Broken Truth (22 page)

“It’s ok,” she sniffed. “I just thought that coming back to work would take my mind off things a little bit. You know, just getting back to normality.”

“It’s only Wednesday,” Xavier said, running his hand gently through her hair. “Nobody is expecting you to be as right as rain after a few days. I wasn’t aware of what happened, but I knew it was serious. I told Imogen not to expect you back until at least next week which she was fine with.”

“I’m just afraid of being in her house by myself,” she admitted into his chest. “Amelia and Lucy both went back to work today, so there won’t be anybody home. I don’t know whether I’ll be able to stop myself if he turns up at the house again.”

Pulling back from their embrace, Xavier clasped hold of Charlie’s hand and pulled her off the shop floor and into the back room away from the prying customers. Placing his hands firmly on her shoulders, he looked into her puffy, reddened eyes with sympathy. “Go back to Amelia’s and let me cover your appointments for you,” he pleaded. “All you need to do is lock all of the doors and keep your mobile next to you. If anything happens or you feel afraid at all then call me.”

Charlie swiped her fingers under her eyes and smiled.

“Besides, I think this place will be his next point of call.”

“I do too,” Charlie replied, remembering the conversation she had with her best friends a few days ago.

 “I may not be the strongest in the world, but I’ll be sure to knock his front teeth out if he comes in here asking for you,” Xavier smirked as he cracked his knuckles. “Ouch! Fuck! That hurt!” he laughed, shaking his hand. “Okay, so maybe I’ll just bitch at him and see how he takes that instead. Clearly, I am a lover and not a fighter.”

Charlie tried to suppress her amusement at Xavier’s moment of manliness. “Let me see your hands,” she ordered. He lifted them in front of her eyes obediently, so that she could examine them properly. Casting a quick glance over them, she smiled. “I think you’ll live,” she said, rubbing her hands gently over his knuckles.

“Thanks,” he chuckled, pushing his hands into the pockets of his tailored work trousers. “Are you going to go now?”

“I guess so,” she shrugged.

Xavier gently dipped his head to kiss Charlie’s forehead. She felt the instant brotherly protection radiating off of his entire body as his lips connected with her skin. She knew that he would do anything for her in a heartbeat, which was something she was extremely grateful for.

“I think we should go out tonight,” Xavier suggested as he pulled away from her. “I think you need to completely clear your head and just let go. It will do you good.”

Charlie shook her head. “I don’t know, Avi. I’m honestly not sure I’m ready to go out yet,” she replied. “I think it will just make things worse.”

“I’m not taking no for an answer,” he warned, placing his hands on his hips. “You need to let loose so that you can try and forget for just a couple of hours.”

“But-”

“No buts, Charlie. You are coming out with me tonight and we are going to have an awesome time. Now go to Amelia’s and pull yourself together. Raid your wardrobe and pick something absolutely killer to wear. I’ll pick you up at eight,” he said, nodding his head in dismissal.

“Okay,” she muttered, turning towards the office to go and collect her bag.

Charlie stepped off of the bus and onto the pavement. Luckily, Amelia lived on a main road with the bus stop within easy walking distance. It wasn’t her favourite mode of transport around Manchester, but she didn’t have any other choice at the moment. Her little Audi roadster was still parked in the underground garage in Callum’s building and she didn’t have any plans to venture near there any time soon. For now, the public transport network was going to be her new friend.

Putting her handbag securely on her shoulder, Charlie started the short walk up the street towards Amelia’s house. It was a nice part of the city that she lived in. While it wasn’t too far from the hustle and bustle of the centre, it was certainly quieter and calmer than the penthouse building she shared with Callum on Deansgate.

Approaching Amelia’s small front garden, Charlie started digging around in her handbag for the spare key she had been given earlier that morning. It was always an impossible task to find anything in her bag because she always carried too much stuff. Half of the time it was stuff she didn’t even need for the day, but forgot to take out.

“There you are!” she muttered.

Pushing her bag back onto her shoulder, she opened the gate and stepped into the front garden. Her eyes connected instantly with the large rectangular box waiting on the doorstep. She approached carefully, looking at the box with wary eyes. It was very unusual to just leave a parcel on someone’s doorstep. Regardless of where you lived and how safe you thought it was, a parcel left in public view was more than likely to be stolen.

Charlie walked up to the front door and put her key in the lock. Nudging the parcel to the side, she opened the front door and entered the house. Dropping her handbag next to the stairs, she crossed her arms and looked at the large parcel in the doorway.

At a glance, she couldn’t see a name or address stuck anywhere on the cardboard box, just the words fragile in big letters. She thought back to her conversation with Amelia in the kitchen this morning and tried to remember whether she had mentioned anything about a delivery.

Coming up empty, Charlie decided to bring the parcel inside the house. Bending down to pick up the box, she was quite surprised by its heaviness.

As she carried it inside, she kicked the front door closed with her foot, hearing the sound of the latch lock automatically.

Putting the box on the coffee table in Amelia’s living room, Charlie sat down on the sofa and studied the parcel from a distance. She realised her curiosity was getting the better of her when she started rotating the mysterious package with her foot.

