Charlotte (Marked Heart #2) (2 page)

Trace stood there staring at Ren as Jackson suppressed a laugh and kissed the side of her head.

"Have you been home yet?" Ren asked directing her focus to Charlotte.

"We stopped by and saw Amila, no one else was home."

Nodding at her, Ren informed, "Emerson should be back with everybody by now. Jacks had just enough time to shower before we came here."

"Trace needs to check into his room and then I'll head that way," Charlotte shared.

"You're staying at Emerson and Amila's though, right?"

"Yes, Ren," Charlotte replied with a smile.

Jackson and Ren turned to walk into the bar when Ren turned back and said, "Call me tonight after you get all settled in."

Charlotte nodded
, thinking, 'guess not everyone loves Trace after all'.

~

After spending around fifteen minutes complaining that he had to carry his own suitcase, Trace scowled at his less than ideal accommodations. Thankfully he would only spend one night in the ratty little Inn. He would be even more thankful when he left town. It was no wonder Charlotte was behaving so badly there. Trace hoped Mr. Roberts would be more upstanding than everyone else he had met so far. Regardless, in three months he would return for Charlotte and propose. As far as he was concerned that would be the last time he would have to withstand this town or the people in it.

Doing
her best to concentrate on Ren defending her, instead of the look in Auggie's eyes, Charlotte stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. It wasn't like she cared if Auggie hated her or not, she couldn't stand him. She didn't like to be reminded of why. If his reaction to her standing outside the bar was any indication, visiting his brother William, in the hospital, might give him a stroke. Thinking that might not be so bad, the memory of William's face the last time she saw him caused instant remorse. Charlotte didn't come back to town to cause trouble, she needed something from William and after receiving it she would steer clear of all things Caffrey for the next three months.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Charlotte was pulled onto the bed. Trace ran his hand from her ankle up to her thigh while roughly kissing
the side of her neck. Normally she enjoyed their sessions of heavy petting. It thrilled her to invoke certain things from him without actual sex. It had been almost a year and a half for Charlotte. Trace had an interesting thought process when it came to sex. He, of course, did not go without. He was not exclusive with anyone until it progressed into more. His more, referred to an engagement and more could not be achieved if there was sex before a proposal. He was clear about it from the beginning, and it never bothered Charlotte before tonight. However, tonight, it felt wrong.

Panting against her neck, Trace moved his hand under her skirt. Shifting to the side, Charlotte refused his offer of assistance.
Focusing his attention back to himself, it wasn't long before he let go of her and swiftly made his way to the bathroom. Charlotte stood up and waited for him to come out. Not being able to shake the vision of William's face from her mind, she was ready to head to Emerson and Amila's.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Trace made his way to Charlotte. Resting his hand on the side of her face, he kissed her right below her ear, offering, "Are you sure? Three months is a long time."

"For you or for me?" she replied on an impulse.

"I understand you are under a certain amount of stress. After being here for only a few hours, I want to leave and never return. I will give you this allowance because of the effect this place seems to have on you. However, when I return, I expect you to remember what it is to be with me and act accordingly."

Charlotte counted back from ten in her head as she nodded. Nothing about him
had bothered her before she came back. Trace was the exact same person in Spain as he was here and everything was wonderful there. Now everything he said and did made her want to run him over with the rental car, back up and do it again.

~

Parked in the back driveway, under a carport, Charlotte had to admit she liked it better when there was someone there to get her bags for her. Stepping out of the rental car, she walked to the back and opened the trunk. As she pulled her suitcases out, Emerson walked out of the back door.

"Max and Luke can help you with those."

Looking up, she replied, "Thank you."

Making an effort with her, he said, "I have to admit, I was surprised when Amila said you were coming for a visit."

Keeping her tone short, Charlotte replied, "You couldn't have been that surprised. I know Erin called you."

With a quick nod, he shared, "It meant a lot that you stopped here first. Amila misses you very much."

"I'm sure she does. I miss her too."

"Charlotte, I would like your visit to be a pleasant one," Emerson assured.

With a knowing smirk, she replied, "Is that why y'all are leaving next week?"

"Amila said she told you we could reschedule and you swore to her it did not bother you."

"It doesn't," she spat at him before walking past Emerson and into the house.

Amila was in the living room with Lola when Charlotte walked in.
The moment Lola caught sight of Charlotte she squealed and ran towards her. All together Charlotte had six siblings, all adopted like her.

Taking a step back, Charlotte placed her hands on her hips and asked, "Now who are you?"

Making a silly face at her, she said, "It's me Lola."

