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Normally, I would bask in all that attention, lap it up the way a lion cub laps up milk but my mind’s preoccupied with getting Robbie out of the way. Only then will I be able to enjoy Charlotte fully.
Pulling at the collar of my hoodie, I plant a kiss on Charlotte’s head then murmur, “He calls you Chuck.”
She doesn’t tense up, as if she doesn’t register the hurt in my voice, or maybe she doesn’t understand that bad things happen inside of me when she lets another man call her by a nickname.
“Yup,” she shrugs, “my whole family calls me that.”
Cold shivers rake down my spine. “So Robbie is family, huh?”
Charlotte slows down our pace, carefully looking up at me. “No,” she says in a level voice, “but he heard them calling me that and adopted the nickname. And you know what?” She flashes a smile. “I like spidey better anyway.”
I force a smile but I’m not sure she buys it, because she frees herself from my hold.
“I’m buying that cotton candy,” she murmurs, “will you wait for me?”
It’s a long line and I nod, watching Charlotte skip to the other side of the pier and I turn my attention to Robbie. He’s wearing linen and somehow for whatever fucking reason, the fabric stays crease free. And his blonde hair is gelled. Golden locks shine in the light of the lampposts and they used to make everyone so proud.
Our whole clan always said he was our little prince.
But if he’s the prince, then who the fuck am I?
Guess, it’s time to find out. We walk over to the railing and I suspect Robbie thinks we’re going to have a little chat man to man. Crossing his arms, he leans against the railing and his eyes are narrowed as if he has me all figured out.
“I see what you’re doing?” Robbie murmurs, licking his lips and he lets out a low hiss as if he’s not going to let me get away with this.
Taking a step closer to him, until our clothes almost brush, I rasp, “What am I doing, cuz?”
He straightens and he’s only an inch taller than me, but his shoulders are slumped. “You’re tricking Chuck into liking you. I don’t know what you’ve done or what you’ve said, but you’ll have a rude awakening when she snaps out of it.”
The back of my neck heats and suddenly all the noise around me turns into a blur: children that are screaming, couples that laugh, the street musician banging on his drum and my heart starts pounding.
There’s something to what Robbie is saying. Maybe Charlotte is just infatuated with me right now, but her feelings could change. Dread washes over me when I think about waking up one day and finding out that Charlotte is gone. There’s no ring on her finger, we haven’t signed a contract and her womb is empty.
Nothing of substance is binding her to me, other than her feelings but feelings are fickle.
“Listen to me,” Robbie puts a hand on my shoulder and squeezes, “I get your little attraction to each other. Charlotte’s a good girl and she’s pretty damn naïve. Then you come along and she wants to take a risk for once in her life and invite a little danger.”
Technically, Robbie’s the one who invited the danger.
Although, I wasn’t very dangerous back then and I would’ve stayed in check if he hadn’t decided to mess with us. He brought this upon himself.
“We both know she deserves more,” Robbie says and sympathy flares on his face. “And we both know that’s not you.”
“You’re right,” I reply and he inhales from the relief. “Charlotte does deserve more, but if I can’t have her then nobody else will.”
Rolling his eyes, Robbie groans, “You sound like a lunatic. Remind me to only let you use the butter knife at the next family reunion.”
What I should do, is remind him to not stand so close to the railing.
“Charlotte doesn’t think I’m a lunatic. She thinks I’m strong, she thinks I’m selfless.” I smirk. “She thinks I’m brave. She wants to be with me.”
Annoyance causes Robbie’s lips to twitch. “Because she doesn’t know the real you.”
My temples begin to pound, a darkness descending in my mind and it makes me feel numb.
“I don’t think you know the real Charlotte.” I grit my teeth. “Did you know she’s got ink on her?”
Shock colors Robbie’s face as if he can’t handle the idea of Charlotte being just a tad wild. “You’re lying.”
