Moving On Up

It had been one week since I had broken down in Nicks arms and I could not remove the thought or feeling from my heart. During the four years that we had been apart, both of us had changed dramatically. For one, Nick was now huge, towering well over 6 feet, but I still fit perfectly against him, like I always had, like I always would.

“Babe?”

Marks voice broke through my thoughts and I shook my head to wake me up, before glancing over at him on the other side of the car.

“Sorry, what?” I frowned, still not believing how absorbed I had been in my thoughts.

“I, urm, I was just saying how beautiful this area is.”

Instead of flying straight to Chicago, we had rented a car from New York so we could experience the beautiful landscape by driving there together. Mark had gotten insanely excited about the huge cars that of course only America would have and rented the biggest one there. But the beautiful surroundings had allowed me to fall back into my thoughts, which at the moment was quite frequent.

“It is beautiful.” I smiled, squeezing his hand that was in my lap. I watched him as he drove and took in the scenery around him, appreciating all of the little things like he always did. When the car came to a stop at a right light, I leant across to him, took his face in my hands and pressed my lips to his, feeding him soft yet passionate kisses.

“I love you.” I smiled onto his lips.

“I love you too.” He kissed me again and rubbed his nose against mine. We both jumped slightly when the car behind hooted as the light turned green. Mark chuckled and grinned over me as I settled back into my seat. His hand slipped down to my knee and he continued to softly rub it as we sat in peacefulness, catching each others eye a lot and then laughing.

A couple of hours later and we finally pulled up to my parent’s house. I slowly got out of the car and looked around, smiling as Mark joined my side. This was the first time he had been to this house.

“So this is where you spent your senior year huh? I know I’ve said it a lot during our trip; but this is truly beautiful.”

Our house was in an amazing and peaceful neighbourhood, which was always something that calmed me despite how hectic my teenage life with Nick had become, and man hadn’t that been a drama filled relationship.

“Charlene! Mark!” My mum came running out of the house and hugged both of us whilst my dad walked down to us and did the same. “Oh you both look so well!” She screeched. “And Mark you just seem to get more handsome every time I see you!”

Mark laughed a deep chuckle and wrapped his arms around me, pulling my back into his chest. I looked up at him and smiled, snuggling further into him. We were broken from out moment by my screeching mother.

“You two are just too much! Adorable! Beautiful! Cute-”

“Got any more adjectives you want to show off?” My dad said with a raised eyebrow. My mum’s mouth snapped shut and she sent a glare to him before ushering us quickly inside where there were 4 mugs of tea already sitting ready on the table.

“So Mark, how’s work going?” My dad asked since he had always been so interested in Mark and what he did for a living. The way Mark spoke about his work with such passion and commitment always made my head spin, and I placed my hand on his as he spoke, smiling up at him.

“But that’s enough about work. I promised Charlene this part of the trip would have nothing to do with business; just us.” He grinned, kissing my nose. My mum let out a loud ‘aww’, yet again ruining the moment.

“Mark you don’t know how great it is to hear a fellow Englishman’s voice.” My dad laughed, patting Mark on the back. We sat for hours just talking about things that weren’t even of much relevance, but the time flew so quickly that before long it was dark. My parents wanted to know everything about Mark and his life, until I stopped them, giving him room to breathe. He was just one of those people that was so intriguing you just wanted to know everything about him; and he was all mine.

…

“I’m so happy you’ve found love again Charlene.” My mum sighed, lightly blowing her steaming mug of tea. Mark and my dad had gone out for a walk, leaving us two alone. She was taking it as her opportunity to grill me as much as possible; as expected.

“Me too.” I smiled, taking a sip of my tea and watching her from over the top of the mug as she analysed me.

“Would you say you love him more than you did Nick?”

“Mum.” I warned, lowering my mug and placing it on the table, clasping my hands together. “Please don’t go there.”

“Why not Charlene? It’s not like you still have feelings for Nick. You haven’t even seen him since high school.”

I looked down.

“Charlene.” She placed her hand on mine and I slowly looked into her eyes and the look on my face must have said it all. Her eyes went wide and were begging for me to speak but I couldn’t face her so I just looked down again like the coward that I am. “When?” She asked, sounding like she was going to be sick.

