Chapter 10: (8 hours and 30 minutes later)

Sarah requests to drive. She needs the distraction; an excuse for the awkward silence that fills the car. It's nearly unbearable, but it would be ten times worse if she were in the passenger seat. At least now she has a reason for not speaking up.

"So…" Chuck twiddles his thumbs idly. He sneaks a peek at the carseat in the back but Charlotte's taken the easy way out and chosen to sleep through the ever-present tension.

"So…" he starts again, trying to fill in the spaces. "What do you think of Jillian?"

Of all the things to ask…Sarah takes a deep breath and clenches the steering wheel that much harder.

"She's okay," she dismisses, trying not to sound one way or the other.

"She's very nice," Chuck persuades. It's nothing like a confession but Sarah feels the dagger twist into her heart all the same. "I think you'd like her."

"Ha…" she murmurs quietly under her breath. Not a chance.

"And she likes video games!" Chuck blurts, an achingly loveable grin on his face. When she realized who he was smiling for, she found a sudden desire to slap the look off his face.

"I could play them too, you know. I just choose not to."

"Huh?" Chuck wrinkles his brows.

Sarah stares straight ahead at the road. "I said I could play video games too," she repeats, but it doesn't make the comment any less random. "A lot of people play video games, Chuck. Doesn't make them any more likeable than if they didn't."

"Sarah." Chuck looks at her blankly. "I'm not following..."

The tension gets to be unbearable. "Do you like her?" she demands, purposefully avoiding his gaze. If he felt any guilt at all, she'd see it.

"She's nice," Chuck says, the second time today. "Did you know she just moved to LA two months ago? She doesn't have any family out here." He smiles nervously at her. "I think it would be nice if someone took the time to show her around."

At the suggestion, Sarah feels as if the ground has opened up and swallowed her whole.

He's not even denying it.

Sarah nearly slammed on the brakes, truck behind her be damned. She didn't care if she caused an umpteenth car pile-up in her wake, but she did care that her babe was sleeping soundly in the backseat.

All she could do was seethe quietly in the driver's seat. The most emotion she showed was in the flush of her cheeks.

"Is that why you had dinner with her last night?" she finally asked.

She couldn't help herself. She turned and looked at Chuck.

Guilt was written all over his face.

"Is that why you were late for dinner last night?" she asked, immediately looking away. No matter how tempted she was, she could not bear to confirm her own suspicions again.

Sarah's heart began to race when Chuck looked out the window. It wasn't like him to remain this quiet. She'd been expecting him to rush with the explanations; to flood her with assurances.

Nothing.

Oh my God. Sarah bit down on her lip to keep from bursting out in tears. The only relief she could take from this was that Charlotte was still fast asleep in the back.