Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Charlie
Idamn near laughed in the officer's face when he told me my apartment was safe to go back into. Again.
My sweet neighbor helped me pack everything we could into my car.
She didn’t ask too many questions, just started putting things into bags and giving me reassuring looks.
Despite the awful circumstances, her nurturing soul reminds me so much of my mom and Connie that I immediately felt comfortable around her.
In the midst of it all, I didn’t even ask her name, but I’ll never forget all she has done for me today.
Once we had all the things I cared about in my car, I told her to keep or sell anything she wanted. If not, the property management could deal with it.
I'm never coming back to this apartment again.
I showed up at Connie’s, in the middle of the night, with my car full of stuff and an exhausted heart. I hadn't called to tell her about the attack this time; problem-solving mode had kicked in and I worked on auto-pilot loading up my car.
She met me at the front door with a worried look on her face. The alarm and camera must have alerted her when I pulled in. Hayes and Drew installed a state of the art system for her, even adding upgrades. She would’ve known I was here before the gate started opening.
"Charlotte Amelia Reynolds! What are you doing here so late?"
The sobs broke out of me at the sight of her and the concern in her voice. I'd been numb since the attack. Now that I’m safe and the adrenaline has worn off, though, I let it all out.
I fell into Connie, allowing her to hold me up.
She half carries me into the house as I stumble over my own feet. When she closes the door, I freeze and, through tears and hiccups, say, "Lock. Set. Alarm."
Frantically turning around, she throws the deadbolt into place and jams at the buttons on her alarm system. She looks as freaked out as I feel.
"Come on, sweet girl." I follow her to the couch and sit as close to her as I can. She puts her arms around my shoulders, allowing me to sink into her embrace.
"H-he. W-Was in.A-apartment." My chest heaves as I try to get the story out, but I can barely talk.
"Who was? Carter?”
“I, shower. Came in. Grabbed. Fought off. Neighbor police."
"Slow down, Charlie. Breathe for me, baby." I try to follow her lead, but I can't stop shaking. Everything is hitting me at once. Hayes leaving me and then Carter breaking into my apartment again.
Connie runs her fingers through my hair as she holds me. It takes a long time before my breathing evens to a steady rhythm, but she never let’s go of me.
My voice sounds raspy as I finally start talking again.
"I got off the phone with you and went to take a shower. When I was getting out, he was standing in the bathroom. He lunged at me."
"No." Her fingers freeze in my hair, and it feels like she holds her breath.
"Do you remember when dad and Uncle Roger made me spar with the boys?"
She nods, and her lips let out a puff of air. "Your momma hated how hard they were on you."
A humorless chuckle falls out. "When Carter came at me, it was like Uncle Roger was in that bathroom telling me what to do. I just attacked."
Tears drip down her face, but a real smile comes out: "You were just a little girl back then. He wanted you to know how to defend yourself." My dad's approach was always a little softer, but Uncle Roger was the best kind of tough love. Encouraging but he never let me use being a girl as an excuse.
"Well, it worked. I knocked him out and ran out the door, naked."
Her eyebrows rose, and at the same time, her eyes widened. "Naked?"
Laughing with slight disbelief, even at myself, I explain. "When he grabbed me, my towel fell. I was too focused on 'neutralizing the threat' and then I wasn't going to waste time grabbing a towel while he was lying on the floor."
“Oh my. What happened after?"
"My neighbor was walking into her apartment, and when I ran out, she brought me into her place. I called 911, and she gave me something to cover up with. He was still on the floor when they got there. They arrested him."
Connie lets out a heavy sigh of relief and pats my shoulder. "You did so well. Your daddy and uncle would have been proud of you. Your mom, too."
Tears fill my eyes again, threatening to spill over.
"I packed up my apartment. My neighbor stayed with me the entire time and helped. I can't go back.” I pause and take a look around. Everything about this house is filled with reminders of Hayes. “And I can't stay here."
She pulls back from me. "And why can’t you stay here?"
A million "becauses” roll through my brain. Because this is Hayes' safe place. Because he was my safe place. Because he hates me. Because my heart is broken. Because everywhere around here, all I see is him.
I need time to heal without being held back by the past.
And if I’m a little honest with myself, I’m scared.
