Finding Charley (Full Circle) (9 page)

We pa
rk and stand there in silence.

“What the hell, Piper?  You’re my best friend!  Can’t you put your damn feelings for a guy to the side for once? 
For me at least?”

“Oh! Me!  Charley, you just keep whatever guy you want at the time close by.  You’re just mad because he actually likes me for me.  You’re jealous.”

“Jealous, my ass!  He lied to me!  He’s Team Dylan, or did you forget about the moment in hell I experienced?”

“Char, I couldn’t forget what happened to you if I tried, but I know that there’s more to this than Joe’s saying.  Something bad happened to him, too!  I think Dylan has it out for him as well.  I couldn’t just walk out of his life.  That has happened to him too many times.  I love him, Char.  I really love him!”

“But yet, you left with Justin last night.  Oh, that’s smart!”

“Hold up, you two!  You’ve been friends too long to let some boy ruin it.  Both of your emotions are crazy right now.  Don’t say something you’re gonna regret later.  I’ll tell you this, Piper, you better not get to
o close to him until you know the truth,” Tessa states.

With that comment, I hear Cash’s four-wheeler approaching.  When he pulls up, we get quiet.  I’m sure it’s obvious something is going on.

“Um, did I miss a cat fight?” Cash laughs.

“I guess you could say that,” Tessa says smartly.

We make our way up the club ladder and into the club.  We grab a drink from the fridge, and then I let my thoughts spill from my mouth.

“I’m tired.  I’m tired of Dylan scaring the hell out of me.  I’m tired of Joe lying
to me, tired of not being able to be with Cash like I want, and tired of life in general.  This is supposed to be a fun time in my life, yet Dylan is always in the picture somehow.  So, I’m going back to him.”

Cash winces at the words, Tessa starts to argue with me, and Piper looks like she wants to slap me.

“No, listen to me. He thinks he has control over me.  Yes, he’s scared me, broke Joe’s trust, kept tabs on me, but he hasn’t stopped me from enjoying the one thing he thought he took away from me completely.”  They stare at me like they are lost.  “Swimming.  When he texted me after the Joe incident, I made sure to mention I’d see him at GPAC.  He didn’t reply.  That shows that he knows that he’s starting to lose his hold.  I plan to see him at the pool during the break and fall for him again. Then, I’ll take his ass down in the water and with the court system if I have to.  I can’t let him hurt another girl like he did me.  If I keep quiet, then he’ll do it again.  But, why me?  That part I still don’t understand.”  In the mist of my rambling, Cash decides to enlighten us.

“If y’all don’t mind, can I give you a guy’
s perspective?”  We all look at each other and nod.  “I’m not saying that I understand Dylan because I’d never do that to anyone, ever.  I do understand the whole male territory thing.  Charley, when y’all started dating, it took everything I had in me not to act like a freakin’ caveman.  I wanted to claim you as mine.  Then when he… he… raped you, I thought I was going to kill him.  He staked his claim in the worst way possible.  The fact that we’re the only ones that know means that he still has the upper hand.  Once we tell, he’s going to give in.  He will completely lie about it and try to act like it was all you.”

“See, that’s where this plan gets interesting. I’m not just gonna run to the cops.  I’m going to start dating him again.”

“Like hell you are, Charley!”  Tessa yells.

“Yes. I.  Am.  If I can get him to trust me, then maybe I can get him to admit it to me.  Why?  I need to know why, and I hope to have a recording of him saying it.”

Piper and Tessa begin to have their own conversation about why this isn’t a good idea, but Cash pulls them back to the reality of the situation and why it has to be this way.

“Girls, if Char can get Dylan to admit it and we have proof, then the ball’s in her court.  It will bring down Dylan Sloan.  I’m sure of it.  Plus, do y’all really think that she’s going to get that close to him without me nearby?”

“So, how do we play into this?”  Piper asks.

“I just need you to know the truth. No matter what happens, you know I love Cash.  You know that this has to happen.  We have to make it look believable, especially with my parents.  My mama’s already planning my
wedding to Cash, so I’m sure I’m going to have a lot of questions to answer.” Cash’s head spins around like I’ve said something crazy.  “Don’t act like you didn’t know that,” I say.

