It All Started in Vegas

Chapter 31

Jake POV

Our flight landed, and I immediately checked my phone to see if Charlotte had seen my post. It was August 14th, which means that we have 8 days until classes start. I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep my secret, but hopefully it won't be too hard because she's going home before coming back to school. Ashley said that her, Jenny, and Sarah would all be in Oxford, and would help me with the next part of the plan. When I looked at my phone, I realized I had a ton of notifications to go through, but the ones that included Charlotte immediately caught my attention. She had commented on my Instagram post, which made me grin, but she had also texted me.

Charlotte: Thank you for everything. Miss you already!

I smiled at my phone, immediately texting back:

Me: I miss you too, Charlotte. Let me know when you make it home safe!

Once we had gotten our luggage, we had about an hour drive back to our apartment. I scrolled through my Instagram, looking at who all like and commented on my picture. I saw that my ex-girlfriend had liked it, but I thought I had blocked her after everything happened. I sighed and then went to my settings, blocking her once again. She's put me through enough; I don't want to have her messing things up for me again. Next thing I knew, we were back at the apartment, and I couldn't be happier. I took a nice, long shower, and put all of my dirty clothes from the trip in the washer. With four guys living here, I wanted to make sure I got the washer first. Kyle, Caleb, Aiden, and I all live together, while Mason and Ryder live with their girlfriends. I grabbed a bottle of water, and headed up to my room to watch Netflix. I was just settling in, when my phone screen lit up.

Charlotte: Just landed in STL, the best city ever ;) I should be home in like 45 minutes.

Me: Chicago is definitely number one. STL may be number two, but only because you're there.

Charlotte: Ha ha, very smooth.

I looked at the time, seeing that it was only 7:00pm. We gained a couple of hours flying back from Vegas. Just as I was about to text Charlotte back, I heard someone yelling from downstairs. I set my phone down, and went to check it out. 

"Jimmy!" I yelled to our neighbor, who was standing in our living room. Jimmy is really cool. He's around my height, with tan skin and black hair. His eyes are almost like a gray color, and he was pretty built. He's a total ladies man though, all the girls flock to him, and he's got a new one every week. 

"What's up man? How was the trip? And who was the chick in your Insta post?" Hearing him even ask about Charlotte made me irritated. "Oh that's Charlotte. She's Jake's new lady," Aiden said, earning a glare from me. "So you have a girlfriend now?" Jimmy asked, raising a brow at me. "No man, she's not my girlfriend," I said, casually shrugging my shoulders, and heading back up the stairs. Jimmy was the last person I wanted to talk about Charlotte with, especially due to his history with girls. Seeing my Netflix was still on, I pressed play, and fell asleep about 30 minutes into my movie.

Charlotte POV

Right when I landed in St. Louis, I texted Jake back to let him know I had made it safely. After I had collected my bags, I looked around and saw a woman waving her arms frantically at me. I ran over to her and pulled her into a hug. "Hi mom," I said. "Hi Charlotte. I've missed you! I want to hear everything on the way home," she said, pulling my luggage out to the car. 

While we headed home, I filled her in on everything that happened in Vegas, including Jake. My mom and I are extremely close, and I have no problem telling her everything about my life. "Let me see him!" I pulled up our picture and showed it to her, "Charlotte Rose! He is a cutie!" I blushed, swatting her shoulder. "I know he is! And he's been super sweet to me. I'm just nervous how things will work out with us going to different schools. I'm trying not to get my hopes up." "Well Charlotte, you never know." 

We pulled into the driveway, and I got out of the car. Once I opened the door, my yorkie came running over to greet me. "Hi Buddy!" I yelled, picking him up and holding him close, while my mom carried in all of my bags. "Don't worry, I got it," she said while rolling her eyes. "Thank you, love you!" I put Buddy down, and sat down at the kitchen table. I grabbed my phone to reply to Jake, only to realize he didn't text me back, which was weird. "Mom, I think I'm going to go on a drive. I'll be back in a little bit!" 

"Charlotte, you just got home! Where could you possibly be going?" "Out! I'll be back soon, I promise," I said as I headed out the door. There was one person in particular I wanted to talk to about my trip.

I pulled up to the graveyard and turned off my car. Stepping out, I breathed in the fresh air, and started heading towards the tombstones. When I found the right one, I stopped and sat down in front of it. "Hi Dad," I said smiling, "I've got a lot to tell you." Then, I filled him in on everything. Not once did a tear leave my eye, because I know my dad would be happy to see me smiling, but once I got back to my car, I couldn't help but think about how much it hurt to not have my dad here.