Breathless
Page 10
The more she tried to steady her hands, the more they shook. She grabbed onto the steering wheel and closed her eyes.
Calm the hell down. Just breathe. They're only people. It's not like I'm meeting Richard Castle.
She giggled a loud thinking of the fictional writer in one of her favorite shows. Taking a series of deep breaths, she wished she would have told Sam what she was doing instead of running off to deal with this alone. However, she’d been dealing with things for so long by herself, she didn't know if she'd ever get used to doing things as a team. Letting him in on everything she was dealing with internally was even harder.
It’s now or never. Time to put up or shut up.
She willed herself out of her truck and up the driveway to the front door. The speech she'd prepared on the four hour drive north had disappeared from her mind. Shit, shit, shit. What am I going to say? Before her mind gave her the chance to back out, her body had already climbed the concrete stairs to the massive oak front door and knocked. She stood back and shoved her hands in her front pockets. Her shoulders were raised almost to her earlobes and her stance was rigid.
The front door opened and an old man stood before her. "Can I help you?"
She just stood there, stock still…unable to move. He was right there in front of her. Her grandfather…the man that had set up a trust to make sure she was taken care of for life.
He was the same man who had abandoned her and her dad when they needed them the most.
Thoughts swirled in her head. She couldn't get her words to connect into sentences. "Hi," she blurted out.
The old man's face turned white, like he'd seen a ghost. "Angie?" He rubbed his face furiously and his eyes welled with tears.
Charlie sucked in a stifled breath, not realizing she had tears streaming down her face at the mention of her mother's name.
"You look so much like her," he continued in a warm tone.
"Who's at the door?" a shrill voice screamed from behind him.
A shiver of fear shot down Charlie's spine. She couldn't explain the reaction, but she didn't want the moment they had to end.
The front door was yanked open further and a short older woman with salt-and-pepper hair appeared with a scowl on her hardened face. "Whatever you're selling, we're not buying. We donate to enough charities and I don't give handouts to trash and beggars who come to my door." She looked Charlie up and down, as if she was sizing her up and judging her all at the same time. "From the look of you, you're exactly that. Now get off my property before I call the police."
Charlie stood there, with her mouth hung open at a complete loss for words. For the first time in her life, she did not have access to her endless supply of snarky remarks. Her grandfather looked from her to the bitter old woman next to her and shook his head. "She's not a beggar, Gloria."
The old woman took her glasses off of her head and slid them on to her face. Her eyes went wide as recognition seemed to wash over her face. Callie had always said she looked exactly like her mom, and from the pictures she'd seen of her, she was right. The recognition quickly changed to something dark and almost evil.
"You. You…! How dare you come to my home after what you took from me? That bastard father of yours took my baby from me and got her knocked up with you. I told her to abort you. I told her your life was not worth risking her own, but she wouldn't listen to me."
Hot tears slid down Charlie's face as she sucked in short shallow breaths. Each word was like a dagger ripping to her soul, spilling it onto her feet.
"They could have saved her and let you die instead of her, but no. That piece of shit Joe had the final say. He said to save you instead of my baby." She spit each word filled with such hatred, Charlie wanted to turn and run, but she couldn't move.
"Gloria, that's enough," the old man interjected.
"You are evil. You shouldn't be alive. You shouldn't be on this earth. I buried my baby so you could live. I want you to live with the sorrow and the pain that I have. You killed your mother. Her blood is on your hands. Now get off my property now before I have you hauled off in handcuffs for trespassing." Her chest rose and fell heavily as she spit the words out like venom and then slammed the door shut in Charlie's face.
Charlie dropped to her knees in sobs that came out more like dry heaves. Gloria’s words echoed in her ears.
You killed her. Her blood is on your hands…blood is on your hands…on your hands…your hands…your hands…blood….
The front door opened behind her and she pulled herself into a tighter ball. A hand touched her shoulder and she flinched from not knowing who it was. She heard his voice before she lifted her head.
"This is my favorite picture of your mom. I want you to have it. She's a bitter old woman, so don't listen to what she said. But you really should go. I wouldn't put it past her to call the police."
She looked into his eyes, which were heavy lidded and the same shade of blue as hers. He handed her the picture and she clutched it to her chest.
The door flung open and the voice she now feared and loathed was screaming at a new victim. "Yes. She's still here and I want her arrested. She murdered my daughter and she's trespassing. I pay your salaries, I want an officer here now.
Forcing herself onto wobbly legs, Charlie sprinted to her truck without looking back. She wept aloud, as she drove back to the hotel she was staying at for the night. Not really sure how she'd gotten there, she pulled her phone out into her shaking hands and called Sam. He answered on the second ring.
"Hey. Where are you? I've been trying to call you."
"I…and…she…killed her…."
Broken sobs ripped through her. Pain shot through her chest in waves and she couldn't catch her breath. She sucked in shallow breaths through her quivering bottom lip.
"Killed who? What's going on, babe? Where the hell are you?"
