to depart, they made a quick stop at a café to grab a meal to take home for one last dinner together.

Pushing the door open after unlocking it, she froze.

“Gonna let me in?” Aiden chuckled. He must have noticed her tense posture, because he hardened his voice. “Let me through.”

His tone compelled her to obey, so she gravitated closer to the wall beside the door. If she didn’t use the wall, she wouldn’t be able to stand. Her knees weakened at the sight before her.

Her apartment looked like a tornado ran through it. A picky tornado, but a tornado, nonetheless.

Picky, because not everything appeared destroyed.

A few throw pillows from her loveseat appeared cut into by a sharp object, but the loveseat itself remained intact.

Textbooks and school papers lay scattered across the living room floor, buried in dirt from the house plants that were now toppled over and torn from their planters.

Framed photos of her with friends and family lay smashed on the floor.

Someone had shattered the vase she kept roses in on the tile of her kitchen floor, scattering pink rose petals everywhere. Nothing else seemed to be disturbed in the kitchen.

Aiden stormed into the apartment, doing a sweep of the place. To see if whoever broke in was still there or not, she assumed. Her fear prevented her from pleading with him to stay back in case someone was there and would hurt him. Her voice didn’t seem to want to work.

“Call the police,” he shouted from her bedroom.

Her hands trembled as she set the bag of food down next to her feet, not moving from where she remained plastered against the wall. Pulling out her phone, she dialed the familiar emergency number again. The irony wasn’t lost on her that she had a real break-in to call for help about. It was like the universe needed to balance out the false alarm from this morning.

“Athens-Clarke County—”

“There’s been a break-in at my apartment.” She cut off the dispatcher the same as earlier, immensely grateful it was a different person this time, a woman.

“A break-in?”

“Yes. My apartment is a mess.”

“What’s your address?”

She gave the address and paused. “Um. I called this morning because I thought someone broke in, but this time I’m serious.”

The line was silent for a moment before the female dispatcher asked, “You called this morning?”

“Yes, my friend was here, but I didn’t know it was them in the bathroom.” She waved a hand before smacking it down on the side of her thigh. “I just woke up and heard them in there and thought someone broke in because someone has been stalking me. I’ve been to the police station. There’s a report. But this time it’s for real. My apartment is a mess and—”

“Ma’am.” The woman’s stern voice grabbed Charlotte’s attention, cutting into her panic-induced rambling.

“Yes?”

Softer, the dispatcher asked, “What’s your name?”

“Charlotte.”

“Okay, Charlotte. I’m gonna need you to take a deep breath for me, okay?”

“Okay.” She inhaled deep in her nose and exhaled it from her mouth.

The dispatcher asked for her address. Charlotte recited it by rote.