“You,” I breathed, shaking my head. “Are so, so bad.”
He chuckled, leaning in to kiss me softer, and this time the passion I’d felt before was replaced with a longing, with a disbelief that I was in his arms.
When he pulled away, his forehead stayed pressed against mine, and he let out a long sigh.
“What happens now, Charlie?”
My hands threaded around the back of his neck, and I mirrored his sigh. “I don’t know. I have to talk to him,” I said softly. “We both know that.”
Reese nodded, pulling me closer. “So, you’ll go home tonight?”
“I have to.”
He blew out a more frustrating breath, squeezing his eyes closed. “I know. I know, but I hate it.”
Something about the casual way we talked about Cameron in that moment, about the nonchalant way I discussed throwing away everything I’d cherished for the past decade of my life — it stirred a poison that had been stagnant inside me. I felt it spring to life, crawling through my veins, and my chest ached with the attempt to beat through the grip of it.
“There’s so much more to think about, Reese. Cameron… he’s my husband. This isn’t just going to hurt him, it’s going to kill him. And then there are our families, and the vows we made.” I paused, knowing just hearing the words alone were hurting Reese. “I just need some time, okay? I need a little time.”
His grip tightened around me again, and he pulled me into his chest, resting his chin on my head. The emotion that poured out of his body into mine with that grasp was enough to make my knees hit the ground.
“I’ll wait. I’d wait forever for you.”
Mr. Henderson’s muffled voice coming from the stage brought me back to reality, and I kissed Reese’s chest before putting distance between us. “We should get back out there.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, but he didn’t let me go for a moment. “You first. I’ll wait a few minutes.”
I slipped back out the door, smoothing my hands over my dress and tucking the fallen strands of my hair behind my ears as I made my way back to the stage. They’d be inviting the teachers out soon who helped organize the event, so I took my place behind Miss Maggert, hoping like hell I didn’t look like I’d just been finger-banged in the costume room.
I was in the process of calming my racing heart when it stopped altogether at the sight of an unexpected guest on stage with Mr. Henderson.
“Now, before we bring out the staff who helped plan this amazing concert for you tonight, I have the distinct honor of introducing you to a very special surprise guest this evening,” Mr. Henderson said, his cheeks rosy and high on his face as he squeezed Cameron’s shoulder.
No one would have noticed other than me, but I could tell Cameron hadn’t slept all weekend. To the untrained eye, he looked dapper in his beige suit with baby blue and dark brown accents. But I saw the faint bags under his eyes, the downturn in his smile, the crease between his brows.
It was then that I realized it didn’t matter how angry I was, or how much I knew we weren’t meant to be together anymore — I still didn’t want to hurt him.
It was going to kill me to do it.
But I couldn’t focus on that for long before the more pressing question forced its way to the forefront of my mind.
Why is he here?
“Please join me in welcoming Senior Project Manager at Reid’s Energy Solutions and husband to our very own Mrs. Charlie Pierce. Here with a very special announcement that I know will end this beautiful concert on the highest of notes.” He paused there, hoping the crowd would catch his intentional pun, and though he only earned a few chuckles, he seemed proud. “Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Cameron Pierce.”
There was a warm welcome of applause as Mr. Henderson shook Cameron’s hand and exited the stage, joining the rest of us behind the curtain at stage left. He smiled at me with a raise of his eyebrows, as if I was in on the secret, but I had no idea why my husband was on stage, or what his “special announcement” was.
Reese reached my side as soon as Cameron started talking, casting a questioning glance in my direction. His eyes asked me why Cameron was there, and I could only answer with a blink.
“Thank you, Mr. Henderson,” Cameron said as the crowd quieted. “And thank you, parents, faculty, staff, and students of Westchester for allowing me to interrupt the end of your much anticipated spring concert. You’ll have to forgive me for my nerves, public speaking is far from my forte.”
He smiled a little then.
“My wife is almost as shy as I am, but she still manages to talk to a crowd full of people like they’re her best friends. I’ve always envied that about her. And no, don’t worry, I’m not picturing anyone in their underwear — although I did have a nightmare last night that you all would see me in mine.”
The crowd laughed, and under my aching chest, my heart surged with an unwelcome warmth.
“Speaking of my wife, I’m not sure if all of you know her personally, but for those of you who do, you know that she’s the most kind-hearted woman who ever existed.” There were smiles and nods of encouragement from the crowd, and Cameron kept their attention as he continued. “She’s taught some of your children, and from what I’ve gathered, many of them remember her long after they leave kindergarten — which speaks more highly of her than I ever could.”
“We love you, Mrs. Pierce!” a student yelled from the crowd, and everyone laughed and clapped to mirror his sentiment, which made Cameron’s smile grow even wider.
“Yes, she’s pretty amazing, which is why I have to tell you that my heart was broken when she came home from school last Friday with tears streaming down her face. As I’m sure you can agree, when we see those we love the most hurting, all we want to do is make whatever the source of that pain is go away. We want to make everything better.” He swallowed. “I have to admit to you all that I failed at that, but I’m here to try again.”
