Chapter 2: Thomas

The whole weekend, Lottie spent texting. At first, she wasn’t so sure about this Forestlop guy, thinking it was some old man, probably a pervert, having read her poems and understood she was a teenager. But it wasn’t like that.

Lottie: U have iMessage?

Lottie had asked after about an hour of talking with the guy about some books.

Forestlop: Uh, no… I have messenger and WhatsApp tho

Lottie: Ur name?

She had to wait for a minute before she got the answer.

Forestlop: Urs?

Lottie: Charlotte Brown

Forestlop: Hope it’s u, sent u a message

Lottie checked, and there was a message from someone, but it wasn’t Forestlop. He was called Thomas Cooper. A small smile came onto her face, looking at the profile picture. It was a drawing; a two-picture comic of some blond boy stealing a hat from a boy with black hair and blue eyes.

Lottie: It’s me

She added an upside-down smiley face, hoping it made him smile on the other side of the phone.

Lottie: Thomas, huh?

The guy sent her a blushing emoji and a winking face.

Thomas: U look young…

Lottie raised her eyebrows; having thought he knew she was a teenager.

Lottie: Yeah, well… That what happens when u’re fifteen

Lottie: How old are u?

Thomas: I’ll turn 16 in October

Thomas: A sophomore

Lottie: Me too

Lottie: Forestlop is a strange name… I thought u were old

Thomas: Aw, Charlotte, well… I hate to break it to u, but u haven’t seen my picture yet

Thomas: I might be a serial killer

Lottie: I doubt that serial killers would know so much about Romeo and Juliet

Thomas: U would be surprised

Lottie smirked a bit.

Lottie: I go by Lottie, actually

Lottie: Just wasn’t sure about who u were

Thomas: Ugh u shouldn’t tell me ur name; I might be a child predator

Lottie: Hm, I doubt that

Thomas: Sigh

Thomas: Lottie, u’re playing a risky gaaameeee

“Lottie dinner is ready!” she heard her father shout from downstairs. She sighed quietly and got up from the bed.

“Coming!”

Lottie: Look, Thomas, I gtg

Lottie: I’ll text u when I’m back in a few minutes?

Thomas: A few minutes?

Lottie: My mom made dinner, so I have to join them

Lottie: Not that I’d want to

Thomas: Why wouldn’t u want to join a dinner?

Lottie: Can’t tell u, u might be a child predator

She smiled at her own joke and giggled at the haha funny he sent back. And then she dragged herself downstairs only to be faced with her mother telling her to eat slower and to go out some day with friends. She didn’t dare to tell her she didn’t have any.

(It’s not like she could’ve gone out with her 9pm curfew anyway.)

#

On Saturday, Lottie woke up to a few new texts. The previous night she had gotten to know about his birthday, some sentences about what he looked like, they told each other what they liked to do, etc. She had no idea why she had shared some of it with this boy, but she wasn’t regretting it either.

Thomas: Morning

Thomas: Ugh I need to go and work for my dad today

Thomas: I’m hungry

Lottie: Morning

Lottie: I’m trying to stay in my bed today

Lottie: Maybe my mom won’t yell at me for it

Thomas: She yells at u for staying home? I get yelled at when I stay out too late or get drunk

Lottie: I don’t really have many friends, so I prefer staying home and just write

Thomas: I like that too, but they drag me out sometimes

Thomas: U don’t have friends?

Thomas: Why?

Lottie caught her lower lip between her teeth while typing.

Lottie: I don’t know, I’m a nerd

Thomas: U’re not a nerd

Lottie: U’ve known me for 12 hours, 8 of them asleep

Lottie: U have no idea how nerdy I am

Thomas: Would u like to tell me?

Lottie: Weren’t u hungry?

Thomas: I’m eating atm

Lottie: Eating what?

Thomas: Myob

Lottie giggled quietly, looking at the three bubbles moving, notifying her that he was still typing an answer.

Thomas: I made three sandwiches and I’m making bacon and eggs

Lottie: Whoa

Thomas: I eat a lot

Thomas: Food is the best

Lottie: Bring me some?

Thomas: Omw

Thomas: Where do u live anyways?

Lottie: Uh… Where do u?

