Saving Wishes

Saving Wishes Part 10

21. Memory Lane

I sat in the car longer than I should have, trying to prepare myself for the conversation ahead.

Mitchell leaned against the railing of our veranda with an unreadable expression on his face. It occurred to me that he probably wasn't entirely sure it was me sitting in the Audi.

I enjoyed seeing him squirm for a short minute before getting out of the car and storming the veranda like I was about to charge at him. "You have five minutes and I shouldn't even be giving you that."

"I just want to talk, Charli. I've been trying to talk to you since this morning," he said smoothly.

I could feel him standing behind me as I twisted the key in the lock of the front door. "You need to leave me alone." I wanted to sound stronger and considered repeating the sentence with more anger – and maybe a growl. The gesture of throwing my keys down on the hallstand seemed to have the same effect.

"Calm down, feisty one. We'll talk and then I'll leave you alone," he promised, reaching for my hand. I snatched it away.

"Four minutes," I warned.

He smirked and walked through to the kitchen, unaffected by my hostility. "Do you still drink tea?" he asked, flicking on the kettle with the familiarity of someone who lived there.

"Can you please get to the point? I have better things to be doing right now."

Mitchell sat down at the place usually reserved for Alex. "By better things, you mean the American?" I couldn't pick the emotion in his voice. The expected tone of jealousy was absent, leaving me wondering if I'd become conceited as well as mean.

"Adam. His name is Adam," I replied, trying to lose the attitude.

"So you're going to shack up with him when your trip is over?" I raised my eyebrows. "Nicole told me."

"I can't wait," I told him. "Have you been to New York?"

His lips formed a thin line. "Can't say I have. I've heard that the surf isn't that great there."

"I'll cope," I muttered.

He leaned back in his chair. "Does he know you, Charli?"

It was a vague question but I understood perfectly.

"Completely."

"Completely? Wow. Impressive."

It was a bold declaration and he had every right to be sceptical. Mitchell knew everything about me by default. – knowing someone her whole life makes familiarity inevitable. To think I'd shared everything with Adam in just a few months would have seemed impossible.

"It's the truth."

"He knows that you have the ocean in your blood?" I nodded. "And he thinks New York is the place for you?"

I continued nodding. Mitchell was quiet. The cogs turning in his head were almost audible as he searched for something else to put forward – something he thought I would never share with anyone. I waited in silence, safe in the knowledge that he'd come up blank.

"What about us, Charli? Does he know about us?"

"He knows, and there is no us," I said casually. "There never really was. You made sure of that."

He straightened up. "Tell me something? If I had stayed, would you still have chosen him?"

I leaned back. "He knows everything about me and even after all that, he doesn't think I'm crazy. I love him, Mitchell."