Chapter 5

August 5, 2022

Nashville, TN

Will

Charles voice catches me before I open my front door. "Hey man! Would you do me a HUGE favor?" I inwardly groan. Doing a favor for Charles could mean absolutely anything.

"Jane's sister is back in town and she wants me to meet her so I suggested we have dinner together. But I thought it might be strange if it's just me, Jane and her sister so I thought maybe you would come too?" He looks at me pleadingly.

I let out a huff, definitely not liking the idea of clearly being coupled up with her sister so they could go on a date without really calling it that.

"Please oh please Will! I know you don't love the idea of me and Jane but I can't help myself man. She's amazing and so sweet. I want to get to know her better outside of work, but that's kind of difficult. But here is a great opportunity if only you could come and…" He tries to find a nice way of putting it.

"Distract the sister so you two can get all cozy?" I say with a snarky smile and one eyebrow raised.

He laughs loudly and smacks me on the back. "Well not exactly like that, I mean I want to meet Lizzy. But I would like to talk to Jane as well. This would give us a chance. Listen if her sister is horrid you can make up a fake phone call or something and can leave anytime. I'll totally go with it. Just at least try?"

I laugh at his rambling. Him mentioning the name Lizzy hits me. Feels a little weird going on a sorta set up with a woman named Lizzy right after asking another Lizzy out.

But this is for Charles. My best friend.

"Ok I'll do it, but if she turns out to be completely crazy. I'm out of there." I point a finger at his chest, trying to prove my point. "What day do you want to have dinner?"

He gets a sheepish grin on his face. "In an hour?" He looks at me fully ready to get an earful.

"Dude! I would have preferred a little more notice." I say agitated, running a hand through my frizzy curly hair.

"I know, we just came up with the idea last minute. Don't hate me too much." He pulls his hands back in surrender.

I shake my head. "For you Charles. But if I don't say anything all night I don't want to hear about it."

He smiles brightly, smacks me on the back again and disappears into his house. I stand outside my door shaking my head at the ridiculousness.

Lizzy

I dramatically fall on Jane's bed and watch hundreds of outfits fall around me and onto the floor. Apparently Jane is struggling finding the perfect outfit tonight. Which is crazy because she looks lovely on anything she puts on.

"Jane! I love you like crazy, but I am exhausted from camp. I was hoping for a rom-com marathon tonight, not a meet-Janes-boss-that-she's-into but-they-are-not-officially-saying-that-kinda night." Jane looks over at me with a laugh and throws a shirt on my face. I peel it off and let out a loud laugh too.

"Lizzy, I need you there. I think there is something happening between me and Charles, but I'm not sure. I mean he's my boss and I for sure don't want to make a move if he's just being extra kind. I want you there to tell me if I am being crazy or not." Through her light hearted tone, I can feel her panic rising.

"I'll go Jane, but if you guys get all lovey dovey I might find my own way home." She sticks her tongue out at me as she tries on her 100th outfit.

An hour later we find the upscale Ramen place that neither Jane nor I had been to. We walk in and I notice to the left a man with red hair waving towards Jane. He was sitting at a table with a very familiar man.

I let out a loud gasp. Jane looks back at me with a confused look. I hold her hand a second before we make our way to the table and whisper in her ear.

"That's Will! That's the man I dropped a book on!" Jane looks at me shocked, but then lets out a loud laugh. Way too loud for normal quiet Jane.

"Oh wow, I can't believe it! That is Charles best friend Will."

Now I'm the one shocked.

My legs suddenly feel like jelly, but I make myself take steps over to their table. I quickly notice that Will is just as shocked as I am. He quickly gets up and helps me with my seat. Charles is already doing the honors for Jane.

Will sits back down across from me and we smile amazed looks at each other. Not believing the small world we live in.

I remember to take my eyes off of Will and look at Charles for the first time. He is a handsome guy with wavy red hair and a smile that takes over his whole face.

"Charles this is my sister Lizzy, Lizzy this is my boss Charles." Charles for the first time takes his eyes off of my sister and gets a strange look on his face as soon as he looks at me. His bright smile from a few seconds ago is wiped off and now he just blankly stares at me.

