Escaping Love (Rewrite) [Book #1]

Chapter 25

|| JACKIE ||

|| Tuesday, December 24th ||

Arriving at the house, the three women went straight to the kitchen to make some tea.

"Mom, can I get the keys? I left my bag in the car," Charlotte said.

Her mother tossed her the keys, and Charlotte began making her way out the front door. I watched as she tapped on my shoulder, and I followed her outside.

After grabbing her bag, she leaned against the car. "Should I lie?" Charlotte whispered.

"Are you okay with lying?" I asked.

"I don't know," Charlotte sighed.

"I know we haven't talked about it yet, but please, if you're going to lie, I hope you make it easy for yourself to get out of it. I'm afraid that you're going to dig a hole and trap yourself far, far down there," I said. "You do have control. You can tell them as much or as little as you want."

She nodded, "Okay." Her hand gripped mine and looked at me.

"I want to tell them about everything because my parents deserve to know that you and I are together," she said, holding my hands and raising them to her chest.

"I agree, but it's not my call. I know your parents aren't particularly okay with all of this stuff. So, take all the time you need. Maybe it doesn't have to be during this trip. Maybe it might be some other time. I don't want you to feel bad for outing yourself at the wrong time. No matter what, I'm going to be sitting with you through this talk. I will, and I bet my mom will support you in everything you say."

Charlotte smiled at me and cupped my face, "I love you."

"I love you too," I said, and she pulled me in and kissed my lips for a few seconds before we broke apart and walked back into the house.

"Okay, story-time," Avery said, and we gathered in the living room.

Avery poured us all a cup of tea as we sat on the couches. Charlotte took her cup of tea and drank it before setting it down and looking up at everyone.

"So, what's his name, and where did you two meet?"

"Jay," Charlotte smiled. "We met at work."

"Describe him and his personality," Avery asked.

"They're about my height with black hair and brown eyes. Jay is charming. They're a person that cares with all their heart. It makes me feel like I've known them forever ago. Jay is someone very loving and the type you can just fall for after a first date. They melt my heart with random text messages that make my day. A person who can describe you in such a perfect way, and make you feel so special when you think you're not," Charlotte said.

Avery remained silent after Charlotte finished. She didn't say anything else, and I looked over at my mother, and she had the most loving eyes. My mom looked over at me, and I smiled at her. I sit here trying to replay everything in my head.

"I would love to meet him one day. You two seem very happy," Mrs. Evans smiled.

"We are, thank you." Charlotte sighed, "I know you'll love them too." I looked over at Charlotte, and she smiled at me.

"Jackie, any girlfriends?" Aunt Avery said, and I choked on my sip of tea.

I smiled, "Yeah, she's different and amazing. That's as much as I'm going to say."

"Come on, Jackie," my aunt said.

"Fine. I've been in a relationship that hurt me more than once. After getting to know this person more and more, I know I love her with all my heart, and as Charlotte said, it feels like we've met forever ago."