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♯ ❝ KEEP YOUR CLOTHES ON. ❞
CHAPTER SIX ✧･ﾟ: * 🌪️🌀
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AFTER JAVI HAD YELLED AT THE GIRLS, MORE SPECIFICALLY CHARLIE, THEY WERE BACK ON THE ROAD DRIVING AWAY FROM THE RODEO, WITH CHARLIE IN THE FRONT DRIVING. Normally she wasn't the driver nor actually like to drive, but she wanted to give Kate some rest even if she needed it also, she would rather her sister get some before knowing that if she tried to close her eyes, she wouldn't be able to relax.

Her eyes squint at the passing ambulance on the road, most likely going to where the tornado had destroyed everything, and she prayed that some people made it out alive. She knew not a lot probably did since the storm was mental, but she still prayed for the survives that managed to do so.

The drive back home was going to be a long one, Charlie understood that too well from the amount of times her mother drove the same path she was currently on, back in her younger days when everything was perfect unlike now where it's a mess. Her and her life were.

She melts into the sit that really didn't provide herself any comfort, but upon seeing her camera and strap bag she always had on the passeranger seat beside her, brought her more comfort then anything else. Thanks to Kate, she had grabbed her things before the storm hit in time.

A low tune plays on the radio, it's soothing sound traveling through the truck which was sending Kate to sleep in the back, and Charlie's thoughts drifting back to everything that's happened to her so far. She kept her tired eyes on the road as she did so, also focusing on driving the truck.

She couldn't believe she was back in Oklahoma again after all this time, something she never expected again having been in New York and traveling around for so long. She couldn't believe they were storm chasing again, after what happened to them that stopped the sisters from doing it in the first place, and she couldn't quite grasp how she reunited with Tyler.

Out of everything that's happened to her these last few days, one of them wasn't meeting her childhood sweetheart again for the first time in so many years. She knew it was bound to happen eventually, but she wasn't ready for it to be so soon, and how seeing him grown up brought back all those feelings she once lost.

He had changed a lot from when she last saw him, which she figured would happen since people do grown up, but she wasn't expecting him to be so... so different. So many things happened to him while she wasn't in his life, and it hurt her heart to know she was never there to experience that with him.

The sky outside was an endless stretch of twilight, the last remnants of daylight barely clinging to the horizon. Charlie's hands gripped the steering wheel of the StormPAR truck, her knuckles white from the pressure.

She glanced at the rearview mirror and saw her twin sister curled up in the backseat, fast asleep. The sight should have brought her some comfort, but instead, it made the lump in her throat tighten. She was supposed to be the strong one, the one who held everything together. But as the miles rolled by, that facade started to crack.

Charlie blinked rapidly, trying to clear the blurriness in her vision. It was getting harder to keep the tears at bay. Her breath hitched, and she sniffled, the sound almost lost in the hum of the truck's engine. Each breath felt like it caught in her throat, threatening to break free in a sob she couldn't afford to release.

As she made a turn, the familiar curve of the road triggered a flood of memories she wasn't ready to face. This was the route they had taken countless times as children, the path that always led them home. But tonight, the road seemed longer, the distance between who she used to be and who she had become more evident with each passing second.

The truck rumbled over the gravel driveway, and there it was—their childhood home. The house loomed in the darkness, its silhouette both welcoming and haunting. Charlie's grip on the wheel tightened as she pulled up, parking in the same spot they had used for years.

The engine sputtered to silence, and for a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath with her. She rested her face in her palms for a few seconds, trying to control her breathing and calm herself down. With a few inhales and exhales deeply, and rubbing a hand down her face, she relaxed a bit with no more tears in her brown eyes.

Her hand blindy reached across to grab her camera, that she slipped around her neck, bumping her necklace in the process and picked up her bag next. She gently pushed open the door, now hearing her sister grumbling awake, and smiled as Kate appeared outside from the car yawning.

"Hopefully Mama still left that key outside," Charlie spoke quietly to her sister, grabbing the older one's elbow to guide her away from the truck, and towards the front porch of their old home, "If not, we're breaking in. I'll die if I don't get some water soon."

