Hudson
I don’t know what I’m expecting, but to know Charlotte has a secret she’s not telling me hurts. Before I loved her, I trusted her. I told her things about my family that I’ve never told anyone. For her not to feel the same trust has my heart in a vise-like grip. I watch as she struggles, clearly upset that she’s been cornered. As she fights her inner demons, I watch her beautiful face, and right when I think she’s going to break my heart, she clears her throat and asks me to never stop loving her.
“My secret is something that might have you running away and scared of me.” She takes a deep breath as I watch my sweet and vulnerable dream girl wrestle with her courage. I can’t help myself and I make my way to the couch, sliding my arm around her and enjoying the way she cuddles against me. Will this be the last time I get to hold her this way? Is what she’s about to say to me going to ruin everything we’ve managed to find in each other?
“My father, Wade, was a horrible man. He often drank too much and was always in trouble with the wrong kind of people. One night I was out with Marcus and Lyla at a local concert and being the seventeen-year-old rebels we were, we had gotten some beers and were going back to the record store to drink and listen to records. We weren’t throwing a party or anything; it was just the three of us. We just weren’t ready to call it a night. Anyway, when we got to the store, we noticed the front door was broken and instead of just calling the police like we should have, Marcus wanted to see what was going on first. Peeking inside, we saw Wade trying to break into the register. Marcus all of a sudden got really pissed, already hearing too many terrible things about him from me. He marched inside and the two of them started throwing punches. I got scared and really protective of my best friend who I didn’t want to see get beat up like I had been. So, I grabbed Declan’s baseball bat from behind the counter and when I swung, I was aiming for his shoulder, but he leaned down, and the bat collided with his head. He fell to the ground and never got up.” Her voice is choked and she’s shaking as tears run down her face. She holds her eyes closed tight and her fists are clenching my shirt, like she’s holding on for dear life. “I’m only telling you this because I love you and hope you can forgive me. It was a terrible accident that let me be free of a horrible man’s torture.” Her eyes open and tears puddle in them as she looks at me for forgiveness.
“Charlotte, you have nothing to be forgiven for. If that son of a bitch were here now, I would kill him myself. I don’t judge you or think you did anything wrong. I love you and I will be by your side through as many hardships as this life throws at us from here on out. You don’t have to bear the burden of any more secrets alone, my love.” I hold her close as she cries her heart out. The way she thanks me breaks my heart in a way I wasn’t expecting. As time goes by and her breathing starts to even out, her fists let up on my shirt. Part of me thinks she was holding on for support through a terrible memory; the other part thinks she was afraid I would leave her. That’s never going to happen.
“It’s alright now, my love. I have you and I will never let anyone hurt you ever again. You can trust me to love you and I promise never to leave you.”
She then looks up at me with love and adoration in her eyes and I take her chin, lifting it until her lips meet mine. Our kiss is slow and without the usually heat. It’s a kiss that tells her I love her no matter what and I hope she believes it because I would utterly die for this woman.
We find our way to the bed and fuse our bodies together, wanting and needing to be touching. I wait until her breathing is even before I even consider falling asleep. Thinking about her story, I can’t imagine how hard it was for her to tell me. Even trusting me, it took a lot of courage to talk about such a tragic moment.
Throughout our friendship she would tell me things about her father, never mentioning his name but little moments of his abuse. I assumed it was because I would tell her about my parents, but I had no idea it ran so deep. My parents were awful people and still I know her childhood was far worse. Thankful to be holding her, I let my eyelids fall and relax to the rhythm of her breathing.
The next morning, I wake up and attempt breakfast for her. As I’m bringing in the tray of waffles and coffee, her eyelids flutter open.
“Good morning, beautiful.” I land a kiss on her head as she rights herself and takes the tray.
“Good morning.” Her smile is refreshing after such a heart-wrenching night.
“I hope your waffles weren’t bad, I’m afraid that’s all you had in your fridge.”
She laughs and begins digging in. Sipping my coffee at her side, I check my phone for updates from Ryan.
“The bus will be here at five this evening, Cinderella, then it’s off to Texas.”
She chews as she nods and a knock sounds from the front door. I tell her I’ll get it but I’m sure it’s her parents coming to check on her, knowing the conversation we had. This reminds me that if I’m the only one she ever told, how did they know? Marcus could have told them but was this before or after the kids got rid of the body? They never called the police?
Sure enough, as soon as the door opens, Nora makes her way inside and heads to the bedroom. Declan looks happy to see I’m still here and claps me on the back as he makes his way inside.
“Morning, Hudson.”
“Morning.”
I now notice the bags of takeout in his hand as he lays it on the counter. I bring out a couple more mugs for coffee as he plates pancakes and scrambled eggs and bacon. We all sit around Charlotte’s little island and eat breakfast. They both tell me how happy they are to see me this morning and I take it as my opening.
“Charlotte told me a very traumatic story last night.” I look at them both knowingly and get the feeling they know what’s coming next. Nora nods, taking the lead and setting down her coffee.
“It’s okay if you both want to talk about it. We weren’t there, but then we were.” She looks to Charlotte and smiles with eyes full of love for her. Charlotte then nods to me to go on.
“What do you mean you weren’t there, but then you were? When Charlotte told me what happened, it was only her, Lyla, and Marcus, but you clearly know the story well.”
They both nod and Declan looks to his wife.
“That’s because we helped them with Wade’s body.” She clears her throat. “Wade had been harassing us for weeks. He had gotten himself in trouble over some gambling debts and wanted us to pay them so that nothing would happen to Charlie. We offered to take her in full time, while he figured everything out, and to be honest we hated that she ever went home. He soon started threatening to ruin our business, and the night Marcus called us frantic from the shop, we really weren’t surprised he had broken in. We were set to install security surveillance the next morning but as sad as it might be, because I wish it wouldn’t have happened to the kids, the world and our Charlie are better off.”
“I agree. I’m glad the son of a bitch is gone. Dare I ask what you did with him?”
Declan runs a hand down his face and looks to Charlotte for permission, which she gives with a coy smile and a nod. I place my hand on her thigh, letting her know how much I appreciate being let in on this painful secret.
“I had been working on how to get rid of Wade, and through an old partner who was an equally despicable human, I was put in touch with the men who wanted Wade dead. I let them think I had been the one to do it and they paid me fifty grand, which I gave to Charlie of course. They were happy to take the body and I didn’t need the details.” When Declan finishes the story, he runs a hand down his salt-and-pepper beard and Nora places a comforting arm around his bicep.
“Charlie was our daughter before that night; we just didn’t have any rights to her. The plan was waiting for her eighteenth birthday, but this way she was able to move in with us sooner.”
Charlie goes over to them and gives them both a hug.
“Thank you all for telling me.”
“You’re family now too, Hudson. It’s only fitting you know the family secret and know how deep our loyalty runs. We will always be here for you both, no matter what.”
The sentiment is heartwarming, and I feel my stomach in my throat. My love comes to my side and I wrap her in my arms as she whispers that she loves me. I don’t cry but fuck, I want to.