“Last week.”

“Does Mark know?”

“He was there for the first few times; but not the last.”

She removed her hand from mine and sat back in her chair, her arms crossed tightly across her chest as she shook her head, clearly confused. “Does he not feel awkward about you and Nick seeing each other again?”

The more I thought about it, the weirder this conversation would sound to my mum though it all made perfect sense in my head. “He introduced us.”

“Excuse me?” Her eyebrow shot up and her eyes squinted as if she didn’t quite believe what I was saying.

“Mark signed the deal with the New York Giants. Nick plays for that team so Mark introduced us at a team dinner two weeks ago. We’ve all been having ‘double dates’ since Nick now also has an amazing girlfriend; Katie.”

Silence.

“Well that sounds awfully cosy.” She said with sarcasm dripping from her words. “Ok Charlene am I missing something or I am just thick? Why would Mark happily let you double date with the man who you referred to as the love of your life and was once engaged to. It does not make any – oh my god, Mark doesn’t know.”

It had clicked.

“Charlene, please tell me Mark knows about the history you and Nick have.” She pleaded and all I could do was shake my head.

“He doesn’t even know I was once engaged.”

“Dear God.” Was all that passed through her lips for a long time. She wouldn’t look at me and instead stared at the pastel green kitchen walls as if they could solve her problems. “So you’ve been sneaking off behind Marks back to be with your ex fiancé. Who excuse me if I’m wrong, cheated on you…repeatedly.”

“No.” I spoke through gritted teeth, clenching my jaw and squeezing my hands together tightly to avoid saying anything I may later regret. “Mark was there for all but one meeting;”

“Yes, but he was and still is oblivious to the underlying circumstances.”

I glared at her and released a harsh breath before speaking once more. “As I was saying, he was there so it wasn’t sneaking around. Last week, Nick and I agreed to meet up to discuss things since we clearly couldn’t with Mark and Nick’s girlfriend present. We spoke and that was the extent of it I swear.”

I conveniently decided to let it slip my mind that we had in fact broken down in each others arms, sobbing about how much we had missed each other and the fact he was still in love with me. My mother wasn’t quite ready for that.

“I’m so disappointed in you Charlene. I thought we raised you to know right from wrong. And sneaking around with an ex fiancé behind Marks back is certainly not the right thing to do.” She snarled. Where was my loving and soft mother? And who was this super bitch that had suddenly appeared from nowhere? “I’m sickened to know you’ve even looked at that man, let alone spoken to him. He’s not even a man; he’s disgusting.”

“Enough!” I yelled, standing from the table and breathing heavily, too angry to think about what I was doing or saying. “Just stop acting like you know what is the best thing for me to do! You don’t know how I am feeling or what I am thinking so just stop! You and dad hate Nick, I get it, thanks. But I can’t just ignore him and act as if what we shared never existed; because we all god damn know it did. You love Mark; you hate Nick I get it. But I was engaged to Nick and though it may not to you, to me that accounts for something. Lord knows I’m not defending what he did to me, but if you had seen him like I had; so vulnerable and alone, then you’d of been a sick fuck to walk away.”

“Charlene! Your language is atrocious!” She screeched, throwing back her chair and standing to challenge my own stance from the other side of the table.

“I don’t give a flying fuck! I will not go out of my way to get your seal of approval. I’m not a little kid mum, I can make my own decisions and I’m sorry if you don’t like them. Nick is my past, and Mark is my present and future. That is all you need to know.”

I kicked back my chair and stormed from the room, slamming the front door behind me as I entered the freezing cold. It was odd that I remembered all of the roads, the shortcuts, everything; despite how long it had been since I had last been here.

Without even realising I had done it, out of instinct I had walked towards Nick’s family’s house and soon found myself at the bottom of the driveway, staring through the gates. All of the memories of this house hit me like a ton of bricks and I could feel the emotion building. So much had happened in that house. One memory that was especially strong was the night we had broken up and I had watched him crumble in my rear view mirror as I drove away. His body had just collapsed and he had looked lifeless. There was no questioning the power I had held over that man.

“Charlene?”

I turned to see Joe squinting at me through the dark. I looked down to see he was wearing pyjamas despite it only being 7pm.

