Gone Country

Chapter 23 (His Letter)

*Brant*

Her hold on me had loosened, mine had only tightened. With each day that passes I feel compelled to give her what she wants, which is me. She thoroughly enjoys the attention, even if she has been suspicious over it lately. I know it's hard for her to understand at times, it's hard for me to comprehend at times as well, but she meant a lot to me and I felt like this was easy for her.

I give her my every free moment, even if it's just to hold her for a while. It meant a lot to her, I could tell with how her body always melted into mine. This girl was in love with me. What else was there that I could do? She was in too deep, I couldn't help her get rid of these kind of feelings. A crush was easier to handle, but love only meant that someone was going to get hurt.

It was an hour into the plane ride and I was still worrying about her. So far she's showed no signs of having a nightmare, that was somewhat a relief, but there was still plenty to worry about when it came to her. How in the world am I going to have a life when I can't stay more than two feet away from her? I'm pretty sure a girlfriend wasn't going to be willing to share me, then again the thought of another girl reminds me of the week I had left Charlotte behind and it made me sick just thinking about not being there for her all the time in the future.

"Worried, are we?"

I looked over to Phillip, seeing that he had tore his eyes away from his cellphone long enough to see me looking down at his daughter in concern. "I'm more than worried," I said as I gently grazed my thumb up and down Charlotte's arm. "I'm anxious, paranoid, and angry all rolled up into one."

Phillip turned sideways in his seat, preparing to give me some kind of speech that ultimately wouldn't make me feel any better. He wants to help, I wasn't sure if I wanted that or not. What if I'm suppose to suffer? "She loves you..." Definitely not helping. "It's going to be hard, if it isn't, than she never loved you. You need to figure out what you want."

I felt my brows pull together, them mirroring my confusion as I looked at his serious face. "Figure out what I want?" I muttered. "What do you mean? I've already told her no..."

"But do you still mean it?" he questioned. "Are you one hundred percent sure you don't love my daughter as much as she loves you? You've never experienced her kind of love before, you don't know what to do with it. You may have loved someone before, but I can guarantee that she never loved you."

I knew Caroline didn't love me, I've known that for a while now. You don't cheat on someone you really love. If Charlotte and I were together, I know that she would never hurt me like that, especially after everything I've put her through. "I can't be with her," I quietly spoke. "I'm too scared to be, Phillip. What if we break up? I don't wanna lose her."

Phillip's jaw dropped. I rolled my eyes and nuzzled my face into the top of Charlotte's head. "I'm sorry, give me a minute while I get over the shock that you may have just said that you like, possibly love, my daughter."

I softly chuckled in her hair, stopping when she stirred in my arms trying to get comfortable again. "I've been thinking about her a lot this past week, and I can't get Clay's words out of my head. He said that I've never allowed myself to think of her as more than a friend before, and he's right, I haven't. I'm confused on what to feel, so I'm not saying anything to her just yet, but the thought of loving her just as much as she loves me makes me happy."

I wanted to be what she wanted, then again I was terrified because I didn't want us to end badly and never be the same. "Brant, she confessed to you and what happened?" Phillip asked me. "What did you do about it?"

"Nothing," I simply replied with a shrug.

"Exactly. If you two didn't change over that, then I doubt you'll change over a break up. If you two were to split, it would be because you both thought you weren't right for one another. I know you, Brant Young, you're like a son to me, you would never do anything to purposely hurt Charlotte. We both know that cheating wouldn't be an issue between you two. You're the only boy that has ever called her beautiful when she least felt like it, she would never do what that Caroline girl did to you."