"I…I need…you…." She sucked in ragged breaths as she wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Her vision was blurred from the overflow of tears and her face felt raw.
"Babe, where are you? I'm coming right now, but I need to know where that is!" His voice was panicked, but she didn't have it in her to give him anything else.
"Love…you…."
She hit end on the call and shoved her phone in her pocket as she headed for the pool of the hotel.
Just swim. I killed her. Just swim. Sam will find me. Swim.
The pool was empty and the keycard to her room was in her pocket. In almost a zombie like trance, she swiped her card and entered the pool area and took off her shoes and emptied her pockets. Nothing else mattered. She walked into the water, step by step, until she was completely submerged.
✦✧✦✧✦✧
In a panic, Sam tried to call her right back but it went right to voicemail. He'd never heard her sound so distraught or completely breathless. He tried calling her again to make sure and as soon as her voicemail picked up he hung up and called Jules.
"Sam?"
"Julian, where the hell is she?" Sam demanded.
"Well, hello to you too."
"I'm not in the mood. Something's wrong. She just called me sobbing and incoherent, but I don't know where the hell she is." Sam ran into his room and pulled a pair of pants on and grabbed a shirt out of his closet, thankful he wasn't in the middle of class when she'd called.
"Dammit. I knew it was a bad idea, but she wouldn't listen."
"What was?" No sooner had the words left his mouth than he knew exactly where she'd gone. "Why would she go there without me? We decided if she was going to go through with it that I'd be with her." Sam rubbed his face and pushed out a deep breath.
"You know how she is. She thinks she can take on the world alone. Sam, what did she sound like when she called?" Concern laced Jules’ voice.
"Broken." Sam pulled a duffle bag out of his closet and shoved clothes into it. He raced into his bathroom, grabbed his necessities, and tossed them into the bag.
"Shit. We need to find her."
"I'm pulling it up now. I'll forward it to you. I remember she said something about looking up hotels around that area a few weeks ago when you guys were talking about it."
He tossed his bag on the passenger seat, jumped in his Jeep, and peeled out of his driveway. He knew the drive was over three hours but it didn't matter how many speeding tickets he got on the way to her. There was no way it was going to take him that long. Jules messaged him the info he needed about where she was. When he pulled into the gas station, he quickly Google-mapped the location and it came up as some hotel just outside Charlotte. After he filled up, he hit the road and prayed the entire way she would be okay. He knew he'd need to call and get a substitute teacher to fill in for him the next day, but he pushed the thought to the back of his mind. Charlie needed to be his main concern.
Two hours and forty-five minutes later, he pulled into the hotel lot and parked next to her truck. He grabbed his bag and ran inside the hotel, all the while looking at his phone for the room number Jules had text him. How Jules was able to get the room number, he had no idea...but he was grateful that he had.
Her room was on the second floor and the hallways were open to the outside. Room 218. The blinds were pulled shut and the room looked dark through the window. Sam beat on the door, but there was no answer. Where the hell is she? Her truck's here.
Glancing around, the amenities sign on the wall showed a pool with an arrow the opposite direction.
The pool.
He dropped his bag by her door and sprinted down the hall to the stairs to the pool. His pulse raced in his chest and panic rose when he got to the gate and didn't hear the sounds of her swimming laps. He yanked hard on the gate but it didn't budge. It was locked and he didn't have a key.
"Charlie," he called out.
Nothing.
He scanned the tables and saw her shoes. That's all he needed to see.
In one swift motion, he jumped the tall rod iron fence and raced over to the pool. There she was, floating face-up with her eyes closed. She looked lifeless.
His breath caught in his throat as he called her name again, not knowing what to expect.
"Charlie!"
Her eyes flittered opened.
A sigh of relief washed over him as he kicked off his shoes and threw his phone and keys onto the cement. Rushing into the water, he scooped her into his arms like you would to a small child. "It's okay, baby. I'm here. I've got you."
Her body was cold and she shook against him. How long has she been in here? Sam lifted her out of the water, carried her over to one of the lounge chairs, and set her down.
"Don't leave me," she whispered as she gripped his collar.
"I'm not going anywhere, baby. I was just getting our stuff so I can take you upstairs." He slid his palm up the side of her cheek and watched her eyes. Devastation; that's what was behind her eyes.
Leaning his forehead against hers, he paused for a moment before he brought his lips up to kiss between her brows. "I'm going to grab my shoes, okay?"
She nodded.
He slid his shoes on, grabbed his belongings, and scooped her back up into her arms. She hadn't said a word. She just looked utterly numb.
Sam listened to her slow, deep breaths while she nuzzled into his chest as he carried her back to his room. He slid her keycard into the door and kicked his bag inside.
She was wet, cold, and destroyed.
Two of those things, he knew he could fix. The last he wasn’t so sure about. Sam carried her to the bathroom and set her down. He reached inside the shower and turned the hot water on. She stood there while he undressed her. "We're going to get you warmed up, okay?"
All she gave him was a slight nod.
What the fuck happened?
