Austin's POV
The longer I sat there watching my two best friends getting married, the longer I had wished that I had changed my mind about coming. Everything about watching this happen made me think of Charlie and what I had potentially ruined between us. I hadn't changed my mind though, I was going to wait for her as long as I needed too. I knew that she was the girl for me, and I didn't want to be an idiot this time and not even try to have a life with her.
I got up from my seat in the last aisle as I made my way up towards the lodge where the reception was going to be held. I grabbed a cigarette from the inside pocket of my jacket and a lighter as I quickly lit it, inhaling deeply on the burning stick filling my lungs completely with as much nicotine as they could hold before letting out a thick white puff.
I grabbed my phone out of the pocket of my pants, quickly hitting Charlie's name as I started typing out a text to her.
Hey baby girl I hope you are doing well today. I miss you like crazy, and being here at Casey's wedding just makes me think about us even more. I'm so sorry for what I have done to you Charlotte and as always it takes me to the very last minute to realize that I fucked up. I love you baby girl so much and I wish each and every day that I will wake up to an answer from you.
Dad and Jodie send me pictures of our son everyday, and baby girl he is the most precious thing I have ever laid my eyes on. Despite what Jodie says, I think he looks just like you and from what she tells me he has the personality to match. I regret so much not taking the time to see him that day, but my gut tells me that we will meet again.
I love you and miss you so much Charlotte please don't forget that.
I hit the send button letting out a sigh, this being the 43rd message I had sent her since she decided that she needed her space from me. I respected her decision, finally realizing the heartbreak I had caused her after reading her texts, and made the decision that I was going to wait for her. If she could do it for me I could do it for her.
"Hey Stoney, thanks for coming" I heard Casey say from behind me, her voice startling me from my thoughts as I turned around to see her walking up towards me, her white dress clutched tightly in her hands so she wouldn't trip as she made her way up the slight grassy incline.
"Hey Case, you look beautiful and so happy. I wish you and Mark the best" I said walking over towards her as I wrapped her in a hug pressing a quick kiss to her cheek.
"Thanks Stoney, you doing okay?" she asked me as she grabbed on to my arm, the both of us making our way to a bench that was just at the top of the hill overlooking the beautiful pond where Casey just married the man of her dreams.
I laughed at her nervously as I rubbed at the back of my neck. "I mean I guess? I don't know. I feel fucking lost Case like I'm missing a huge part of my life without her" I said, grabbing another cigarette from my pack as I lit it quickly.
"She's been a huge part of your life for years Austin, I think I'd be concerned if you said that you didn't feel lost" she laughed. "Do you know why she had to do it though?" she asked me, her hand coming to innocently rest on my thigh as she looked at me.
I took a long drag on my cigarette, looking at all the people who had come to be part of Casey and Mark's day happily talking to each other before turning my attention back to her. "At first I didn't. I thought she was being selfish, pushing me out of her life after she was the one who dropped the bomb on me of our baby. But then after I thought about it, read some of the conversations we had and thought about everything I've done to her I understood" I said to her taking another drag on my cigarette.
"I wish this would all be over though. I know it's only been three weeks but it feels like three months without her. I don't want anyone but her, no one else would make me happy like she makes me happy" I said giving Casey a sideways look as I brought my cigarette back to my lips.
"I talked to her today Austin" I heard Casey say, my head whipping around quickly to look at her, my hand pausing midway to bringing the cigarette from my lips as the smoke escaped in small streams from the corners of my mouth.
"You did!? How is she!? Is she okay? Is Austy okay?" I asked her in one breath as she started laughing at me, her hand leaving my thigh as it rested against my back.
"I did and she seems to be doing really well Austin, and Austy seems to be doing great too but you see pictures of him all the time" she smiled at me. "She didn't know Austin" I heard her say, my eyes glancing up to look at hers.
"What do you mean?" I asked her, leaning forward so my arms were resting on my thighs.
"She didn't know you've been sending her messages since she blocked you, she was just under the assumption that you forgot about her. She said she's going to let you back in Austin, she just needs a little more time" her words making my heart melt as I struggled to hold in the tears.
