Chapter Text
'On my way!' -L
'?' -C
'…autocorrect' -L
'thought so lol' -C
'i have a surprise for you' -C
'are you ready for my big plans?' -C
'ofcc u sure ur parents arent gonna care?' -L
'mom has bookclub tonite and dads basically never home' -C
'so no' -C
'lol what bookclub is held at night?' -L
'idek nor do i want to' -C
'okk' -L
'see you when i get there :)' -L
':)' -C
"Fuck," Lottie's been mentally preparing for this sleepover for weeks now. And now, out of all times, her medication is nowhere to be seen. Callie, her friend, may even be her best friend, considering how many nights she's served as her alibi when Callie wanted to get away from her shitty family. Yet, she can't risk Callie finding out about her illness. She hates thinking about it like that, but that's what it is.
She's practically torn her room to shreds; her room looks like a tornado just ran through the middle of it. Her pink duvet is thrown and bunched up in one corner of the room, her drawers from her white dresser are half opened with a variety of shirts, pajamas, and shorts spilling out, and her walk-in closet is practically torn to shreds.
'I mean, it's one night,' she reasons with herself, 'I can go one night without some stupid medication.' It's not like it'd matter much anyway; she's been sleeping through half her classes because of the damn thing. Besides, she already told Callie she was on her way well over 10 minutes ago.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spies an orange bottle. Her pills, thank God. Despite the effects, Lottie's been on meds for the better part of her life, and to imagine a life where she is off of them would send her into another spiral she honestly doesn't have time for.
She snatches her bag from its position beside her bed and practically flies down the stairs out of pure excitement. "Martha!" She chirps towards her housekeeper, "I'm going to my friend's house, the one I've been telling you about, Callie!" Martha smiles up at her and tucks a stray hair behind her ear.
God, when did that happen? When did she grow so much taller than Martha? Her parents had hired her when Lottie was just three years old. This woman has been more of a family to her than anyone she's shared blood with.
"Please be safe, Charlotte." She guides Lottie's forehead downwards, planting a soft kiss to the faint line in the center. "Of course." She gives her one last look before nearly sprinting towards her BMW, throwing open the trunk, and shoving her things inside. At the very least, Lottie would attempt to organize her things, but the buzz of a sleepover has her feeling like she just got off a roller coaster.
Lottie arrives a little after 7. Callie's house is nice, not as big as Lottie's. 'Obviously,' she thinks. It is definitely comfortable for a family of 3 like Callie's.
The door cracks open, and Callie swiftly approaches her car. Lottie hasn't even stepped foot outside of the vehicle before Callie's on her, shoving her back in with a suffocating hug.
"You're here! Oh my god! Let me help you inside," Callie practically squeals in excitement. While she continues on about their plans tonight, Lottie notices the van parked in the driveway. 'That must be Mr. Sadecki's.' The thought is quickly filed away.
While helping Lottie collect her things from the trunk, she turns her attention away from her bag and towards Lottie. "We might have to push back watching that movie, my mom's home, and I don't really want her ruining our hangout."
'Mrs. Sadecki,' Lottie thinks. The woman who's been the cause of many late-night phone calls between the two. She's the worst of the two, at least that's how Callie makes it sound with the sheer number of conversations they've held in comparison to Callie's father.
"Whatever you think is best." She hears herself saying. Callie gives a light nod in return and makes her way to the door with a bag Lottie recognizes as her own. That's right, she's supposed to be unpacking. God, she's so nervous.
While both of their mother's are neglectful, Lottie's has reason to be. She's working and has a whole other family to care for now, after her parents' divorce. While Mrs. Sadecki, on the other hand, is a stay-at-home mom, still married to Mr. Sadecki, and ultimately just doesn't seem to care much for her only child.
Or that's what she's been told, at least. She tries to remind herself to remain unbiased; this is her first time meeting her after all.
She grabs the remaining items in her trunk. A blanket and pillow, along with a stuffed deer given to her by someone who used to be a close friend of her's. Lottie closes her trunk and awkwardly makes her way into the unfamiliar house.
