Page 90 of Charlie
“Then maybe I just misread the situation.” Lumi’s eyes were drawn to the taxi coming toward us.
“I hope you all know that my leaving so suddenly has nothing to do with you three.” I gave them each a hug.
Lumi teared up and Maximum was biting his lip with a pained expression.
I was already in the car and about to close the door when I looked back at the house one last time. Liv stood right outside the entrance, her eyes large and her body stiff. I waited a few seconds to see if she would run to me, but she only took a small step forward before she was stopped by Conor, who stepped up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.
I squeezed the inside door handle of the car and suppressed the strong urge to run up to them and punch his face for touching her. There were tears on her face and even from this distance I could tell her lower lip was quivering, but she stood by her choice to stay and didn’t move off the spot.
With my heart left in pieces somewhere on the top floor of the Red Manor, and my pride stinging like this whole fucking cab was made of nettles, I told the driver, “Go!” My jaws were so tensed up that it was hard to speak.
Without a plan, I ended up checking into the hotel I’d first stayed at when I arrived in Dublin for a conference.
I tipped the bellboy when he brought my luggage up and handed me the key card.
Now what?
Letting myself fall on the bed, I looked up at the ceiling trying to piece everything together. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t find a plausible reason for Liv and Conor to be half undressed unless something sexual had taken place between them. That meant she had betrayed me.
Unless…
The thought that he could have forced her entered my mind, but if that were the case, she wouldn’t have chosen to stay with him.
Arghhh… it was all so confusing and my head was exploding with questions like: could this be it? We had talked about a future with children and made love like we couldn’t get enough of each other. I wasn’t ready to let go or say goodbye to Liv, but I couldn’t share her either.
The need to understand made me pick up my phone and text her.
Charles: Was it all a lie?
Staring at my phone I hoped for an answer but she didn’t answer me.
Walking over to the window, I looked out over the lights of Dublin. It was early November and below me on the street, strangers were moving about like the world still made sense to them. Placing my hand on the floor to ceiling window of the suite, I wondered how long it would take someone to fall from here and if it would be an instant death.
A memory of Liv and me visiting the cliffs of Moher and discussing how many times you could say shit on your way down from the cliffs, came back to me. That day had been so perfect. For the first time in my life, I’d walked around holding hands with a woman I fancied.
My mood was as dark as this November night.
When my phone rang, I wanted it to be Liv so badly that I didn’t even check caller ID before I pressed it to my ear. “Liv, is that you?”
“Hello, Charles.” My grandfather’s voice made me stiffen. I hadn’t talked to him in almost three months and it had been on my mind to call him. Of all the times in the world, now was the worst time for him to call. I didn’t want to hear his ‘I told you so’ and I had no energy to argue.
“Where are you, Charles?”
My tone was flat. “In a hotel. The same as when I first arrived.”
“Oh, good.” He sounded relieved. “You had me worried there for a second. Liv told me you left after a dramatic incident and she was worried about you.”
I frowned. “Wait a minute. How the f…” I stopped myself before cursing. My grandfather had always looked down on vulgar speech. “How do you know Liv?”
“I’ll explain everything if you come home to see me.”
“No. Tell me right now.” I couldn’t stand still, so I paced the floor.
“All right.” He sighed. “But you have to promise me that you won’t hang up until I’m done explaining. Things aren’t as black or white as you think.”
“I’m listening.”
“I did my research and Conor O’Brien isn’t who he made you believe he is. His real name is Conor Bricks and he has a long list of criminal behavior from his past.”
