Escaping Love (Rewrite) [Book #1]

Chapter 28

|| JACKIE ||

|| Saturday, December 28th ||

I groaned at the bright light beaming through the curtains. Fluttering my eyes open, I took in the unfamiliar guest room I stayed in for the past week. Ouch, my head. The sun was too bright for my liking, as my head started to throb. I pinched the bridge of my nose, still letting my eyes wander the room. Then they land on the woman sleeping next to me. I let out a quiet sigh that she remained asleep, still looking peaceful. I sat up, trying my best not to wake Charlotte. I took in her sleeping form for a few more seconds before I was hit with another wave of pain.

I quietly walked to the restroom and washed my face. When I finished brushing, I left the restroom, running into my mother as she exited her guest room.

"Morning," my mom said.

"Morning. Do you know if Avery has any medication for headaches? Or if you have some? I forgot to pack them before our trip," I said, massaging my temples simultaneously.

"Yeah, I packed some. You and your father are so alike with forgetting to bring medication," she said, motioning me into the room.

I went to her suitcase and pulled out a bottle of ibuprofen, taking two tabs, "Thank you," I said. When I placed the bottle away, I noticed a familiar suitcase lying on the ground. "Isn't that Charlotte's?"

My mother let out a sigh and nodded, "Tim and your father drove down to Ethan's house last night to pick it up. They thought it'd be best if Charlotte stays here for the remainder of the trip."

I nodded, "She's still sleeping. We watched a sitcom last night to help her lighten up her upset state. I hope it helped. You know, it was nice to hear her laugh last night, after the events that occurred, she was able to let loose at least for a little bit."

"That's wonderful. I hope the two of you didn't hear the conversation after Avery and I left."

"No, we thought it'd be best to turn in at that time. We both seemed tired after everything. Resting would have been better than overthinking," I explained.

"No, that's good. We told Emily and Ethan not to bother Charlotte before they had a good talk with each other about it," my mother added.

I let my nails run through my hair, "I still can't believe he did it. I don't know how else to comfort Charlotte than just being there for her," I said.

"Sometimes, that's all you can do. I know Charlotte has many thoughts in her mind, but don't force her to talk to you about it. She'll tell you when she's ready. Avery, Tim, your father and I are in the same position. We're trying to stay positive and keep things relevantly normal."

I nodded, "I don't think she wants more sympathy than what she already got last night. We don't want to overwhelm her because she already has too much on her mind." I said, "Well, I'm going to head back to the bedroom. Thanks, mom, for the medication."

Before I could open the door, she touched my hand, "We never talked about you. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay, besides waking up with this raging headache. I'm more worried about Charlotte than myself. Ethan's words still hurt; it's like they're burning into my skin. I'm just hoping he doesn't mean it," I said.

My mom nodded, "Okay."

I took the luggage and walked out of the bedroom. I went to ours, opened the door carefully, set the luggage down by mine, and then gently climbed back into bed. I took the book off the nightstand and opened it, letting my fingers feel the cover's smoothness and then looking at the scrunched words. I sat here reading, reading the same page over and over again. I couldn't even read a paragraph without taking my mind off the book and let it wander somewhere else.