Charley wrapped up her son in his monkey Halloween costume. It had been warm enough to keep him completely safe during Halloween when they went around watching the trick or treators. The three of them went all over Hawthorne Village, laughing when the little witches and wizards scurried around to get their sugar fix. She held hands with her husband while they pushed Luka in his stroller. People tried to give him all of the candy and lollis, and while Luka reached his little hands out for it, they declined. He was only four months old, and still on breast milk when he was hungry. Her therapist insisted that feeding him would help with the bonding, and so far she had been right.

She tickled his belly and earned some laughter from her son. Luka meant the world to her, and any time that she worried about how she was bonding with her blond baby boy, she only had to look into his bright blue eyes and she knew that she would always love him. No matter how he was brought into her life, he was there. He was her world and she knew that this baby she was carrying would only add onto that. They were growing as a family, and she knew that it would be amazing. With James being away, it was tough. She hated having to feel the baby flutter in her without him there to experience it with her. She hated when she would hear Luka crying out a grumbled da-da and he wasn't there.

The hour she was supposed to meet up with Renee chirped out on their wall clock and she scooped up her son, peppering kisses along his chubby cheeks and earned more giggles from him. She knew that Luka and this baby would be as thick as thieves. She knew that Luka would be as protective over this baby as Renee was over Charley and the twins. She put Luka into his stroller and made sure that he was extra cozy in his monkey suit and blanket. With winter coming on quickly she wanted to make sure that he was always safe and warm. If anything happened to him, she would never be able to forgive herself.

As they strolled down the street, Charlotte smiled when she glanced into the shop and saw the mop of blond hair in the candy store. Her big brother was such a toddler at heart and that was probably why he was so close with Luka. They were both around the same age and she knew that it would only get worse as the little boy grew up. She pushed open the door and walked in with the stroller,
"Look Luka, it your jerk Uncle Renee." She kept a smile on her face, even if she was annoyed at him for how he treated her over texts.

Of course she was still sour at Renee for how he reacted to her pregnancy. She wanted her brother happy for her, happy for her growing family and how much she wanted all of that. She rolled her eyes and couldn't stop the smile on her face though when Renee spoke to Luka first. The two of them would be as thick as thieves for the rest of their lives, she knew it. It made the choice to have Renee be Luka's godfather all that much simpler. She knew that if anything happened to her and James, her brother would take in both of her kids and give them good homes.

Assuming he didn't end up speaking poorly of James the entire time. Then Charley would be forced to haunt her brother for the rest of eternity.

"Oh yes, I'm oh so jealous of you Renee." She kept her tone light and took off the hat that had been covering her hair. All of the long curly locks that she had since she was a baby had been hacked off. Her hair was shorter, straight and made her feel a million times better. She wasn't even sure if her brother would notice, he was too busy chattering off about a family dinner with their parents.

"Sounds good, momma and daddy have been begging to see Luka, plus I might as well tell them and the twins at the same time." Their sisters would be excited about it, she hoped at least, Charley ran her fingers through her hair and made a silly face at her son, earning a fit of giggles and claps from the little boy.

"He's starting to walk, you know." She mentioned to her brother with a flair of pride.

She winced a little when Renee started in on her for not telling her parents about the baby yet. Of course he wanted her to run off and not tel the father that she was expecting again.
"I told him over the weekend, Nee." Of course James knew.
"That family day I invited you to? I told him then." She explained, though technically the first one who knew was Luka.

Luka was her secret keeper and she loved her little boy for it. She could talk to him about all of her fears and doubt. Her little boy just smiled at her, chewed on his teething rings and gave her smiles of absolute love. She never thought she would be a mother at such a young age, but she loved it. She loved knowing that Luka was with her and her next baby would give her even more love. She would love them and Renee might try to keep her away from James but she didn't care.

"I wanted the whole family together before I told them, you're just a special butthead so I had to tell you." She picked up a basket and started to toss some cinnamon candies and chocolates in her basket. She was having all sorts of cravings for treats, which was different than when she was pregnant with Luka, which was all spicy food. The hotter the better.

"He still usually needs to hold onto something, but he's gotten a few solo steps out." Steps that James missed. She recorded it and sent it out to her husband while he was at basic, but she was sure that it wasn't the same for him.

