Chapter 44
TROY
I ignore Blake to the best of my ability. I don’t even know why he’s here. Charlie’s condition isn’t life-threatening, and she’s not his girlfriend. As a matter of fact, why was he even called, and who did it?
Charlie is out of surgery now, and her parents and Ben are with her. I wonder if she’ll want to see me. I lean my elbows on my knees, resting my head in my hands. If she tells me to go away, I’m going to lose my mind.
A throat clearing catches my attention.
“Charlie is asking for you,” her father tells me.
Wordlessly, I get up from my chair and follow him down the hallway. When we turn a corner, he stops in his tracks and turns to me.
“You can’t say anything to Charlie.”
“Excuse me?”
“Please. I’m begging you. I’ve decided to end things with Elaine.”
I scoff. “A little too late, don’t you think? The damage is done.”
“No, it isn’t done,” he grits out. “Tara doesn’t know about the affair, and she doesn’t need to.”
“Oh trust me, she knows.”
His face goes even paler than before. He reaches for my arm, gripping it in a tight hold. “Did you already tell her?”
Annoyed, I pull free from his grasp and reply through clenched teeth, “No, I didn’t tell her, but she suspects it. Can we go now? I’d like to see Charlie.”
He steps back, passing a hand over his face. “She’s in room 307.”
It’s clear that he doesn’t intend to walk with me. Whatever. I’d rather not be in his despicable company either.
I continue on alone, and with each step I take, my heart rate accelerates. It’s beating at a staccato rhythm by the time I reach her room. The door is open, and from the threshold, I can see her mother sitting in a chair, looking tired as hell as she rests her head on Ben’s shoulder.
I knock on the doorframe. “May I come in?”
She stands abruptly, pinching her lips together. I don’t know what I did, but she clearly doesn’t like me very much. Either that asshole Blake talked trash about me, or she has premonition powers and suspects my mother is responsible for her unhappiness.
“Of course.” She glances to the side. “Come on, Ben. Let’s give them some privacy.”
I step out of the way to let them through, and then I close the door.
I don’t want anyone eavesdropping on this conversation.
Stepping forward, I steel myself for the image of Charlie in a hospital bed, but it does nothing.
When I see her bruised face and her leg in a cast, my chest feels like it’s caved in.
“Charlie,” I murmur.
She smiles weakly. “Hey.”
I move to the side of her bed but refrain from touching her. I’m not sure if she’ll let me. “Are you in a lot of pain?”
“No. They gave me super-strong sedatives. They’re going to make me sleepy, but I wanted to see you before the drugs dragged me to dreamland.”
“I’m here, babe.”
“Troy, I’m so sorry for going total psycho bitch at the party. You didn’t deserve how I treated you.”
A wave of relief washes over me. She’s not mad at me anymore. But the sentiment quickly vanishes when I remember the worst of the storm is yet to come. I push those negative thoughts to a corner of my mind, out of the way but easily accessible. A time will come to deal with them, but not right now.
I take Charlie’s hand in mine, squeezing lightly before I lean forward and kiss her forehead. “I’m sorry, darling. I should have come after you, not taken off like a coward.”
“No, you were right to give me space.” She cups my cheek. “I love you that much more for that.”
My breath catches, and then a slow grin unfurls on my lips. “You love me?”
“Very much so.”
“It’s the first time you’ve told me that, you know?”
Her brows furrow. “No it’s not. I told you yesterday.”
“Kind of.” I run my hand through her hair, unsurprised to see it tremble a little.
“When I got the call about you, I got so scared. It was one of the worst days of my life. If anything worse had happened to you, I….” I shake my head as the guilt of Robbie’s death becomes a million times heavier. “I couldn’t live with myself.”
“Troy, what happened wasn’t your fault. Just like Robbie’s death wasn’t.”
I recoil as if she’d struck me. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“Not the details, but I can read a guilty heart when I see one. Why do you carry such a burden?”
I walk away, giving my back to her. “It was my fault Robbie died, Charlie. I was supposed to be watching him in the pool. I got distracted, and he drowned.”
“You were only eight when it happened. No parent should put that responsibility on a child.”
I laugh bitterly. “Oh, my parents were the first ones to put the blame on me.”
“That doesn’t make it true.”
My eyes burn, and the lump in my throat becomes too large. I can barely breathe. “In this case, it does, Charlie.”
“Troy, look at me.”
Crossing my arms, I look over my shoulder. Charlie’s blue eyes are brighter than before, and tears have left streak marks on her cheeks.
I turn fully and stride back to her side. “Babe, don’t cry for me. I’m not worth it.”
“You’re worth these tears and a million more. I’m so sad that your parents let you grow up with that terrible guilt. You’re a good person, Troy. Much better than me. Sometimes I think I don’t deserve you.”
I carefully capture her face between my hands and softly kiss her on the lips. “You’ve got things twisted around. I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you.”
The secret that her father asked me to keep comes to the forefront of my mind, making my statement even truer.
She chuckles against my lips. “Fine. Then we’re both undeserving rascals who are perfect for each other.”
A knock on the door makes me straighten up. Charlie’s mother is back and still sporting an unfriendly look.
“Charlie needs to rest. You can come back tomorrow.”
“When can she go home?” I ask.
“In a few days.”
“I can turn the office room downstairs into a temporary bedroom for you,” I tell Charlie.
“Oh, she won’t be going back with you. She’ll be staying with us for a while.”
“Mom, I didn’t agree with that,” Charlie complains.
“Hush now, honey. You need to rest.” Her mother fusses over her, adjusting her pillow and then lowering the bed.
“You should stay with your folks for a while, sweetheart,” I tell her softly. “It’ll be good for you. I’ll come visit every day until you’re ready to come back home.”
Her mother narrows her eyes, but mercifully, she keeps any retort to herself.
Charlie’s eyes are already getting droopy when she replies, “Okay.”