𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃─𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

one hundred thirteen.

─☼☼☼─

AT SOME POINT, Charlotte wasn't too sure when, the dark night sky had opened up to a symphony of rain. It poured down around her as she climbed the porch steps, but she couldn't care less. 

The journal was still clutched in her shaky hands as she reached forward and knocked three times. She shivered, both from the cool, wet night and from the nerves that were coursing through her. 

She should have waited until morning, but she physically could not. She would have been up all night, feeling sick to her stomach as she recalled every word he had written. 

It was the middle of the night, and she had done some hardcore stalking to figure out where he lived, but she was already committed. She just hoped he wasn't too off-put by her abrupt arrival. 

The seconds ticked by as she stood at the front door, slowly morphing into minutes.

It dawned on Charlotte that Rafe might not even be home. He could be out with friends, or at a party, or...he could be with a girl. 

"Oh, God." Charlotte muttered to herself, feeling like a total idiot as the realization hit her. Rafe may have said he would wait for her as long as it took, but that didn't mean he wouldn't fill his time with someone else. 

"Fucking idiot," she whispered to herself, debating whether or not she should just make a run for it. If Rafe answered the door with some gorgeous girl standing inside waiting for him to return, Charlotte wasn't sure she could mentally handle it. It had been a year, but the thought of him with anyone else still made her feel sick to her stomach. She knew how he was the last time they broke up, she couldn't really blame him this time either. 

Turning from the door, she prepared to step back into the rain. Anything was better than being faced with tangible evidence of Rafe moving on. She was already soaked head to toe from her run from the car to the house, so at that point she didn't really care. 

Just as she prepared to take off down the steps, the sound of the front door opening behind her cause Charlotte to freeze. 

"Lottie?" His voice was groggy, as if he had just woken up. He definitely had just woken up considering it was two in the morning. 

With her hear hammering in her chest, Charlotte slowly turned around. She wanted to pass out at the sight of him. He wore only a pair of track pants, and his face was written in sleep in the way that Charlotte loved so much. "Hi," she whispered, giving the saddest excuse of a wave anyone had ever seen. 

Rafe took in appearance -- the way she was soaked head to toe, hair clinging to her face, eyes red as if she had been crying. "What's going on?" He wondered, concern overtaking the tiredness in his voice. "Are you okay?"

Charlotte nodded, the floodgates on her emotions breaking. "Yeah," she nodded, lip quivering as she held up the journal. "I read it." Her voice broke, tears cascading down her cheeks as she was faced with her heartbreak from a year prior. This right here would be the ultimate test on how much Rafe had changed. Sure, he could say anything in writing. But what he said to her in person was what matter. The actions he showed were what mattered. 

At the notice of the journal and Charlotte's tears, Rafe's face softened. He was already stepping aside as he spoke. "Come in," he instructed, ushering her into his warm, dry house. Charlotte couldn't help but notice the way he placed his hand on her lower back. The comfort she felt from it was almost embarrassing.