Page 56 of What He Always Knew

I decided then to name them after Scarlett and Rhett, fromGone With the Wind.

They were the only ones who slept in our house that night.

Reese

The Friday after the conference, I finally got time alone with Charlie again.

“This is so nice,” Charlie said, carefully sitting down on the blanket I’d just laid out for us.

She tilted her head up toward the sun, the rays of it casting her face in a warm glow as she peeled off her light scarf and extended her legs. They were bare under her flowy skirt, one that was modest, cut under the knees. But she hiked it up a little, getting some sun on her thighs, and I couldn’t help but stare as I took a seat next to her.

“I’m just glad I could steal you away,” I said, opening the reusable bag I’d packed for us that morning.

She glanced at me, her eyes softening. “Me, too.”

It was a beautiful day, a sneak peek of what spring would be like once it was in full swing in Pennsylvania. The sun was warm, though it was chilly in the shade, so I packed a picnic for Charlie and me and convinced her to eat outside with me.

It’d been too long since I held her.

Five days shouldn’t feel like forever, but with her, it always did. I knew she was going home to Cameron every night, and while hearing that he was barely talking to her should have made me feel better, it didn’t. Regardless of how he used his time, he still got to have every night with her, while I only had the minutes I managed to steal her away at school.

Blake living with me made it nearly impossible to see Charlie after school.

And though we spent as much time as we could together while we were at Westchester, there wasn’t much time to go around. We’d get to school early when we could, have our coffee together and talk, and then we’d see each other at lunch — but even then, we were surrounded by other teachers.

Yesterday, I’d scouted the campus until I found a sunny spot behind the music center — one no one would walk by unless they were cutting behind the school, which wouldn’t make sense. It was shorter to go the front way, and the back didn’t have any sidewalks or paths to walk. It was just a little sunny hill with a few trees lining the fence.

It wasn’t much, but it could be ours.

I only unpacked the grapes before I couldn’t resist touching Charlie any longer.

Popping the top on them, I offered a red one to her, and once it was in her mouth, I pulled her into me. She giggled, adjusting herself until she was comfortable in my grasp, and then, we both sighed.

I’d seen her. We’d had a little time together. But it wasn’t the same as this — having her in my arms, in a place no one else existed, with no one else watching.

“How’s this?”

She sighed again, folding her arms over where mine held her. “Perfect.”

“Yeah?”

Charlie leaned a little to the left, just so she could tilt her eyes up to meet mine. “Yeah. It’s nice to get outside, to be away from everyone.” She shrugged. “Especially since being at home isn’t exactly easy right now, either.”

I kissed her nose, holding her in my arms as I balanced my chin on her head. She picked up another grape and her eReader, and I held her as she read, letting my mind wander.

I knew she was having a rough week.

She was still going home to Cameron every night, but from what she’d told me, they barely talked. He was more of the man he’d been when I first showed up, and while that worked in my favor, it seemed to kill Charlie.

Which, in turn, killed me.

I didn’t know how to help her. Sometimes I’d let her talk about him, about how she was feeling, and pretend it didn’t feel like she was dragging a rusty blade down my back. Most of the time, I’d tell her I was sorry and that it would all be okay, all the while secretly wishing Cameron would continue to be a dumb ass.

Charlie was sticking to her word, giving him the time she’d promised, and he was wasting it.

I wasn’t surprised.

It couldn’t have felt good, seeing Charlie in my arms that day we’d come home from the conference. I remembered what it felt like the night I saw him kiss her at her parents’ house after we’d had dinner, and that was only my first week back in town.