34. Elijah
Walking into the café I knew immediately something was wrong. The look of fear washing over Charlie made me see red. It was a fair assumption that the man arguing with Charlie was Adam based on the picture of him she showed me before. He looked rougher now, like he hadn’t slept. Desperate. My blood was boiling listening to the way he spoke to her. I watched as he grabbed onto her arm, stopping her from moving away from him.
“I don’t like the way your hands are touching my girl; I’d take them off, if I were you.” Both Charlie and Adam’s gazes shot round to face me as I spoke. I was grateful to be in my uniform and on my way to work, it was a slightly more intimidating attire. A flood of relief was shown on Charlie’s face when our eyes met. It was short-lived when I saw Adam’s grip tighten on her arm as he shot me a hard stare. The harder he gripped her, the angrier I got. He had no right to be touching her. He didn’t even deserve to be breathing the same air she was.
“Did I stutter?” I followed up. “Take. Them. Off,” I said through gritted teeth. I grabbed onto Adam’s shoulder, twisting him round and forcing him to let go of her. Charlie quickly moved herself to my side.
I grabbed her waist instinctively, pulling her close to my side.
“If you don’t mind, pal, my girlfriend and I are trying to have a private conversation,” Adam said, gesturing to her. She’s not yours, she will never be yours again. I took a breath, steadying myself before responding.
“Your girlfriend?” I asked, mockingly. “Not anymore,” I growled. Adam pushed his fists into my chest, but I didn’t move an inch. I stood my ground, keeping one arm on Charlie the whole time. She was safe now. I was here.
“I’m only going to warn you once,” I said sternly. “Keep your hands off of what is mine.” I don’t know what came over me, claiming Charlie as my own, but it felt like the right thing to do. If he thought she was mine, he might leave her alone, that he no longer had a chance to be with her. Besides, I wished she was mine. “You go near Charlie or Theo ever again and you will regret it.”
“Charlie? Who the hell do you think you’re talking to? Lottie is mine. Theo is my son. You don’t know who you’re dealing with. You don’t know what I’m capable of,” Adam spat back. My heart was pounding, but I kept my expression stern.
“No, but I know what I am capable of.”
I kept my eyes focused on his as I watched his reaction. The man who previously seemed to be in control of the situation was crumbling before me. I was in control here.
He looked at Charlie. I wanted to grab his face and force him to look away. He didn’t even deserve to look at her.
“Are you fucking serious, Lottie? This is who you left me for? We all know that uniform is an overcompensation for something,” he spat at my feet. I didn’t give him the satisfaction of any reaction, my face remaining stoic. “What is it for you, were you bullied in high school or something? Maybe you’ve got Daddy issues?” He laughed. I saw red. I grabbed his shirt and shoved him against the counter. Holding one of my arms to his neck I pinned him against it.
“You will never hurt her again.” My voice was harsh as I spoke. “You don’t even deserve to breathe the same air as her, do you understand me?” He gave no response. “If I were you, I’d crawl back to whatever hole you came out of and not come back.” I pulled him back and threw him towards the door.
He looked between Charlie and I before kicking a chair across the room. He paused just before he left the café.
“This isn’t over, Lottie. Your little boyfriend won’t be there to save you next time.” With that, he slammed the door behind him.
I felt the tension easing off my shoulders slightly as I watched him walk away, but my stomach was a mess. I couldn’t bear the thought of someone hurting her or Theo. I didn’t let go of Charlie; if anything, I pulled her closer to me. She accepted this and leant into me.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t find my phone. It all happened so fast,” she said, panicked. I lifted her chin up to face me.
“It’s okay, everything’s okay,” I whispered softly. “I told you I wasn’t going to let anything happen to you, didn’t I?” She nodded. She opened her mouth and then hesitated. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Why were you acting like we were together?” She questioned. Because I wished we were.
“I wanted him to feel intimidated, to feel like you moved on and he’d lost you. Maybe he’d give up harassing you if he knew you had me protecting you.” I gestured to my uniform.
“Oh…yeah, that makes sense.” She pulled away from me slightly, giving me an empty feeling. “Good thinking.” She brushed her hands on her apron. The silence was awkward as we both seemed to be racking our brains as to how to move on from what just happened. After a few beats, I spoke.
“I want you to come to the gala with me.” I hesitated. “In case he shows up there. If he sees you as my date, then hopefully he’ll back off.”
“So, we’d be fake dating for the night?” The word fake stung a little, but that was exactly what I was suggesting.
“Yeah, I mean we are both going anyway, so why not go together? He’s going to try to get you alone, Charlie. I can’t let that happen.” I kept my voice level in an attempt to disguise my emotion.
“Okay,” she replied shakily.
“Okay.” I mused.
“Daines isn’t going to the gala, I’ll ask him to sit in with my ma and the kids to keep an eye on them, in case Adam shows up there.” I knew Daines wouldn’t say no. Theo was just as much at risk as Charlie.
“Thank you.” She smiled and I felt some of the awkwardness lift slightly. “Thank you as well for getting rid of him. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t showed up.” I saw her let out a deep breath.
“I’m always here for you. Please keep your phone in your pocket, though,” I teased lightly.
“You don’t have to worry, I won’t be making that mistake again.” She paused. “I’m going to ask your ma if I can stay with them for a few days until the gala.” As much as I wished she would stay with me, I was glad she wasn’t going to be on her own. I would ask the Chief to keep a patrol car going down that street until I knew Adam was no longer a threat. I’d patrol it myself if I had to.
Charlie made me a coffee and we said our goodbyes. Lucas and I would meet the girls at Ma’s house Friday before the gala. I was suddenly aware that I needed to go shopping for a better suit. I was planning on wearing an old tux I’d had for years, but it wasn’t good enough for a date with Charlie.
After arriving at work, I explained the situation to Daines. He agreed to sit with Ma and the kids, but also teased me about the concept.
“So, the two of you are going to pretend to be dating in case this guy shows up?” he questioned.
“Yeah, if he thinks she has moved on, he hopefully will leave her alone.”
“Answer me this, young Elijah.” He held up his hands. “Why did you not just ask her out on a real date?”
“Why would I do that?” I was slightly taken aback by his comment.
“Because you clearly like this girl?” Why did everyone keep trying to point that out to me?
“No, I don’t. We’re just friends,” I replied sternly.
“Eli, I have eyes. I see the way yours light up when you talk about her. Hell, she’s beautiful, I don’t blame you. If I was twenty years younger, I’d—”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” I growled.
“See! If you didn’t like her, why are you so jealous?” He might have had a point, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.