Yesterday's Gone: Season One

end of the school year.  
    That was the last time anyone had fucked with her like that. Sure, some petty shit happened, but no outright bullying.  

    Once Callie heard Bob go back to his “thinking room,” she grabbed another spiral notebook from Charlie’s bag, and settled into the bed. This spiral was black, no drawings on the outside, and in neater condition than the others. She opened it and her eyes widened at what she’d found — Charlie’s diary.
    She closed it at first, her gut telling her not to read what she had no business reading. However, curiosity led to an inner debate over whether any real harm could come from sneaking a peek. Perhaps, she reasoned, she might gain a better understanding of him, which might help her find him. That seemed like a good reason to read, she decided.  
    She wasn’t being nosy, just caring.
    She found herself back in the pages which were dated a year ago.  

    Dear Dad,  
    I don’t know how much longer I can take this.
    Nothing is the same.  
    If you could see mom now, you wouldn’t even recognize her. She used to be so vibrant and happy. She liked to do things. She liked to do things with me. But now, Bob sucks up her time and energy like some sort of black hole.
    He’s a freaking vampire, sucking joy and happiness instead of blood. It’s like the lives we lived before he came along don’t exist. It’s like YOU never existed.
    Sometimes, I’ll mention you at the table, and mom will get all uncomfortable like it bothers Bob, so I ought not to do it.
    What the hell? She’s betraying you for BOB?!
    God, dad, if you could see him, you would just laugh. He’s nothing like you. If someone looked up the antonym of you in a thesaurus, they’d see this smiling cancer of a human.
    I don’t know why mom had to marry him.
    I mean, I could maybe understand if he had lots of money or something.
    I like to think sometimes you can read these letters I write to you. That sometimes you can see our lives from wherever you are. But times like this, I think it’s better that you can’t see us. You can’t see what’s become of mom.
    Or how I’ve let it happen.
    Love,
    Charlie

    Callie’s eyes filled with tears.
    She stared at the window, drapes drawn tight, and wondered where Charlie was. Even though she barely got a chance to know him, she found herself missing him more as she poured through his thoughts on the pages.  
    She fell asleep thinking about him, and how she had to get away from Bob as soon as possible, monsters be damned.

    **

    October 19
    Morning
    Pensacola, Florida

    She woke in the morning, Bob knocking on her door and barging right in. Confused, she looked up at him, realizing too late that she’d left Charlie’s diary open on the bed. If Bob noticed, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he was looking out her window. She slid the spiral under the blanket seconds before he turned back to her.
    “Pack your shit; we’re getting out of here.”
    “What?” she asked, surprised.
    “I’m not waiting around for those fucking things to come back. I saw two more last night, and I’m thinking we need to find somewhere new to go before more show up.”
    “But what about Charlie? What if he comes back? How will he find us?”
    “Fuck Charlie,” Bob said. “He made his coffin; let him lie in it.”
    “But he’s your stepson; you can’t just leave him out there to die!”
    Bob glared at her, “Listen, sister, I didn’t leave him; he left us . He chose to walk out the door. The boy never thinks about anyone but himself. I’m tired of everyone actin’ like I’m the fucking bad guy here and going ‘poor Charlie’ this and ‘poor Charlie’ that. Fuck that shit. His mom is gone. I don’t need to hear that shit from another bitch.”
    “Excuse me?” Callie said, now glaring back at him. She no longer cared to play along with his games. Let the cards fall where they may. “What did you say?”
    Bob’s eyes met hers, and for a moment, she was certain he’d take a swing at her. But like the bully he was, he shrunk back from a strong response.
    Instead, he smiled that bullshit smile that seemed to fool so many people for some reason, allowing him to skate through life getting away with shit no human should get away with. It was some sort of reptilian charm which seemed to work especially well with women. But not her.
    “Hey, I wasn’t calling you a bitch, I was just generalizing. Didn’t realize you were so damned sensitive. Shit.”
    She