The Magic of Hollywood // Charlie Gillespie

Chapter 24

Victoria's POV

"Victoria, please let me in!" I press my body against the door. "Go away Valerie." I don't wanna see anyone right now. I knew something had to go wrong, everything was way too perfect, but this? I didn't think Charlie would be the reason. I knew it was wrong to let my walls down. I wasn't careful enough and now he hurt me. Pull yourself together Victoria, maybe there is an absolutely reasonable explanation why he isn't here and why his phone is turned off. Omg, I sound just like I did with Max, always trying to find excuses for his behavior. Charlie is not Max, I try to remind myself. I hear a careful know on my door. "I said go away" I try to keep my voice straight but I can barely keep the sobs away, tears streaming down my face... good thing they used waterproof make-up, even though it was meant for the tears of joy tonight. "Vic, it's me. Please let me in" His voice is so soft. He's here? I move away from the door.

My room is completely dark and I'm now sitting in the corner behind the door. I see Charlie enter my room, looking around confused, only his silhouette visible through the light outside my room. I sob slightly and that's when he finds me. He's by my side within a second, pulling me off the floor and up into his arms. I cling onto him. He holds me tightly and I hide my face on his chest. He rubs my back softly, waiting for me to calm down. "Vic, I'm so sorry I'm late. My Uber got stuck in traffic and my battery died. I know this sounds like the worst lie ever but that's what happened." I can't speak, still working on calming down my breathing. He keeps holding me, rubbing my back. Once I finally feel able to speak again I say the first things that comes to my mind "I was so scared you weren't gonna come." - "I would never do that to you, Vic!" I look up into his eyes and know he's telling the truth. I immediately regret comparing him to Max for one second. I can't let my past ruin my future like this.

"I'm being pathetic." I hide my face in my hands, suddenly feeling very embarrassed about making such a scene. He pulls them away gently, taking my chin into his hand and lifting my head so I need to look at him. "You're under a lot of pressure. I promised I'd be here and I wasn't. I'm truly sorry." He moves his hand onto my cheek and I close my eyes, snuggling my face into his hand, all the fear and stress of the last hour leaving my body. When I open my eyes again a slight smile is on my face. I take a step backwards, wipe my eyes as good as I can, trying to not fully ruin my make-up and straighten my shoulders. Bracing myself to go out into the venue again I take a step towards the door. Charlie grabs my arm shyly and when I look at him he's rubbing the back of his neck, a gesture he only uses, when he's nervous. "I... ehm... there's another reason I'm late..." He fumbles for something in the back of his pants. He pulls out a small fabric bag and hands it over to me. I open it and inside I find a silver bracelet. I take it out to have a proper look at it. My eyes start to fill with tears again.

I look up at him. "Charlie" I can't say anything more. I throw my arms around his neck and hug him again. "Do you want me to put it on?" I nod excitedly. "It's beautiful" I whisper. A small silver wave, almost identical to the one around my neck, is on my wrist. "Whenever you're lost in your thoughts you play with that necklace and you once told me the waves at the beach calm you down so..." He rubs his neck again. He remembered? I know I once mentioned it. It was the only day he didn't find me at the club when he got there in the morning. I was at the beach because I had been feeling anxious in the morning. I can't believe he actually remembered that. He takes me hand into his. "Vic, I'm so sorry I hurt you" I shake my head slightly. He pulls me into another hug. "I promise I'll never hurt you again" He places a gently kiss on my hairline, which sends shivers down my spine, and pulls me even closer.

We make our way back into the club where Valerie and Jenny are sitting at the bar talking. When they hear us come in they jump up. Jenny comes over to me and gives me a hug. Then she looks at me for a second, trying to figure out what mood I'm in. I smile at her shyly. Charlie walks over to the stage and grabs his guitar. As if nothing happened he starts doing his soundcheck and in that moment I'm really thankful for it. I don't wanna talk about what happened and why I reacted the way I did, Jenny knows, and Charlie doesn't pressure me. Once he's done he gives me a thumbs up. He leaves the stage and comes over to me, taking my hand a pulling me to the side, away from Valerie and Jenny. "Has anyone told you you look absolutely stunning in that dress?" He whispers into my ear. His voice is a little raspy from the last song he just sang and it just sounds incredibly sexy. I clear my throat and look at him for a second. He's wearing black jeans and a black button up which looks insanely good on him. I try to sound sexy while whispering into his ear. "You look pretty hot yourself" For a second he needs to catch his breath and I just smile triumphantly.