41. Charlotte
My heart ached for Elijah after our conversation the previous night. He had clearly been carrying the guilt of his father’s death around with him all these years. I finally felt like all the puzzle pieces were coming together and I was starting to understand him better. I woke up the next morning safe in his arms as Theo woke up shortly after and pounced on me. How this kid had so much energy in the morning was beyond me.
“Morning,” a groggy Elijah said next to me as Theo threw himself on top of him. “Did your Mommy not teach you that it’s impolite to jump on people right after they wake up?” he asked tickling Theo.
“Sorry, I guess I forgot that lesson,” I said with a yawn.
“What’s for breakfast?” This kid was unbelievable.
Elijah smirked and raised his eyebrow at me. “Pancakes?”
“I think it might be better if I make them this morning,” I said, making my way out of bed. Theo jumped again toward Elijah, but this time he was more prepared, grabbing him and tossing him in the air, enticing squeals from Theo. I had a feeling I was going to get used to this chaos and that I was going to love it.
After breakfast we discussed our plans for the day. “I figured maybe we could pack a picnic and head up to the creek. There’s a playground nearby for Theo.”
I loved the fact he was including Theo in this and had genuinely thought about how to make it fun for everyone. A few hours later, we stopped off at my place to grab a couple days’ worth of clothes, just in case. I didn’t want to be assumptive, but at the same time, I knew I wanted to spend as much time with Elijah as possible. Heading up to the creek, I was taken aback with the views. I hadn’t gotten to explore as much of this side of the town yet and it was beautiful. It looked exactly like all the pictures on my Google search before I picked this place. Theo immediately ran towards the playground. Elijah placed the blanket nearby and we sat down close together, watching him.
“I picked this town after a random Google search, did I tell you that?” Elijah shook his head. “I just wanted to find somewhere peaceful to go, I’m so glad I picked this place.”
“I’m glad you picked this place, too.” He smiled, moving closer to me as I rested my chin on my shoulder. “I don’t know how I got so lucky to have you in my life.” His voice was sincere as he spoke.
“You know I come as a package deal, right?” My eyes wandered to Theo.
I was nervous for Elijah’s response. I know we had feelings for each other, but I couldn’t blame him if he didn’t want to take on a kid.
He could get any girl he wanted to; he didn’t need to settle for one with baggage.
“I do.” He nodded, his gaze following mine to Theo. “I feel like I’ve won the lottery with this package.” I blushed at his words.
It always felt like Elijah knew exactly what to say to make me feel better.I had never felt this safe around someone before. Even in the early days with Adam, I found myself feeling insecure, but I never felt that way with Elijah. I cuddled tighter into him and he put his arm around my shoulder, pulling me close.
“Careful, you’ll be stuck with us before you know it,” I teased.
“I hope I’m stuck with the two of you forever,” he said, planting a kiss on my forehead.
We ate our picnic talking about anything and everything. Elijah told Theo about how he used to come fishing here with his dad. I loved the fact that Elijah was talking about him with Theo; I knew how hard it was for him.
Theo begged Elijah to bring him fishing sometime and he promised he would. If I knew anything about Elijah’s promises, he meant them. After his brief respite, Theo was back to exploring.
“Have you heard anything about Adam today?” I didn’t want to ask, but I knew Elijah was being kept in the loop.
“He’s still being kept at the station last I heard. They want to talk me through my statement tomorrow when I’m back on shift.”
“Why do they need to talk you through it?”
“It’s just procedure, nothing to worry about. They just want to make sure everything I say lines up right so they can charge him. They’ll do the same with Daines’ statement, too.” We went quiet for a moment as I thought about Adam. I felt guilty that he was clouding my thoughts when I was supposed to be on a date with Elijah, but I couldn’t get him off my brain. I was angry about how he treated me and everything he had put me through. I was frustrated that it took me so long to get away.
“He always made me feel like I was asking too much,” I said, my thoughts finding their way out loud.
“You were never asking too much, Charlie; you were just asking the wrong person.” He grabbed my hand. “Nothing you could ever ask me would be too much.”
If that had been Adam saying that, I would know he was only saying it to make me forgive him for something he had done. Elijah was different. Elijah meant every single word he just said. I genuinely believed looking at him now that if I asked him, he would do anything for me. That thought excited me and terrified me at the same time.
This time it was me who initiated the kiss as I brought my free hand up to his face, bringing my lips to his. I found myself melting into him as he removed his hand from mine and placed it on my back, pulling me closer to him. I had spent so many days feeling like a burden, feeling like I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my life. I was so scared for so long; scared of Adam, scared of making a mistake and him hurting me. I wasn’t scared anymore. Adam was going to be locked up and regardless, Elijah was here to protect me.
The rest of our picnic was filled with a mixture of conversation, laughing, and kissing. The latter being my favourite part. If Theo noticed the change in dynamic between the two of us, he didn’t say anything. He was only little; I don’t think he was thinking much past the amount of fun he was having. When the sun started to set, we packed everything back into Elijah’s truck and headed home. My hand rested in Elijah’s the whole time as I turned to see a sleeping Theo behind us.
“That kid falls asleep so easily,” Elijah joked.
“He gets it from me, I think,” I said, chuckling.
“Lucas is staying at Ma’s tonight.” I wondered if that was a coincidence or if Elijah had asked him to.
“Do you think he would be okay with Theo staying in his room?”
“He won’t mind. Besides, it would mean I would at least have some warning before Theo throws himself on me first thing in the morning.” I laughed at that. When we pulled up, Elijah got Theo out of the truck, careful not to wake him up. I made coffee whilst he took him up to Lucas’ room.
“All good?” I asked as he came back down the stairs.
“Kid’s out like a light.”