Charity Night (english)

13

As soon as my sister said her so clueless words, I felt so upset inside and so numb at the same time. How is that supposed to work? She can't seriously expect us to sleep in the same room, and she doesn't even have a clue what connects us!

"Lydia, don't you think he would rather check into a hotel than spend the night with me in my childhood room?" I try to reason with my sister, but judging by the look in her eyes, I won't get very far with that. .

"Don't be ridiculous, Charlotte. You know as well as I do that the hotels are all fully booked at this time on a weekend. Besides, Mum will be happy if she can feed someone... Since they gave up the bed and breakfast she's felt under-challenged and almost useless, you know that."

Zachery, who has been sitting quietly in the back seat the whole time, also tries to excuse himself by explaining that he doesn't want to cause any trouble, but Lydia only responds to his objections with a mild smile and a shake of the head.

Apart from a few questions from my sister, the rest of our journey is in silence and if I'm honest, I'm far too excited to say anything at all.

My nerves are tense and I chew nervously on my lip, which probably already looks pretty worn out.

How can Zac stay so calm?

I watch him discreetly through the mirror again and again and it's almost shocking how little emotion he reflects on his face. Most of the time his gaze is directed out the window and only now and then do I see him squinting at me out of the corner of my eye.

However, his mask doesn't change and I wonder if he's just pretending or if he really doesn't care anymore that I rejected him.

The car comes to a stop on the long gravel driveway to my parents' house and as soon as the engine is off the front door opens and my mother comes rushing out wearing an apron and a wooden spoon in her hand, rushing towards me and pulling me into an intimate hug Hug.

I'm only now really realizing how I've missed it... How long has it been since I've been here and how long has it been since I've been able to hold my mum in my arms? I breathe in her scent deeply and I feel like I used to when I was sad...

My mum has always been my support and it's not always easy being so far away from her, but with my professional ambitions it's unfortunately not possible to find a job here and that's why I have no choice but to work in London, hours away to pursue work.

The smile that appears on Zachery's face is the first emotion I can detect in him today and it's quite a relief that he still seems to be able to show emotions, even if they have to do with me.

I slowly release myself from the hug and take a step back to really look at my mom again and she also lets her gaze slide over me. "My angel, I missed you so much... You've become thin... Are you unable to eat because of all the stress at work? Your boss must be quite a slave driver!"

I take a quick look at Zac, who seems to be standing next to my sister's car, completely unimpressed, his eyes vigilantly exploring the surroundings.

Now Lydia comes out from behind her car and has my luggage in her hands.

"Mum, I hope it's not a problem that I picked up another visitor, but unfortunately this young man has fallen for a scammer and the cottage he rented is unfortunately just a pile of stones."

With these words she runs into the house with my suitcase and Zachery's bag and most likely straight up the stairs into my old childhood room.

"Hello young man, you are of course very welcome here. Can I ask you inside and offer you something?"

Of course, my mom immediately becomes the exemplary hostess and housewife and grabs Zac by the arm and pulls him into the house and, as I know her, directly into the large kitchen-living room where there is certainly a freshly baked cake.

I follow the two of them with rather moderately fast steps because I still can't predict exactly which direction this weekend will develop in.

"Sister, where are you with your thoughts? I haven't seen you so quiet in a long time... Is this still something to do with your boss or have I missed something?" Lydia has come up behind me and looks over my shoulder as I watch my mother with Zac at the counter standing and seeming to be talking very animatedly about something.

"If I say that now, you won't believe it anyway..." I don't look at her, but I pause for a moment so that she understands how seriously I mean this. "The man there with ours "Mother is standing in her kitchen, that's the boss in question and I'm just breaking down inside."

Shocked, my sister turns me around and looks at me like she's seen a ghost... "Oh my God, Charlie, I'm sorry!" And I, an idiot, invited him here and told him to just sleep in your room... Why didn't you say anything?"

"You didn't let me have a word and you didn't listen to Zachery when he tried to talk his way out of it!" She rubs her face desperately and looks at me apologetically.

"Now he's here and I'm just trying to make the best of it. Mum won't let him go anyway, so now I have to go through it willy-nilly and since you so generously offered him my couch, I'll go and prepare it for him now.

I hurry up the stairs with long strides and it's only when the door slams shut that I can breathe deeply again for the first time since I got off the train and saw my attractive boss standing on the platform.

I slowly sink back on my bed and stare at the ceiling as if hypnotized. How the hell am I supposed to get through this weekend and keep him away from me when he's even supposed to sleep in the same room with me?

A soft knock pulls me out of my thoughts and without me having to say anything the door opens and Zac sticks his head through the crack.

"May I come in?" Since I don't trust my voice at the moment, I just nod slightly at him, close my eyes and hope that he doesn't talk to me any further, but unfortunately only a short time later I notice how the mattress is changing next to me he lowers himself slightly and he sighs.

We're just silent for a few minutes, but then his deep voice rings out in my ears. "Even if I try to avoid you to forget you, you show up and throw all my plans overboard. It's like there's an invisible bond pulling us together."

Unable to say anything back, I just lie there and don't move and I think that's why he just keeps talking.

"I really tried to be mad at you and hate you, but even that doesn't work..."

Can he stop being so cute???

"...I'm just crazy about you! You're like a drug that I'm incredibly addicted to!"

He doesn't get any further because, even though the rational side of me resists so much, I pounce on him and kiss him with desire and passion.

At first he gently but firmly pushes me away, but after less than a split second he pulls me back to him, buries his hands in my hair and kisses me with such passion and love that I almost take my breath away.

This looks to be an interesting weekend!