Pictures of the Sadecki family sprinkle the walls. The most recent photo shows Mr. Sadecki sitting between a standing Mrs. Sadecki and Callie. He's blonde, objectively attractive, with a tight-fitting polo paired with a comfortable-looking pair of cargo pants. Even if Lottie were to see him in a crowd, separated from his family, she's sure she would be able to identify him as Callie's father. He fits her description of him to a tee.
The look of a mediocre entrepreneur. The same guy who appears to have "peaked in high school," as Callie often quipped.
She's stuck on his face for some reason; maybe she finds him hot? Yet, it isn't that. She feels about the same way looking at him as she does looking at the squirrels up in trees during one of Mr. Martin's boring lectures on safe sex.
She can't really explain it, but the closest word she can conjure is boring.
The woman, however, Callie's mom, has this weird expression on her face. It could be considered happy at first glance, but her rigid posture and uncomfortable body language says otherwise. This is the woman who's made her best friend's life miserable, who's neglected her to the point that resulted in months of awkward silences, uncomfortable glares, and overall fighting an uphill battle just to become Callie's friend.
She knows there are two sides to every story. This is something Martha's really drilled into her head, but Lottie's human after all, and she can't help but form some sort of bias. Maybe Mrs. Sadecki's actions are a result of a parent who didn't support her or a lover who didn't love her back.
Lottie can only theorize.
Despite all of these emotions and the uncontrollable anxiety surrounding this woman and their inevitable meeting. Lottie can't help but think her eyes hold something special. Something she's been missing that she hadn't known she was missing till this very moment.
Her view is quickly obscured by a figure. She lowers her gaze, but this time she isn't met with warm, blue eyes; she's met with cold, brown ones.
"Callie's room is the furthest door to the left," she points just past Lottie's head, "I don't have book club tonight, so I will cook for you and Callie, but I expect the both of you to clean up. Jeff is working late at the store, and I doubt he'll make it for dinner. Lastly, I will be in my room reading afterwards. Do not interrupt me unless there is an emergency." And with that, she slips out of Lottie's view and saunters towards the direction of the kitchen.
Lottie's transfixed to say the least. Watching Mrs. Sadecki make her way to the kitchen reminds her of the years of locker room talk, more specifically, Nat's favorite saying, 'Hate to see her leave, but love to watch her walk away'. She immediately cringes and decides it's time to finally put her things down.
She follows Mrs. Sadecki's directions and finds Callie already waiting for her. She bends down to place her stuff where Callie has already made a small pile, "So, how'd it go?" Lottie turns to face her, "with my mom, I mean. I know she can be very intense."
She thinks for a moment, 'Hate to see her leave, but love to watch her-' yeah, no.
"Um, it went ok, I think," Callie waits for her to continue, "I mean, you said she doesn't like a lot of people, right?" She gives an awkward laugh at that. Callie holds eye contact for longer than necessary but eventually gives a dismissive nod. And with that, their night finally begins.
They talk about normal girl things, or at least what Lottie thinks is normal for girls her age to talk about with one another. She's not too sure, knowing that Nat and Callie are all she has to go off of. But they talk about boys, who's hooking up with who, who isn't hooking up with who. Until "Here, look at this," Callie thrusts a magazine into Lottie's hands, one she retrieved from underneath her bed. Well, Lottie thought it was a magazine, but this is definitely not that.
It's a porn magazine. That men use. To look at women. Women that Lottie also happens to find attractive, that she mentioned to Callie and Nat once, after many, many drinks.
"W-where did you even get this from?" She manages to stutter out. "Found it under my parents' bed, on my dad's side. Thought it'd be fun to read it together," She pauses, "considering you're having some… second thoughts?" She nudges Lottie with her elbow gently.
"What if your mom walks in?" Lottie hears herself say, she can distantly hear the sounds of her in the kitchen. Chopping, shuffling, and the occasional murmur from the TV.
"Please, she's a lot of things, but at least she knows how to knock," Callie appears to puff her chest out at that, "when I'm in here." She mumbles, "Besides, we're basically adults."
"What happened to curiosity killing that cat?" Lottie raises an eyebrow.
"Glad you asked, cause satisifaction brought it back. And that'll be us after we flip through it." Callie meets Lottie's eyes again and gives a crooked smile.
