Much Better || (n.j.) || Book 2

9~It'll Be Fine

Nick's POV
Charlotte and I are currently flying to Wisconsin. It's been about a month since our honey moon and we've both been very, very busy. Her and I aren't staying there, but we are actually getting someone.

"It's okay. Let's calm down just a little bit." I am holding my wife in a hug, waiting for our flight to be called.

"I...ju....just....c...can't...be...believe....th...they're.....gone...." She's hiccup-crying and can't stop herself. Yes, Charlotte's parents died in a car accident only a few days ago, and we are going to get her sister and basically adopt her. They didn't want a funeral so we are just going to get Mattie and go.

"I know. I know." I kiss the top of her head and tears start coming to my eyes.

Flight 129 boarding for Wisconsin

"That's us." I say, taking my arms from around Charlotte and taking her hand instead. We walk in silence, tears still rolling down her cheeks. It feels that almost everything around us is going in slow motion and we are the only ones normal. We eventually make our way to the seats and I take the window seat, as always.

"You doing okay?" I ask my wife once we're settled in. She nods and shows a little smile towards me. The flight attendant goes over all the safety and everything. The plane takes off and Charlotte finally speaks up.

"I'm going to text Mat, tell her we're now flying."

"Okay. Whatever you need to do." I kiss her hand and put my head back. This is so hard on her and is going to effect Charlotte and Mattie for quite awhile.

***3 hours later***

We finally made it to Wisconsin.

"Let's get a car, then we can go right away." I take Charlotte's hand and she leans into my shoulder. I kiss the top of her head and we head to call a Taxi. Then we go to the car rental and rent an SUV

Charlotte knocks on the door and there's no noise inside. She opens the door, slightly, and we step inside. I look around and see nobody. The house is clean and everything seems normal.

"Mat?" Charlotte croaks out. Her voice is still raspy from all of her crying, but can't blame her.

"Mattie. Honey, I'm here." Charlotte takes a few more steps into the house and I follow close behind. I don't interfere with her but just follow. We make it up to her sister's room. I open the door a little to see all darkness. Charlotte takes a step in, not tripping over anything. She turns on the lamp on the bedside table to reveal Mattie. Aw, poor girl, she's a wreck. There are tissues, books, blankets, and pillows everywhere. Charlotte already has her sister embraced in her arms. They just cry and cry together, and I'm just standing there awkwardly. Charlotte waves me over and I go sit next to Mattie. She immediately lets go of my wife and wraps her arms around me. I hug her back and hold her like I'm never going to let her go. I can feel Mattie's tears seeping into my shirt, but I don't care.

"Well, Mat, let's start getting your things packed. Nick and I would like to be back to the airport by at least 6 tonight." Charlotte's voice floods the room. She sounds so broken and it makes my heart just ache.

"Okay. Help me?" Mattie stands up out of grasp, looking to her sister.

"Yup. Just give Nick and I a couple of minutes, you can get started." Charlotte kisses Mattie's cheek and ruffles her hair. My wife takes my hand and leads me to the living room.

"Oh Nick." She immediately falls into my arms before we even get a chance to sit down. I just hold her, not caring if her make up gets all over my jacket. Charlotte just sobs and sobs until I put my hand under her chin and lift up her head.

"You're strong, okay. You've got this. We can get through this together, I love you so much." A small smile tugs at the corner of her mouth, her eyes red.

"What if Mattie doesn't like it there?" She worries, nervously playing with her hands.

"She'll love it. We'll enroll her in school, she'll make friends, it'll be fine." I assure my wife. She hugs me really tight one last time, then gets up.

"Let's go help." She gestures to upstairs.

Once we reach Mattie's room, she's shoving her clothes into a few duffle bags. Charlotte goes to help, as well as I do.

"I'll start on the closet." Charlotte says, going to Mattie's small closet.

"Nick, can you go and get everything from her bedside table?" Charlotte asks me.

"Yeah, sure." I walk over to the small table and start to take everything off of it. There is quite a lot of stuff in the drawers and I see a box to put it all in. The girls are loading things into boxes, so these must've been specifically for packing. When I get done with that, I help with the rest of the room.

By 4:30, we've gotten Mattie's room all packed up.

"Thank you guys." Mattie like between my wife and I, sitting at the table.

"Anything for you." Charlotte and I say in unison. We both laugh a little and it was great to hear her laugh and see her real smile again. I missed it.

"We could probably get dinner before we go, right?" I ask Charlotte, raising my eyebrow.

"Yes we can. Mat, where would you like to go?" We both turn our attention to Mattie.

"Hmm, Chipotle?" She suggests.

"Sounds great." Charlotte says.

We eventually get all the bags and boxes loaded in the car and are headed to the restaurant. Charlotte and Mattie are singing along to the radio, and my attention is focused on the road. They look so happy together, like there's not a worry in the world.

"We have an extra room, right?" Charlotte whispers to me, taking my hand.

"Yup. I made sure of it." I wink at her. She leans over to kiss my jaw and I feel myself blushing.

"Would it be totally wrong to send Mat in by herself and we just make out for awhile?" Charlotte whispers in my ear, making sure that her sister doesn't hear.

"Kind of, as much as I'd love it." I smirk. I kiss her on the lips, then Mattie chimes in.

"Ewwwww." She sarcastically pukes and laughs. We pull apart and laugh along.

"Let's go eat." I say, shutting down the engine and getting out of the car. Charlotte holds Mattie's hand, leaving me all alone. I don't mind though. When we get up to the door, I hold it open for them and steal a quick kiss from my wife.

"Gross." Mattie just walks into the restaurant.

Her and I both laugh.