charliexwilliams-blog

[charliexwilliams-blog]

jiazhao‌:

It warmed her heart seeing the two interact. Tessa was Jia’s whole world. After her husband died, the young mother became even more protective of her little girl. Sometimes she may have even spoiled and indulged Tessa a little too much. It was hard not to considering all the trauma Tessa had gone through with losing her father and not even knowing what was going on. Not only that, but it was hard because at one point, Jia was terrified that Tessa was also going to lose her mother and Jia was going to jail and be falsely accused of killing her husband. Sure, their marriage wasn’t perfect and it had been deteriorating by the end but Jia loved her husband and he was a great father to Tessa, there was no way she could ever take that from her daughter. “See, Mom! I’m not annoying her, Tessa argued, causing Jia to do nothing more than just laugh. Jia then paused when asked what she wanted to talk about with Charlie before then realizing she chose the wrong words. “I mean, I just meant that it would be nice to have adult conversations,” she admitted and rubbed the back of her neck. The woman then laughed. “It is also the way to my heart, in case you wanted to know.” Telling Tessa to go get the ice creams, Jia then lead Charlie to the living room. “What movie first?”

Charlie couldn’t help but laugh at Tessa’s excitement over not being annoying. It was cute. The girl was cute. Despite feeling on edge and anxious having to come down here, it was as if she stepped into the apartment, that vanished. Yes, she still held some hesitancy being here and her wariness was present, but she couldn’t deny that Jia and Tessa had this way of making her feel so welcomed that she couldn’t help but relax into it all. It just felt... nice. She couldn’t quite describe, just that she liked it. Which probably didn’t help the whole ‘Jia is possibly a murderer’ situation. She had a more personal stake in this case now. God, she really shouldn’t have fucking snooped. Curse her and her inability to keep the curiosity at bay. To make matters worse, it was hard not to wonder whether Jia was flirting or if Charlie was doing some wishful thinking. Her face practically flushed when she was informed it was also the way to the other woman’s heart. “I uh, I’ll have to keep that in mind then.” She tried to play it off as a joke and perhaps it may have been more successful if there hadn’t been a slight tremble in her voice, but well, there it was. Her hands rubbed her cheeks as if that would remove the embarrassment she made of herself while being led into the living room. Sitting down, she cleared her throat and gave a little shrug, playfully poking Tessa’s side when the girl appeared beside her. “You know what, you guys decide. It’s your place. You should decide.”

[charliexwilliams-blog]

jiazhao‌:

Seeing the uneasiness in Charlie, Jia furrowed her brows and looked at the other woman in confusion. She didn’t get to voice her question though since her daughter came barreling in and greeting Charlie as if sunshine was coming out of her ass. “Oh, thank you,” Jia said with a small hint of a blush when Charlie commented on her outfit, soon forgetting how weird Charlie was acting earlier. Ushering Charlie inside, Jia smiled at how Charlie interacted with Tessa, finding it cute and heartwarming. Admittedly, she didn’t think the woman would be good with Tessa. The woman struck Jia as someone who wasn’t even all that good with adults, let a lone with a miniature human being. “C’mon kiddo, let Charlie breathe a little and at least let her take off her shoes before you attack her with a million questions,”  Jia teased and laughed when she saw the small pout on Tessa’s lips. “Am I annoying you Charlie? Am I?” Tessa asked worriedly but still stepping back to give Charlie some space. “Thank you for coming over. I desperately needed someone to talk to.” Leading Charlie towards the living room, she showed the other woman the set up for their movie marathon. “I have all the essentials and three tubs of ice cream for us.”

