Page 152 of When Hearts Awaken

“R-Right.”

The video goes on for a few more seconds before cutting off.

I stare at the black screen of the laptop, the silence loud and heavy around us. Charles is stiff next to me, no doubt reeling from what we just saw.

Tears well in my eyes as a tornado of emotions hit me all at once—disgust, grief, and anger at what I just saw, which thankfully wasn’t the act itself, but it was enough that I know I’ll have flashbacks and nightmares in the coming weeks.

But then there’s also the crushing sensation of relief.

I have proof. Video proof and confession from Ian. Definitive. No lawyers can get him out of this now.

And…Alexis didn’t abandon me.

Silent tears slide down my face as I remember my best friend, the girl I looked up to as a bonus older sister who liked the same things I did, the girl who was fun, positive, and kind. The girl who loved singing, often humming songs I’d never heard of before.

“Little firefly, flying in the wind…”The memory of Charles singing the nursery rhyme to me when I was sick drifts to my mind. I cover my mouth. That’s why it sounded so familiar. Alexis would hum it back then.

My memories of her aren’t tainted.

She was true to me all the way until the end.

She was trying to avenge me when she got into her—

Smack!

Charles lets out an anguished growl, and he punches the floor with his fist.

“What on earth are you doing?” I quickly grab his hand, the knuckles swollen, blood flowing out of the scrapes.

His arm shakes, his breathing heavy and rapid. Then I hear it.

Tortured, restrained sobs. Even worse than what I heard that day when he nearly killed Ian in front of me.

Looking up, my heart breaks when I see the guilt and anguish on his face, the moisture clouding his eyes. His face is mottled, his body is throbbing with pent up tension.

“I could’ve helped you sooner,” he rasps, his trembling hand reaching out to cradle my cheek. “If I’d dropped everything and went to Firefly that day, I would’ve found out what happened, and you wouldn’t have had to suffer for years alone. No one by your side. You wouldn’t have had to poke yourself with needles, hurt yourself, hate yourself. I would’ve gotten you help. I would’ve—Fuck!”

Tears slide down my face, and I shake my head before pulling him into my arms. “You can’t blame yourself for this. You didn’t know. None of us did. I don’t blame you. Please, Charles, don’t take this on. What-ifs will kill you. I know that. I’ve been there.”

Minutes pass by as we hold on to each other, united in our swirling emotions and collective grief, and yet as the seconds tick by, I find it easier and easier to breathe.

The truth is out. All of it. Old wounds are finally being tended to.

I’m finally on the right path to recovery.

“I’m sorry, minx,” Charles whispers when we pull apart. He wipes the tears off my face and I do the same to his. “Can you forgive me?”

I shake my head. “There’s nothing to forgive.” Motioning to the laptop, I murmur, “We got there in the end, didn’t we? Ian is done for, and my best friend never left me.”

Charles tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear, his eyes warm. “God, I love you so much, you brave woman. To think I could’ve met you sooner.”

My lips curve into a tremulous smile. I close my eyes and kiss him softly before whispering, “We met when we were supposed to, when my heart was ready for you, and I’m thankful for that. I love you, Charles Vaughn.”

Groaning, he seals his lips with mine and I pour my love into my kiss, my actions speaking far louder than my words.

I truly believe what I said.

Perhaps it’s twisted how one little action, or inaction in Charles’s case, caused ripple effects to multiple lives, but I’ve long come to terms with the bad things in life.

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