The Other Side

She certainly wasn’t going back to Andy after hearing all that. He was acting as if he was single and Charli knew there wouldn’t be any room for her. He just wanted to be in control and he believed after ten years he controlled her. Not anymore.

“Go away, Andy. I’m not talking to you.”

“Just a few minutes.” Andy stopped a short distance away. He didn’t try to come closer. “Please, Charli.”

“No.”

“Please, just a moment.” Andy bit his lip. “I’m worried about you.”

That was a new one. But Charli was curious to see what he had to say. She wanted to see what other tactics he was going to try to get her to leave Mark. But she wasn’t going anywhere. She folded her arms.

“What are you worried about?”

Andy reached out towards her but Charli stepped to the side so Andy only grabbed air. His expression dropping, Andy lowered his hand and sighed.

“That you’re getting involved with a man who can’t keep it in his pants.”

Charli blinked. She stared at him.

“Are you serious? Did you just say that to me? The man who couldn’t keep it in his pants?”

Andy had the decency to wince.

“I know it sounds odd but…”

“Just get lost, Andy.” Charli descended the rest of the steps and walked towards the edge of the sidewalk. “What Mark and I do now is none of your business.”

“But it is my business.” Andy grabbed her arm and turned her around. He stood too close for her liking. “I love you, Charli. I always have. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“You mean like you have already?” Charli demanded. She pushed his hand away and stepped back, wobbling on the curb. Righting herself, she stepped back onto the sidewalk, grabbing her purse as she prepared herself to run.

“Hildenstern is cheating on you.”

This was a new one. Andy hadn’t tried this tactic yet. Charli folded her arms and glared at him challenging.

“With who?”

Andy reached into his back pocket and pulled out a photograph. He held it out.

“Take a look.”

Charli looked. It was of Mark and a red-headed woman in her late twenties sitting on the steps of a house, a little red-haired girl aged about five sitting on Mark’s lap. They were looking at each other affectionately, genuine love apparent between them.

If Charli hadn’t recognized the woman she would have become jealous and might have believed Andy. She knew Mark wasn’t the kind to cheat but it only took the seed of the implication to take root. But looking at the photograph had her bursting into laughter.

She knew Andy was staring at her as she laughed but she didn’t care. She wiped her eye and shook her head.

“Are you kidding me, Andy? You really need to do your research. That’s his little sister. He’s not having an affair at all. And besides which, we’re not in a relationship so he is technically a free agent.”

That rankled but neither of them had made an official commitment. They were having s*x and doing other intimate things together which felt like the most natural thing in the world. But they hadn’t said about becoming official. That upset Charli but she wasn’t about to let Andy see that.

“Then why are you having a baby with him?”

Charli rolled her eyes.

“It’s not like we planned this. I told you this was an accident and he’s supporting me through the pregnancy.”

“Does that mean supporting you in his apartment?” Andy sneered. “You’ve spent nearly every night for the past two weeks at his place.”

Charli stared at him. Had she heard him correctly?

“Are you stalking me?”

“I’m concerned about you. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“Well, you’d better stop that right now.” Charli’s hands clenched around her purse. She wished Mark would hurry up. “I put a restraining order on you. It’s coming into effect in the next couple of days. And if you start following me again I’ll have you arrested.”

She had finally done something about Andy’s stalking behavior and abusive messages and taken them all to the police station with her mother. They had taken her seriously and helped her with putting everything together. The court was ruling on it that day and Charli was going to the courthouse that afternoon to put forward her reasons to the judge.

It would make her feel safer knowing that Andy couldn’t come anywhere near her.

She saw Andy’s expression change from concern to surprise to an ugly sneer, his eyes narrowing.

“You wouldn’t dare.” He hissed.

“I would.”

“Charli?”

Mark. Relief flooded Charli and she turned to see Mark hurrying along the sidewalk towards them. She rushed to him and Mark opened his arms. Charli ran into them and hugged him tightly, finally allowing her nerves to come out. She trembled in Mark’s arms and his hold tightened on her.

She didn’t look around at Andy but Mark lowered his head to her ear and whispered.

“It’s okay. He’s gone now.”

Charli nodded, her face still buried in his shirt. She shouldn’t be feeling like this. She should be focusing on her pregnancy and enjoying it. Instead she was having to contend with an ex-boyfriend who didn’t know when to throw the towel in and a man she was starting to fall in love with but she didn’t know if he felt the same way.

“Don’t worry, Charli.” Mark stroked her hair. “He can’t hurt you. I won’t let him.”

“I know.” Charli sniffed. “He still thinks I’m going back to him. Even after threatening me and trying to make you out to be having an affair, he still expects me to come back to him.”

“Me having an affair?”

Charli nodded and looked up at him.

“He showed me a photo of you and your sister when she visited here the other day. Except he didn’t know it was Kelly.”

Mark laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“Kim tried to do the same to me outside my apartment. She said you were cheating on me and the picture was of you and Kyle.”

“They’re trying to split us up?”

Not that they were together but Mark didn’t correct her.

“To mess with our heads.” Mark pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m not going to let them win.”

“Neither am I. I’m not going back to Andy.”

She felt Mark’s lips smile against her head.

“I’m glad.”