Was it hard keeping her head straight between the information swimming around and how cute she found Jia? Yes, absolutely. It was like this building crush that she was following was halted as she crashed into a brick wall. It was a good thing that Tessa was there to ease her. Charlie really liked the young girl. It wasn’t as if she really hung around a lot of children on her daily life. She had nieces and nephews, but they were all back with her family and she only got to see them during the holidays, or those rare moments her family decided to come visit her in Santa Monica. But she did enjoy Tessa’s company and it made her happy to know that the girl seemed to enjoy her company too. Charlie laughed and tussled the young girl’s hair. “No, of course not. It’s not even possible for you to ever annoy me. And we’re friends, so I’d tell you the truth.” She saw the smile on the girl’s face warmed her heart and just made this entire thing that much harder. How can she see the smile on her face and at the same time wonder if her mother killed her father? God, her head was going to explode. “Someone to talk to?” she addressed Jia curiously. “About what? Three tubs of ice cream, though. A way to my heart.”

[charliexwilliams-blog]

jiazhao·:

Jia was excited about having company over. She was elated when Charlie agreed to come over as she wanted to finally be able to talk to an adult. As much as she loved her little girl, sometimes it was just hard remembering what an adult conversation was like. Plus, mentioning that Charlie was going to come to visit excited Tessa quite a bit. The little girl saw the other woman as her best friend, someone that she could play with and seeing how Charlie was with Tessa, Jia was happy she found another adult she could open up to. Once she heard the knock on her door, she quickly jumped from the couch and straightened out her clothes before then walking towards the door. Jia could hear Tessa practically bounce from wall to wall knowing that it was her new favourite person coming to see them. “Hey!” she greeted the woman excitedly, eyeing her up and down, enjoying her look. “You’re dressed all fancy. Did you do all that for lil ole me?” she asked in a teasing manner, completely missing on the fact that Charlie seemed troubled. x 

Charlie was tense. Jaw clenched, shoulder straight kind of tense. And she was nervous. Like a shit ton nervous. The kind of nervous that made her almost want to pass out. Was she going to pass out? Maybe. It was entirely possible and as the door swung open, her heart did this funny thing seeing Jia and her stomach twisted rather uncomfortably. Giving the other woman a nervous kind of half smile, she shook her head and told herself to get it together. “What? This old thing? This is practically pjs for me,” she joked, trying to push away the thoughts of the case she had read over and over again. “You look really nice, though,” Charlie then added, downplaying just how cute she thought Jia looked. Then the thought of ‘there’s no way someone this cute could ever possible murder her husband’ crossed her mind. Which she also had to shake away. Her lips parted to say something more, but before she had the chance, Tessa came running over, nearly knocking Charlie down as she hugged the detective. Charlie laughed, immediately feeling every muscle relax. She still couldn’t believe that she had won the young girl over. Not that she had been trying to score points with Jia, but... “Hey, you. Have you grown since the last time I saw you two seconds ago?” she teased, making Tessa scrunch her nose and laugh.

[charliexwilliams-blog]

truth hurts | solo

Click. Click. Click. Deep sigh. 

Charlie could be awful sometimes. Being a detective gave her certain privileges and she may at times take advantage of that. Maybe it was some underlying psychological issue, but Charlotte Williams did have a hint of trust issues. Meeting new people was hard for her because she always had this need to new everything just as she met them. Probably explained why she was still single. She was married to her job and she used her job to fuel her trust issues. 

She hated herself sometimes.

But she really hated herself right now.

The thought of running a background test on Jia had occurred to her more than once since. For the most part, she had been able to stop herself. But truthfully, she was like an addict when it came to these things. She just needed to know. Information was at her fingertips and it was as if it killed her if she didn’t take advantage.

Charlie continued to tap her pin against her desk, chewing on her fingertips to the skin as she stared at the screen in front of her. The typing cursor blinked at the search section. All she had to do was type in Jia’s name and she’d get everything there was to know about her hot, mysterious neighbor.

But this was bad. Just awful. Jia was an angel. Sure she didn’t know the woman all that well, but just one look at her and...

Realizing her mind was wandering, she shook her head and cleared her throat, sitting up straighter as she focused back on her computer screen. This was stupid. It wasn’t as if she was going to find anything anyway. Hell, she’d be surprised if she found a ticket on Jia’s record.

