Heartbeat || A Good Girls Fanfic

Chapter 13

Apologizing was not something Charlie did often. Mostly because she didn't have to do it often. Especially being the youngest of three, there was rarely anything she had to be sorry for. But she knew she had to do it if there was any chance to salvage whatever she had with Rio before it disappeared without ever starting.

She spent the coming days rehearsing in her head what she would say. What the best words could be for a man who seemingly needed nothing but honesty and loyalty. A man that took no shit from anyone. Even as she worked in the chaos of the ED, all she could think of was the man that she had accused of conspiring with her sister. Unbeknownst to her, all her worries were true.

But that was a problem for future Charlie. The present Charlie had wanted to apologize to Rio the very next day after her blow-up. Instead, her supervisor kept her in the hospital for long hours, taking every ounce of energy from her, and left nothing left for an apology.

Secretly, she had hoped that he would reach out to her. Especially when Wednesday passed and he hadn't shown up at her house. She wished he would have told her that he didn't care what she had said. That he wouldn't give up that easily. Nevertheless, she knew Rio was not a man that would wait for anyone. She had said she wanted to keep things professional, and he had kept up his side of the bargain. Still, she could always dream.

Somehow, a week had passed since the encounter and, as she walked out of that day's shift, she was dead set on going to see him. When she left, the day had transformed into night, and she was exhausted. Definitely not in the mood to admit her faults. But she knew if she didn't do it now, she would never do it. And she didn't want to lose Rio, not without giving them a fair chance. So, rather than going home and catching up on much-needed sleep, she went the opposite direction to Rio's warehouse, hoping that he was there.

The building looked as abandoned as ever. The lights outside were dimmed and occasionally flickered, the only brightness coming from the post on the street. If she hadn't been there before, Charlie would have been sure that the place was closed down. Instead, she walked up to the front door and stood right under the security camera she was almost sure he was looking at.

After only a few seconds passed, the door buzzed, and she walked through. Nerves ran through her. Even more so when she noticed how eerily quiet the place was that night. The usual mumbling and laughter did not fill the air. Only her steps reverberated against the concrete. And, for a second, she took the coldness as a bad omen. That maybe coming to apologize would do the opposite of what she hoped. That maybe that would be the last time she would see him.

Her trembling hands raised to the door before her as she questioned whether she should knock or simply go home.

"Come in, Lee." Charlie was startled by his voice before her hands could decide to move. "Don't just stand out there."

"How did you know I was there?" she asked as she opened the door, her shoulders relaxing as she saw the cocky grin on his face. She had imagined him turning her away, angry at her pestering from the day before. But he seemed the same as ever.

"I let you in, Charlie," he chuckled as she walked in. "And seeing as there ain't no one else here, you shoulda known I was the one behind the camera."

"Well, I had my suspicions," she smiled. A hue of red washed over her face as she sat on the chair before his desk. It was the first time she took a seat there, and it intimidated her for some reason. She felt like she was talking to her supervisor. A far comparison to the things she wanted him to do to her. "I thought you'd be a bit busier tonight."

"It's Sunday, Lee," he said as he leaned back on his chair. "It's the Lord's day."

"Didn't take you for much of a religious man, Rio. But I guess I shouldn't be making too many assumptions about someone I only know around two facts about."