Chapter 23 – Jace
JACE
When I left the garage and saw Charlie run into the alley, I had no clue what was going on. I certainly didn’t expect to follow him only to find the arsehole from earlier holding a gun to Charlie’s head.
But if I had any doubt that Bonnie was living in Mum’s hometown, it was eviscerated when her mini-me turned to face me, her chin raised the same way Bonnie’s used to at her age when she asked if I was Jace.
“Mummy! Its your Roses!” I swear I feel my heart stop.
I don’t breathe, don’t even blink as she runs passed Charlie, deeper into the alley.
She disappears for a moment into the shadowed alcove of the staff entrance door and when she reappears, holding onto a hand.
I follow that hand up and if I wasn’t already kneeling, I’d be on my arse right now.
This may be a smalltown, but short of knocking on every door we came across or camping outside of the school, we had no idea how to go about looking for her.
If I’m being completely honest with myself, a small part of me didn’t think we would, and definitely not within the first hour of being in town.
She’s older. The deep tan she used to always have is long gone. Her hair is different, dyed blonde and she’s hiding her mossy green eyes behind contacts that match her daughter’s colour, but…it’s her. It's…“Bonnie.”
Tears flood my eyes, and I jump to my feet, racing toward her only to stop in my tracks when she flinches. Charlie lets out a grunt as he’s tossed to the ground and Dickhead steps in front of me, blocking me from them.
He places a hand on my chest, and I have half a mind to bat it away, but he doesn’t push or shove me. “You’re him, aren’t you?” I accuse, not bothering to specify who I’m referring to.
“I am. And you’re B.Rose.” It’s not a question, so I don’t answer it.
“Did you know who we were when you helped us earlier?” I ask instead. If he knew our connection to Bonnie, why be such a dick to us? Why hold a gun to Charlie’s head?
“Yes.”
“How?” Charlie dusts off his hands, finally climbing to his feet, and comes to stand beside me. My fingers twitch with the need to reach out and grab his hand, but I don’t. Not yet.
Dickhead goes to answer Charlie’s question, but I beat him to it. “The logo. You weren’t eyeing our RV; you were eyeing my logo.”
“Mm, Bee Rose Furr-Ever, kind of gave it away. Little juvenile, don’t you think?” I ignore the dig, my eyes snapping to Bonnie’s as she takes a step closer. Just one, but it’s something.
“How did you find me?” Bonnie asks. The first time we’ve seen each other in over a decade, and that’s the first thing she says? No hi, how are you?
Internally I shake my head, reminding myself that she’s a mother and putting her daughter’s safety first.
“Picking mulberries by the river-" I say, repeating the words she wrote in her post. "-where little crabs hide under the rocks and pinch your toes if you don't wear shoes," I finish.
Charlotte grabs my hand, pulling me toward the street without explanation. “Where are we going?” I ask, my feet automatically moving to follow and I look over my shoulder to her mother.
We haven’t had the chance to talk about – well, anything yet. Honestly, a small part of my mind is convinced that she will disappear the moment I look away, as though she were never here.
“Home, silly.” Charlotte tugs harder, taking full advantage of my shock, not that it's necessary. My body moves before my mind even catches up, obediently following her.
“Charlotte,” Bonnie warns, and her daughter stops, scrunches up her face before letting out a resigned sigh and turns to face her mother. I smile; I’ve seen that exact reaction on Bonnie on more than one occasion when one of our parents would use that tone on her.
Looking up at Bonnie, I don’t even try to fight my smile. She pinches the bridge of her nose; her attention fixed on her daughter. “What have I told you about inviting strangers home with us?”
Not going to lie, being called a stranger out of her lips sucks. I mean, I get it; Charlotte has never met me or Charlie, so we are technically strangers, but still.
“They’re not strangers! It’s Charlie and Jace.” My smile returns, her words chasing away the sting of being called a stranger.
Bonnie eyes her daughter for a long moment before her eyes flick to mine, then Charlie’s. She takes a deep breath, stepping closer and I hold my breath as she crouches down in front of her daughter, running her hands up and down Charlotte’s arms.
“I know, baby. And you’re right, it is them…but, it’s been a very long time since we-” Bonnie clears her throat, licking her lips and my eyes track the movement. “-knew each other. So much has happened since we…lost touch.”
