Predictably, she huffs. “It’s not that small.” She’s still not letting me go, though.
“I’m okay, Sadie.” I give her a squeeze before gently easing her back. “I promise.”
She studies my face, checking the veracity of that statement. “Are you?”
“Yes.” And I am. Do I wish Charlie were here? Yeah, of course I do. But we still text every day, so I’m clinging to the hope that things might still work out okay. And if they don’t, I’ll deal with it then.
“Okay,” she says eventually. “Let me know when you get home?—”
“It’s literally five minutes down the road.”
“Humour me.” She sounds just like our mum, not that I’d ever dare say that. “And I’ll see you at Mum and Aunt Sarah’s tomorrow for Christmas dinner.”
“Night, sis. See you tomorrow.”
It’s just gone midnight when I get home.
Cooper greets me as I unlock the door and my phone lights up with a text message. I assume it’s Sadie checking up on me, impatient as ever, so I ignore it in favour of taking my boots off and hanging up my coat.
When I finally check the screen, my breath catches, and I can’t unlock it fast enough.
Charlie: Merry Christmas, Pete. I’ll be busy with family for the next few days, so I wanted to say it now. I haven’t forgotten what we talked about. I just need a little more time to sort things out
Charlie: I miss you x
I read the messages again, and then once more, just to make sure I’m not wrong to let that tiny ball of hope inside me unfurl and grow. I skim through the first message: it’s nothing he hasn’t said before, but the second one... that’s new. And it’s what I’ve been wanting to hear since the moment he left.
Pete: Merry Christmas. I miss you too x
So fucking much.
Pete: And take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere x
I reread that last text as I hit Send and wince.
Maybe that’s the problem.
CHARLIE
Christmas was lovely.
Seb and I drove home together to spend it with our respective families.
I even managed to finish my book in the days following. Of course, I have to read the whole thing through again before I send it to my editor, but that can wait. For now, I’m just going to bask in the knowledge that it’s done.
Which reminds me.
Charlie: I finished my book
He doesn’t reply straight away, not that I expect him to. He’s probably busy enjoying some free time after the rush up to Christmas.
I’m watching TV with Seb when Pete’s name appears on my phone screen. I catch Seb’s smirk as I snatch my phone up. “Shush.”
He snorts but doesn’t say anything.
NYE Pete: That’s amazing. Can’t wait to read it
Charlie: It’ll be a few months yet. Don’t tell me you’ve already finished those two I sent you?
