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Charlotte was tucked up in her blanket, resolved to stay in tonight and not go seek out any company other than that of a bowl of popcorn, a bottle of chardonnay, and her favorite romantic comedy. The humor was a little vulgar but it endeared her to it. She loved the sweet story of the down on his luck wedding singer and the woman that brought him back.
The movie was only about twenty minutes in when the front door opened and Sam entered, scaring the daylights out of her. He didn't say a word, kicking off his shoes and marching over to the couch to sit next to her. He grabbed a handful of popcorn, shoving it in his mouth before spitting it out.
"Jeez, Lottie, put enough fuckin' salt on there?" he snapped at her, dropping the spit covered popcorn back in the bowl. As she gingerly moved his mess to the side to salvage what little bit she could out of the ruined bowl, Sam reached forward and grabbed her bottle of wine. Before she could get a word out he had the lid off, drinking deeply from the bottle with a relieved sigh.
"Sam, sweetheart, that was my bottle of wine," she said meekly, watching as he continued to drink. " I only got one glass out of it, please don't drink it all." Her voice had begun to tremble slightly as she watched him continue to drink while ignoring her.
"God, Charlotte, you gotta ease up on the salt," he said loudly, slamming the empty bottle back on the table. "That shit barely even rehydrated me, you're gonna shrivel up and die eating that way."
"It's not that much," she stammered, pushing the popcorn in the bowl around as she stared absently at it. "You didn't have to eat it, you know. I didn't know you were gonna be home so I made it- I made it just for me." Her voice was no louder than a squeak by the time she finished talking. Her eyes burned at the thought that her beloved husband had ruined her night so swiftly.
"What are you watching?" he asked, disregarding her protests as he put his feet up on the coffee table. "Is this a damn Aaron Saller movie? You know I can't stand that guy."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll turn it off," she murmured, grabbing for the remote.
"Whatever, don't bother. Just leave it on," he told her, swatting her hand away.
Charlotte sat back on the couch, choosing to focus more on the movie than her cantankerous husband next to her. She resisted swooning at the romantic moments that she normally couldn't resist, not wanting to get made fun of. She couldn't resist when the main character began serenading his love interest in an attempt to stop her from marrying the wrong man. Her mind drifted a moment, daydreaming an instance of someone doing the same for her. Maybe someone with a mustache that tickled her nose every time he kissed her…
"These are the kind of movies you just hate," Sam groaned, breaking her from her daydream. "This shit doesn't happen because love doesn't exist."
"Wh-What do you mean?" she stammered, her stomach dropping at his words. "We're in love, I love you very much, Sam," she insisted as her eyes burned.
"I don't love anyone," he told her flatly, "I care about you, sure, but I wouldn't say I love you if this is what love is anyway."
"You don't mean that," Charlotte whimpered, "We're married, you love me. You tell me every day before you leave for work."
"I do that out of habit," Sam snorted, his head rolling on the back of the couch. "You know, like how saying goodbye is a habit."
"Sam, stop, you don't mean that. You're really hurting my feelings, you know," she insisted, her tears finally starting to fall.
"What a shitty movie," Sam continued as the credits started to roll. "I'm going to bed, you coming or not?" As he turned to finally look at her, he saw her silent tears and despite her attempts to cover them, he still laughed at the sight. "The hell are you crying for?"
"Sam, it's incredibly hurtful what you said, you know that right? I love you very much and I thought you felt the same about me."
"Alright, fine, whatever. I love you. Are you coming to bed or not?" Without waiting for an answer he turned off the TV, heading to their bedroom without another word, turning the light off behind him.
In the dark, Charlotte's tears came in full. Huge sobs wracked her body as she started to hyperventilate, trying to figure out what she'd done wrong to deserve such a horrible thing said to her. Was it Ted? Could he tell she was imagining him coming to take her away from the horrible life with him? It took her half an hour to get her emotions under control and get the living room cleaned up from her night in. She wished she had just gone to Ted's. Sure, Sam would've noticed when she didn't come home that night but at least there was less likely of a chance of her crying her eyes out alone in the dark.
When she finally went to their room, Sam was already fast asleep. How could he say those things to her and just fall asleep after? Like his life hadn't just been shattered by the sentiment alone. She put on her nightgown, careful not to wake him. She laid down gently, not wanting to disturb his slumber. She laid awake the entire night, still trying to work through exactly what she did wrong. Had she not made the right lunches for him? Had she not kissed him enough before he left for work? Was she not doing enough for him in bed at night when he would have her?