Thomas: It’s a small town in Ohio

Lottie: I live in NYC

Thomas: Nice

Lottie: Can u… send me a pic of urself?

Lottie: I mean, I’m kind of scared u’re like 55

She didn’t get an answer back, but he did see the messages. She sighed after a minute and started to place her phone back down to grab a book, but then it buzzed. She struggled opening it with her fingerprint, seeing a new message from him. Her breath got caught up when she saw the picture, thumb clicking on it to make it bigger.

He was a boy. But he looked nothing like she had imagined. She had thought he was slightly overweight, his black hair shaved against his scalp, his nose big and ears even bigger. In reality, he was definitely the hottest boy she had seen. His shoulders were fit, he looked tall, a bit broody and dangerous, his black hair sticking in many directions, face tired, a small smirk playing on his lips, holding a sandwich up next to him and looking at it lovingly.

Lottie: Wow

Thomas: Not what u expected?

Lottie shuddered at the smirky face in the end of his text, now knowing he actually did make that face hot and attractive.

Lottie: Uh… Yeah

Thomas: What did u think?

Lottie: Fat, weird and old

Thomas: Lmao

Thomas: Why?

Lottie: Most people make fun of Wattpad, thinking it’s only for sex fanfics, so there aren’t many normal guys there I think

Thomas: Hm, who said I was normal?

Lottie: U look normal…

Thomas: I’m weird, Lottie

Lottie: In what way?

Thomas: I prefer books over parties

Lottie: So do I

She added an eyeroll emoji behind it and smiled at his next text.

Thomas: Guess we can be weird together.

Thomas: A picture of u? U added ur pic in facebook three years ago, I have no idea what u look like

Lottie: I’m in bed and I look tired…

Thomas: So do I

Thomas: Cmon, I just need a pfp

Lottie gulped and opened her camera. She tried to make her hair look better, folding it next to her just right, but it ended up horrible, so it took her two minutes to just accept the fact that she looked natural and tired before clicking the photo and sending it without a second thought before she could change her mind.

Thomas saw it and kept quiet. She was smiling on the picture, eyes closed and her cheeks a bit pink from thinking about the way her hand could brush through his hair.

Thomas: Why no eyes?

Lottie: What?

Thomas: U closed ur eyes

Thomas: I mean u look beautiful, but I need to see ur eyes just to make sure

Lottie rolled them and clicked a pictured of her, looking straight into the camera with an annoyed expression, sending it to him immediately.

Thomas: Qt

Something in her stomach made a flip and she couldn’t make it go away when he sent a picture of himself grinning into the camera, his ocean blue eyes staring at her. She didn’t answer anything to his previous messages telling her she was beautiful and a cutie, but she did send the blushing emoji she liked to use. She added a blue color after it, noting him that his eyes looked like that.

#

By Sunday evening, he was her friend. They had talked all about their favorite music styles, bands, books, movies, tv-shows, and found out they had a lot in common. Both of them loved Rock music, Thomas’s favorite being Radiohead, Lottie’s The Goo Goo Dolls. He wrote crime mystery books while she wrote some love and fantasy ones, but both of them enjoyed poetry. So, they bonded a lot over Romeo and Juliet, and other classics similar to it.

She had understood that he was obsessed with food. Any food, besides what he called ‘rabbit food’ or ‘grass’, which was basically the only thing she was allowed to eat every day. She was jealous, seeing the few pictures he had sent her of burgers, fries and milkshakes. Lottie felt like her body needed it.

“Charlotte!” her mom shouted.

Lottie sighed quietly, quickly hiding her phone under her duvet and making it like she was reading the book that was rested against her knees. Eleanor walked in just that moment, allowing her to look up. “What, mom? I’m kind of tired.”

“Do you know where your sister is?” Eleanor demanded. Lottie felt the phone vibrating next to her side and clenched her jaw, knowing Thomas had waited for an answer for a while now. She prayed her mom didn’t hear that, knowing the ‘no phones after 10pm’ rule.

“Uh, didn’t she say she was going to that party? I mean you agreed, right?”

“Yes, but she had to be home at 10,” Eleanor protested, her hands resting on her hips. “Do you know where she is?”