Kate snickered hearing her sisters words, slipping out of the hold to bend down and gently lift up the pot full of dirt, "Still here alright. Hasn't changed since." She mumbled picking up the small key, twirling it around to Charlie who smiled and watched Kate twist it inside the door to unlock it.

The door opened with a loud screech from the hinges, making the sisters cringe hoping they didn't wake up their mother, and shared matching looks as they walked inside through the threshold, trying to keep their giggles muffled with their hands.

Charlie was instantly met with the feeling of a warm blanket wrapping around her, and inhaled deeply standing in the middle of their childhood home. Inside hadn't changed at all, everything was still the same from the last time she was there, even the finger painting she left on the wall when she was five.

It brought a soft smile to her face seeing the marks, and even all the photos she herself took through the years growing up, them all hanged up proudly along the walls with photos of their mother and them two together. Being in that house was what she needed, and she never knew why she didn't come back sooner.

Her boots gently thump on the floor bloods as she walked towards the kitchen, passing Kate who was leaning on the counter and handed Charlie a glass of water, "Thanks, Katie." She whispered softly, before lifting the cup to her lips, and began to drink it quickly, quenching her thirst finally.

The two heard rapid footsteps approaching them now, making the sisters share a look knowing who it was, "Mama, it's me and Charlie." Kate called out to alert their mother, so she didn't panic thinking someone broke inside of the house.

Appearing out from the darkness of the night, Kathy's face was a one full of worry taken in her daughter's horrible appearances, her motherly instincts kicking in, "Char? Kate?" She asked both lost and concerned, "What happened? What--"

Kate was the first to embrace their mother, having her own one on one hug that she needed, Kathy instantly squeezing the girl against her chest. Charlie watched the two from the side, drinking the last of the water, before placing the cup down just as the two broke from their hug.

The brown eyed girl fiddled with her camera's strap nervously, a few sniffles leaving her as she felt her mother gaze scanning her wounded figure, "Oh, bear. Come here," Kathy gently tugged her youngest by the arms, and pulled her into a strong embrace next.

Charlie instantly felt her worries wash away being back inside her mother's arms, pushing her face into Kathy's shoulder to inhale the earthly smell the woman always seemed to have. Her tears ran down her cheeks in waves, shoulders trembling a bit as she gripped onto her mother's coat sneaking comfort.

Kathy ran her fingers through her daughters messy hair, pressing a few kisses onto her temple as she shused her softly, feeling Charlie's body shake with cries. Kathy pulled Kate into the hug next by the arm, all three of them embracing one another inside the kitchen, something they all dearly missed.

After some time passed catching up and hugging some more, the sisters had gotten to have well-deserved showers and changed into different clothes. Now they were upstairs watching Kathy clean up their shared room, which was where they spent most of their childhood together sleeping.

Charlie was wearing a red sweatshirt that had Arkansas in bold letters on the front, and a pair of boxer shorts that she swear never belonged to her. Her hair was wet, but drying from the shower she had as she placed her camera down on the beside table, her bag downstairs on the dinning table.

"I am sorry there's so much junk in here." Their mother's voice speaks up again, her picking some boxes up to move them off the bed and onto the floor, "I'll clear it out for you guys tomorrow. And your friend Javi stopped by a few weeks back. Almost didn't recognize him with the haircut."

Kate was the only one that hummed in agreement, as Charlie was busy glancing at all the photos on the wall of them and their deceased best friend. She remembers taking some of those photos, still has them in her camera as she refused to delete or look back at them since it was a reminder of the guilt she felt.

Her brown eyes drift to another photo frame placed in the middle of her messy desk, her heart clenching even more realising who was in that photo smiling back at her. Inside of it was, her having her arms wrapped around a blonde haired boy in the rain, her face frozen mid laugh as the boy grinned down at her, the shot frozen in time thanks to the camera.

She knew that was her and Tyler when they were younger, knew it was even more when her fingers gently ran along the edge of the photo, and spotted their initial's indented into the bottom of it, followed by a little heart around them that she knew he drew all those years back.

Despite the sad feeling she was experiencing, she couldn't help but giggle quietly to herself, and gently picked up the photo frame in her hands, thumb rubbing over the side of it. She did wonder if Tyler had the same one as her, but that would be a question for another time since she probably wouldn't see him for a while.