The crowd was silent, completely rapt, hanging on to every word Cameron said.
I hung on with them.
“You see, there is a student in her class this semester who she has really connected with. We all know that a teacher doesn’t become everyone’s favorite and stay in the hearts of students without being more than just their teacher. Charlie is a friend to her students, and I know she has been a very good friend to one student in particular this year.” He paused. “Jeremiah Lawrence.”
My heart kicked, the force of it so hard that my hand found my chest as if to stop it from escaping altogether.
“Some of you may already know, but Jeremiah and his family suffered a horrible tragedy last week during the snow days. While the rest of us were thankful for mornings spent sleeping in and afternoons building snowmen, they were struggling to find hope after they lost their home and all the belongings inside it to a fire.”
There was a wave of gasps and sympathetic whispers from the crowd, and Cameron shook his head, his hands gripping the edge of the podium where he stood.
“I can’t imagine what they’ve gone through over the past week, and I know there is no way to ever truly replace all that they lost — not just their sentimental belongings and the home where so many memories had been made, but their sense of peace and comfort, too. To have something you love so much ripped away from you like that,” he said, and I heard the underlying implications behind it. “It’s something no one should have to live through.”
I swallowed, my eyes filling with tears. Reese glanced at me but I couldn’t meet his gaze, couldn’t look anywhere but at my husband as he poured his heart out on stage.
“But, one thing I’ve come to learn the past eight years that I’ve been married to one of the finest teachers at Westchester is that this isn’t just a school,” Cameron said. “This is a family. We all go through challenges that hurt us, but they strengthen us, too. Sometimes we get hurt.” His voice caught, and for the first time, he found my eyes backstage. He held my gaze as his own eyes glossed over. “And sometimes
we even hurt each other. But at the end of the day, we’re a family — and that will never change.”
Someone started a slow clap in the crowd, and everyone joined in slowly. I didn’t have to look to know mine and Cameron’s eyes weren’t the only wet ones in the house.
He tore his gaze away from mine and sniffed, shaking the emotion from his features as he addressed the crowd again. “And so, as a part of the Westchester family, I’d like to invite Jeremiah and his family up to the stage at this time.”
It was quiet a moment before the crowd began clapping again, and slowly, Jeremiah, his mother, his father, and his grandparents emerged, slowly parting the sea as they made their way to the stage. They stood next to Cameron, all of them wearing sad, worn smiles and eyes heavy with exhaustion just like Cameron’s.
Cameron pulled the microphone from the podium and bent to Jeremiah’s level, squeezing his shoulder. “Jeremiah, I’m so sorry for everything you’ve been through. And I know how scary it’s been, losing your home, and then hearing the possibility that you might lose your school, too. But, Reid’s Energy Solutions isn’t going to let that happen.”
Jeremiah’s eyes widened as his parents looked to each other in confusion, questioning Cameron in their next glance.
“I’m so honored to be the one to tell you that we are going to sponsor a new home being built for you and your family, right on the same lot where your old one existed. You can have it built the way it was or with whatever upgrades you want — just say the word. And,” he added over the commotion of the crowd. “The next three years of your tuition is on us, too.” His eyes found the parents then. “We hope this will help you find comfort again, and allow you plenty of time to get back on your feet without any worry that Westchester won’t be your home anymore. Once a family, always a family.”
He went to say something else, but was cut off by Jeremiah throwing his little arms around his neck and hugging him tight as he sobbed. The crowd erupted into a thunderous applause, everyone coming to their feet, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from Cameron’s face as Jeremiah hugged him.
Because I knew he was thinking about our son.
I blinked, opening the floodgates on the tears I’d been holding back as my hands covered my mouth. I couldn’t swallow, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything but stand there in the eye of the emotional tornado sweeping through everything I thought I knew and completely destroying it.
Reese wouldn’t take his eyes off me, and when I finally allowed myself to return his gaze, I knew he’d ask the question I couldn’t answer.
“Charlie.”
His hand reached for me but he stopped himself, letting it fall back to his side as the crowd continued to cheer. He glanced at Cameron on stage, and when his eyes found mine again, I saw the absolute terror behind them. I saw the same fear I felt, the same shock and confusion.
“Charlie,” he repeated. “Don’t look at me like that. Don’t… you can’t…” He shook his head, stepping just an inch closer. “You have to tell me. I have to know. What does this mean? What are you thinking?”
But I couldn’t answer.
The crowd’s cheers morphed into a loud siren, the stage lights blinding me in a flash before everything went dark.
Reese
I’d never been so sick in my entire life.
I couldn’t eat, couldn’t even drink a damn beer as I paced my house and waited to hear from Charlie. Catching her in my arms when she fainted back stage should have brought me comfort. The ambulance was called, and she was cleared as being okay before I’d even left the school.
But I didn’t feel comforted, because though I’d been the one to catch her when she fell, it was Cameron who was holding her when she woke up.
I didn’t even bother to crack the door in my house as I lit up the fifth consecutive cigarette and smoked it aggressively as I paced. Back and forth, back and forth, from the kitchen to the door, my eyes catching on the fort Charlie and I spent the entire weekend in each time I passed it.
