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She frowned but followed his orders, slathering her stack with maple syrup before taking a bite. The pancakes were flat and flavorless, but she didn’t comment. He’d been uncharacteristically sweet the past twelve hours, and she didn’t want to ruin it. She couldn’t help but feel hopeful as he kissed her cheek before sitting down next to her. What if things were finally going to turn around? What if this rough patch they’d been in was finally over?
“What do you think?” he asked, taking a bite.
“They’re great, thank you,” she said. “Definitely better than my usual piece of toast.”
He smirked. “You’re welcome.”
They ate in silence. Jess chewed methodically as she watched Charlie, his eyes on his plate.
She put her fork down, deciding to break the silence. “Charlie, what’s going on?”
He tipped back in his chair, and the mixture of guilt and worry on his face made her chest fall. It was one she was far too familiar with at this point.
She crossed her arms. “Spit it out.”
He winced, then ran a palm over his face. “Dad offered me a promotion. A big one.”
“Okay…” Jess said, dragging out the word. “And that’s a problem because?”
“Because the job is in Garrison.”
Her brows shot up. “So you won’t be working at Cap’s?”
“No,” he said, finally looking at her. “He wants me to manage his real estate listings at his firm…at the office in Garrison.”
Jess gripped the table in front of her, keeping her eyes on the half-eaten pancakes on her plate, now soggy from the syrup. “What does that mean?”
“That—that I would likely have to move,” he said softly. “To Garrison. By the end of the summer.”
“That’s a forty-five-minute drive from Haverport,” Jess said. “That’s a really long commute for me.”
Charlie’s silence had her looking up at him. His cheeks were flushed and he was bouncing his knee under the table. “Or…or you stay here.”
Her eyes went wide. “Are you breaking up with me?”
“No—no. Jessie…” He reached for her hands but she pulled them away and tucked them underneath her arms. “We could do long distance or something, maybe just for a little while.”
Jess stood up, her arms still crossed. “What does ‘a little while’ mean? A few months? A year? Do you not want me to move there with you?”
“I do,” he admitted. “He doesn’t.”
His father. She shook her head, at a loss for words.
“He told me that it might be good for me to be on my own for a little while,” Charlie explained in a rush. “He said I could have the job and stay in a brand-new apartment if I did.”
“He wants you to leave me,” Jess said, rolling her eyes. “Un-fucking-believable.”
“No, he never said leave you,” Charlie said. “Just…to spend time. On my own.”
“In hopes that we’ll fizzle out,” Jess said. “Because god forbid I be his daughter-in-law.”
“That’s not fair.”
“It isn’t?” she squeaked. “Please explain to me how I’m being unfair, Charlie. Please tell me how, after watching my family blow up, he could be so apathetic and cold toward me even though I took his side. And now he wants me to be okay with him trying to drag us apart?”
“He’s done a lot for you,” Charlie said, holding up his arms and gesturing toward their apartment. “I’ve done a lot for you.”
She coughed out a laugh. “Are you kidding? You couldn’t even pay last month’s rent!”
