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

fine I’ll start to believe it .
    Eventually.
    “Well I have to try. What choice do I really have? It’s self-preservation , trying to keep my remaining shreds of sanity, ” I joke , but it falls flat.
    “What about James?” She continues, ignoring my question. “Are you going to tell him?”
    “Oh, yeah, sure. I think now would be a great time to tell him about kissing someone else, immediately after having our first real fight. That would be perfect,” I fling back sarcastically. “Of course not, Ashley, are you out of your mind? What happened with Brandon was a mistake. I didn’t even kiss him! He kissed me!”
    I hear myself and realize how incredibly lame my rationalization sounds.
    “Ugh, I can’t believe this is happening,” Ashley sighs.
    “I know, my life has suddenly turned into a Lifetime movie special of the week,” I agree.
    Ashley laughs. “ No kidding! Well, like you said, it’s only a week. Surely you can avoid seeing him for one week.”
    The bell on the door rings again as the first groups of customers arrive , I hop up from the table and get them seated before sending Ashley off.
     
    * **
     
    The r est of the day passes quickly and I only end up working for six hours before my boss lets me go. Luckily, people are pretty generous on Sunday’s so the tips were decent even though it was a short shift. Before Ashley had left she asked if I would stop by her house after work and take her dog, Maci, out for a quick walk since she would likely be gone most of the afternoon.
    I eat lunch at the café before leaving and then start walking in the direction of her house. She is only a few blocks away from my townhouse. She rents a small bungalow style house in an older part of t own. It’s an older house but it’ s big on vintage charm and she loves it. Even though she could probably afford to buy her own house, she has lived there for the past two years and has never really mentioned moving out.
    On the way over, my phone starts to buzz from the pocket of my coat. I fish it out and see James’ name on the screen. I hesitate slightly before pushing the answer button and lifting the phone to my ear.
    “Hello?”
    “Oh, Charity, thank God,” he exclaims.
    “Is something wrong?” I ask, a little panicked by the anxiety in his tone.
    “ Yeah, everything’ s fine. I just didn’t think you would answer. When I didn’t hear back from you last night I, well, I kind of thought you were done with me, with us.”
    “No, no, I’m sorry, my phone died so I didn’t get the message until really late and I figured you would be asleep,” I explain quickly.
    Of course that doesn’t explain why I didn’t answer him anytime this morning, but I was hoping he would ignore that fact.
    He does. “Alright, well, listen, I really want to see you. I want us to work things out. I don’t know what happened the other night but I’m sorry for being such an asshole about everything and for not calling you sooner.”
    He is so sincere sounding and a jolt of guilt tingles down my spine. For a brief moment I consider telling him what happened at the airport and coming clean with everything , but I decide against it. If I ever decide to tell him everything , it would be better in person.
    I’ve reached Ashley’s front porch, I can hear Maci inside starting to bark and dig at the front door.
    “Charity? Are you still there?” James asks, breaking my train of thought. “ I understand if you’ re still mad and need space, but please talk to me.”
    “I’m sorry, it’ s not you. I just got to Ashley’s house to walk her dog and was a little distracted.”
    I sit down on the front steps and try to tune out Maci’s howls.
    “Honestly, you don’t have to apologize. It was really my fault. It was just a miscommunication and I way overreacted and made an idiot of myself. I figure d we both needed some space to think things over and we’ve had that so let’s just drop the whole thing and move forward.