"God, you sound just like Natlaie." Yet Lottie can't help but smile back at her, "Were these really the big plans for tonight?" Callie gives a half-hearted shrug, glancing back at the magazine in her hands.
"Something like that."
They've been flipping through the magazine for a while now, laughing at the "seductive" positions they find various women in.
The women in this magazine have a similar flavor. Dark mid-length hair and deep brown eyes, though their bodies aren't right. All of them looked frail, thin, wiry arms, small chests, they don't look anything like Mrs. Sadecki.
"So… what do you think?" A weary voice comes from beside her.
"They're definitely attractive," Lottie forces herself to say, "but I don't think people are supposed to bend like that." She points at a woman in an undeniably uncomfortable position.
Callie barks a laugh. "God, you're right, I don't know how my dad gets off to this." She cringes at the thought but continues to laugh, and so does Lottie.
Their laughter begins to die down, and Callie rests her head on the taller girl's shoulder. The two sit in comfortable silence as they wait for the other to speak.
"I know you've been a little confused lately," Callie begins, "like your sexuality and stuff."
"Yeah," Lottie responds absently.
Callie lifts her head off her shoulder, staring into Lottie's dark eyes. "But, how did you know?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like, did you kiss some girl at a party and now you think you're gay, or?"
"Well, I don't think I'm gay, I know." Lottie follows this with a stern, "I didn't kiss a girl at a party, or any girl for that matter. I just… know. It's hard to explain." She shrinks into herself a little. Callie must notice this because her face softens, and she rests her hand on Lottie's knee.
"That came out wrong." There's an awkward beat, then "You haven't kissed a girl at all? Like, not even for a dare?" Her sympathy quickly shifted into curiosity.
"Um… no."
"Would you want to?"
"Want to what?"
"Kiss a girl, duh."
This was new. Lottie wasn't totally unaware of Callie's feelings toward her. She knew the girl admired her to some extent; everyone in Lottie's life did, and Callie had what most would consider a flirtatious personality. She's always teetered on the edge of friendship with Lottie, but this was definitely pushing it.
"Are you offering?" Lottie hears herself ask.
"Geez, Lottie," Callie sighs.
"I mean, you are though, right?"
"…Well, yes. I just thought we could, like, flirt a little bit." She finishes shyly.
With that, Lottie shifts her weight towards the girl. Callie mimics her movements, and Lottie's hand lands atop of her's, reflexively giving it a light squeeze. Callie chuckles, her warm breath ghosting just off the center of her lips.
Their eyes meet briefly, before Callie's flutter close. She follows suit. Soon after, she feels the soft press of the girl's lips, held there for an awkward beat as they begin to interlock their fingers. When their lips meet, the world seems to quiet, the sounds from Mrs. Sadecki in the kitchen come to a halt, and all Lottie can think about is how she tastes. Cherries.
Lottie hears a creak in the direction of the doorway, and she unconsciously opens her eyes. She finds Mrs. Sadecki standing in the doorway, her face contorting into a glower, and she appears to be debating how to get away with murder.
In spite of the new threat, Lottie can't help but feel warmth spread through her gut and migrate south. Callie noticed Lottie's lack of engagement and pulled back. Lottie shifts her eyes just in time to meet icy blue ones. "…Are you wearing that lip gloss I got you?" When she speaks, her voice is quiet and husky; she sees a figure shift in her peripheral vision, clearly debating whether to step in or wait, like a predator of sorts.
Lottie clears her throat before speaking, feeling both gazes press heavily on her, "…yeah." Yet, it still comes out quiet and sounds a little uncomfortable.
"You taste good."
Before Lottie can say anything else, Callie is quickly leaning in again, but instead of another press of pillowly lips, she feels Callie's tongue graze her bottom lip. She shifts her unfocused look back towards Mrs. Sadecki and makes a noise akin to a purr.
"Open your mouth a little bit…" Callie whispers, shifting her hand to lightly hold Lottie's jaw.
Lotite decides to indulge herself, closes her eyes, and eases her jaw open. Callie's tongue dances along her lips and- "Girls. Dinner's ready." A sharp voice calls, it's Mrs. Sadecki.
Callie pulls back with the speed of a frightened rabbit, "Mom, what the fuck?!" She's rising to her feet now. "What happened to knocking?"
