Rebounding (23 page)

Rain beats against the roof and windows, making it harder to get any rest. When I finally do fall asleep, I dream about Max. We’re on the beach, a storm brewing around us just like on the day we first kissed. Black clouds expand across the gray sky, thickening and flashing with sharp bursts of lightning. I try to talk to Max, but he just stares at me, frowning. I shout at him, trying to tell him about Fiona, but he doesn’t hear me. My voice is muffled by the sound of the rain. Max continues to frown, shaking his head disapprovingly. Nothing I do works. The louder I raise my voice, the harder the rain pours, drowning out my words. Every time he shakes his head, I feel my heart growing heavier and heavier.

I wake up early the next morning, shaken by the dream, and the first thing I do is reach for my phone. My shoulders droop. There aren’t any new texts.

Dammit.

That girl better not let me down.

Trying not to obsess over it, I keep busy. I take a shower, paint my nails, and organize my room. As I’m going through boxes, my chest constricts. This is why I haven’t fully committed to decorating this room; I don’t want it to feel permanent. I shove the boxes back into my closet.

Eventually I’ll have to accept that this is where I live, but not today.

I go into the kitchen to make breakfast. Hayes is awake. He’s sitting on the couch watching TV.

“What are you watching?” I ask while stirring granola into a bowl of yogurt.

“
Battlestar Gallactica
.”

“Is it good?”

Hayes hits a button to pause the show, then looks up at me. “
Is
it good? Are you serious?”

I shrug. “I’ve never heard of it.”

He pats the cushion beside him. “Sit. Now. We’re starting a marathon.”

I don’t object. A marathon of mindless television sounds like the perfect way to kill a few hours. I grab my bowl and plop down next to Hayes. He gives me an annoyed look—he’s obviously
not
cool with me eating in the living room—but he doesn’t comment on it. He’s trying.

The show is pretty good. Definitely a geeky sci-fi type of story, but interesting. I can see why Hayes loves it, and I’m grateful that it’s keeping me distracted.

Around noon, I finally hear my phone buzz. I jump up to check my messages.

Meet me in the library on campus in an hour

The text is from an unknown number.

It’s
her
.

I squeeze the phone against my chest, bouncing on the balls of my feet. She’s actually going to meet me! I’m so relieved and so excited, I have to take several breaths before I can think straight.

I quickly text back OK, tell Hayes to pause the marathon until I return, and then hurry off to get ready.

As I’m getting dressed, the doorbell rings. I ignore it, figuring it’s for Hayes. No one knows I live here except Doll and Vanessa.

A few seconds later, Hayes lightly raps on my door. “Charlotte, it’s for you.”

“Who is it?”

“I don’t know. Some guy…Max something.”

I swing the bedroom door open. “What did you say his name was?”

But Hayes isn’t there.

“Hi, Charlotte.”

My heart launches at that deep voice. Max is here. Standing right outside my door. I close my eyes and open them again.

He’s still here.

He looks tired, the scruff of his beard several days old, but still devastatingly handsome. I’m so happy to see him that I wonder if my mind is playing tricks on me. Maybe this whole day has been a long, strange dream. That seems easier to believe.

Then I remember Francesca. As I connect the dots, my heart sinks.

His sister.

That’s why he’s in town. He must’ve found out she’s here.

“Can we talk?” he asks, his voice so low I struggle to hear it. “In private?”

Behind him, I glimpse Hayes walking toward his bedroom. I don’t think about what I’m doing. I run out of my room and grab Hayes by the hand to stop him from leaving. “Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of Hayes.” I swallow, feeling less mighty than I sound.

Hayes tries to pull his hand away, but I keep a tight hold of it. He’s told me a dozen times he doesn’t like to be touched—part of his weird OCD thing—so this is probably making him super uncomfortable. I don’t care though.

I don’t want to be left alone with Max.

If Hayes leaves, I might break down. I might cry. And the last thing I want is for Max to see just how much he hurt me.

Max’s gaze drifts over me, tightening. “Charlotte…please.”

I flinch. My body is already reacting to him. I want to throw my arms around him, kiss him, ask him how everything went so wrong, and more importantly, ask him why I haven’t heard from him until
now
.

I refuse to do any of those things.

Instead I draw Hayes closer to me. “My new boyfriend doesn’t feel like going anywhere. Whatever you have to say, you can say to both of us.”

