Generation 2, Chapter 6: "Sorry" is but only a two-syllable word

Tonight was definitely not one of the best nights of my life.

The entire day had gone from being awesome, where I just had my biggest concert ever, to a parking lot where we saw a guy get beat up. Best of all, we saw the attacker, and he saw us. We all fear for our lives now, because we all know: Like in the movies, when you see the identity of the culprit, you’re usually next on the hit list. Of course, we didn’t really see the guy, but the rule stills stands.

With shaky hands, Bridget, Janelle and I are sipping at the vodka-laced coffee, trying hard not to throw up or cry.

Only after a half hour of meditation and quiet time does any of us feel like talking. Bridget, as always, is first to have the courage to start a conversation.

"You know, the only person that WASN’T there tonight…was Charlie. It’s the second time, as well. I have a strong suspicion he has something to do with it," Bridget suggests to Janelle, avoiding eye contact with me. Just the mention of Charlie’s name in this conversation causes the anger to rise inside me.

"That’s a BIG coincidence you’re bringing up, Bridget. Besides Charlie, there was a bunch of people who didn’t attend the concerts. Any of them could have done it," Janelle points out.

"Would you two shut up, for Pete’s sake! There is NO WAY in hell my boyfriend did those things. Aaron is his best friend in the world, and he’s never even met the paparazzi guy," I interject, raising my hands in protest against their argument.

"I was just saying there could be a possi-"

"SHUT IT. I don’t want you bad-mouthing Charlie."

"Fine. If you don’t want to see reason, then I’m just gonna step out to avoid your wrath."

"Don't run away from me, Brid-" Before I can even get out a whole sentence, Bridget disappears before our eyes in a flash of mixed lights.

Both Janelle and I get up from our chairs in shock, waving our hands in the spot Bridget just stood.

"What... What just happened?" I look to Janelle for answers, as Bridget was closest to her.

"OH MY FREAKIN' GOODNESS! Bridget is GONE!" the person I consider my best friend screeches.

"Yeah, I guess I'm not gonna get anything out of you...," I sigh.

"W-Well, she... She got up, then she stepped a wee bit closer to the wall... And vanished. Can you get anything from that?"

"Not really," I shake my head, casting my eyes around the apartment. By accident, my eyes fall on the wall, where a very strange gold-plated symbol is hanging.

"The eye of Horus... I never added that as decor to my apartment. Bridget must have put it up there... You think it's magical? That she could have used that thing to disappear?"

"I don't know. Maybe? All I know is, I'm not going to be the one to touch that thing. What if Bridget died? I ain't gonna die for your sister, sorry."

"Fine," I grit my teeth, rolling my eyes at Janelle's antics. With visibly shaking fingers, I reach out to the symbol on the wall, and slowly touch it. Everything beyond touching it happens in a flash. One moment I'm in the living room, and the second I'm standing in a strange room, very much decorated to Bridget's standards.

Unsurprisingly, my little sister is standing in front of me with a apologetic look on her face.

"So this is where you disappear to when you're not crashing on my couch, huh?" I ask, sternly folding my arms in front of my chest, anticipating what she'll say next. Whatever it will be, it has to be good to get her out of trouble.

"Caught red-handed. Sorry 'bout that. But I've been wanting my own room, and I got it now, so no harm done, right?"


"But how did you even get a room? I'm renting a one bedroom apartment! The building manager said there wasn't anymore space to build on in a high rise. Either that, or all the apartments were already owned, and I couldn't expand."


"It just so turns out that right next to your living room wall, there was a vacant space used to store old boxes... So I transformed it into suitable accommodation, with its own kitchen and everything, and created a secret way to it only I would know of. 

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't come to you beforehand," she comes up to me and apologizes, "Maybe I should have told you that I was going to expand your house... Okay, I should definitely have told you about it."


"It's not just the new room, Bridget," I counter, "It was the fact that you mentioned that you think Charlie could be involved in attacking innocent people. I just... I can't imagine him doing that. I don't know him to be like that. You mentioning it... It just freaked me out a lil' more."


"There will always be parts of a person that we won't know about," Bridget wisely advises, "You just gotta accept that and move on."

The night is filled with a lot of crying and tossing around in bed. The suggestion that Charlie might actually be "The Raven" is preposterous, but the faint possibility of it being true haunts me the entire night. Charlie could have lied, the emotional side of my mind keeps telling me. But what are his motives? Why would he attack people? is what the logical part of my brain repeats. Whatever the case, I'm going to confront him today, and tell him about my doubts. The worst thing I can do is make a fool of myself by asking silly questions.

My restlessness is no aided, as noise emerges from my bathroom early in the morning.

"Who is insane enough to use my bathroom so early in the morning?" I ask with droopy eyes, slowly coming upright in the bed. Hardly being able to comprehend anything around me, I try to rub the sleep out of my eyes, but my mind just doesn't want to cooperate, being too exhausted to want to stay up.

No reply. Sick and tired of people just doing as they please, I force myself out of bed and rip open the bathroom door, not caring if the person is indecent or not.

"Hey there, Kay. Would you be a little more polite next time and knock?" Aaron tuts as he checks out his scars.

"Next time?! There's gonna be a next time?! Hell no. And FYI, I yelled to check who it is, and I got no reply. So you deserved it. If you don't mind, please hurry up so I can shower and get out of here, before I bite someone's head off."

Trying to contain my own temper, I storm out of the room. Just before I can step into the kitchen, Aaron's firm grasp encloses around my arm and he spins me around to face him.

"Hey, hey... I'm sorry. Next time I'll be the one that's gonna be more polite. Are you alright? I don't want to tick you off any further, but you're...cranky," surprisingly, Aaron's voice is gentle and soothing as he speaks, and I feel strangely calm.

