novelxo Sworn Enemy: Chapter 28
Erik sends me a text, obliquely letting me know that everything’s been handled with the guy I killed, that I will be safe from now on, and that there will be a specialized, discreet counselor reaching out to me shortly.
Feeling a little desperate, I text back.
Me: How’s Charlie doing?
Erik: He’ll be back home tonight.
Thanks for nothing, Erik.
Well, not nothing. I mean, here I am, going into my second hour of sitting on Charlie’s front porch with Omar, feeling more than a little stupid.
I doubt Charlie’s changed his mind from last night, but I’ve got to try. Nothing I’ve learned about him in the last twenty-four hours has changed how I feel about him, and I’m not letting him get out of this quite so easily. We’re at least going to have a goddamn conversation.
When I think of it, handling and disposing of a body probably isn’t conducive to the conversation Charlie and I need to have, but fuck it. I check my phone to see if there are any additional messages from Erik, and…nope.
Just as I wonder for the fifteenth time if I’ve lost my damn mind, the electric gate opens. Anders is driving his Jeep with the doors and roof off, Erik is riding shotgun, and Charlie is in the back, head bowed.
“Fuck yes! That’s right! Make a stand for your man,” Anders shouts, pointing at me. “Don’t take no for an answer, Justin! Don’t let him get in his head about it either!”
He comes to a hard stop in front of the porch, spraying Omar and me with gravel and dirt.
“Anders! What the fuck?” Charlie shouts, sounding furious. “You just shit gravel all over him!”
Omar shoots Anders a look that would turn a lesser man into a quivering pile of Jell-O.
Anders grimaces. “Sorry, husband. And Justin. I imagined that going differently.”
Charlie hops out of the Jeep and rushes up to me. “Are you okay? Did you get any in your eyes?”
“Hey, I’m the doctor here,” Anders complains. “I should be asking the questions.”
Charlie takes a deep breath and massages his forehead, then glares back at Anders. Anders holds his hands up. “Never mind then. We’re cool, we’re cool.”
Letting out a frustrated grunt, Charlie turns back to me. Cupping my jaw, he leans in. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Didn’t get any in my eyes.”
With a soft touch, he brushes off my cheeks and shakes out my shirt, taking care of most of the dirt.
Anders, it seems, can’t leave well enough alone. “Oh my God, dude. Don’t be such a douchebag. Tell him how you feel!”
Charlie spins. “I swear to God, Anders. If you don’t shut the fuck up right now, I will murder you where you sit.”
Omar, still brushing rock and gravel out of his hair, nods. “I’ll help.”
Anders holds up his hands. “Okay, okay. I’ll be quiet.”
I snort. “As if that’s possible.”
“Hey!” Anders has the temerity to look hurt. “I’m on your side.”
“I appreciate it, but you forget I’ve gone to Sunday dinner with you for like six months now. You always have something to say.”
“I can’t help it if I’m a good conversationalist.”
Omar jumps into the passenger side of the Jeep and knocks Anders’ arm. “Not the point.”
Anders holds up his hand again, zipping his lips shut and throwing away the key. Yeah, we’ll see how long that lasts.
Fisting his hands, Charlie turns around to face me, even though his eyes don’t quite meet mine.
“It has been brought to my attention,” he says, glancing back at Anders and Erik, “that you and I are—sorta nonconsensually—part of a larger family…organization. It’s not just Erik and me out here being big damn heroes. And as much as I worry about your safety, we have backup when we need it.”
I look over his shoulder to the two—make that three—troublemakers in the Jeep, and they give me a combination thumbs-up-smile-grimace, which I think I’m supposed to take as a good sign. Maybe?
“So this larger family organization, they consider me a member?” I ask, kinda enjoying Charlie’s discomfort.
He looks up quickly. “Of course they do. They see all the work you and your brother have put into coming out and getting better and staying sober.” Anders clears his throat. “Well, and keeping the sheriff distracted, I guess, is a bonus.”
“Yeah it is!”
Charlie glares over his shoulder again, and Anders sits back with a scowl.
