Hart & Soul - Fatality

Hello, everyone!

We're excited to start sharing micro shorts with you every other Thursday—or, let's be honest, whenever we have enough spoons. 😊

These are little scenes and moments that don't always make it into our novels, but we still wanted to share them with readers who might enjoy spending a little extra time with our characters and world.

Please keep in mind that these shorts are not professionally edited, so you may spot the occasional typo or error. They're simply meant to be fun bonus content and a chance to explore our stories a little deeper.

Our first series focuses on Charlie and Brian's past. Despite all the terrible things Brian has done, there was a reason Charlie fell for him. Their relationship is complicated now, but some feelings aren't so easily left behind.

Join us for a glimpse into a time when the world felt a little less complicated, love came easier, and Charlie and Brian were just trying to find their place in it all.

Content Note: This episode contains language and video game violence.

-Madison Chase

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“Kill him! Kill him! Rip his arm off and shove it up his bunghole!”

“I’m telling my mom you said ‘bunghole’,” Charlie threatened from behind the couch. A devious smile curled her lips before she added, “unless you let me play.”

Ben’s friends twisted in their seats, but Ben was too busy smashing buttons on his controller to look at his baby sister. He was in the zone. “Do it and I’ll tell her you said it, too.”

The smile dropped from Charlie’s face as he threw that back at her. His friends smirked and returned their attention to the bloodbath on screen, going back to forgetting she existed.

Oh… she hadn’t thought of that.

“Come on, Ben, let me play. Please?” She tried a different tactic.

“No way, loser,” one friend said.

“Hey, only I get to call her a loser,” Ben said, his eyes flicking to his friend for the briefest of seconds before returning to Mortal Kombat. “Buzz off, loser.”

Charlie clenched her fists at her side. Her brother never let her play with him anymore. Ever since he started middle school and got actual friends, he was too cool to play with his little sister. Honestly, how cool could you be when you slept on Pokemon bed sheets?

The boys erupted in cries of victory as Ben’s fighter split-kick his opponent and ended the match. Charlie ducked just in time to miss one of Mom’s decorative pillows being thrown. When she looked up again, a controller was being held out to her.

“Here. You can play winner,” Brian said.

She smiled at him, but before she could grab the controller, Ben snatched it away. “Seriously? I don’t want to play her. It’s too… sad.”

“As sad as the report card you hid from Mom and Dad?” Charlie countered.

Brian tried to hide a smile as he turned to his friend. “It won’t hurt nothin’. If anything it’ll put another win in your stats. Everyone’s happy.”

Charlie wasn’t. She glared at Brian for a moment, offended that he counted her as much a lost cause as her brother did, but she didn’t let herself be mad at him for long. At least he was willing to let her play.

Brian was kind of nice. A lot nice, actually. Why he was friends with Ben, she had no clue. Maybe it was charity.

Instead of fighting anymore, Ben simply chucked the controller onto the floor next to the PS2 and clicked his tongue. “Man, forget it. Come on guys, let’s ride to the store and stock up on snacks.” 

Charlie watched as the boys lined up behind Ben, following him out of the living room. Brian looked at her apologetically, but brought up the end of the line. 

Ben and the boys were passed out all over his room, looking as thrown about as the laundry that never seemed to make it to his basket. Empty candy wrappers and soda bottles made walking through the room undetected hard, but Brian managed. Besides, if the noise that he was checking out hadn’t woken them up already, he doubted the crinkle of a Twix wrapper would. 

He knew CJ and Dallas hadn’t gotten home yet—he hadn’t heard the garage open—and Ben’s older sister, Jenna, was staying the weekend with a friend. Charlie had gone to bed hours ago, when she discovered Ben had eaten the last ice cream cone that she had hidden in the freezer. Still, something had woken him and he couldn't bring himself not to check it out.

Grunts and angry mumbles grew louder as he walked the hallway towards the living room. When he turned the corner, he found the TV on and the top of a brunette head peeking from the back of the couch. 

Her movements were jerky as she tapped and slammed on the controller in frustration. Over and over again her fighter was beaten to a pulp, barely even getting a chance to get a hit in before her health bar depleted. Sounds of frustration and impatience grunted from the little girl and Brian felt sorry for her.

She really did suck.

He watched as fighter after fighter dropped. No matter which one she chose, they barely lasted a few seconds against the computer opponents. After one particularly bloody Fatality, Brian saw the controller raise high in the air. He jumped, grabbing it as he tumbled over the top of the couch to land on his back beside Charlie's startled figure.

