Chapter 12
COLTON
“I’ve missed you, Mum,” I said, stroking the top of her headstone, where a single white lily rested. Her site looked good, clean and well taken care of.
I had spent the past couple of hours pouring everything out into the open. All my hurt, all my anger. I let loose without restraint.
The unloading helped, my mind at ease for the first time since I had arrived. However, my tank had now hit empty, both emotionally and physically, my body blaring at me to rest and recoup after such a draining day.
As the clock pushed closer to midnight, a chill swept over the cemetery, creating a certain stillness that could only come with the impending witching hour. And still, I felt more at peace with the company of the dead than I did at the thought of my childhood home.
I embraced the quiet, reluctant to leave that pocket of protection I had found.
Alas, opening hours were coming to a close, and it was time to move on before I got kicked out.
Sleep would not come easily, my beat-up car the least appealing place to rest my head.
However, it was the only option I had at such short notice.
Brushing my dirt-stained palms on my jeans, I turned for the car park, shuffling down the barren rows of gravestones and monuments. I was so consumed in my own world that I hadn’t noticed my living company.
Standing in front of an angel headstone was a stationary figure drenched in black, one perfect lily held between stiff, feminine fingers.
Then, as if the stars called her by name, a beautiful, ethereal face looked up at the sky, unmistakable features glowing beneath the moon’s reflection.
“Charlotte?” I asked, my breath caught in awe and surprise.
Familiar brown eyes turned to lock with mine, a hint of sadness swimming in their depths before recognition took over.
“Colt?” she exclaimed in disbelief before I was tackled in a crushing hug.
The embrace took me by surprise but was perfectly timed. When I had hit rock bottom, there she was again, as if the fates had deemed it so.
I welcomed the contact and was enveloped in her signature jasmine scent, which immediately eased my mind and body. However, I wasn’t the only one affected.
As my arms rose around her, Charlotte snuggled deeper into my chest, seeking solace like I was.
After what felt like both a second and eternity, she pulled back to stare up at me, and we were both caught in an endless orbit.
We soaked in each other’s presence, scoping one another after more than a year apart. Much had changed, though a lot was the same.
Charlotte broke the spell first. “What are you doing here, Colt? And so late?”
Without a second thought, I spoke the truth, as terrifying and harrowing as it was as the clock struck midnight in the muted cemetery.
“I have nowhere else to go.”
She tilted her head and simply replied, “Yes, you do.”
I followed Charlotte as she led me into the elevator of an apartment complex on the other side of town.
As I tailed her car on the way over, I made a list in my head of all the reasons why going to her place was a bad idea… Yet not a single one seemed to take root enough for me to actually refuse.
I was desperate for comfort, warmth and a modicum of company. And for some reason, I felt like Charlotte was searching for the same.
She eventually led me into a one-bedroom apartment that I instantly fell in love with. It was modest, but you could tell that each piece of furniture was picked out specifically, not to mention her little quirks that were scattered throughout.
A few candles, a bookshelf full of well-read romance novels and some family portraits that displayed cheerful, inviting smiles. It was a privilege to be invited in, and I enjoyed exploring her world. The place was well loved, a true home.
“I was out all day, so I haven’t got a feast in the fridge,” she called from the miniature kitchen sidelining the living room. “But I can offer you a tasty grilled cheese?”
That sounds perfect. You’re perfect. I agreed, occupying a stool at her kitchen bench so I could just watch her. She seemed at ease, completely comfortable with me in her sanctuary.
“So,” I said, “I guess I have you to thank for the lily?”
Charlotte shrugged. “Just thought Beth deserved something pretty.”
“Thank you. She always loved you,” I said with full sincerity. “Who were you visiting?”
“My dad. He passed three years ago in a car accident.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” Man, I’m an asshole.
She waved a flippant hand in the air. “Usually, I’m okay. Time has helped heal a lot. But occasionally—especially on holidays—I miss him terribly. So much so, I can’t think straight. Hence why I was in a cemetery at the dead of night.”
I chuckled at her choice of words before she switched up on me.
“What about you, Colton Richards? What brings you back to this place after so long? And don’t lie and say it was just to pop in and say hi to mummy dearest.”
I cringed at the last name, my thoughts diverting back to the man who gave me that title. “I came to see my dad…” I shook my head, trying to dispel the sudden mist obscuring my vision. My throat closed up, unable to tell her the full extent of my suffering.
Charlotte considered me then, really looking at me, and soon found the underlying meaning beneath my words. Somehow, she understood, slotting the pieces together from my fucked-up past.
She leant over the bench and placed her hand over mine, then squeezed lightly. I’m here, her touch said. I’m sorry, is her eyes conveyed.
In that snapshot of time, we shared a moment—something that was altogether ours.
Sure, I had friends. People who were there for me, supported me. But this was different.
Charlotte had felt loss, and she fully understood the grief I had experienced and still went through on a daily basis. She understood because she lived with those demons herself.
Warmth spread through my chest as the acceptance I desperately sought was found in the woman before me. For the first time since my mother’s death, I no longer felt alone.