𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭, ᵐᵃᵗᵗʰᵉᵒ ʳⁱᵈᵈˡᵉ

chapter 23

France was a good place to turn 15. the ocean was calm, the air was warm, and charlotte woke up happy. she rolled out of bed, and picked out an outfit. jean shorts, a pink tank top, and a dark green hoodie she stole from mattheo on top, since it was still chilly out. she walked down the stairwell, and into the kitchen. unlike every other day, where she'd walk in to find mattheo making breakfast, he was nowhere to be seen. a large plate of avocado toast and a tall glass of sweet tea sat on the counter for her. she sat on one of the stools, and ate the food he made her. as she was putting her dishes in the sink for Esmeralda to wash later, the front door opened. she walked toward the foyer, trying to see who was at the door. it was mattheo, holding a large, pink box, and a large purple gift bag.

"happy birthday, love," he said softly, smiling at her.
"thank you, matty," she smiled back, beyond happy to see him, "what's that?" she asked, gesturing to the bag and box he was holding.
he beckoned for her to follow him, and they walked to the living room.

"open this one first," he said, setting down the gift bag and gesturing towards the pink box, "but be very careful." he instructed.
she nodded and reached for the ribbon keeping the lid on, and pulled it off.  oh my god, she thought, staring at what, or rather who, was in the box.  a small, fluffy gray kitten was curled into one of the corners of the box, looking up at her.

"mattheo," charlotte gasped, "you didn't."
he smiled brightly and nodded, "i did, actually."

charlotte reached into the box and scooped the kitten up, "what should i name her?" she asked.
"what do you think?" he asked back.
"maybe willow," she said, gazing down at the sleeping kitten.
"i don't know," mattheo shrugged, "she kinda looks like an august to me."
"august." charlotte said, looking at the kitten once more. she blinked once, long and slow, and charlotte noticed that she had beautiful, blue eyes, "august." she said again. she looked over at mattheo, and found him smiling widely at her.

"i love her," charlotte said, feeling tears of joy sting her eyes. mattheo laughed and pulled charlotte and august, into his arms. it was a good birthday, maybe her best. the gift bag contained kitten supplies and a small box that held a gold ring. it had a skinny gold band, and a small gold heart on top of it with the phrase 'm+c' carved into it. she hugged mattheo tightly, living for the feeling of the french breeze flooding the room, his arms around her, august sleeping soundly in her lap. this was the life she wanted to live for the rest of her life. she never wanted it to change. she was living for this, for the hope of it all.

they went down to the beach a bit later. charlotte was reluctant to leave August, but she trusted esmeralda, and they only had a few days left in france, so she went. she dove underwater, appreciating the sting of saltwater in her eyes, the cold water surrounding her, and the peace of floating. she reached the surface again, and took a deep breath of fresh, french air in as she floated on her back. mattheo was closer to shore, swimming carelessly around the reefs. charlotte swam over to him, and he smiled brightly at her for a moment before diving under the water. she looked around for a moment, trying to find him, before he floated to the surface next to her.
charlotte jumped a little at the surprise of him just appearing like that, and she playfully slapped his arm.

"jesus, mattheo, you scared me," she said, holding a hand over her pounding heart.
"i'm sorry, love," he said, leaning in to kiss her cheek before seeming to change his mind. he turned her head and looked at her for a moment, pushing a stray piece of hair out of her eyes before kissing her hard on the mouth. she tangled her hands in his messy, wet hair and pulled him closer. he kissed her like they were dying, like it was there last day together. charlotte loved it when he kissed her like that. she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, kissing him even deeper than before. he suddenly dropped her, right into the frigid sea, and as charlotte sputtered on the cold water she inhaled, she couldn't help but laugh. mattheo was doubled over, clutching his stomach and laughing like he had never seen anything funnier. she ran towards him, grabbing him and pulling him back under water with her.

"gotcha," she whispered, clinging to him.
he just laughed, and she wondered how it looked to anyone who could walk by. the beach was private property, but she could imagine it. anyone who saw them would see two kids,
in the clear, blue ocean, splashing and kissing and swimming around. they looked perfect together. charlotte loved that, loved that they were so great together. they complemented eachother. he was everything she wasn't, and she was everything he wasn't. they worked.

"i love you," mattheo said, hugging her tightly as the waves rocked into them. she smiled widely, and for a moment, she feared that her jaw might break from how hard she was smiling, how often she was doing it. she wondered briefly if this was a reward, for every bad thing that had happened to her. he was all she wanted. this life he offered her, his kisses, hugs, curly hair, and gifts. him. she loved everything about him, all his faults, all his perfections, everything. she wanted it all, his bad days and his good ones, his anger and his happiness, his laughter and his cries, she wanted everything he could possibly give her and she was certain there would never be a day she didn't.

when they finally made their way back to the house, August was still asleep on the couch, and Esmeralda was in the kitchen, doing dishes. Mattheo and Charlotte made their way up the stairs, careful not to wake august. they went into the upstairs living room, and charlotte smiled as she pulled mattheo toward the beautiful grand piano that sat in the corner of the room.

"play me something." she said, resting her hands on his shoulders as he sat. he started playing slowly, a beautiful song that she couldn't recognize, yet she loved it all the same. it was a gentle song, the kind you played to soothe babies, the kind you danced to at weddings, the kind you fall in love with. she swayed lightly as the notes of the song got louder and longer, she loved it more and more. it reminded her of mattheo, in a way, she didn't know him at first, but the more and more she got to know him, the more and more she loved him.

in her heart, she loved him forever. he stopped playing abruptly and stood up. he pointed his wand at the speaker in the corner of the room, and the sound of Invisible String by Taylor Swift flooded the room. she whipped around in shock.

"how do you know this song?" she asked curiously.
he just shrugged, "you play it all the time."

it was just that simple. it made charlotte smile. he knew it because she played it. he payed attention. mattheo walked toward her and offered her a hand. she grabbed it slightly hesitantly, confused at what he was doing before he began to twirl her around and gentle sway with her to the music. they were so close, she could feel his heartbeat through his shirt. her head rested gently on his shoulder, and he rocked them gently to the song.

"it reminds me of you," he said quietly, running a hand through her neatly brush hair before saying again, even quieter, "i love you." she smiled and maybe even laughed a little before pulling away a bit and rocking them side to side.
"i love you too," she said, still smiling widely, spinning them around the room. she knew that no matter what happened, it was them, always and forever. a loud crash from downstairs interrupted their dance, and charlottes thoughts. she ran down the stairs to see what happened, with mattheo right behind her. there, on the kitchen counter, was august, covered in what look like cake frosting. she looked over and saw esmeralda shrug and laugh a little. a beautiful cake was set delicately on the dining table, it was pink, with little white hearts piped onto it. the perfect cake. Esmeralda, Charlotte, Mattheo, and August sat at the table, eating slices of the delicious cake, laughing and talking about all sorts of things.

later that night, she lay curled on their bed, wrapped in warm, linen sheets and mattheos strong arms.
"happy birthday, love." he whispered in her ear, right before they feel asleep.
"thank you mattheo." she whispered back, she felt him press a warm kiss to the top of her head, and she fell asleep, warm and happy.