"Don't do that," he warned. Not in a mean way, like Ben would have done, but in a don't-do-something-you'll-regret kind of way. "One controller through a TV screen is all it takes to be grounded until your thirties. In fact," he sat himself upright next to her, "I'm pretty sure if you broke your dad's TV, your children would be grounded."

Charlie wanted to smile, because he wasn't wrong, but she couldn't fight past the tears of frustration burning her eyes.

"What are you doing, anyway?" Brian asked, trying to pretend he didn't see her on the verge of tears.

"I want to beat Ben," she said with a sniffle. "I want to beat him so bad that his friends make fun of him and he regrets never wanting to play with me."

"You want to humiliate him?" Brian asked.

She thought about it for a moment, then shook her head, drawing her knees up to her chest. "I just want him to think I'm fun to play with, too. He won't think that if I suck."

The truth was Ben probably wouldn't play with her even if she was good at it. Charlie was only a couple years younger than they were, but she was still the baby sister. He was too focused on being cool, and no one who played with their baby sister was considered cool. Not by boys their age.

"What if I teach you how to play?" Brian asked.

Charlie turned her head, laying the side of her face on the top of her knees as she looked at him. "You would teach me?"

Brian shrugged. "I can try. But I don't even think I can help you if you actually suck."

Charlie smiled then, and it brought a smile to Brian's face in kind. She sat up straight and snatched the controller from him, wasting no time. She hit start and the match started counting down. The first thing Brian noticed, aside from her impatience, was how her fingers were contorted tightly over the controller.

"First," he said, tapping the pause button, "you're holding it all wrong. Loosen your fingers. That way you can move from button to button easier."

Charlie loosened her grip on the controller a touch, but Brian quickly reached over and grabbed her thumbs. He wiggled them over and over until the stiffness melted away. It already felt so much better.

"Like that."

"Okay, then what?" Charlie asked, though she noticed now that her ears were burning slightly. His hands were much warmer than she expected them to be. Kind of soft, too.

"Tell you what," he said before hopping up and grabbing the second controller from the floor. "I'll take second. That way you don't have the computer kicking your butt while you're learning."

When he sat back down on the couch, he landed a little closer than before. She scootched another inch or two away. Her ears burned hotter.

"I'll even teach you some special moves guaranteed to give Ben a hard time." He grinned to her, a glint of mischief sparkling in his bright blue eyes. "He's predictable. Once you know his fighting pattern, he's easy to beat."

"So how did he beat you earlier today?" Charlie asked, genuinely curious.

Brian glanced at her and shrugged. "I knew he wouldn't pass the rock to you when he lost. So, I let him win so I could give you my controller."

Charlie stared at Brian as if she'd only just seen him for the first time.

This boy had been hanging around her family for the last two years. Ever since he followed Ben inside after a long bike ride and announced that their house was the coolest house he'd ever seen. He'd been in and out so often that he had become like furniture. When he wasn't laying around with Ben, he was checking out Mrs. Brant's crystal collection or breaking into Mr. Brant's study with her brother--another pastime Ben wouldn't let her join in on.

Yet, for all the time he'd been around, Charlie had never really gotten to know him. If she had, maybe she wouldn't have been so surprised by how kind and sweet he actually was.

But he was Ben's best friend. Why would she?

He chose Scorpion from the lineup, looking at Charlie and offering a growly "Get over here!" that made her giggle. It was his favorite fighter in the game. He always chose him.

Maybe she paid more attention than she realized.

The next day, Charlie waited until her mom went to the store and her dad locked himself away in his study before making her move. With Brian's help she felt like she had a much better chance at playing against Ben. Or, at the very least, had a boost in confidence, however misplaced.

Ben was outside with the boys, shooting hoops, when genius struck her. She knew that just asking to play wouldn't work; Ben would just walk away like he did the day before. Instead, she needed to give him a reason to play her.

Standing in the open doorway to the backyard, Charlie sighed loudly. "Ben, it's your day to do dishes."

"I'll do 'em later," he said as he shot at the basket. It missed and he moved to catch the ball before it bounced away.

"Mom said you need to get in here and do them now or you'll be grounded."

One of Ben's friends took possession of the basketball, and instead of chasing after him, Ben leaned forward with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. He glanced up at Charlie through a scraggle of sweaty hair. "Do 'em for me? I'll owe you."

Charlie scrunched her lips up, then glanced around as if she was thinking it over. "Nah."

