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27

A little while later, Charlie and I returned to the Adams household through the back door. Charlie was holding my hand and pulling me along quietly so as not to draw attention to ourselves.

Charlie just shut the sliding glass door when we were startled by a voice behind us. "So?" I jumped into Charlie causing him to stumble into the table. Leave it up to me to make noise at the worst times.

I looked to see Charlotte laughing and wiggling her eyebrows. I turned towards Charlie with confusion written all over my face. Charlie only sighed and shook his head but a small smile was on his lips as he spoke. "She said yes." I whipped my head towards Charlie's aunt who was squealing like a little girl.

"You-" I couldn't think of anything to say to either one of them as I stood speechless, trying to wrap my head around what was going on. They shared in a laugh before Charlie spoke.

"So my Aunt Charlotte knew all about me liking you and actually she has kinda known since the beginning. I had been wanting to tell you how I felt for so long and I didn't know what to do so I went to her for advice. She told me that I should do some grand romantic gesture on your favorite holiday as she told my father the same thing almost thirty years ago." I was nodding along to what Charlie was saying until I realized something.

Mr. Adams had just told me that story right before Charlie make his romantic gesture so did he know what was happening too? Before I could even think about that further, Mr. Adams walked into the kitchen whistling.

"What's going on guys?" A smirk grew on Mr. Adams face and in that moment, I realized just how similar Charlie and his father were. "She said yes." Charlie grinned while his father cheered. "I knew she would and it was all thanks to my story that I told her. It's probably the whole reason she said yes." Charlie let go of my hand and walked towards his father. "Or it could be that she genuinely likes me." Mr. Adams laughed while Charlie glared. They continued to bicker while Charlotte and I watched in amusement.

Charlotte shook her head and then rolled her eyes at the immature behavior of the goofballs in front of her. "Sometimes they need a little help to get there." She motioned her head towards Charlie and his father as she talked about how long it took for them to get their feelings out in the open. "But I think in the end, it was worth the wait." I nodded my head in agreement as I looked back at Charlie, a small smile growing on my lips.

It may have taken Charlie a long time to admit his true feelings to me, but I couldn't have been more grateful that he did.

~

It was almost midnight soon and Christmas would be over. The guests had all left and Charlie's parents were passed out on the couch in one of the living rooms, their light snores echoing down the halls.

I sat in front of the massive fireplace, snuggled into Charlie's side with a permanent smile on my face as I welcomed the silence that engulfed us. We didn't need to talk. Just being together was enough for me.

"AJ?" I was pulled out of my thoughts as I looked to Charlie. I hummed in response and Charlie resumed talking. "There's something I haven't told you." I looked at Charlie and tried to search his eyes for answers. "You know the day of the last football game when you and Alyssa had your fight?" I nodded my head, keeping my gaze on Charlie. "I was so nervous that night because of what Aly and I planned. She knew I liked you for years and I was too afraid to tell you and you were into Jacob at the time so when Aly found out he cheated on his girlfriend, she didn't want that happening to you. She always wanted the two of us to date so her best friend could legally become her sister and she knew the only way for that to happen was if she dated Jacob even though she hated every second of it as she complained to me the whole time about him while she dated him. She hated fighting with you and she told me everyday how she wanted to come over and apologize but she knew she needed to wait until Jacob cheated on her so you never thought about dating him." My mouth was hanging open in shock. My best friend went through all that just so I could end up with the boy I was crazy about since the beginning?

Charlie took a deep breath as tears threatened to pour from his eyes. "I should have just told you. I should have just kissed you that night at the football game but I was scared and because of it, you two never went back to being friends and now she's gone. It's all my fault. You could have still had a best friend. She wouldn't have had to come over and she wouldn't have died at your house. I'm so sorry AJ. I'm sorry-" Charlie stopped talking as he tried to choke back a sob.

I did the only thing in that moment that I could think of as Charlie shook from the takeover of sadness and guilt, that turned into a panic attack. I grabbed both sides of his face and closed the gap between us. Almost immediately, Charlie stopped freaking out and his body relaxed.

When we broke away from the kiss, I dropped my hands from his face down to his hand and intertwined them as I spoke. "Charlie, this isn't your fault. Please don't blame yourself for this. Whoever wanted to kill her was going to do it either way, even if we were friends or not." Charlie nodded his head but I could see the sadness in his eyes.

"Look I know they never found any finger print match on the watch, but I know they are going to figure it out and when they do, I know you'll realize that this wasn't your fault." A small smile made its way to my lips as I spoke again. "Besides, I can't have my boyfriend worried all the time. That's way too much work for me." Charlie's eyebrows rose and he looked at me, an amused expression on his face. "Oh that's too much work for you? Too bad." Charlie smirked as I slapped his arm. Before I could move my hand away, Charlie took hold of it and pulled me towards him.

With the sudden movement of my body, a piece of my hair fell in my face. Charlie took his free hand and pushed the strand behind my ear as he looked at me. "You're beautiful." My pale cheeks were suddenly painted red as a blush spread throughout my face.

I tried to hide the color in my face that continued to get darker and darker, but it was no use. Charlie didn't seem to mind as leaned closer to my face once more, kissing me again.