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I was extremely aware of him, and it was doing my head in. I noticed everything about him. The five o’clock shadow that dusted his jaw when he came in from work in the evenings. The way his dark hair was an absolute mess when he finally took his cowboy hat off. How he would randomly stare at me, like he was trying to figure me out. That wicked smirk that curved his lips when we got into small, playful arguments.
He was everywhere; I couldn’t get him out of my head.
Charlie groaned when she answered the phone. “I was napping,” she grumbled.
I laughed a little, a smile curving my lips. God, I really missed my best friend. She was so grumpy when she was woken up, and I missed dealing with that. I missed everything about her. “I can let you go,” I teased.
“No,” she snapped. I snorted. Rustling came over the line, signifying she was either sitting up or getting out of bed. “I’m always so busy. Please talk. I feel like I haven’t heard from you in ages except for texts, but those aren’t the same.”
She was right. They weren’t. Phone calls weren’t the same either, but it was better than no contact at all.
“How’s everything going?” she asked. “Have you decided to marry him yet?”
I winced. That was the thing… I hadn’t told her what Tripp did yet. My best friend would blow a gasket. But I knew I couldn’t keep hiding it. We never hid anything from each other.
“Well…” I swallowed thickly, “about that.”
She groaned. “Everlee, I swear to God, if you turned him down after he’s already taken you to the doctor and got you help—”
“We’re already married,” I blurted.
Silence.
Dead silence rang on the other end of the phone. I clenched my blanket in my fists, nervous now. Her silence was worse than her rage sometimes.
“Charlie?” I squeaked.
“Hold on,” she said. “I’m trying to figure out a way to reach through the phone and shake you because I know you did not just say you’re already married and you didn’t tell me!” she yelled at the end.
I winced. “He, um, well, he pulled a fast one on me!” I exclaimed, placing all the blame on Tripp. I hated it when Charlie was upset with me.
She snorted. “A fast one. Right. Like he dragged you down to the courthouse and forced your hand. Lie better, Ever.”
I sighed. “Well, he sort of did,” I admitted. Charlie made a sort of growling noise on the other end of the phone. “We got married the day he took me to the doctor’s office. I’m sorry. I just… I didn’t know how to tell you, and honestly, I didn’t know what to make of it myself. He made the appointment without my consent, and when I threatened to leave, he literally threw me over his shoulder and dumped me in the passenger seat of his truck.”
Charlie’s reaction was not one I was expecting.
She was laughing.
“Charlie, stop laughing,” I hissed. “This isn’t funny.”
She snickered. “I’m sorry, girl, but it really is. That man rolled all over you like a regular alpha. Honestly, I’m not even mad at him.” I gaped at the wall across from me as if she were standing there. She had to be kidding me! What happened to her being on my side? “You know why? Because it means he’s trying to take care of you. I can’t ever be angry with him for taking care of my best friend when she’s so bad at taking care of herself.”
I sighed. She wasn’t wrong there. I was literally the worst and so freaking forgetful, even with normal everyday things.
Her alarm clock suddenly blared in the background, and Charlie released a sound similar to what I assumed a walrus would make. I rolled my lips into my mouth so I wouldn’t laugh. It wasn’t fair to laugh when she was still working two jobs to cover her portion of the rent. Tripp had offered to cover hers as well, to ease some of her financial burden with me gone, but she had refused.
She was as stubborn as a mule and refused to take what she considered handouts.
“I have to get ready for work,” she told me. “I love you bunches.”
I sighed. “I love you, too,” I told her, blinking back tears. I didn’t want to end the call. I missed her terribly.
As soon as the call ended, I rolled onto my side and sniffled, tears sliding down my cheeks. I really missed Charlie. She was the only family I had, and being away from her like this sucked, even if I was finally getting the medical help I needed.
She was my family. My only family. And I really wished we weren’t on separate ends of the country.
I slowly opened my eyes. They were swollen and sore from the crying I’d done. Sitting up, I groaned, quickly becoming disoriented. My vision was a bit blurry, and I was weak, my hands shaky. Squinting at my clock, my aching eyes widened in horror.