Alright. Here goes nothing, she thought to herself as her fingers clicked away on her keyboard. She typed in Jia’s name and her heart raced as the screen loaded. It wasn’t a long report that flashed on screen, but in this case, it was what was on it rather than how much. Furrowing her eyebrows, the detective leaned in closer, reading the report that was on her file. Her heart raced faster and for a moment, she felt this odd twisting sensation at the pit of her stomach. This couldn’t be right. Shaking her head, she forced herself to read it over again. And then over. And then over one more time until she forced herself to realize that this was real.

“No fucking way,” Charlie muttered, reading the report that held the truth over what happened to Jia’s husband. It was an open investigation still, one of those cases that had turned into maybe they’ll get back into it because of how long the investigation had gone on for. There were a lot of unanswered questions and a lot of evidence that led Jia to be a prime suspect in her husband’s death. The coroner report stated that this wasn’t caused by some natural thing. He died in a way that led detectives to believe it could have been a murder. But this couldn’t be right. There was no way that Jia had anything to do with this.

Right?

Her hands shook as she quickly exited the report like it was something dirty on her screen. Shaking her head, she breathed heavily in attempt to calm herself. There had to be more to this story. There was no way that Jia was some murderer. She was so nice and so... not a murderer. But what if she was? What if Charlie was developing some stupid school yard crush on a potential murderer? Of course. This would be her fucking luck. Opening up the report again, she printed it out and gathered the pages into a folder before leaving the precinct.. She refused to believe what the detectives on the case wanted to believe. She needed to learn more and if she was going to do this, she needed every bit of information she could get. It was time to put that detective badge to work.

[charliexwilliams-blog]

@jiazhao

[ x ] Her heart weighed heavily with the news she had just researched. She should have never done this. She should have never gone and looked into Jia, but the thing about Charlie was that curiosity truly did get the best of her. Being a detective was a dangerous job when she craved information. It wasn’t that she was looking to dig up any dirt on Jia. Please. The woman looked like nothing but an angel. But... This was Charlie and she for sure had the habit of taking advantage of the perks of being a detective. That’s where the background check came. And that’s when she found out the truth about Jia’s husband. It was a heavy truth that she had been carrying all day. She couldn’t even go home. She couldn’t even sleep. She didn’t eventually to only have to wake up to some texts from Jia asking to see one another, even bringing up Tessa. A sane, smart person wouldn’t agree, yet Charlie was knocking on the door wearing one of the nicer pieces of clothing she owned.

[charliexwilliams-blog]

jiazhao‌:

It was nice having someone to talk to. Someone to have listening to her and having adult conversations. As much as she loved Tessa, Jia felt like she had pushed away everyone in her past life in order to protect herself and her daughter so the chance to even get to talk to anyone remotely adult was greatly reduced. She didn’t count the people she worked with and her clients, mostly because they were people she couldn’t push away and she could see the way they looked at her. Half of them looked at her with suspicion in her husband’s death and the other looked at her with pity for losing her husband. Charlie was her fresh start. A friend she could have that didn’t know anything about her husband or how he died. “That’s good!” Jia said with excitement when Charlie said that she and Tessa managed to make her feel less lonely. It was nice knowing that she managed to make someone’s life bright despite her own life being chaotic and a mess. Seeing how Tessa and Charlie interacted, Jia felt happy knowing that Tessa managed to get along well with the woman. It was the first time in a long time that Tessa managed to open up to someone. Before this, the little girl was sweet and kind and friendly but after her father’s death, Tessa closed up as well. “I think we should let you go, I’m sure you have a lot to do,” Jia mentioned and started to gather her things. “Do you want to maybe meet up with us for lunch or something some time?”

