Chapter 29
Act III, Scene II: Padua Heights, Finsbury Park
Kalina
C harlie focused on the road and neither of us had said anything for the last twenty minutes.
I fidgeted with the hem of my shirt as I thought of a way to bring up the conversation I dreaded.
‘I planned to take you out for breakfast tomorrow morning,’ Charlie said.
Silence spanned between us again as Charlie pulled into the parking spot outside my house. He switched off the car and turned to face me.
‘Past tense?’ I asked.
‘I feel like we should talk first.’
I nodded. ‘It’s like you read my mind.’
‘Something’s been bothering me and I wanted to talk about it rather than let it run amok in my head.’ He offered me a tight-lipped smile.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Things were off after our date. It didn’t feel…right. I don’t know how to explain it.’
I turned my body, pushed my back against the door, and took his hand in mine. ‘I know when people say, it’s not you, it’s me, they don’t mean it. And what they really mean is that it is you. But I really do mean it. This time, it actually is me.’
‘I really hoped I was wrong.’ He fidgeted with my ring and his eyebrows knitted together as he twisted the beads.
I pursed my lips to the side. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lead you on or give you the impression I wasn’t interested. I was. At least, I wanted to be.’
‘The fact that all of this is past tense tells me you’re not feeling that way anymore.’
It wasn’t a question and my throat constricted.
I looked at the centre console. ‘I thought things between us would grow. You’re an amazing guy, but—’
‘You have feelings for someone else,’ he finished.
I lifted my gaze in surprise. ‘What? How did you—’
‘I thought I saw something, the night after the festival, but I wasn’t sure until tonight. It’s clear, from the both of you. Something is going on and you’re either trying to forget it or too afraid to admit it.’
My eyebrows pulled together. ‘Both?’
He laughed. ‘Kalina, he clearly has feelings for you.’
I shook my head. ‘Are we talking about the same person? If we are, I don’t think his feelings for me are romantic. We had an…agreement and it’s run its course.’
‘This is going to sound so soppy and sad, but you are the whole package; kind and sweet, you’re funny, beautiful, and lovely to be around. Believe me when I say he feels the same way about you.’
I blinked rapidly. ‘There’s no way. No.’ I shook my head. ‘He doesn’t feel that way about me. You were there at the dinner. He insisted I go on the date with you.’
Charlie ran a hand through his hair. ‘Trust me, he does. I can’t tell you why he did that. He’s got some issues he needs to work through, but I’ve never seen him act this way with anyone.’
‘Thank you, I think you’re wrong and you’re being too nice about this.’
‘Because you don’t have feelings for me? This is the bare minimum.’
‘I like spending time with you,’ I admitted.
‘I like spending time with you too.’
‘What to do?’
He shrugged sheepishly. ‘We can be friends? I don’t see why we need to let this get in the way of what could be an amazing friendship.’
I grasped his hand in mine and gave it a squeeze. ‘I would love that.’
‘Thank you for being honest with me. I appreciate it.’
‘I had no reason to lie and I would never want to lead you on.’
‘Are you going to tell him?’
‘I want to,’ I said. ‘But I wanted to talk to you first.’
‘Well, good luck. I don’t think you’ll need it but take it anyway.’
With that, we greeted each other and I waved at Charlie from the front door.
It broke my heart to see his face fall. I never wanted him to get hurt, but it would only grow harder if I lied and continued seeing him.
I dropped my bags on my bed and immediately called Titan. It went straight to voicemail.
Not how I envisioned this going.
I tried again and the same thing happened.
Hi, are you awake?
23:58
Undelivered.
Great.
I chewed on my thumb until I’d worked my way around my nail.
I couldn’t show up there…Could I?
I groaned and laid face down on my bed and yelled into my pillow. There was no way I’d get any sleep if I didn’t talk to him right now.
I called a taxi and showed up at his studio twenty minutes later.
The buzzer rang out but there was no answer.
I went home, defeated, and tried to get some rest.
We had the drive to Montague House tomorrow, and I would tell him then.
He couldn’t ignore me for all forty-five minutes of the drive.
Unless he doesn’t show up at all.