"But yes, he's a brilliant one."

As much as she loved her brother, and she did, she was just tired of having to defend herself and her family to her brother. Would he have preferred for Charley to find Callum? Officially tell him about the baby he put inside of her while she was passed out on a bar? Run off into the sunset and allow him to harm her and Luka whenever he wanted to. Have that life over one where she was safe and protected. Where she was with a man who loved her more than anything in the world.

"Momma, Daddy and the twins came along, but they didn't know. I told James and his parents. Then his parents left and we met up with Momma and everyone else." She explained more clearly. She wanted to save telling them until they were al together. Even if her nerves for telling Renee got the best of her.

"I'm not going to find out what I'm having either. Found out with Luka, not this one." She looked down at her belly, just hoping for a healthy little one. Boy, girl, multiples, she really didn't care any way. She ran her fingers through her short again and watched Luka crawl all over Renee's longer locks.

"One of the reasons I cut mine, Luka kept pulling at it."

Charley stood behind her brother in the check out line, all of her favorite treats picked out and just waiting for her and Renee to enjoy them. Luka was still far too young for anything like their candies, but she had a feeling that one day he would be just as bad as his uncle Renee. Always pigging out on treats, and taking care of his baby brother or sister. If her son was anything like her big brother, she would never stop being the proudest momma ever.
"I'm due right around the end of May." She clarified for her brother, thinking about how she would have a new born to worry about while also trying to plan Luka's first birthday.

Charley sighed a little bit when he mentioned her haircut.
"Um. I had a bit of a mental moment... After I saw Callum." She felt sick even saying his name, she never wanted Luka to hear those disgusting letters tumbling from her lips. She never wanted Luka to even see his father, let alone know that Callum had stalked them when he was an infant.

"He came around when I was with Luka, momma took him away and then Callum showed up. I think he might have seen Luka."

She was terrified just thinking about how her brother would react to it.
"Mentioned that Luka looked like his other kid..."

As soon as she told her brother that Callum came around, she should have known that doing this in public was a terrible idea. She should have at least waited until her son was out of his arms. Not that she ever thought that Renee would do anything to harm the little boy, but she knew that his temper could get the best of him at times. She wanted to rip Callum apart herself, she could only imagine how Renee and James would feel about her seeing the man who drugged her and raped her.

"Renee!" She shouted when he kicked over the display and defiantly placed money down on the counter. She wanted to snatch Luka from his arms, but he was already peppering kisses along the boy's face and out of the store. Charlotte looked at the confused employees and awkwardly ran out of the store to join her brother and son.

"Nee!" Was he serious? She felt some hot tears in her eyes and she knew that he was handling it much better than she did. She threw up, cried, chopped off her hair, sobbed and rocked herself to sleep on her bathroom floor. Luka had been blissfully unaware of what his mother was going through in his bed.

"Please I need you to calm down." Carefully she stepped to her brother and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"I'm okay. He didn't..." She hated everything about Callum but at least she could say that she was pretty sure nothing happened this time. She didn't drink anything. No hangover feeling, nothing.

"He didn't hurt me, Renee. He didn't touch Luka, he just... He curled his finger around my hair." Clearly she then had to cut it all off.

She felt the tears sting her eyes and she hated knowing that she was going to cry in the middle of Hawthorne Village. It had been forever since she was able to curl up with her brother like this. Probably not since she was a little girl. When her big brother could take away all of the pain and troubles with just a kiss on her forehead and a silly smile. When a boy she liked rejected her, or when a friend said something mean behind her back. Renee was there.

"To be honest, I threw up as soon as he was gone." She felt sick to her stomach just knowing that Callum even had an inkling that Luka was in the world and biologically his child.
"I just want him to leave me alone, have fun with his little family and just leave me." She was sure that Clover would never believe her if Charley told her that the father of her child raped her. It was no secret that Clover hated Charley for whatever reason it was. Unless she knew. Though she couldn't imagine that any woman would be depraved enough to stay with a man who fathered another child through rape.

"There was nothing you could have done, Nee." She admitted, hoping that her brother would stop blaming himself and James for what happened to her. It wasn't their fault. If wasn't Charley's, it was Callum's. He drugged her. He raped her. That was the end of it