Page 36 of Shadowing Charlotte

Chapter thirty-six

Alexander

F or the next few days, there was an abrupt shift in Charlotte. I slept in her bed with her every night; she refused to let me leave, but she'd grown oddly quiet. A sort of darkness lingered in the recesses or her eyes, as if talking about her mother had invited a ghost into her mind.

"What are you working on?" I interrupted the silence of the living room as she scribbled on the edge of a new manuscript.

"Autobiography," she murmured, biting on the end of her pen.

"Charlie," I breathed her name, hesitating. The last thing I wanted to do was upset her again. "Are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?"

"I told you… I don't want to talk about her," she answered bluntly, adjusting her glasses on her nose.

"I know, but maybe you should. You are obviously still upset over her death.

" I well knew what it was like, pretending nothing was wrong when something was eating me from the inside.

It's why I tried not to talk about my parents.

Charlotte ignored my suggestion, angrily flicking to the next page and jotting something in the margins.

"Look, if you don't want to talk to me, you can always talk to a professional. "

"A shrink," she answered with a heavy sigh, dropping the packet of papers into her lap with a grimace.

I shrugged. "I used to go twice a week until I was twenty-one," I informed her. I could see the skepticism in her eyes. "Alright, how about a compromise? If you go see a therapist, I'll take you to meet my mother. I'll even book the appointment for you."

"Your mother?" Her golden eyes flickered with intrigue .

"We'll go see her on Saturday," I insisted with a nod.

"Alright…" she finally conceded in a whisper, giving me a tense smile.

"Good," I replied. "Ready for bed?"

On the evenings before Charlotte worked, we were like an old married couple, climbing into bed before ten. As she curled up against me, I stroked my fingers through her auburn hair, relishing the soft texture against my rough skin. "I'm going to have to start looking for work soon." I sighed.

"I thought you said not to worry about your funds," Charlotte whispered against my chest. She shifted, staring up at me through the darkness.

"I told you not to worry about my funds," I corrected, trailing my fingers down her bare back. My savings was enough to float me for a while, but I didn't want to spend it all if I didn't have to.

"Well, why don't you stay here, with me? That way you don't have to pay rent?" she asked softly. My fingers stilled at the base of her spine, my hand gripping her hip.

"That's a big decision, Charlotte," I whispered as my stomach flipped.

"Is it?" she responded, an edge of amusement to her question. "You sleep here more days than not."

"Yeah, it is," I whispered, kissing her forehead.

"Because once I'm here, you're stuck with me.

Once I'm here, I don't plan on ever letting you go…

" Only after I'd spoken the words did I realize that I'd truly meant them.

With every caress of her skin, every moment spent in her presence, I gave her another tiny sliver of my twisted heart. I was losing myself in her.

I was completely and utterly in love with Charlotte.