Bubble Wrap

chapter six

IF I WASN'T confused before, I am now.

Luke's lips leave an aftertaste as I lift my fingertips to my bottom lip, the adrenaline wearing off and knocking me back to reality. Suddenly, I'm no longer thinking about Luke and instead focused on the ex-boyfriend I don't want standing in the lobby of my place of work. My attention immediately going back to him after making note of the look on Maggie's face as she watches the elevator doors slide shut.

"What was that?" Charlie asks, walking towards me.

"It's none of your business, Charlie," I tell him, holding my head a little higher. "So, I'm going to ask you again. What are you doing here?"

"I already told you," he says, stopping in front of me. "To talk."

A rich laugh falls from my lips as I take a step back, putting space between us as I move around the reception desk. "There's nothing we need to talk about," I say, crossing my arms. "You can go now."

"I'm not going till you tell me who that guy was," he says. "What are you doing with him, Em? He's not your type."

"That's rich coming from you," Maggie comments, rolling her eyes at him.

"Charlie, I'm not going to tell you this again," I say. "You need to go before I call security and have them show you out. And we both know that you don't care for creating a scene, isn't that right?" I ask, tilting my head to the side. "Leave."

"He can't replace me."

I roll my eyes. "He's not meant to, but that's great that you're still finding ways to make my life about you. Now, leave."

"Fine," he says, shaking his head as he takes a step back and heads for the elevator doors without another word. As Charlie leaves, a sigh of relief falls from my lips as I rest my face in the palm of my hands and lean my elbows on the reception desk.

"You okay?" Maggie asks, resting her hand on my back.

I shake my head as I lean my head to the side. "Why is today so complicated?"

"I think it's just the life you've chosen, babe," she says with a small smile. "Charlie's will never cease to amaze me. How can one person be so awful?"

"He enjoys being number one." I smile weakly, hoping to make a joke about what was a terrible time in my life. I've asked myself a million times over what I ever saw in him, but can never find an answer that leaves me satisfied. I was young and stupid, because Charlie wasn't just some boy. He was Charlie White, and he wanted me.

He was my first—everything.

And for a long time, I thought I owed him something, and it took way too long for me to understand that I deserved more than him. I didn't need to settle. I could have more. I could be more. I am more than him.

"I love you, you know that?" Maggie says suddenly and my lips lift as I stand up, meeting her deep brown eyes.

"I love you, too."

Her smile matches mine as she grips my hand, giving it a tight squeeze. "Can I ask what the hell that was with Luke?" she asks as she leans back in her chair. "Bye baby?"

A groan escapes my mouth. "Don't ask me."

"What happened in your office?"

"Nothing." I shake my head and meet the knowing look on her face. "Nothing!" I say, throwing my hands up in defense. "Nothing happened. It was just Luke being Luke."

"You know, yesterday Luke being Luke meant something entirely different," she says with a teasing grin. "You like him."

"Funny."