“I know what you’re going to say. Max and Andy have been preaching to me for years about how it’s not my fault. And somewhere deep in my fucked-up brain I know that. But another, larger part of my brain won’t let me truly believe it.”
“You love them so much that you’re willing to punish yourself for the rest of your life? I never met them, but I can’t imagine either of them would want that for you,” I say, squeezing his hand back.
“They deserved better than me,” Ben grumbles, releasing my hand to swipe away another rogue tear from his face.
“You don’t get to decide that.” I say matter-of-factly. “Your mom loved you with everything she had. Probably more than she had, because it sounds like she had to love you enough for two parents. And Mara CHOSE you. You’re saying she doesn’t deserve something she chose?”
Ben just grunts, so I roll my eyes and take a moment to wipe the tears away from them. “Thank you for telling me,” I say quietly.
“No ... thank you Charlie. You’ve been a beacon of light in my life from the moment you’ve stepped into it and it took meeting you to realize I deserve better than this listless existence that I have created for myself.”
“You talk like a book,” I blurt out stupidly and we both chuckle.
“Well, I am a teacher, darlin'. I’ve got the brains to go with the brawn,” Ben jokes and I snort a laugh.
I realize we have been talking for quite a while and are almost at my parents’ place. It feels like a weight have been lifted from my chest now that Ben has opened up to me. I feel so much closer to him and I really hope he feels more comfortable now because he’s told me. I can tell that he still has a long way to go to accept his grief and stop blaming himself, but I can be patient for him. He’s worth it.
The relief I feel at finally knowing Ben’s story fades quickly as we reach my parent’s house. In the driveway is a familiar looking, way too fancy for this town, black SUV. Sitting on the front steps, looking furious as all hell, is Brad.
Chapter 33
Ben
Based on the way Charlie tensed up just now, I’m going to guess that this must be that piece-of-shit Brad. He makes eye contact with me briefly, anger emanating off him in waves, but he mostly just has eyes for Charlie. Quite frankly, he looks like crap. His dirty blond hair sticks up at odd angles like he’s been running his hands through it repeatedly, and his clothes are wrinkled and covered in random food stains. This is the hotshot megalomaniac businessman Charlie told us about? Looks like a lame-ass, insignificant prick to me.
“What are the chances you’ll stay in the car while I deal with this?” Charlie asks me while undoing her seatbelt. I park on the road so I don’t block Brad’s way out, which will hopefully be happening very shortly.
“Yeah, I think not firefly,” I say, taking a moment to undo my seatbelt and hopping out of the truck right after her.
Brad immediately stands from where he was sitting on the front steps. He storms down the driveway, meeting Charlie halfway. “Is this the dude you’re fucking?” he spits viciously.
“None of your fucking business Brad. Why are you here? You made it clear you want nothing to do with me, in more ways than one!” Charlie spits back.
I have never seen Charlie mad. Not once. But seeing how her eyes look in this moment and feeling the pure fury that radiatesfrom her body, I vow to make every effort to never be on the receiving end of her anger.
“You and I have unfinished business.” He looks like he wants to reach forward and put his hand on Charlie, but I come up behind her right at the same time and glare at him menacingly.
“We really don’t. I have literally nothing to say to you. You cheated on me and got me fired! Your chance to talk to me was that weekend, when I called and texted you a hundred times begging you to talk to me so we could work it out. We had unfinished business then, but definitely not now, you arrogant fucking prick!”
“All you had to do was stay off my floor and out of my office Charlie. If you hadn’t broken our rules, things could have stayed the same. I was the best you ever had; you can’t deny that. I just needed someone hotter to get my dick wet so I could stomach sleeping with that fat ass of yours.”
BAM! Charlie surprises all of us and lands a punch to Brad’s cheek. She’s clearly never thrown a punch though, so Brad barely moves from the impact while Charlie grabs her hand and screams “Fuck!”
My eyes dart to Brad and that’s when I see him lifting his hand to hit Charlie back. I grab his wrist with one hand and use the other to clock him right in the jaw. This time, he goes down. Charlie uses the moment to straighten up, still clutching her already swelling hand. I give her a quick lookover, and her face is a mixture of anger, confusion, and worry. I step past her and glare down at Brad.
“Listen here dick head. I don’t know why you thought it was a good idea to drive all the way up here just to abuse this sweet, innocent girl some more, but if I ever hear you talking to her or any other girl for that matter like that again, I’ll fuck you up worse. And my brothers will help. Your best bet is getting the fuck out of here and praying to God that I never catch you in my town again.” My voice is calm and completely at odds with the menacing words I utter.
“You’re both fucking crazy!” Brad screams, clutching at hisface while still on the ground.
“Yeah, I am. Best be running along before you find out just how crazy I can get.”
Brad wastes no time jumping up from the ground and scrambling to his car. I am pretty sure I can hear him sobbing. What a little bitch that guy is. I have no clue what Charlie could have ever seen in him. Especially since that motherfucker looks like an older, douche-y Malfoy.
Charlie and I both watch Brad speed away before I return my attention fully to her. I look down at her hand that she’s still clutching and can see bruises already starting to form around her knuckles to go along with the swelling.
'C’mon, we should get some ice on your hand.” I put my arm around her, and we enter her parents house together. Charlie sits on a stool at the kitchen island and I make quick work of wrapping some ice up in a dish towel and setting it down on her hand. She winces but doesn’t say anything.
“Are you okay?” I ask her tentatively. Watching her eyes, you can almost see the war happening inside Charlie’s head. She nods at me but then shakes her head.
