Shit. We hadn’t planned on witnesses, and if Tatum does anything else, I don’t think even my father’s lawyers can get him off.
Decan is still glaring at me as the blonde moves to his side and he places an arm over her shoulder, using her like a shield against any more of Tatum’s blows. “No, they’re just leaving.”
Frustration blazes inside me, because we’re nowhere closer to getting a confession from him. “You said you had an alibi, Saturday night?” I ask, not ready to leave without something.
“He was with me,” the girl says.
“Bullshit,” Tatum mutters.
“The whole night?” I ask, holding the chick’s gaze. I’ve seen her around campus. I’m pretty sure she’s propositioned me more than a couple of times over the years. “You can vouch that he was with you the entire time?”
“Uh, yeah, we were...we were here...” She licks her lips, gaze dropping to my chest, even lingering shamelessly on my groin before pulling her eyes back up to my face and giving me a lascivious smile. “Fucking all night long. My friend Stacey was here with us, you remember her, she’s never stopped bragging about having the infamous Princeton Charming. Do you want me to give her a call? I’m sure she’d be happy to meet with you to discuss the details.”
I clear my throat and glance back at Decan whose expression is unreadable other than the hate that’s directed at me.
“You want to find the person responsible for hurting your girl, Beckett?” Decan says. “Go look in the mirror.”
Tatum takes a step toward him, but I put my hand out to stop him, and say to Decan, “If I find out that you lied to me, that you were involved in this in any way—”
“You’ll what, Beckett?” A small grin pulls at his lips. “You threatening me? That’s what you do, right? All you rich kids. Toss your daddy’s money around and act like you can do whatever you want, get away with anything.” He turns his gaze to Tatum. “And what the fuck are you doing with someone like him? He’s using you as a goon.” He snorts in disgust. “What, are you Princeton Charming’s personal thug now?”
“I’m not here for him,” Tatum tosses back. “I’m here for Charlotte. You almost killed her—”
“Careful.” He clucks his tongue and wiggles his finger at Tatum. “Accusing people without any evidence is dangerous.” Then his eyes soften for a second. It’s brief, but I swear to god I see guilt there, but it could just as easily be empathy. “Look, I’m sorry to hear about Hayes. I hope she’s okay.” Then he looks back at me, expression hardening again. “But I’m not the bad guy here.”
It’s frustrating, and I still despise the guy, but I think I believe him, or at least I believe the sincerity of his statement.
Decan rubs his already bruised jaw. “Now get the fuck out of my apartment before I call the cops.”
I meet Tatum’s gaze and see the same defeat that I feel. We start to leave, but at the door, I turn and glance over my shoulder, hand on the frame. “Yeah, Decan, that was a threat earlier. For your sake, I hope you’re not involved.”
Decan just grunts and slams the door behind us.
Tatum is still muttering curses under his breath as we get in the car. “You don’t believe him, do you?”
“I don’t know. What reason would the girl lie?”
“She’s a chick, why wouldn’t she?” He rubs his eyes, and mutters, “Fuck. I just want to find the person responsible so we can end this.”
“Trust me, I want the same thing. But I’m not sure if Decan is responsible.”
He groans. “Then I just punched an innocent guy for no reason.”
“I wouldn’t say, for no reason.” I chuckle. “The guy’s a douchebag. I’m sure he deserved it for something.”
Tatum leans his head back and sighs. “So what do we do now?”
“The only thing we can, make sure Charlie’s safe.”
I’ve already been away from her long enough, and I need to get back to the hospital. No, what I need is to get her home.
“Someone needs to pay,” Tatum says, his voice dripping with venom.
“I know you’re angry—”
“Do you?” he asks, cutting me off. “Do you know how angry I am? It’s Charlie. Charlie. If you love her, you’d do anything to find this fucker.”
My jaw tightens. Tatum’s passion will get him in trouble, but I’m not playing the same end game as him. I don’t want to end up behind bars defending my love.