Apparently I'm not the only one to notice, I see Will nudge his arm a little beside him. Charles looks at will for a second but then back at me, continuing to stare. I look at Jane who seemed to be just as confused by his weird mood. I look back at Will who shrugs his shoulders and mouths that he didn't know what was going on.

Thankfully sweet Jane helps us all out. "Will, I would introduce my sister, but it seems you too have already met." She smiles towards me and then to Will.

He smiles warmly at me and I have a flashback of the way his finger felt as he traced my jaw, so slowly, so sweetly.

I noticed Charles awake again out of his daze when this new information was mentioned about me and Will. Charles looked over at Will questionly. "You guys know each other?"

"Uh yes, I met her at a bookshop." Will said while taking a sip of water.

"Wait a second! You are the girl that dropped a book on his nose!" Charles says with a huge grin barely containing his laughter.

"Apparently my fame has preceded me. Yes I am that girl." I let out a laugh and was happy to see Charles acting normal. At least I hope this is his normal and not the other way around.

I noticed Will laugh a little too, but then look at me with those dark serious eyes. The ones that make me want to melt like a chocolate bar. It's amazing how sometimes he can be so completely awkward and then the next so smooth.

I look back at Charles who I expect to be staring at my oh so beautiful sister but am surprised to see him yet again staring at me with that strange look once again.

We order our food and I get so uncomfortable with the staring that I decide I need a bathroom break. I was even more thankful when Jane decided to come too.

"Uh Jane, from all that you told me about Charles I have to say I didn't think you portrayed him with such a creeper vibe as I am getting right now." I say as we wash our hands. Trying not to show how completely freaked out I am.

She looks at me with big worried eyes. "Oh Lizzy! I have no idea what's going on. He is definitely acting strange. I can tell Will thinks so as well." I see the genuine worry all over her face.

I feel my phone vibrate in my purse. I fish it out to see a text from Will:

Hey, don't be too freaked out by Charles. He's better now, I promise.

I smile and shake my head, then show it to Jane. She smiles too, but a whole lot more brightly. "So you have eachothers numbers? When exactly did that happen?" She says teasingly.

"No worries sis I will tell all after dinner. First we have to get through dinner with your very awkward boss." She looks at me with an apologetic face. But I just push her out the bathroom door. Time to face the music. Whatever strange music that is.

Will

"Charles! What is wrong with you?!?!?" I say as soon as the ladies leave the table. Of the two of us I would never have imagined Charles to be the one to make a lady so uncomfortable that she needed to leave the table.

He looks at me with wide, large eyes. "Will it's just… she looks so much like my mom!" Charles says in a rush. "I wish I had a picture of her on my phone, maybe Lou does on her Facebook. I mean she's identical to pictures we have of mom in her twenties." Charles rubs his hands through his wild hair.

"Calm down Charles. You don't think she is-" He cuts me off before I can get the words out.

"Izzy, yes! Yes I do! Jane said she's a missing kid!" I hold my hand out trying to calm him and remind him we're in a fancy restaurant and people are starting to stare.

"Charles, her name is Elizabeth not Isabella."

"Yes, but she was only three when she was lost. They might have misunderstood her. It's her Will I know it!" I put my hand on his back and try quieting him once again.

"Listen you have to calm down, we will never know if it is or isn't her unless you calm down. You have already officially freaked her out with your crazy staring. If she comes back out here and your frantically calling her a name she doesn't know she could call the cops on you." I let out a breath. My own heart racing at this possible revelation. "I am going to text Lizzy and tell her you have calmed down. She will come back to the table and we will have a nice calm conversation. Ok?" I look at him awaiting his reply.

He looks up at me with one eyebrow raised and a smile forming at the corner of his lips. "You have her number? When did this happen?"

I ignore his question and send the text quickly, hoping this will all be settled soon.

Not too long after we notice the two of them head our way. They both sit down nervously. Jane gives concerned looks at me and then at Charles. Who now has a wicked bright smile on his face.

Oh Charles! Can you once in your life be subtle and calm!

