Page 6 of Silent Echo

“I know, sweetie. How are you? Really?”

Charlotte sighed. “Shitty. But less shitty than I was two months ago.”

“I guess that’s something. I won’t try to pretend to understand. I know it’s something you never get over. I just want you to know that I’m always here for you if you want to talk about Sebastion.”

Hearing his name was so refreshing. Everyone tiptoed around it. As if by not mentioning his name, Charlotte could forget the pain. But they didn’t understand that she didn’t want to forget. It was like losing him all over again. She wanted to talk about him, to remember him and the joy he’d brought to her life. “Thank you. You’re right. I’ll never get over it, but I’m trying to regain some semblance of a life. At least for Harper’s sake.”

“For your sake too, honey. You deserve it.”

But that was just it. She didn’t deserve it, and no one would ever convince her that she did. She didn’t want to hear worthless platitudes about how she should handle her grief. But at least Patricia was trying. “I tried to pack up his room yesterday. I couldn’t do it. My therapist is pushing me, but it seems disloyal. Like I’m trying to forget him.”

“You go at your own pace. I don’t care what your therapist says. You’ll know when you’re ready.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that. Okay, enough about me. Tell me about this project.”

Patricia filled her in on the client she’d be working with. “They do custom book merch. They’ve been on Facebook, and I want them on Instagram too. You know, lots of authors there. You’ve got tons of experience with both, and they have a decent Facebook following, so they want to keep doing some ads and giveaways there. I’d also like you to create reels and grow their following on Insta. I’ll set up a Zoom to introduce you.”

“Sure, that sounds fine. I’ll check out their website and current stats and develop a proposal. What’s their budget?”

“Decent. I’ll email all the details and send over some times for the Zoom. Sound good?”

“Yep. Thanks.”

Charlotte felt a tiny spark of excitement. She was looking forward to the research and analytics that came with a project like this. After pouring another cup of coffee, she went to the room that used to be her home office. Everything looked the same. The only reason it wasn’t dust-covered was thanks to Enid, who came twice a week to clean the house. She opened the laptop and plugged in the charger. This was good. Exactly what she needed. She returned to the bedroom to shower and get dressed. She might even have a little breakfast before she got started.

CHAPTER FIVE

Charlotte hadn’t been on social media since Sebastion died. She’d deactivated all her accounts, unable to bear the messages of sympathy and, even worse, the trolls who made hurtful comments about the accident being a hoax. Now that she was going to be managing the social media accounts for Book Brag, it was time she plunged back in so she could see what had changed. She opened a new Facebook account, sending friend requests to close friends and liking pages similar to Book Brag’s. She did the same with Instagram and TikTok and began to follow accounts that followed them. Not much had changed on Facebook, but Instagram reels had become more popular than static posts. She was surprised when two hours passed while she watched reel after reel. No wonder it was referred to as a rabbit hole. She couldn’t deny the appeal of the rapid-fire promotions, catchy music, and colorful graphics. She had a lot of catching up to do. It suddenly occurred to her that rather than offering her the job because of her skills, Patricia might be trying to help her return to the land of the living. She sighed. She’d do her best not to let her friend down. She navigated to a search bar, looked up articles on current trends, and made a list of influencers and bookmarked videos to watch later. She’d promised Patricia that she’d have a proposal ready in two weeks. Now she wondered if that timing was too aggressive.

It was time to pick up Harper, and as she drove, she formulated her plan of attack. Spending the next three daysreading and watching videos would give her a solid enough foundation to begin. Then she’d analyze Book Brag’s top three competitors and compare their websites, followers, posts, and marketing campaigns. After that, she’d be ready to put together her proposal. Her mind was already exploding with ideas, and she felt alive for the first time since that horrible day. She had a smile on her face when Harper slid into the front seat. Her daughter’s face broke out into a grin.

“You look happy,” Harper said.

“I had a good day. How about you? School good?”

Harper shrugged. “School’s school. But I did get invited to Farrah’s slumber party, so that’s awesome.”

“Oh, honey, that’s great. When is it?”

“This Saturday. I have to make sure my present is really cool.”

“Okay, we’ll go shopping tomorrow.”

“Um, Mom, I was wondering …”

“What?”

“Well, my birthday’s next month, and, um, I don’t want my friends to see Sebastion’s room with all his stuff in there.”

Charlotte stiffened. “Why? What does that have to do with your friends?”

“Like, don’t get mad, but Hayden was over the other day, and she went in. She said it’s morbid. Like a shrine or something.”

The heat rose to Charlotte’s face. “I don’t want your friends going in there. Do you understand? And you can tell Hayden that it’s none of her fucking business.” She couldn’t stop the words from flying from her mouth. She never used profanity in front of Harper. But she was furious at the thought of anyone going through her son’s things.

“Mom!”

“I’m sorry. But Hayden had no right to go in there.”

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