COMPLETE ✓| Charlotte Hastings found herself between a rock and a hard place when she aged out of the foster system. With only a car to her name, she set out on the open road, hoping to find long lost relatives. Winter hits her hard. When she meets...
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CHAPTER EIGHT | CHARLOTTE'S LAMENT
Charlotte Hastings
I must have tossed and turned for hours the night before, thinking about the moment I shared with Eli. His touch sent my body into a frenzy. It had been so long since I had felt someone's warmth and it was lonely, but it was the life I led. The second he let go, I felt his absence.
In two days, I felt more connected to Eli than people I'd known for years at school or the foster families I'd spent time with. I crossed a line that I promised myself years ago I wouldn't, I got attached. The foster system taught me how to lock my feelings away and compartmentalize because I knew it was only a matter of time before the other shoe would drop and I'd have to leave.
I never expected that I'd like it here, maybe that was how I let my emotions creep in.
Lying in bed, I could still feel his touch lingering on my fingertips and the small of my back. Tears slipped down my cheeks as shame ruminated in the pit of my stomach. I came here for a reason and needed to focus on fixing my car so I could get back on the road.
There was a knock on the door and I quickly wiped the tears away before Eli stuck his head in. "Can I come in to get my clothes for work?"
"Yeah, of course, it's your room." I rolled out of bed and wrapped a blanket around myself. He rummaged through his dresser, opening numerous drawers until he found what he was looking for. "When do you think the part will come in for my car?"
"Hopefully by Wednesday but with the weather around here it's hard to be sure, especially with Christmas right around the corner." He turned back to me and gave me a sympathetic smile. "I'll get it done as soon as the part comes in. I know you're anxious to get back on the road."
Was it that obvious? I could almost feel the tension between us as we stared into each other's eyes. Somehow he seemed to know exactly what was wrong without asking.
"I'll give you a ride to the cafe on my way to work." He walked back to the door, lingering momentarily before shutting it behind him.
I sat back down on the bed and sighed, knowing that even if there was a possibility of our friendship blossoming into something more he would never like a girl with a past like mine. "Time to get ready," I told myself.
My bag of clothes was starting to look smaller and smaller the longer I stayed. Anything with holes or that was see-through I definitely couldn't wear around Eli's mother. After eliminating those from my already small wardrobe, I was left with one black dress that I wore to a foster father's funeral two years ago. It was a hand-me-down and hardly work appropriate.
As I slipped it on, it hung on my body, no better than a paper bag and was two sizes too big. I grunted, slamming my foot against the hardwood flooring.
