Page 49 of Shadowing Charlotte

Chapter forty-nine

Charlotte

I woke to the sound of my alarm clock chirping from the bedside table, feeling strangely optimistic.

Perhaps it was due to the birdsong filtering through the window Lex had opened during the night, or simply the fact that I'd slept for eleven hours.

I yawned and stretched across the bed, surprised that Alexander wasn't beside me.

His side of the bed was cold, but his scent lingered. I rolled over, inhaling deeply.

Home… Alexander smelled like home in a way I couldn't even begin to put into words. It was a scent that would linger in my brain for the entire day, one I didn't want to go another day without breathing in.

"Alexander?" There was no response, the house eerily quiet in a way that unsettled me.

Climbing out of bed, I tugged a robe from the closet and slipped it on.

The lock on the door had been fixed while I was asleep, and the Camaro wasn't parked on the curb.

It felt bizarre to wake and find him gone.

Worry nagged at the edges of my mind, and I dug into my purse to locate my phone. It wasn't in my bag.

Had Alexander taken it? The texts Adam had sent the day before came flooding back and I suddenly felt sick to my stomach that I hadn't told him. I knew he'd found them.

After half an hour of searching, I finally found my phone in one of the cracks between the couch cushions. My hands shook as I flicked open the screen, pulling up my open apps. Three texts from an entirely different number than before.

Your old bedroom still smells like you.

Daddy is a heavy sleeper.

You better call me soon .

Fuck. Alexander was going to kill him. He'd implied as much once before. I opened his contact and pressed the call button.

"What?" The piercing tone of the single word stabbed me like a hot blade.

"Where are you?" I croaked anxiously.

"On my way to your dad's," he answered, just as bluntly as his greeting.

"Why?"

"You fucking know why," he replied.

"Lex, you have to—"

"I don't have to do shit, Charlie!" he snapped, "You should have fucking told me he texted you again after the cops left!"

"The police know already. I didn't want to worry you," I whispered, swallowing the panicked lump in my throat. I felt like I was being choked, the air slowly being pulled from me like a deflating balloon.

"You didn't want—" he laughed, a sarcastic chuckle that sent chills down my spine. "You better hope that your Daddy takes care of this after I talk to him. Because if I take care of it, you'll be speaking to me through a glass window pretty fucking soon."

"Stop it. Don't say that…" The words nearly stuck in my throat.

"I'm dead fucking serious, baby. He sends you one more fucking thing; I'm going to fucking end him." Then the line went dead. and I was standing there, still clutching the phone, my entire body shaking.

Work was a fucking nightmare. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't focus. My sight kept blurring as I read over the same page of a manuscript for the third time. Usually, I was good at compartmentalizing, but not when it came to Alexander.

I stewed on our conversation, wondering what he was doing throughout the day; what he had said to my father.

"Is everything alright?" Saydiah inquired, as she knocked on the frame of my open office door. I blinked at the manuscript, dropping it from my hands and looking up at her.

"There's just a lot going on right now," I replied, rubbing my temples and reaching for my purse to dig out my glasses.

"If you need to take a few days off, it would be… understandable. "

"I'm just…" I sighed, fidgeting with the edges of my papers. "Maybe you're right," I agreed hesitantly. I preferred to have something to keep my mind occupied, but with everything going on with Adam, perhaps it was better that I didn't bring the drama of my personal life into work.

"Why don't you just come back in on Monday?" she suggested with an understanding smile.

I nodded. "I'll take theses home with me, if that's alright," I added, gesturing to the stack of unread work still sitting in the basket on my desk.

"Of course, Charlotte."

I gathered up my folders mechanically, unable to focus. I woke in the morning in such bright spirits and my day had been flipped upside down. Hell, my entire life had been turned upside down.

It was strange that Alexander had stalked me, and I'd never felt afraid. But Adam stalking me was an entirely different story. I was beyond scared. Every time I thought about him, a wave of nausea coursed through me. How had I once cared about him?

My footsteps echoed through the parking garage as I made my way back to my Jeep, clinging to my stack of work. All I wanted to do was lock myself inside, curl up on the couch, and read for the next few days.

The air was suddenly thick, stifling; I felt my skin prickle, my hairs rising as the feeling of being watched pricked at my consciousness. Instinctively, I glanced around the garage, my pulse racing.

"Adam?" I don't know why I called out his name, whether it was sheer stupidity or if I was just trying to act braver than I felt.

A car door slammed, and he stepped out from behind one of the pillars, a sickening smirk painted across his face.

My heart jolted and sunk into my stomach with sickening force.

"You're more intuitive than I ever realized," he commented idly as he strolled toward me with his hands tucked in his pockets. He was an image of calm and casual, that smile never falling from his face.

"What are you doing here, Adam?" I asked, ignoring his observation. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"Probably for the same reason your new little toy spends every night at your house. You're an addiction, Charlotte. From the first moment I touched you, I knew I wanted to keep you."

"I don't want to be kept! I want to be loved and respected and you're capable of neither!

" I snapped. I could feel my cheeks getting hot as my anger bubbled over, threatening to erupt.

"You fucking hit me, Adam! You hit me and destroyed my car over a perceived indiscretion; something that hadn't even happened!

I don't want to be with someone like you! "

"I apologized a thousand times!" he retorted, the smile falling from his face. Once, I had thought he was handsome, now, he disgusted me.

"Apologies don't just magically fix what you did! You can't keep following me!" I shouted, my voice echoing through the garage. "You need to leave me alone. I've already informed the police—"

"Yeah, I know. They came to my fucking house!" he snarled. "Luckily, I haven't been there for a while."