"You two chasing again?" Her mother's question broke Charlie out of her moment, the girl looking over her shoulder to see Kathy playing with her Stetson, staring at her two daughters curiously. Their mother wasn't silly, she knew them like the back of her hand even if they lie to her about it.

Charlie instantly glanced to Kate, to see her shaking her head with a strained smile, "No. I ain't putting Char through that again." She answered softly, sitting on the side of the bed. And as she did so, her shorts rode up exposing the long scar on her thigh, which made her quickly pull it back down knowing it bothered their mother.

Kathy just stared between her daughters, seeing right through them even if they tried to hide it from her, "Do you two need anything?" She asked in a motherly tone next, puffing up the pillows on the bed, "Char, do you want me to take your camera--"

"No, Mama. It goes where I go, remember?" The girl reminder in a low murmur, sending a shy smile up to her mother through her bangs and slipped down onto the bed beside Kate, "We're good though. Thank you for asking, and helping us of course."

"Alright, goodnight then." Kathy left a soft kiss on her youngest head, squeezing Kate's shoulder next and walked out of their bedroom, just hearing them repeat back what she said before they all went to sleep exhausted after a long day.

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WAKING UP THE NEXT DAY WAS BOTH A NIGHTMARE AND A RELIEF FOR CHARLIE, AS HER DREAMS WERE FILLED WITH NOTHING BUT PAIN AND HORROR. SHE DIDN'T SLEEP WELL THAT NIGHT, that's why she had gotten up earlier in the morning to help out around the house seeming she needed something to distract herself from the thought she was having in her mind. It's not like she could remember the night terrors, but she still felt the fear of them in her gut.

Both of the sisters had helped out on the farm for their mother, starting from feeding the cows and making sure the chickens were laying eggs. It even resulted in for Charlie getting to hold one of the chickens in her arms, and patting a cows head, that ended up in laughter when the chicken tried nipping at her.

Now walking through the backyard of their home, Charlie came to a sudden stop outside the closed barn where she left behind more memories of her past with their deceased best friends. Sine the accident happened, her nor Kate have been inside as they preferred to keep it locked away.

Charlie reached out her hand just before the wooden doors, pausing just an inch away from the surface and turned to her sister for encouragement. Kate gave a strong nod, followed by a warm smile that instantly boosted the girls confidence, and pressed forward the rest of the way.

As soon as the doors were pushed open, they were flooded with both happy and bad memories of their time spent in there. From the times were the group would laugh at something Praveen did, or when they all cheered coming up with another plan for chasing after a storm. It all coming flooding back, and it was close to swallowing Charlie whole if it weren't for Kate beside her.

She gripped her necklace tight in her hand, feeling the cool metal against her warm skin as she trailed towards the table, where all their old supplies were. Kate was beside her when the girl gently pulled the sheet from the supplies, and uncovered them all, it all being dusty from not having been touched for years.

The chickens cluck in the background as the twins scan their eyes around the barn, holding onto each other's arms as they do so. They didn't even hear their mother walking towards them, till her voice questions from inside the barn, "How you guys doing?"

"Just the way we left it." Kate hummed out letting of of Charlie's arm for a second, and made her way over towards the end of the table. She knelt down for a few seconds, trying to find something which had her sister confused watching her, but didn't bother questioning it.

"I've been wondering what you two want me to do with all this stuff." Kathy commented slipping off the gloves on her hands, placing down the can she had onto a table, and pulled her sunglasses off next, placing them all in the same spot.

Charlie fiddled with her necklace once more, lips pursing in thought as she looked at her mother who waited for answers from them, "Uh, I don't know Mama." She replied unsure, and her sister picks up a text book from the floor inspecting it, "I think Kate wants to throw it out--"

Their mother raised an eyebrow up at her youngest, swallowing the water in her mouth she sipped from the bottle in her hand, "Bear, they are your supplies also. You have a say too." Kathy reminder Charlie, who shuffled in her spot uncomfortable, "It's funny, I keep seeing more and more tornadoes and floods and droughts and the price of wheat an seed going up and up and up. But I'm still here."