In all honesty, Charlie was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that the neighbor she had so rudely bothered while drunk was somehow here in her apartment doing something this nice. Either she was getting very luck in the universe or this woman was far too kind for her own good. She even felt lucky that Jia liked Charlie to allow her to meet Tessa. She felt honored. It was crazy, really. It was like after that mishap, she felt this strong desire to impress Jia. She seemed like someone worth impressing. Nodding her head slowly when the other woman talked about going, Charlie did feel a small touch of sadness. She was genuinely enjoying the company. But she didn't wear it on her face, instead smiling and nodding her head. "Right, yeah. Of course. I mean, I don't have anything to do. Me here in my pjs are my plans, but I know you've got things to do," she chuckled awkwardly and realized it, so she cleared her throat and stood straighter as if that would help her seem cooler. Then Charlie visibly lit up when Jia asked about meeting up again. "Uh, yeah! I would love to. Lunch. Coffee. Whatever. I'm yours." She smiled, her eyes lingering on the other longer than she should before she glanced away at Tessa. "Anyway, thank you guys. For stopping by. It really means a lot. Seriously. I look forward to seeing you guys again." She walked them out and wished them happy holidays and once they were gone, Charlie released a breath, smiling unlike she has ever smiled before.

end.

[charliexwilliams-blog]

jiazhao·:

It was still hard for Jia to talk about her deceased husband. She hated mentioning the fact that her husband was dead and feeling this need to explain how he died and how long he’d been dead. It was part of the reason why Jia tended to just allude that she was a single mother rather than explaining her husband died. People were less nosy when she explained she was a single mother. Smiling at the comforting hand that Charlie gave her, she couldn’t help but feel incredibly thankful that she didn’t ask any questions. The last thing she needed was someone to ask questions that Jia wasn’t all too prepared to answer. “I’m glad. I wouldn’t want you to be left alone for Christmas. I know it’s hard to be away from family, so I’m glad that I could help you out and make things a little less lonely. You’ve admittedly helped me too,” Jia revealed and blushed before running a hand through her hair. She could see herself being good friends with Charlie and Jia was excited about that. Tessa looked excitedly when Charlie admitted that the cookies were great. “Did you really? I-I added some extra sugar!” the little girl explained, making Jia laugh. “Yes, she did. I think she’s trying to give you diabetes.”

Charlie caught sight of the blush on Jia’s cheeks. She didn’t want to read too much into it because the last thing that she wanted was to develop some crush on a straight woman with a child. Jia was absolutely stunning, definitely Charlie’s type, which meant she really needed to be careful here. She couldn’t read too much into her dropping by like this. It was a friendly gesture. She couldn’t read too much into Jia not wanting Charlie to be alone for the holidays. Jia has proved to be a good person considering she helped drunk Charlie. So now she couldn’t read too much into the blush that so cutely covered the woman’s face. She didn’t know what excuse to give here, but she was sure there was one somewhere. Clearing her throat, she rubbed the back of her neck and smiled sheepishly. “Well, thank you. You and Tessa have definitely made me feel less alone. I don’t think I could ever properly repay you for that, but rest assured, I will certainly try.” She playfully winked at Jia before turning to the little girl. Charlie laughed and took another bite of the treat. “Some extra sugar, you say? No wonder these taste so darn good. Can never go wrong with extra sugar.” She turned to Jia and grinned. “I'll just make sure to work off the extra sugar.”

[charliexwilliams-blog]

jiazhao·:

Talking about her deceased husband made Jia nervous. She was terrified of how Charlie would react. She barely knew the girl but she was desperate for friends and Charlie seemed like the type of person who would be a great friend to her. she was great with Tessa and she knew that her little girl was fond of Charlie. Talking about her husband was still hard for her. She was terrified of how they would react whenever she revealed how her husband died and people starting to wonder if she had killed him the same way the law enforcements thought she did. “It was… hard for the both of us,” she admitted in a small voice, offering the woman a small smile and clearing her throat. She remembered the nights where she had to pretend she wasn’t crying for Tessa’s sake. So that the little girl could cry and not worry about her. “It was a hard adjustment but Tessa and I have managed,” she explained and smiled. “Anyway, let’s talk about something more pleasant, don’t you think?”