"I called you two earlier, but clearly you were… busy." It's an obvious lie, but Lottie won't call her out on it. She eyes Lottie, her eyes still cold and hard, yet there's something just beneath the surface that she can't seem to place.
"Fine, whatever, we'll be out in a second, just… give us some privacy," Callie grumbles while shoving her mom out the door. Mrs. Sadecki let her.
After the door clicks shut, Callie rests her body against it and speaks again. "God, sorry about that. I thought she knew how to knock." Lottie just continues staring.
"Hey, you ok?"
"Yeah, sorry, just embarrassed, I guess."
"Yeah, same. Believe it or not, the whole time I was dating Kyle, she somehow never walked in when we did anything." She chuckles.
Lottie feels a little bit better now. They wipe their mouths, getting rid of most of the evidence of what they had been doing beforehand. Lottie runs her hand over her skirt, trying to look presentable, and she watches Callie approach. She brushes her flyaways out of her face and then moves towards the door.
Lottie follows closely behind her.
As they approach the kitchen, Lottie's nose is met with an incredible aroma. With a glance towards the stove, she realizes Mrs. Sadecki made a stew of sorts. Pieces of meat, vegetables, and an opaque liquid fill the pot.
She is already seated at the table, waiting for the girls. She must have set the table before she went to get the two, because a bowl was placed at the head of the table, where Mrs. Sadecki was now seated, and two bowls were placed opposite each other. Lottie picks one at random and moves to sit at the spot on Mrs. Sadecki's left.
Mrs. Sadecki's eyes bore holes into the side of Lottie's face. "No," She says firmly, "That's Callie's." Well, that comment certainly doesn't quell the stream of thoughts flooding Lottie's brain. This is the first time she's met the woman, and at this rate, it'll likely be the last.
"Thanks, mom." Callie chirps. She knows Callie well enough now to recognize that she is picking up on the tension between the two, but choosing to ignore it.
Callie sits first, and Lottie follows suit. After a couple of minutes of eating in silence, Callie speaks, "What meat did you use for the stew? It tastes different."
"Callie, have some manners."
"I didn't mean it tasted bad, Mom. Just different."
"Well, since you forgot to take the meat out of the freezer before your," there's a brief pause, "friend got here. I went out into the garden and killed a rabbit."
Before Lottie had time to process the assumption, her eyes shot up from where they had previously been locked onto her food. She makes pointed eye contact with Callie from across the table, yet the silent question isn't shared.
"Sure you did, Mom," Callie says in what must be an attempt to call her bluff. Lottie pulls her eyes away from Callie and onto Mrs. Sadecki, only to find she was already watching her. The look in her eyes could only be described as enigmatic, and Lottie would do anything to find out what it meant.
Once they finished dinner, Callie and Lottie began to clean up the aftermath. Laughting and joking all the way. Despite Mrs. Sadecki's insistence on being left alone, she's stuck around to keep an eye on the two girls. Or more accurately, to keep an eye on Lottie.
God, things were already weird enough between the two before Mrs. Sadecki caught her kissing her daughter. Now, Lottie really has no hope of getting on her good side.
They finished cleaning up and made their way towards Callie's bedroom once again. "Where are you girls going?" Mrs. Sadecki responds curtly.
"To my room?"
"Why?"
Callie scoffs, "I didn't know I couldn't go to my room with my friend for my sleepover without giving a detailed list of what we'll be doing tonight." Mrs. Sadecki barely blinks, "I was wondering if you two would like to watch a movie with me." It's quiet for a few moments, and Lottie takes this time to wonder what decisions she's made that led her to this point.
"Um," Callie looks visibly confused, "If that's fine with Lottie, then sure…" Suddenly, 2 pairs of eyes land on her, sharing a certain intensity that overwhelms her.
"…Do you have a movie in mind…?" Lottie asks, meeting Mrs. Sadecki's eyes.
"I was hoping you would pick."
Callie crosses her arms, "You stop us from going to my room so Lottie could pick a movie?"
"I said I wanted to watch a movie with both of you, I'm letting your friend pick because I am a hospitable host." Mrs. Sadecki and Callie share a look that appears to be torn from a nature documentary. The look of two animals before they inevitably pounce, or as some might say, 'the calm before the storm.'