I want to end up with the girl, sharing a life with her. Not paying the price for it the rest of my life.
It doesn’t make me weak, it makes me the kind of man Charlie actually needs. Coming here was a bad idea - and I’m done with those.
From here on out, I’m going to be smart. I want forever with Charlie, and my emotions aren’t going to cost me the one thing I want.
Thankfully, I don’t have to wait much longer for Charlie to get her discharge papers.
“You look so much better than you did forty-eight hours ago,” I tell her as I push her wheelchair to the town car waiting for us outside the hospital.
She laughs. “You saying I looked like crap?”
I chuckle as I help her into the waiting car. “Your words, not mine.”
She smacks my arm. “Next time I almost die, I’ll try to look prettier doing it.”
I know she’s just teasing, but my chest tightens at her words, and my muscles tense. I hold her face in my hands. “Let’s not talk about you dying, okay?”
It’s still too fresh, the feelings still so raw. I haven’t had a good night sleep since the accident, and I don’t think I will until she’s safe in my arms, in my bed.
Safe.
Protected.
Not sure how I’m ever going to let her out of my sight again.
As we near my house, I warn her. “I know you’ve had a long few days, but Daphne and Jill insisted on throwing you a welcome home party.”
She cringes. “I don’t know if I’m up for a whole thing.”
“I know. I told them that, but it’s just our friends and your Dad. He’s leaving in an hour for the airport, but wanted to see you settled in at my place first.”
Charlie nods, understanding. “He’s been through so much already. I hate that I put him through this too.”
“Hey,” I say, wrapping my arm around her shoulder, careful to be gentle with her. “Don’t say that. You didn’t do anything to anyone. None of this is your fault.”
“I know.” She bites her bottom lip, tears pooling in her eyes. “But we still don’t have any idea who might have done it. They’re still out there...”
I know her fear, I feel it too. But I have to stay positive for her. Even though it feels like we’re falling down a rabbit hole with no answers in sight. If anything, I feel like we know even less than we did before.
“The detectives are on it,” I say, trying to sound convincing. “Running prints and looking for the car. And I have my own guys working on it. We’ll find whoever did this.”
“I really thought it was Decan, it made the most sense,” she says quietly as the car pulls up to my place.
“Yeah, me too.” But his alibi checked out, I even had someone check with the other girl, and she confirmed that she was at his place the entire night. “But you’re safe, now. I’ve got a new surveillance system on the condo, and I’ve hired a driver and guard for when you need to go to classes, and I can’t take you.”
“It seems like too much.”
“I was thinking about wrapping you in bubble wrap and placing you in a padded room,” I tease, trying to lighten the mood. “So a surveillance camera and bodyguard is being pretty lenient in my opinion.”
She laughs, resting her cheek on my chest, and says softly, “Thank you, Spencer.”
“For what?”
“For taking care of so much.”
I tilt her chin so she’s looking at me. “I’d do anything for you, Charlie, you know that.”
She blinks rapidly. “Stop making me cry.
”
I can tell she doesn’t want to get out of the car, but everyone is waiting inside. I brush her hair from her eyes. “We should go in. Your dad was making his famous chili and cornbread when I left. Said it was one of your favorites.”
That gets a smile out of her. “It is. But honestly, anything is better than hospital food.”
When we walk through the front door, there’s music playing softly, and Prescott, Tatum, and Jill are waiting for us in the living room. Charlie’s face brightens as her friends welcome her home.
I like the sound of that - home - this being the place she stays for good. God knows I’m not letting her back in that dorm. But we can discuss that later. Now, we just need to make sure she is healthy and recovering.
Daphne runs into the room dramatically. “Oh my God, Char, I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve missed you so much. It’s so hard to sleep without you in the same room.”
I catch Charlie’s eyes as Daphne wraps her in a hug. “I’ve missed you too Daph,” she says generously. I know for a fact she hasn’t been losing any sleep over not being with her roommate. The girl is a lot to handle, and I’m surprised Charlie has put up with her as a roommate all these years. But that’s my Charlie, patient and kind.
