Page 41 of The Prez’s Daughter

“I figured you hadn’t left because you liked to threaten it but you don’t actually want to,” he said.

“Part of me wants to. I want the whole fresh start and all that, but at the same time, if I do that, I’m suggesting that the time I spent with the Chaos Monsters and my daughter was not good enough. Also, it would feel like I was ... forgetting about Jake.”

Jake was Doc and Nancy’s youngest son who was killed several years ago in a drive-by shooting in the city. It had cemented the move to Rivermont Ridge, and the rest was history.

Nancy shook her head. “So, Jimmy Guy. I don’t know a whole lot, but before he met his wife, he had a reputation for liking the women. He liked to screw around and have lots of fun. The moment he met his wife and settled down, the rest is in fact, history. So, if Andy has anything of value, it would be on that time, and I don’t know a lot about it. It wasn’t like I got to know him.” Nancy shrugged. “But I still think it is important for you to go and talk to Doc. You need to do something, because trust me, sneaking around only leads to more heartache.”

Chapter Thirteen

Charlotte made her way around the back of the salon, where she had several cardboard boxes to break down. The salon had just gotten a major delivery of new products, and she’d been asked to document and store them in the storage room at the back, which wasn’t a big deal, and something she was able to do with relative ease.

She broke down the cardboard and opened the large lid on the recycling box to help. Once that was done, she dropped down the lid and went on to the other pieces she needed to trash.

“Well, well, well, lookie who we have here.”

Charlotte spun around and was shocked to see Lucas, one of her old high school bullies. She hadn’t seen him since the fair where Savage kicked his ass.

Glancing around the back of the shop, she realized she hadn’t taken the time to protect herself. The truth was, the fair had been so long ago now, she’d started to forget all about Lucas and his cronies’ existence. She did notice they were not here today. It was a first for Lucas.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“Is that any way to talk to me?” he asked.

He looked a little too cocky for a guy that had been on his knees at the first sign of trouble. Usually, when she saw Lucas, fear ran down her spine, and she always felt sick. That was exactly how she felt, only now she pushed those feelings aside. They were not high school kids anymore.

“Go away,” she said, slamming the lid closed on the trash can.

He literally jumped back. She didn’t know if it was because of the noise, or because she finally found her backbone, and dealing with his shit was not on her agenda. She wanted him to leave her the fuck alone, and quickly. She hated him with a passion. And yet, he was still there, his mouth open.

“Well, I thought I might regret what I do next, but you see, you make it so easy,” he said.

Charlotte frowned at him as he pulled out his cell phone. She had no idea what was happening, as within a few seconds, he hit “send.”

“What are you doing?” she asked.

Lucas held up his cell phone, and she saw a video, one taken a few days ago, where she and Savage had gotten onto the elevator at his apartment building and just before the doors closed, it showed them passionately kissing.

Charlotte couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “You were spying on me?”

“Do you really think I was going to let him get away with humiliating me?”

“So, you sneak around like some pervert, taking pictures?” Charlotte asked.

“I’ve just sent it to your father!” The smile on his face was not sincere. It was evil, and he appeared to take such joy in her pain, she was disgusted by him.

In that moment, she hated him, and for the first time in her life, Charlotte didn’t run away. She didn’t stand and take the pain coming from her bullies. She lashed out, shoving Lucas back so hard. Charlotte didn’t even know where she got the strength as she grabbed a fistful of hair and pulled his head back. She had all the power right now.

“You fucking piece of shit. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

Charlotte didn’t know how it happened, but she was suddenly pulled back from Lucas, and she attempted to keep chunks of his hair, and when that didn’t work, she kicked out at him, finally nailing him in the balls.

Maeve, Eden, her mother, and even Kristin were at the back of the shop. They were stopping her from attacking him, and she pulled away and tried to remain calm, but looking at Lucas, all the years of his bullying, the teasing, the punching—all of it came to the forefront of her mind. She lashed out again, charging at him, wanting to beat the ever-loving shit out of him. She swung, hitting him hard, but she was pulled away.

“Enough, Charlotte!” Nancy said, grabbing her chin. “I don’t know what has caused this, but this isn’t you. Stop it, right now.”

“You’re going to defend him?” she asked.

“No, I’m not defending him, but this is not you and you’re going to regret this later. As for you...” Nancy said, walking over to Lucas, and before any of them could say or do anything, she slapped him across the face three times, and none of the slaps were light. All of them were hard, and his face was bright red. Charlotte didn’t know if she was responsible for the bright color, and in that moment, she didn’t give a fuck either.