Page 84 of Love in Tandem
“It’s going to be okay.”
Charlotte shook her head. Zach had been murmuring that phrase as he held her for the past five minutes. Right after he’d led her to the back of the gas station, away from truckers and bikers and nosey snackers. But he was wrong. Dead wrong. It wasn’t going to be okay.
“Tell me again what Sophia said.”
Charlotte pushed out of Zach’s arms and paced next to the brick wall. “I don’t know. She was crying too hard to make everything out in her voice mail. But I caught enough to know my mom isn’t doing well. Sophia said something about her having to go to the hospital. I had a text message from my dad saying she’s fine and not to worry, but I know he’s just saying that so I won’t freak out. But I am freaking out. I need to get to North Carolina, and I don’t know how because—” Her voice hitched. “There’s no money. Sophia said Hopkins never planned to hand over twenty-five thousand dollars, let alone two hundred fifty thousand dollars. There’s no prize. None. This whole thing was a mistake.”
Of all the things Sophia had told her, Charlotte was ashamed to say that was what had punched her in the gut more than anything. No money. How could there not be any money? The whole point of this bike ride had been to win that money. How could it have never existed in the first place? “I don’t understand any of this.”
Zach reached for her, but Charlotte pushed him away. She needed space. She needed answers. She needed to get away from this stupid gas station. She kicked an empty, greasy fast-food sack onto a patch of dried grass separating the back parking lot from the drive-through. “How did I get this so wrong?”
“You didn’t get anything wrong.”
“No? Then tell me what I’m doing at a gas station in Louisiana right now. Tell me why I spent two thousand dollars on a tandem bicycle I never wanted.” More tears rolled down her cheeks. “Tell me how these past ten days weren’t a complete waste of time for me—or you. Which I’m honestly really sorry about. I never should have dragged you into this.”
“Aw, Charlotte, don’t talk like that.” He reached for her hand. “We’ll figure something out. Keep the faith, right?”
She folded her arms across her chest and backed away from his touch. “My mom’s in the hospital and I can’t even afford a plane ticket to get to her right now. So you can save the rah-rah speech about keeping the faith. I’m done with that. You’re not the only one tired of having God yank the rug out from under your feet.”
Zach gripped her shoulders, forcing her to stand still and face him. “Listen, I know it feels awful right now. Trust me. I get it. I’ve been there. In fact, up until this bike trip, I’d say I was still there. But . . . I was wrong.”
“Great. Wonderful. Now you can be the one to start hosting revivals with the squirrels.”
“I’m serious, Charlotte.”
“Sure you are. Until next week when you change your mind again.”
She tried stepping around him, but he blocked her path. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh c’mon, Zach. You never see anything through, and you know it.” Now really wasn’t the time to be picking fights with Zach, but seriously, couldn’t they just be on the same page for once?
“Name an example.”
He asked for it. She lifted her voice to be heard over a classic rock song blaring from a car radio in the drive-through behind them. “Okay. Does dropping out of college after one semester ring a bell?”
“That was years ago. Name another example.”
“Zach, in the past five years, you’ve changed jobs more often than you’ve changed underwear.”
“I change my underwear every day, so you know that’s not true.”
“Fine. How about asking Shannon to elope with you, then apparently realizing later you never loved her.”
“That’s . . . sort of true.”
“Two days ago you said you loved me.”
“That’s absolutely true.”
“Is it? Because so far I haven’t heard you mention a single word about changing your plans from going to California so you can move back to Illinois with me.” And honestly, she didn’t blame him one bit. He shouldn’t change his plans. Not when he had such a great opportunity waiting for him. Better than any opportunities he’d find waiting for him back in Bailey Springs, that was for sure.
The music faded as the car drove away, Zach staring at her with his lips pressed together, the only sound between them an empty plastic bottle skittering across the pavement. His shoulders sank as he exhaled a deep breath. “I’ll admit it’s complicated. I have the perfect job opportunity in California, but no you. In Illinois I have you and . . . well, that’s about it. So yeah. I might need some time to figure things out.”
Charlotte trapped another roaming trash bag with her foot, then smashed it into the overflowing trash bin that smelled about as good as her life right now. “There’s nothing to figure out. Don’t you see? We’re finally on the same page. You need to go to California. You know you’ll never be happy stuck in Bailey Springs with me. Because that’s exactly what I am, Zach. I don’t know what’s going on with my mom, but . . . I’m stuck.”
The last word cracked and a rush of tears fell down her face. Zach tugged her into his arms. And this time he didn’t try telling her it was going to be okay.
ONE WEEK LATER