“New
what
?” Hayes sputters.

I squeeze his hand tightly, muttering under my breath, “Just go with it.”

“Did Doll put you up to this? Are the two of you trying to torture me?”

Max’s intense eyes never leave mine. “Charlotte, this isn’t your boyfriend,” he says, frowning.

“Tell him, sweetie,” I say to Hayes, forcing a smile. “We fell in love. We’re both ridiculously happy.”

“I refuse to do this again,” Hayes yells, yanking his hand out of mine. “Do you see that guy, Charlotte? He’s twice my size!”

I roll my eyes, giving up the charade. “Thanks for nothing, Hayes.”

“There is seriously something wrong with you and Doll. Work out your guy problems on your own and leave me out of it!” He takes off to his bedroom, mumbles something about hand sanitizer, and slams the door shut behind him.

“Now can we talk?” Max tries again.

All of the fight goes out of me. There’s a lump already forming in my throat. I don’t know how I’m supposed to talk to him when I can’t even speak.

He takes a step closer to me. “Charlotte…”

“There’s no time,” I say, pushing the words out. “She’s waiting at the library…I found her.”

I turn around to grab my keys and my phone, desperately needing to look away. I can’t do this. I can’t look at him.

“Found who? Charlotte what are you talking about?” He reaches for my hands, stopping me. The two of us stare at each other in confusion.

“Didn’t you come here to…”

“To what?” he prompts me. “To apologize? To get down on my fucking knees and grovel? Because if that’s what it takes, I’ll do it.”

“You came here for me?” I whisper, paralyzed.

“Why else would I be here? By the way, most people put in a notice before they quit their job. Very unprofessional, kid.”

“Oh my God.” Tears blur my vision. “Please tell me this isn’t about the job.”

“No, it’s not about the job.” He gently wipes the corner of my eyes with his thumbs, and draws me into his arms. Sighing, he rests his chin against the top of my head. “I’m sorry about what I said, Charlotte. I never wanted you to leave.”

“I never wanted
to
leave.”

“You didn’t even say goodbye,” he says bitterly. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

I shrug, unable to think of a good enough answer. “I don’t know. It was too difficult to face you. Why did it take you so long to change your mind about me leaving?”

“Because I convinced myself that letting you go was the right thing to do.”

“So hurting me was the right thing to do? That makes no sense.” I shake my head, feeling a wave of anger hit me all over again. Every night since I’ve been here, I’ve lied awake in bed trying to wrap my mind around what happened. Now he’s telling me he thought it was the
right
thing to do? It’s not good enough.

Max tilts my chin up, forcing me to look at him. “I’m going to try to explain, kid, but you have to realize this isn’t easy. I’m not used to relationships, remember? I’m still trying to figure out how it all works.”

I bite the inside of my cheek. He’s here, trying. He deserves credit for that at least. “Just say how you feel, Max.”

He steps back and takes a deep breath as he looks around the room, thinking. “Everything I thought was important suddenly wasn’t anymore,” he says quietly. “You make me want a life that’s easy and light and carefree. I thought if I had those things, I’d give up on my past; it’d be like saying what happened was okay, and I’d stop trying to get justice.”

“You deserved those things, Max. I realize that Garcia took the life you were supposed to have, but you’re letting him steal this one too. He doesn’t deserve to have that much power over you.”

“I know.” He reaches for me again, taking my face in his hands. “He took away everyone I cared about. I can’t let him take you away too.”

I wrap my hands around his wrists as he holds my face. I can hear the pain in his words, and it makes me want to kill Garcia for him. If I ever had the chance, I probably would.

“Come back, Charlotte.” He presses his lips against mine, dizzying me with an intoxicating kiss.

I’m not sure if it’s a request or a command. Either way, it doesn’t matter. “You could ask for anything you wanted, and I’d probably say yes.”

“Really?” His dark eyes light up.

“Hayes is going to be disappointed,” I say with a sigh.

“He’ll get over it.”

“Poor kid. He’ll never find a better roomie than me. It’s going to be hard to leave him.” When Max starts to scowl, it makes me want to laugh. Provoking him probably makes me a horrible person, but I keep going with it. “Just saying. I got a lot of things going for me here. Hayes is quiet, he stays out of my way, he’s
extremely
clean—”

“You’re making me want to punch that guy, Charlotte.”

