The Curse of Your Past // Charlie Gillespie

Chapter 50

I wake up to the smell of something good... when I open my eyes I can see a croissant right infront of my face and a smiling Charlie right behind it. "Good Morning Beautiful." My lips curl into a smile. "Good Morning Handsome" I say, my voice still incredibly sleepy. Ever since that one day years ago Beautiful and Handsome have become some sort of pet names to us. I really like them.

As soon as my brain starts properly working I say "Hold on... how did the croissant get in here?" Charlie starts laughing and maybe my brain isn't fully working yet. I mean, how did the croissant get in here? I join his laughter as I sit up but I still tilt my head at him. "I went out and got some. I know you love them." My smile grows even wider. Getting up on my knees I lean closer to Charlie and he leans closer to me until our lips meet.

Today is our last day in Paris. Tomorrow we'll fly to Germany to meet Jenny and Josh. Jenny texted me yesterday and said Kat and Miranda might swing by too. Ever since Max' trial we've stayed in contact but we never grew quite as close as we were before Max and I. I guess the fact that I'm living on the other side of the world isn't really helpful to build a close relationship but I'm glad we're at least some sort of friends again and I'm excited to see them.

Jenny and Josh came to LA a lot the past three years and once they have their degree this summer they are gonna move to LA full time, which I'm crazy excited about. Charlie asked me multiple times whether or not I wanna go see my parents.

Evelyn, dad and I talked about everything... well not entirely everything... that happened with Max over a very long FaceTime call about a year ago. It took me a while to build up the heart to give them another chance after how badly they had disappointed me. I haven't spoken to them much since then but I guess it wouldn't hurt anyone to at least swing by for dinner.

Today is supposed to be really hot so I decide to grab my favorite dusky pink suede skirt and one of Charlie's self-cut muscle shirts. I swear I've never seen anyone butcher literally every T-shirt. I top it off with the sunhat that Carolynn gave me way back as a disguise from the paparazzi.

That all seems like a whole different life now. Grabbing my sunglasses we head out the door. Since it's supposed to be so hot today we saved our visit of the Jardin du Luxembourg for today. It's give us the opportunity to relax and enjoy the sun. On our way there we'll stop at a little book store I read about online. I could spend forever in book stores. Just stroll through the aisles, look at book covers and create a mental list of all the book I want to read.

What we also saved for today is going up on top fo the Eiffel Tower. We both felt like that's the perfect ending of a great vacation. The best time to go is shortly before sunset so you can see it from up above the city so that's what we do. We stayed at the Jardin du Luxembourg until 3pm and then started to stroll down to the Eiffel Tower, making a stop at an ice cream shop. It's so hot out, ice cream is really the only help.

When we get in line to go up the Eiffel Tower the familiar feeling of my pulse starting to speed up appears. I've been on so many high things over the past years, I think I'll never loose my fear, but at least it's not holding me back. In the elevator Charlie stands behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, placing a gentle kiss on my neck. I'm so distracted, my pulse is still completely normal when we leave the elevator.

We are not on the highest floor yet, which gives me time to slowly adjust. Charlie intertwines his fingers with mine as we start walking around, looking at everything. To my surprise, I'm pretty ok with being up here. I guess the amazing view keeps me distracted. Once we're up on the highest level my pulse start racing a little again but as soon as I can feel Charlie's arms wrap around my waist I relax against his chest. Together we watch the sun go down over La Défense.

"This is beautiful" I whisper, my eyes locked on the city. "You're beautiful" Charlie whispers into my ear. His breath sends goosebumps all over my body. Turning my head slightly I place a kiss on his cheek. "I love you" I whisper into his ear. A smile forms on his lips as he says "I love you more." Turning around in his arms I say "I love you most" before I press my lips onto his.

By the time we get back down the sun is completely gone and the city is wrapped in darkness. We stroll along the Eiffel Tower when suddenly it starts sparkling. I turn around to look at it properly and it looks so beautiful! Suddenly I realize Charlie's fingers are no longer intertwined with mine so I turn around to him in confusion. When I turn around I have to cover my mouth with both my hands.

Charlie is down on one knee. "From the day you... literally... fell into my life I had this feeling that you and I... we are endgame. I've loved you from that moment and I will love you for the rest of my life. Victoria Porter... will you marry me?" Charlie flips open a little box with a beautiful ring. Is this actually happening? "Yes" My voice is barely a whisper, tears of happiness forming in my eyes. As Charlie gets up I wrap my arms around him and passionately place my lips on his.

- The End -

This is the final chapter of this book and there won't be a continuation. I don't wanna be the kind of author that doesn't know when it's best to leave things be.

On the bright side, I'm currently working on a new book with Charlie as the main character which I will start publishing on April 2 - I hope you'll love that just as much as the previous two books.

Due to me working on my BA thesis at the moment I will only be posting every second day instead of daily. I hope no one minds that.