The Other Woman |Charlie Barber x Reader|

~A Glimpse of Us~

As painful as it was, life moved on without Charlie Barber.

The moment you returned to New York City, Ophelia was the first person you went to. She had been shocked at first, that you had been keeping this from her for so long. Though you'd originally been expecting her to be angry with you, she insisted that she was one of the only people that would understand, and that she was glad you had finally come to her.

The two of you had spoken over breakfast at the cafe you both liked. You had barely sat down when she began commenting that you looked tired and she could tell something was wrong no matter how hard you tried to hide it. Charlie always said you were quite easy to read. She listened without interruption; only commenting or making small noises when you paused to take a bite of food or swallow down tears with a sip of coffee.

After you'd gotten everything off of your chest, she discussed how similarly she had felt to you back when she was in a kindred situation. It had certainly felt good, getting everything off of your chest. Angeline had been of much help to you back in Los Angeles, but nothing beat the bond you and Ophelia shared.

Thoughts were shared over french toast and some tears were spilled over scrambled eggs, but there had not been a single moment of judgment between you. You were infinitely grateful for her guidance, even commenting that her knowledge far outweighed yours, even as a therapist. That seemed to be a common theme over these past few weeks.

The day after your breakfast together, you decided to take a day for yourself and accomplish a few tasks. The first of which was to head to the store close by. Originally, you had gone to pick up some cat food for Binx, who had gotten rather chunky thanks to the lack of feeding schedule when Ophelia was watching her, but you couldn't be upset. All you wanted to do was put her on a little diet for about a month or so. Of course, buying only cat food hadn't been the end result.

It had been going well for a little while. There were no thoughts of Charlie, nor any other distractions bouncing around in your brain. You had simply been meandering through the dairy aisle, shivering from the cold pouring from the fridges. Rows of colorful bags and brand names drew you into the center aisles, beckoning you with sweet ingredients and lavish characters. Naturally, you'd found yourself in the snacks aisle with crackers, cookies, and other assorted goodies.

That was when a certain someone had wandered right back into your mind. You had practically frozen in place with your hand still grasping a small bag of cookies that you'd just taken off the shelf. The picture of him standing across from you was so vibrant in your head, you were sure he'd been real. You still saw him sheepishly holding a bouquet, lying about how they were for his wife when in reality, they were for you. You had had to drag yourself out of that aisle with your knuckles straining around the handle of your basket.

After the store, you had decided to pay a visit to a book store in hopes of finding your next good read. It had always been such a comforting place for you. The dim lights, the cozy chairs sitting in the corner. Even the smell of dust and old wood always drew you in. The books had been all organized the way they normally were, with a few exceptions for the new copies they'd recently gotten in.

The book shop had been even more enticing than the rows of candies and flavorful goods. Hundreds of colorful spines and shiny inscriptions all pulling you in at once. Science, history, fiction, romance, adventure; it was all so nostalgic.

You had begun wandering through a section of classics hoping to find the odd hidden gem, when you had stumbled upon a copy of Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. The discovery had sent you into another downward spiral.