Saving Charlotte (Now on Radish)

Chapter 7

"So, Charlie," Bridget said, interrupting my thoughts. "How are you?"

I looked at Bridget and offered her a faint smile. "I'm doing wonderful as of late. Daniel has had a big part in that. Actually, I'm glad he's back in my life." I said truthfully. Daniel leaned in and kissed my cheek lightly, making my cheeks burn. I knew he was a fan of PDA when he and Peyton were shoving their tongues down each other's throats. I liked this Daniel better than the one who hated my guts.

"Have you been exploring colleges? If I remember correctly, you're going to graduate next year." Alexander commented.

"Yeah, I am." I replied. "Umm, I looked at Rutgers, Harvard, The University of Hartford, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Michigan, MIT, Boston College, and the University of Virginia." I listed my top schools out of the twenty I applied to. The Weston’s looked at me with wide eyes. I'm guessing neither Clara nor Daniel applied to that many Universities and got accepted.

"Whoa." Daniel mumbled, scratching the back of his neck. "Those are high-end, sweet cheeks. Don't you have to have a perfect GPA or something?" He asked.

"Yup, last time I checked, I have a 102.1 GPA. Ashton's is higher than mine by .3 points. I think." I muttered, turning my attention to my food. Clara reached behind me and flicked her brother in the arm.

"Ha-ha, baby bro, you're girlfriend's a genius! You can barely keep your 92 GPA." Clara teased. Daniel rolled his eyes as he squeezed my knee.

"Shut it, Clara. I'm proud of Charlie. She deserves her grades." Daniel said, looking at me. "I mean it, Charlotte. I'm proud of you." I smiled at Daniel, and he smiled back.

"Is there any particular reason why you applied to so many colleges?" Bridget queried. I nodded as I shoved some yellow rice into my mouth. I chewed and swallowed at I tore my gaze away from Daniel.

"I want to broaden my horizons. No offense to this town or anything, but I just need to get away. I have more than enough credits to graduate with Daniel's graduating class. I've been thinking of doing that." I told her. Bridget nodded and speared a piece of spinach with her fork. We ate the rest of our dinners with polite small talk. Daniel kneaded my knee slowly, keeping me grounded at his parents talked to Daniel about track and going away to college. He applied to a few schools in Texas and California. The thought of Daniel being more than five minutes away was a terrifying thought now that he's back in my life. After dinner, Alexander and Clara cleaned up the table and Bridget loaded everything into the dishwasher, leaving Daniel and I alone again.

We stowed away to the living room and cuddled on the plush, leather recliner in the corner of the room. We didn't talk about anything, not college, not Father, nothing. I just let Daniel hold me against his chest. If things in my life weren't so complicated, I'd definitely date Daniel. Daniel was right when he said he meant a lot to me. If something ever happened to Daniel, I'm not sure what I'd do. Daniel Weston will be the death of me, one day. And it's true. His antics and attempts to make us a couple with kill me one day.

"Danny, would it be selfish of me to tell you that I want you to stay close by? For college," I mumbled into his shirt. Daniel chuckled at my comments as he tightened his arms around my waist.

"No, it wouldn't be. But if you want me to stay close, you need to stay close, Charlie. We're a package deal." Daniel told me. I nodded with a small smile as I looked up at him. "Did you apply to anywhere in state?"

"Yeah, Westfield State University and Umass Dartmouth and Umass Amherst." I murmured. Daniel rubbed his hand up and down my back as he thought about where he had applied.

"I applied to Amherst and Westfield. I think Amherst is farther away from your father, which is what you want, right?" Daniel asked. I nodded. It was like he had read my mind! How did he know I wanted to get the hell away from him?