Page 96 of Sing Me Home
“I know,” she said with a nod. “You all love me way more than I deserve.”
“That’s not true,” Theo said.
“We only love you three-quarters of what you deserve,” Bowen said, making everyone laugh a little.
“Speak for yourself,” I said.
Charlie held up her hand. “The thing is, I know God is prodding me to get it out. He won’t stop punishing me until I do. Or at least He won’t shield me from the bad until I come clean.”
“That’s not how God works,” Aunt Lemon said.
Tally shook her head. “That’s the God you believe in. We Jews believe firmly in divine reward and punishment.”
“But I thought you believed in Jesus,” Anna said, her face screwed up in confusion. I was confused myself. Tally, Charlie, and Theo had become Messianic Jews back when I was in high school.
“I do,” Tally waved that away. “We do.” She pointed between herself, Charlie, and Theo. “But we still have Jewish beliefs and that’s part of it.”
“We’ll take it,” Granny said, rubbing her hands together. “We’re just glad you believe in Jesus.”
“I know the secret,” Griffin said to Liam. “Charlie murdered someone. How much you wanna bet?”
“I didn’t murder anyone,” Charlie said. “Though I’m about to if y’all don’t let me finish.”
My heart was hammering in my chest and I wanted to shout at everyone to shut up. Whatever this secret was, it was big enough that her hands were shaking.
She released a slow exhale. “I’m just going to say it and I want you all to let me finish before you lose your minds.” She shook out her hands. “The truth is…” She looked at me like we were the only two people in the room. “The reason I keep telling you we should wait to get married isn’t because I don’t want to marry you. Because I do. It’s the only thing I want. And if I could, I’d head down to the courthouse tomorrow morning and make it happen.”
“Let’s go,” I said, trying to ease the pressure. “I’ll iron my suit when I get to the house.”
“It’s closed for the weekend but I’m sure we could figure something out,” Uncle Holden added.
“No, ma’am.” Tally shook her head. “We are having a big old wedding to make up for the first one that we all missed. Don’t you even think of eloping, you understand me?”
Everyone laughed. Everyone but me and Charlie.
Still looking at me, she said, “I wish I could…but that’s not an option. Probably not in five years either.” All the air in my body released in one big whoosh, like she’d sucker punched me in the stomach. “Because I’m five hundred and fifty thousand dollars in debt,” she said slowly and clearly so we couldn’t possibly misunderstand.
My stomach dropped to the floor.
The room erupted.
“And!” she yelled, silencing them immediately, still looking at me, determined to finish. “I refuse to saddle anyone else with that kind of debt.” I wasanyone. “Skin grafts and a stay in the ICU are stupid expensive with good insurance. But…” She took another breath and blew it out. “I didn’t have any when the accident happened.”
Ashton had both hands braced behind his head, like he’d just been hit and was trying to stay standing. Same, Ash, same.
“What?” Tally said, aghast.
Ashton shot Charlie a glare. “You told us you had Medicaid and it covered everything.”
It was the same story she’d told me when I asked.
Charlie shook her head and visibly swallowed. “I lied. I didn’t want to stress you out. But I’ve already paid eighty-five thousand off and?—”
“In the last year?” Ashton asked. “How? You didn’t make that flipping pancakes.”
“The music video for one,” she said. “That was twenty thousand. Then there was my IHOP job. But most of it came…from performing on street corners in L.A.”
I didn’t know what to think about that. Didn’t know what to think about any of it. I pictured the knoll where I wanted to build our house. I’d priced a few types and sizes—from a basic farmhouse to more modern plans with walls of glass overlooking the lake. But even for the smallest home we’d need a hefty down payment. With as much debt as Charlie had, we might get it built about the time our kids graduated high school. Unless I made it really big with my music, like Dad.
