First Girl (Reece Bibby)

Chapter Twenty Three

Two Days Earlier

Reece's POV

It hurt. That's the only thing I really remember from that day. I just woke up with this horrible longing for something. But that was only the beginning of what was about to be the most painful few days of my life. Despite the fact that I'd woken up with Amelia laid beside me, I felt like something was missing. The gaping hole inside my chest was making it incredibly hard to breathe.

I got out of bed, had a shower, dried and styled my hair and got dressed before heading out of the bedroom, leaving Amelia to sleep. I found myself heading up the stairs, towards Charlotte and James' bedroom. The strong urge to see Charlotte was overwhelming.

I opened the bedroom door without knocking and saw her stood in the middle of the room, staring out of the large window. I couldn't tear my eyes away from her, nor could I catch my breath. Her pyjama top clung to her skin, showing every curve. And her pyjama bottoms hung loosely from her hips, the bottom of them touching the floor as they were a few inches too long. She'd just woken up, yet she still took my breath away. That kind of beauty was effortless.

I couldn't help myself as I walked towards her and placed my hands on her waist from the behind, feeling the heat from her skin against my fingers. She slowly turned around, her beautiful eyes finally meeting mine. And I still struggled to catch my breath. "You look so beautiful," I whispered, causing her to smile. I couldn't help but kiss her soft pink lips. "I love you," she told me as I pulled away. She made me feel so peaceful. I loved her too.

James came into the room, causing Charlotte to take a few steps backwards, breaking our contact. "Char, are you dressed yet?" James asked before he looked up at the two of us. "Everything alright?" he questioned. My gaze returned to Charlotte as I looked her longingly. Every part of me ached to touch her. She mumbled something about toothpaste before disappearing into the bathroom. Next thing I knew, she was handing me a tube of toothpaste. Her lips curled into an empty smile and so I took the hint, leaving the girl I loved to be touched by someone else.

"I need to touch you, hold you, kiss you. I've felt like that since the day I met you."

Present Day

Charlotte's POV

When I went downstairs, I found that it was James who was sat in the living area of the chalet. He had a vacant look on his face as he stared out the window. The hole in my chest became slightly smaller at the sight of him.

"James," I barely whispered and by some miracle, he heard it. He looked up at me, his lips curling into a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "What's the matter?" he asked me, the barely there smile remaining on his lips. "I...uh...I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I know that doesn't even begin to make up for what I've done and I know you are so mad at me right now. But I just...I wish I could rewind time because I never would've gone anywhere near Reece if I'd been thinking straight," I explained. The end of the sentence tumbled out of my mouth before I could even think about what I was saying. "You regret it?" James questioned and I nodded. What was I doing? I loved Reece, didn't I?

James stood up and walked towards me. "I'm not mad at you, Char. I'm just hurt," he told me, lifting his hand up as if he were about to touch my cheek but he dropped it before heading into the kitchen.

I followed after him, feeling the need to continue our conversation. "Do you want a cup of tea?" he asked me, grabbing two mugs from the cupboard and I nodded. I stepped closer to him, placing my hand on the counter beside his and without looking at him, I said, "I've tried so hard to get you off my mind, James. But I love you and the more time passes without you, the more it hurts. And it turns out that you're not very easy to forget."

His fingers touched mine and we both looked down at our hands. James still didn't say a word. "You make the pain go away, James. And I'm scared that if I lose you, I'll be in pain for the rest of my life," I told him. I needed him to be a part of my life, just not as one of the main characters.

"Char!" I heard Reece shout from the next room, "I need to talk to you." James moved his hand off the counter and looked away, concentrating on making tea. And just like that, he was snatched away from me.

I went into the living room to find Reece sat on the back of the sofa, a nervous look on his face. "I have something to tell you," he muttered, clearly dreading what he was about to say. "Go on," I spoke cautiously. Whatever it was couldn't be that bad. "I've just spoken to my friend who told me he's just seen a girl I had a thing with. He said she has a baby who is a spitting image of me," he explained. My heartbeat sped up and my breathing became quicker.

"You got someone pregnant? When?" I asked, trying to stay calm. "I was with her before you moved to Surrey, I swear. You know that you've been the only girl for me since we met," Reece told me. "You...you have a kid," I stated, finding it hard to catch my breath. He had what I wanted so very badly. It was as if I could physically feel my heart breaking as I reached for the table for support.

"Char," James spoke, his voice laced with worry as he rushed over to me. Reece's hand smacked into James' chest. "Don't you dare go near her," he warned. I wanted to yell at them for arguing when I needed help but my chest became awfully tight as I sank to the ground. This was it. I was going to die.

Next thing I knew, Claire was by my side, my head resting on her chest and her hand stroking my hair soothingly as she tried to calm me down. All I could see in front of me was Reece and James yelling at each other, James looking at me worriedly ever so often. Tom was stood in between them, trying to calm them down. I wanted to yell at Reece for having a baby but that wouldn't help matters at all. I knew that I'd start pushing him away. That's just how I coped.