"Oh, come on!" he yelled at her back.

Charlie smiled victoriously before vanishing it away and turning back around. "I'll play you for it."

Ben looked confused. "You hate basketball."

"No, not that. Mortal. Kombat."

Laughter erupted from the court and Ben grinned, shaking his head. "You serious?"

Charlie stepped out of the door, resolute. "Serious as shit..."

The boys’ laughter quieted slightly, though they were still grinning. Even Brian smiled a little wider behind Ben's back.

"If you beat me, I do your dishes for you," Charlie continued.

"For a week," Ben countered.

Charlie's smile faltered for a moment, her confidence at actually succeeding taking a sharp nosedive at the heightened stakes. Her hazel eyes moved from Ben to Brian who nodded encouragingly.

"And when I beat you, you do mine for a month."

Ben chuckled. "Look, I admire the spunk. But you're going down, Chuck."

The game had started out loud. Each boy laughed and hopped around like a crazed sugared-up bunny, taunting Charlie. It didn’t take long for their jokes to dwindle into silent astonishment however, as 10-year-old Charlie not only managed to dodge most of Ben’s attacks but had beaten him in the first round. 

“Beginner’s luck,” Ben claimed. “Don’t cry when I whoop you.”

Charlie glanced at Brian, smiled, then readied her controller. “I’ll save the tissues for you.”

They battled hard, everyone holding their collective breath in disbelief as brother and sister raged war on the screen. Both health bars depleted at nearly the same rate, but as Charlie looked as though she might pummel Ben’s Dairou to victory, he used his last Combo Breaker and turned it around. Two of his friends exclaimed in their excitement, but the others looked to Charlie, impressed at her sudden skills in the game.

“One more and it’s dish time,” Ben teased.

“I wouldn’t put the sponge away yet, Ben,” Brian interjected. “She almost had you. Maybe I’ll buy you some pink dish gloves.”

He grinned at his best friend who waved him off. One last round.

As Ben returned his attention to the screen, Charlie glanced at Brian. He made a movement, as though throwing something and yanking it back to him, then winked. 

The battle raged on, blow for blow and dodge for dodge. Only the ticking timer looming overhead seemed to be the real enemy as they each took their time chunking out their health little by little. Charlie remembered the tips Brian gave her, looking for hints her brother gave that would broadcast his next move. She just had to keep thinking a step ahead, waiting for her opening. When he gave it, Charlie pounced. 

Forward, Back, Forward, Back, X.

Scorpion took two graceful steps back, then threw his Kunai forward. With each grab, he ripped Dairou apart in a bloody show before snapping his neck in a visceral coup de gras. 

All hell broke loose as the game announced, “Fatality.” 

Ben shrieked and his friends threw themselves around the living room. The chaos of tween boys witnessing the absolute butt-kicking of their friend by a little girl erupted within the Brant household. 

Ben sat on his knees, his controller held limply at his side. “...How? How?”

Charlie grinned at Brian, “Beginner’s luck, I guess.”

Ben looked up, catching his sister’s smile and following it to the reciprocating grin of his best friend in the entire universe. At first, he was confused—still stunned in his defeat—but slow understanding crept into his brain.

“No…” he said. “No! You traitor!”

“You want pink gloves or yellow?” Brian said with a smug grin.

Ben was on his feet, jumping from the floor to the couch to stand between them.

“BULLSHIT!!”

“Benjamin Brant!” a woman’s voice shouted from the front door. All the kids turned to find Ben and Charlie's mom standing just inside the house, grocery bags in her arms and a look of disappointed horror on her face. “What did you just say, young man?”

Boys scattered out of the room, tripping over each other to vacate as quickly as possible for fear they, too, might see the business end of a butt-whooping. Ben dodged the other way, trying to use the cover of the chaos to slip away to his room and out of his mom’s reach. CJ deposited the groceries on the table as she followed after him. With the room cleared, Brian and Charlie stood alone, victorious in their scheming. 

“Thank you,” Charlie said, finally.

Brian shrugged, picking up the abandoned basketball and tossing it around in his hands idly. “No biggie. It was fun messing with your brother. Payback for wrecking my skateboard last month.” 

He popped the ball up on his fingertip, watching as it spun above him while he tried to keep it balanced. Just as he got a steady spin going, he felt a quick kiss on his cheek. In his surprise he dropped the ball, turning to look at Charlie with wide blue eyes. The basketball bounced at his feet before rolling away. 

“Fatality,” Charlie said before skipping away.