Learning Love Again [Book #2]

Chapter 8

|| JACKIE ||

|| Saturday, July 4th ||

The rest of the evening went by smoothly. Tiffany, Jessy, and Meredith left first. Madison said she'd stay behind for a bit to help with a few things. Charlotte and I are always glad to give her a ride since we all live in the same complex.

As we were heading back to the apartment, Madison started a conversation. "So, have you decided on what you're going to do with the drug?"

"I said that this might not be enough evidence. I agree with what the two of you told me last week. Handing it to the cops right now might not be worth analyzing. Probably not even big enough to reopen the case. So, we're keeping it as evidence for later on," Charlotte explained.

"Okay, that sounds like a good plan," Madison smiled. "Hey? Know that I'm happy the two of you are working things out together."

"Thanks, Madison. We appreciate the support," I said.

I saw Charlotte looking at me in the rear-view mirror, and I only smiled at her as we arrived at the apartment. We waved at Madison after watching her go inside. I felt Charlotte take my hand as we walked back to ours.

"What's on your mind?" I asked her.

She sighed. "I noticed that you're still not wearing the ring."

"I know. I saw you playing with my hand earlier at Mom's house."

"Are you still upset? Is that why you're not wearing it?"

I can hear the pain in Charlotte's voice. I still need to think about it, and it's almost going to be two weeks since I threw it at her in the first place. We walked inside the apartment and into the bedroom. I hadn't realized I was deep in thought to respond to Charlotte's question. I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Charlotte speaking.

"Jackie? Can you please talk to me?"

"I'm not upset. I'm just... Stalling."

"Stalling?" Charlotte questioned. "So, you still haven't found a reason to place it back on?"

"Yeah," I said after quite a hesitation.

We were both in the middle of changing, standing on opposite corners of the bedroom. I heard Charlotte walking away to place her things in the laundry basket, while I hung a few things on the chair at the work desk. Charlotte walked back in as I unbuckled my belt. She looked at me as she stood in her undergarments before grabbing the oversized T-shirt that sat on her side of the bed.

"Are we okay?"

"We are," I sighed, hanging the rest of my clothes on the chair.

"The way you're acting doesn't sound like we are. What are you still hiding, Jackie? We said we weren't going to act around the family. By the looks of it now, it sounds like you were when you told them that everything was fine between us," Charlotte said.

I glanced at the ring on my bedside table, biting my lip, and then sat on the bed. Not even facing Charlotte.

"Charlotte, I just want some more time to think about the ring."

"What are you still afraid of?"

"A lot of things, Charlotte. I'm also tired of getting asked about the ring. Madison asked me while I was getting coffee with her, and then Mom asked me that same day in the mall. I somehow feel like I have an overwhelming amount of pressure on me about the ring," I said. "The ring sounds much more important than my emotional well-being!"

I pulled the dresser open and grabbed out a clean pair of shorts and a tank top.

I heard Charlotte sigh as I finished getting dressed. "I'm sorry. I just... Miss you."