Charley Peace. He is one of the most feared man in San Diego. No one will meet eye to eye with him because even his gaze is as captivating as a deadly crow's. Filled with no emotion or respect for anyone but himself. You know what they say, he lives...
"Gerry I need to go to one place before we go to the airport" I inform him at the red traffic lights.
He looks over at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Where?"
"Just park here and I'll be back as soon as I can" I tell him.
Without arguing when the lights turned green we spot an empty spot which Gerry immediately turns to park in. He turns the engine off as I quickly start to unbuckle my seat belt and take the bag which I put between my legs.
"Don't be long" He says before I get out of the car.
Giving him a small smile I run down the road. Please don't say I'm late, if I'm late then I'm going to regret this for the rest of my life. Reaching my destination I stop and try to catch my breath. Looking around my surroundings, people couldn't be bothered by my state.
They carried on walking as I stare at the building in front of me. Please don't say he's already gone, I plead to God.
"Koenraad what you doing here...aren't you supposed to be leaving today?" A quick smile appears on my lips as I turn to the direction of the voice.
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He has on his black sunglasses looking classy as ever. He's here, I made it on time and how does he know I was supposed to leave today?
"How did you know?" I ask him.
"Word goes around" Looking down at the bag in my hand I hold it out in front of him.
"It's for you" I state. He looks down at the bag and takes it out of my hands making sure he doesn't make any contact with my hands. Opening the bag out I watch his face as he stares at my latest piece. I did a drawing of him standing in the middle with light and dark surrounding him, at the bottom I wrote 'I'm admired but he is feared'. I can sense that he's about to say something so I immediately cut him off. "You're the reason I'm not afraid anymore Mr Peace" He looks back at my face and I don't know if I'm imaging things but it looks like his face just softened.
"Koenraad y-"
"No Mr Peace, please let me finish off what I want to say. I feel more confident now, I always used to say to myself I wouldn't be able to do things but you showed me that I could...you opened my eyes for me without realising. I know that you aren't an open person, I don't know if you do open up to anyone but I want to tell you something Mr Peace and I hope you listen to this. When life gets tough for you it's ok to let go and show your emotions...because at the end of the day we are all human beings. Holding a wall up and covering these feelings and emotions isn't good for you Mr Peace. I know that you have a past, I mean we all do but there's a reason it's called 'the past'. I have no idea what you went through but the past means what had once happened and you shouldn't keep holding onto something like that, moving on is the right thing. Smile, laugh, cry do anything but keep a straight face...and even if you don't do any of these things you'll meet someone who will love you anyway and hopefully show you the right path to happiness" Taking a deep breath he hasn't shown any reaction yet.
He looks down at my drawing of him and looks back up at me.
"Is that all?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.
Shaking my head as a no I continue.
"I think that I'm in love with you Mr Peace" I let out a small laugh and continue looking at him. "It's crazy you know, you must be thinking how did someone like me fall in love with someone like you....I'll tell you how. I fell in love with who you are...you may be mean to me all the time but I know the reason behind your harsh behaviour all the time. I can see how much you're struggling Mr Peace...every day you build these walls up like I've said before and I admire your strength. That's all I have to say" I declare.
I wish I could see what his eyes are telling me. As if reading my thoughts he takes his sunglasses off and there are so many emotions in his eyes. It's the first time I've ever seen him like this. I feel a smile on my face as I take in the happiness that's being shown through him.
"What are you made off?" He asks me with an eye roll.
"Hope" I reply back softly. The next thing I do is probably going to send me in jail but I know that it's worth the risk. I place my lips on his cheek as I kiss the surprising soft skin gently before slowly pulling away. Butterflies fly through my stomach as my legs feel like jelly. "Take care of yourself Mr Peace...I hope we cross paths once again in our lifetime and hopefully it'll be a good encounter"
He does something which surprises me even more; he's smiling at me...and actual smile. I feel my eyes starting to get wet from all of the feelings. I return the smile back as I feel a tear roll down my face for his happiness.
Taking my hand off his shoulder I take a few steps back not taking my eyes off him. He's still smiling at me as I try hard not to break down in sadness. I really am going to miss him...for the first time I've seen him smile and I wish I could now see that every day.
"Goodbye Sofie" He says softly.
Turning around I go and head for my new future. You will forever be in my memory and heart Charley Peace. Despite what happens, I will never forget you.
NOTE: Oh my God, this book is now finished! I just want to say thank you to everyone for liking this story and supporting it along the way. I really enjoyed writing the story of Sofie Koenraad and Charley Peace and I hope you enjoyed their journey as well. Again, thank you for the support!!!!
