The Other Woman |Charlie Barber x Reader|

~I Need You~

Three days later, you wake up with two missed calls and several unread messages from Charlie. Apparently, they'd all been made and sent the night before just before midnight, while you were already fast asleep with your cat curled up against you. Whatever had happened, it sounded urgent.

The messages were all vague. They mostly consisted of him pleading with you; begging you to answer the phone, to come see him once you were up, and reminders of where he lived in case you'd forgotten.

The moment you'd woken up, your heart had nearly burst out of your chest. Fearing the worst, you'd been out of bed in milliseconds, grabbing yesterday's skirt and blouse from your 'laundry chair' and practically hurtling from your apartment.

During the last two emergencies, you'd ended up accidentally finding Henry, who you hadn't even known was missing until you brought him to his father's. The second time, you'd been called to Charlie's LA residency in the last hours of the night, only to find him practically bleeding out all over his kitchen tiles.

You supposed it was only natural for this man to have a flair for dramatics; his whole career revolved around it, after all.

But, then again, you certainly weren't expecting the texts to be along the lines of 'I need you so badly.' Now, in your mind it could have meant several different things. One, that he had hurt himself again and that text was all he could muster. Two, he needed emotional comfort. And three, being the idea that practically makes you tremble as you leave the comfort of your apartment building for the cold streets below.

Christ, he'd even given you his address in case you'd forgotten. He certainly seemed desperate enough if he had called you several times throughout the night. Had he been drunk? Just desperate? Or really fucking needy, you think to yourself with a pesky flash of lust.

Stop, you tell yourself as you retreat down the sidewalk, this isn't the time. He could be reckless at times. Perhaps something worse than the knife incident had happened. Or something that involved his divorce. Or you directly.

You nearly stop cold in your tracks at the idea of being exposed to his wife. What if she was standing in his apartment right now, waiting by the door for you to walk in? Sometimes, you really did have an overactive mind, but this fear suddenly felt entirely plausible.

Nicole was bound to find out sooner or later. Why not now? Soon you'd have to face the reality--by facing her--and own up to your mistakes. Even if she didn't have to know that you and Charlie had been together while they were still together, she'd be pretty ticked off by the notion of her ex-husband dating her ex-marriage counselor. Or current counselor, judging by the phone call you'd had. You were positive she was already upset with you after you'd told her off over the phone; not that you'd have the guts to do it to her face. The guilt would surely overwhelm you.

You shiver at the thought--and at the bitter wind nipping at your cheeks--as you turn down the block leading to Charlie's apartment. Even from here, the building is daunting. You can almost imagine Nicole standing on the balcony with a spyglass like some kind of movie villain, waiting for her prey to creep closer.

Jesus, you think to yourself, so much for not turning the poor woman into a villain. Just as equally, she may as well have been one for wanting to take Henry away. You remember Charlie telling you he might just have to do college on the East coast. What kind of torture would that be? Never seeing your kid until they were a full adult? Now, you weren't going to become a mother anytime soon, but that certainly wasn't a pleasant thought.

Even the passing parenthood thought makes you falter for a moment. If things between you and Charlie really did advance, you'd become some kind of mother figure whenever Henry was around. You truly didn't want to replace Nicole; it would never be your intention to take a child away from their mother. But you certainly weren't prepared for that role either, no matter how much Charlie would try.