“But you didn’t want to go!” Tears fill my eyes at the pain in Bonnie’s eyes at her daughter’s outburst. Charlotte spins in her mother’s arms, eyes wide with panic as she grabs my hand and yanks. “She didn’t want to leave you. Please don’t leave her,” she pleads, and my heart breaks all over again.
Charlotte squeezes my hand, and I kneel down, Charlie quickly doing the same. Behind Charlotte, Bonnie has a hand over her mouth, tears falling silently down her cheeks and it takes every ounce of strength I didn’t know I have to not pull her into my arms.
A hand lands on Bonnie’s shoulder and for a second I’m jealous as she leans into it, taking comfort from someone who isn’t me. But I reign it in, choosing to address Charlotte’s fears first, but Charlie beats me to it.
“Jace and I aren’t going anywhere. We’ve been looking for you guys for a very long time, you can’t get rid of us that easily.
” He winks. “Besides, I can’t wait to get to know you, both of you,” he declares, effectively acknowledging what Bonnie said without shutting her down, even though he doesn’t necessarily agree.
“If you come home with us then you can get to know us at our place,” Charlotte rebuts and it’s like looking through a window to the past as she juts her chin up, places her hands on her hips with her feet shoulder width apart and raises a brow in challenge.
“Just like your mother,” I whisper under my breath too low for her to hear whilst her attention is on Charlie, but Bonnie does, if the blush that dusts her cheeks is anything to go by and I smile.
“Tell them Mum!” she demands, and Bonnie just opens and closes her mouth. “Mitchie?” I struggle to keep a straight face when the six-year-old turns her ire toward the big guy and his eyes widen.
“Uh, isn’t it a school night?”
“Ugh, fine!” Her little foot stamps on the ground and she whips around, pointing a finger at my chest. Dickhead chuckles and I narrow my eyes at him briefly before looking back down at Charlotte. “But you’re picking me up from school tomorrow.”
She’s not asking, she’s demanding. “Umm…” I look up to her mother to gauge whether she’s against it, but Charlotte is already storming out of the alley, not waiting for an answer.
I’m about to panic, thinking she’s actually ran off, but before I can get too worried about the dangers of a six-year-old wandering the streets alone, even in a smalltown, I hear a car door open and close.
The big guy quickly fishes out a set of keys out of his pocket, holding them in the air before pressing the button, muttering something about staying in the car this time under his breath.
“So,” I stretch the word out, not really sure what to say or do right now. It’s always been easy with Bonnie, since the day Mum moved us in with them. I’ve never once been at a loss for words around her until now.
“Bonnie-” she winces at Charlie’s use of her name, and I think back to her posts, making a note to ask her what name she’s going by now, and whether we should avoid calling her Bonnie.
“-if you’re not comfortable with this, we won’t go tomorrow.
We can stay away until you’re ready. We do this at your pace. ”
Behind her, I see the big guy nod his head in approval. I should probably stop referring to him as that, but it’s better than Dickhead, right?
“No, it’s not that. I want to see you guys. Fuck, I’ve wanted it for years. It’s just-”
“This is a lot,” I finish for her, and she drops her shoulders, nodding her head.
“A lot has happened since we…I’m not the same person I was back then.”
“I get it. I’m not the same person I was back then either,” I tell her.
I went through a lot after we were ripped apart and it’s taken me a long time to get to where I am now, and where I am now doesn’t even remotely resemble where I was back then.
So, I can’t even begin to imagine what that journey has been like for her, or the person who came out the other end. But she’s still Bonnie.
“If you’re okay with it, we’d love to be there when you pick Charlotte up from school tomorrow. Maybe we can find a park nearby and catch up after?”
“Mitchie can come too,” I add, remembering the name Charlotte shouted when she ran into the alley.
I may have been a little jealous of the guy earlier, but I can see the way he looks at her.
It’s the same way Charlie and I look at her, and she’s comfortable with him.
If it makes her feel better to have him around, then I guess I’ll have to get to know him as well.
“Mitchell,” he states, his eyes narrowing at me while he crosses his arms, and I try to hide my gulp.
“Right. Sorry. I just assumed…Charlotte called you-”
“Charlotte can call me Mitchie. You can call me Mitchell.” Right. Why does that sound like a threat? Hopefully he’s the giant teddy bear type. All intimidating as fuck but when you get to know him, he’s actually a loveable misunderstood teddy bear…Hopefully.