Charlie's face scrunched up knowing their mother was upset with them not checking in with her, and how they ignored her for years. She slumps into Kate's side, who opened her arms and embraced her close, as she says apologetically, "I'm sorry, Mom. We haven't been good about calling."

Before anything else could be said, Kathy's cellphone chimes and she quickly pulled it out to see someone calling her, "I've got to get this, Uh," She scoffed and shakes her head at the girls sitting down, "'Throw it away'." As she was about to leave, she added on, "I'm waiting waiting for you girls to save the world."

This left the sisters in silence, and Kate pressed her forehead onto Charlie's shoulder, making the girl rest the side of her head against hers for a few seconds. Until they pulled apart to direct their attention to the little town they built together so long ago, "Reckon it still works, Bear?"

Charlie hummed softly at Kate's question, grabbing the controller off the side, and pressed onto the red button, hearing the soft mechanical whirring coming from it, "Oh, yeah. Still got it." She smirked watching the tunnel of dust rise, and the small wind current knocking over the mini houses.

"Built your own tornado. Look at that."

At hearing the familiar deep, accented voice, a loud yelp escaped Charlie as she almost dropped the controller if it weren't for Kate catching it. The youngest span around shocked to spot Tyler standing there, looking handsome as ever with his hands on his hips and a charming smirk.

"Ty, what--" She stuttered out not expecting him to be standing there, her heart beat speeding up more as he strolled over closer to her with a wider smirk, "Uhm, yeah. It was a middle school science fair project we built together basically."

Kate watched the two out from the corner of her eye, a knowing smile across her mouth as she quietly snickered and switched off the project. Tyler came up beside Charlie's other side, his elbow brushing up against hers, "Well, you must've won."

Charlie just sent him another weirded out expression, as she folded her arms over her chest and turned around to face him fully, "I didn't think you would remember where the house was." She huffed out a bit annoyed, and heard Kate's snickering behind her, "I mean, how did you found us if you didn't?"

He pressed his back against the wooden pillar beside her, and tucked his hands into his jeans pockets, "You wound me, sweetheart. Of course I remember." He fake pouted sending her a smug smirk, before he grew serious seeing her flustered state, "Uh, Dexter pieced it together. He remembered your names from the news a few years back."

Her stomach twisted realising he now knew about her past, and what happened that made her so closed off from everyone, and all that she loved doing. She felt Kate's hand grasp hers gently, a squeeze that followed and turned to see her sister smiling reassuringly even though it was strained.

"I'm sorry about your friends." Tyler finished softly looking between both sisters, before landing on the girl he loved last as his expression was sad and full of guilt, realising why Charlie was acting the way she has been. He wanted to know more, but wouldn't push till she came to him.

Charlie just flashed a weak smile at him, and swallowed the lump in her throat staring into his green eyes that were a sadder glint. Neither of them said anything, as Kate was wondering when they would kiss, but that thought vanished when Kathy came back into view from outside.

"I'm fixing some food. You three okay eating outside?"

Kate instantly agreed loving their mother's cooking, but had to stifle her laughter when both Charlie and Tyler protested against the idea, "Oh, no, Mama. He's not staying--" She stumbled out over his words, ignoring his gaze that she felt now gazing on her figure.

"He's staying, Bear." The mother ended the protesting, not wavering in her decision as she pointed a finger at Charlie in warning making her slump in defeat, "You can call me Kathy." She told this to Tyler who nodded smiling, "Girls, who don't you set up the table?" She added before walking out of the barn, going to get dinner ready.

Kate chuckled to herself seeing the deadpanning look on Charlie's face, and nudged her side towards the male gently, "Go on. Lead him outside." She encouraged quietly, and the girl was muttering protests hearing it, "I'll see you out there, Bear."

Charlie tried to grasp her sisters shirt as she skipped off outside, but she escaped before she could causing the girl to groan annoyed. She exhaled deeply feeling Tyler's eyes on her figure from behind, and span around with an awkward smile, "Right then, Cowboy. Let's go."

"Lead the way, Cowgirl." He joined in on the teasing, holding his arm out to her so she could lop it around hers, making their sides press together as he smirked down at her flustered figure, and together they began to walk through the barn towards outside of it.

