Charleston Past Midnight Read Online Free PDF

the gravity of this evening’s events becoming painfully clear.
    I pull her slowly into my embrace and stroke her hair gently with my right hand, “Calla, look at me.”
    Sweeping lashes tilt up and her luminous eyes connect with mine. “You’re going to be fine, all right?”
    She nods once and I hug her closer, marveling at the silkiness of her everything along with her clean, natural scent. It reminds me of when I used to play hide and seek with Sabine in the vast lavender fields of Provence.
    That was so long ago, when everything was still wondrous and innocent, before we ever moved to America to take over our deceased uncle’s plantation. Before everything went to hell ….
    * * *
    We take the Meeting Street exit off the Ravenel Bridge and I expect to turn left when she informs me, “No, turn right. I’m just a few blocks up from here, on Nassau Street.”
    My lips tighten but I say nothing. She shouldn’t ever step foot in this area of town, much less reside here. It’s a wonder she hasn’t been assaulted already.
    As I turn down the derelict street, she points to a faded yellow two-story Charleston single style house that is squeezed tightly between two others like it. Both look abandoned. It’s leaning at a noticeable angle and it’s a feat of physics that the old wicker furniture is able to stay on the sloped porch.
    I pull to the curb just as a young dealer in his early twenties rolls up on a BMX bike. He stops just outside my window and lifts his chin while scanning the street with narrowed eyes. It’s no wonder. He thinks I’m here to score. Why else would a Mercedes G Class SUV worth over 100K with tinted windows be making a pit stop after four in the morning this far into the hood?
    I roll down my window and shake my head back and forth. The guy wearing diamonds in both ears hisses in annoyance before peddling off, calling out, “Punk-ass motherfucker” as he rolls away to disappear into the dense shadows.
    I look over at the girl, so stunning sitting on the black leather of the large seat beside me.
    I sense she’s embarrassed. I watch her fingers smooth her white cotton skirt as she says, “Sorry about that. It’s really only bad around here at night.”
    “You shouldn’t live here, Calla. It’s not safe.”
    Avoiding eye contact, she stares out her window toward her crumbling house. “Yeah, well, it’s all I can afford, all right? Thanks again for the lift, and also for earlier, with the trouble. Guess this is goodbye.”
    She turns her face briefly to mine. Our eyes roam each other’s faces for a thick moment before I say softly, “Yes, it is. Goodbye, Calla.”
    Without another word, she steps out of the vehicle onto the filthy sidewalk.
    As the passenger door closes gently, I watch her walk away. I whisper into the black interior, “For now.”

 
    Chapter Four
    Eighteen Years Earlier
    Parker’s Grocery Store, Westin, West Virginia
    “B rant, please stop! It’s so cold!”
    “Hush up, Calla,” my brother whispers quickly as he shoves the package of frozen hamburger meat down my favorite but filthy and moth-eaten kitten sweater. He tucks the hem into my sweatpants before quickly zipping up my jacket.
    “You know this is the only way we’re gonna eat today. I got the spaghetti up my coat sleeve. Let’s get outta here before someone catches us.”
    I follow along behind my eight-year-old brother. My feet are cold and wet from the snow. I stare down at my tennis shoes. At least one still lights up ….
    We’re avoiding eye contact as we make our way to the exit door. I stare out at the heavy snowfall and suddenly want to stay here, even if it means an empty stomach. At least it’s warm.
    Out of nowhere a deep man’s voice calls out, “Whoa, there, Hart kids. Stop right there.”
    Terrified, I latch onto my brother’s arm as he looks up at the tall man with glasses who’s blocking our way.
    Brant answers him in a shaky, nervous voice, “Y-es, sir?”
    “Why aren’t