29. Charlotte
Ifelt sick as I stood in the kitchen with Elijah. My mind was all over the place and I knew I needed to tell someone. I was scared. I was scared of what Adam would do when he found us. He would be angry, that was for sure. I left in the middle of the night with his son, of course he would be angry. This was a dangerous man with a violent past who was heading straight into town to find Theo and I. I tried to speak, but I just stuttered.
“Take your time.” Elijah’s voice was soft as he spoke. The tears fell then as I looked at him. In a flash he was wrapping his arms around me, pulling me close to him. I sobbed into his chest, trying not to be too loud with Theo right next door.
“Whatever it is, Charlie, we are going to fix it. I promise. We will sort it out together, okay?” His hand moved gently to my chin, lifting it up so I was looking at him.
“It’s Adam,” I finally managed. His face narrowed as he looked at me. “He knows where we are.” My voice was barely above a whisper. I didn’t want to say it out loud. I didn’t want any of this to be happening right now. I finally felt like everything was going well for us and it was crashing down right in front of my face.
“Are you sure?” I offered him my phone in response. He moved part of his body away from me to look at the messages. His eyes widened as he scrolled through the recent messages.
“How long has he been sending you messages like this?” His voice remained at a level volume, but I could sense the tension in it.
“He started a day or so after I moved into town.” I leaned back so I could see Elijah’s face better. He looked furious as he finished looking through the messages.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” He paused. “Or Alice, or anyone?” I shook my head at him.
“I thought Adam was just trying to scare me. I didn’t think he would actually figure out where we were.” I sighed. “I thought I had it all handled.”
His eyes moved from my phone to me briefly before he turned back to my phone and started typing.
“What are you doing?” I asked, feeling a slight panic rise in my chest.
“Adding mine and Lucas’ numbers to your speed dial.” He finished typing and handed me back my phone. “I want you to be able to contact us quickly should you need to. Call me first.” I didn’t really know what to say so I stared at him for a moment.
“I want you two to stay here tonight,” he continued. I tried to object, but he cut me off. “Please, either you two stay or I am going to have to camp outside your place.” I let out a teary laugh in response to that. “I can’t let you guys leave here tonight knowing that he might show up at your door. Don’t make me beg you to stay.”
I chuckled softly at his words and nodded. “Okay, as long as you’re sure. We can crash on the couch or something just for tonight.” I was grateful for the offer. The thought of being alone in my apartment was terrifying. I would feel a lot safer knowing Elijah and Lucas were in the house with me. Theo would be safer, too.
“You two can take my room.”
“Absolutely not. We are not kicking you out of your room.”
“It’s not up for discussion, Charlie. I’d rather be closer to the front door.” He hesitated. “Just in case.” He didn’t need to explain his meaning; just in case Adam somehow figured out we were here. I guessed it was hard for him to switch that police officer nature off, I was extremely grateful for it now, though. I wanted Elijah to protect me, to keep us safe.
He moved closer to me now as he wrapped his arms around my back. I lifted mine up and placed them around his neck as he pulled me in for a hug. His hands rubbed my back softly as I held onto him tighter. An intimate silence filled the room as we just stood there for a moment.
“You’re safe with me, Charlie,” he whispered into my ear, making the hairs on my neck stand up.
“I’m scared of what he will do.” My voice cracked as I spoke. I was trying to fight more tears that were threatening to fall. He moved away from me slightly and planted a kiss on my forehead as I melted into him.
“I won’t let anything happen to either of you, I promise.” We stayed in our embrace for a moment before shouting came from the other room. The game must be over now, and judging by the shouting, it was a win. We pulled away from each other and headed into the other room. I caught myself in the mirror on the way. It wasn’t too obvious I had been crying.
Upon re-entering the living room, we were greeted with the sight of Lucas with Theo on his shoulders, running around shouting, “We won!” For a moment I was completely distracted from everything else that was going on and laughed at the sight. I caught Elijah out of the corner of my eye who was laughing, too. The tension I was holding in my shoulders began to ease. We were safe here, at least for now, and Theo was the happiest I had ever seen him.
“So, you enjoyed your first game then?”
I asked as I approached them.
“It was amazing!” Theo responded as Lucas lowered him onto the sofa. “Can we watch another one here next week?” he asked eagerly.
“You’re more than welcome to watch all of them with us.” Elijah’s voice came from behind me.
My heart leapt at his comment and the sincerity in his voice.
“Both of you,” he added.
“I’d really like that. Mommy, can we?” His bright eyes looked up at me.
“I’m sure we can make it work, as long as we don’t start to get on the boys’ nerves!” I added with a chuckle.
“Never,” Lucas and Elijah said simultaneously as they exchanged a look.
A small smile passed on both of their lips. Almost as if they have an unspoken agreement.