“Probably lost the track of time, still at the party,” Lottie murmured like it had already been obvious. “Stop freaking out, mom, she’s 17 in two months, she should be allowed to stay out until 12.”

“Don’t come to teach me how to raise my daughters, Charlotte,” she said strictly, like Lottie even wasn’t part of those ‘daughters’. She usually liked being the middle one, not having as much attention, nobody really caring if she did something or not, all the attention on Pauline who was a year older and Katie who was five years younger than her. There were also bad things though. For example she was excepted to act just like Pauline but also be a role model and someone to look up for Katie. Her mother didn’t understand that people were different and since they were all girls, they were all expected to act the same in different situations.

She was also forced to be a good girl. Pauline was one, she had to be one. That was the rule.

Pauline was the oldest out of the three; getting to do all the things first, getting to experience everything first, getting to be the smartest. And Katie was the youngest; being cute, the baby of the family, the one looked after the most. Lottie wasn’t sure what advantages she herself really had, but she knew she was her dad’s favorite (at least now that her big brother was in military, away from home).

“Mom, I’m tired. It’s school tomorrow. Can I go to sleep?” she asked.

Eleanor sighed at that but nodded and smiled a little. She turned off Lottie’s table lamp and went back to the door. “Night honey. Don’t forget to set the alarm.”

“Goodnight,” she said, staring at the door until her mom had closed it behind her. That’s when she switched on the fairy lights and fished her phone out again.

Thomas: Lottie?

Thomas: Lottttttttttieeeeeee

Thomas: Ugh, did u literally fall asleep?

Thomas: Fine…

Lottie: I’M HERE

Lottie: My mom came here, I’m not supposed to be on my phone

Thomas: Oh so u’re alive at least

Lottie sent him an eyerolling emoji while smiling, staring at the three bubbles next to his name.

Thomas: It’s 11, u’ve done ur homework and u’re supposed to be off ur phone?

Lottie: My mom’s really annoying and strict

Lottie: Sry

Thomas: I feel sorry…

Thomas: U tired yet?

Lottie: Yeah a little

“Lottie?” she heard from the door and dropped her phone immediately, looking up rapidly. “Just me,” Katie giggled, closing the door behind her. Lottie sighed with a small smile and took her phone again, Thomas typing something for her.

“What’s up?” she asked her sister.

“Uh… Could I lend your shirt tomorrow?”

Lottie narrowed her eyes. “Which one? I have boobs you know.”

Katie rolled her eyes. “Just a t-shirt… I want something that’s not pastel,” she said.

Lottie smiled sadly. She had been the only one who stood up to her mom, telling her she was old enough to choose clothes for herself. Her sisters had gotten to choose for themselves as well, but their mother had made sure at least her two ‘good’ daughters bought everything in a light pastel color; no strong red, green, blue, and definitely no black. Lottie had gotten herself all grey, black and white, already having a lot of pastels at home.

“Sure,” Lottie said softly and looked back at her phone when her little sister went to pick something out.

Hey, if u change ur mind and wanna stay up, maybe u could tell me why u don’t wanna go to school tomorrow?

Lottie sighed and typed a reply to him.

Lottie: I told u I don’t have friends

Thomas: You must have someone

Lottie: …

Thomas: No1?

Lottie: Nope

Thomas: Why?

Lottie: I can’t socialize

Lottie: My mom keeps saying it’s in my head and I could if I wanted to, but I really can’t

Lottie: It makes me anxious when I have to do it

Thomas: I understand, Lottie, but like…

Thomas: Aren’t u lonely?

“Can I take this one?” Katie asks hopefully, holding up an orange hooded sweatshirt. Lottie smiled a bit and nodded. She ran over to the bed and gave her a half hug and a kiss on her cheek. “Thank youuuu.”

“You’re welcome,” Lottie chuckled. “Now go to sleep before I tell mom.”

Katie smiled for one last time before quietly hurrying out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Lottie: Sometimes

Lottie: But it’s alright

Lottie watched her phone anxiously, waiting for Thomas to be done with the typing. When he did send the message, her stomach made another flip, mouth turning into a sad smile.

Thomas: You can text me anytime, okay?

Thomas: Okay