The tears were not welcome to her, and she wanted them gone.
Her love for Bad hadn’t diminished like she assumed it would. No, it was still part of her.
Stupid love. Stupid feelings. She hated these thoughts and feelings.
Thrusting up the visor, she climbed out of her car, angrier than before. After slamming the door, she locked her car and then headed toward the park. She had to stretch her legs. To get rid of the thoughts running riot through her mind.
This wasn’t good. This wasn’t fun.
She spotted a bunch of kids having fun, as well as families, basking in the late summer sun.
Good for them. They looked happy.
I’m not happy.
“Shut up.” She muttered the words to herself, not caring if anyone heard her.
Hands clenched, she took off at a brisk pace and kept on walking, not stopping for a single second.
This was the only way she knew how to silence her own thoughts. She had to get the image of Bad out of her mind. Seeing him above her, behind her, surrounding her.
They were never going to be together. Even allowing herself the chance to think it was utterly ridiculous. She and Bad were over.
After ten minutes of nonstop walking, she came to a tree, closed her eyes, and breathed.
It was a big mistake. All she could see were those few hours when Bad was all hers, when he wasn’t following her brother’s orders.
They had been on fire together.
Ten years, they had spent apart.
One night. A single damn night had been the best of her life, and now she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
She missed Bad. She loved him so much.
But he hadn’t picked her. He hadn’t asked her to join him. No, he had walked away. She put a hand to her chest, hating the sudden shock to her body.
“Hey, are you all right?”
She opened her eyes to see a young woman had stopped in front of her. She was jogging on the spot, trying to keep her body pumping.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” She forced a smile to her lips.
“You sure?”
She nodded. Yep. She was sure. There was no reason to alarm anyone. All she was dealing with was heartbreak, and she told the other woman so she’d move on.
“Honey, no guy is worth crying over. Enjoy the beautiful day and forget about him.” She winked at her, and Charity shook her head as the woman left.
Bad wasn’t just some guy.
Sure, she got the whole, no-guy-was-worth-crying-over thing, but Bad was different. He was the guy she had loved for her whole life, and for the first time, she truly believed he felt something for her.
It was that or she was just trying to read more into it than there actually was. She wasn’t sure. Either way, it still fucking sucked.
Charity moved back from the tree and walked away, heading toward one of the many food carts. She was hungry, and there was no way she was going to be able to keep on traveling without some good food.
****