And the chapter you have all been waiting for! Aren't you lot lucky, me updating so much today? :P
Charlie had taken to drawing and painting people in the park again. He didn't particularly want tod o it, but he was fed up being stuck indoors with sympathetic looks from all directions. He was fed up being treated like a bomb primed to blow at any second. He was fed up. Fed. Up. With everything. It had been three months since Roxy left him, but it hurt as fiercely as it had the day it happened.
"Are you alright?" His customer asked. This one was Marlo, a brunette in his thirties with friendly green eyes. He was a regular of Charlie's, buying potraits, landscapes and abstracts from him. "You seem really quiet."
"Just concentrating." Marlo raised his eyebrows disapprovingly. Charlie sketched his jawline. "Keep still." He forced a smile. Marlo leant forward.
"Charlie, I think you've known me long enough to not concentrate or for me to keep still. What's happened? Usually you talk non-stop and don't look so... defeated." Charlie started shading in Marlo's hair. His customer didn't sit back or take his eyes from Charlie.
"There." Charlie said a few minutes later. He turned the sketch pad towards Marlo. He didn't even look at it, his eyes boring into Charlie's. "Marlo?"
"I'm not stupid, Charlie. Something has happened. What is it?"
"Don't you worry about me, I'm fine. Just tired, is all."
"Something on your mind?"
"No. No." Charlie handed the sketch pad over and started packing his supplies. "Can't sleep. I'm off for a coffee, can I get you anything?" Marlo regarded him for a moment, looked down at the drawing and back again.
"No thank you." He eventually said. He rose, holding out the sketch pad. "Maybe you should call it a day, skip the coffee and go home. Get some sleep." Charlie shook his head, slinging the strap of his bag over his shoulder and tucking the canvases under his arm. Marlo looked ready to protest, but he didn't. He paid for his drawing, told Charlie if he needed to talk he was there and left. Charlie watched him go, making sure he went. Then he turned on his heel and walked off. One thing he liked about the park was that his favourite coffee shop was just across the road from the gate.
He dumped his stuff in his usual seat by the window and joined the short queue. Marlo had given him ten pounds, slightly crumpled, but enough to get two coffees and some food. The bell on the door tinkled as someone walked in. He sensed someone stop behind him, heard them fumbling in a bag and muttering to themself.
There was a sharp intake of breath and a dull thud as the bag fell to the floor. He turned.
"Roxy."
"Charlie..." She whispered. Tears welled in her eyes and she hurriedly stooped to gather her bag.
"Can I help you?" The cashier called. Charlie gripped Roxy's elbow as she stood unsteadily, turning away before she could say anything.
"Two hot chocolates please and..." He eyed the cake display. "Two blueberry muffins and an apple pie." Roxy cottoned on to what he was doing and tried to get money from her purse with fumbling fingers. Charlie waved her down and paid, dropping the change in the charity pot.
"You didn't have to do that." She said quietly. "Let me pay you back." Charlie shook his head, giving a small smile. He hadn't seen her for two months- she was far more beautiful than he remembered. She was wearing her regular jeans and a cream top under a navy blue cardigan. Her ebony hair was fashioned in a French braid down her back, her fringe pinned back with hair slides. Her eyes gleamed like sapphires, darting back and forth anxiously. Once or twice they rested on him and hurriedly flicked away.
Their order arrived on a tray. Charlie carried it over to his usual table. She trailed along behind him. He watched as she hesitated on the other side of the table.
"Here." He put her hot chocolate and blueberry muffins before her. "You can sit down; I don't bite." She smiled sheepishly and sat, shifting nervously. Charlie poked at his apple pie with his fork. "How are you?"
"Oh, um... a-alright, I suppose. Um... you?" Charlie just nodded, sipping at his drink, watching her over the rim of his mug. She wasn't alright. He could see that much. "How's, um, how's the art going?"
"Usual." He set his mug down. Roxy picked at a muffin. "I miss you." Her bottom lip trembled and she sniffed.
"I miss you too."
"Come back." Tears fell. He conjured a tissue instantly and passed it over. Her hands were shaking. "Please."
"I- I can't..." She met his eyes. "They'll kill you." She said in a barely audible voice. "Like this... I- I know that... that you're s-safe a-and... alive." Charlie made to say something, but she shook her head. "Don't." She pleaded, her voice catching. "I- I have to go."
"Roxy, wait-" She had already gone. Charlie sprang up and after her. "Roxy!" He could see her, walking quickly through the crowds. Her shoulders were hunched, arms folded. She was crying. Charlie hurried after her, calling her name. She got through the crowds easier than him, heading towards her car. "Roxy!" He despaired. He struggled for another moment and then, "Marry me!"
It was like someone had freeze-framed the moment. Roxy came to an abrupt halt, her hand flying up to catch a shocked gasp. Her heart hammered against her ribs. Her stomach churned like a million butterflies were trying to swirl up her esophagus. She stumbled round to face him, her legs like packs of wet cement. Charlie stood ten feet away. No-one stood between him and her, having moved aside upon hearing his proposal. They were watching eagerly.
Charlie's eyes were fixed on her. His chest heaved as though he had just been pulled from drowning. "Marry me." He repeated breathlessly. Roxy was at a loss for words. She saw his shoulders tense and he stepped toward her, closing the gap. He dropped to one knee. Took hold of her hands. She was distantly aware of the crowd circling them; she had eyes only for him. "I know I don't have the ring, but I've been thinking about this for months."
"Charlie-" Her voice failed her. She gripped his hands, her tears splashing onto his knuckles.
"Come back with me, Roxy." He requested softly. "I promise, I'll keep you safe, happy."
"It's not me I'm worried about." She mumbled. "If they find us, they'll kill you."
"I don't care. If I die married to you I'll know I've done something right with my life."
"I can't let you die."
"I can't let you go." Roxy's knees gave out and he caught her, as sturdy and as warm as she remembered. He pressed his lips to her ear, his arms firmly around her. "I love you."
"I love you too." She cried, lacing her arms about his shoulders. Charlie hid his face in her hair. Roxy would have given the world to marry him there and then on the spot.
But she couldn't.
He would get himself killed.
"Roxy?" He asked quietly. She drew back to look him in the eye. She was in half a mind to say 'no', to keep him safe. Yet, she couldn't do it. He seemed to know what was going through her mind. "I can't lose you, Roxy."
"I don't want you hurt, Charlie. I'd never forgive myself."
"They could torture me for eternity. It won't hurt as much as this." The way he said 'hurt'- he was right. This was killing him. Not them. Not the Enforcers or even the remants of the Anti-Mutant Squad. This was. She was. "Roxy," He was speaking in a whisper now, "Roxy, please don't leave me again. I can't... I can't handle it." She made to reply softly, but he continued. "You keep me sane. I need you, please- please don't go."
"On one condition." Roxy insisted, curling her fingers in his T-shirt.
"Anything for you." He promised. Roxy drew him to her and, for the first time ever, she kissed him. Charlie felt as though his insides had turned to mush and didn't know how to react.
Roxy pulled back and smiled triumphantly, still crying.
"Don't get any big ideas." He blinked a few times, still trying to reform his mind. It took a few moments and then he smiled.
"Now, I can't promise that." He gently prised her hand from his T-shirt and kissed her knuckles. "You can promise me something though."
"What?"
"Stay with me."
"Isn't that the point of getting married?"