Love Renewed (Love Trilogy) (11 page)

Confusion crossed Trevin's face as he looked from Charlotte’s face to Shelby’s and back again. “You don’t recognize her?”

She huffed, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. “Why would I? I have been gone for ten years, and I don’t ever recall seeing this woman before.”

At that, the woman busted out laughing, and Charlotte whirled to face her, glaring as she put her hands on her hips. “What is so funny about this? Who are you?”

The question only seemed to make the woman laugh harder. Trevin must have noticed Charlotte getting pissy because he stepped towards her, grabbing her arm gently as he turned her back towards him.

“Charlotte, this is Shelby. She’s…my friend,” he finished lamely as she noticed the pause in his statement.

What is he not telling me right now? She searched his face, and he grimaced, shaking his head as if he wanted her to avoid asking the obvious question right now. She decided to ask anyway.

“Your friend? That may be true, but I can see that you are holding something back that you don't want to tell me. What is it?”

The woman’s laughs had subsided, and Charlotte glanced her way. She was staring at them, her head cocked to the side as if contemplating the situation in front of her. Something seemed not right with the girl, her eyes looking distant with a smile playing on her face, but Charlotte wasn’t sure she wanted to ask.

When Trevin finally sighed, she looked back at him, and he was frowning.

“Lets go into the living room and sit down. I have a feeling this is going to be quite the conversation.”

Following him seemed like the only option if she wanted her question answered, so she did as Shelby trailed behind them, humming softly.

What is this lady’s problem?
She didn’t voice her thoughts at that moment, knowing that it would be rude even if Shelby were being impolite, as well.
What is so funny about this that has her laughing as if it were the most hilarious thing she had ever witnessed? And why is she humming and flitting about behind us like a kid that can’t walk quietly?

As they entered the living room, Charlotte had a feeling the answers to her questions were about to be answered. She watched Shelby walk over the window and sit on the seat there, staring out while twirling her hair with her fingers as Trevin sat down on the couch and patted the seat beside him.

A feeling of dread spread through her. She knew with sudden clarity that whatever she was about to hear was going to upset her because Trevin was watching her with a sad smile on his face.

“I have a feeling that you are going to tell me something I do not want to hear. Why is that?” She shot a look at Shelby before looking at Trevin expectedly.

He cleared his throat. “Well, you may not like it…”

“Spit it out. You’re making me nervous the longer you make me wait,” she said, her shaking leg bellying her words.

Giggling, Shelby turned away from the window and sent Trevin an amused glance, seeming to find his inability to spit out the words funny.

Stammering, Trevin spoke. “I’m trying to tell you that she…” he blew out a strong breath, opening his mouth to continue when Shelby interrupted.

“What Trevin is trying to tell you is that he and I have been friends since a few weeks after I was hit by a car on the same night you left town.”

Charlotte raised her eyebrows in surprise at the same she saw Trevin whip his head around to stare at Shelby, a questioning look on his face as she continued on.

“I had met Trevin in the twelfth grade - before you had started high school - and even though I was two years older, I really liked him,” she said with a self-deprecating smile as Charlotte watched her, listening. “I thought I had a chance with him and could make him see that.”

With sudden clarity, Charlotte knew where this was going and she stood up abruptly, backing away from them both. Shelby put up a hand in protest.

“Wait! Let me finish!” she yelled out, the high-pitched demand making Charlotte pause and listen even though she wanted to escape. “I threw myself at him that day because I wanted him to have the same feelings for me as I did for him. I knew you were coming to the house that day; I had overheard your guys’ convo about it, so I made sure I beat you to his fathers house.”

Putting her hands on her hips, Charlotte glared at Trevin who looked pretty nervous at that moment.

“You expect me to actually believe this explanation, especially when it is coming from a woman who has obviously lost some of her faculties?”

As Trevin gaped at her obvious insult, the only warning Charlotte had of Shelby going off was a loud, ear-splitting screech.

~*~

Shocked that Charlotte doubted Shelby’s story and had blatantly insulted her, it took Trevin a moment to respond to Shelby going off.

