Austin's POV
I watched as she ran as quick as she could out of the nearest door that led to the dimly lit patio off of my bedroom. To say that I was confused would be an understatement. We just had an amazing few days and we were getting ready to share in a beautiful moment of finally being together, shit she even looked hot as fucking hell when I walked out of the bathroom and now this.
After deciding that trying to wrap my head around what had just happened without even looking at the source was going to a battle hard fought, I decided to pick up the phone that she whipped at my stomach that was now lying in the heap of blankets on my bed. Picking it up I instantly saw why she reacted the way she did and she had every right to do so.
The way Ash appeared in my phone would probably have been enough to make her skeptical and hesitant, but the accompanying words that went along with it explained her actions very well. I nervously rubbed at the back of my neck as I paced back and forth over the cold marble looking floor of my house, my phone clutched in my hand that was hanging loosely down at my side. I knew Charlotte well enough to know that when something pissed her off or hurt her she needed at least 15-20 minutes by herself to cool herself down and have her brain get on a logical thinking level.
I walked back over to the bed setting myself down on the edge of it as I quickly went to the message that Ash sent me, deciding that this would be an easier battle to win than the one that I was going to have to face with Charlotte in just a few minutes. I read over the message wondering why the hell she was even sending this to me, when thoughts of what I did with her to spite Charlotte came flooding back to my head, Ash clearly getting the wrong impression that something was starting to flourish between us again since she clearly still had feelings for me.
Ash I don't know what you're getting at but we are done. I don't want you back and I never will want you back. Please leave me alone and let me live the life that I was meant to live for years.
fuck u austin! u think u can fuck me and leave me just like that? we aren't done yet austin i can promise u that. enjoy ur time with ur precious charlie before the walls come tumbling down. love u baby, ur in denial but i kno u love me too.
I swallowed hard after reading her words. I knew Ash to be vindictive and manipulative, shit she stopped me from talking to Charlotte for months convincing me that she was the one that I needed to be with and not Charlotte. I didn't take her words lightly since when she said something it always seemed to happen. I quickly deleted her name and number from my phone, hoping that would be a great starting spot for me and Charlotte so I can prove to her that Ash was no longer part of my life.
I grabbed a cigarette out of my pack that was lying on the table and grabbed my lighter as I quickly lit it. I took several long drags on the burning stick before I started to make my way towards the doors to the patio. This was not how I wanted to spend my first night with Charlotte. I had imagined it being beautiful, full of love and laughter as we held each other in our home casually talking about what we thought our future was going to be like.
"Charlotte" I said as I made my way out to the patio to find her curled up into a chair that she positioned to look out over the city. I waited a few seconds to see if she would respond, when nothing came I let out the breath that I had been holding as I realized that this was going to be a harder battle to fight then I thought.
"Charlotte baby, please can we talk?" I asked her, walking up next to her. She looked over at me with heavy red eyes that matched the sexy nightie that she had put on, the mascara running down her face and her cheeks flushed from crying so much. I felt a literal pain jolt through my body as it had seemed that my whole entire involvement in her life since Austy had been nothing but tears and heartbreak. I had promised myself, my parents, her parents and shit even her that that wouldn't happen anymore yet here we were.
"You need to give me a chance to explain all of this Charlotte, please. It isn't fair for you to not even give me a chance to talk to you" I pleaded with her, my hand reaching out to rest on her leg as she pulled herself as far away from me as she could.
"I never told you you couldn't talk, talk away but I hope you aren't expecting me to listen" she scoffed with a shake of her head before she turned her gaze to look out at the lights of the city again.
"Of course I expect you to listen Charlotte. I expect you to be the mature adult that I know that you are and listen to what I have to say to you. I deserve that at least" I said.
"Fine then talk away" she said, her voice filled with disdain as she kept her stare on the far off horizon.
"There is nothing going on with me and Ash Charlotte. I called things off with her a while ago. The way she showed up on my phone is my fault, I just never thought to go back in and delete her or take her out. I wasn't trying to save her for a rainy day or anything like that. She isn't a part of me anymore Charlotte" I pleaded with her even though I knew my reasoning seemed half assed at best.
"Then why the hell would she say that you guys weren't over Austin?!" she said, her voice sharp and harsh as it rang through my head.