“You look good,” Jill says, and Charlie is wrapped in more hugs, even Prescott squeezes her shoulder and says, “Glad you didn’t die, Hayes.”
“Thanks.” She shakes her head at him.
I know the two of them will probably never be close, but I’m glad there seems to be some kind of peace now. And I wonder how much is my sister’s doing. There’s been a huge change in him lately, and I know it has everything to do with Ava.
“Chili’s ready,” Daniel calls and we all file into the kitchen where the sweet smell of honey and cornbread greet us.
Georgia, Ava, and Yates help Daniel get out bowls and silverware and I find myself smiling despite all the heartache this week. My place has never felt so comfortable before. So much like a home.
Daniel welcomes his daughter with open arms, and his presence relaxes her in a way no one else can. My chest tightens, considering my own fucked up relationship with my parents. I called them after the accident, expecting them to come to the hospital, but they didn’t. I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive them for choosing brunch with a D.C. Senator and his wife over making sure his own son and his girlfriend were okay. And not just us, their own daughter too. Ava lost all sense of security when that intruder violated her space.
This stalker has shaken all of us up. We’re changed, on high alert and assuming the worst is just a phone call away. I hate that, the idea that our isolated Princeton community has lost something.
And we have. But as God as my witness, I will set this right, I will find who did this and make them pay. Somehow.
For Charlie.
For all of us.
I place my hand on the small of her back, my need to be near her at an all-time high.
An hour later, when Daniel has to leave, it’s everyone’s cue to go as well. Even if it was only friends and family here, Charlie is exhausted.
As she’s telling everyone goodbye, I head down the hall to grab some extra pillows for her.
I pause when I pass the spare room, noticing Daphne in there, her back to me. She’s in the closet, rummaging through a box. I haven’t slept here in days, but Daphne has been staying here since the night of the accident. But what she’s looking at isn’t stuff she brought with her. It’s my shit...or rather, the things I’d salvaged from Ethan’s place after he’d died.
What the fuck?
Stepping closer, I cough to get her attention. She turns, forcing a smile when she sees me, photographs in her hand.
“Whatcha got there?” I ask, voice brisk and even I can hear the accusation. But I haven’t opened that box in years. Couldn’t bring myself to do it.
She shakes her head. “Nothing, just knocked over this box in the closet. I was picking it up and these photos spilled out.” She stands, handing them to me when I approach. “This was your brother, Ethan?”
I take the photos, flipping through them. “Yeah, from when we were younger.”
“You’ve been through a lot,” she says, her eyes on the photos. “I was an only child, I’ve always been jealous of people with siblings.”
“Ethan was a good brother,” I say, trying hard to separate my feelings about the man I remember and the man whose confession on the recording left me reeling.
“You guys look happy,” she says, pointing to a photo of Ethan, Ava, and I. It was a Christmas morning and one of the few candid photos I have of us. Most every picture we have together was staged.
I feel bad for my initial reaction.
“I think...” She lets out a shaky breath. “I think I may have misjudged you originally. I’m sorry about that. You seem like a decent guy, Spencer.”
“Charlie makes me a better guy,” I admit, knowing her first impression of me was probably right. “Thanks for being such a good friend to Charlie. I know all this stuff has been pretty scary.”
“I should be thanking you for letting me crash here. My parents will be here tomorrow, so I won’t inconvenience you much longer. They’re going to get me an apartment in town with a doorman and security cameras. My dad was pretty upset.”
“I can imagine. Where do they live?”
“Chicago. My poor mother has been Facetiming me every few hours since this all happened.”
I chuckle. “Overprotective mothers are a force to be reckoned with. But I’m glad you have parents to lean on, nonetheless.” I set the photos in the box and place the lid on top.
Wishing my own parents were the kind I could lean on.
In fact, wishing my entire family could turn back the clock and start over.