Biting back a laugh, I respond, “I don’t think my brother would like that characterization, but I hear you.”
“And I’m told that means you and your brother fall under the same umbrella of protection as well. Which means I have to give you everybody’s phone number so you can call or text anyone at any time if you run into any trouble.”
“Hm.” I tap my chin, considering. “Who do I text if my boyfriend is being an idiot?”
Anders snorts, Charlie grumbles, and I bite my lip to keep myself from laughing too loudly. Scratching the back of his head, he lets out a frustrated sigh. “Probably Erik.”
“Don’t worry, Justin,” Erik calls out from the car, smiling like a jackass. “I’ll set him straight.”
Charlie turns on his heel, glaring at the occupants of the Jeep. “Thanks, guys,” he grits out. “I think I’ve got it from here.”
“Fine,” Anders grumps. “I just wanted to see the happy ending.”
I lean over and kiss Charlie’s cheek. Anders lets out a whoop and sends me a wave. “Thank you, Justin!”
Charlie points at the gate. “Get the fuck off my property, Bash.”
“Harsh.”
Anders’ mouth broadens into a Cheshire cat grin as he puts the Jeep in reverse. Anders backs up and drops Erik off at the trailer before he and Omar hightail it off the property, with Charlie giving him the stink eye the whole way.
Finally, Charlie turns back to me, looking appropriately chastised.
“I’m not going to apologize for wanting to protect you,” he says softly. “But…I might apologize for not understanding how protected we both are. It’s just, yesterday, in the heat of the moment, all I wanted was to get you to safety as quickly as possible. I hope you know it doesn’t accurately reflect how I feel for you.”
I cock my brow. “And how do you feel for me?”
He scowls, glancing up at me. “You’re gonna make me say it, aren’t you?”
I step closer, loving the advantage my few extra inches give me. I doubt he wants to look up, but he does manage to glare at me through his lashes. I bite my lip, still determined not to laugh.
“After I spent the last twenty-four hours crying my eyes out, thinking I might lose you forever? Yeah, I’m going to make you say it.”
“Fine,” he grumbles, finally giving in to having to tilt his head to look me in the eyes.
His unserious frown gives way to the sweetest little begrudging smile. “I started falling for you the day you helped me out with that fire. I could tell you felt responsible for the fact that we couldn’t save the buildings, but I never felt that way. All I ever saw was someone who rushed over to help as soon as he could.
“Honestly, I think you would’ve done that for anybody. But I know on that day, you were specifically doing it for me. You wanted me to see that you had changed, that you were a better person than the one I knew all those years ago.”
“Did it work?” I ask, unable to hide my amusement.
He chuckles, grabbing my hand to kiss the work-roughened knuckles. “Yeah, it fucking worked. After that, it didn’t take much to fall in love with you.”
I smile, dropping my eyes. I wasn’t actually expecting a love declaration.
“Hey,” he says, tapping under my chin. “Look at me.”
I comply and, as always, am immediately electrified by the intensity in his eyes.
He stitches his brows together. “I do, you know. Love you. I’d sacrifice a lot of things to keep you safe, even my own happiness…which, I’m aware, was a bit of an overreaction. I hope you’ll allow me to make it up to you.”
“I love you too,” I say, grabbing his shirt and pulling him in for a kiss. Which goes on for a little while.
Finally, I pull back and complete my thought. “I mean, I was clearly ready to fight you for it, but Anders got to you before I did.”
Charlie drops his head back. “Fucking Anders.”
“Hey.” I pull him into another kiss. “We’re both in recovery, right? And we’ve got mostly good days between us, but also some bad days. It’s just…I never want to break up just to avoid a hard conversation. I want to fight for us every day. That’s the God’s honest truth.”
“Deal.” Charlie seals it with a kiss, then pulls back to brush a bit of the dirt off my shoulders. “Wow, Justin. You’re so…dirty.”
I grin. Cheesy-ass motherfucker.
“Yeah…I might need to hop into your shower real quick.”
Grabbing my shirt, he wrinkles his nose. “No need to be quick about it.”
“That showerhead big enough for two?”
“Come to think of it, yeah, it is.”