Even when she'd had her surgery and pushed him away, she hadn't been as vulnerable as she was in that moment. He pulled off his wet clothes and pulled her into the shower with him. She shuddered as soon as the water pelted her skin. It had to feel good after being in that pool for God knows how long. He wanted to kiss every inch of her and tell her it was going to be okay. He yearned to let her know how much he loved her and he would take care of her. He would defend her from whoever it was that had hurt her, but he didn't know what had happened. Pushing her would just make her shut down more.
Lathering his hands with the bar of soap, he washed her body to rid her of the chlorine. He scrubbed himself quick and grabbed the shampoo and ran his fingers through her hair. A small moan escaped her lips and she gripped his shoulders as he rinsed the suds out of her long, dark tresses. He quickly washed his hair and rinsed it before he shut the water off, all the while never letting go of her.
The towel rack was full of plush towels outside the shower curtain. He wrapped one around her to dry her off and grabbed another for himself.
"Is your bag in here or is it still in your truck?"
"In here."
They walked into the main room to get dressed. Sam pulled on a pair of sweat pants that hung low on his hips. Charlie sat on the edge of the bed in her panties.
"Hey. Why don't you put something else on to get warm?" He kept his voice low as he ran his hand down her arm.
"Can I have one of your shirts?" She didn't even look up at him. Her voice was still a whisper.
"You can have anything you want." He pulled a shirt and another pair or sweats out of his bag and brought them over to her. Dropping to his knees, he held the pants open for her to slide her legs into. He loved when she wore his clothes almost as much as she seemed to love wearing them.
She lifted her feet from the floor and placed them inside the waistband. Sam kissed up her thigh slowly, and pulled the pants up the rest of the way. She let out a huff, but he wasn't going to take advantage of her when she was that vulnerable.
A loud bang on the door startled them both. "Open up. It’s the police."
He looked at her dumbfounded. What the fuck did she get involved in? All she could do was shake her head as tears streamed down her face. "Put your shirt on, baby, so I can see what the hell is going on." He waited until she was dressed and pulled the door open just after they beat on the door again.
"Evening, officers. Can I help you?"
"Is Charlotte Evans here?"
"Yes, sir. What's this about?"
"We need to speak with her. And you are?"
"Sam Greyson, her boyfriend."
"Can I see your ID?"
Letting them inside, Sam fumbled for his wallet on the table and handed his ID over.
Charlie walked over to the door. "I'm Charlotte. Is there something wrong?"
"Well, ma'am, it's taken us a few hours to track you down after we got a call earlier. A Mrs. Delgado called earlier to press charges. She said you were trespassing and claims you murdered her daughter twenty years ago. I don't see how that's possible as you're no more than what…your twenties?"
Baffled, Sam stood there with his mouth hung open. "Wait, she what?"
Charlie sank onto the floor near the edge of the bed and cried. It all made sense. The reason she was so crushed.
She'd always made the offhand comment that she'd killed her mother, but he knew she didn't really believe that. Now, though, he wasn't so sure.
"Sir, do you have any idea what's going on here?"
"Can we step outside?" Sam gestured to the door. He didn't want to upset her further by going over details again and again.
"Sure."
They stepped outside the room and Sam pulled the door almost shut behind him. "All I know is she didn't murder anyone. Her mom died during childbirth. She found her grandparents and wanted to meet them. I think she built up the reunion in her head, and she came up here without me. I'm guessing it wasn't a warm welcome and that's when you were called?"
"
If she came up here without you, how are you here now?" The officer asked with an arched brow.
"She called me, crying and almost incoherent. I knew something was wrong. It didn't take long to figure out where she'd gone and I just got here about an hour ago."
The officer nodded and wrote in his little notepad. "Stay out here for a moment for me."
Sam nodded as the other officer joined him. He assumed they were checking out his story with Charlie's. He couldn't imagine them arresting her for trespassing or even the ridiculous murder accusation.
A moment later, the first officer came out with Charlie on his heels. She was wiping her face with the back of her hands.
"Look, I'm not sure what happened earlier, but from what you're telling me and the experience I had with Mrs. Delgado, I believe you. Don't go back over there. If you do and she presses charges, you'll be arrested for trespassing. Please don't make us have to arrest you…especially because of a bitch like her."
One corner of Charlie’s mouth turned upward and Sam was grateful at how cool the cops were. He'd never had so much as a speeding ticket, so this was an entirely new experience for him. His heart beat rapidly in his chest as he pulled Charlie close to him. Feeling her close to him and inhaling her scent brought a calm over him. He hoped it did the same for her.
"You two have a good evening and I'm sorry your trip didn't go as planned," the officer ventured with a sympathetic smile.
"Thank you." Charlie said and let out a deep breath.
They went inside and lied down. He pulled her into his chest as she intertwined her legs with his.
"So are you going to tell me what happened?" He kissed her softly on the lips.
She nodded and poured her soul out to him, with every ugly detail. He held her tight, her body warm against his, as her cries quieted and she fell asleep.
He knew what he needed to do.
Gloria wasn't going to get away with it.