Into the Light

I had no response to that.

“Maria. Please, if you could help us. It’s not just about Alex. I lost my best friend, too,” Adriana said softly, like the words had been locked inside since this all happened.

“Look, Charlotte is not here. She went away to college and she is happy. She is in her element and thriving. I know how devastated she was, how hurt and angry she felt after she was betrayed, not to mention the whole town calling her every name under the sun. It’s taken her a lot of courage to move on and I would hate to see that all fall to pieces because the both of you decided one day that you couldn’t hack the guilt so you needed to see her again.”

“With all due respect, Maria, it’s not like that. I need to tell her things, explain things,” I said.

“Explain what, Alex? That you left her without saying goodbye to be with your pregnant wife who I can only assume is still pregnant? So I’m not sure why Charlotte would want to see you.”

“She’s not… I mean, it’s not his baby,” Adriana spoke up in my defense.

“Adriana, cariño. Whether it is his baby or not doesn’t erase the damage that has been done. You broke her. Not just you, Alex, but you as well, Adriana, for abandoning her when she could have used all the friends she had.”

I looked over at my sister, the tears running down her face as the reality of this situation finally set in. I placed my hand on top of hers and squeezed it tight.

“Look, I know you both love her. But the thing is…” she hesitated slightly, “The thing is she has moved on…with someone else.”

I took in her words and without warning my chest tightened, my walls caving as she said the words that I feared the most. Charlotte had found someone else. I bowed my head so I was able to close my eyes. The pain had spread all throughout me and I needed to get the hell out of here. I had been better in San Francisco where I hadn’t known this information, where I could pretend that Charlotte had moved on, just not with someone else.

“Charlie has a boyfriend?” Adriana asked.

“Yes, she has been seeing someone. He is great. I met him a week ago, he really is good for her and she seems…well, she seems really happy now. They practically live together.”

I didn’t need to hear any more. “Adriana, let’s go.”

My sister stood up and we quickly made our way to the door. I didn’t look back; Adriana said the words for me. “I don’t know if I should be thanking you. We came here to try and fix the mistake we made but now with what you’ve told us, well, now you’ve broken my brother.”

We walked outside and in the light of day it hit me like a ton of bricks and my natural instinct was to start hiding in that shell, the one that protected me from the harsh reality of my mistakes.

“Alex, c’mon, we can find her. Don’t let this stop you.”

“Didn’t you hear what she just said?”

“Yes, I did, but this is Charlotte we’re talking about. She wouldn’t just forget you and move on with some random college guy.”

“But she HAS moved on.”

“Alex, look, we can hire a private investigator and track her down, then at least the both of us can get a chance to apologize. We owe her that much, don’t we?”

“She moved on. How easy was that for her? Maybe I didn’t mean as much to her as she did to me.”

“No, don’t say that. You know how much she loved you. Don’t give up, Lex. How can you give up after everything you’ve been through?”

“Easy, Adriana. I already have.”

“You know, Elijah, the car’s got a full tank of gas… It’ll get you as far as Albany.” I chuckled.

“Thanks, but I've been waiting for this day my entire life.” He paused and waved to a few guests who had arrived. “Thank you, Lex. For helping me, you know, to be able to kick cancer’s butt, but most importantly to be able to marry my girl, and I know this isn’t easy for you...but thank you.”

“You’re taking on the responsibility of Adriana... I should be thanking you.”

“Soon it’ll be you, buddy,” said Elijah.

“I married her, Elijah, the last night of the Hamptons.”

“Huh? How? For starters you need to apply for a marriage license and then there is a twenty-four hour waiting period. Is this some wedding prank you’re pulling on me?”

“I bribed the city clerk, offered to pay for a new community hall he was currently trying to fund. It happened, Elijah, but after the way I treated her, I don’t know if she still wants to be married to me.”