Chapter 1

• CHARLIE
• To protect my body from the sea breeze, I embraced myself. The lingering scent of rain and salt in the evening air made it chilly but humid. The black sky was suddenly illuminated by a flash of lightning, which was followed by the unavoidable. I buried my head between my legs and put my hands over my ears. I was shocked by the thunder's crash. I slowly uncovered my ears and raised my head before listening to the low rumble fade away into the darkness.
• I detested storms and was scared of them, yet I sat there waiting calmly as I usually had.
• This used to be our favorite area, but tonight it felt unsafe because the moon was hidden by the heavy, gloomy clouds.
• I frantically took out a weed that was between the rocks and destroyed it completely. I buried my head in the ground as thunder rumbled and lightning hit again. I hugged my knees and rocked back and forth. I couldn't help but think back to the night when I first started to fear storms.
• "The most attractive dude you'll ever see," he says. "You will be ensnared by his soul, but Mi Corazon, don't fall for it. When there is nothing more for him to do but grab the one item you have been clinging onto, he will use all of his abilities to lure you in."
• My bedtime had passed, yet I had trouble falling asleep. The thunder was growing louder as a storm moved in. I pulled the covers up over me because I was terrified of the beast Momma had said. I dared to ask the nagging question even though my voice was shaking and my heart was pounding.
• "Momma, who is he?"
• Momma paused and fixed her gaze on the wide window. Her classically lovely face was distorted by fear. I didn't know why. She would be safe with Daddy.Daddy claimed he would hunt anyone who ever hurt us down like a wolf in the headlights because he had a pistol.
• She muttered, "The big evil wolf."
• The ferocious wolf was frightening. I had no idea what I would be clinging to. My age was only eight. Unlike other fairy tales, this one was unique. "Where was the satisfying conclusion?" Momma narrated this tale as if she knew it off-by-heart.
• "Momma, will he come get me?"
• I gripped her arm as tightly as I could as the thunder shook the house. I feared the big evil wolf would attack me since the growl was so terrifyingly loud. He frightened me. I wished I could have stayed with Sissy, Mom and Daddy.I hid my head behind Momma's arm as the noise grew louder in an effort to block it out.
• "I'm afraid, Mom."
• "Sleep, My Heart, please."
• She calmed me down while humming my favorite lullaby and massaged my hair until I dozed off in her arms. The big terrible wolf myth never made any sense to me, but for some reason it lingered with me, and sadly, so did my dread of storms. Just bad timing, I told myself over and over. I looked down at my watch in frustration. "You've got to be joking, right? He is a half-hour late." I felt as though I had nothing better to do but wait for him. He was more significant than me, thus I should have completed the English homework I had been putting off for days.
• My academic performance was already declining, and Principal Stephens could immediately detect my failure-related anxiety.
• His strong arms encircled me and warmed my body just as I was ready to stand up and leave. His breath still had the stale aroma of some alcoholic beverage as he gave me gentle kisses along my neck. My stomach dropped. Even though I was aware that something was wrong, I didn't feel like showing sympathy. I had become weary of the constant sneaking around.
• "Hard night? Don't you know what a cell is?"
• I anticipated the lie. "Rude doesn't even come close. Sorry, but my phone is playing weird."
• He shifted his hands underneath my jacket while he was preoccupied, running them along my stomach. I yelled indignantly, "You smell like you've been to a frat party."
• I attempted to move his hands away out of frustration but he stopped me right away. He clung to me more tightly at the waist and buried his head in my hair. "Your hair...it's so… You are missed." He muttered incomprehensible stuff, which made me even angrier. The blood in my veins started to fiercely pulse as I withdrew and got to my feet out of rage.
• "What is that? More so than you are aware of yourself, I know you. You're intoxicated for a purpose." I spewed forth the thoughts racing through my head without thinking them through. "You're going to say it's over for me. You've been acting oddly all week, so the warning signals are there. We'll see...You felt bad for Sammy since she was crying so much, and you owe your marriage to try to make things work."
• He quickly stood up but was wobbly. Despite being inebriated, he appeared to grasp what I was saying, which surprised me because I partly expected him to laugh it off. I could have assumed the worst just from the hesitation alone, but I just stood there and waited. I tried to resist falling into the hypnosis that his fixed gaze put me in, but I gradually felt cast under his spell with little chance of escaping.
• “Over? Without you, Charlotte, I can't even breathe. Torture, that is. Being unable to be ourselves in front of everyone. Please don't do this.Don't even pretend that it's over."
• He was venting his frustration at how difficult it was for us to keep our connection a secret. I did understand, but he, not I, was to fault in this situation. I was merely the young woman who developed feelings for the married brother of her closest friend.
• His mood changed as the wind changed. Just like he always did, he traced his finger along my cheekbone before placing his lips gently and consolingly on mine.
• "Look at me," He pleaded with Charlotte.
• My gaze returned to his, and like it had countless times before, the emerald green glistened back at me. I could only make out us in their reflection.
• Together, He and I stand against the world.
• My hand was placed over his heart by him. "It's for you as long as this beats. I'll work out a solution so we can be together. Keep trying for us. We were meant to be here. The remainder are challenges we can surmount. I'll never betray you as long as you put your trust in me. I just love you, my dear. I promise, sweetie, it'll be us forever. Ride or die, until death separates us."
• That night, I gave in to him because I cherished him above all else, but it wasn't long until I understood what my mother had been trying to tell me all along.
• The ferocious wolf was here to get me, taken everything I owned before leaving me in the dark. He had stripped me of all that was good and pure, leaving me without any capacity for love and roaming by myself in the night like a wounded soul. I begged him not to come after me, but he did. Alexander Edwards was the man who filled me with promises that night, convinced me that we were the only people in the world, and that we just needed one another.
• “Ride or die, ‘til death us do part.”
• And that was the last time I saw him.