Now they were all sitting at the picnic table outside where the sun was setting, and making the sky a gorgues orange hue, one that had Charlie pulling out her camera to take a picture of it. Kate sat by their mother, while Tyler was beside Charlie as he was talking to Kathy about his life work, sometimes eating off the plate in between him and the girl.

The youngest Carter looked away from her camera screen, once she had gotten a perfect picture of the sky and placed it back down beside her. Her eyes soften watching Tyler talk with her mother, his entire face lighting up as he did so and it sent a fluttery feeling through her heart, making her smile softly.

"That only gets you so far, and every chaser has to make a guess," He places a piece of meat into his mouth, one that he stole from Charlie's plate, and raised his hands up in the air towards Kathy, "and the good ones have an instinct for it."

"Oh, yeah. That sounds like our Charlie alright." Kate spoke up after the male stopped, a wide smile across her face nodding towards her sister who flushed under the attention from everyone, "Ain't that right, Mama?"

Kathy chuckled in agreement, placing her fork down to cross her arms over the table, "That is correct. She had that early on." She told Tyler who now looked even more interested with the conversation, "Always knew when the weather was coming somehow. No matter where we were, Charlie would see it coming before it even started. Even better than then cows."

"Wow, you hear that? You're better than the cows." He teased the girl who sunk more into her chair embarrassed, as he smirked smugly enjoying how easily she was effected by him still. He even reached over her shoulder to grab some more meat, making her stomach leap feeling his warmth so close to her.

Kate laughed a bit loudly, finding the situation amusing which made Charlie kick her leg under the table, signalling her to stop the teasing. At the same time, Kathy interrupted their playful banter, "That's a compliment. Got to have a feel for it." She says gently patting her younger daughters hand, who smiled up at her shyly.

"Now from what I remember, she always had a feel for it, huh?" Tyler was back to ask the mother once more, talking like Charlie wasn't literally next to him quietly munching on the food in front of her, while she looked back and forth between them all.

"Oh, yeah." Kathy chuckled amused remember one memory that's stuck with her forever, sending a knowing look to Kate who snickered, before Kathy looked back to the curious Tyler, "One time, I was helping her on the toilet--"

Charlie instantly sat up straight knowing what story she was talking about, and frantically shakes her head at her mother, "Mom, please, can we not while Tyler here's--" She gritted out weakly, lips in a thin line wishing the ground would swallow her up whole already.

"Sorry, hun. Maybe just a little." Kathy pinched her fingers together a bit, making the girl groan in defeat as Tyler grinned loving what was happening, "And we heard thunder in the distance, like barely audible, but she shot up before she got on the toilet, and ran out of the house naked as the day she was born--"

"Mom! Oh, my god--" Charlie whined out in protest, hitting her head against the table as she try to hide her face out of embarrassment, and felt Tyler's eyes on her again followed by his deep chuckle that made her stomach leap despite her being humiliated.

"And I had no idea where she was--" Kathy's words caused another laugh to escape Tyler, which made Charlie peak up from out of arms and was met with his toothy smile making her eyes widen, and heart flutter, "I was terrified. I grabbed Kate to come with me, and when I finally caught up with Char, she was standing in the middle of the wheat field in the rain, staring up at the sky."

Tyler ran his tongue along the front of his teeth, and leant back into the chair, arm thrown over the one Charlie was sat on, "I gotta try that out." He commented in a joking way, and raised his brows up at Charlie, "Think you could show me how, Char?"

This got laughs from the other two around them, but the girl just looked at him gobsmacked, her jaw dropped a bit as she felt her cheeks heat up, "Absolutely not! Will you stop encouraging her Ty? It ain't helping!"

"Keep your clothes on, Charlie." He shot back charmingly, bending his face down to got closer to hers which made her gulp not expecting any of that, "Let your mom finish. I wanna hear more about ya embarrassing stories."

"All I'm saying is, she always loved weather. Both my girls do." Kathy broke the childhood best friends apart with her comment, and the mother smiled at her daughters softly, which gained matching ones back, "Worse the weather, the happier the girl."

