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Tanner
“Take it easy, baby. Don’t move too fast.” I knelt down next to Charlotte and tried to ease her up.
“Back the fuck away from her, asshole,” Mallory said, the sound of her voice like nails on a chalkboard.
“I’m just trying to help her.”
Charlotte sat up and the ice pack slid off of her face and plopped into her lap.
“Help her? Look at what you did to her face! That right there is because of you.” Mallory knelt on the floor next to the bed. “Hey, girl. How do you feel?”
“My head hurts,” Charlotte mumbled.
I extended my hand to touch her, but Mallory intercepted.
“I swear to God.” Mallory closed her eyes. “If you don’t back the fuck away from her, I am going to break every finger on that hand of yours. Go. Away.”
I opened my mouth to fire unkind words back at her, but I thought better of it. I didn’t want to upset Charlotte. She’d already been through enough.
“How bad is it?” she asked.
“You’ve got a nice shiner. Doesn’t look like anything’s broken, though.” Mallory handed Charlotte her phone so Charlotte could look into the camera and see for herself.
A deep purple ring had already begun forming around Charlotte’s right eye. Tears welled behind my lids as I watched her look at her reflection. Someone had punched her in the face and knocked her unconscious. I wasn’t there to stop it. I was supposed to protect her, but I’d let her get hurt.
“Don’t cry, Char. It’s okay. You’re going to be okay. I know it was scary back there but you’re safe now.” Mallory glared at me.
It was physically killing me to not comfort her. The fact that I had caused this was not lost on me, but right now, I just wanted to comfort her. I’d never meant for her to get hurt.
“Mal, can you please give me a minute with Tanner?”
Fucking finally. I needed to be alone with her. I needed to hold her and tell her how sorry I was. I needed to make sure she was okay.
Mal’s eyes widened. “Are you—”
“Please, Mal.” Charlotte held her hand up to stop her. “I’ll meet you in the car.”
Mallory wavered a moment but then stood and walked away. Derek left with her.
I sat beside Charlotte on the bed, taking her into my arms. “Are you okay? I am so sorry, my sweet girl. I—”
“I know you never meant for me to get hurt,” she finished.
I sat back to look at her. “I am so sorry that this happened.”
She nodded. “I know you are. You can’t help it. It’s who you are. I should have never expected you to change.”
Worry spread like wildfire throughout my body. She seemed distant. “Charlotte, I can change. I want to change. Tonight was a mistake.”
“Tonight wasn’t a mistake, Tanner. Tonight was a choice, and choices have consequences. You made the choice to punch Shawn. That choice caused a ripple effect. Now, I have a black eye and probably a concussion.” She lifted her face to look me in my eyes, and it looked like it pained her to do so. “Anger is a choice … and it’s the wrong one.” Her voice cracked as she said it, hoisting herself out of bed.
“Please don’t walk away from me, Charlotte. I will try harder next time. I know I can.”
“I don’t want there to be a next time. I don’t want to be worried about when you’re going to fly off the handle again. I don’t want you to hurt people. I don’t want to get hurt.” She pulled her arm free from my grasp. “Please, Tanner. Don’t make this any harder than it already is.” A tear rolled down her cheek as she turned and left.
I remained there, cemented to the ground. I had Charlotte’s trust, and I’d fucked it up. In a matter of seconds, it was gone. I’d let myself fall. I took the leap, only to be splattered at the bottom of the cliff.
Once again, I’d proved that I could be nothing more than a worthless piece of shit.
