Where One Goes(63)

“Yes, sir.”

“W-w-what did he say?” my mother questions.

“He wants me to tell my father to f*ck off,” she says, quietly, and then adds, “Sorry.” Her father pinches his lips together; I’m guessing wanting to say something shitty, but won’t do it in front of my folks.

The room goes silent again until we hear heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. A moment later, Cameron stomps in the room with a stack of pornos in his hands. “They were exactly where she said they would be,” he announces.

All eyes move to Charlotte and she looks at me. “Keep going. They believe you,” I tell her, with a small smile. Then we both look to George and realize he doesn’t appear to be quite convinced. She walks toward him and takes his hand in hers.

“The song . . . the bet I won? He’s the one that told me it was your favorite,” she explains, but he refuses to look at her. “He loves you so much, George. He can’t go until he knows you’ll be okay.”

George jerks his hand from hers and barrels out the front door. She chases after him and Sniper follows, too. She catches him just before he hits the front porch steps. “George, please,” she pleads. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but you weren’t ready. You’d barely speak to me at first. I needed to get to know you, and you needed to clean up.”

He rips away from her, his eyes brimming with angry tears. “So it was all bullshit? You faked liking me to do this?” he snarls.

“What?” she gasps. “No. George, I’ve meant everything I said, I l—” She stops. She doesn’t want to admit she loves him . . . and maybe it’s because I’m here, or maybe she isn’t sure how he’ll take it.

“Are you the one that tipped Roger off about me and Misty?” he asks point-blank, and Charlotte’s mouth drops open.

“Oh, shit,” I breathe.

Charlotte remains quiet, eyes wide, until he asks again, “Did you? Misty told me someone wrote an anonymous letter. It was you, wasn’t it?”

Charlotte looks to Sniper whose brows would be touching his hairline, if he had one. “I know that probably seems bad, but—” Before she can finish, he’s halfway down the steps.

“Go after him! Make him understand,” I insist, and she leaps over all four steps to the bottom to catch him, but loses her footing and trips, landing hard on her knee.

“Bloody hell,” Sniper curses and follows after them.

“Are you okay, Charlotte?” I ask, but she ignores me.

George turns and rolls his eyes as he shakes his head in frustration. He yanks her up, steadying her on her feet. The way she can’t stop staring at George tells me how much she loves him and how destroyed she feels by the look in his eyes. At least he cares enough not to just leave her. But as soon as she’s steady, he whips around and storms off.

“George,” she yells as she begins stumbling, the pain in her knee obvious. She limps quickly after him, but he doesn’t stop. “She was giving you drugs! I had to get you clean so I could tell you the truth. I had to save you,” she cries. She stumbles again, but catches herself and continues to limp after him.

“Goddamn it, George!” Sniper yells. “Stop!”

George turns and glares, which gives Charlotte just enough time to catch up to him again. She doesn’t grab, more like slams in to him, and clings for dear life, burying her face in his chest. “Please don’t go. Don’t you see, George,” she pleads. “He saved me so I could save you, which in a way means, you saved me, too.” George’s arms lay limp at his sides as she holds him tightly, his jaw set. He swallows hard, refusing to look at her. But the look in his eyes says it all. He’s hurt. Mentioning me has affected him more than we thought, and I’m terrified he’ll return to his destructive ways.

“Tell him I’m still here,” I tell her. “Tell him to say or ask anything, I’ll hear him.”

Charlotte stands upright and wipes at her face with her soiled hands. “He wants you to know he’s still here and you can ask him anything.”

George shakes his head in disbelief, anger lacing his features. “George, man, she’s telling you the truth,” Sniper says. “This is your chance, brother, to tell Ike something. Don’t miss your chance to say good-bye.”

“You’re a f*cking * for not telling me how crazy she is,” he spats. “And you,” he adds, and points to Charlotte, who cowers away slightly, “you need to stay away from me.” Spinning on his heel, he bolts and she follows. “Please don’t leave,” she begs, managing to snag him by the arm.

Whipping around, he bends so he can meet her gaze. “Leave me alone!” he growls in her face. “Do not follow me, don’t come and see me, and do not come near me again!”

Sniper pushes him away from her. The rage in his eyes palpable on a scary level. “I hate to say it, mate, but you’re a f*cking idiot. Sod off!”

George watches as Sniper cocoons Charlotte in his arms as she cries, “I’m so sorry, Ike. I’m so sorry. I messed it all up.”

I’m seeing red, I’m so angry. “No you didn’t,” I try to comfort her. “He’s an idiot. I’m sorry he did this.”

“George, you better go,” Charlotte’s father suggests before taking Charlotte from Sniper and leading her toward the house. Charlotte, so lost in her pain, doesn’t seem to notice who has her. God, I did this to her. She’s crushed. We both knew George would have a hard time accepting the truth, but he’s acting like a f*cking psycho.