A sympathetic expression passed over her face and she tried to tone it down. She was sure that the last thing Jia wanted right now was sympathy, but she couldn’t help it. She felt terrible for Jia and Tessa. She couldn’t even imagine such an awful thing. Choosing to not talk about it anymore, Charlie reached over and placed a hand on Jia’s arm, giving it a light squeeze of understanding. She left her hand there for a good moment until she pulled back and smiled softly. “Like Christmas?” she presented, her tone lighter. “But really, thank you for stopping by. You’ve brought a little Christmas joy in this apartment today and I really appreciate it.” Charlie smiled brighter because she meant what she was saying. This was something unexpected, but truly something that made her Christmas. Considering the fact that they met after Charlie rudely came to Jia’s door all drunk, this was an act of kindness that no amount of words could express her gratitude. “And these cookies, my god. Absolutely delicious.”

[charliexwilliams-blog]

jiazhao·:

“Ah, well, I’m sorry you couldn’t spend time with them this Christmas. It must have been hard, especially if you’re so close to them,” Jia said with a soft smile, saddened that Charlie couldn’t be with her family.”They understood right? Why you couldn’t come? Sometimes family just get so bitter when you can’t visit them.” After her husband’s death, Jia had also gotten rid of the family that was bitter towards her for no reason. She didn’t have any time for this anymore. They made her feel like she was never good enough. “Sounds like you have a wonderful and supportive family then. Do you have any siblings.” Pausing when Charlie asked about why Tessa needed certain things, she tensed before turning back towards Charlie. “Um…” she slowed, trying to find the right answer. “My… my husband died a year ago. It’s been really hard for Tessa to adjust without her father,” the brunette explained.

Charlie couldn’t help but find Jia’s concern to be adorable. She didn’t mean to worry the other woman by revealing how she couldn’t spend the holidays with her family, but it did feel nice having someone care. “Yeah, don’t worry about it. I promise that they understood. I mean, my mama is still sad about it, but she gets it. And she supports me. That’s what makes her such a great mom.” Charlie smiled fondly to herself, thinking of her mom and her family, before she addressed her attention back to Jia. “Yeah. Siblings. Two older brothers and a younger sister,” she answered. For a moment, she worried that she may have overstepped some boundaries with asking what she did. Charlie would have understood if Jia chose to side step the question, but was appreciative that she answered anyway. “Oh. I am so sorry. I--I can’t even begin to imagine how hard that must have been. For you and for Tessa.”

[charliexwilliams-blog]

jiazhao·:

Tessa grinned and laughed as Charlie entertained her idea of a salon/bakery. The little girl would change her mind soon as soon as she started watching another show. Tessa had gotten the idea of a salon/baker from some show she’d watched and now she was slowly moving onto wanting to be a beautician instead. It was cute watching her daughter’s interest change constantly. “Tell your friends!” Tessa urged her with a grin before her attention turned towards the cookies and examining them. “When was the last time you saw them?” Jia was curious about Charlie and her personal life. Since making a friend with her, Jia wanted to know more about her, also because she was terrified that Charlie was going to ask about Tessa so it was easier to have Charlie keep talking about herself. “Yeah, we’re not really going to be doing much. It’s mostly a calm Christmas. Tessa needs it,” Jia explained. “Just bring some food,” Jia teased and winked at her. “Maybe some alcohol too.”

“Last Christmas season,” she admitted, hiding her frown behind a forced tight lipped smile. “I couldn’t see them for Thanksgiving either. Had a big case I needed to cover.” Her and her family were close and although she knew that it upset her mother whenever she couldn’t head home for the holidays, her mother did her best to still encourage her career. “They understand. They know this is important. So sometimes my mother sends me care packages when I let her know I can’t go.” Charlie cleared her throat, hoping she wasn’t coming off as boring. Despite being a detective, she didn’t lead that much of an exciting life. It wasn’t as if she could speak about her cases anyway. And for some reason, she wanted to impress Jia. Her cheeks continued to go red as the woman didn’t take back her invitation. “Well, if you insist....” She said, releasing a small chuckle and rubbing the side of her face. “I happen to have both those things so you’re in luck. But uh, how come Tessa needs it. If you don’t mind me asking.”