"Lizzy, Jane mentioned you were recently helping out at a camp for a couple months. How did that go?" I say while letting out a breath. Thankful when the idea came to my head of how to broach the subject gently.

She smiled brightly and nodded her head. "It was great, tiring. But I always love it." She looked towards Charles who was still beaming. "Charles, I believe your dad is the one behind the foundation that started the camps. Is your dad, Marcus Bingley?"

He nods his head and finally gets a few words out. "Yes, Jane actually got to meet him on the 4th of July weekend." He says smiling over at Jane sweetly for the first time that night. I noticed Jane taking a comforting breath and smiled back. She obviously had been on edge over all this as well.

"Yes she told me about that, I would love to meet him someday. I would love to tell him how thankful I am for his generosity to Missing Kids. It has been such a loving place for me over the years." Lizzy says and then takes a large sip of her soup.

"Yes, Jane mentioned that you are a Missing Kid. I was so sorry to hear that. Did she happen to tell you my family's story?" Charles said while taking a pair of chopsticks that were beside him and anxiously shuffling them in his hands.

Lizzy shook her head. "No, but I have heard it briefly mentioned at the camp. Your family lost someone many years ago." She stumbled around with her words unsure if she was getting the story correct.

Charlie jumped in, clearly ready to tell her. "18 years ago my family was moving from Jacksonville, Florida to Chicago, Illinois. My mother had passed away from cancer a couple weeks before that …" Both Lizzy and Jane let out a small gasp and Jane went as far as to put her hand on Charles arm. He looked up at her and seemed to grow strength from her comfort. "My dad wanted a change of scenery. So he decided to move back to where his family lived in Chicago. On our way we stopped at a rest stop in Crossville, Tennessee." Another gasp escaped the sisters, but this time a lot louder.

Lizzy's face was pale and Jane's hand had let go of Charles arm and wrapped both of her hands firmly around Lizzy's that were nestled in her lap. Part of me wanted to push Jane away and let me comfort her. But I knew they needed each other at this moment.

"Charles, did you say it was 18 years ago? Do you know the date?" Jane says, barely croaking out the question.

Charles nodded his head slowly. Tears forming in his eyes. "It was May 22, 2004 around 7pm. That's when I lost my baby sister, Isabella Laura Bingley. We called her Izzy for short, but mostly me and Caro called her Wizzy."

Tears began to slowly fall down Lizzy's face. I couldn't control myself any longer and pushed my chair next to hers. Placing a comforting hand on her back. I felt her lean back into it. Obviously needing that comfort as much as I.

"When we found her, she said her name was Wizzy BenLee. They just assumed she had a lisp and couldn't say her L's properly." Jane shook her head in amazement. Barely getting the words out through her own rushing tears.

Charles walked over and kneeled at the side of Lizzy's chair. Most likely if anyone was watching they thought he was proposing by the way he held her hands and looked at her lovingly.

"We always called you Wizzy because you were so active. You had more energy than me and dad combined, which was a lot." He let go of one of her hands and wiped away his own tears that he couldn't stop if he tried. "Oh Izzy, you look just like mom. Dad always said you favored her so much, but now seeing you grown. It's unbelievable." Jane gave Charles her chair beside Lizzy and she sat in his recently vacated one. He continued to hold her hand and stare at Lizzy in amazement.

Lizzy was completely frozen. Completely silent, just letting the tears rush down her face as she tried to comprehend what Charles was telling her.

"Lizzy, how are you doing? Do you need a moment?" Jane says while leaning across the table to catch her eye fully.

Lizzy nodded her head. "I think I need to take a walk. I'm sorry." She looked over at Charles and Jane, but then landed her eyes on me. "Will you walk with me?" She asked me with a still dazed look on her tear filled face.

"Of course." I quietly said back.

As I helped her stand up and took her arm. I noticed the looks on Jane and Charles' faces. One was shocked, but happy. The other was glaring at me. I give Charles a tight smile back, knowing this whole situation might change our friendship a bit.