"I hooked up with her when I came home from Dallas during Casey's bachelorette party and I didn't think that she still had feelings for me the way she did but clearly I was wrong. But, it didn't mean anything to me Charlotte. I was upset and I was hurt and the only thing I could think to do to hurt you back was to do that" I said looking away from her as the truth about what had happened between the both us came boiling to the surface.
"And then all of a sudden after you fucked her you realized shit I really fucking love Charlotte and she is the girl I want to be with. What was Ash like the crystal ball, you needed to fuck her to see your future" she spat at me.
"Charlotte please, I know that it was wrong and I know that I shouldn't have done it. There is no excuse and I am not asking you to forgive me, I'm just trying to be honest with you Charlotte" I pleaded with her.
"Well then I guess I appreciate your honesty. Are we done?" she asked with a laugh as she shook her head at me. I started to feel my heart beating in my throat at her last words, my mind starting to race as to whether she was implying us being done with our conversation or if we were done completely. I stood up in front of her, my hand nervously rubbing at the back of my neck as I too let out a sarcastic laugh.
"No Charlotte, no we aren't fucking done. We aren't done with this conversation nor are we done with our relationship" I said, my voice starting to raise just slightly as I looked down at her. "I'm fucking trying here Charlotte I am trying so fucking hard. I know that I haven't been the best fucking person in your life and I know that I hurt you so fucking bad" I said, my eyes getting big and my eyebrows raised as I looked down at her, her body starting to curl in on itself as I knew my words were finally getting to her.
"But you know what Charlotte I owned up to my fucking mistakes and now I am trying to make them right. I don't expect you to sit here and put every ounce of your trust in my hands but I do expect you to give me some of it Charlotte I mean fuck. This is not what tonight was supposed to be like baby" I said, my tone starting to wander off as I looked at her before I fell in the chair next to her.
"Austin" she said quietly, her gaze down in her lap as I saw her take in a shaky breath before letting it out quickly. "How do you expect me to even give you an ounce of my trust when every time I feel like I can something happens and I'm pulling it all back quickly and starting from square one again?" she asked me.
"Charlotte baby it was just a horrible coincidence with horrible timing. I swear to you that I am not lying to you. I haven't had any contact with Ash since the night I returned from Dallas. She must be drinking or something if she is texting me" I said, my forearms resting on my thighs as I looked at her.
"Austin I gambled everything. I left my family, I tore our son from the only place he has ever called home, I moved to a place that I despise all for love. Then I get here and haven't even been in my new home for 20 minutes and there is the possibility of another girl" she laughed as she looked at me with sad eyes.
"Fuck Charlotte there is no other girl. You have to believe me. I've been done with Ash for almost two months now. I didn't insinuate those texts, I wasn't playing you. Everything I said to you since I showed up at your parents house that night, it was honest and sincere Charlotte" I said, reaching out to grab her hand feeling slightly relieved that she didn't pull back from my gesture.
"Austin I want to trust you I really do but it's so hard for me" she said, tears starting to stream down her face. I shook my head as I looked at her in disbelief.
"Charlotte, a relationship is about trust and if we are starting off like this" I said, my voice stopping as I swallowed the lump of emotion that was crawling up my throat. "If we are starting off like this then we won't make it Charlotte" I said quietly, my head dropping into my hands as I looked down at the ground.
The both of us sat quietly neither of us speaking to each other as our gazes were fixed on certain spots on the patio. I knew that it was going to be hard for her to trust me, but I had thought that after spending those few days with her, that I had gained some of that back. I was trying so hard to show her that I knew I made a mistake and that she was the one I wanted to be with, and without being egotistical I felt that I deserved a little bit of something in return.
"Charlotte" I finally said breaking the silence that hung between us, my hand reaching out as I grabbed for hers again as she allowed me to slide my fingers into the spaces between hers, my hand clutching tightly onto hers. Seconds later I felt her get up and walk over to me as she sank herself down in my lap.
"Austin I'm so sorry, you're right a relationship is built off of trust and I know that you are trying" she cried, my right hand resting on her back as I slowly started moving it up and down the small of her back as she pressed her forehead against my chest, her shoulders shaking slightly as she let all of the emotions she was feeling rush out of her.
"Shhh Charlotte baby don't cry" I said in my attempt to soothe her.