“Well,
it’s one thing to know it and another to say it out loud,” he says.  I swear his eyes are about to bug outta his head.

“Are y’all ready for how
this is really gonna go down?”

“Well, we don’t have much of a choice, do we?”  Piper says to Tessa.

“Aight, I’m starting practice tomorrow morning.  Coach has sent our winter break workouts to the head of the aquatic centers.  I have to train a minimum of four days a week.  Guess who else has to as well?  Dylan.  I’m going to have two days on him and my routine.  I’m going to act like he doesn’t exist, and I know him well enough to know that will drive him crazy.  Hell, that’s what got me into this mess to start with.  I didn’t give him the time of day.  Let’s see how long it takes for him to try working his charm again.  If he doesn’t, then I’m going to make him want me.  I’m gonna stop at nothing to make this happen.  That’s why I keep telling y’all who I really love.  ‘Cause appearances are going to look otherwise.  Once I go back to school, I’m gonna use the Kluft girls to keep my focus to appear that I’m head over heels in love with Dylan.  Then, at Southern States, he’s going down.  I’m gonna make him famous just like Kelleigh Bannen’s song.”

For about
a minute, no one says a word.

“Char, I see one problem.”  I look at Piper like what could she know that I don’t.  “Joe.  He knows the truth, and he
ain’t gonna believe this for shit!”

The sound of his name makes my blood boil for the second
time today, but she is right.

“Piper, as much as I hate to admit I’m wrong, you are definitely right.” I’m trying to find the right words because I’m about to give her what she wants to hear.  “I guess you’re going to have to fix that, huh?”

“Does everyone hear that?  Charley Anne just told us she doesn’t know everything.  I think the world might have stopped!  You’re giving me permission to talk to Joe.   I have witnesses.”

She looks around, and I roll my eyes.  “Yes, that is what I’m saying, but don’t get caught up in his lies, Piper.  I really want to believe him, but I’ve been burned one too many times.”

“What do Dustin and I need to do?” Tessa questions.

“You need to be the ears in the Sloan house.  Know what’s going on.  I don’t know if Dustin will be able to help.  I know it has to be hard being his brother and all, but I know he doesn’t want someone else to get hurt.  Tessa, you by my side in that house will make this story believable.  You’ve gotta be the glue that holds all my broken pieces together.”

“Gotcha covered, Sis.  Oh, and one more thing, how are we gonna communicate?  You know he’s gonna check your phone.”

“Easy.  Tessa and Piper won’t look curious, and Cash won’t either.  ‘Cause
remember when this really happened?  Cash continued to be Cash until I told him to leave me alone.  We need to keep that up.”

“Okay, Char-coal, but what if I really need to talk to you?” Cash asks.

I smile from ear to ear.  “Cash Money, do you remember what you bought me for my ninth birthday?”

He nods his head
and grins.  “Walkie-talkies.”

“Exactly, and you know they still work, right?  So, I’ll radio you as soon as I get home, and if you need me, just text Tessa.”

“Char, that’s all fine and dandy, but what if this plan is in full force?  You can’t carry a walkie-talkie the size of Texas around in your pocketbook.”

“I guess I haven’t thought that through.  Um…Y’all know anything about those prepaid phones?”

“Not really, but I mean, it can’t be that hard to get one.  Heck, I know I have an old phone at the house.  It’s not fancy or anything.  Let’s just see about adding minutes to it.  That way we can keep in touch,” Piper says. “Charley, you’ll just have to make sure Dylan doesn’t see it, or you are done for.  I’ll check on that tomorrow morning.”

“Thanks, Piper. I’m sorry about before.  I mean, I don’t understand you and Joe, but it’s not my place to say who you love.”

“Love?  What the hell did I miss?” Cash ask.

Piper, Tessa, and I laugh like little girls, and Cash is completely clueless.  Walking over to him, I pat him on the back and then whisper into his ear, “You know how I feel about you?”  He nods.  “Yeah, Piper kinda feels that way about Joe, and Tessa was gonna whoop her ass.”