"I'm really sorry, Aaron. I've just had a bad time lately. Last night, after the concert... Something happened there. And then my sister brought up a frightening theory that might be true. It all leaves me with a very important, yet hard task to do today. I guess everything is just crashing in on me at once, and I.. I can't handle it." I make sure not to mention anything about Charlie, as to not spook him and ruin their friendship when Bridget's allegations might not even me true.

"Okay, I didn't really understand any of that, seeing as I don't have the back story... But good luck, Kay."

For some strange reason, I don't mind terribly that Aaron calls me by a pet name.

Preparing myself to talk to Charlie is a long process. I make sure to look casual, as to not make him think anything is wrong. It's already past 6 AM - Charlie should be up by now. I shoot him a text message saying he should meet me at the park just outside the art gallery.

I get there five minutes later, and Charlie is already waiting there for me. His face lights up, which makes everything so much harder on me.

Maybe I should just ignore what Bridget said and pretend nothing happened... 

A deep breath cures me of the provocative thoughts, and I face Charlie with a calm face. "Morning, Charlie."

My boyfriend smiles again, and in a swift movement, gets up to come embrace me.

"Uh, no, um, I... I don't feel like giving hugs right now. I need to talk to you, Charlie."

"Huh... Sounds serious," Charlie observes, "Alright. Shoot. What's bothering you?"

"To be honest, I think I'm a fool. My sister brought up a ridiculous idea, but for some reason, it's lingering in my mind... Charlie, are you following the news about the attacker in Starlight Shores? He goes by the name 'The Raven'."

"I don't watch news, Kaylin. Mostly the sports channels. Sorry, but I have no clue what you're talking about," Charlie admits, shrugging at the thought. He doesn't have any reason to be ashamed, I guess.

He has no idea what I'm talking about... Clue number one. The culprit always denies knowing ANYTHING.

"Wait... Isn't that the guy who attacked Aaron? Has he been caught yet, or do they know the identity of him? Or...her?"

"No, it was definitely a guy," I confirm, remembering the stern face and bulky muscles I saw last night, "I know for a fact it is... Because I saw him last night."

"Good God... Have you called the police? Did he do anything to you, babe?" Charlie's face turns soft, worried. Seeing those emotions on his face... It makes me more confident that Charlie couldn't have done it, but I decide it's now or never; I have to ask him.

"Charlie, where were you last night at around midnight?"

"What? Why are you... I was asleep, I think. But why are you asking me?"

It takes a moment for Charlie, but he seems to figure it out, and the realization makes him dumbstruck for a minute.

"You're... You're seriously thinking I'm 'The Raven'? That I was there last night? That I attacked those people? Kaylin, are you insane? I would never do those things!"

Clue number 2... Be massively overprotective of yourself, while being doubtful of your own alibi.

"I thought it was crazy at first, too, Charlie," I sigh, averting my gaze from his eyes. Those green eyes look sad and angry at the same time, but the emotion that is most present is a strong one: Betrayal. I dare not look at him, because if I do, I'll break down crying. I have to pursue this.

"The thing is... Proof is coming up that it is you. You weren't there at the concerts, always with an excuse that sounded shabby. True, you don't have the same hair color 'The Raven' has, but hair dye could easily be washed out. He had styled hair last night, with parts that were shaved... Your head is also shaved a little bit. Aaron might be your best bud, but a motive could easily be thought out... Jealousy or some other reason. I don't have too much proof, but the little that I have is driving me insane."

"You sound insane as well," Charlie mutters.

"Whatever the case," I continue, ignoring his sassy comment, "I can't go on like this. Tell me the truth, Charlie, for once in your life."

"I... I didn't do those things, Kaylin. I told you, I was at a conference when Aaron had his concert... And somewhere I got drunk and passed out. But I was definitely at home last night, asleep."

He sounds sincere, and what he tells me sounds like the truth. But I had already ruined the relationship - I didn't trust him. And I didn't really love him deeply, like you would love someone you were going to spend the rest of your life with.

"I believe you... I want to believe you... It can't go on like this, though. Our relationship isn't strong enough, because it didn't even pass the first test. I'm sorry Charlie, but we're through. It's over for me."

I turn around quickly, heading towards my car, trying very hard not to let the tears come out yet.

"You're leaving me? Kaylin, don't do this. We can make it work, somehow. We can prove that relationships can survive some bumps," he calls after me. His voice audibly cracks, and as it does, the first tear rolls down my cheek.

"I'm sorry, Charlie..." I don't know if he heard me, but I keep on walking, not even looking back.

After I've walked a few blocks, the thought that I might have made a mistake haunts me. Sadly, it's too late to turn around and run back to Charlie to apologize. What I have to do now is assemble the gang (i.e., Aaron, Janelle and Bridget), where all of us will have to do some extensive research. Janelle is good at history, so she might know some of Starlight Shores' deeper secrets and past criminals. Perhaps there is a pattern. Bridget... She's there for the entertainment. And Aaron, well, he has to give us a deeper insight into the mind of Charlie Rapp.

I really hope Charlie didn't commit those crimes - otherwise, the poor man is going to have a bleak future.

~♥~

Hi there, and thanks for reading the latest chapter of the Rose legacy. So, uh, sorry that I kept repeating many things, like how Kaylin was totally freaked out and thought Charlie is the culprit. I'll just say the repetition is for emphasis... *whistle*

I have SAD news - I got two (well, technically, they're four books, but bundled together in two) Vampire Diaries books, AND a new game, so I might be busy for a while, and the posts might come out a bit slower... But not too slow. I get bored of things really quickly.

:)