Chapter 22 – Charlie
CHARLIE
“What a dick,” Jace mutters as we watch the taillights disappear.
“He did help us.”
“Yeah, but he didn’t have to be a dick about it.” Jace shakes his head, turning back towards the RV. “Didn’t your dad teach you how to change a tire?” he mocks under his breath, rolling the flat tire around to the undercarriage. “I know how to change a fucking tire. Just not on an RV.”
“Why didn’t you tell him that?”
“Did you see the guy? Hard pass. Besides, did you see the way he was eyeing the RV? What was that about?”
“I dunno, don’t matter now though. Doubt we’ll ever see him again.” After helping Jace stow the flat away, we climb back in the RV, this time with Jace behind the wheel and keep driving.
“We’ll need to find somewhere to replace the tire, don’t forget. Spare will only hold up for so long,” I point out, pulling my phone from my pocket to check and see our options once we get to town.
“Okay, so it looks like everything is pretty much all on the same street. So, when we get there, you can drop the RV in and see if they’ll do a tire change, and I’ll head to the shops to grab us some towels and other necessities.”
“Do not talk about sex whilst I’m driving,” Jace groans out, his head hitting the back of the seat.
“Sorry.” I laugh, putting the phone away so he can concentrate on the road.
My leg bounces as we pass the Welcome to Town sign, and barely three minutes later we’re pulling into the garage I checkout online.
Getting out, we split up; Jace heading inside to get the tire, while I walk to the little grocery shop on the corner.
Grabbing a trolley, I head in and start wandering the aisles aimlessly, trying to think of anything we may need whilst living out of the RV for a while.
Spotting some instant coffee on sale, I chuck it in the trolley, making a note to see if they sell kettles here. If not, I’ll just bring it back before I leave.
Next, I grab a box of Weet-Bix and some long-life milk and keep walking. Spotting some of those refrigerated microwave meals, I toss a few in for some easy dinners and keep going, adding soft drink, snacks and a few bottles of lube to the trolley.
As I go to enter leave the aisle, I’m distracted by a woman looking at lunchboxes down the other end. She’s not looking my way, so I can’t see her face, and from what I can see of her skin, it’s too light to be Bonnie.
Not to mention the hair is the wrong colour – blonde, not dark brown, but there’s something about her that has me curious.
Taking a step in her direction, I’m about to walk down and see if I can get a better look at her, when she tosses the lunchbox in her hand into her trolley and quickly leaves the aisle.
I stand there for a second, contemplating my reaction before I turn my trolley around and start walking down the back of the store, looking into each aisle as I pass, trying to spot her again.
Three aisles down, she’s looking at something in her hand when she looks up. It’s barely a fraction of a second, too quick for me to get a chance to make out any details of her face, not even the colour of her eyes from this distance.
Pulling out my phone, I shoot off a quick text to Jace to see if he’s almost done with the tire.
JACE
Yeah, plus side of smalltowns – there’s like no customers so he’s doing it now.
Reading the message, I shove the phone back into my pocket without responding and look up to find she’s gone. Again. Fuck, she’s fast.
Adrenaline floods my system, and I pick up my pace, coming to a stop when I spot her in line at one of the checkouts, with a phone to her ear.
Not wanting to lose her again, I quickly close the distance between us but before I can reach her, she suddenly shoves the phone in her pocket, leaves her trolley and runs out the door.
Panicking, I don’t think. I abandon my trolley and go after her, racing through the exit to see her disappear around the corner. She’s fast, and I have to push myself to catch up but as I round the corner, I pull up short when I find a familiar face holding a gun up to me.
Recognising him, I smile despite the loaded weapon he’s threatening me with, and my eyes scan the alley behind him.
“Hey mate, you might want to focus on the gun in my hand, not the girl,” he growls out, but I just shake my head.
“I don’t care about the gun, I care about the girl,” I respond. Is it the smartest thing in the world to say to a man who I have no doubt will use said gun on me? No. Would my dads kick my arse if they found out I did it? Yes. Do I care? Not even a little.
“Idiot,” he mutters to himself, not lowering his weapon at all. That’s okay though, because I’m pretty sure I’ve figured out who this guy is.
My eyes meet his before slowly returning to the alley behind him. My mouth goes dry, and my heart is beating in my ears, but it has nothing to do with the current threat to my life, and everything to do with the movement I spot in the shadows of the florist’s staff door.
“Bonnie?” I call out, hearing a loud gasp in answer.
“Charlie?” Jace shouts from behind me, and I spin on my heels. Before I can answer or even think of the stupidity of what I just did, an arm closes around my throat, and I feel the press of metal against my temple.
“You,” Jace mutters, his eyes widening when he spots the mammoth of a man behind me. “Fuck this, I’m calling the cops.”
“No!” I shout. “It’s fine. I’m okay. Jace it’s-”
“Mitchie!” A little girl comes barrelling into the alley and without thought, I fall back on the training my dads taught me and my siblings when we were teenagers. One second the gun is pressed to my temple, the next I’m flicking the safety off and shoving it behind my back before she can spot it.
I let out a grunt as the gun is ripped from my hand non too gently. I shoved it between us so he would be able to take it back and know I'm not a threat. He didn’t have to yank it like that. Maybe Jace was right, the guy is a bit of a dick.
“Charlotte Jaye Rose, I told you to stay in the car,” the man behind me says in a firm tone, his face right next to mine, but I barely hear anything after he says her name.
“Charlotte?” I whisper, looking down at the little girl.
She has the brightest blue eyes I’ve ever seen, and her dark brown hair is parted down the middle, two braids running behind her ears and down over her shoulders.
She’s got a square jaw, freckles dusting her little nose…
and a mole on her cheek, right next to her left ear.
She’s the spitting image of her mother.
“Who are you?” she demands, her hands on her hips and I take in the little school uniform she’s dressed in, clearly having just gotten out of school.
“I’m Charlie,” I finally answer, completely starstruck of the girl standing before me.
“Charlie? I was named after a Charlie,” she says it so matter-of-factly, and it knocks the air out of my lungs. If I wasn’t still being held up by my throat, I’d be on my knees right now.
She narrows her eyes at me, before looking over her shoulder with a frown. “Are you Jace?”
Jace’s jaw drops, his wide eyes flickering to mine for a second before he slowly kneels down to her height. “Yeah bug, I’m Jace.”
The little girl lets out an excited squeal before she turns, running passed me and further into the alley. “Mummy! It’s your Roses!”