memories.
Eventually I asked the question that had been bothering me.
“What happened?”
Charlotte smiled weakly.
“Life.”
The answer told me almost everything.
But not quite.
So she explained.
Modeling never worked out.
Her father became ill.
Medical debt followed.
Then her brother needed full-time care.
After both parents passed away, she became his sole guardian.
She worked two jobs.
Then three.
Then whatever she could find.
Delivery driving at night.
Retail during the day.
Sleep whenever possible.
The story sounded painfully familiar.
Not identical.
But familiar.
Because I knew
