Chapter 49

AUSTIN

The car door opens and in slides Charlotte. To say she looks shocked is an understatement. The guys and I knew this would turn into a shitshow if she faced everyone alone.

Everett seemed like the best option to come out here with her, but Chase wasn’t having it. So, I was next in line. We wanted Vincent, but he said he is done with Charles and her Nancy Drew Syndrome.

“What are you doing here?” she asks, still in shock.

“Making sure you don’t do anything stupid.”

“Did Chase send you?”

I shake my head and take a deep breath. I honestly don’t know why and how Chase still wants to deal with Charles, after everything she puts him and the guys through.

Yes, she is an amazing girl, but she doesn’t learn from her lessons at all.

“Charlotte Withers, aren’t you sick of this back and forth...and the whole ‘I can do shit on my own’?”

She opens her mouth to speak, but I raise my hand, stopping her.

“I am not done. You have to understand most of the guys are fed up with your bullshit, and that’s me putting it nicely.”

She stays quiet for a few and takes in what I said, I hope. I don’t want to be a dickhead here, but someone must. Charles is acting more like an emotional teenager than an adult.

“I see. You guys want to stop being my friends for things that are out of my control?”

“No. I didn’t say that. Since you want to go there...we will stop being your friend because of your actions. You do the same things over and over.

“You lie and get yourself into more shit no one wants to deal with. You think we wanted to be in New York? Hell no.”

“What have I lied about now? FYI no one told you guys to follow me out to New York in the first place.”

“Really?” I look at her like she has lost her mind. She has lied so much since moving into the frat house, she doesn’t even know when she is doing it.

“Really.”

“Okay. You lied to HR. A family emergency? Did you forget who hired you? Everything you say and do gets reported to Jasper or Mr. Tucker.”

Lucky Jasper was smart enough to let us know about the email before we all arrived back in the city. The guys dropped me off at the airport, and I caught the first plane to Georgia.

“And about New York...you knew no matter what, Chase was coming for you and as his best mates, we were going with him.”

“Great so I don’t have any privacy,” she huffs.

“You have to be fucking kidding me, girl. You’re not seeing it, and I don’t think you ever will. I’ve been best buds with Chase for over a decade, and I know you are going to push him away.

“Half of the guys don’t want to deal with you now. I am your last lifeline. Do you understand the severity now? You fuck this up, and I will have no choice but to walk away too.

“It’s no longer about you, Charlotte...Autumn is involved.”

“You don’t think I know this? Autumn is my niece. Lily was my sister, and I am just finding all of this out, all at once. I have every right to get answers.”

“What the hell are you going on about?! It’s not about you, Charlotte. It is, but in a way it isn’t. Matter of fact, take out your phone and tell Chase it’s over.”

“Excuse me?!” I swear it looks like she was about to slap me.

“Whatever you had planned today will cost you your relationship. So you might as well get it over with now.”

“I’m not.” Her eyes are watering and for once I don’t give a shit. I know Chase told me to give her a tough-love talk.

But if he finds out I made her cry, he’ll probably soften up and make her feel like what she is doing was right and not to worry about anything I said. I will totally kick his ass if he does.

“I don’t know, Austin, I honestly don’t know.”

“And that’s why I am here.” I had to make sure after today the tough questions are answered and the healing process will begin.

“So, what do you have planned?” The SUV pulls into the campus parking lot and I can see the confusion on her face. “Why are we here?”

I ignore her, getting out of the SUV.

“Earth to Austin, why are we here?”

I tell the driver to give us ten minutes tops. This could go either of two ways, and the outcome will still be the same. I grab her wrist and we walk toward Slivermist dorms.

“Does this answer your questions?” I look over at her.

“Juju.” Her eyes harden and she pushes the lobby door open.

“Whoa there,” I pull her back. “I did not bring you here to fight. To talk? Yes, and only to talk. I am just as curious as you are to know why she was in Chase’s room.”

I was nowhere near interested, but to save our brotherhood from being torn apart, I need the truth and all the facts. “Promise me you won’t start a fight?”

“Hey, Austin.” Tessa walks into the lobby winking at me. I look at her and back to Charlotte.

“Matter of fact, let’s go to your parents.” One thing Tessa is known for is causing a scene seeing me and Charles here and knowing what Juju did that night…shit, we got to leave.

“No. Why bring me here for answers and then want to leave? I’m going to get my answers!” she snaps, taking off towards the staircase.

Effin’ hell. Chase is going to kill me for sure.

