Chapter 36 Charlie
charlie
By the time I finally got home that night—after saying goodbye to the parents, watching the other grade levels perform, and tying up the last-minute tasks before winter break—all I wanted was to collapse on the couch with Austin.
The plan was simple: snuggle up, put on our favorite TV show, and demolish an embarrassing amount of pizza.
But when I walked in the door, I was surprised to find a note from Austin. Auburn and Ledger had gone out for the night, and he was staying at their place with Evie. I tried texting him afterward to see if he wanted company, but it was already past nine, so the two of them must have passed out.
What was supposed to be a cozy, lazy night turned into something entirely different. With the house quiet and no one around, I decided to treat myself to an impromptu home spa night. It wasn’t the evening I’d envisioned, but it was a chance to unwind in a way I hadn’t in ages.
With my face covered in green, I sank back into the soft covers, then kicked my feet up on the bed.
The house was so still, and without the hum of Austin’s presence, it felt emptier than usual.
I hugged his pillow to my chest, careful to keep my mask from touching it, and breathed in the faint trace of him—clean, warm, and comforting. I had it bad.
Really bad.
How could I not? Austin always showed up for me. Tonight, like every other time I needed him, he’d been there, cheering me on, steady and unshakable. I closed my eyes. I was in love with him—crazily, madly, completely in love.
The thought should have scared me. After all, this was supposed to be a temporary arrangement. A marriage built on convenience, not feelings. But the idea of a time when our fake marriage would actually have to end felt unbearable. Could I really go back to a life without him?
I opened my eyes, staring at the ceiling, my heart pounding with a question I wasn’t sure I was ready to answer. What if this wasn’t temporary? What if we just . . . stayed married? The thought was wild, reckless even, but it lit a spark in me that I couldn’t ignore.
Maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t about pretending anymore. Maybe it never had been.
I wandered into the bathroom, the tile cool beneath my feet as I leaned over the sink to rinse off the mud mask. I patted my face dry with a towel, catching my reflection in the mirror. There was a spark in my eyes, a certainty I hadn’t let myself feel before.
Back in the bedroom, I kicked my feet up again, this time with a smile tugging at my lips. The weight of the day, the stress of the holidays, all of it melted away as I let myself focus on one thing: Austin. He wasn’t here tonight, but he’d shown up in every way that mattered. He always did.
With the break stretching ahead of me, I had time. Time to spend with him, to show him what I’d come to know deep in my heart—that this didn’t have to be temporary. That it could be real.
Grinning, I curled up against his pillow, already planning how I’d spend every second of the days ahead with him, making sure he knew.