Page 33 of Charlie and Her Sweet Escape
12
CHARLIE
When was the hinge point in my life where everything went wildly off course? Maybe it was when Dad died, and my life split permanently into a Before and an After. Or the day Greg noticed me in seventh grade, when what I needed most was to be noticed. It could be after that first bird rescue, when the Forresters moved to town, when I first dared to imagine living in one of those huge mansions on the hill. What I wouldn’t give to go back to that moment and change something. Anything. To avoid feeling this this.
—from the journal of Charlie Savage
Bennett and Rosie had been acting weird since we got back to the townhouse. Rosie, lounging in the recliner, was way too smiley for the day I’d just had. And Bennett? He kept staring out the window like he might fling himself through it and run for the forest. He sat on the other side of the couch from me, hugging the armrest like it alone kept him from fleeing the room.
Maybe I’d finally found his breaking point, where my drama had become too much for him. Just because I was his sister’s best friend, we played on the same softball team, we had inside jokes, and he was taking care of my dog—none of that meant he’d signed up to watch me cry.
But inertia was working against me. Moving? Not going to happen. Actually getting up and leaving? Impossible.
I was curled up with my head on the armrest, a soft wool blanket draped over me and a sleeping Hansel curled in my lap. It was the perfect antidote to heartbreak. If only puppy snuggles could cure financial and contractual problems as well.
I wanted to fall asleep, too, and wake up to a world where my problems were magically solved, but the thoughts racing around in my mind, and the furtive stares and wordless argument between Bennett and Rosie, were making it impossible. Rosie gestured at me, and Bennett glared. Then Rosie aggressively pointed between me and Bennett and down at the ground, and Bennett closed his eyes with a long-suffering sigh and scrubbed a hand over his beard.
A movie no one was watching played in the background, and I snagged the remote from the coffee table and pressed pause. “What’s going on?” I sat up, being careful not to jostle Hansel.
Rosie paused mid-gesture—she was clasping her two hands together very pointedly in my direction—and said quickly, “Nothing. Ask Bennett.”
I slid my gaze toward Bennett, whose face was flushed. A spark of curiosity lit somehow amid the ashes of my emotions. I’d never seen Ben blush before; I thought he was impervious to embarrassment. “Bennett?”
He straightened his spine. “Rosie had an idea.”
“You’re supposed to take credit for it!” Rosie said, exasperated, and I could see the corner of Ben’s bearded mouth twitch into a smile, which in turn—to my surprise, given my mental state and lack of heart—mademewant to smile.
Maybe Ben hadn’t reached his breaking point with me yet. I hadn’t factored in that Bennett had a high threshold for drama and tears, honed over years of raising Rosie. Which made me even more curious about why he was acting weird.
“‘Rosie had an idea’ is a dangerous phrase,” I said, my voice rusty. “I’m pretty sure her last big idea resulted in our friends nearly being lost at sea.”
“Nearis not the same as actual. And they’re married now, so all’s well that ends well.” In a matchmaking scheme gone awry, two close friends of ours had faced their share of danger before realizing they were perfect for each other. Having it all work out only encouraged Rosie.
“Speaking of marriage …” Bennett pushed his hair away from his face, giving me a full view of his algae-green eyes.
My smile drooped. “Yeah, speaking of marriage …” This morning, I was engaged. Now, I was adrift. “You guys, cancelling everything is going to be a nightmare. And that’s the least nightmarish part of all this, but the part I can’t stop obsessing about.” I tugged the blanket around me tighter. I wasn’t even cold; I just needed the security.But I was still shaking.
Bennett grabbed another blanket from the back of the couch and tenderly tucked it around me. “I have a question for you. You can say no,” he said seriously, not taking his eyes off ofmine. My stomach dipped with nerves. “In fact, youshouldsay no. Jules would advise that.”
“Really, Ben?” Rosie said, exasperated. “I’m going to the bathroom. Call for me when you’re done botching this, and I’ll convince her to say yes.”
“Say yes to what?” I asked after Rosie went down the hall and shut the bathroom door.
“I think we should get married.”
I snorted, which felt good after being so sad. All of this lead-up just to make me laugh? Man, I loved the Forresters. In fact, the more I thought about it, the funnier it got. Plus, my emotions were a little unhinged anyway after today. “Oh my gosh. Can you imagine?” Why was I crying again? I couldn’t even tell if these were sad tears or amused ones. And maybe it didn’t matter—all this emotion had to come out one way or another. “It might be too soon for jokes,” I said with a watery laugh as I motioned to my face.
“I’m serious, Charlie.” He stared at me intensely, not a hint of mirth on his face. “I know I’m doing this all wrong?—”
In his pause, as I saw his thoughts gather in his eyes, my world tilted.
“If we get married, it will solve all your problems.”
I blinked, trying to get my bearings. “Bennett …” I let my voice drift off, not even sure what to say, grateful when Rosie marched back into the room and sat down on the table, triangular to us. She could be a voice of reason.
Bennett slowly lifted a brow. “I thought you were going to wait until we called you.” He seemed completely unbothered by this whole situation, which made one of us.
Rosie faced me and pressed her knees into mine. “Charlie, I can tell you’re freaking out about this, but it’s the perfect solution. You’ll still get to doMarried in the Wild. You’ll make the money you need for your mom. You won’t have to leaveWinterhaven and your job at the university. You’ll get to keep Hansel. And, best of all, you won’t have to cancel anything.”