Narrowing her eyes, Charlotte teased, "No way, Lola is just a baby and you're a big girl."

Blushing, Lola gave a huge dimpled smile as she giggled.

"And I'm still jealous of your curls," Charlotte complimented her light blonde ringlets as she pulled her in for a hug.

As Amila hollered upstairs for the other kids
to come down, Charlotte realized how much had changed in the five years she was gone.

Lola was five when Charlotte left for Spain. Aside from herself, the oldest was thirteen when she left. Now everyone else were teenagers
, making Charlotte feel incredibly old at twenty-four. Emerson walked in just as Max and Luke were coming down the stairs. He told them to put Charlotte's luggage in her old room. Both of them gave her a 'What's up' before doing what they were told.

Smiling at Jenna, who sat quietly on the couch next to Amila, Charlotte asked," Where are Trent and Silvia?"

"Trent signed up for the outreach program right after graduation. He won't be back until the end of the summer and Silvia is at Cheer Camp, she will be back next week."

Nodding Charlotte asked Jenna, "What are you reading?" when she noticed a book in her hand.

Jenna's green eyes lit up as she tucked a strand of her long red hair behind her ear and softly replied, "Little Women."

"That's a good one. You like to read?" As Jenna nodded, Charlotte said, "Maybe you can loan me a few books so I have something to do when y'all go on vacation."

Enthusiastically nodding this time, Jenna smiled wide revealing a mouth full of braces.

~

Settled in her old room, Charlotte
grabbed her toiletry bag out of one of her suitcases before heading into the bathroom. Removing her lipstick first, it was always such a relief to take it off. She still appreciated Erin going to such great lengths to have it made for her but, unfortunately, it had a plastic feel to it. It was the only lipstick that covered the scar Charlotte had on her mouth. Taking her finger she followed the line of her scar from the top of her upper lip all the way to the bottom of her lower one. The left side of her lips were, slightly firmer from the right, but it felt more natural to her than the lipstick.

When she finished washing the rest of her face, Charlotte stepped out of
the bathroom. Grabbing her purse on the way to the bed, she grabbed her Clinique chubby stick and softly coated her bare lips with the wonderfully smooth balm. After tossing it back in her purse, she pulled her wallet out and opened it. Taking the bottle cap William gave her out of the zipper section she held it in her hand. Lying back on the bed, she closed her eyes.

She recalled meeting William at Ren and Jackson's wedding, sneaking off to meet with him in the park and the
way he slowly ran his index finger down her pinky before asking if he could hold her hand. Suddenly, it occurred to her, she forgot to call Ren. Deciding a simple text message would do, she rolled over and grabbed her cellphone.

C: Home. Tired. Call you tomorrow.

H
er phone dinged almost immediately.

R: If you want to see William, no one will be at the hospital from 10-11 TOMORROW.

C: K Thanks.

Tossing
her phone on the bed before closing her eyes, she tried to fall asleep.

2

William

Standing outside William's hospital room
, Charlotte stared at the door. It was already twenty after ten and she knew she only had until eleven. After being questioned by nearly everyone in the house on where she was going, she wasn't used to sharing her exact whereabouts with anyone. Erin basically let her come and go as she pleased because she was rarely home herself. In Spain, there was always something to do, unlike here.

It was crazy for her to be a
pprehensive about her mission at this point. Still, she wondered if he knew she was coming. Would he hold up his end of the bargain? Admitting to herself, if it were her, she wouldn't, Charlotte decided there was only one way to find out. Slowly peeking through the rectangle window on the door, she saw William lying in a hospital bed. Seeing him hooked up to IV's and with an oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth, she was grateful she had thought to look before walking into the room. He was far thinner than she remembered and he looked, sickly.

Closin
g her eyes, she counted back from ten, gave a slight huff and walked into his room. Aside from the machines, the room was quiet. Closing the door behind herself, she forced a smile at him.

Pulling the oxygen from his face, William gave a weak smile as he whispered, "Charlotte."

Focusing on his eyes and not his sickly appearance,
even his auburn hair appeared dull.

Charlotte stepped to the side of his bed, saying, "I'm sorry."

His voice was weak and raspy as he replied, "You were never good...at...taking things slow."

As he placed the oxygen over his mouth to take a strained breath, she had to look away.
Noticing a picture at his bedside, she scanned the unfamiliar face before taking note of how the girl's arms were wrapped around William in the picture.

"Who is that?" she asked.

Lowering the mask, he replied, "Mallory."