“Charles, slow the hell down.” I grab her forearm, stopping her mid-step. “Tessa and Juju are friends. She spotted us already and probably—no. I know she warned Juju of you being here right now.”

“I don’t care! That is my fiancé she slept with. You brought me here to blow off some steam, I am assuming, and that’s what I will do. Now. Let. Me. Go,” she snaps.

I exhale loudly, letting her go. Without a doubt, this is the worst decision I have ever made. I follow her closely as she searches for Juju’s dorm room.

We don’t have to look too hard, because on the next floor we hear a lot of commotion, and Juju’s voice was loud and clear.

“...fuck her! I’m not scared.” Juju’s back is facing us as she talks to Tessa and her roommate Evie.

Charles scoffs and makes her way towards them. Tessa points over Juju’s shoulders, and she turns around. Her eyes widen slightly, and she quickly regains her composure.

After that number Charles did on Raven, I wasn’t sure anyone wanted to get on her bad side.

“Why are you here?” Juju crosses her arms at her chest.

“To talk,” Charlotte says as calmly as possible.

Evie rolls her eyes. “Talk about what?”

“I have nothing to say to you, Charlotte…that’s a conversation you need to have with your boyfriend,” says Juju.

What’s wrong with these females? I look up towards the ceiling, hoping we can get this over with quick, but Juju is going to make this harder than it needs to be.

“Fiancé,” Charles corrects her. “I already had my talk with him, now it’s your turn. Why were you in his bed? I thought Everett was more your style.”

I don’t know what’s scarier, the fact that Charles is eerily calm or that Juju is taking Charles as a joke. As I lean against the wall, I keep my eyes trained on Charles.

“At parties, people drink and things happen. If you had given it up to him, he wouldn’t have to drag me to his bed. The entire campus knows you don’t put out, according to what your bestie Raven said.”

“Julia Vasquez, we both know as well as the rest of the campus, I put out, but only to my fiancé. Just like the campus knows you put out to, well… the majority of the male population on campus.

“But you see, you must have forgotten who Chase belongs to,” Charles says.

“Oh, sweetie, I didn’t forget, but clearly he did when we were in bed together,” Juju replies.

“Juju chill. Just tell her…” Tessa says.

“Tell me what?” Charles brings her hands up inspecting her nails. “That you want to meet my jawbreakers?”

I’m not quick enough, and the first punch connects with Juju’s jaw. One thing I can do is give props to Charles for the accuracy. I restrain her, but her legs are working double time.

Once I lift her up, she kicks her leg, catching Juju in the stomach. Crap, I carry her further down the hallway. Tessa and Evie squat down to check on Juju, making sure she is okay.

“I told you no fighting. Damn, Charles.” I cup her chin to look at me.

“You heard how she was talking about Chase, implying that he slept with her—touched her.” She is breathing heavily. “I want to teach her a lesson not to touch what doesn’t belong to her and keep her mouth closed.”

“You stupid bitch! I think you broke my jaw,” Juju yells.

“You haven’t seen or felt broken yet. Do you prefer never to speak again?” Charles yells back, trying to make a run for her. Evie and Tessa squeal, moving away from Juju, as Charles thrashed in my arms trying to break free.

“Julia, I am going to fuck you up.”

“It just won’t be today,” I add, tossing Charles over my shoulder, making a beeline for the staircase.

“Put me down, she is coming!” Charles yells, and I look over my other shoulder to see Juju running towards us.

“Fuck,” I say. I put Charles down just in time to restrain Juju. “Charles, don’t you fucking move. I swear to God, I don’t hit women but I will shake you.”

Now it’s Juju’s turn to thrash in my arms, and I squeeze a little to get her to calm down. “I am going to put you in your dorm room, and you will stay there. Like I told Charlotte, I will shake you too.”

In twenty minutes, I gain the biggest migraine. Evie opens the dorm room, and I hear yelling back in the hallway. “Make sure she doesn’t leave this room,” I tell Evie walking out.

Ashanti, Juju’s best friend, is now in Charles’s face, and they are having a screaming match at this point. Where the hell did she come from? I move quickly, breaking it up before anything could turn into a fight.

I escort Charles into the stairwell and don’t stop until we make it back to the parking lot. Thank the heavens the driver is still there. I tell the driver that we are finally heading to our original destination.

Charles is breathing heavily and grabs her purse off the seat. She pulls out her phone, and I do the same. I’d rather Chase and the guys find out from me what the hell just happened.

I can hear Chase now ~Why the fuck would you take her there in the first place?~

At this point I know I fucked up, too.

~Effin’ hell.~