Page 10 of Charlie
As if the sun had broken through the clouds on a hot summer day, warmth spread in my body.
Reading the last part of his entry again from five years ago, I regretted that I’d never heard from Charles.
My relationship status of “it’s complicated” had changed to “in a relationship” within two weeks of that night, but it had been a constant struggle between Chad and me, and things had never developed into a strong and committed relationship like the one I had later on with Miguel.
Holding the lid in my hands and having read Charles’ words about me, I felt a strong urge to see him again. If Charles was in trouble, I would help him any way I could.
Putting the lid back in the small box, my fingers touched the handwritten notes and curiosity made me pick them up. The writing was feminine and beautiful and my eyes swallowed the words.
Charles,
Please don’t push me away.
You know my situation.
I would never ask anything of you, but you have needs and so do I.
Meet me today in the laundry room at 3:30.
—T
Concluding that Charles had a sexual relationship with someone who had access to his house, I picked up the second note and arched a brow.
Is it wrong that I’m getting addicted to your body? Thank you for making my workday so pleasurable by sneaking in quickies. I don’t want the summer to end and for you to go back to school.
—T
Okay, so it was someone working here. I wondered if Mr. Robertson knew about it and how many years ago this affair had taken place. By school, did the woman refer to college? Or maybe high school? I frowned and put the notes back. It wasn’t any of my business. The only thing that mattered right now was finding a way to get Charles out of the cult.
CHAPTER 2
Ireland
Liv
Six days after my meeting with Mr. Robertson, I found myself standing outside a small bed and breakfast in Ireland. The clouds hung low and the air was humid from this morning’s rain as I waited for the contact that Mr. Robertson had set me up with.
It had been such a hectic week with my mood swinging like a pendulum between excitement and self-doubt. There were moments when Mr. Robertson’s faith in me made me feel like Wonder Woman flying in to fight injustice. But then I’d get these moments of fear that took my breath away. Rescuing someone from a cult was so far out of my expertise… why would Mr. Robertson trust me with something this important when I had zero experience?
The small village where I’d been staying for the night was waking up with a car starting in the distance, a man biking past me with a nod, and a cat strolling toward me from the corner of the house.
It was pretty here. Last night I’d walked around and taken in the lush fields surrounding the village, with its cute houses that spoke of owners who took pride in where they lived. The cat stopped in front of me and meowed as if saying, “Hey there, stranger, I haven’t seen you before.”
I squatted down to pet him and right away the large cat began to press his body against my leg.
“You like this, don’t you?”
His loud purr was answer enough.
“Found any rats lately? I’m hunting for a big nasty one myself.”
“Talking to the cat, are ye?”
I looked up to see a woman in her thirties walking toward us. Her cheeks were red and matched her hair.
“Never trust a cat. They tell all yer secrets.”
Standing to my full height I shook the hand she was holding out to me. “Hello.”
