Chapter 59
Chapter Fifty-Nine
ALICE
I’m sitting on Charlie’s front steps, and I feel like an idiot. Where is he?
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and his yard smells like lilacs—but everything else about this moment is wrong . This was supposed to be my grand gesture, my big romantic confession, but you need another person around for that. Someone to actually confess your feelings to.
Thanks to Charlie’s quick thinking, my phone has officially survived its raccoon-trap water bath, but it doesn’t matter. He hasn’t answered a single call or text, and I glance down at my screen for the thousandth time, ready to give up and call my parents in defeat. When I hesitate, I hear something in the distance. It sounds like thunder.
Footsteps .
Someone’s running down the sidewalk toward me. Fast. Their movements are so frantic, they’re either training for the Olympics or running from a bear. Before I can panic or hide, Charlie barrels into view.
He flings open the front gate and collapses on the grass before I can even get up, panting and wheezing. I think he might need a doctor. Hurrying toward him, I crouch down by his side, ready to do CPR breaths or chest compressions or read him his last rites— something .
When I lean to check his pulse, he pulls me closer, kissing me soundly. I laugh and pull away.
Well…I enjoy it a little first. Then I laugh and pull away.
“I made a whole speech,” he wheezes, “and it was a good one. But I think your sister recorded it. I’ll recite it to you again later.”
He threads his fingers in my hair as he kisses me again, but this time he’s the one who pulls away. “The short version is I love you. Will you stay?”
He loves me?
Those words spread through me, that sweet confession, even if I know he might change his mind. “I love you too, but…”
It’s time for the truth. I start to tell him Nicki’s eye condition is genetic, that there’s a small chance I might get it too, but he doesn’t let me finish.
Dragging me closer, he kisses me again. “I know,” he says gently.
He knows?
“I read about it after you told me what your sister had. And Nicki mentioned it too.”
I’m not sure what to say to that. I stutter and stumble before finding my words. “Things could get complicated,” I admit, my voice breaking, and he cradles my face in his hands.
“Whatever happens, will you still be Alice?” he whispers. “Because she’s kind of my favorite.”
I nod, tears stinging my eyes, and he keeps going. “Then we’ll figure it out, Carrots. When you love someone, you just figure it out.”
I lean to kiss him again, softly and sweetly, and he traces his thumb across my cheek when I pull away. “Does this mean you’re staying?” he asks, his voice as soft as a prayer.
“You’re kind of my favorite too, Blythe. I’m not going anywhere.”
I lose track of time after that. He kisses me again, my body still leaning halfway over his as he lies sprawled on the grass. His hands cradle me so gently, and it feels like we’re making each other promise after promise. Sacred vow after sacred vow.
Who knows how long we’re out there before footsteps thud behind us. Three Old Birds travel down the sidewalk, and the swish of their tracksuits echoes through the quiet neighborhood.
I wait for them to tease us, but they don’t. All I hear is Dottie’s delighted voice as she coos about one of the town slogans I’ve heard her mention before. Her favorite town slogan.
“See?” she says. “I told you this is a great place to fall in love.”