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I didn’t want that. I didn’t want her to go to a lesser school for me. She needed to focus on herself and I knew she wouldn’t do that if we were dating, so I told her we needed to take a break. Eight years later and we’re still on a break.
Mom has kept me up to date and I know for a fact Charlie hasn’t dated anyone else. At least she didn’t bring anyone home to meet the family. That’s one of the major advantages of growing up next door to Charlie and everyone on Mulberry Lane being like family. She can't put distance between us unless she wants to make things awkward for everyone.
But I know she’s still hurting. I know she hasn’t fully gotten over us splitting up and I can't blame her. I'm right there with her. I want her back more than I want to play for the Pit Bulls. More than I want to play professional ball in general. She’s all that’s ever mattered to me and that hasn’t changed.
I just need to figure out how to get Charlie to give me another chance.
Chapter 3
Charlie
“How long are you home for?” Wyatt asks softly from his spot next to me in the large round booth.
Smithy, Cord, Leo, and Wyatt joined us in our booth. It’s been a little tense since they sat down. Macy and Cord have been pissy with each other since they broke up. Leo and Cici are awkward around each other because there was something brewing between them, then they both just walked away. And now, Smithy is flirting with everyone and pissing off the guys.
“She didn’t tell you?” Macy leans forward, all of a sudden interested in our conversation.
“Apparently not,” Wyatt grumbles under his breath before he turns his attention back to me. “What didn’t you tell me?”
“Well, I kinda got a job and I'm moving home. I had my interview today and was offered the job.” I keep my gaze on anything other than Wyatt. This is already awkward enough, I don’t want it to be worse.
Ever since I ran over and threw myself into Cord’s arms, things have been tense. I could feel the anger and frustration radiating off of Wyatt, but he doesn’t have a say in who I hug. When he left for college, I became really close to Cord and I’ve barely seen him since I left for college.
Sometimes my traitorous heart still beats a little faster whenever Wyatt’s in the room. It still believes Wyatt’s mine, even though he hasn’t been in a long time. I always gravitate towards him, even though I don’t want to.
That’s why I don’t date. My heart is still hung up on him and no matter how many times my mind screams he doesn’t want me; I can't let him go.
I’ve had countless men ask me out since I went away to college. They were all sweet, attractive, and the type of men I should be looking for… but they weren’t him.
“That’s awesome! Are you moving in with your parents?”
“I don’t know. I'm not sure I can handle living at home after being by myself for so long. I love my parents and siblings, but I'm used to being alone. I haven’t made any concrete plans yet. I'm going to look at a few apartments tomorrow. Then I have to fly back to LA and pack up my things. Worst case scenario, I stay at home until I figure out what I want. Sometimes when I'm home I don’t stay with my family anyway.” She shrugs, not giving me any other information.
“So, where do you stay when you don’t stay with them?” I probe for more.
“Sometimes I stay with Macy and other times I stay with someone in the family.”
“Do you ever stay with my parents?” Wyatt looks surprised.
“I'm staying with them right now,” I whisper, hating that he knows I'm staying in his old bedroom. “Nikita and Peyton begged me to stay with them the next time I was home and my grandparents are staying in my bedroom. They’re having their house renovated, but it should be finished soon.”
I’m staying in a room that still smells like him. There are still trophies on the shelf, clothes in the dresser, and his body wash in the shower. It’s still Wyatt’s room in every way that matters.
Whenever Blake and Kennedy offer for me to stay there, I always take them up on it. For the few days I use Wyatt’s room, I can pretend our relationship didn’t crumble around us.
Sometimes I swear Uncle Blake convinces the girls to invite me to their house because he wants me there. We’ve been close for as long as I can remember. When Blake moved into his house, I’d beg to have a sleepover so I could spend more time with him. After he adopted Wyatt, I basically split my time between my house and Blake’s. Once we ended things, it was awkward in the beginning. I didn’t know how to act around Wyatt’s family. It took a while to get back to normal.
Blake being Blake, he didn’t allow things to be weird. He and Kennedy made sure to involve me in things just like they did before Wyatt and I started dating and even during the period of time we dated. They refused to let our relationship strain just because my dating status had changed.
We’ve finally found our way back to how things were before Wyatt and I dated. I think a large reason is because Wyatt wasn’t home. He wasn’t on Mulberry Lane. We could pretend he didn’t exist. Now… I don’t know what will happen with both of us in the same town again.
Every night I stay at Blake’s, I steal one of Wyatt’s old shirts or sweatshirts to sleep in. I pretend I'm back in his arms and that life is perfect again.
“How did I not know that?” Wyatt’s forehead creases as he stares at me.
“Well, you tend to be away when I come home to visit. I’m sure no one thought my sleeping arrangements were newsworthy information.” I flash him a grin that’s supposed to be playful, but it’s not. The Wyatt who lived next door knew what I was doing every second of the day, this version barely knows anything about me. Something about that makes my chest ache more than I'm willing to admit.
“Alright, I'm tired. I'm going home.” Macy motions for the guys to get out of the booth so she can leave. “Let’s go,Charlotte!”