"Oh, staying with one of your new little toys?" I countered venomously. His smirk returned, not quite meeting the dangerous glittering of his eyes.

"You think you're so fucking clever, don't you, Lottie?" I cringed at his use of my nickname, suddenly loathing the sound of it.

"Adam, I'm only going to say this one time. Leave me alone. Don't come here again, don't go to my house. I want you to disappear from my life."

"That's not going to happen, Charlotte," he replied, growing serious as he took a threatening step toward me.

The air in the garage seemed to still around us, as if the world was holding its breath just as I was. I retreated slowly, clutching my belongings to my chest as my vision narrowed.

"Go away, Adam…" I managed to croak, reaching for the door with fumbling fingers. He moved at the same time I wrenched it open, throwing myself into the driver's seat. I tried to pull the door closed, but Adam already had hold of it, leaning over me.

"You think you can just walk away from me, Charlotte?

" he hissed, his hand gripping my wrist to keep me in place.

Like a frightened mouse, I froze, unable to move as he pressed closer, nuzzling my shoulder and inhaling deeply.

"You think I'm the type of man who will just let you walk away?

" he murmured against my skin, the action sending a wave of revulsion through me.

"Please…" I whimpered, unable to move, to recoil as I wanted to. "Just leave me alone."

"I can't, Charlotte. I told you already. You're an addiction…" he whispered, his tongue grazing the shell of my ear.

His hand tightened around my wrist, painful and bruising as his other slipped beneath my skirt, forcing itself between my legs.

"Stop!" I sobbed, tears brimming in my eyes and spilling down my cheeks.

Adam let out a heavy sigh as his head fell against my shoulder, and still, I was frozen in place, unable to make my limbs comply. Then his hand eased away.

"Alright, alright… Don't cry, baby." He kissed my temple, an act that might have felt tender, had it not been for his actions.

"You're right. Not here. I want to fuck you in bed, pr operly, with you crying out my name.

" Oh, God. He really was delusional if he thought that would ever happen again.

"I'll come find you soon." Another kiss against the corner of my mouth, and then he was gone, the weight of his body dissipating as I sucked in a painful breath.

A car started in the distance and pulled away, but I didn't register it.

I sat there, gasping for air as sobs forced themselves from my chest. Tears streamed down my cheeks.

I cried out all of my fear and sorrow, for the loss of the Adam I thought I had known and once cared for.

When I had no tears left, I rested my forehead against the steering wheel, tuning everything out.

I should have called the detective that officer Stevenson had referred me to.

I should have called my father, or Lex. Instead, I just sat there, the Jeep door still hanging open, unable to fully process what had happened.

There was a strange, repetitive buzzing sound in the distance, but I closed my eyes, tuning out the noise.

I didn't want to think, I just wanted the earth to swallow me up and let me fade into nonexistence.

The world had gone quiet, like someone had pressed their palms over my ears.

I stared at my hands—still, foreign—as if they belonged to someone else.

The space around me seemed to pulse in and out of focus, sounds stifled, air still.

I knew I should move, speak, react—anything—but my body refused to obey.

I was trapped in a strange, weightless hush. It was as if my mind had stepped back, observing from a comfortable distance while my body crumbled into jagged pieces.

Faintly, I heard my name being called, the sound muffled, like someone was speaking to me underwater.

"Fuck, Charlie?!" The voice became clearer. "Charlotte, baby?!" Hands wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me away from the steering wheel. "Princess, look at me!" I blinked, my vision swimming slightly as I finally looked up at Lex.

The light had shifted, I realized, the parking garage lights had come on and the world outside had been bathed in shadow.

"Baby, look at me," Lex whispered, his eyes wide and his tone panicked as he lifted my chin.

"Charlotte, what happened? Princess, tell me you're alright," he pleaded, giving me a small shake.

"I'm alright," The hollow words didn't feel like my own. I was a puppet on invisible strings, being commanded by some unseen force. A breath of relief spilled from him, and I was crushed in a tight embrace.

"Come on, I'll take you home." I was being pulled against my will.

His hold, usually a source of comfort, sent an unexpected wave of terror through me.

I recoiled, trying to slap his hands away as a sob ripped its way out of my throat.

Alexander went rigid, his hands falling away and his blue eyes widening in shock. "Charlotte— "

"Don't touch me," I croaked out, unable to say anything else. Alexander didn't move. He just stood there, gaping at me.

"What happened, Charlie?" he finally asked, his words tight, like he was being choked. "I won't touch you, but I need you to say something."

"Adam… was here…" Simply saying his name was like breathing life into the memory and I shuddered. I could still feel his hands on me, his tongue against my neck, as I swallowed the solid lump that had formed in my throat.

"That motherfucker!" he hissed. "Did—" I flinched when he shifted toward me, covering my face with my hands.

I didn't want to be touched, not even by him.

That's when Alexander's eyes settled on the bruising around my wrist. "What did he do, Charlie?

Did he—" He took a heavy gulp of air, shuddering. "Did he force—"

"H-h-he started to…" The admission sent a wave of nauseating shame coursing through me. Why hadn't I tried harder to stop him? Why hadn't I screamed? "I'm s-sorry… I didn't—I couldn't—"

"Hey. Hey… This isn't your fault, baby," he soothed, holding out his hand. I blinked at it through my tears, realizing he was offering me the choice, silently asking for permission. That was when I broke, finally falling into his arms as the sobs began again.