A high pitch screech was the only sign that she was about to have a full blown tantrum. Seeing her head towards Charlotte her face flushed in anger, he knew she had gotten offended, but he had to stop her from attacking before someone got hurt.
 

Springing into action, he let her fly past him before standing up and grabbing her from behind, holding her arms against her sides. She struggled against him, kicking her legs while growling and hissing like a wild cat who wanted to scratch the face off of the person holding them against their will.

Charlotte stood wide eyed, her face white as she stared at Shelby while she threw her fit. Trevin lowered himself to the floor, restraining her against him while she still thrashed around trying to free her body from his firm grip.

After a few moments, Shelby must have become tired and realized she was not going to get free because she stopped struggling against him, promptly bursting into tears.

Trevin looked up at Charlotte, who had taken a seat on the couch at some point, addressing her over Shelby's quiet sobbing.

“Listen, I know it is hard to believe, but she was not lying just now. She thought she could get me if she could just get rid of you. At the time, she claimed that she needed to use the phone, so she came over to my father's house because it was the closest house of somebody she knew. I had just finished taking a shower and had barely gotten dressed when she showed up, but I let her in, and then I went to get the phone,” he shoved a hand through his hair, sighing as he continued, Charlotte staring at him with round eyes. “When I came back, she had taken off her shirt and threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck before kissing me on the mouth. I heard your arrival, but by the time I could react to her doing that and you showing up, you had already gone.”

He knew Charlotte did not know what to say because she just sat there, staring at him with a stunned expression on her face. As Shelby had calmed entirely down, he could tell she was listening as he proceeded, sadness creeping into his voice.

“Her accident was my fault. We fought after you left and I told her that I loved you and only you. Then, I told her that if she did not leave right then I would make her regret it. I was so angry at her behavior that I just wanted her to leave me alone and get out.
 
I did not even stop to consider that it was getting dark outside and that perhaps I should offer her a ride home. She had been so upset that as she walked home she didn’t pay attention to her surroundings and stepped in front of an oncoming car near the downtown area. The impact threw her into a tree, giving her a traumatic brain injury as well as two broken legs. She was in a coma for months."

Seeing Charlotte’s eyes fill with tears, Trevin looked away as his guilt ate at him, but he finished what he was going to say. Shelby was still silent in his arms as her head came up just as he spoke again. He figured that she deliberately avoided looking at Charlotte.

“I befriended her again after the accident, but she did not know what happened and neither did her mother, so I did not mention the argument,” he looked down at Shelby then, seeing her eyes blazing anew at his mention of the information he had withheld from her. “Shelby came over here early this morning to tell me that she had remembered - after all this time, which is a miracle all on its own.”

Sniffling, Shelby pushed against his chest. Looking down at her again, he scowled. “I will let you go if you promise to refrain from physical violence. None of this is worth hurting somebody over, do you hear me?” At her nod, he released her and she stood up abruptly. He watched as she crossed her arms, facing both of them defensively.

Charlotte was the first to break the awkward silence. “I’m sorry, Shelby. I had read about the accident but I had no idea it was you. I wouldn’t have made that remark…”

Trevin saw Shelby shrug as if it didn’t matter. “It’s okay. Everybody here in town knows me so it is hardly ever something that needs told to people. I tend to forget that not everybody was around, although I figured Trevin would have told you before now.”

“I was going to,” Trevin explained. “I just hadn’t gotten a chance to get around to it and well, you both ended up showing up here today for different reasons. So, now it is all in the open and the question is can all of us finally move past this whole disaster?” He raised his eyebrow at Charlotte who looked down at the ground without replying.

Shelby gave Trevin a weak smile. “I guess. I’m sorry for accusing you of having something to do with the accident. I will leave you two alone now.”

“Hey Shelby?” When she turned around, he smiled. “Thanks. And no worries. We’ll talk later, okay?”

She nodded at him without saying anything and then headed out.
 
