Page 45 of Shadowing Charlotte
"It's different…" I muttered, burying my face in her chest.
"No… No, it's not…" She combed her fingers through my damp hair.
Chapter thirty-nine
Charlotte
Ishifted restlessly, blinking against the morning light and straining my ears. For a moment, I thought I heard a car honk outside. Lex was asleep beside me, his dark hair hanging over his eyes. I smiled, shifting beneath the covers and burying my face against his bare chest. The steady rhythm of Alexander's heart quickly lulled me back to sleep.
"Charlotte Reneé Emmerson!" My eyes flew open, and I bolted upright, my back ramrod straight as I yanked the sheets up to cover myself.
"Oh, fuck…" I breathed as I stared up at my father standing in the doorway. Lex rolled over, rubbing his eyes, going rigid as he looked up.
"Get dressed and get your ass in the living room. Now." Daddy commanded, slamming the door closed behind him.
"Fuck, fuck, Fuck!" I whispered, raking my fingers through my hair in panic. He was going to kill me.
"Charlie, baby, relax."
"He's not supposed to be here!" I replied my voice coming out shrill. "I was going to tell him when—"
"I know… But he's here now," Lex answered calmly. "So, get dressed, and we can go talk to him." My hands shook as I rifled through my drawers and pulled on a t-shirt and sweatpants.
"Give me a minute to gauge his reaction before you go out there. I don't need you to be murdered by my dad." My voice quivered, my heart sitting in the base of my throat like a dry swallowed pill. Lex nodded, reaching over the side of the bed for his clothes asI stepped into the hall and closed the door behind me. "Hi, Daddy…" I whispered as I padded into the living room.
"Don't 'hi, Daddy' me, Charlotte!" my father snapped, his eyes blazing as he stared at me. "Why don't you explain to me what the fuck is going on? Why you have a man in my fucking house?" he demanded.
"Well…" I hesitated for only a moment, "he's my boyfriend, Daddy."
"Got over Adam rather quickly," he commented sarcastically.
"That's not fair. You know what Adam did. And Alexander—"
"Yes, Charlotte. Tell me about Alexander and how you wound up in bed with the same person who bought my car." The venom in his tone made me cringe, but I didn't look away. "You called me, asking about him," he recalled suddenly.
"Well, yeah. I ran into Alexander at the smoothie shop, and I recognized the car." A half-truth. "I didn't catch his name, but I found him on Facebook. We started dating a little while after…" Truth, even if I had left out some key details.
"Don't you think he's too old for you?" The question hit me like a freight train, voicing the same concern that had bothered me for so long.
"He's twenty-six, Daddy." Was I reasoning with my father or trying to reassure myself that the age difference was unimportant?
"Twenty-seven in three weeks," Alexander interjected, suddenly appearing behind me. "Mr. Emmerson…" he greeted, sounding completely unrattled by the situation, "It's good to see you again, sir." Lex offered his hand and Daddy shook it, but the sour look remained on his face.
"How are you treating my baby?" he asked, his hold on Alexander's hand tightening.
"The Camaro, or Charlotte?" Lex countered with a crooked smirk. I sucked in a horrified breath, only releasing it when the corners of Daddy's mouth twitched. "I can assure you, sir, both are in good hands."
"They better be. The last thing she needs is another—"
"Daddy, can we not?" I grimaced, crossing my arms defensively over my chest. "Alexander already knows about Adam and I don't want to spend another second talking about it."
"Maybe we should, Charlie," Lex replied, glancing at me. "Adam was here yesterday." I bit back an expletive, glaring at Lex. "That's actually why I've been sleeping over. I'm worried about his obsession with your daughter."
I couldn't hold back a snort of disbelief. Lex was the last person who should have been allowed to talk about anyone's obsession with me.
Daddy glanced as me, sighing. "I never liked that kid from the first. He was polite enough, but… Something about him…"
"He'sjust being an asshole," I protested, hating the way they were leaving me out of the conversation. "He paid for all the damages—"