[charliexwilliams-blog]

jiazhao·:

The way the two were interacting warmed Jia’s heart. Tessa seemed to be hanging onto every word Charlie spoke and it was cute. Ever since her father’s death, Jia saw how much Tessa had withdrawn from everyone and mostly clung onto her. She saw the weariness on Tessa whenever someone would approach her, so to see Tessa open up to Charlie warmed Jia’s heart more than she could even begin to explain. “You will get discounts there!” Tessa said excitedly and clapped her hands, the little girl practically jumping at the spot. She could see how excited Tessa became at the thought of her nail salon/bakery being such a good idea. Of course Jia herself encouraged her daughter to have her nail salon slash bakery. “Do you miss getting to spend Christmas with your family?” Jia was thankful that her parents lived in California but she did miss her husband more than anything. “Yeah, after that we plan on spending Christmas with at home, hot coco in our hands and swirling candy canes with our hot chocolate,” she described her plans after her parents. “You’re welcome to join us if you’d like!”

Charlie’s face lit up when Tessa told her that she would get discounts for the hypothetical future salon/bakery. Now a part of her wanted this to actually come true when the girl was older. She placed a hand over her chest, a touched expression passing her face. “Thank you so much for that, Tess. You’re already my number one favorite salon slash bakery. Going to tell everyone about it. Bring all the business,” she told the little girl before looking back towards Jia. She released a little sigh and nodded. “I do. Pretty close with them, but it happens. I knew what I was getting into moving all the way over here. But hey, that’s why they invented Skype, right?” Charlie tried to downplay how much she missed her family, knowing it wasn’t doing her any favors to dwell on it. Then, when Jia invited her to join them for their plans, she felt herself get a little tongue tied. “I... Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to intrude or anything. Not that I don’t want to join, but imposing isn’t my game.”

[charliexwilliams-blog]

jiazhao·:

Taking in Charlie’s apartment, she was surprised at the fact that Charlie had actually decorated. Considering the woman told her that she was a workaholic, Jia assumed that the woman wouldn’t even have time to so much as get decorations. “You have a very beautiful apartment,” she complimented Charlie with a soft smile. Smiling as she watched Tessa and Charlie interact, she watched as Tessa’s eyes light up and Charlie’s compliement, the little girl nodding her head eagerly. “I did! I made it with mama!” she said excitedly, practically jumping at the spot. Jia nodded her head and laughed. “She’s always wanted to be a baker. She watches all of those baking competitions and has told me that she wants to open her own bakery slash nail salon,” Jia joked and kissed her daughter’s head. Her eyes then widened when she admitted to having no plans. “Really? Not even seeing family? Tessa and I are going to be spending it at my mom and dad’s. They’re excited for the p-r-e-s-e-n-t-s they got for her,” Jia explained, spelling out the word ‘presents’. 

Charlie smiled, finding the little girl absolutely adorable. The excited look on Tessa’s face made Charlie want to grab another cookie just to show the girl she appreciated them. Little kids weren’t something Charlotte spent any time with. Not even her nephews did she spend enough time with, but she liked to think she was okay around children. Taking another bite of her cookie and finishing it off, she then drank some of her coffee to wash it down. She listened to Jia explain Tessa’s life goals, she couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well, Tess, I hope that one day I can be a costumer in your bakery slash nail salon. Cookies and getting my nails done? Count me in,” she told the little girl before glancing back at Jia. “My family is too far for me to drop by and I didn’t ask for any time off these holidays. It’s okay. I don’t mind relaxing today. Made better now with these delicious cookies. But hey, that sounds cute. I hope she enjoys all of her pre--I mean all of her p-r-e-s-e-n-t-s. Is that uh, is that all you have planned?”

[charliexwilliams-blog]

jiazhao·:

Jia vaguely remembered Charlie telling her that she had no family in LA and that she was a workaholic so Jia decided to pay the woman a little visit and bring some cookies with her. Tessa, of course, was more than excited to be helping as Jia could tell that her little girl was someone who was going to enjoy baking. “Why thank you,” Jia said with a grin on her face. “We figured you could use a little Christmas cheer,” she joked and winked at her before taking Tessa’s hand and stepping inside with Tessa. Immediately taking off her shoes, she watched her daughter take hers off as well. Tessa nodded her head with excitement and presented Charlie her plate of cookies. “I worked very hard on them. I hope you like them!” Jia smiled at her daughter and kissed the top of her head. “Any plans for Christmas?”

