Page 95 of Stay With Me

Her words remind me that even with everything my sister is going through right now, she still puts me first and didn’t think twice about racing over here. I’m hit with guilt when I realize maybe it wasn’t the ideal thing for her to do.

“Yeah, it’s a nice little place. I have it rented for two weeks and then I have the option to renew for two weeks at a time until mid-October. I need to start looking for my own place again.”

Trina turns her head to look at me, her brow furrowed. “It seems like you’d stopped house-hunting. I’m kind of surprised to see you suddenly living in an Airbnb and resuming the search.”

I know she’s trying to give me a segue into telling her what happened, and I open my mouth to try to talk about it, but I just can’t get the words out.

“Did you have a big fight? It doesn’t seem like you could’ve argued about anything big enough for Charlie to kick you out of his house.”

“He didn’t kick me out, I left. It just wasn’t ideal for me to be staying there anymore.”Time for a subject change.“Trina what did you mean about Charlie not being at work all week?”

“About a week or so ago, he sent a message out asking if there was any way he could take vacation days for his next two shifts. He found coverage for one of them on his own and we were able to cover the second one, so we gave him the week off. I had no idea you weren’t still staying with him, so I just assumed he was doing stuff around the house to get ready for fall. But if you’re not with him, it’s odd he hasn’t texted me at all.”

“Have you ever met Charlie’s parents?” The question comes out of nowhere, but I can’t stop myself from asking.

Her eyes fix on me and there’s a hard look in them at the mention of Charlie’s family.

“Yeah, his dad’s quite a piece of work. There are few bigger assholes in the world than that man. I swear if I didn’t hate him for the ridicule and abuse that I know he heaped on Charlie as a child, the way he treats his wife is enough to make me wanna kick his ass.”

“Didn’t you go out with his cousin?”

A sarcastic laugh erupts from Trina. “I’m not sure you could call it that. I met him for drinks one evening and we got about thirty-five minutes into it before I couldn’t do it anymore. He’s a weasel and a control freak. Even tried to order what he thought I should drink without asking my preference.”

“I met his parents—well sort of met them—a little over a week ago.”

A wince flits across her face, like she knows it probably wasn’t a positive experience.

“Charlie and I were gonna go hiking in Meadow Creek and on our way, he got a phone call from his mom. She sounded scared and we heard a man yelling in the background and then she hung up. We diverted and went there. I know I’ve been a little sheltered, but I’ve not seen anything like what I saw in that house. I don’t know if Mr. Fitzgerald physically abuses her, but clearly he emotionally abuses her.”

“Is that what you and Charlie fought about? Was he upset that you had something to say about his mom? Because I know Charlie wouldn’t give a shit if you said something bad about his dad.”

“No. Not at all. I actually feel a lot of compassion for her. She stays, but I think that maybe at this point in her life, she doesn’t feel like there’s another option for her, even though Charlie tried to get her to come back to his house with us. He told me to stay in the car, but of course I didn’t listen and when I walked in after hearing the yelling, I found Charlie with his dad pinned up against the wall. I’ve never seen Charlie so angry. He was shaking with rage. And the venomous looks and words coming out of his father’s mouth. That man’s a monster.”

Trina grimaces. “It probably embarrassed Charlie you saw that. He’s almost as bad as me with wanting to protect you and not have you see the ugly things of the world.”

“I’m twenty-eight years old. You can’t protect me my whole life, and neither can Charlie. Think of just this last year. Bad shit happens to everybody. None of us can escape it. You took wonderful care of me growing up. It should never have had to be your job, and a lot of siblings wouldn’t have taken that on. But you made sure that I had a childhood full of love and the security of knowing I was cared for. It’s not your responsibility to keep doing it, Trina. I’m not a child anymore. Just be my sister.”

I see a single tear roll down Trina’s cheek and she wipes it away. I don’t draw attention to it because I know that would make her uncomfortable. Instead, I reach across the small table between us and grab her hand. And I sit here on the porch, on a hot August evening, with a broken heart and my sister by my side.

I’m not going to tell her what happened between Charlie and me.

One of his biggest fears is that he’ll lose Trina if she finds out about us. After getting insight into his family life, I understand. He’s quiet and reserved and doesn’t have many people, so the possibility of losing his best friend is probably terrifying to him.

Yet he was willing for us to sit down and tell her together; that’s part of what I’m struggling to reconcile. He made it clear how he feels about me—or, more accurately, how he doesn’t feel—so why would he have agreed to tell her at all?

When Trina leaves a half hour later, I hug her goodbye, then in a hushed voice, ask, “Will you check on Charlie, please?”

She gives me a sad, tight-lipped smile and simply nods.

CHAPTER36

CHARLIE

It’s getting late and I’m trying to distract my mind from thinking about Emily, so I have Jeopardy on the television, thinking it will exercise my brain and change its focus. It’s not working.

An aggressive pounding on my front door surprises me.Who would possibly be here at this hour on a weeknight? God, I hope it’s not my dad.

I open the security app on my phone to check who’s there as I walk to the door. A feeling of dread creeps up my chest. Time to face the music.

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