"She's kind of cute, I guess. If you like red heads."

As William started to laugh, a machine above his bed beeped.

Gasping at the same time, he choked out, "Don't...make me...laugh."

Charlotte's
face fell and tears instantly welled in her eyes.

A nurse quickly burst into the room and rushed up to William. After checking
his vitals, she gave Charlotte a dirty look.

"Who let you in here?"

Sitting up tall, Charlotte replied, "I let myself in," before questioning, "Is there a problem?"

Appearing agitated, the nurse suggested, "Would you step outside for a moment."

"No."

In disbelief, she snapped, "Excuse me?"

Motioning towards the door, Charlotte stated, "You're excused."

The nurse started to say something then glanced at William before turning and leaving his hospital room.

After standing up and walking to the door, Charlotte closed it and returned to William's bedside.

William drew a few ragged breaths into his oxygen mask, pulled it away from his face and whispered, "Hand me my board," as he pointed to the dry erase board behind the picture of him and Mallory.

Reaching around the picture frame, Charlotte lifted the board with a dry erase marker attached by a chain and handed it over to William.

Taking the board from her, he lifted the marker and wrote, 'She's gonna call Auggie.'

"So, I'm not worried about him," Charlotte insisted.

His eyes reflected sadness as he wrote, 'I am.'

With a slight huff, Charlotte shook off the flash of hatred in Auggie's eyes the previous night and apologized, "Look, you know I never meant to hurt you. The whole thing got blown way out of proportion because of your brother."

William scowled before writing, 'Why are you here?'

"Whether I meant to or not, I did hurt you and I'm sorry," she admitted before asking, "Do you forgive me?"

As Charlotte waited for his reply, she recalled
her reason for visiting him.

Lying in William's bed,
she could sense his hesitation. He was completely naked while she was left with only her camisole on. Propped up by his hands, William hovered over her.

"I might not be very good," he offered.

In an effort to nudge the moment along, she slid her hands down him assuring, "That's okay, I am."

Still holding back, he leaned down to kiss her. Turning her head to the side, to avoid their lips touching, she sighed as his kiss trailed
across her jaw to right below her ear.

"Let me kiss you," he whispered before pushing himself back up.

Slowly shaking her head, she looked up at him, "It bothers me."

William nodded and gave a nervous smile before asking, "Are you ready?"

Charlotte
started to guide him when they both heard a loud bang at the front door.

Freezing in place, he quietly stated, "Wait a minute."

"Do you think its your brother?"

Shaking his head, William replied, "Even if he forgot his key, we keep a spare one under the rock on the porch."

Pausing a moment, Charlotte said, "I think they went away," right before they heard a crashing sound.

William quickly jumped up and wrapped the sheet around his waist before running out to see what had happened.

The next thing Charlotte heard was Emerson's voice shouting, "What the hell are you doing with my daughter?"

Sitting up, she pulled the comforter up to her waist when she heard Ren's voice next.

Smirking at Ren when she pushed William's bedroom door open and griped, "Get dressed and get out here," she waited for her to walk away before getting up and putting her clothes back on.

So close to
combining sex with genuine emotion, something she never realized she had the desire for until she met William, she wanted to cry.

Not wanting either intruder to think they had effected her in any way, Charlotte stood up tall and walked to the living room just in time to hear William say, "I really care about her, I don't understand."

Ren answered him, blurting, "William, she's seventeen."

The only thing Charlotte could think to do to save face in front of all of them was to smirk at him, saying, "Oops," as if she didn't care at all.

The look on William'
s face and the hurt in his eyes made it impossible for her to look back at him as she walked out with Emerson.

The longer Charlotte sat waiting for William to answer her, the more guilt she felt over the situation.
It wasn't like she lied to him, he never asked. If it had been up to her, she would have seen him so much sooner and apologized. But that night, Ren got involved, Emerson and Amila put her on serious lock-down and once his brother found out, she was lucky the apology letter she wrote made it to him.

Finally, the squea
king sound of the marker against the dry erase board let her know his answer.

'I forgive you.'

Charlotte started to feel the w
eight of guilt being lifted from her conscience until he pulled his mask down.

Raspy and weak, William waved her closer so she could hear him say, "If...you...do something for...me."

~

Exhausted and downright furious, Auggie stormed up to the hospital doors. He almost didn't answer his phone but when he saw it was Sheryl from the hospital, he was instantly awake and feared the worst. When she shared that a blonde girl was in William's room upsetting him, he was just plain pissed. She had some nerve, not only showing up outside his bar but now she was in there with Will taking things one step too far.