The blink that Jia threw her way nearly made her blush, but Charlie recovered by holding her mug closer to her face. The hot steam of the coffee hit her face and she could use that as an excuse for the sudden flush of her cheeks. Settling her mug decorated with with white snowflakes to get into the festive mood, she reached over and took the plate, walking over towards the kitchen to set it down on the counter. She grabbed one of the cookies and took a bite, making an effort to moan to show the girl that she found them delicious. “No way, you made these?” Charlie asked as she walked back to Jia and her daughter. “This is like, five star bakery level good. You’ve got yourself a little prodigy here.” She smiled at the other woman, taking another bite out of the cookie. “Uh, no. No plans aside from marathoning Christmas movies. You guys?”

[charliexwilliams-blog]

jiazhao·:

It was the first Christmas without her father, not that Tessa had any memories of Christmas with her father, so Jia was determined to make it a spectacular Christmas. One where she wouldn’t feel so sad about her father being present so she did her best to make every day leading up to Christmas something memorable. “Will Martin like the cookies we left him?” her daughter asked, looking at her mother with wide eyes as she carried a small plate of cookies with her. Tessa was referring to the elf on the shelf that Jia had set up for her daughter to enjoy more of Christmas. “I think Martin is going to love the cookies. Did you make it with love?” she asked, to which Tessa nodded her head. “Then he’s going to love it.” Smiling when Charlie opened the door, she laughed and presented her plate of cookies to her while Tessa did the same thing. “We decided to bring some Christmas joy with you! Are you busy?” she asked. x

“No, no. Not busy at all. Come in. Please,” she said, stepping aside and allowing Jia and her daughter to step into her apartment. “You guys didn’t have to do this, but thank you. Lord knows I can never have enough cookies, especially of the Christmas kind.” Closing the door behind them, she quickly fixed her hair under her beanie and adjusted that again before leading the two into her living room. She hadn’t expected any company and truthfully, she hardly had any over. Charlie was far too busy to have any close friends and any semi casual friends she had, they usually met somewhere. “You guys look cute. Both of you.” Charlie’s eyes lingered on Jia for a second before looking at Tessa. “But especially you. Your outfit is great. Did you make these cookies?”

[charliexwilliams-blog]

jiazhao·:

Listening to the woman ramble, Jia nodded her head. Although her words came out a little slurred, she understood what Charlie was saying and felt her pain. It came as no secret that Jia was a bit of a workaholic. She needed to be if she wanted to keep her and her daughter afloat and living in a nice apartment since she was the only source of income and a lot of her husband’s money was still tied up with the bank while she tried to clear her name. It was ironic though that the woman who would end up at her doorstep was a detective. If only she knew the legal troubles that Jia was in. Laughing when the woman realized that she was telling Jia her life, Jia just shook her head and gave her a reassuring smile. Truth be told, it was nice having an adult conversation with someone outside of work and just talking in general. She missed it. “It’s honestly just refreshing not having to baby talk about Pepa Pig,” Jia admitted and rubbed the back of her neck. “It’s hard. I know that my daughter is young but I can see that she misses her daughter dearly.” It was easy to see the sadness in Tessa’s eyes as she wore her heart on her sleeve. The little girl was expressive and she knew that her father’s death affected her deeply. Stepping back once she was in front of Charlie’s place, Jia laughed and shook her head. “As much as I would love to stay and chat some more, my little girl is waiting for me. I’ll… I’ll see you around?”

