the other side of us | ✓

2.1 | these things will change

Four Years Later

Charlotte sighed as she set the last of her moving boxes on her kitchen counter, the incessant ringing of her phone doing nothing to help her dull headache go away.

She dug her phone out of her purse and brought it to her ear, holding it with her shoulder as she opened a cabinet.

"Hello?"

"I'm taking it you made it home safely?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes as she dug through her purse for a box cutter.

"Yes, Patrick, I made it home safely."

"Don't take that tone, it's a long drive from the city."

"It's not that long."

"The map that I'm staring at says otherwise."

"Well, I'm home now, so you can stop worrying."

"But it's so boring here without you!" Patrick whined. Charlotte smiled as she cut the tape keeping the box closed. After putting the phone on speaker, she placed it on the counter and carefully started emptying it onto the counter.

"You live right outside of New York City; how could it possibly be boring?" She demanded, hanging the pan in her hand on the hooks above the counter. It was a lovely kitchen, the remodeling had gone better than she'd thought it would, especially since she hadn't been around for the majority of it. The walls were painted a crisp white, much more refreshing than the previous maroon that she'd lived with for most of her life. The large island counter that she was standing by now had several drawers and cupboards that were spacious enough to hold her largest baking sheet. There were four rods suspended from the ceiling above it with hooks for her pots and pans, something that Charlotte had always wanted in a kitchen.

"It isn't the same without you," He complained. "You've sucked the joy out of me. I used to be a fun person."

"I'm sure that's my fault."

"It is!" Patrick insisted. "Two years with you as a roommate and I've developed the largest sugar craving and the desire to stay home on the weekends."

Charlotte laughed. "That does sound like my influence."

"Are you unpacking now?"

"I am. Devin is coming over later to help me set up the living room. She's a whiz with technology."

"How is she? I haven't seen her since before summer."

"Patrick, she was just up for the Fourth of July. It's been barely two months."

"Has it really? It feels like longer."

Charlotte rolled her eyes again at her former roommate. Patrick worked as a bartender at one of the clubs in the city and had been looking for a roommate when Charlotte first moved to New York. At first, his personality had thrown her, and her father hadn't been keen on her living with a guy. But the two had gotten along surprisingly well, and it was rare that they went more than a day without communicating in some way or another.

Devin's frequent visits had helped. Patrick had been smitten from the moment he first saw her, which was impressive since they'd first met after her fifteen hour drive up and she had a ketchup stain on the front of her shirt.

"I'm sure she'll be dragging me up to visit you soon. You could always come down here to visit, she is your girlfriend, after all."

"Pssh, like she'd want me encroaching on her small town life."

"Stop that. She adores you and you know it."

"I guess." Charlotte could hear the smile in his voice.

The doorbell rang and Charlotte sighed.

"Who's at the door?" Patrick asked.

"My dad. He's taking me to dinner."

"His idea?"

"Well it wasn't mine."

"Yikes. How's that gonna go?"

"No idea. I'll call you after."

The pair exchanged goodbyes and Charlotte reluctantly went to open the front door.

Moving back into her old house hadn't been the original plan, but once her dad offered to move out, there hadn't been a solid reason to say no. And after he offered to have the kitchen redone, Charlotte had felt forced to accept his offer. It wasn't her idea to move home in the first place, and really, she didn't have to. She was twenty-five now, more adult than she'd been when she'd left home the first time. She could've stayed in New York, but Devin and Patrick had guilted her into accepting. Their lectures, combined with Ash being unable to keep Poppy's open anymore, led to her return.

Luke Evans was standing on the small landing outside the door looking nervous when Charlotte pulled it open. His hair had thinned out more since the last time she'd seen him in person, nearly two years ago, and the wrinkles around his eyes had gotten more pronounced.

"Lottie!" He exclaimed when he saw her. He went in for a hug, a Charlotte stood stiffly as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Did you get back okay?"

"Obviously."

Her dad scratched his neck. "I thought you would've called or something when you got in."

"Didn't think about it."

The two stood there in tense silence for a moment before he cleared his throat.

"Are you ready to go?"

Charlotte nodded and pulled the door shut behind her, already dreading the evening ahead of her.

*

They ended up going to a Chinese restaurant a couple streets over from the shop and the predictability of her father both irritated and soothed her.

Any time her father took her out, whether for a celebration or for a casual night out, they'd end up at one of the two Chinese restaurants in town or at the Middle Eastern restaurant in the town over.

He must've been too nervous to drive to the next town. Understandable given that they hadn't really spoken since she'd left for good.

Charlotte hadn't really planned on cutting her father out of her life. Ever. The two of them had always gotten along, but since she'd left. . .

Things had been difficult.

Charlotte cleared her throat out of habit and reached for her water glass.

"I'm so glad that you're back, Lottie." Luke said, his eyes warm. "You have no idea how much I missed you."

"I'm only here for the shop," Charlotte said frostily. He winced.

He nodded. "So you've told me. Multiple times. But Lottie, I really think that you made a great choice in coming back."

Charlotte didn't feel like reminding him that she'd been bribed with a new kitchen and threatened with having to shut down the shop that she'd spent the better part of eight years trying to support and keep open.

"You don't have to keep reminding me."

The two of them sat in awkward silence and Charlotte picked at her food.

The rest of their evening passed in a similar pattern of small talk and long silences until her father finally dropped Charlotte off at home.

"It was really great to see you again, Lottie. Maybe we could do dinner again next week?" Luke asked as Charlotte gathered her purse to get out of the car.

"I'll have to check my schedule." She said, opening the door. It took all of her control to stop herself from slamming it behind her.

Charlotte made her way into her bedroom and slowly flicked on the light, throwing her jacket onto the bed and kicking her heels off in the direction of the closet. She looked around at the boxes decorating her room and groaned.

She had a long night of unpacking ahead of her.

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Welcome to part two!! I hope you enjoy this second part of Mason and Charlotte's story :)