On my way to campus I sped through more yellow lights than I cared to admit. Speed bumps? More like suggestions. I only had two minutes to get to the final before the professor, who was notorious for locking doors on the hour, barred me from entering. I was just pulling into a spot when my phone rang.
Thinking it could be Liam, maybe hoping it would be, I answered. I was turning into a fourteen-year-old with a crush. I was smiling when I said, “Hello?”
“Charlie, I’m glad I caught you.” I recognized April’s voice. I wasn’t quite ready to settle on calling her mom again. I might not ever be.
“April? I’m running kind of late for an exam can I call you back?” My lungs burned with effort as I raced from student parking to the building where the final was taking place.
“This will only take a second,” she said.
“Good, because that’s all I’ve got.”
“I received word that your application has been accepted. The volunteer spot is yours if you want it.”
The news should have made me happy, but if it did, it was hollow. I frowned as I shoved through the double doors and hurried down the hall. “That’s great,” I told her. This was all I’d wanted for a long time. The chance to serve where I was needed, to give back to others the way I wanted to when my father was sick, but couldn’t. It’s the entire reason why I decided to get my bachelor’s in nursing in the first place.
There was a pause. “You don’t sound as enthusiastic as I thought you would.”
I tried to muster some enthusiasm up. “No, I am, this is great.”
She cleared her throat. “Look, I don’t mean to be rude, but I pushed your application through. I had to pull some strings to get you accepted. I thought you’d be pleased.”
My back stiffened. I wanted to close the gap between us, but I certainly didn’t need her playing mother. “You shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t need your help. I would have gotten it on my own.”
“I just wanted to help you.”
I took the stairs two at a time and cursed under my breath. One minute. “Look, I’m grateful for your help, but my plans may have changed.”
“Changed?” There was a pause. “This is about that boy isn’t it. The one who was at the restaurant with you? Please don’t tell me you’re throwing this opportunity away for some guy.”
I thought I’d gotten over her leaving. In fact, I was looking forward to meeting her family and mending fences. The second she attacked Liam however, I snapped. “Funny coming from a woman who threw away her daughter.” I reached the classroom door just as the professor was walking up the aisle to lock it. “I’ve got a final, I have to go.”
Click.
Pushing her from my mind, I gave my professor a nervous smile and took a seat in the back of the room. She had no right to judge any choices I made. Just because I was no longer obsessed with school and my career, didn’t mean they still weren’t important.
I was allowed to have a life in addition to work. In fact, I’d given it up in exchange for extra classes, volunteer work and my job for so long I’d forgotten what fun was like until recently. She had no place to tell me what to do, especially after she’d been absent for so long.
If I wanted to give up the volunteer opportunity to spend more time with Liam, there’d be other chances.
I couldn’t say the same for me and Liam. We only had a couple short weeks before his lease ended and we had to make a real decision about what was happening between us.
For the first time in my life, I was open to the possibility of taking a chance.
As long as it was with him.
Chapter Twenty Four
Liam
My email dingedas I was driving home from work later that day and I paused at a stoplight to check it.Dear Mr. Walsh, unfortunately you are ineligible to receive the scholarship based on…
A loud blare from the car behind me shook me out of my stupor. I ground my teeth together as I accelerated. I’d been so distracted the night before I’d forgotten to call and remind dad to submit the forms so I could finish the application by the deadline. The email had been a standard form rejection. With only a few words, my hopes at attending the best school in the country had been squashed.
Part of me had to wonder if it hadn’t been a deliberate move on Dad’s part. Now he had me right where he wanted me. I’d attend the University of Florida, which was a couple hours away but still close enough to stay under their thumb. I should be grateful I was accepted anywhere, that a partial scholarship I’d already received would cover some of the costs, but all I could think about was the opportunity I’d lost.
Because of him.
Charlie’s car was already parked next to my space. I needed to talk to her about what was going to happen this summer, but I didn’t know what to say. How do I tell her I have to leave her when just this morning I’d told her I loved her?