We should be together under those sheets right now, but instead, she was halfway across town with him.
I’d been so naïve when the morning had started, comforted by a false assurance that everything would be okay and she would be mine now. It’d been so easy to feel that way after three nights of having her to myself, after hours spent talking and touching and sealing what I’d always felt for her, and what I’d known she’d always felt for me.
Even at the concert, when I held her in the dark costume room, I only halfway felt the fear I knew my words portrayed. I was scared, sure, but at the same time I was confident. I told her I’d wait forever, knowing in my heart that I wouldn’t have to wait long.
That was, until Cameron showed up.
The second I saw him on stage, my stomach twisted into the most horrid knot of my life. Watching Charlie’s emotions as he talked, as he spoke directly to her heart — it killed me. I couldn’t touch her, couldn’t pull her into me, couldn’t force her to look at me instead of him and remember everything she’d felt the past few days.
I could only watch, helplessly, as my opponent rolled up his sleeves to fight back.
It was the last thing I expected him to do.
Now, I didn’t know what Charlie was feeling. I didn’t know where her head was at as she talked to her husband in their home after being in mine all weekend. Would she still tell him about us? And even if she did, would she tell him I was her choice, or had tonight changed everything?
I sucked my cigarette down to the butt before cursing and snuffing it out in the ashtray on the counter, raking my hands back through my hair. I was going to go mad in the hours that stretched between now and when I would see her at school the next morning, and there was nothing I could do about it.
A timid knock at the door stopped me dead in my tracks before I could light another cigarette. It balanced between my lips, hanging there limply as I stared at the door as if I’d imagined the knock.
But then it came again.
The cigarette dropped to the floor as I sprinted for the door, tearing it open as I sent a prayer up to whatever God was listening to find Charlie on the other side of it. My heart pounded with the force of a cannon, but at the sight of the literal last person I expected, it stopped altogether.
“Surprise!”
Blake smiled at me from the other side of the screen door, suitcase in hand. My hand was frozen on the door knob. I blinked, wondering if the image would clear, if it was just a hallucination or my worst nightmare coming to fruition.
But nothing changed when I opened my eyes again.
Blake was there, pulling the door open since I couldn’t do a single thing but stare.
“Guess my surprise really worked,” Blake said with a chuckle. “You’re speechless.”
I still couldn’t believe it. Nothing would register. My heart wouldn’t start again, my hands wouldn’t move, my breath wouldn’t pull the much needed oxygen to my lungs — because it wasn’t Charlie on my doorstep. It was Blake.
Blake, my ex-roommate.
And, technically, my girlfriend.
Charlie
Jane’s cage door was still wide open, the two swings within it empty, and I stared at the gold-plated bars of that little prison as I waited for Cameron to return.
He’d helped me into bed after my episode at the concert, and though I was lucky I hadn’t cracked my head like an egg backstage, I still somewhat wished I could just pass out again to skip whatever conversation was about to happen.
I missed Jane.
If she was in her cage, I could open the door and tickle her feathers while she nudged her little head into my hand and sang me a song assuring me everything would be fine. Then again, not even her comforting song could change the fact that my life was a royal mess at the moment.
Still, I couldn’t stop staring at her empty cage, longing for her company.
The sun had set long ago, well before the spring concert even started, and our room
was illuminated only by the soft white glow coming from my bedside lamp. I heard Cameron’s footsteps coming up the stairs and down the hallway before he even appeared, but I still blinked when he entered, as if he’d shaken me from a dream.
“Here,” he said, taking a seat at the foot of our bed near my ankles.
I kept my eyes on the cage as he handed me a steaming cup of tea on a small porcelain plate. The floral aroma of it hit my nose first, and I finally glanced down at the hot liquid, letting the steam warm my face. It was a white berry tea, one of my favorites, and I hated that Cameron knew it would bring me comfort.
I sat it on the bedside table.
“You need to try to eat something soon,” he said softly, placing a small bowl of tea biscuits next to where I’d placed the mug. “I know you don’t want to, but you should try.”
I nodded as my only acknowledgement, leaning back against the fort of pillows against our headboard with my eyes resting on that damn cage again.
“Why?”
My voice cracked a little at the first word I’d spoken all night. I tore my gaze from the cage, and Cameron’s eyes were waiting for me, steady as ever.
“Why did you do it?”
“Because I love you,” he answered easily, as if the answer was obvious. “And I’m not losing you.”
I stared at him, willing myself to believe the words he’d said, to feel something when he said them — but I only found rage.
“Damn it, Cameron!” I threw the covers back, kicking them the rest of the way off until I could climb out of bed. I needed to walk, needed to be away from him.
My hands ran back through my tangled hair, and I squeezed my eyes tight once I’d reached the far end of our room, standing right next to the cage with the door still open. I wanted to crawl out of my skin, out of the house, out of my life. It was too hard to breathe, my head swimming again like it had at the school, and I blindly felt for the handle on our window before throwing it open and letting in the freezing cold breeze.
What He Doesn't Know (What He Doesn't Know Duet Book 1) Page 24