Being Alive [Charlie Barber]

Chapter 22 : Beginning

Those four words echoed in your mind over and over again:

    "She knows about us."

    You supposed that it shouldn't be surprising.

     You and Charlie were sloppy. You'd gotten less and less cautious with your interactions. You went from barely looking at each other in public to fucking on stage.

    Even if the two of you kept the affection to a minimum when you were around others, it was getting more difficult to hide it entirely. The two of you were so in love that even if you weren't speaking with each other or even looking in the other's direction, the connection between the two of you was almost palpable.

    Really, it was a miracle that it took this long for Nicole to catch on.

    But still, it didn't make this situation any less scary.

    Keeping your relationship with Charlie a secret was constantly on your mind.

Sometimes, you couldn't sleep because your mind would wander to details you could've missed. Did Charlie's clothes ever smell like your perfume? Did Nicole notice he was bringing two lunches with him? What if Henry noticed the way you and Charlie whispered to each other when you were babysitting?

    Every time that happened, you'd go to sleep and have nightmares about Nicole walking in on you and Charlie kissing or having sex. It left you in an anxious mood for the rest of the day, finding it difficult to snap out of it after waking up with a gasp and cold sweat.

    Your nightmares were becoming a reality and Charlie, the only one who could comfort you, needed the comfort just as badly and was across the country. 

    You hadn't realized that you were silent for a few minutes after he told you until you heard Charlie's deep voice ring out over the speaker pressed against your ear. "Sweetheart, are you still there?"

    You opened your mouth to respond but nothing came out.

    Leaning against his headboard, in his hotel room, Charlie ran a hand over his face with a sigh. He hated that he had to give you this news. It wasn't easy for him either. Nicole finding out about your relationship could ruin everything. It opened up an entirely new set of problems for him and his family.

    "I know you're upset but you've got to talk to me," Charlie told you, his voice almost pleading.

He was completely alone. He needed you.

Hearing the way that his voice cracked slightly in emotion and the fact that it seemed like he might even be begging you to say something, snapped you out of the shock you felt.

"I'm here. I'm sorry, Charlie." You told him softly. You slowly took a seat on your couch, legs shaking as you lowered onto it. You were surprised you didn't immediately vomit when he told you. Your stomach was violently flipping.

Charlie sighed in relief but the relaxation you provided for him was short-lived because he remembered what the two of you were talking about in the first place.

Just as you had been making a connection between your bad dreams and reality, Charlie was also thinking back to everything that occurred earlier that day and if he weren't talking to you right now, he might assume that he was in a nightmare himself.

~

Getting to Nicole's mom's house had been stressful enough. The rental car place was a joke, they didn't do half of the things they promised they would. Traffic had been frustrating. By the time that he got to the location, he needed food and a drink. Not divorce papers.