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She grew quiet again, and I let her have her peace. After that revelation, I needed a little time myself.
“Charlotte, I’m so sorry.”
She turned to face me, “Wes, I’ve never told anyone about that before. Only the police and my therapist. I never even told my parents what happened.”
“I’m glad that you did tell me, Charlotte.” I brushed some stray hairs from her cheek. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”
“Now maybe you understand why I don’t like strangers, and why I reacted to you the way I did when I saw you with her at the park.”
“And in the driveway,” I added, and she nodded sadly. “I get it Charlotte, and if I could take that all away from you, I would. If I could replace those memories with better ones, I’d do it in a heartbeat.” I took her face, “But know this, as long as you are in my life, I am going to do everything I can to fill your mind with memories worth thinking about. I want to fill your head so full that you never think about those nightmares again.”
“Wes,” Her eyes filled with tears, “How did I get lucky enough to meet you?”
I cupped her cheek, sliding my thumb over the soft skin, “I feel like it was destiny to meet you, Charlotte. After hearing that story, I feel like this right here is where both our lives have been heading.”
“How can you think that? Maybe my attraction to you is because subconsciously I remembered your father saving me, and then you were there saving my daughter. What if that’s why I am attracted to you?”
It was a possibility, but I didn’t want to believe it. “Charlotte, how do I make you feel?”
“Safer than I have ever felt before.”
“And do you want to get to know me? Do you want what we have between us to grow, become something more?”
“Yes.”
“Then who cares if you subconsciously remembered my father. I’m not my father, but I am very much like him. I don’t know you very well, but every bone in my body is aching to hold on to you as hard as I can and take away all your pain. I know it’s soon, like crazy, and I know that, but from the moment I looked into your eyes at the hospital, I have been taken with you. I can’t imagine not being able to hold you or learn more about you. I feel like that day that Marisol fell, my life started on another path, and you were the destination.”
She blinked, and a tear rolled slowly down her cheek, “It is soon, like crazy soon.” She smiled slightly, “And this kind of scares me a lot, but I feel the same, Wes.”
I closed my eyes, letting those words coat my soul. When I opened them, I pulled her closer to me and kissed her tenderly before I wrapped my arms around her and held her close. “I’m going to protect you, Charlotte, and Marisol, too. I’m going to protect you both.”