Trevin, letting out a sigh of relief, walked over to Charlotte and placed his hand under her chin, gently tilting her face up to look at him. Her eyes were slightly red and watery.

“Are you all right?”

“I am fine, although I think I have much to think about.
 
We will have to talk later. I was already here longer than I meant to be and I promised Douglas we would go to the park today.”

Don’t try to convince her to stay here just a bit longer. Let her go for now. She’ll be back.
He smiled at her. “Okay. We will talk later though, right?”

“Yes,” she affirmed, smiling even though it was a bit wobbly. “I will see you later.”

Leaning down slightly, he gave her a sweet close-mouthed kiss on the lips before removing his hand and stepping back.

Then he watched her walked out, closing the door softly behind her.

He let out a sigh of relief, wondering how the hell that had ended up being so easy.

Chapter Ten

Sitting on the bench at the park, Charlotte watched as Douglas romped around the playground all on his own.

She had pushed him on the swing for a bit but when he had gotten tired of that, he told her he was going to explore the playground equipment. So she took that as a hint to leave him be for now and to go relax.

This wasn’t new, as Douglas would often get tired of interacting with her and want to play on his own at the playground, so she always came prepared with other things to do. Pulling out her e-reader, she was searching for a book to occupy her time when two little shadows appeared at her feet.

Glancing up, she saw Douglas standing there along with a little girl she didn’t recognize. The little girl had shoulder length blond hair and bright blue eyes. She smiled when Charlotte looked at her but didn’t say anything.

“And who might this be, Douglas?”

“Mommy! She said her name is Elsie. I was checking out the bugs over there,” he said as he pointed towards a group of trees not far away. “She came up to me and started to play with me by following me around! But, I told her it was snack time and then she followed me over here!”

Laughing, Charlotte could tell that the little girl trailing after him had annoyed him by his words, although he also had a major scowl on his face. Pulling out the food from her bag, she pat the seat beside her.

“Come sit down and eat, Douglas. And as for you Elsie, where is your mother?” When the little girl just looked at her with wide eyes, Charlotte smiled. “I wouldn’t mind giving you a snack but I have to make sure it is okay with your mother first.”

At that, Elsie twirled around and took off running while Douglas dug into his snack. Shading her eyes with her right hand, Charlotte followed the little girls path across the park where she stopped right in front of a woman with dark hair. It was only a matter of seconds before both of them started heading back towards her. Charlotte recognized the woman Elsie was with as she approached.

“Charlotte! Isn’t it such nice weather for a mid-September day?” Gwyneth greeted her with a smile.

“Yes, it is a nice day for sure. Are you Elsie’s mother?”

Shaking her head in denial, Gwyneth chuckled. “No, I don’t have any children.
 
This is my brother’s daughter. His name is Samuel. I take her out every Sunday to spend girl time with me and today, she decided the park was where she wanted to go.”

“Oh, I see. Well that is very sweet. Elsie came over with Douglas at snack time so I told her I needed to make sure it was okay to give her some as well. We didn’t disturb you, did we?”

“Oh no! I had just gotten done talking to a co-worker who was in the middle of a crisis on the phone and freaking out,” she replied with a grimace, taking a deep breath before speaking again. “Nothing like having work being able to find you even on the weekends. And yeah, no problem with the snack.”

“Hear that Elsie? You get to have some Goldfish crackers too! Sit next to your aunt, please. Walking around while eating is not a good idea.”

Elsie took a seat, but she squeezed next to Douglas, throwing him a glance that had Charlotte giggling. Gwyneth noticed it too and sent Charlotte a knowing smile. As the kids ate their snacks in earnest, Gwyneth spoke again first.

“So, how did it go with Trevin the other night? I’m really curious but don’t be afraid to tell me to mind my own business!”

Feeling her face instantly flush with embarrassment, Charlotte cleared her throat. “What makes you think anything happened?”

“You kissed him right in front of me so I wondered if anything else happened. You two disappeared rather quickly. Lucien and I were taking bets on what you two were doing,” she admitted with a mischievous grin on her face.