"Everything is just so confusing Austin. I love you so much and I want to do this with you more than anything in the world. I don't mean to be skeptical of everything, I don't mean to jump to conclusions" she said through heavy jobs.
"Hey hey hey, Charlotte no baby. You don't need to apologize and you don't need to explain yourself to me. I get it and I know why you are so skeptical baby girl. I wasn't good to you, I played with your head so much and that wasn't right of me" I said to her, hoping that my words were getting through to her that I knew where she was coming from.
"But that's all the past now Austin. I need to focus on the present, I need to focus on us and building our relationship into what I know it is capable of being. I need to give you some of my trust so you can prove to me that it's in good hands, because right now I'm not giving you what you are giving me" she said, lifting her head up as her sad eyes bore deeply into mine.
"Baby girl, you've given up the only life you've ever known to be here with me. If you don't consider that as giving me what I'm giving you I don't know what you can call it" I said with a smile, my hands coming up to cup the sides of her face as I studied her intently, my thumbs running over her cheeks as she brought her hands up to rest on mine.
"I love you Austin. I love you so much" she said, tears starting to leak from her waterline as she smiled at me. I leaned into her, pressing my lips against the tiny bulb of liquid that started to run down her cheeks as I caught her tears on my lips.
"I love you too Charlotte, so so much" I smiled, leaning in and putting a chaste kiss on her lips. "Come on baby girl, why don't we go to bed. You've had a long day and this time change has to be killing you" I smiled as she nodded her head at me.
She slowly got up off of my lap, her hand held out for mine as I stood up from my chair. I grabbed her hand as we walked back towards our bedroom, closing and locking the door behind me as I walked her over towards the bed. I dropped her hand briefly pulling the covers down before I lifted her up and placed her gently down on the mattress. I gave her a quick kiss on her forehead before stepping out of my joggers and t-shirt, sliding into the bed next to her.
"Come here baby girl" I said to her, my arms reaching out to grab her as I pulled her in close to me, her back resting up against my chest as I placed sweet soft kisses on her shoulders. "Are you okay?" I asked her, the fingertips of my right hand running over the mesh like material that covered her stomach.
"Yeah, yeah baby I'm okay" she said quietly, her hand lacing with mine as she pulled it up to her lips and placed a small kiss on the back of it.
"How about us, are we okay?" I asked her, my heart beating rapidly as I waited for her to respond to me, my thumb moving over the peaks and valleys of her knuckles slowly.
"Yes baby, yes we are okay" she said, her words relaxing me as I placed a long wet kiss into the crook of her neck, giving her a tight squeeze as I pulled her against my body.
"Okay baby girl. Why don't you get some sleep? I'm right here, I'll always be right here" I said to as I felt her snuggle her body more into mine.
"I promise Austin, I promise to be better" she said, her hand holding onto mine squeezing it tightly.
"I know you will baby girl but take your time. I know what I did and I know that its going to take you awhile to heal from it, all you need to know right now is that I love you more than I even love myself and I am going to provide for you and Austy and take care of the both of you and always be here for the both of you because you guys are my world and I wouldn't have it any other way"
I felt her breaths start to become deeper and slower, her body starting to twitch involuntarily in my arms, sleep coming to he rather quickly as she finally seemed to be fully relaxed since the incident that had happened just minutes before. I wasn't fully convinced that she believed me about Ash but I knew that I was telling the truth. I just needed her to give me that tiny sliver of her trust to prove to her that I was going to do everything to show her that I wasn't going to do anything like that to her again. I wasn't just doing this because I felt like it was the right thing for me to do, I was doing this because I wanted her and I wanted a life with her and as difficult as it might be I was going to make her fully understand that, I wasn't going to give up not for anything.
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A/N: Seems like it is Charlie who is going to put the strain on this relationship, but do you blame her for having trust issues? Do you think she is ever going to over come them? Do you think that Austin is going to keep going or will he eventually give up? As always thank you for reading, liking and commenting. You guys are the best!
~Updates~
5-11-21: I Know You're Scared of the Unknown
5-12-21: What Happens In Vegas
5-13-21: I'm No Good At Goodbyes
5-14-21: Chance Encounters
5-15-21: Changed Since Texas
5-16-21: I Know You're Scared of the Unknown