AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He handed the bag to Charlotte. The car smelled of fries, onions, and expensive perfume, and he was growing hungrier by the minute. Understandably, she didn’t want to eat inside a restaurant, so it was takeout in the car.
Turning into a nearby park, he found an empty parking space furthest from the other vehicles. Cutting the engine, he found the silence even more unbearable. Looking to his side where Charlotte held the food, he wondered if he should just take it from her, but decided against it. Still, she wasn’t moving, and he needed to eat.
“Uh…” he ventured carefully.
“Do you think I’m a terrible person?” she blurted, reaching into the bag and pulling out a burger for a big bite. “Do you theekit woh roo o’ me to lee?” Her cheeks bulged. “I doo kno whoo es to do. I wus scare…”
Rick took the chance to snatch the bag. Out came the triple patty with grilled onions, bacon, and chopped chillies. His mouth watered.
Finally. He deserved this.
One bite and he groaned. Charlotte droned next to him, but he couldn’t make out a word through her chewing. She was venting, so none of that required his attention. She had to work it out on her own. He was only there for transportation and… food, apparently.
“I hope Matt and his family will understand. Matt should, at the very least, right?” Her mouth was still full; it was a sight to see her so frazzled. “It’s not like he was ever knocking down my door and singing his undying love for me when we were dating. And you know what? I think that’s what you need for a true relationship to flourish. Chemistry, andpassion, to start. We had none of that!” Her manicured fingers went for the box of fries as she shoved them ungraciously into her mouth. “Oh, I don’t know what I’m going to do now. They’re going to be on me like a pride of lions. And my friends at the tennis club won’t ever let me live this down…”
Rick was already halfway done with his drink when he checked the time. Almost four. Looks like he wasn’t going to have time to go home and rest before dinner. Maybe dinner was ambitious, too. He wanted to empathize with her since she looked like she was truly going through something, but none of it was his place. He wasn’t the person to offer advice, anyway. There were professionals for this sort of thing.
He unlocked his phone to read his messages. A few texts from Alex and Sarah about the cursed wedding. Alex asked him where he ran off to. Since Rick wasn’t acquainted with anyone in Charlotte’s circle, no one else had contacted him. A blessing.
Spying on the ranting bride next to him, he considered tellinghis brother the truth. Alex and Sarah would probably blow up his phone, asking where they were. They’d want to meet up, see Charlotte, and maybe she’ll go with them, or maybe there’ll be more hell for him.
For an unknown reason, it almost felt like a betrayal if he gave her away. But shouldn’t his role as the chauffeur end by now?
When she stopped talking, Rick jumped to put in a word. “Charlotte, you look tired. You need rest. Let me take you home.”
She panicked. “No! Not home! I can’t go home! That’s where my mother will be.Waiting for me. I can’t deal with her right now. Absolutely not!”
What other choices were there? He was desperate.
“How about Alex and Sarah? They’ll take you in.”
Charlotte shook her head. “No! They’ll want to talk, plus they have an early flight tomorrow for their honeymoon. I don’t want to intrude.”
“You’re all friends. It’s not intruding. Let me call?—”
“No!” she seized his hands. “Don’t, please. I just want to be alone right now. I need space to think.”
“Do you have anywhere else in mind?” he asked, ready to punch in the address. When she shook her head, his hopes deflated.
He breathed out, short on ideas, but eventually came up with one. It was a shot in the dark, but a workable option, and one she might even turn down. If that was the case, then he’d have no choice but to return her back to her house.
“Do you want to rest up at my place, then?” he proposed, preparing for the rejection, maybe even outrage that he was crossing a line. But, no one would think to look for her there.
“Yes!Good idea!”
Wow. The chances were slim, but he was finally getting somewhere. Astonished, he watched her eyes widen as though it was the best thing she’d heard all day.
“Let’s go!” she said with newfound determination.
Rick told himself this was the last resort, offering his place to a fleeing bride. He was just being helpful. Luckily, none of his neighbors saw them, or none that he knew of.
He offered drinks and snacks, but she was too withdrawn to respond, so he left her alone. She sat on his couch in a daze and stared into space.
This was the most unkempt he’d ever seen her. Throughout the years of knowing her from a distance, there was never a stray hair from her perfectly coiffed head. Her skin was flawless, her face perfectly symmetrical, and her outfits were so chic they must have been pressed daily.
But now, sitting on his couch, she was like a lost child. Flyaway hairs floated from her head, and the veil dangled by a loose thread. Her makeup, despite crying on and off in the last five hours, miraculously held on. But the spider-legged false lashes did not survive the constant rubbing.
It wasn’t a bad look. She appeared more human, far from the porcelain doll she reminded him of. Less trite, and more genuine.
