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Charlotte rushes to help me and I allow her to, then I find myself sinking into her embrace when she holds me. I can't remember the last time my sister even touched me, much less hold me while I cry.
"Are you hurt?" she asks in a hurried voice filled with worry and concern. I've also never heard that sort of tone from her toward me.
Nothing but a whimper escapes my lips. Then the tears come harder and faster, like a river crashing through a dam.
Charlotte helps me onto the bed, where we sit together and she holds me until I calm down.
"Do you need something to drink?" she asks.
“Just water,” I manage. My poor throat is burning so badly it hurts to talk.
Charlotte gets up and leaves me for a few moments. She returns minutes later with a glass of water with ice cubes. She hands it to me and I sip slowly, allowing the coldness to soothe my throat.
"Do you think we should go to the hospital just to check that you're okay?"
I shake my head. "No.” I hate hospitals. I would only go if it was absolutely necessary. “It's just my throat that hurts. It's swollen."
"Evan tried to attack you." Charlotte speaks with a firm voice. "What happened? How did he even get in here?"
"He was in here when I came home." I swallow hard and hold back another bout of tears. "He was drunk. I found him at my computer looking through my stuff."
"You need to tell Dad what happened."
Telling Dad is exactly the right thing to do, but would he even believe me?
When I don't answer Charlotte grips my shoulders and stares at me long and hard. "I mean it, Autumn. You need to tell Dad. I know you're only pretending to date Evan so you can be with Luc, but this is not worth it."
A stone drops in the pit of my stomach and my mouth falls open. My first instinct is to lie and tell her that she's mistaken but the words die on the tip of my tongue. Charlotte spoke with certainty, not like she was just assuming, so she knows the truth.
I continue to stare at her with narrowed eyes and it’s only when she releases me that I feel able to speak.
"How did you know?"
"I saw you leaving with him at my engagement party."
I thought we were careful but obviously we weren't. "Who else knows?"
"Just me."
I narrow my eyes. "You've known since then? That was several months ago now."
Charlotte nods.
"And you didn't say anything? You also helped me tonight."
She gives me a tight-lipped smile that recedes after a few seconds. "I'm sorry about Cole, Autumn.”
I look at her in disbelief. “What?”
“I’m sorry about Cole.” She nods slowly. “I know Dad has his issues with Luc, but I knew you liked him back at the fundraiser. When I saw you looking at his Instagram posts I was sure it was him you wanted, not Evan, so I thought I would help keep your secret to make up for being with Cole.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “You kept my secret.”
She nods again. “You might not believe this but I really didn't mean to hurt you when it came to Cole. I don’t expect my apology to make things right between us but it's important youhear it. You also need to know that I wasn't with him while he was with you. He never cheated on you. I don't expect you to believe that either but again, it's important you know."
I look away from her for a moment and out the window, trying to process this new side of Charlotte. The moment of reprieve allows the tension to unravel from my mind.
When I look back at her and take in the sincerity in her eyes, something loosens inside me. Something that allows me to accept this newness between us as sisters.