“I sure do wish I’d been a fly on the wall!  So, I was right when I said I missed a cat fight?  Damn my timing.”

We spent what felt like hours discussing the ins and outs of the plan, unsure of the outcome, but knowing it had to be done.  As the afternoon begins to vanish in the skyline, I look at Cash and he knows exactly what I’m thinking.  It’s a good thing hunting is legal on Sundays.  I’m gonna find a tree.

Piper and Tessa make their way back to the house on the Gator, and I ride with Cash on the back of his four-wheeler to the barn.  I grab my jacket, toboggan, coveralls, and gun from the safe, and then we return to the club.  Today, we are hunting straight out the window.

We sit there quietly for over an hour before we see a little doe walk out from the east.  Ten minutes later, we notice two more and a young buck.  I look at Cash, and he’s thinking like me.  Let’s let him walk and save him for next year.

We decide that we aren’t pulling the trigger this evening.  This is our way of coping with the cards that are currently on the table.  Cash, the club, a rifle, Mother Nature, and I.  I know that when I wake up tomorrow morning this won’t be happening for who knows how long.  I’m savoring this moment until I have to act like I’m Team Dylan Sloan. 

The sky turns dark, and I know that it’s time to head home.  I look at
Cash, and he realizes it, too.

Standing, I look into his eyes, and the water begins to build.

“Don’t do this, Char-coal.  He won’t be here until Wednesday, so we have until then, okay?”

I nod, and the tears roll.  “But, I have to pull away.  If I don’t, no one is going to believe it.  I don’t know if I can play two sides.  I love you with every ounce of my being.  I can’t even think about what I might have to do with Dylan to get him to admit what he did and the person he is.”

Cash lifts my chin, so our eyes meet.  “Listen, Char-coal. You do not have to do anything with him.  Do you understand?  The moment that line gets crossed is the moment I step in.  He will not hurt you.  The next person to have you will be me on our wedding night.  That is a promise I plan to keep.  Well, that is if you see it in your future.”

Cash looks unsure of himself, so I gaze into his eyes and bring him back to reality with my favorite movie line of all time.  “Cash Money, what you wanna marry me for anyways?”

He gives me a crooked little grin and replies, “So, I can kiss you anytime I want.” And with that quote, our fate is sealed with a kiss.

Chapter 12

Cash drives me back to the house on his four-wheeler.  During the entire ride, I hold onto him like my life depends on it.  Closing my eyes, I take in all that is around me.  I want to take this moment and freeze it in time.

As the four-wheeler begins to slow, I know that it’s time to put the plan into action.  Cash can’t go into the house.  I have to give my parents motive to believe that I don’t want him. 
But, how?  I motion for Cash to go toward the barn before we get to the house.

Cash pulls up to the rear side of the barn and leaves the motor running while he waits for me to speak, but the words won’t come out.  I reach around him and turn off the ignition, then I wrap my arms around his waist and don’t let go.

“Char-coal, please don’t make this any harder than it’s going to be.”  I loosen my grip, even though I don’t want to.  He steps off the four-wheeler and begins to pace back and forth.  “I don’t think I can let you do this, Char.  I mean, I know I have to ‘cause you’re going to regardless, but the thought of him near you is making me insane and this plan hasn’t even begun yet.   How do you think I’m going to be once Dylan is home and in the picture for real?”

I sit on the four-wheeler unable to move, speak, react, or anything.  Cash is telling the truth.  I haven’t even put myself in his shoes.  Hell, I think that’s what’s got us into the situation in the first place.  I’ve got to do something before Cash spins out of control before things start.

I swing my right leg over the four-wheel and scoot off.  Cash has finally quit pacing and is now staring into the moonlight over the field.  I grab him by his arm and pull him with all my might against the side of the barn.  He looks at me like I’ve lost my damn mind.

“Cash, this is for us.  You and me, remember?
You and me.”  Each time I say those words I press my lips into his.  “You and me.”  I swear I see tears begin to form in his eyes.

“I just love you so damn much.  It’s tearin’ me up just playin’ out all these scenarios that could happen in my brain.”