Page 44 of Keeping Happily Ever After

Slowly, she turned from the window and gave him a small smile full of pain. “I will be.”

“Yes.” He nodded. “You will be. I’ll make sure of it.”

They didn’t speak again for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts about everything that had happened. Ed had filled Jeremy in that although they weren’t planning to move forward with the plan for a few more weeks still, things escalated when Billy seemed to catch on that something was going on with Char.

Apparently, Charlotte hadn’t behaved any differently, but Billy’s paranoia brought on these periods of mania periodically. And this time, because they were actually planning something, both Char and the fire chief in Halifax were concerned that he’d actually discover something and do something to harm Charlotte before they had a chance to get her out safely.

They couldn’t risk it. So they’d moved forward with the plan and when Charlotte had shown up for work at the coffee shop that afternoon, Joe Black was waiting for her. He ordered a coffee and a blueberry muffin, which was their prearranged code that it was time to go. Charlotte had grabbed her coat from the back and together they’d walked out the front door and to his waiting car.

They had contacted the local police force to keep an eye on Billy and make sure he didn’t leave work early. He hadn’t and everything had gone smoothly. Almost too smoothly. Not that anyone actually thought that was the end of it.

No.

There was no way Billy was going to give up so easily. But at least Char would be back home and where they could all keep her safe.

After they’d been driving for about thirty minutes in quiet, Char finally spoke. “Tell me about your girlfriend.”

Jeremy glanced over at her, but kept his gaze steady on the snowy highway. “Really? You don’t want to—”

“The last thing I want to talk about is how much I’ve screwed up my own life.”

She laughed, but it was a humorless sound that tugged at Jeremy’s heart.How long until he got his sister back both in body and in spirit?

“Tell me about her. I need to hear something good.”

He pressed his lips together. There was a lot he could say, specifically that he wasn’t really sure how he’d left things with her earlier that night and that maybe he’d screwed everything up right when it was starting to get good. But he was pretty sure his sister didn’t need to hear any of that. Instead, he filled the time telling her about how talented Bella was, the movie role she’d just landed, and all the highlights of their relationship up until the argument they’d left it at a few hours earlier.

At some point, Charlotte had fallen asleep while Jeremy spoke. No doubt she’d been so tense she’d been unable to properly rest for who knows how long. His heart ached for his sister, who’d gone through things he couldn’t even fathom and may not ever properly understand or ever really know about. She’d talk if and when she was ready, and until then, he’d be there for her. Reliving the past was no longer the important part.

The only thing that mattered was that she was home and safe.

It was almost midnight when Jeremy finally pulled up in front of their childhood home. He put the car in park and sat in the silence for a few minutes until Charlotte instinctively woke up.

She blinked and rubbed at her eyes before looking out the window. “Oh.”

“We’re here.”

She turned slowly toward him. “Thank you.”

“Are you serious?” Jeremy unbuckled his belt and moved to open the door, but Char’s hand on his arm stopped him.

“Wait.”

He turned back.

“Will you stay?”

“Stay?” He nodded. “Of course. I’ll tell Mom and Dad what—”

“No.” She stopped him. “I know this is silly and I have no right to ask you this, but…” She dropped her head.

“Char? What is it? What do you need? You know I’ll help you.”

“It just all feels…” She looked up, her eyes still empty and dry from the tears he knew would come later. “I’d feel better if you stayed at the house tonight.”

There was no hesitation. Jeremy nodded. “You know I’ll do anything for you.”

“Thank you. Really. I will never be able to—”

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