Chapter Text
Rain beat down on the windows of 211 N Brecken Dr, conveniently covering the sounds of shuffling footsteps. The storm had rolled in late that night and promised to continue till mid morning. Charlie had planned on the sound of the storm to protect his movement within the house. The creak of the floorboards and squeaky hinges on the doors often woke his parents, giving away any sort of secrecy. He moved quickly, throwing anything important into an old backpack, before dragging his pre packed luggage out from under his bed. Tori had made a similar escape the year before. Leaving behind the life of the “Spring Legacy” to live with her partner Michael, successfully getting out of their parents' grasp.
Their mother’s business took off right after Charlie had been born, suddenly forcing them into the limelight. The Spring Family had gone from young parents making their way to the one youngest millionaires in the UK. Every single aspect of Charlie and Tori’s lives had been controlled from that point forward. Who they talked to, where they went, what they wore, even what they ate. Everything about them had to be perfect and pristine to the outside eye so as to not tarnish their reputation.
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March 29th, One Year before
Charlie startled awake early in the morning. Tori stood beside his bed, a finger to her lips, motioning Charlie to follow her. Her bedroom had been decorated to his mothers tastes. Pink walls, white curtains, everything perfectly manicured. The orange glow of the sun began to peak over the horizon, giving her room an almost golden hue. If it hadn’t been so early, and he wasn’t still regaining consciousness Charlie would have thought it was beautiful. Tori led him into her closet and pulled the clothes around them, almost making a wall.
“Victoria whatever this is could have waited till after 9 am,” Charlie rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned, longing to be back in bed.
“I’m leaving Charlie,” Tori picked at the skin around her fingers, avoiding eye contact with her brother. “In one week, my 18th birthday. They can’t make me come back once I turn 18. I can’t do this anymore. Playing dollhouse for our parents' sick and twisted idea of a picturesque family, I can’t be this person anymore, Charlie, I just can’t.”
“What? How?” All Charlie could hear was the deafening sound of his heart beating in his ears. His vision blurred as tears pricked his eyes and his throat got tight. The familiar feeling of panic filled his chest, and Charlie began to feel helpless. “Where will you go?”
“Do you remember Michael, from the rink?” Charlie nodded in response, the speed skater. Tori and Michael met at the ice skating rink their parents had been forcing Tori to take figure skating lessons at. They liked him because he had been training for the olympics, and if their perfect daughter was seen with an olympian the Spring family would be in the media again for their amazing “accomplishments”. “I am going to tell mother that he is taking me to tour their training facilities. He can “only have one guest” so I can’t have an escort, plus there is security in the building. What she doesn’t know is I won’t be returning from the visit. We’re taking the train to Manchester to stay with some of Michael’s friends, then we will be moving into a place we have gotten together.”
“Where? Will I be able to see you?” Tori looks up at Charlie and inhales like she is going to respond before closing her mouth again and shaking her head.
“Charlie, I can’t tell anyone where we’re staying. I can’t have them showing up trying to force me to come home. I will leave a note so they know I haven’t been kidnapped, but they can’t know where I’ve gone.”
“Why can't I know?” Charlie’s body shakes as he tries to control the tears that stream down his face. He scratches at the skin on his arms, trying to bring himself back down, to feel something real, with no avail.
“Charlie I can’t have them use you to get to me. You know how they are. I refuse to be their pawn. They treat us like fucking accessories Charlie. Kept in the home unless our appearance benefits them. Poor Ollie hasn’t realized yet, he’s too much of a loose canon, he's too young to be perfectly polished, but me and you? We’re only there to show how Jane and Julio Spring rose from nothing and raised the perfect children who follow every command, every rule, never a hair out of place, never an inch out of line. Can’t go to school, we will be too liberated. Have to have any friends we make vetted to make sure their association will benefit our name. Do you understand Charlie? I have tried to think of every scenario, but the best thing for me and you is that you can’t know.” Charlie nods, and breathes slowly, in, out, in, out, trying to subside the fuzzy feeling in his head. “I have something for you, so we can communicate, but you have to be careful, don’t get caught,” Tori puts a small box in his hand. No, not a box, a phone. A flip phone, with two numbers programmed in. T.S, M.H.
