What Lies Ahead [Open]

[Charlotte Lewis]

"Yes - I need to know what you Flight times to London are for the next two days."

"Hold on ma'am and I'll pull them up for you."

"Thanks."

Charlotte sat against the bench, a spot she had been frequenting more recently. Holding her cell phone between her ear and her shoulder, she slipped on her coat, as it was beginning to get chilly again. It was late afternoon, so she knew she would have to be heading back to her room soon, before nightfall.

"I'm sorry but all flights to London have been cancelled because of dangerous storms in that area. We do offer -."

Click.

Charlotte shut the phone with a growl before she could even finish, gritting her teeth. She pocketed the silver object and sighed again, running her fingers through her hair. She didn't - couldn't - stay in Los Angeles any longer. She needed and wanted to get home. She had heard of the deaths of Ford and the baby, and supposedly, some blonde had died in this very park. It was worrying her. Charlotte knew it wasn't just some random conicidence that they were dead. The Island obviously wanted them back.

All of them.

Including her.

And Dan.

And Miles - no, wait - she wasn't supposed to care about his wellbeing....

And everyone else.

And Charlotte, didn't find the object of dying very appealing. Of course, she knew she couldn't stop Death, even if she did go back to England, but maybe she could prolong it. Why would the island want her back anyway?

Because you were born there, stupid, She chided herself, shutting her eyes as she sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping. There was Dan to think about - apparently she had become the thing that grounded him, his constant, as he had called it. And if she went back to England, then, well, he could very well die too.

Well, he can just come with me.

She frowned, chewing on her lower lips as she weighed her options.

Just what the hell was she going to do?

[Libby]

They were dead. Two people she didn’t even know were dead, but for some reason there was an aching sadness in her heart. She tried to tell herself that it was because of how upset Charlie had been, but although that may be partly true she knew it wasn’t the whole reason.

Pumping her arms at her sides as she walked, Libby tried to push away the thoughts of the news report she had seen this morning.

Now Charlie, that was a different matter all together, and one not so easily ignored. Exercise used to be her escape; a way to forget her troubles and focus on the burning in her muscles and the music in her ears. Today, though, was different. She had tried so hard, so damn hard, to keep any feelings other than friendship from developing toward Charlie, but the closer they got, the more fleeting touches and kisses he offered, the harder it had become. She tried to deny it, refused to admit it even to herself, but it was becoming impossible. Even now, as her heart beat faster, she knew it wasn’t solely from the physical exertion, but partly from the thoughts of her best friend.

Frustrated at herself for silently breaking her own rules, Libby jogged to a stop, breathing heavily. She had an appointment late this afternoon, the last appointment of the day, but she had felt a run was necessary to clear her head if she was going to get through it. Fat load of luck that was doing her.

Wiping her brow, she glanced down at her watch only to see that it read the same time it had last time she had looked.

“Damn,” she muttered, tapping the glass. Getting no movement she glanced around until she spotted a young red head perched on a nearby bench.

“Excuse me, but do you have the time?” Libby asked the woman, jogging over to her with a friendly smile. Only once she got closer did she notice the troubled look on the redhead’s face. Perhaps she shouldn’t have bothered her at all.

[Charlotte Lewis]

Charlotte briefly glanced up when she heard someone shout, only to realize that the woman was talking to her. She glanced at the silver watch on her hand.

"3:15." Charlotte replied, loking back up at her for a moment as she dropped her arm. Her mind was too cluttered at the moment to be bothered by such things at what time it was. She had lost track of time herself, and only now did she realize she had been out later than intended. She shrugged at herself lightly - like it really mattered.

[Libby]

3:15, good. She still had an hour and fifteen minutes before she had to be at Santa Rosa. She would have to take her pill before then and give it time to work as well. She didn’t take them any more, she didn’t feel she needed them, but it was a requirement of her leave from the hospital so on the days of her appointment she stomached one down.

“Thank you,” Libby said to the woman, and although this was the point in time where she should turn and leave, there was something keeping her rooted to the spot. Being in the situation she was in, she had picked up a lot of psychology and felt she understood the human psyche better than most. In fact, she often passed herself off as a clinical psychologist, and right now there was something troubling this woman and she couldn’t, in good conscious, just walk away.

“Pardon me for intruding, but is there something wrong?” she asked in a concerned manner. “It’s simply that you look very... lost.”

[Charlotte Lewis]

"Mh-Hm." Charlotte said in response to the thank you. She didn't care if she sounded like she was stuck up - she really wasn't in a mood to care.

She waited for the woman to leave, but apparently, that wasn't going to happen. Charlotte returned her attention to the blonde when she spoke, asking if anything was wrong. Charlotte debated on telling her just to shove it, but she really didn't feel like getting on another person's bad side that day. Sighing, she ran a finger through her hair.

"You have no idea how lost I am." Charlotte whispered, staring at the sidewalk, at a piece of grass that had grown up through one of the cracks. "I don't know if I'll ever find a way back."

[Libby]

Her brow furrowing, Libby looked around awkwardly for a moment before presumptuously taking a seat beside the woman on the bench. Sitting in silence for a moment, she eventually looked over with a compassionate expression.

“This may sound strange, but if you need to talk...” she offered slowly. “I do have some experience with this sort of thing, and if nothing else I’m a great listener.”

She wasn’t sure why she was taking an interest in this woman’s problems except that it served to distract her from her own. That, and she always hated to see people upset.

[Charlotte Lewis]

Charlotte glanced back over at the woman as she sat down, not saying a word. She simply listened.

“You mean you're a therapist?" She finally questioned with a wry smirk, looking up at her fully. "Therapy isn't something that would help. Trust me." She mumbled. "This isn't a problem that can really be fixed like that....."

"But thanks for the offer. I'm Charlotte by the way..... Charlotte Lewis."