The Untouchable

Charlotte fell onto her oversized bed in pure ecstasy. Brandon had just taken her home, and given her the best kiss she probably ever felt before right on her doorstep. It was official, they were a couple. School had just come to an end, and they had the entire summer to themselves. Charlotte had already informed Brandon of her decision, she was going to give herself completely to him. He was the first boy she believed she truly loved, and it seemed like the best idea- considering how over the summer they were planning to be closer than ever. She was a little nervous about it, but it was Brandon, and she trusted him. She was just in the middle of dreaming about how it would be for the first time when her mom knocked on the door. "Sweetie? You want to come downstairs? Your dad and I need to talk to you." She nodded and pulled herself up, stealing a glance at her mirror to see how she pulled off the mussed hair look. Not bad.

She went downstairs into the study, her father had apparently just gotten off the phone. She sat down, and the two leaned toward her excitedly. "What is it?" She asked suspiciously. Her dad was the first to speak up. "Well, I talked to my office, and a great opportunity has come up..." Her mom squealed, too anxious to wait to share the news. "Honey, we're going to Florence!" Charlotte smiled, "That's great you guys, have you checked with Brae's parents to make sure I can stay with her?" Her dad looked at her quizically. "No no, honey, you're coming with us!" Charlotte's smile turned into an open mouth of surprise. "Ummm... sorry?"

"Oh, I know it may come as a shock to you, but no doubt a pleasant one. You're coming with us, Charlotte! Italy! For the whole summer!" Her mom gushed, and Charlotte felt sick. "I don't think I can..."
"Nonsense, honey. We've already arranged for the tickets and the villa. We leave in two days." Charlotte thought if her eyes could get any wider her head would explode. "Umm.. this is like a week thing, right?"
"We'll be there until a week before your senior year! This is just fabulous, you've always loved to travel, and this is a great chance for us to be together, though the reason we are going is for your dad to contact investors." Charlotte blanked out the rest of what her mom was saying. One week. That was all she had. She couldn't believe her ears. "I need to be excused." She got up quickly and ran upstairs. Her mom turned to her husband. "It must be from all the excitement."

"You're going- WHERE?" Brae practically fell out of her chair at Starbucks. Charlotte sighed miserably. "I know, I know. The timing couldn't have been worse. Here I am, in a relationship, and about to lose my virginity..." Brae almost spit out her mocha. "Oh please, you knew it was coming."
"Babe, you must have the worst luck in the world." Charlotte hit her head against the table, causing several customers to stare. "Tell me about it. I want to go hang myself with angel hair."
"Hmm... death by pasta... not a bad idea." Brae saw how miserable Charlotte was, and patted her hand. "You know what, it's me who's the unlucky one. What am I going to do without you this summer?" They got up and hugged each other tightly. "I'm going to miss you so much, Charlotte. Promise you'll call."
"Everyday, I've got to update you on each level on depression I have reached in that place." Before they left, Brae tried to cheer her up again. "Just think about it this way though, there's tons of hotties there!" There's only one hottie for me, Charlotte thought to herself, and he hasn't heard the news yet.

"Wow." Brandon stared open-mouthed at her. "Is this an excuse to break up?" His expression changed completely when Charlotte started to cry. "Charlotte! I was only kidding!" He wrapped her in a hug, which only made it worse. "Hey there, hey." He lifted her chin up. "You're going to love it there, and you'll meet so many interesting people..." Charlotte looked up at him confused. "You mean you aren't even going to try and stop me?"
"I mean, there's nothing we can do. I believe in fate, and maybe this just wasn't meant to be." Charlotte didn't even want to think about what 'this' meant. They stood there in an awkward silence, then Brandon kissed her forehead. "I care about you, okay? I just want you to be happy. I promise to call." He left her then, and Charlotte just stood there, eyes closed. The ocean was rumbling in the background, and she wondered indifferently if they even had those in Italy. It didn't matter though, she was sure this would be the worst trip of her life.