21. Chapter 18
A t least I know he’s alive. Hearing Charlie talk about how he cried for hours on her friend Opal’s couch doesn’t make me feel any better about my decision to marry Charlie. In fact, it makes me feel worse than when I told Henry I never loved him.
All I want is to walk to the counter and grab his stupid fucking face and kiss him until he’s putty, and then… I’d find another way to hurt him all over again, and the fact that my family’s safety hinges on this marriage stops me from doing exactly that. But I can’t stop myself from staring.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Charlie’s snickering brings me out of my thoughts and back to the present matter at hand. “Taken.”
I shake my head and return my gaze to Charlie, “Yeah, by you and your sociopathic family.”
She leans across the table, stopping mere inches from my face, and says, “Let’s you and I get one thing straight. I am not my family, and I have no intentions of marrying anyone, let alone you.”
I scoff, “Okay, so what exactly are we doing here?”
“I’m so glad you asked,” leaning back into her seat as the other guy working the cafe with Henry delivers our tray of food. He not so gently puts the tray down while looking at me and huffs before walking away. “Ooookay, that’s unusual for Koda,” Charlie muses.
“I’ve made a fan,” I grumble, watching him walk up to Henry and lay his hand across his back.
Consoling him.
I have to grip the sides of my chair to stay in it because if I don’t, the results may be catastrophic. I have no right to be angry that someone else is showing Henry affection, but I don’t have to fucking like it, either. Ripping my gaze away from them, I focus back on my betrothed .
“I’d say so did Henry,” Charlie laughs and unwraps her sandwich. Taking a generous bite, she chews until she’s swallowing down the pieces. “Like I said, I have an idea. We pretend to date and make appearances, but you’re free to do whatever it is you do, and you don’t ever ask me what I’m doing. Once my father realizes he’s made a mistake offering me up, he’ll want to arrange a meeting with your precious Creed.”
I nearly drain my bottle of water while she lays all of that out, seemingly in one breath. “And you’re sure your father will just change his mind?”
Her elbows land on the table, and she cradles her head on top of her hands. “Oh, I know he will. Once he sees how dysfunctional your family is, he won't want to do business with you.”
My laugh slips out before I can help it, “ My dysfunctional family? What about yours? Using an archaic tradition to gain footholds where they aren’t needed.”
“Again, not going to happen,” she shakes her head, still resting on her palms, and adds, “I’ve seen you two,” she points between me and Henry, “orbiting around each other with longing looks and sad eyes. Then there’s the hot twin who looked like he saw a ghost at my party, and the other twin looks like he’s got a stick up his ass twenty-four-seven. So yeah, I’d say I’ve seen enough dysfunction.”
Her description of Talon makes me chuckle, which I try to hide behind my water, “Don’t let Tal hear you say that.”
The mention of Talon gives me a pang in my chest. He still won't speak to me, and leaves the room any time I come in.
She shrugs as if she’s not worried and continues, “Look, I know this wasn’t in your plans for your freshman year, but by Christmas, I’ll have this engagement broken off and never to be spoken of again. All you have to do is follow my lead, and Pretty Boy?”
Eyes rolling, I raise my eyebrows for her to go on.
“What you do behind closed doors is none of my business, but please keep your dick away from anyone when in plain sight. This won’t work if my father doesn’t believe we are cooperating.”
I growl.
Like my dick would work for anyone except Henry anyway.
I drop Charlie off at her dorm and head back to mine. I need to check on Toby, make sure he’s okay since Salem’s back. I still can’t believe she’s alive, not that I wanted her to be dead.
I’ve never seen two people with such a deeply ingrained connection like I had with Henry other than Toby and Salem.
Of course, at eleven years old, it wasn’t a physical attraction. It was something soul-deep that couldn’t be wrenched out of your body no matter how hard you tried. I would know.
Listening before knocking on the twins' door–one can never be too careful–I figure it’s safe when no noises of pleasure flow through the wood. Footsteps sound behind the door, and a groan follows
“Who’s it?”
“Me, are you sleeping?” Incredulousness isn’t my forte, and it comes out more accusatory.
Toby blinks his eyes a few times after he’s thrown open the door, wearing only a pair of boxers and socks. “Yep,” his voice is groggy, his hair’s messy, and I debate walking away. Toby could fall asleep standing up if you’d let him, but his eyes clear the moment they connect with mine. “Did you hear from Henry?”
His question short circuits my brain for a moment, seeing him for the first time in three days. Like I haven’t gone that long without seeing him before.
“I saw him.”
Toby pulls me into his room with renewed vigor and demands I explain myself. Toby’s mood plummets after I tell him about my interaction with Henry at the cafe. Though he’s particularly interested in finding out about Charlie being the woman I’ve agreed to marry in order to keep Fern safe. I didn’t tell him about our plan, or rather her plan.
“Charlie?” He questions for the third time.
“Yeah, Charlie.”
“But she’s… fun.” He pouts.
“And?” I’m not sure what his deal is.
“Well, I mean, you and Tal look like mafia kids, you know? The don’t fuck with me attitude and all. Charlie doesn’t seem like a mafia princess.”
I’m not sure if he’s complimenting me and Tal, or dismissing Charlie. “News flash. You’re also the son of a mafia dad.”
“No, I know, but… forget it.” He huffs, jumps down from his bed, and shoves his feet into his shoes.
“Where are you going?” I ask, “We’re in the middle of a conversation.”
“I’m going to talk to her,” Toby looks at me as if I should have known. “She doesn’t want to marry you, and despite the shit you pulled the other night, you don’t want to marry her. So, I’m going to talk to her.”
Gripping his wrist, I pull him away from the door. “I’ve already talked to her. This is happening, and it doesn’t matter what we want anymore.”
His eyes scan my face, looking for any crack he can weasel his way into. I believe in Charlie, and I swear to God if she’s right, I’ll do everything in my power to work past my trauma so I can stop putting Henry through hell.
“Fine, but why did you have to do that to Henry?” His voice is only a whisper, and I pull my hand away as if the question burned. “You… broke him.”
“Henry broke his own heart when he believed I had the capacity to love anyone,” I spit the lie out, throwing the words out carelessly.
“We’re done here.” Not giving Toby a chance to respond, I brush past him and leave, stomping to my door and unlocking it. I should’ve known better than to check in with him, they all hate me now.