Lost & Found
Page 21
Frantically, he bent down and clutched the bags with his shaking hands before standing up and heading towards his mother, blinking away the stinging tears.
“You don't need to go,” Oliver called after him.
“I do Oliver!” Charlie turned around, “We've been through this.”
“You don't,” Oliver laughed.
What's so funny? Why doesn't he just get it.
Charlie turned and started to jog towards his mother, but he could feel Oliver hot on his heels.
Is he drunk again?
“Oliver, please. Leave me alone,” Charlie cried as he reached his mother and Poppy on the platform.
“Just fucking listen to me!” Oliver cried, causing the heads of the people boarding the train to stop and stare out of curiosity.
“Charlie we don't have time for this,” his mother pleaded, “you'll have to sort this out over the phone.”
“You don't need to go,” Oliver repeated.
“We do!” she cried.
“No, you don't,” Oliver smiled, “because I’ve done something.”
Quickly, Charlie searched Oliver’s amused expression trying to figure out what he was talking about. His lips quivered and his eyes were darting frantically from side to side.
“What’s going on?” Charlie mumbled.
A heart filled smile spread across Oliver’s trembling lips, and he raised his hand up to his lips before letting out a small excited laugh.
“Oliver!” his mother cried, “What are you doing?”
“I’ve bought us something,” Oliver laughed, the smile breaking free from behind his hand, “I’ve bought us the diner.”
Charlie twisted his head and dropped his bags. Slowly, his jaw dropped open, but he couldn't speak.
“What?” Charlie muttered, not believing his ears.
This has to be a joke.
“I bought the diner,” Oliver repeated, stepping forwards and taking Charlie's shaking hands in his, “I've bought us the diner.”
“What do you mean you've bought the diner?” Charlie's mother snapped, “We have 60 seconds to get on this train before it leaves.”
“You don't have to go anywhere because you have a job,” Oliver smiled, “I've been with Frank all morning sorting through the paper work, but the place is as good as mine.”
“B-b-ut,” Charlie stuttered.
“I used my trust fund,” Oliver said softly.
“But you hated that money,” Charlie whispered, his voice shaking out of control.
“And now it's all gone,” Oliver laughed, “well, after we get the place up and running it will be.”
Charlie didn't know what to do or say, so he just stood and stared deeply into Oliver's glossy brown eyes.
“LAST CALL FOR THE 1:10 TRAIN,” the conductor cried out.
Charlie could feel his mother urgently running her hands through her hair, switching her gaze from Oliver to the train.
“Is this real?” Charlie asked hazily.
He watched as Oliver slowly closed his eyes and carefully leaned in, pressing his soft lips against his. When the fire spread from his lips and through the rest of his body, he knew he wasn't dreaming.
“I couldn't let you go Charlie, no matter what you said. I was lying in the street yesterday drunk and the idea hit me and it all became so clear. I've got a way of standing on my own two feet, I don't need to rely on my parents ever again because they're probably never going to speak to me. No more money and no more Yale.”
“But you’ll be on your own,” Charlie whispered.
“Don’t you get it?” Oliver smiled, “I won’t be, because I have you. That’s enough for me.”
Charlie laughed and doubled over, clutching his hands tightly to his chest. The feeling deep inside him was burning his skin as he tried to wake up from the dream.
“I love you so much Charlie,” Oliver said gently, pulling Charlie back up firmly by his cheek.
“I love you too,” Charlie mumbled, “I can’t even begin to explain how much I love you right now.”
The train's loud horn sounded, echoing throughout the station as it screamed into life before heading off down the track and out of sight.
“This better be real,” Charlie's mother laughed frantically, “because you've just lost us our ride.”
“I swear on Charlie's life that it's real,” Oliver chuckled, “It can be a clean slate for us all. I’m sorry I did this without asking anyone, but there was no time.”
She practically pushed Charlie out of the way to jump around Oliver's neck as the tears poured from her eyes. When she'd finished kissing Oliver's cheek over and over and crying down his white shirt, she stumbled backwards and picked Poppy up off the ground, spinning her around the platform.
“We're not leaving,” she cried.
“I hope you’re not mad at me,” Oliver whispered, stroking Charlie’s cheek again.
He closed his eyes and leaned into his burning touch. The fingers that he thought would never touch him again felt like hot coals against his soft skin.
“How could I be mad at you right now?” Charlie said in a quiet whisper, “You’ve just saved me. You’ve saved me from losing you.”
“A small part of me thought you wanted to leave, and that’s why you were going so fast,” Oliver sighed, pulling Charlie in again.
Resting his head on his chest, Charlie listened to the sound of Oliver’s heart beating faster than he’d ever heard it as he let his nostrils fill with his clear and manly scent.
“I never wanted to lose you,” Charlie smiled, “I just couldn’t see a way out.”
“You don’t need a way out, not anymore.”
“I can't believe you've done this for us,” Charlie said quietly, resting his hand on Oliver’s chest and clutching at his crisp white shirt, “you're crazy.”
“I am,” Oliver whispered, “I'm crazy in love.”
“I feel like I'm going to wake up from a dream any moment,” Charlie laughed as he closed his eyes tightly as he squeezed the fabric under his touch, as if daring it to vanish.
When he opened them to see Oliver’s broad chest was still in his eye line, he knew it was all real. A deep sigh of relief escaped his throat, and he clung tighter onto Oliver and vowed to himself that he would never, ever let him go.
“This is going to take a while to sink in,” Charlie laughed as he pulled away from Oliver with the biggest smile on his face, a tear running quietly down his smooth cheek.
Oliver wiped the tear away with his thumb before taking his hands in his and he pulled him in closely, so that their noses were almost touching. Charlie closed his eyes and smiled as their foreheads pressed together.
“You're my everything,” Oliver whispered, “I was so lost before I met you, and you gave me a run for my money and you made me do the impossible. You made me fall in love. I'm so glad I found you.”
“No, I found you,” Charlie whispered back, “I always felt like I was searching for a life just out of reach, and you opened my eyes and my heart.”
“I thought you didn't do guys?” he smirked.
“Shut up,” Charlie laughed, slapping him on the chest and stepping back.
“C'mon, my gorgeous boyfriend,” Oliver said, grabbing one of Charlie's shaking hands and the bags with the other, “let's go home.”
“You are my home,” Charlie smiled at him, locking on his gaze.
“If you ever try to leave town again, I will lock you in a cage,” Oliver whispered, “you know that right?”
“I know,” said Charlie, “I promise I'm never leaving your side.”
“You still have the apartment don’t you, because I’m now homeless?”
Charlie laughed to himself. For once, he was glad that his mother had decided not to inform the landlord about their imminent departure.
His mother joined him on the other side, and picked up his hand, giving it a tight squeeze. He knew it was her way of telling him to forget about the past and to focus on the futu
re. Turning to her, they smiled at each other and Charlie saw something in her eyes that he’d never seen before. She looked content.
With Poppy galloping towards Oliver's slick car in front of them, and Oliver’s hand tightly holding him, he felt his family around him and he realized they'd found exactly what they'd been looking for, for so many years.
He'd found something worth sticking around for that was more important than money.
Love.
The Surf Bay Series will continue with Porter's story in FULL CIRCLE (Out October 26th 2014).
Click here to PRE-ORDER now on Amazon!
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