•book two in the "It Points Back To You" series•
"i'd roll up my sleeves and drop to my knees for you girl, for you girl
i'd disturb the peace and make enemies for you girl, for you girl"
Emery and Zoey are finally together, but this doesn't mean ha...
The drive home is long, especially because Emery made me let him drive. We finally get back around two in the afternoon. As soon as we pull into my driveway, we spot a moving truck at the house next to mine which has recently been up for sale, meaning we must be getting new neighbors.
After the pleasantries of arriving back home, I ask my parents who our new neighbors are. My mom tells me that our other neighbor, Suzanne, told her that it's a mother and son. The son is my age and will be attending our school after Christmas break is over.
Right as I'm about to reply, there's a knock at the door. "I'll get it," I say. I open the door to a boy who looks about my age, dirty blonde with dark brown chocolate eyes. I would never tell Emery this but I think he's just a tad cute... okay, maybe really cute. But have you seen my boyfriend? There's no competition there. "Hi, um, what can I help you with?" I ask. "Oh, I'm Charlie Garmin. My mom wanted me to come around to each house on the block and introduce myself since we just moved in." "That's nice, um, I'm, um-" I get lost in his eyes and get cut off by my obnoxious brother. "This is my sister Zoey, and I'm Ricky. Nice to meet you," Ricky says, shaking his hand. "A beautiful name for a beautiful girl," Charlie says, shaking my hand as well. I show a slight smile before Emery cuts between us. "And I'm Emery, Zoey's boyfriend." It gets into an awkward silence for a second but then Charlie speaks up. "Well, it was nice to meet you all. I, um, hope to see you around soon." "See you, Char-" I start but get cut off by Emery shutting the door.
He raises his eyebrows at me. "What?" I ask. "No, this is not a 'what?' moment. You know what you just did." "I think I'm just gonna leave you two to yourselves," Ricky says, exiting the room. "You were just full-on flirting with Charlie right in front of me, Zoey." "I was not. I was just being nice Emery." "Well, you can be as 'nice' as you want to be to him, because I'm leaving," Emery says, grabbing his things and walking out the door. "Emery don't," I say before he shuts the door. I sigh, "leave."
I call and text him for two hours straight, until I finally get an answer. Me: Emery, please just answer me? Emery ♡: What? Me: I love you Me: So much Emery ♡: And? Me: I'm sorry Emery ♡: And? Me: You are the only person I will ever want to love Emery ♡: Is that it? Me: Do you forgive me? Emery ♡: No Emery ♡: But I will Emery ♡: I love you too, baby
I close my phone and lay down to relax in my bed. My time for relaxation isn't long because soon I get called downstairs by my mom. "Yes, Mom?" I say a bit agitated because of how tired I am. "Our guests will be here soon," she says. "What? Who?" "I met Janet Garmin outside, and I invited her and Charlie over for dinner. So wash up and get changed." "Into a dress?" I asked. "Yes," she answers. I express an "ugh" sound as I walk back up the stairs and into my room to find a dress to wear. I pick out a casual black dress with a red cardigan, leaving my hair down in its natural curls.
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As soon as I'm done getting ready, I hear a knock on my door. "Come in," I shout. Ricky opens the door the slightest and says, "They're outside. Mom wants you to come downstairs to greet them." "Okay," I say, approaching him. I start walking toward the stairs but he stops me. "And Zoey, don't mindlessly flirt with Charlie again." "You know I didn't mean-" "You know I'm kidding, Z." I laugh, "Oh."
Right as I get to the bottom step, there's a knock on the door. "I'll get it this time," Ricky says. Janet and Charlie come into our home, saying hello and introducing themselves to us.
Charlie comes over to me. "And so we meet again," he says with a smirk. "Hi," I say with a small smile.
We sit down in the living room and talk amongst ourselves before my mother speaks up toward me. "Zoey, Ricky why don't you two give Charlie a house tour?" "I think I'll stay here," Ricky says, looking sternly at me. "Um, I guess I'll give you a house tour," I say.
We walk up the stairs and I show him all over the house, ending with my room.
He takes a glance at the pictures on my wall. "Woah. Is this all of you and-" "Emery?" I ask. He nods. "Mostly." "You two really have a lot of history, don't you?" "You could say," I laugh, sitting at the edge of my bed. He sits next to me. "I could sense from earlier that he didn't like me too much." "I wouldn't say that. He's just... overprotective," I say. "And your brother?" he asks. "He is too. They both watch out for me. Ricky because he's my brother, and Emery because he's my-" "Boyfriend. I know." Charlie finishes my thought. "Yea," I say, causing a brief silence.
"Um, where are you guys moving here from?" I ask him to break the silence. "Suffolk. My mom got a job offer here and we decided to move because our house was too big for us anyway. My sister moved out last year; she lives in California now," he says. "No way! I'm going to California next year for college," I say, excited. "That's why my sister went," he says. "Cool," I say. "Um, if this isn't prying, what about your dad?" I ask. "He died when I was ten. Heart attack." "Oh my God. Charlie, I'm so sorry," I say, feeling terrible. "Don't worry about it," he says, touching the top of my hand which rests on the bed. "I rather think of it as a life well-lived than a quick and tragic death." "That's a good way to look at it, I guess," I utter, not knowing what else to say. He smiles a faint smile. "I have a feeling we're gonna be good friends." "Me too," I laugh, "if you get approval from my boyfriend and brother." "I think I can do that," he laughs.
We head back downstairs, laughing about some stupid but funny pun Charlie said. "I see you two are getting along just great," Janet says. "Yep, and I think Charlie and Ricky will be great friends too," I smile, looking at Ricky. Ricky smiles and nods.
I can already tell, Charlie will be a great addition to our friend group.
Chapter 30 Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading. Please comment your favorite line, leave your overall comments below, vote, recommend, and follow for updates. Thank you, again. ❤
OMG I've missed writing this so much!! Who wasn't expecting that? How do you guys think Charlie will interact with the rest of the group? LMK in the comments! LY 💞
