Deviant [Charles Leclerc]

CHAPTER XXII

ADLEY

Oxland, help, I think he was going to kiss me - Adley

My phone immediately starts vibrating with her incoming call.

"Ox?" I answer.

"Grandpa Joe tried to kiss you?" She gasps in horror.

"What?" I chuckle, "No, Charles"

Theres a moment of silence.

"Ox, are you there?" I ask

"How would Charles be trying to kiss you?" She asks in a confused tone.

Oh yeah. I haven't exactly been updating her on my current situations.

"He is here, in Ibiza" I inform.

"Oh shit" she gasps. "What, did he not recognise you or something? Or was he drunk?"

I don't know why but her question insults me. "No, I'm pretty sure he knew it was me" I inform her.

"How sure is pretty sure?" She pegs further.

"He knew it was me, okay" I boast, almost frustrated.

"Ad, did you want him to kiss you?" Oxland asks, concerned.

"What? No" I admit a little too unconvinced.

"Ohhh, Ad, No" she moans. "What did he do to you?"

"Nothing. What do you mean?"

I sit up in my bed, pulling myself up against my headboard, feeling a little defensive.

"He's gotten to you. Ad, use your head. He's a player and an asshole. You know how this story will end." She reminds me.

"I'm not into Charles" I defend, unconvincingly.

"It sounds like I'm missing a lot of the story here. How did you two even get in a position where Charles could be kissing you?"

I'm not sure why I suddenly feel exposed. "We went for a walk?" I'm not sure why it sounds like a lie.

"You went for a walk?" She repeats.

"Yes, I wanted to know why he did what he did, and then next thing, I swear he was leaning in and I freaked out"

She's silent again on the other end for too long.

"Ad?"

"What?" I ask.

"Be careful, okay." She warns.

"I'm fine" I lie.

"I know how into Lee you were, and I know you thought you were connecting with someone on this intellectual level, but Lee doesn't exist. It was Charles, he was playing into your interests and your insecurities. It wasn't real"

Her comments hurt, but I think it's because I don't believe her words. No one can pretend that much can they? And Charles said that everything was true, about what he was saying. And I feel almost protective of those parts.

I think back to the phone calls, how free flowing it was and honest, and real. There is no way that he could have just been playing that whole time. There was not enough time for him to do any 'research' to work out the perfect answer and yet he gave them anyway.

Those parts had to be real.

"Ad?" She asks when I don't reply.

"I'm not into Charles. I know Lee isn't real. I'm fine okay"