I lead her out of the restaurant and we began to walk down the sidewalk. There was a little park a few blocks down. We found a bench to the side and sat down. I decided to wait and let her talk when she was ready. She leaned her elbows onto her knees and slowly rubbed her face. She then stared out into the park as families mindlessly played around us.

"Please know, I am beyond excited to meet my family. I can't explain it- I truly thought I'd never find them. A major part of me thought they left me on purpose, that they didn't want me. But seeing Charles' face, I know that's not true. It's just so much to take in." She looks over at me with wide eyes. Tears began to fall once again.

I moved a little closer to her, where my side was right up next to hers and held her hand.

"When I first met Charles they had just moved from Jacksonville. It had only been a few weeks since they lost you. He was completely broken. His whole family was. That first year I only saw his dad, uh your dad, a handful of times. Most of the time he was grieving in his room. It was Charles that pushed them all to not give up. To do whatever they could to find you."

Another wave of tears rushed down her face, I did my best to help clear them.

"I most likely look like a flaming red potato! I haven't cried this hard since I was a little girl." She says with a laugh, while trying her best to wipe her face dry.

"I think you look beautiful." I say quietly and then quickly chastise myself for letting that out when this is clearly not the time.

A small smile appeared on the corner of her lips. "Thank you for being with me. I needed your strength for a bit."

I smiled warmly at her. "Always happy to give it."

She let out a big breath and then gave me a quick nod. "Ok, I am ready now. Let's do this."

Her determined look makes me chuckle. I nod my head as well, while I help her up from the park bench. "Sounds good."

We start walking back and I am about to send Charles a text telling him that we're ready to come back. When I notice a text from Charles that he had sent 10 minutes ago:

Hey, we're going to the townhouse. I have to tell the girls. Can you meet us there when she is ready?

I smile, knowing that she will need that determination fully to be ready to meet the rest of her family.

I text back telling him we would be there soon and then relay the message to Lizzy.

"Ok, I believe I am ready. How many siblings do I have? I remember Jane maybe mentioning Charles had a sister." She asks as I spot my car. I open the door for her and she gets in.

"You have three siblings. Louisa is the oldest, I believe she is eight years older than you. Then there is Charles who is six years older and Caroline who is three years older."

Her eyes go wide again. But a smile slowly appeared on her face. "Wow. So I went from having zero family to having a large family."

"Yep, there is also Louisa's husband Aaron which me and Charles call him by his last name Hurst. They have a three year old daughter named Bella." Out of the corner of my eye I could see her smile brightly at that.

"Bella, that's sweet. Did Charles name the restaurant after her?" She says while looking over at me.

"No, they both were named after you." She looks shocked once again and nods her head slowly. I can tell she's trying hard not to let the tears fall again. I find a box of tissues I have in the console and hand them to her.

She quickly says "Thank you."

We pull into my parking spot in front of the row of townhouses. I was thankful they weren't all outside waiting for us. Giving her a moment to prepare herself.

"Is this Charles' house?" She looks out the window at the homes.

"We all are renting them, I have one, Charles has one and Louisa's family and Caroline are sharing the other."

She smiles and with a laugh says. "I knew you were a fancyman! These are the nicest townhouses I have ever seen." I shrug my shoulders. If she thinks these are fancy she really will get a kick out of our actual homes in Chicago.

I watched her pull down the overhead mirror. She took a tissue out and wiped off the rest of her remaining mascara. She ran a hand through her loose wavy hair and tried to smooth it down a few times. She shrugged her shoulders and let out a small chuckle. "I guess this will have to do."

Her lack of care of her looks makes me smile. It's a major part of her that draws me to her. So different then the vain women I am normally surrounded by.

I squeeze her hand one last time and we start heading up the stairs of Charles townhouse.

I feel her take a big breath beside me, trying hard to calm herself for all that is to come.

*Authors Note*

Thank you again for all the lovely comments, favorites and follows. I am so glad you are enjoying the story. Originally I had said this story would be only about 5-6 chapters long. But as it has progressed I have seen a lot more depth in it. So most likely there will be a few more big chapters. Then an Epilogue of course. Because Fan Fiction is so sad when there is no epilogue :) Thank you all!