I nodded, standing as they gathered their things. I walked them outside, where I gave Scarlette a hug.
“Bye,” I said, my voice firm, but hopeful. “I’ll see you soon. Maybe before the holidays.”
Nova gave me a small, understanding smile as they left, Scarlette waving enthusiastically over her shoulder. I waved back before rushing to my car, my chest tightening with every step.
Once inside, I sat for a moment, my hands gripping the steering wheel.I could get on a flight to Atlanta right now,I thought, the urge to see Charlie clawing at me. Withouthesitation, I grabbed my phone and texted the one person I knew could help.
43
charlie
I think this was what overthinking felt like. It was well into the afternoon, and instead of crossing anything off my list, I’d spent the day pacing between the kitchen and my bed, making a sandwich at lunch before coming back to let a mindless show play in the background while I turned over every possible conversation I could have with Austin.
We had so much to mend, so much to heal, and I’d told myself that today was the day I’d figure out what “showing up” really meant. Yet, all I had was a jumble of starts and stops—how to explain, where to begin, what not to say.
Austin had texted me earlier to say he was meeting with Nova and Scarlette this morning, and that was it. No follow-up, no details—nothing. I kept debating whether I should text him for an update or if that would just derail whatever I was building toward.
The only relief was that Jacob had managed to keep Mom at bay, sparing me from facing her before I was ready.
There was a knock at my door. Jacob was working in his home office even though it was the day before Christmas Eve.
“Are you going to be in there forever?”
I looked out the expansive windows at the small town ahead. The sun hung low in the sky, painting everything in soft shades of amber and gold. For a fleeting moment, the view was enough to quiet the noise in my head.
The streets were already lit with strings of twinkling Christmas lights, their glow reflecting in the windows of the little shops and homes scattered throughout the town. It was beautiful—peaceful in a way that didn’t quite match the chaos inside.
“Probably,” I called back to Jacob.
He must’ve left because silence was the only response. I turned my attention back to the television, where the vampires and the witches were about to have a brawl, when there was another knock on the door.
“Ugh,” I groaned.
He was relentless.
“I’m rotting. Let me be in peace... please,” I begged.
I grabbed the remote and shut off the TV, waiting for his response.
There was nothing.
Good. He let me be.
“Char?”
That wasn’t Jacob’s voice.
My head snapped toward the door. I knew that voice.
Austin.
How was he here? How did he know where Jacob lived?
I looked down at myself—yesterday’s pajamas rumpled from hours on the bed, my hair a tangled mess piled on top of my head, not a trace of makeup on my face. I wasn’t presentable.
I can’t let him see me like this.
I needed a mirror. I couldn’t let Austin see me vulnerable, naked and wanting him. My heart raced, and my palms wereslick with sweat as my mom’s lessons played on a loop in my mind.