“Seriously. You’re going to have to do something drastic,” I look around the room innocently. “Tell me you love me, that you can’t imagine life without me, I don’t know. Something along those lines.”

“I do love you.” He says the words so seriously it takes me by surprise.

I push away, feeling dizzy. “All right, I can see that was a bad joke. There’s no reason to keep going with it.”

Max grabs me so quickly I lose my balance. He catches me and holds me upright. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t love you, Charlotte. Imagine life without you? I don’t have to. I know what it’s like. It’s fucking hell.”

I stare at him hard. “You’re being serious?”

“I love you, Charlotte. Try and tell me I’m lying.”

His words are painfully honest. It takes a few moments for them to sink in. “You’re telling the truth.”

He shakes his head. “Yep.”

I blink back happy tears. “I love you too.”

He smiles. “I know.”

I both hate and love that he needs no convincing on my part.

“I’m not going after Garcia anymore either,” he tells me. “I’ve made my peace with it.”

“You have no idea how happy that makes me…oh my God.”
Francesca.
I grab Max’s hand. “I almost forgot! Come with me.”

As soon as I can think straight, I realize that I’m about to give him the news he’s been waiting for almost his entire life, and it’s both thrilling and scary. I’m not sure how he’ll react.

“Where are we going?” he asks, confused, and laughing at the way I’m rushing him out the door.

“It’s a surprise. Get in the car.”

Max doesn’t ask any questions. Ten minutes later, we’re on campus heading toward the library. I feel my phone vibrate and check my texts.

Go to the conference room behind the reference section

“The surprise is a library?” Max asks, confused as we approach the building.

“It’s what’s
in
the library,” I tell him, pulling him alongside me.

He reaches for my hand, entwining his fingers through mine. “No surprise could beat knowing you’re coming back home with me.”

His words warm my insides. I squeeze his hand in response. “As much as I love that you said that, I have a feeling you’re wrong. This is the kind of surprise that beats all surprises.”

“Whatever you say, kid.”

Finding the conference room isn’t hard. Francesca is sitting at a table inside. She stands up when I open the door.

“Where’ve you been?” She holds up her hands impatiently. “I don’t have long.”

Max steps inside, the color draining from his face. I don’t have to explain; he knows her without either of us saying a word.

“This is Max Archer,” I tell Francesca. “He’s your brother.”

THIRTY-THREE

Max

My
sister
.

Her face was the last one I expected to see, and I can tell she’s just as confused as I am.

I found her
, Charlotte said earlier. I had no clue what she was talking about, but now it all makes sense.

Dean told me she wouldn’t be touring universities for another few weeks, but his information must’ve been wrong. Because here she is. Standing in front of me.

The conversation starts with a lot of
whys
and
hows
. By the time I’m done explaining what happened on the day she disappeared, she’s crying.

“I always knew,” she says over and over again. “Several years ago I overheard my father talking to his business associate about the day he took me. He referred to me as his little trophy. Later on I asked Christian, one of my bodyguards, about that conversation. He admitted my father wasn’t my biological one, but he made it sound like he’d saved me from some horrible fate. Like I was lucky he’d taken me.”

“Do you have any idea why? I’ve been trying to figure out his motive my whole life.”

“I think it had to do with my mother…our mother. He was in love with her, but she left him for…oh God. She must’ve left him for my
real
father.” Francesca covers her face with her hands, weeping. “I can’t believe he’s capable of something like that. I can’t believe he murdered all those people. He murdered my…my
family
.”

Unsure of what to do, I wrap my arms around her. She sobs against my chest for a long time, soaking my shirt. For the first time since it happened, my own eyes sting with tears. When I look around the room for Charlotte, I see her sitting in a chair in the corner. Her eyes are red and glassy too.

It doesn’t escape my notice that if I had waited to come here, I would’ve missed my chance at finding my sister. The only reason I’m here is because of Charlotte. I’ve never believed in fate before. I believe in it now. Both times she’s come into my life, she’s ended up saving it.

“Do you know what today is?” Her voice is barely a whisper.

It takes me a second to think about the question. I try so hard to hold it in, I’ve been trying for sixteen years to hold it in, but I think this finally breaks me.

Because today is January 20
th
.