Charlie snorted as she laughed before she gestured her hand towards herself. “If you ever want an adult to talk Pepa Pig with, I’ve got nephews who have taught me enough to hold a conversation,” she slurred, small pauses in between her speech. She laughed at her own joke before clearing her throat, suddenly aware of how embarrassing she was being in front of Jia. Though, she was sure she’s been an embarrassment all night. Her smile then slowly faded when Jia mentioned her daughter, the somber tone in her voice evident even for someone as drunk as Charlie. Hearing about how her daughter missed her father made Charlotte feel sad for them both. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what that must feel like. “Oh, I’m so sorry. That must be so hard,” she said softly, reaching over to place a sympathetic hand over Jia’s before quickly retracting it. Drunk Charlie had no sense of boundaries and she had to remind herself that Jia didn’t even know her. A touch could be unwelcomed. “Um, sorry. And you’re right. Yeah, I know. Can’t keep that little girl waiting. Thanks again, you know, for all--” She gestured to herself and whirled her finger around before tapping her door. It probably made no sense to Jia, but made all the sense to her. “See you around. Hopefully.” Charlie waved at the other woman before closing the door, a smile overtaking her features.

end.

[charliexwilliams-blog]

@jiazhao

[ x ] Charlie’s family was back in Michigan and she didn’t have the time to fly over to spend the holidays with them this year. Work was busier than ever. As sad as she was, she didn’t totally mind spending this time of the year by herself. At least, she was good at avoiding that longing feeling of wanting someone special to kiss under the mistletoe. After making her coffee, she blew on it to cool it down, her back leaning against her counter as she stared at her bare little Christmas tree. Taking careful sips of the hot liquid, she raised her eyebrows when she heard the doorbell go off. Clad in her pjs, she was half tempted to ignore it, but ultimately decided to go over anyway. Answering the door, she was surprised to see Jia and her daughter on the other side. “Oh my god. Hello. Don’t you two look cute with your cute little cookies. And here I am looking like a total mess. Ha,” she said to ignore her flushing cheeks and hiding behind her mug.

[charliexwilliams-blog]

jiazhao·:

Raising a brow in curiosity and slight surprise when Charlie burst out laughing, Jia had to admit, she wasn’t expecting the woman to laugh the way that she did over a simple question. She must have been very terrible in love if she got that kind of reaction out of her. Though Jia wasn’t one to judge considering the status of her relationship and the fact that her husband had died. Maybe Jia was just unlucky in life, period. She listened carefully to everything that Charlie was saying before looking at her with a raised brow. “Do you work too much?” she couldn’t help but ask but she couldn’t fault the woman. Jia too worked too much. She even brought work home so that when Tessa was asleep, Jia would go through some of the manuscripts. There were even times where she pulled an all nighter because she needed to reach a deadline. “It kind of is weird. Like the poor child will never really have it’s parents together and it’ll just constantly be going between homes,” Jia said with a shrug. When the finally reached her place, Jia couldn’t help but admit she felt rather saddened by it, mostly because she missed having adult conversations.”

At the question, Charlie let out a puff of air as if she were thinking about it. “Depends on who you’d ask. My boss would say there’s always more to do, but my ex... Well, I already explained it. I think I work normal amounts, y’know?” Charlie made a random gesture that was meant to emphasize her point, but really was just her waving her fingers around. “I love my job. I’m a detective and I’m so good at it. Sometimes I do like to bury myself in work. Bring work home and all that, but if I had someone at home that was worth it, then that’d be a different story.” She shrugged and then looked at Jia before giggling. “Oh, shit. I’m telling you my life story. Sorry ‘bout that.” Sober, she wasn’t this into sharing about her life. With this much alcohol in her system, she couldn’t turn it off. “Yeah, it is gonna be weird for that child. Two of everything, back and forths. But what do I know? I don’t know children. I mean, I don’t know any children.” Charlie laughed again, this time not even completely sure why. Once she was right in front of her door, she tapped it and frowned in disappointment. She may have embarrassed herself in front of Jia, yet she didn’t want to leave. What if she couldn’t remember her in the morning? What if she’d never see this beautiful woman again? Facing Jia, she cleared her throat. “Um... Thank you. Did you want to come in? No, wait. Sorry, that’s stupid. Your daughter is waiting.”