"You think she's going to forgive me?" I asked her, letting out a small laugh as I realized how emotional I was being.
"Yes I do, she asked me to show you this Austin. I haven't looked since she sent it to me so I don't even know what it is" she said, digging around in the top of her dress as she pulled her phone out.
"You don't want me to touch that now do you?" I asked her playfully, my face scrunched up in disgust as I wrinkled up my nose.
"Seriously Austin" she laughed, holding the phone out to me as I took it with a chuckle. I saw that Charlie had sent her a video, and my heart fluttered at the thought of hearing her voice for the first time in several weeks. I looked back up at Casey as she looked over at me with a laugh, "well what are you waiting for Stoney?"
I hit the play button, turning the phone so the video took up the entire screen, as I saw Charlie's beautiful smile as she looked down at our son.
"Say Hi Daddy!" she said, her white smile gleaming against her tanned skin.
"Hi daddy" our son said with a wide smile as he let out a small giggle.
"Tell him we listened to his new album and it was so good" Charlie smiled into the camera before turning her attention back to our son.
"it so good daddy" Austy said, looking back at Charlie who gave him a happy head nod as she placed a quick kiss on his cheek.
"tell him that we love him and that we will see him soon" she said, her eyes cutting up to the camera as if she was telling me herself.
"we love you daddy, see you soon" he said with a smile as he scooched off of her lap.
"Austin I love you baby, I won't be gone forever because I can't be without you I just hope you understand why I needed this. I miss you Austin and I promise I'll be ready to talk soon. I love you." she said with a soft smile on her face that made her expression radiate, her eyes sparkling with happiness at her words.
"Bye daddy!" I heard Austy say as I saw just the top of his curly head popping into the screen.
"Bye baby, we love and miss you so much" she said with a sweet smile before blowing me a kiss and ending the video.
"You okay?" Casey asked me, her hand gently rubbing up and down my back as she looked at me with a smile on her face.
I let out a laugh, my eyes still focusing on the beautiful girl on the screen as I nodded my head, turning my head to look at her as I flashed her a smile. "Yeah, yeah I'm alright" I said with a nervous laugh, my eyes returning back to the screen again as I couldn't help but stare at her.
"Austin, go talk to her" I heard Casey say quietly.
"What? Case I" I started only for her to shake her head at me as she stopped me mid sentence.
"Stoney, you don't want to be here" she laughed. "I can see how much it is killing you to be here without her. You want to be with her, your fancy now you can pull strings to get a flight to Syracuse. Go to her. Your both ready, don't make this last any longer than it needs to" she said to me.
"But what if I get there and she doesn't want to see me yet?" Casey started to laugh at my statement as she grabbed my hand in hers.
"She does Austin, believe me she does. Now stop stalling. Get on the phone and pull your magical strings so you can finally be with your girl and meet your son" she smiled giving my hand a tight squeeze.
I let go of her hand wrapping her in a hug as I held her tightly for several minutes, "Thank you Casey, thank you so much for everything. Please tell Mark that I said congratulations and I wish the both of you many many years of happiness" I said, reaching into my suit jacket as I pulled out a check. "Sorry I didn't buy you guys a card" I laughed as I handed it to her, her eyes wide as she saw the amount to which I was gifting them.
"Austin, no way this is far too much" she said trying to shove the check back into my hand, only for me to hold up my hand as I started shoving it back towards her.
"Take it, it's the least I can do for ditching Mark and leaving you on your wedding day" I laughed, pulling her into a hug again.
"I love you Stoney, now get going" she laughed. I finally stood up, grabbing my cellphone out of my pocket as I started walking away from her, dialing Dre quickly. I knew he wasn't going to like my request, especially since he wasn't too happy that I was leaving for the day to come to Casey's wedding, but I didn't care what he thought right now. The only thing I cared about was getting to Charlie and our son as quick as I could.
"Post man what's up?" Dre asked.
"Listen Dre I need you to do me a huge favor. I need you to get me a flight to Syracuse as quick as you can, like preferably within the next hour" I said, grabbing another cigarette out of the pack as I placed it between my lips, quickly lighting it before climbing into the Mercedes I had rented for the day.