4
Charlie
Waking up at Spencer’s place is starting to feel familiar. His arms are always wrapped tight around me, his warm body lulling me back to sleep. Which is something I’m finding I’m needing most nights.
I keep waking with nightmares, reliving the accident in my mind. My car skidding off the road, the sound of the crash, the numbing pain as I lost consciousness.
Spencer is always here. “Shh, Charlie, I got you, you’re okay.”
But am I?
He wipes my tears away, pulling up my favorite songs on his phone, helping me any way he can to rest. It’s what I need, what the doctors insist I get more of - but it’s hard. How can I rest when I know someone is after me?
Still, I can’t stay in his cocoon forever, and after a few days, I know I need to get back to classes. I’m ramping up toward graduation and even though I have been accepted into the master’s program, now isn’t the time to start dropping the ball.
“You’ll be fine,” Jill tells me. We’re in Spencer’s kitchen making dinner together - Chicken Piccata. She’s worried that I’m not eating enough.
She isn’t wrong. I haven't had an appetite since this all started. “You’re strong and capable, Charlie. And knowing Spencer, you’ll have a full entourage wherever you go.”
“I know, but isn’t that a little overly dramatic?” I ask, wondering why I care what anyone else thinks. “Too intense?”
Jill shakes her head as she dips chicken breasts in flour. “No. This isn’t a college prank, we know that. Spencer is doing the right thing. Let him.”
I chew my bottom lip, draining the boiled pasta in the sink. “You think he’s good for me?”
Jill smiles, adding lemon and capers to the sauce on the stove. “It’s strange, I never thought I’d be saying this - not in a million years. I mean, I always thought you and Tatum would ride off into the sunset together.”
“But?” I ask, reaching for a bottle of white wine and pouring us both hefty glasses.
“But he’s won me over. Charmed me if you will,” she says with a smile. “Yeah, I think he’s good for you.”
“The idea of dying, of losing him, losing a life with him - it’s scar
y.” I blink back tears as she turns to me.
She wipes her hands on a dishrag and pulls me into a hug. “You’re not in danger of dying. Okay? You’re safer than ever.”
I nod, wanting to believe her. The nightmares make it hard to put this behind me.
“Safer than ever?” Daphne asks, bouncing into the kitchen. “Did someone find the stalker?” It’s her last night here, tomorrow she is moving into the condo her parents bought her. Bought - as if it’s no big deal. That is what it’s like when you come from money.
I used to think that is what divided me from so many of the students at Princeton, but I was so wrong. Money doesn’t define people, their actions and words do. And this week, after the accident, I have been blown away by everyone’s generosity toward me.
Georgia is quickly becoming a solid friend, and Ava and I are closer than ever.
“No one found anyone,” I say, reaching for another wine glass so Daphne can join us.
“Yet,” Jill adds. “Haven’t found him yet.”
We finish making dinner, and by the time Spencer, Prescott, Ava, and Connery show up, the feast is ready.
“Damn, this looks insane,” Connery says, taking in the spread of chicken, pasta, salad, warm loaves of French bread. “You made all this?” he asks me.
I laugh. “No. I was the sous chef, Jill was the head cook tonight.”
“She’s good at taking orders,” Jill says, introducing herself to Connery. “I’m Jillian.”
“Connery,” he says, taking her in. I can tell he likes what he sees. And who wouldn’t? Jill is a confident woman. I think that is one of the things that drew me to her in the first place. Well, that and our love for thrift stores. Connery is taller than her, which is a plus, though he’s a pretty solid guy with some extra weight. He could be seen as intimidating, but his bright blue eyes and boyish smile put people instantly at ease.
I know it’s dangerous to play matchmaker, but I can’t help but think they’d look cute together.
We sit at the table and it feels good, all being here like this. The lemony scents of the chicken filling the air and the rich cream sauce making everyone ooh and ahh with each and every bite.
Forever Princeton Charming Page 3