"Finals are done. I'm a college graduate, and my plan was always to go to Hayes. Now that we aren't together—”
She interrupts me, not being able to contain her feelings. "That boy. I'm so mad at him."
"Don't be. He overreacted, but I can't say I wouldn't have done the same had I seen a girl in his bed.
Especially with all the stress he's going through.
" That moment has run through my head a thousand times. I knew Hayes was struggling with nerves and us being apart. I hadn’t realized how bad it had gotten, but all of it mixing together just created one big toxic mess.
"He's going to overreact when he hears this." She grumbles out.
"No! You can't tell him or Drew! Not until they get home. They won’t do anything but worry themselves sick and take responsibility.
They need to focus on what they're doing.
" I can't be the distraction that doesn't bring one of them home.
The deployments aren't easy for them, even without all this added on.
It's life or death for them every day, sometimes.
If they're distracted for a moment, it could be the end for them.
Connies eyes fill with sympathy as she nods her head. "I don't know if I agree with keeping it from them, but it's not my story to tell."
"Thank you." I settled back on the couch.
"Back to where you plan on going."
"I don't know." I tell her honestly. "I just need to go.
I have some money saved up and a good car.
Odessa mentioned she would be in Seattle at the end of the summer.
The plan starts forming the more I talk.
I can take a little road trip and go visit Odessa and see a little bit more of the country on my way.
"You're more like your mother than you think. She was always about the next adventure. Every one of our family vacations was planned by her and her sense of adventure." She smiles warmly, reminiscing about her late, best friend.
"I think it will be good for me to spread my wings a bit."
"You'll call? Send your location?"
My eyes close as I cringe. "I can't. I don't know when Carter will get out, and I don't want anyone to know where I am.
"Charlotte." Her frown deepens as she takes in my answer.
I hold my hand up, trying to think of something quickly. "I'm sure we can find an app to call from that doesn't track location."
If Connie didn't live in a double-gated community and carry a gun with her everywhere, I would be concerned about her as well. I know she can handle herself, though, and she has neighbors all around her who watch out for her. As well as the security system.
It's me that Carter has a weird obsession with anyway.
She's looking at me like she's about to protest, but when she sees how serious I am, she relents. "You call once a month and text more. If you miss even one call, I will tell your brother and Hayes."
I nod my head in agreement. "I can do that."
"When are you leaving?"
“I'll stay a day or two. I need to go to sleep and talk to the detective. Get a new phone and number. Pull out as much cash as I can."
"Put it on prepaid VISAs. I don't want you traveling with only cash. You can get the cash and put it on gift cards or a prepaid visa. There's Target and Walmart everywhere."
I glance at Connie with a newfound respect. "You planning on running away, too?"
Her laugh brings lightness to my dark mood. "Roge always had a getaway plan. But I don't want you to stay at any cash-only motels. How about the motorhome?"
I blink at her, trying to tell if she’s kidding or not.
She wants me to take her motorhome. Across the country.
It’s a smaller Class C but it has all the bells and whistles.
I don’t know exactly how much it is worth, but I guarantee it’s worth more than the average starter home in South Carolina.
She uses it nearly every weekend during the summer, when she and her friends go camping.
Now, she’s offering it up like it’s a t-shirt to borrow.
“Are you serious?”
She nods and grins. “I trust you’ll take good care of it.
You’ve always been brave, sweet girl. I don’t want what this man did or Hayes leaving to stomp out any of that fearlessness.
I’ve always wanted the two of you to be together.
However, I don’t like the way he handled the situation that night.
I love that boy, but he should’ve treated you with more respect.
I know how long you two have been pining for each other but maybe it’s time you found yourself beyond Hayes.
Take some time to figure out who Charlie is. What she really wants.”
Her words hit me hard, but she’s right. I’ve been caught up in being Hayes' girlfriend, giving every ounce of free time to him and our future. Even before we were together, he was part of all of my decisions. Don’t get me wrong; I loved that.
I’d still choose that time and time again.
But now I need to pivot. I need to focus on myself, what I want, and where I want to be.
Follow in Odessa’s footsteps a little more and pave my own way.
Maybe Hayes and I will work it out, or maybe we won’t.
Either way, I shouldn’t waste anymore time dwelling on what could have been.