That light, that comfort and happiness that Charlotte gave James and everybody around her… ended rather quickly because of a woman.
A woman who was Erika.
The road home was sweet, it was wholesome, as Charlotte slept in James's arms. It was wholesome as he realized even more that he truly was a dad, that this little girl was his safe place, the one thing he could go to and feel human once again… but when they entered the house and James put her to sleep… everything changed.
The atmosphere became heavy once more, that steady, suffocating heaviness where everyone acted differently, like without Charlotte they were just as dark as they truly were, nothing more than killers, which was true, but it still felt overwhelming, and Erika didn't help the situation.
She sat alone in the kitchen, staring at nothing, and when James tried to talk to her, it only took a darker turn, to say the least.
