He cocked his head. “Really? You think after a few weeks of living here, I don’t know your tells by now? You won’t look me in the eye, so there’s something bothering you. You’re rubbing the back of my hand, so you’re nervous and the contact soothes you. So make it better for both of us and tell me what’s going on.”
I made a sound in the back of my throat that was suspiciously like a whine. “I think you might need to go back to town.”
He tried to sit up and pain flashed across his face. “Fuck!”
“Stop that. Just stay where you are.”
He glared at me. “So you’re telling me you want to get rid of me, and I’m supposed to just accept it? I thought things were going well.” He sighed, seeming so sad. “I’ll go if you want me to, but can you at least tell me why?”
“We’ve got a storm coming. Looks like it’s going to be a bad one,” I explained.
“Okay, still not seeing what that has to do with anything.”
“You fell this morning and got hurt. If something were to happen while you were here, we couldn’t get you to the hospital. And you’ve got your appointment in a few weeks to get checked out.”
He hummed. “Okay, I’m missing something here.” He struggled to adjust himself on the bed. “I did something stupid and paid the price. There’s a storm coming, which I assume is a snowstorm, and you think I’m better off in town. Does that about cover it?”
When he said it like that, it did sound somewhat ridiculous. I tried to stand, but he tightened his grip on my hand.
“Oh no. I can’t chase after you, so you need to stay where you’re at.”
I stared at our joined hands. Charlie was so unlike other people. They scared me. He… made me feel safe.
I needed to make him understand the situation. “I live miles from town. I don’t have a vehicle. Then there’s the fact that this is a pretty treacherous road—as you’re no doubt aware—and we’ve got snow coming. If the weather service is right, a lot of snow. What do you think is going to happen?”
Charlie gave a light shrug of one shoulder. “The town will plow. What’s the big deal?”
“On the ninth of January, we got nine inches of snow.”
“Right. It was sloppy, wet, and heavy. I helped to shovel out some of the neighbors.”
A quick sigh. Eventually he’d understand where I was going with this. “The weather didn’t get much above freezing. That snow didn’t melt from the roads around here until mid-February.”
His eyes flashed, and I knew he’d finally figured it out.
“You’re saying they won’t plow up here.”
“Exactly. I’m one person, living alone. My road doesn’t see much traffic, so they’re not important. The town won’t do anything out here. Every winter up here, I settle in, because I won’t be going anywhere.”
Charlie frowned as if he were deep in thought about what I’d just said. Then he looked up at me and smiled. “I still don’t see the problem here. If I’m going to be stuck somewhere, I’d rather it be with someone I like. Besides, it sounds romantic, don’t you think?”
I just gawped.