They sit in silence for a while, under heaps of dresses and pants that cover their heads, keeping their voices muffled, before Tori returns to her bed, and Charlie to his room. Charlie looks out the doorway for his parents, then steps out into the hallway. He hears Tori whisper behind him and turns around to face her.
“Start planning now. You have just about a year.”
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Thunder cracked overhead as Charlie disarmed the house's security system.
“Goodbye Charles Francis Spring.” A robotic voice spoke from the machine on the wall, causing Charlie to tense up. He listened for any signs of movement upstairs before making his way into the night. The cold rain made Charlie shiver as he walked down the street. The water on the road reflected the street lights and traffic signals, occasionally interrupted by the passing of cars. The deep darkness of the early hours of the morning was almost comforting. Normally being cold and wet and awake at three in the morning would have been his worst nightmare, but this feeling was liberating.
Charlie was supposed to meet Elle at the train station. Her mom, Mariam Argent, was a well known designer who took off after Jane Spring wore her dress to an event. Elle and Charlie stuck to each other when his parents decided to show off their perfect son. She was tall and beautiful, and most recently an up and coming model, and The Sun loved to refer to them as the fated lovers, brought together by their family ties. What people outside of his close circle didn’t know was his preference towards men, but while his parents claimed they were accepting themselves, they discouraged him from sharing his sexuality with the world. They always told him it was for his own safety, but he knew a gay son would ruin the illusion of perfection.
Charlie had planned his route for weeks, making an effort to take this walk with a security escort almost everyday, under the guise of healthy exercise. As he turned the last corner he could see the station's parking lot from the end of the street. Just a few blocks from freedom. Just a few blocks freeing him from being hidden away, made to feel like a burden for ever showing his own personality. Just a few blocks until he could see Tori again. Just a few blocks from being able to live as he wanted, live as Charlie Spring, not Charles Spring: Julio and Jane’s son. A car passed him quickly, splashing rain water up onto the street before pulling up onto the side of the road. A man stepped out of the passenger's side, and in the darkness Charlie could barely make out the stern expression on his father’s face.
“Charles. This has been fun, but it’s time to come home,” Julio’s voice was laced with anger and spite. His expression was unwavering, something Charlie had seen more often than he liked to admit.
He could feel a wave of panic, and turned on his heels to try and make a break for it. Behind him another car came to a stop, inside sat his security escort John. The rain that had been almost comforting before started to feel like it was drowning him. His clothes were sticking to his skin, his hair was dripping with water, and Charlie fell to his knees, sobs wracking through his small frame. He could hear the blood rushing in his body, and his head began to feel fuzzy from his desperate gasps for air. He had been so close. He pictured Tori’s face, she would have been so disappointed. The only person who really understood the life he was being forced to live. And Elle, who sat in the parking lot. They had planned to use the train station as a cover, make it seem like he had taken a train somewhere. She was going to drive Charlie to Kent, where her boyfriend, Tao, lived. They were going to help him, but now Elle sat waiting, worrying about her friend with no way to contact him. Charlie felt his body being lifted to a stand, but he couldn't muster the energy to fight back. His father dragged him to the dark car in front of him, shoved him into the back seat, and slammed the door behind him.
“Charles, I just don’t understand. After everything your mother and I have done for you. You know how much it wrecked us when Victoria left. Why would you do this? Your life has been so easy, and yet you want to throw it all away and potentially jeopardize your family's name. How could you be so selfish?” Charlie stared down at his lap, watching the rain that had soaked his clothes drip onto the leather seats. Lightning strikes, lighting up the gray sky, and thunder quickly follows. He looked up at his father, who stared at the road ahead of them completely still.
“Maybe if you gave a single fuck about what your children wanted they wouldn’t be so keen to run away the minute they turn 18.” Charlie sneered at his dad from the back of the car. The anguish he had felt minutes before manifesting into fury and hatred. His tears felt hot on his skin, his eyes burned, and all he wanted to do was scream.
“You will have constant security supervision. Another stunt like that could cost us our reputation. Tomorrow we will be adding people to your team. This will not happen again." Julio didn’t bother turning around to his son. His voice was calm and unwavering, showing no sign of emotion, and that almost scared Charlie more. The car pulled into the driveway at 211 N Brecken Dr and Julio Spring got out, leaving his broken son behind.