Page 118 of Love Me Steadfast
New ideas splinter off faster than I can hold onto them. Could this be about Nic? He hurt Morgan almost one year after he hurt me. I assumed that was the end.
But what if there were others? Like Ari and Dagney?
Did my silence enable him to continue hurting young women?
Dagney overdosed, but what if getting high was the only way to escape the pain of what he’d done to her?
I know that playbook from Morgan.
I told them. I’m sorry.
My god.
“Charlotte?”
I blink at the window over the sink. William’s standing behind me, a worried look in his eyes. “Sorry, what?”
He steps closer, the heat from his body radiating into my back. “You okay?”
I force down a swallow. “I’m fine.” It’s what I told myself in that hotel room.I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine.
But I’m not fine. I haven’t been fine since that night. Since Nic stole the best parts of me.
“It’s heavy stuff,” Will says with a sigh. “I’m sorry if it upset you.”
I try to give him a reassuring smile, but my lips feel frozen. “I should get going.”
The beat of silence behind me feels oppressive.
I glance at our reflection in the window again, then wish I hadn’t. His eyes shine with longing and the planes of his face are set in determination. He’s not hiding what he wants.
But I can’t give it to him. No matter how much I want it too.
Chapter Thirty-Six
WILLIAM (NOW)
WatchingCharlotte back out of my driveway shreds another layer of my heart because it’s a stark reminder that she’s free to leave whenever she wants. Last night changed things, I fucking felt it, and I know she did too. So why is she pushing me away again?
How much longer do I have before she drives away for good?
I run my hand through my hair and brace off the kitchen counter. Ollie trots over and leans against my thigh, gazing up at me.
Squatting down, I kiss her soft head and scratch her behind the ears. “How do I make her stay, girl?” I whisper.
Last night, I thought maybe I’d see that pendant I gave her all those years ago around her neck. Some sign that she’s held a part of us close. Maybe she still has it, but is afraid to wear it? Maybe she lost it. I tell myself not to be disappointed. It’s only a piece of jewelry. What matters is that she’s here now. And that she stays.
Because she’s still the sweet refrain I want to play over and over, again and again.
The front door opens and Theo walks in, gym bag over his shoulder. “Charlie heading to Thunder Mountain?”
“Later. She’s rehearsing at Crosby’s first.” Just saying his nameis like an ice pick to my fucking skull. I still don’t havethatstory. What happened between them? Why does he end up getting to be her friend while she kept my number blocked for five fucking years?
Theo sets his gym bag on the floor and heads for the coffeemaker.
“You got up early,” I say to cut the tension.
He pulls down a mug and fills it. When he turns, his mouth is a tight line. “What the hell is going on between you two?”