"Your at a wedding right now, why do you need to get to Syracuse?" he asked with a laugh. I wanted to tell him the exact reason why it was so imperative that I get to Syracuse right now, but I knew that he wouldn't appreciate it.
"Can you please just get me a flight Dre and I may need a day extra. I don't think there is any way that I can come home tonight" I said, pulling my car onto the freeway as I started heading towards the airport even though Dre didn't even have a flight for me yet.
"I don't like this Posty, I don't like this one bit but I'll see what I can do" Dre said as I hung the phone up on him, patiently waiting for his return call so I could start making my way towards my girl and our son.
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Charlie's POV
"Momma can we watch a movie?" Austy asked me as he climbed up onto my lap, resting his head on my chest as I wrapped my arms around him tightly.
I gently placed a kiss into his curly hair as I grabbed a blanket off of the back of the couch and wrapped it around us. "Sure baby, what do you want to watch?" I asked him, leaning forward as I grabbed the remote off of the coffee table quickly changing the channel to Amazon Prime.
"Inside out" he said happily, his bright blue eyes gleaming up at me.
"Sure baby" I said, quickly scanning through the movies I had bought over the past few months for him. I quickly found it pressing the play button as I settled us further back into the couch, the faint sound of my parents and their friends enjoying the warm evening outside by the fire drifting in from the open patio doors. "How come you couldn't sleep baby?" I asked him, starting to rock my body back and forth as my eyes drifted to my phone that I laid on the end table to see that it was eleven.
"I don't know Momma, I just no tired" he said, a large yawn leaving his mouth just seconds after he made his statement causing me to laugh just a little.
"Okay baby, we'll watch a movie but if you feel tired you fall asleep okay?" I said to him, moving us so that we were laying on the couch, his back resting into my chest as I held him firmly against me so he wouldn't roll off the edge.
It didn't take long for him to fall asleep in my arms. I didn't scoop him up immediately and move him, figuring that he would only wake up moments later if I did. I switched off the movie, turning on reruns of the Vampire Diaries when I heard a small knock coming from the side door of my house. I looked at the time again to see that it was almost midnight, my parents were still outside with their friends and I sure as hell had no one coming to see me at this time of night.
I had half a mind to let the knocking continue, thinking they would eventually give up or go to the back of the house when no one answered when I heard it again, a little louder this time than before. I shifted Austy to be laying on the opposite side of the couch, as I got myself up and slowly walked towards the door only slightly hesitant thinking about who could be on the other side.
I quickly unlocked the door, turning the knob slowly as I pulled the heavy wooden door towards me, my eyes taking a moment to adjust to the dim light outside, thinking that my eyes were playing tricks on me as to who was standing in front of me. He was wearing a black suit, white shirt and black tie. He had his hair pulled up surprisingly neatly on the top of his head in a bun and his beard was neatly trimmed. I let my eyes travel up his body, my eyes resting on his as they glimmered beneath the dim light of the porch as my body stood frozen in shock.
"Austin?" I asked half in shock and half in longing.
"Hi Charlotte" he said, his hands in his suit pant pockets as he tilted his head at me slightly, a sweet smile on his face as my heart started to race at his posture and my full name floating off his lips.
"Austin what are you? Your supposed to be at Casey's wedding. How'd you?" I stammered, still shocked that he was standing at my doorstep.
He stepped closer to me, his left hand sliding onto my hip as his right thumb rubbed softly against my cheek as his dazzling blue eyes danced dangerously with mine, "No Charlotte the only place I'm supposed to be is here with you and our son making everything right."
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A/N: So third time is the charm right? What do you think, is this finally going to be their happily ever after?
~Updates~
3-22-2021: I Know Your Scared of the Unknown
3-23-2021: What Happens In Vegas
3-24-2021: I'm No Good At Goodbyes
3-25-2021: Chance Encounters
3-26-2021: Changed Since Texas
3-27-2021: I Know Your Scared of the Unknown
3-28-2021: What Happens In Vegas