“We enjoy having you here,” Elijah added, ruffling Theo’s hair before sitting back in his original seat.
“That we do,” Lucas agreed. “As you can imagine, it’s not much fun for me in this house with grumpy guts over here.” He placed a mocking hand to his chest before Elijah kicked him as Lucas walked past. There was a jovial atmosphere in the room as we settled back into our original seats. Conversation about the game continued and Theo was trying desperately to keep awake. Every so often his head would lull and his eyes would close before jolting awake again. Eventually he gave in and fell asleep next to Lucas.
“Charlie and Theo are staying here tonight,” Elijah said bluntly. He wasn’t asking a question, merely just stating this information to Lucas. I guess it was his house so he didn’t feel the need to ask permission or he knew Lucas wouldn’t object.
Lucas nodded.
“Makes sense, it’s getting pretty late. You want to take my room? I don’t mind the couch.” Lucas’ words made me smile. He was always offering help to others without a second thought. Although they were different in many ways, Elijah and Lucas always seemed to put others before themselves. I wondered if their dad had been like that as well.
“No, they are staying in my room,” Elijah said, shaking his head. “You’re working tomorrow, I’ll take the sofa.” Lucas didn’t object. I got the feeling from Alice that Lucas worked a lot of hours and very rarely took the day off, even though tomorrow was Sunday.
We spoke for a while longer before Lucas announced he was going to bed.
“Thank you, both of you, for what you guys did for Theo tonight.” I moved my gaze between the two of them. “I think he has found it hard adjusting to life without his dad and I know tonight meant the absolute world to him.”
“Don’t you start making me cry before bed,” Lucas teased. “He’s a good kid, Lottie. You’ve done a great job with him.” Elijah nodded in agreement. I felt Elijah’s hand move on top of mine as he gave it a gentle squeeze.
“You know if there is anything we can do to make this transition easier for him, for both of you, just ask,” Elijah said as he squeezed my hand again.
“I’m a pretty good uncle,” Lucas said, holding his hands in the air. “If you don’t believe me, ask Violet.” I laughed at his comment. “If the little man or you need anything from us, we’re here,” he added, gesturing to Theo. My heart felt full in that moment. I was worried that Theo would miss out if I moved him away, but I think he was about to gain more than he’d bargained for with the Weatherstons. I felt like I finally had a family again, a proper one this time. Lucas bid goodnight before heading up the stairs and Elijah and I were left in silence.
“I should probably get him up the bed, too,” I said, rising to my feet.
“Let me carry him up for you.” He brushed past me towards Theo, scooping him up in his arms. I couldn’t help but notice how small Theo looked in his arms. “It’s the first door on the left at the top of the stairs.” I nodded and led the way up. Elijah seemed nervous, like Theo was the most fragile thing he’d ever held. It was sweet to see.
I felt a sense of childish excitement as I entered Elijah’s bedroom. I opened the door and let him in first with a sleeping Theo in his arms. I watched as he gently placed him down, pulling the covers over him. Elijah was a large guy with a hard exterior, but in this moment, there was something soft and tender about him. He was miles away from the man I first met. After tucking him in, Elijah moved towards me, placing his hand softly on my back as he moved past me.
“Do you need anything else?” he asked in a low voice, pausing at my side. I shook my head in response. “I’m just downstairs if you need me.” He started to walk out the door, but hovered his hand, lightly gracing the frame.
“Goodnight, Charlie,” he said softly, turning his attention to me. His nickname for me made my chest jolt every time.
“Goodnight, Officer Sunshine.” I gave a mock salute and he chuckled lightly as he closed the door quietly behind him.
My attention now turned to his room, trying to take it all in despite there being hardly any light. His room was just as meticulous and organised as I expected it to be. It was clear everything had its own place. Clutter was not allowed in Elijah’s bedroom. My eyes were drawn to some photos on his chest of drawers. There was one with his dad, Elijah must have been Theo’s age in this photo. He was sat on his knee, grinning ear to ear. Next to that one there was a photo of Violet and Alice, followed by a photo of the two brothers lifting their mother up, bright smiles all around. It warmed my heart to see these photos. I felt this represented Elijah the best. He liked to pretend he was closed off and cold, but he loved his family more than anything. You could tell they meant the absolute world to him. Underneath everything, Elijah was kind and thoughtful. I wished the world could see him how I did, how his family did. I wished he could show everyone who he really was rather than hiding behind a mask. I felt honoured to even get a snippet into this version of Elijah.
I grabbed a long shirt out of his wardrobe and got changed. Making my way over to the bed, I got in beside Theo, snuggling down. The sheets smelt like Elijah’s cologne and I buried my face into the covers as I settled in. There was something comforting about the smell. I tried to ignore the thoughts of Adam; we were safe here in this house. I could deal with everything else tomorrow.