She wanted to open it, but she couldn’t.

“Stupid parcel,” she muttered, getting up from her seat on the sofa.

She walked into the hallway and picked her bag up off the floor. Heading back into the living room, she placed it on the cushion next to her and retook her seat. Delving into the abyss, she started to search for her mobile phone. Finally locating the device, she sat back into the cushions with it clutched in her hand.

She bit her lip as she looked between the parcel and her phone. She hadn’t actually switched the device on since Lucy returned it to her last night. She was too afraid of what she was going to find when she did.

Holding down the start button, Charlie took a deep breath and powered up her phone. She wanted to call Amelia so that she could enquire about the parcel further. The suspense and curiosity was slowly eating away at her.

She waited patiently for her home screen to light up so that she could call Amelia. Eventually, the device loaded and connected up to the nearest wifi hotspot. As Charlie flicked across to her contacts list, the phone started vibrating in the palm of her hand. Startled, Charlie lost control and let her phone slip through her fingers. She cursed loudly as it hit the wooden floor with a clatter.

“Hello? Hello? Charlie!”

 She froze instantly, her eyes darting to the screen where Callum’s name was clearly displayed. She guessed that the call had answered as the phone made impact with the floor.

“Baby... Let me just talk to you!”

Her throat started to constrict as panic flared throughout her entire body. She couldn’t speak to him. She needed to end the call before he started with his lies. She picked up her phone with shaky hands as she heard Callum’s voice filter through the speaker once more.

“Please will you talk to me? Did you get the flowers I left at the house?”

Her stomach turned as she looked at the parcel sitting on the coffee table.

Without uttering a word, she pressed the end button on the call and dropped her phone back into her bag. Getting to her feet she crossed the room to stand in front of the box. With trembling hands, Charlie pulled the lid to break the seal of the parcel. Opening the flaps, she reached inside to pull out a large vase of yellow and pink roses.

Noticing a small card inserted in the top of the flowers, she balanced the vase on her hip so that she could read the note.

Sixteen roses for the sixteen months that I have loved you so far.

There are eight roses in yellow and eight roses in pink.

They are all from my heart showing you my love,

and requesting your forgiveness.

All my love

Callum

Charlie looked at the card with her mouth open as she allowed the words to settle in her brain. In any other circumstance, she would have found the flowers to be beautiful and greatly received, but in this instance the sight and smell repulsed her.

Putting the card back into the flowers, Charlie turned towards the wall and launched the vase as hard as she could. She watched as it flew through the air before hitting the living room wall and shattering into thousands of pieces across the wooden floorboards.

Turning away from the catastrophic mess she had just created, Charlie headed out of the living room and up the stairs towards the guest bedroom she was staying in. She figured she would deal with the mess once she had calmed down a little.

Twenty Two

“I knew you were going to bring those bitches with you,” Xavier laughed as Charlie got into the waiting taxi along with Amelia and Lucy later that night. “You never go anywhere without those two. You are like a triple threat when you are all together.”

“What can I say?” Charlie smiled as she buckled up her seatbelt. “These girls are closer to me than my own blood relatives. We look out for each other, so they decided that I needed looking out for tonight and that I needed to have a good time.”

“Which we are going to make sure she gets,” Amelia said, securing herself comfortably into her seat. “Don’t you think she scrubs up well, Avi?”

“I think we did a very good job tonight,” Lucy said as she admired Charlie’s outfit. “You look as hot as hell.”

Charlie beamed at her friends and ran her hands over her freshly tanned bare legs. She had decided to give herself the works after the incident earlier this afternoon with the delivery of Callum’s flowers. She wanted to transform herself and give her mind that little boost of confidence she was lacking.

Having shaved and buffed her body beyond perfection, Charlie had then endured the task of curling her hair so that it could be loosely pinned up in a stylish yet comfortable updo. It had taken her a while to be fully satisfied, but she eventually felt happy enough with her efforts.

Once she had finally finished doing her hair, Amelia had then returned from work to find her staring at a number of outfits spread across the guest bed. They were all safe choices, which Charlie had thought to be a good thing in her eyes. Amelia on the other hand decided that she needed to go big or go home.

“It looks short and it looks tight,” Xavier commented, running his eyes over her body from head to toe. “A bodycon dress was certainly the right choice for you. It is seriously hugging and working every single curve of your body to the max. And those shoes...” Xavier gasped. “Those shoes are fucking beautiful.”

Charlie grinned and twisted her ankle to the side so that he could get a proper view of the killer platform heels she had on her feet. They were by far her favourite and most expensive pair of shoes that she owned. Covered completely in eye catching crystals, the shoes glittered and gleamed from any source of light that came within a short distance.

“I told you,” Amelia said, nudging her with her leg. “You look absolutely gorgeous, Charlie.”

“Thanks,” she gushed. “You’re right, I do look good tonight. I suppose it is about time I recognised that isn’t it?”

“Here she comes,” Xavier cried as he clapped his hands together excitedly. “We are getting our old Charlie back. I am so fucking excited!”