“You’re going to tell me it’s over. The signs are here, you’ve been acting weird all week. Let’s see… Sammy cried so much you felt sorry for her, and you owe it to your marriage to make it work.”
He stood up fast, unsteady on his feet. I half-expected him to laugh it off, but even in his intoxicated state, he seemed to understand what I meant. The hesitation alone was enough for me to think the worst, but I stood and waited without taking a breath. His eyes fixated on me, a trance I tried not to get pulled into, but slowly I felt drawn in, cast under his spell without any hope of climbing out.
“Over? I can’t fucking breathe without you, Charlotte. This is torture. Us, not being able to be us in front of everybody. Don’t do this, okay? Don’t fucking make it out like it’s over.”
He was trying to blow off steam, equally frustrated with our constant battle to hide our relationship. I got it, I did, but he was the one to blame here, not me. I was just the girl who fell in love with her best friend’s brother who happened to be married.
The wind shifted and so did his mood. He ran his finger down my cheekbone just as he had always done, then slowly and reassuringly he placed his lips on mine.
“Look at me, Charlotte,” he begged.
My eyes found their way back to his, and just like they had done a million times before, the emerald green shone back at me. In their reflection, I saw only us.
Him, me—together against the world.
He placed my hand over his heart. “As long as this beats, it’s for you. I’ll find a way for us to be together. Don’t give up on us. We happened for a reason. The rest are obstacles we can overcome. As long as you place your trust in me, I promise never to break you. I love you… only you. I swear, it’ll be us for life, baby. Ride or die, ‘til death us do part.”
I gave into him that night because I loved him more than life itself, but it was soon afterward that I realized what Momma tried to tell me all along.
The big bad wolf had come for me. Taken all that was mine, then left me alone in the dark. He’d emptied me of everything good and pure, leaving me hollow and unable to love, wandering alone in the darkness like a tortured soul. I prayed that he wouldn’t come for me, but he did. His name was Alexander Edwards, and that night he filled me with promises, made me believe it was only us in this world, that we only needed each other.
“Ride or die, ‘til death us do part.”
And that was the last time I saw him.
CHARLIE
It’s day two of my mission to create balance in my life.
I made the mistake of reading this article about living the best life possible and why our bodies need self-care. I run every second day or so, but according to this journalist, being a member of a gym motivates you to work out and increases social activity.
Two areas I’m failing at miserably.
Standing here in front of this machine with two handles side-by-side and a chair meant for sitting, I’m dumbfounded. I assume you pull the handles together which works your arms.
Placing my towel on the bench, I take a seat and latch onto the handles, reining them in. The handles don’t budge, making me look stupid for even trying this.
And this is why I don’t do machines.
Or the gym.
Frustrated and barely breaking a sweat, I step away and walk toward the cross-trainers. This can’t be too difficult. There are five cross trainers, and three of them are taken. A young guy is going hard, sweating profusely with no towel in sight to wipe his dripping forehead. A girl, attractive with cute workout wear, is beside him with a cell in hand taking selfies.
Then there’s granny beside me. Gray permed hair cut short with a white sweatband sitting on her head to hold it back. She wears an oversized sweatsuit in baby pink, made of that same material people wear when parachuting off a plane.
Her speed is slow, yet consistent, looking easy enough for me to keep up with.
Flinging my towel over the rail and nestling my earphones into my ears, I follow the instructions and press the button to start the machine. Okay, move feet like walking and