Afterthoughts: A Charity McAdams Novella (The Charity McAdams Novellas) by Elizabeth Storme Read Free Book Online

Wish things could be different?
    None of it seems right.
    He leans in and kisses my cheek and I hold my breath, new tears forming.
    “Goodbye , Charity,” he say s afterwards, his eyes locked with mine.
    “Goodbye , Brandon .” My voice breaks. Som etimes I hate being a girl, seems like you are a lways on the verge of crying or just going insane. Then again, maybe that’s just me.
    He offers a small, sad smile before grabbing his bag from the back seat and exiting the car. He shuts the door softly before turning to go up the small walk of the inn.
    I watch him go inside and then release the tears I’ ve been holding back. I rest my head on the back of the seat and try to regain control. It’ s one of those moments that you think for sure must be a dream. Or a nightmare.
    I hear a click and turn my head to see Brandon opening the passenger door. Before I can say a word he leans ac ross the front seat, takes my face in his hands , and presses his lips firmly to mine. Instinc tively , I relax into his kiss, amazed at how natural it still feels after all this time. Butterflies turn to fireworks as the kiss deepens and his hand moves to weave through my hair.
    It takes a good minute before t he alarm sounding in my head is loud enough to distract me. Started, I pull away from Brandon and back against the driver’s side window. He looks at me with surpris e and I’m not sure if he is surprised by his actions or my reaction . Maybe both.
    “I’m—I’m sorry , Cherry ,” he stutters , straightening his sport co at and backing away.
    I stay frozen against the door. I do not trust myself. At any moment my body could rebel and fling myself back into his arms. I mentally draw a line down the center of the car and vow to stay on my half. Looking at Brandon, slightly out of breath, I am suddenly n ineteen again. The old spark is still here , w ithout even touching him I can feel this powerful current between us, pulling us closer.
    I close my eyes and remind m yself of the invisible line.
    “Takes two to tango,” I say with a slight grin. It had always been one of our catch phrases whenever we would argue and the other would start to apologize .
    Brand on returns the smile knowingly.
    “I should get going, it’s late,” I say.
    The smile falls from his face and I feel a twinge of guilt. “I’m sorry,” I add.
    He shrugs and smile s again. “It’s fine. I get it.”
    He’s obviously forgotten that I know h im well enough to know when he’s fine and when he’ s not. Currently he is not okay, despite his wor ds. I do feel bad but I also don’ t know what else I can do. My hands and heart are tied with memories from the past and no matter what I tell myself I don’ t see that ever fading enough that we could rebuild what we had.
    He closes the car door again and gives a sl ight wave before going back inside the inn.
    This time I immediately start the car and hit the gas.

Chapter Eight
    I get home ten minutes later and shuffle through the front door like a zombie. The clock on the wall shows that it’ s nearly midnight. I have to be back to work in less than six hours. I groan to myself and go into the kitchen to grab my phone charger . Somewhere along the drive home it had gone dead. I’m sure Ashley has sent me half a dozen messages by now. I grab the charger from the drawer next to the fridge and take it with me upstairs. I plug my phone in next to my bed and lay it on the nightstand. While it starts to power up I go about my nightly routine. Make up off, contacts out, teeth brushed, hair piled up in a messy bun on top of my head, and lastly, slip into some yoga pan ts and an oversized sweatshirt.
    Exhausted, I flop into bed and roll over to grab my phone. Sure enough, there are three texts from Ashley. And one from James.
    “ Can we talk?” I read aloud to myself.
    Several possible responses run through my mind. As much as I want to clear up the drama from last night, I am a little pissed off that he ignored