"It's fine," Lottie says, placing her hand on Callie's tensed bicep. Callie seems to relax almost immediately, but the act of affection has the opposite effect on Mrs. Sadecki. "How about Bambi?" She turns to look at Mrs. Sadecki as she says it.
"How old are you?" Callie says with a laugh, "Try not to cry when Bambi's mom dies."
"Wow, way to spoil the movie," Lottie shoves Callie's shoulder back slightly.
"Please, everyone's seen Bambi like a hundred times."
"Oh, really? Well, I guess I should pick something else then?"
"I mean, now that you mention it, I wouldn't mind a scary movie to keep us up all night." Callie drops her hand and rests it on Lottie's waist.
"Like you need a movie to keep you up all night." Lottie giggles.
"What? Have plans you haven't shared with me yet?"
"Maybe I do."
A firm voice breaks their banter, "Girls."
Lottie takes a small step away from Callie and Mrs. Sadecki's prying eyes.
"Pick a movie, Charlotte. Quickly."
That's the first time Mrs. Sadecki's said her name all night. Lottie would be lying if she said it didn't hold the same crushing weight of a bear on her chest.
"How about that new movie? The one where the girl's stranded on an island with her shitty boss?"
"Um. I don't know about that, Lottie." Callie says with an awkward shift.
Oh, oh, that's why Callie was being weird. She'd told her once about her mom's time spent out there, in the woods, forced to survive. God, why couldn't she just act normally?
"Well, it's kind of a comedy, despite the… um, plot."
"I'll just pick something." Mrs. Sadecki says, finally.
They end up watching some random movie Lottie's never heard of before. Throughout the duration of the film, her embarrassment only seems to grow. She glances in Mrs. Sadecki's direction and meets her hard stare.
They're past halfway through the movie by the time Callie begins pressing into her shoulder, soft puffs of air escaping her as she drifts into sleep. Lottie feels Mrs. Sadecki staring at her from the other side of the couch.
Lottie turns to face her, "You two look cute together." Despite the kind remark, she says it through gritted teeth.
"We're not actually together."
"Really? I have eyes, Charlotte."
"That was- it was the first we'd done anything… like that." Lottie is tracing the hem of her shirt; she'd rather die than continue this conversation.
"Would you do it again?"
"What?"
"Sucking face. With my daughter."
Did Mrs. Sadecki usually talk like this? "Um. I don't know. Probably not."
Mrs. Sadecki stares at her for longer than necessary, "And why is that?"
"I don't really feel like that for Callie; she's my friend."
"So, do you usually flirt with your friends in front of their parents?"
"Well, Nat says I'm quite the flirt." Lottie jokes, puffing her chest out slightly.
"Nat?"
"She's friends with Callie and me. We're all on the team together."
Mrs. Sadecki makes a noncommittal grunt, forcing her gaze back towards the TV.
"You played soccer too," Lottie says, almost too quiet to be heard over the movie. Yet Mrs. Sadecki hears it anyway: "I did. Until…" She swallows hard. "Well, I'm sure you know." The gentle hum of the TV is the only thing Lottie can hear, well, that and her own thoughts racing a million miles per hour. "Aren't you going to ask about it? What we did? What it was like out there?" She presses.
"I would, but I don't think you like me very much."
"I don't like anyone very much."
"I don't either."
"Really? A pretty little rich girl like you doesn't like anyone?" Lottie can tell it's meant more as a joke, despite Mrs. Sadecki's chronic RBF.
"Nope." She giggles, "Turns out most people just want a piece of the Matthews' fortune."
"That's got to be lonely." A moment of something passes between the two, "I know what it's like. When people only want you for one thing, money, sex… attention."
"Like, Jackie?"
Apparently, they were a lot closer to the end of the movie than Lottie had thought, because once that question left her mouth, the movie had ended and plunged the two into a heavy silence.
"Excuse me?"
"Sorry, I thought you were referring to someone specific. She was your friend, right?" More silence, "It must've been hard for you. To lose a friend like that out there."
"I think you should take Callie to bed." And with that, Mrs. Sadecki left the two girls, heavy footfalls leading into the master bedroom.