Page 13 of Fractured Fate

No one would know it to look at her ma while she performed the procedure, but every loss affected her. Her ma had developed a relationship with many owners and their pets over the years, so the loss felt like her own. She loved the animals like family.

Charlotte would break down in front of the owners and make it harder for them if she were in that position. They needed someone to be strong for them.

Her ma took over the practice when the old owner retired last summer; the dream she had been working toward for years finally came to fruition. She loved animals and wanted to run her own clinic, where she could make the calls and help families who couldn’t afford care. It meant the clinic wasn’t as well-to-do as some of the larger practices in surrounding towns, but her ma felt the loss of money was worth it to keep families together. Charlotte agreed.

“I love animals, but I’m not cut out for that sort of thing,” Charlotte finally answered, keeping it simple.

“Fair enough.” Noah leaned back in his seat and brought his thumb to his mouth, chewing the side of his nail. “So you’re going to stay at UGA, at least?”

“I don’t know. I kinda miss home.”

“That’s because you haven’t done a lot up here to get used to the place. Why don’t we go out? I can show you a few of the bars with the best music. Oh! And the theater, where they have the best live shows.”

Rachel tugged on Charlotte’s arm, grabbing her attention. “Oh yeah, the last time I went to the theater, this reggae band performed and there were live painters on the edges of the stage doing these huge paintings throughout the show. It was amazing.” She tilted her head. “Though I can’t promise you won’t get a contact high while there. The shows are filled with smoke.”

“Smoke? How do they get away with it?” She never touched pot herself, so the idea of getting high by being around others smoking it put her off of the idea. Being in a crowded venue filled with strong-scented smoke and loud music sounded like one of the circles of Hell.

She enjoyed a night out, and even the random concert, but something about the way Rachel spoke painted a visual that turned her off. Past alcohol, she didn’t partake in any other substance, and had no intentions of it. She didn’t fault anyone who did, it just never appealed to her personally.

“I have no idea. I saw security while there, but no one stopped anything. I mean, it’s dark, so I guess it’s hard to find the guilty parties when the smoke is everywhere and not localized to a group. I don’t smoke, but being around it doesn’t bother me.”

Charlotte frowned.

“You smoke?” Noah asked.

She turned to him. “No. I don’t like that sort of stuff.” If she had extra money to splurge on any addiction, it would be video games. Her drug of choice to escape reality rivaled the cost of a marijuana habit if she chose not to restrain herself.

“Yeah, me either. But there are other shows besides that. Not all artsy shows are fueled by weed.”

Murals and music filled the entire town, making it obvious Athens was known for the arts. What little Charlotte did venture out, she always found herself fascinated by the bright and colorful art pieces decorating the town. She especially loved the fibreglass bulldog statues ornamented in vibrant colors standing guard throughout Athens from the “We Let the Dawgs Out” public art exhibit.

Making more of an effort to connect with her surroundings might make it easier to stay, but she already cemented it in her head that this wasn’t her place. She couldn’t ignore the tug in her heart calling her back to Rosebrook Valley.

“So you wanna go out sometime?” Noah asked.

“I’m in,” Rachel said, leaning to look at him. At his frown, she raised both brows. “Oh. Did you mean a date?” She looked at Charlotte. “Whoops. My bad.” She sat back in her seat, a small flush staining her cheeks.

Charlotte’s eyes rounded, and she looked at Noah, who also had pink tinting his cheeks.

“Well. So much for subtlety.” He cleared his throat. “How about it?”

“I don’t think I’m ready to date right now, but…” She tried to think of how to word her trepidation without hurting Noah’s feelings. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to date him, but she wasn’t in the right place to date anyone. She needed to be okay with herself before she could be what someone else needed.

“Hey.” Noah reached out and tugged on one of her curls. When she looked up at him, he released it, and it bounced back into place. “It doesn’t have to be a date. I wasn’t meaning a date. I mean, I’m not opposed to it, mind you.” He shrugged one shoulder. “But if it’s not for you, then it’s whatever. I just wanna show you around.”

“I’ll think about it.”

As the professor called for everyone’s attention to review information for the day, she sank back into her seat. She didn’t know Noah well but didn’t think going somewhere alone with him would be so bad. That’s what people her age did. Dates or not.

Hookups on dating apps were a thing too. Most of those people hadn’t seen each other for more than a couple hours before they were sharing a bed. Definitely not her cup of tea. She wasn’t opposed to sex, but the only guy she’d been with was her ex-boyfriend. Random hookups didn’t appeal to her. She needed an emotional connection first before crawling into bed with someone.

She glanced at Noah out of the corner of her eye. He furrowed his brows, concentrating on the paper in front of him, following along with something the professor said.

Maybe it would help her feel better to get out with new people. But she wondered why Noah seemed resistant to the idea of Rachel going with them. Did he realize she liked him?

The rest of the class went by in a blur of note taking and quiet, making it impossible for Noah to further question her about her plans for transferring or dropping out, but as class came to a close, Charlotte predicted Rachel would have something to say about the date subject.

It came as she packed her things away.