Page 62 of Love in Tandem
Poor connection.
What if she climbed up onto the roof? Granted, that would require more upper body strength than she currently possessed. And probably more bravery than she currently possessed, since the spiderwebs in the corner beams were giving her a bad case of the willies.
But dang it, sometimes a girl just needs to talk to her sister.
Tucking her phone into her waistband and not giving herself time to think about spiders or broken legs, Charlotte grabbed the edge of the roof with one hand and a corner beam with the other, then jumped from the lip of the trash can with all her might.
After pulling at least three muscles in her thighs and turning her arms into noodles, she made it. “I did it, I did it, I did it,” she panted. She rolled onto her back and stared at the violet sky fading quickly to dark indigo.
“I am woman, hear me roar. I’m the conquering hero, hahaha, yes I am. I—” She felt her shorts. Her shirt. The tiles on the roof. Then peeked over the edge of the roof and whimpered.
“I’m the idiot who dropped my phone and got herself stuck.” Beneath her, next to the tipped-over trash can, in a pile of fast-food wrappers, lay her phone.
“Zach?” Charlotte called out. “Having a slight little issue here.” She waited several beats. “Can you hear me?”
The hoot of an owl answered. Tugging her legs to her chest, she wrapped her arms around herself. No need to worry. Zach would find her. Soon. Once he finished using the bathroom. Probably on his way now.
She peeked again at her phone on the ground. It sat dark and quiet. She couldn’t tell if the screen had shattered or if liquid from the trash had splattered on it. Either way, it would be okay. She’d just use Zach’s phone. Because Zach would bring it when he appeared on that trail any second. So what if she thought Zach had mentioned something about his phone already being dead? He’d probably just been making small talk.
Nice weather we’re having, don’t you think?
Yep. Makes me want to recharge my phone even if I don’t need to.
“Zach!” she screamed again.
Zach meandered down the trail under the pretense of finding a bathroom. Charlotte probably thought that entailed finding a bush. He didn’t want to burst her bubble, but so far on this trip he had never used Mother Nature as a restroom. So far he’d always been able to locate an actual toilet. But it was fun letting Charlotte think he was some type of Survivorman.
He followed the trail to a blacktop road. The entrance to the park had a map carved into a giant wooden sign, and if he recalled correctly, the road circled a small lake with trails shooting outward along the entire route.
Twisting side to side, he cracked his back. Survivorman, ha. It was going to take more than peeing behind a bush to survive this trip. He didn’t know how long he could keep up the casual pretense that all was well between them without raising Charlotte’s suspicions that there could never be anything between them. Period.
The last thing they needed was some big emotional talk that led to hurt feelings when they still had over two hundred miles left to cover. Which was why his main method of attack today had been to kiss her on the cheek. So far it was working. It conveyed that hey, everything is great between us vibe without allowing anything deeper to develop between them.
Unfortunately, he didn’t know how much longer his lips would continue obeying the order to stick to her cheek.
Which is why his other method of attack was to go on pretend searches for bathrooms so he could buy as much time as possible away from her. Then act busy setting up the tent, rummaging through the bags to make sure they had everything ready for the next morning, eating supper, using the bathroom, preparing for bed, using the bathroom again, checking the flashlight, and saying goodnight.
Stay busy, avoid close contact, deflect meaningful conversations. That was the plan.
He glanced at his watch. He could probably head back. By the time he finished his evening ritual, it should be time for bed.
A sign across the road announced a mile-long trail that started and ended at the same point. He glanced at his watch again. Maybe a quick walk around the trail first. Charlotte had mentioned something about washing up after she finished talking to her sister. Goodness knows he didn’t need to risk another repeat of the shower fiasco. One more glimpse of her like that and he’d never make it through the next few days.
Maybe he’d walk the trail twice.
What on earth could Zach possibly be doing? There were bushes galore. He should have found a bathroom by now. Several bathrooms.
Darkness encroached on Charlotte. Something grazed the skin on her shoulder. She slapped her palm at it. Better have not been a spider. She scooted closer to the edge of the roof. Maybe the ground wasn’t as far away as she thought. Maybe she could drop and not break her ankle. Or mess up the sutures on her heel. Or die.
“Zach!”
She just couldn’t risk it. Not when they’d made it this far. Not when they were over halfway to the finish. Not when she had a propensity for spraining her ankle just walking across a well-manicured golf course.
Where. Was. Zach?
Charlotte hugged her knees against her chest and forced herself to take a few slow, easy breaths. What did she always tell Sophia? Have faith. Things will work out. Even bad things. Scary things. Embarrassing things. Things like that night in the barn.
No. She scrunched her eyes shut, not wanting to think about that night in the barn. Even though it had worked out. Technically. She might have wet her pants first, but it had worked out.