Charlie sat back in her chair knowing she was safe from more stories for now, as she fiddles with her camera beside her hand on the table, and watched how her mother's attention moved onto Tyler, "What about you? Tyler, how'd you come to do this work?"

The male pursed his lips in thought for a few seconds, and tapped his fingers against the table before his green eyes found his favorite doe ones already looking at him, "Well, when you love something, you'll spend your whole life trying to understand it." He answered in a deeper octave, gaze never leaving Charlie as he did so.

Kathy's sharp eyes caught something—something in the way Tyler looked at Charlie. It was subtle, the kind of look that might go unnoticed by anyone who wasn't paying attention. But Kathy saw it—the warmth in Tyler's eyes, the way his gaze lingered on her daughter just a moment too long. And it wasn't just Tyler. Kathy could see that same warmth mirrored in Charlie's eyes whenever she glanced his way, quickly looking down as if to hide what she was feeling.

The mother leaned forward, her voice bright and casual, "Charlie, Tyler, why don't I take a picture of you two?" She offered pointing at her daughters camera, a smile lining her lips at their confused stares, "Been needing some more photos around the house anyway."

Charlie immediately shook her head, her hand waving dismissively, "Mom, really, I'm not in the mood for pictures right now." She grumbled shooting Kate a small glare at her snickering, "You've already embarrassed me enough tonight."

But before she could say anything more, she felt a warm hand gently settle on her leg under the table. The touch was steady, comforting, and unmistakably Tyler's. Her breath caught in her throat, and she turned to look at him, her protest dying on her lips. His fingers gave a soft squeeze, and when she dared to meet his gaze, she found him smirking down at her, a playful glint in his eyes.

"One photo won't hurt," His voice was low, almost a rumble, and it sent a shiver down her spine, as his intense eyes threatened to drown her, "Right, sweetheart? C'mon, it's just me you're getting it with."

Charlie could feel her face flush with warmth, a heat that seemed to spread from her cheeks down to her chest. She swallowed hard, trying to steady her racing heart as Tyler gently pulled her closer to his side.

Her mother's voice brought her back to the moment. "Alright, you two, get ready," Kathy said, raising Charlie's camera to her eye as Kate stood beside her with a gleaming smile.

Charlie placed a shaky hand on Tyler's chest, trying to find her balance. She could feel the firmness of his muscles beneath her palm, the steady rhythm of his breathing grounding her in a way that made her both nervous and comforted at the same time.

    Tyler's arm slipped around her shoulders, holding her close, and she could feel the warmth of his body against her side, a closeness that made her heart pound even harder. It didn't help either when his cologne was invading her senses. He smelt so damn good.

"Smile, darlin'." His accented voice was right by her ear as he whispered that, a gentle crease that almost made her squeak feeling his lips brush up against her lobe, and tried her hardest to remain calm.

The flash went off, capturing the moment in a burst of light. Charlie forced herself to smile at the camera, her mind racing with the whirlwind of emotions she was trying to keep in check. As soon as the photo was taken, she pulled back slightly, her heart still pounding, while Tyler's hand lingered on her shoulder for just a moment longer.

Kate and Kathy huddled together, giggling as they looked at the photo on the camera's screen. Charlie, still trying to calm the fluttering in her chest, didn't pay much attention to them. She had no idea that in the picture, Tyler wasn't looking at the camera at all.

Instead, he was gazing down at her with the softest expression, a look filled with so much affection and love that it was impossible to miss. Charlie, on the other hand, was grinning at the camera, her hand flat on Tyler's chest, her side pressed against his, completely oblivious to the depth of feeling that had been captured.

It wouldn't be until later—much later—that Kate and Kathy decided to give her the photo. And it would be hanged around somewhere in the house, and inside Tyler's wallet.

❪ ✏️ ❫ 𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙳𝚂 : 5310
─►☆ AUTHOR'S NOTE :

yeah nah i didn't wanna write this much but i got carried away as usual since ive missed char and ty so much and didn't wanna stop yet LMFOAO 😭 thats why i added my own scene in at the end and im gonna try to edit the scene also so you guys can get a visual of it also cause im delulu and wanna see it come to life also so