Chapter 32
Thirty-Two
Axel
I stood there holding onto Charlie, refusing to let go until she was ready for me to.
While we had already declared our love for each other and knew that we wanted to be together, it didn’t surprise me any that she was trying to leave.
Shit got real earlier, and the fear that coursed through her was enough to make anyone run, but I needed her to trust that I meant what I said when I said I had her.
There was nothing in the world that would keep me from protecting what was mine.
She sniffled and wiped her face as she took a step back. Even with her face red and splotchy from crying, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on.
“For what it’s worth, I’m very sorry for all of the trouble I have caused,” she whispered, looking at the floor instead of at me. “I’m not sure what I’ve done to deserve the kindness you continue to extend to me, but thank you.”
“Do you believe in fate?” I asked softly. She had been through enough today, and I wanted her to feel loved and protected, not judged or like an inconvenience.
“I used to. I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
“Well, I do. I believe that you were meant to show up in Nowhere, Colorado, just like I believe I was destined to protect you. Things don’t feel like a burden when it’s something you’re meant to do, Charlie.
You being here doesn’t make things any harder for me.
It doesn’t bother me to share my space with you, nor does it bother me to take care of you.
Please stop apologizing for being here. You didn’t bring trouble with you.
You’re dealing with the problems your husband created that you had no hand in. ”
“I still can’t believe all of this is happening,” she said, exhaling heavily as she sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed a hand across her stomach.
“How did it go from me finding out I was pregnant and worrying about how much coffee I had been drinking before I found out, to someone wanting to kill me and take my baby?”
She shook her head as I rocked back on my heels, not having an answer for her.
“Life gives us fucked up hands sometimes,” I offered with a shrug. “But I believe that you’re strong enough to get through this, and so is your baby girl.”
“Did life give you a fucked up hand? Is that why you came to Nowhere?”
A chill snaked down my spine as I considered how to answer her question.
My past wasn’t something I liked to talk about, but then again, I wanted Charlie to know she could trust me.
If I kept my walls up, she wouldn’t continue to lower hers.
We had grown so close already, but there were still so many hurdles we would have to overcome.
Keeping my past from her after she had shared so much about hers wasn’t fair.
“Much like your husband, my father had a nasty gambling addiction as well. Only his lenders weren’t so patient and executed him and my mother right in front of me.
I was thirteen years old and was forced to sit there and watch.
I had no idea who they were because they had their faces covered.
But they told me that if I ever told anyone what happened, they would come back to kill me, and I believed them.
I ran away from home and took only the important things with me.
I lived on the street for a while until I stumbled into this small town in Colorado. ”
“Oh my gosh,” she whispered as she leaned forward to squeeze my hand. “Axel, I’m so sorry. That’s terrible. I can’t even imagine being that young and trying to figure out things on my own. Is that when you came to Nowhere?”
I nodded, the knot in my throat growing tighter as I pushed past the emotion that also rose to the surface when I talked about my parents and their brutal murder.
“I had no idea where I was, and this older man found me hiding behind this rundown building. I could smell food cooking, and I was starving. I had hitchhiked for weeks, going wherever they would take me, and somehow ended up in Colorado. He asked what I was doing by the dumpster and I tried to run. He was fast for his age and caught me before I could get away. He brought me inside, sat me down, and made me a grilled cheese sandwich. He didn’t ask me why I was there or where my parents were.
He just let me be and waited until I was ready to talk to him. ”
“Wow. That’s so sweet. He seems like a nice guy.”
“He was the best. He passed away ten years ago, and I think losing him hurt more than losing my parents. It wasn’t that I didn’t love my parents; I just didn’t know what real love was back then.
Growing up, I thought it was normal to get scraps from whatever food they didn’t finish.
I didn’t know that most families sit down to eat dinner together or that everyone gets their own plate.
When I met Harry, he changed everything I ever knew about families.
He took me in with no questions asked, bought me clothes when I needed them, and made sure I had three meals a day.
He even enrolled me in school and showed up every single day to take me home and ask me about my day.
He did more for me in the time I was with him than my parents ever did for me. ”
“That’s amazing, Axel. I’m glad you had someone there to take care of you.”
“Me too. I’m also thankful that he taught me how to take care of others and that I get to pay it forward with you.”
“But you don’t have to,” Charlie whispered as she looked up at me under thick lashes. “I’m not a thirteen-year-old kid who doesn’t have anywhere to go. I’m a twenty-eight-year-old woman who has to figure out her next steps before it’s too late.”
“I get that,” I replied softly as I squatted in front of her.
“I’m just saying that I’ll be right there to take those steps with you.
You’re not alone in this, Charlie. Whether or not you’re ready to accept it, I’ve got you.
I meant it when I said I was in love with you, baby.
That love doesn’t come with any conditions.
I’m here for the good, the bad, and whatever else the universe decides to throw at us. If you run, I just run with you.”
Beautiful green eyes stared up at me with so much hope in them that it nearly shattered my heart.
“I love you, too. I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to make things hard for you by leaving. I just wanted to protect you however I could.”
“I know, baby. But you don’t have to worry about that. You don’t have to worry about anything, because I’ve got you. I promise.”
I kissed the top of her head and released a breath of relief when she finally relaxed against me.