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“Lex, I’ve moved on. It took me a long time to finally accept what happened between us. If you care for me at all, even as a friend, please just leave me alone.”
Her eyes never leave mine as she says those words. Turning around, she places her hand on the door, stopping to touch her lips before leaving me alone in the room.
I run my fingers through my hair, reeling from what just happened, unable to calm my racing heart. What the fuck is happening? Maybe I just need to get her out of my system. Just one last time, one fuck. Maybe it isn’t about love anymore, maybe it’s primal curiosity.
But her last words hang around me, a dire warning to leave her alone.
I walk out of the ballroom, running into my sister. “Lex, there you are. We need to talk.”
“Not now, Adriana.” I continue to walk away, unable to think clearly.
“It’s about Charlie.”
Stopping mid-step, Adriana catches my attention.
“What’s wrong?”
“All that stuff Charlie’s mom said was a lie. There was nobody else. Maria just said that so you wouldn’t look for her,” Adriana rushes, her expression full of regret.
She accompanied me on that fateful trip to Cuba and knew what I had gone through and the reason behind my decision at the time. All of this, the whole mess of what we once were, is becoming this tangled web of lies.
“I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought she deserved to be happy, even if it was with someone else.”
Staring down at my feet, my emotions are exposed as the regret begins to seep in. In just one night, Charlotte has brought out everything I’ve been burying since the moment I left her on that cliff. I promised her things, things I knew I shouldn’t, all because I was terrified of losing her.
And in the end, I lost her completely with my careless actions.
“I know, Lex. But it’s done, and now she’s here. What are you going to do about it?”
“I don’t know. She asked me to leave her alone…” I scrub a hand over my hair, “… said she’s finally happy.”
“You did that last time and look where it got you.”
I don’t answer her, walking back to the ballroom in a dull state. The fight within me is compromised, not knowing which way to turn.
The night starts to wind down, and I watch as the crowd slowly disperses. Charlotte is with Eric and Emma, grabbing their things. She glances at me before quickly turning away.
So what? I don’t even get a goodbye? This isn’t like Charlotte at all. The old Charlotte wouldn’t ignore me. She’d be in my face cursing until the sun set if she had a problem.
If you care for me at all, even as a friend, please just leave me alone. Her words replay in my mind over and over again like a broken record.
I don’t want to make more mistakes.
The past is the past, and to move forward, I have to forgive myself for all the wrong decisions I made. But it isn’t just about me forgiving myself, it’s about her forgiving me too. And more than anything, I need it like the air I breathe.
Outside, the concierge opens the door to the car. “Mr. Edwards, your driver is here.”
“Thank you.”
I tip the young guy, then press the security screen down to speak to Kyle.
“Where to, sir?”
I have to make this right. I owe it to us—no more indecisiveness. You need to follow your gut and act accordingly.
“After Dark, please.”
CHARLIE