“Hey Joe.” I whispered. “Interesting fashion statement.”

“Thanks; I’m taking it in a new direction.”

Our laughter died and he suddenly embraced me, holding me close. “Will you come in?” He asked quietly next to me ear, still not letting me go. “It’s only me so my parents won’t pester you.”

I pulled back from him and nodded. “I’d love to.”

He grinned and took my hand, leading me up the driveway as the electric gates closed behind us.

“Aren’t you cold?” I asked since his pyjamas didn’t look too warm.

“Nah, I’m a hot senorita.”

Same old Joe.

We sat together by the fireplace in the living room whilst we sipped on hot chocolate and tried to appreciate the heat. We talked about what each other had been up to. He had just broken up with his long term girlfriend so was taking some time out by staying back at the family home for a while which was the reason for his sudden appearance. We avoided the subject of Nick for about an hour before we knew we couldn’t hide from it.

“Nick was right. Although you’ve changed, you’re still the same old Charlene that we all know and love.”

I smiled and blew into my drink and watched him as he stared at me, not even blinking.

“He still loves you, you know?”

I didn’t say anything; instead I focused on my drink, avoiding situations like I always did.

“He hasn’t been the same person since you left him four years ago. He isn’t our Nick.”

Again I looked down into my mug.

“Oh for goodness sake, give me that.” He snatched the drink from my hands and placed it by his side. “Nick tells me that your boyfriend doesn’t know about him.”

“He doesn’t need to know.”

“What? That you were once engaged and to one his friends? And that you secretly met up with him?”

“Gosh, I’ve just had the exact same speech from my mother; I don’t need it from you too.”

He was quiet and I knew he was pondering his thoughts, knowing this was a mess of a situation.

“Well surely if everyone is saying the same thing, there must be some logic to it.” I let out a breath as I opened my mouth to speak but he held up his hand. “I understand. I know that by telling your boyfriend, it will change everything. But how can you expect to have a healthy and long term relationship with him when there are so many skeletons in your closet.”

“There aren’t so many.” I pouted.

“True, but of the few you do have in there, they are some pretty hefty skeletons.”

“Joe, why are you telling me this? So my boyfriend will end things and your brother can just assume he can prance into my life and fuck it up again?”

He jerked his head back like I had delivered him an almighty slap and he slowly shook his head. “You think that’s why I’m telling you this? Charlene, I love you, we all do and I just want what’s best for you. Whether or not my brother is what’s best for you, I don’t know. I’m not speaking on behalf of anyone. Even if it wasn’t Nick that was involved I would be telling you the same thing. You can’t build your relationship with anyone on lies because if that’s your foundation, you’re doomed from the beginning. Whatever happens Charlene, I will always be here for you; whatever happens.”

I leapt forward and tackled him into a hug, making him fall flat on his back with me on top of him. “Thank you.” I whispered. “I love you so much Joe. You’re like a brother to me.”

“I love you too Charlene but I’ve noticed just one thing.”

I pulled back and covered my mouth. “What? Do I have bad breath?”

“No.” He chuckled.

“Then what?”

“You’re language has gotten really bad.”

I huffed and pouted before laughing. “I’ve been told.”

…

“So I’ll pick you up tomorrow at about noon. A starbucks chat is well overdue.” He grinned as he stopped his car in front of my house.

“Well overdue.” I confirmed, picking up my bag. “Thanks for everything Joe, you’re amazing.”

“I am indeed.” He grinned. I laughed, rolled my eyes and shut the door before waving him off as the lights of his car vanished around the corner. I walked up the path to my house and noticed my dad’s car was back.

“Hello?” I called but no response. There was a light in the kitchen where I assumed they all were. My mum was squealing and there was a lot of happiness and laughter. I stopped just outside the door and pressed my ear against it, wondering what all the commotion was about.

“Aaahh, this is the best news I’ve had in a long time!” My mum clapped her hands and I frowned, wondering what they had been talking about. Eavesdropping has always been a hobby of mine.

“Well she hasn’t said yes yet.” Mark laughed and my heart softened at the sound; he was incredible.

“Son, you most definitely have our approval and Charlene would be a fool to turn you down. You’re going to be a great son in law.”

And there goes the almighty spanner in the works.