CHAPTER 14: MAKING UP.
1118 Words
I woke the next morning with a heaviness in my heart. I could have kicked myself for not waiting to hear what Michael had responded to David's offer. I had no idea whether I would still have a home or not. It was also bothering me that I still hadn't seen or heard from Charlie. I didn't have too long to wallow, though. I had another double shift in the kitchen to get to. I quickly washed and dressed and headed for my front door. I opened it to find Charlie standing there with a bunch of wildflowers, his hand in the air about to knock the door. "Uhh, morning. I... ummm... these are for you," he stammered, holding out the flowers to me. I took them with a smile. "Thank you Charlie they are beautiful, but what is the occasion?" I asked, taking a few sniffs of the floral scent.
He looked a bit embarrassed. "Mrs B might have let me know that you thought that I ditched you to spend the night with Louisa the other night." he said quietly, looking at the floor. I felt my stomach drop. I had told her that in total confidence. "She wasn't meant to tell you. I was hoping to see you so that I could apologise for the way that I acted the other day. The truth is it did bother me, but it's none of my business who you choose to sleep with. I just don't want you to get hurt as she is a bit of a nightmare. Plus, she is also sleeping with my brother," I explained. He looked up, his eyes finally meeting mine. "The thing is, I didn't sleep with Louisa, nor would I ever. She is a total nightmare, not a bit of one," he said. I was confused. "But, I saw you talking to her. She was definitely flirting with you. Then you said that you weren't hanging out as you had plans. I figured that those plans were with her," I told him. He began to laugh and shook his head. "Louisa may have been flirting, but I wasn't in the slightest bit interested. I left because your brother put on night duty at the gate. I didn't tell you that because I didn't want you to feel bad that he was punishing me for helping you with the ballroom," he chuckled. I felt like such an i***t. "I'm so sorry. I should have just spoken to you about it, instead of acting like a grumpy cow," I apologised again. I couldn't help but feel relieved.
I quickly put the flowers in water, and Charlie walked me to work. I filled him in on what had happened with Louisa and her little clique. He was almost as shocked as me when I told him about what my mother had done. I felt a little disappointed when we reached the kitchen door and he said his goodbyes. At least Charlie was one less thing for me to be worried about now. I hadn't told him about the conversation I had overheard last night. I was hoping that Michael would have told him that making me leave wasn't nessecary. In which case nothing should come of it. Miichael wasn't a cruel man, and I was sure that he wouldn't want me to be made homeless, so I shouldn't have anything to worry about in that regard. Yet I couldn't quite shake the feeling that maybe Michael wasn't quite as great as I had always thought. After all, there must have been so many better ways that he could have handled the Ally situation. Bringing her home with him and flaunting their bond in front of me wasn't exactly what I would have expected from the man that I had loved either.
Mrs Bury was looking a little sheepish as I entered the kitchens. I gave her a smile to let her know that I wasn't mad about her sharing what I had told her with Charlie. I knew that she had only had good intentions, and it had worked out for the best. She looked relieved. I didn't want to dwell on my thoughts too much, so I threw myself into my work, focusing on every detail of every mundane task. The day passed wonderfully uneventfully. At the end of my second shift, I grabbed some food to take with me and headed for the ballroom. I wanted to see just how much my mother had ade those three do yesterday. I smiled as I approached the building and saw Charlie leaning against the door waiting for me.
I unlocked the ballroom and went inside. I stopped and gasped as I looked around. All the junk had been taken out, and the floor was completely cleared. I couldn't believe how much had been done. I felt a rush of happiness. This had been exactly what I needed right now. It had really lifted my spirits. "I can't believe that they got rid of all the crap that was in here!" I exclaimed. "Actually, that was me," Charlie said behind me. I turned to look at him in surprise. "What! When?" I asked. He grinned at me. When I spoke to Mrs B about you, I grabbed the key. I had today off, so I figured that I would do something useful while you were stuck working," he told me. "Thank you, you didn't need to do that," I replied. "Actually, I kind of did. Your brother ordered me to help you get the ballroom ready, remember," he chuckled. I felt myself blush a little. I had forgotten about that. I had assumed that he had done it for me. "Though, I would have done it anyway," he whispered, walking past me further into the ballroom.
He told me that my mother had made them do quite a bit of actual cleaning, though. He had only taken the junk out. I offered him half my food, and we ate it sitting cross-legged on the stage before getting to work. Thanks to Charlie, it wasn't seeming like such a daunting and impossible task anymore. We cleaned for a while, but Charlie decided that it was time to call it a night after catching me yawning for what felt like the hundreth time. He wanted to walk me home, but I refused to let him. It made no sense to me for him to walk twice the distance. I said my good nights outside the ballroom as we locked up. Charlie offered to return the key to the kitchen for me, and I accepted. I was looking forward to getting back to my bed tonight.
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