I was alone at home. My aunt had gone out earlier that evening, and the house felt unusually quiet.
I was upstairs when I heard it...a knock on the door. It made my heart relax a little.
"Maybe Aunt Annie is back," I thought.
I rushed downstairs without thinking twice and opened the door. Two policemen stood in front of me. My breath caught.
"Miss Charlotte," one of them said coldly.
"Sir, I..." Before I could understand what was happening, cold metal closed around my wrists.
My knees weakened. I thought I had escaped this. How did they find me? I'm only eighteen. How can I spend my whole life in jail?
"No, no, no… you're wrong. I didn't do it. Please believe me, I didn't do it."
"Come with us, Miss Charlotte. We will inform your parents about this."
"Please," I whispered.
I didn't fight them. I followed them quietly as they led me to the police car. My mind was screaming, replaying everything.
It all started that day on Zack's birthday party.
He was my boyfriend, and he broke up with me a day before his birthday. I didn't know that he was playing me, and that his real girlfriend was my classmate Irene.
That night, Zack was giving Irene all the attention he was supposed to give me. I had nothing to do other than stop him. I headed to where they were. They were kissing.
"Zack," I said, clearing my throat.
"Wait, baby." Zack noticed my presence and moved away from Irene.
"Zack, I'm sorry to..."
"It's fine. What did you want?" he asked.
"I just want to show you something," I smiled.
"What's that?" Irene asked, already sounding jealous.
"Um… I don't know if you can come with me. It's a surprise, and I've been dying to show you," I said.
"Baby, I'll be back, okay?" Zack said to Irene.
"But..." she tried to speak, but she was interrupted.
"I promise. Just give me ten minutes," Zack replied.
"Let's go, Zack," I smiled. Actually, I didn't know what I was going to show him. I only lured him to his room.
"So, what did you want to show me, Charlotte?" he asked.
"I just want to keep you away from irene" I said pulling him close to myself
"I told you we are done Charlotte" He sneered moving away from me
"I told you to move on, didn't I?" he asked angrily.
"Zack, but I still love you," I said, coming closer to him.
"Charlotte…" he sighed.
"Zack, I don't know what I did wrong. I'm sorry. Please, I miss you," I said, pouting my lips.
"Charlotte, I..."
"Hear me out." I crept up to him and kissed him, grabbing his collar.
I felt his hand wrap around my waist, pulling me closer to himself. His tongue swept into my mouth, biting my lips hungrily.
"Charlotte, you're still sweet," he said in a low, calm voice.
"I know you can't resist," I smiled, and he brushed his lips against mine, his left hand reaching for the button of my shorts, undoing it slowly.
Every touch ignited something inside me. I heard myself groan when he dipped his finger inside me.
Actually, it's been a long time since I felt this way, though I never thought it was going to happen again.
He gently pushed me down onto his bed while we kissed each other.
I didn't see what the future had in store for me that night. I was on top of Zack when the door suddenly flew open. Irene stood there, frozen in shock.
I quickly got off Zack and covered myself with the duvet.
"Charlotte! I knew it! What the hell is this, Zack?" she shouted.
"Irene, calm down. Hey, listen to me this isn't what you think," Zack said anxiously as he hurried to pull on his pants.
"Damn it!" Irene screamed. She rushed toward me, grabbing my hair and yanking it hard. I cried out as she shoved me backward. She reached for a bottle beside her, smashed it against the floor, and raised the broken glass toward me.
"Hey, Irene, stop!" Zack yelled, trying to grab her, but she pushed him away with force.
Irene lunged at me again, her hands closing around my neck as she forced me down. I struggled beneath her, gasping for air, my hands clawing at her wrists. My vision blurred as the pressure tightened.
Desperate, my hand brushed against something sharp on the floor. I grabbed the broken piece of the bottle and, with the last of my strength, stabbed it into the side of her neck. She cried out, her grip loosening instantly as she staggered back.
I collapsed, coughing for air. Zack stood frozen, speechless, staring at Irene in shock.
He was furious with me. He grabbed me and shoved me so hard that I hit the floor, crying.
There was no sign of whether she was alive or not until she fell to the floor helplessly, blood gushing from her neck. Zack shook her once, but she wasn't moving.
My hands were shaking. I couldn't believe I had killed someone that night. Everything felt unreal. My ears were ringing, and I couldn't hear anything clearly until Zack said he was calling the police.
That was when panic took over.
I ran.
I was terrified of getting arrested. My dad was a lawyer, but I knew he wouldn't be able to save me from this mess. I was always getting him into trouble, but this? A murder case? What would he do?
I took a taxi straight to my aunt's house. I didn't tell her what had happened. I stayed hidden. My parents were searching everywhere for me, and the police were looking for me too. My picture was plastered all over the streets and social media.
I was missing.
One evening, my aunt came home earlier than usual. The moment she saw me sitting on the couch, her face went pale.
"Charlotte?" she whispered. "What are you hiding from me? What's this all about?" I looked at the paper she was holding my picture stared back at me, bold letters above it."MISSING".
"What did you do?" she shouted. "Do you have any idea what is happening out there? Your parents are losing their minds!"
I burst into tears.
"I didn't mean to," I cried. "Auntie, I didn't plan it. It was an accident. She tried to kill me. I was scared."
She froze.
"What do you mean kill you?"
I told her everything. Every word. Every mistake.
She slammed the newspaper down.
"Two weeks," she yelled. "You kept this from me for two whole weeks? Are you mad? Do you know what could have happened to you?"
"I was scared," I sobbed. "I didn't know where else to go."
She rubbed her face in frustration, then pointed at me.
"Listen to me carefully. You are not leaving this house again. Do you hear me? Not even for a second."
She sighed heavily, her voice softer now.
"I won't tell your parents you're here. I love you too much to hand you over like that. But you must listen to me."
I nodded.
But I didn't listen to her, I stayed in my room, drawing, trying to calm myself. Then I looked out of the window and saw something that caught my attention, I was distracted, I saw a girl riding a bicycle, I imagined being free like her, I left my room, for the first time in days, I felt free. I walked around the streets pretending nothing was wrong. I spent money on myself, laughed, and let myself forget. I had fun, I returned home safely, feeling lighter.
The next morning, my aunt left the house as usual, leaving me alone in the big house. There was a knock on the door.
I thought it was her, I was wrong, it was the police, I never thought it would end this way, who told them I was here?
I couldn't do anything and they took me away.