Barely acknowledging
anyone, he made his way through the hospital and up to the third floor, as they commented on his visit being earlier than usual. Today, Auggie didn't have time for polite conversation. In the last six months, he had spent four hours every day with William. Which made him sort of a regular there and he got to know most of the staff fairly well.

As soon as Auggie reached William's floor, Sheryl was standing at the nurses
' station waiting on him.

"She is still in there," she spouted.

Stopping a moment, Auggie stated, "I'll take care of it."

Before he could take another step, she said, "I know who she is. Mallory's gonna be..." before he cut her off griping, "Nothing. You can keep this to yourself."

Giving him a 'whatever' look, Sheryl turned and resumed her duties at the nurses
' station.

Taking the opportunity to see what he was walking into before barging into William's hospital room, as much as he couldn't stand Charlotte, his brother meant the world to him and he didn't want to upset him.
Looking through the small rectangle pane, he placed his hand on the door handle. Slowly letting go, he suddenly couldn't bring himself to go into the room. Stepping to the side so he could still see without being seen, he watched the two of them. The situation was far different than what he'd expected.

William's oxygen mask was pulled down to his chin and his head was turned toward Charlotte. She was leaning close slowly shaking her head at him. Both of her hands were wrapped around
one of William's hands and his other one rested on her shoulder. As Auggie continued to watch, he wished he knew what they were saying. When Charlotte hung her head and nodded, Auggie turned and walked away.

Auggie was still irritated by her presence
, but it didn't look like Charlotte was upsetting Will. In fact, it appeared to be the opposite.

"You're not going in there?" Sheryl fussed from behind the nurses' station.

Shaking his head as he passed her by, he replied, "You have my number, text me when she leaves."

Quickly around the desk and at his side, she asked, "You're leaving?"

"I'm gonna get some air."

Sliding in front of Auggie before he could reach the door to the stairwell, Sheryl asked, "I do have your number, can I text you for other things?"

Glancing down at her, he shared, "I don't have time for anything right now."

Continuing to block his exit, she pressed her shoulders back against the door, saying, "Come on Auggie, surely you have time for a little somethin'."

Before he could turn her down, the head nurse called for her letting him off of the hook.
He watched Sheryl roll her eyes and step away before he headed into the stairwell. She wasn't bad looking. Sheryl was a curvy brunette with big brown eyes and pouty lips, but she was also two faced and gossipy and that was a huge turn off for him.

~

Charlotte took the opportunity to give Sheryl a sarcastic smile as she stepped out of William's hospital room. Sheryl started to make a face at her when another nurse called for her attention. If Sheryl would have said or done something to provoke her, it would have taken her mind off of what William asked her to do. It was going to be impossible, but she owed him. He said he wasn't punishing her for hurting him that she could consider it a penance for forgiveness. She cared so much about him, she couldn't deny him his last request especially after breaking his heart.

Wishing she was as cold and careless as she pretended to be, Charlotte started to feel overwhelmed with regret. Deciding to take the stairs, she needed some alone time to collect herself before
anyone saw the tears building in her eyes as she left the hospital. Opening the door to the stairwell, she turned the corner. Slamming into a green flannel shirt, it took her a few seconds to take a step back as the smell of stale beer from the man she just ran into surrounded her.

"What the hell are you doing?" Auggie growled at her.

Taking another step back, Charlotte snapped, "Get out of my way."

Moving to the side, he stated, "Don't come here again."

Standing up tall, she took a step towards him assuring, "Trust me, I don't want to be anywhere near you or your little friend in there." Auggie narrowed his eyes at her as she added, "Oh, don't think I've forgotten."

"Stay away from my brother."

Charlotte gave him a disgusted
look before turning and headed down the stairs.

~

Auggie stood there watching Charlotte make her way down. Taking a minute, he hadn't forgotten either. After Charlotte and William got caught in bed together a few years back, it didn't take long for word to spread around town. Sheryl's younger sister went to school with Charlotte and took the opportunity to mess with her. Auggie wouldn't have cared except for the fact that, thanks to Sophia, Sheryl assumed since it was his house they were at, he was the one with Charlotte. He caught hell for a good month because of the ridiculous rumor.

It wouldn't have mattered to him that Charlotte was only seventeen and Wil
liam was twenty-three but she lied to his brother, hid the fact that she was a minor and Emerson Robert's daughter. Her father was a big deal in town and Will could have gotten in serious trouble. She didn't even try to make things right, she just sent a fake ass apology letter to him that Ren probably made her write.