When the sun broke over the horizon, Charlotte realized she'd been awake all night. Her eyes had no more tears left to cry and the rest of her body had just been left weak from her silent sobbing. When she heard Sam start to stir, she closed her eyes, desperate to go unnoticed. He got up, showered, and left for work without regard for her or her day. By the time he went out the front door, Charlotte only had half an hour to get ready for work. She wanted to just stay home but the thought of being alone was unbearable. At least at work, she had Ted. Ted would know something was wrong and want to know, but at least he even cared.
Charlotte was a mess by the time she made it in, nodding off at her desk in between the phone ringing. Ted made his way over to her desk in no time, leaning against the cubicle with a sly smile as he looked at her.
"Long night of wine and romcoms?" he asked with a chuckle. When Charlotte finally looked up at him, his entire demeanor shifted. The bags under her eyes worried him but it was her bloodshot eyes that really concerned him. "Whoa, Charlotte, are you okay?" he asked, straightening up to get a better look at her.
"I'm fine, Ted, I'm fine. Just couldn't sleep last night," she lied, giving him a tired smile. He eyed her suspiciously but seemed convinced for the moment.
"What, didja miss me or something?" he asked, still watching her carefully as he resumed his lazy lean.
"Honestly, a little," she said with a yawn. Her exhaustion had lowered her inhibitions enough to allow that slight truth slip out. The full truth would've been telling him about the hour she spent imagining how much better her life would be if Ted was her husband, rather than Sam but she didn't want to give Ted any more ideas of them running away together. She wasn't happy with Sam, not one bit but he had been drinking. He'd had almost an entire bottle of wine! He couldn't have meant it.
While she was lost in thought, apparently Ted had been talking. She hadn't noticed until he started waving at her to get her attention again. "Hey, space cadet, anyone in there?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her, "You sure you shouldn't just go home? This place can survive one day without you, ya know."
"No," she grumbled, "Don't wanna be at home all alone."
"I mean, I can take you home, if you need me to. I'll just tell Davidson that you're sick and I'm gonna look after you. He'll understand."
The suggestion was just tempting enough to get her to look up from her hands and give him a small nod. Without another word, Ted spun on his heel and went straight to their boss's office. Charlotte didn't look up, resting her head on her arms to avoid the stares that no doubt were coming out of that office. Ted returned quickly, grabbing her bag and offering his arm to help her stand. He helped her out of the office and down to his car.
"Your place or mine?" he asked as he turned over the engine.
"Ted, I don't want any funny business, alright? I'm just very tired," she told him, sitting back in his seat to stare at the roof of his car.
"I will keep all jokes to a minimum, but you didn't answer my question."
"Yours. I don't think I can stand the sight of mine right now."
Ted nodded and started driving. The ride was quiet for a while, the only sound being the engine and the occasional blinker and Charlotte could've fallen asleep right there.
"Are you going to tell me what happened?" he asked, his concern thinly masked.
"Nothing happened," she lied, "I don't want to talk about it, I want to sleep."
"Promise you'll tell me later?"
She let out a small groan but nodded, her eyes drifting closed again. She wasn't able to fall asleep before he pulled onto the gravel of his parking lot. The car rocked gently as he put it in park and she let out another groan at the thought of having to get out and walk all the way up to his apartment just to get to his bed.
"Come on, you," he told her softly, opening the door slowly and helping her out of the car. "My brother's not home so you'll be able to sleep all day without any disturbances."
"He's a sweet kid, hardly a disturbance in my opinion," she remarked, letting Ted put her arm around his neck.
"Yeah, yeah, says you," Ted chuckled.
He took her upstairs, helping her with her coat and then her shoes. He got her over to the bed, pulling the blanket back to allow her to get underneath. Once she was in, he pulled the blanket up to her chin, grinning as she gave him a cozy smile.
"Why are you so sweet to me?" she asked him with a yawn. Ted's soft blanket was pulling her off to a fast sleep but she couldn't resist asking before she was lost to her dreams.
"What do you mean?" he replied, confused.
"You're so nice to me. You're an absolute sleaze but I doubt you'd be bringing home every girl you know to tuck her into your bed so she can get some sleep."
"I mean, I don't know," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I care about you, I don't like seeing you run so tagged."
"You care about me," she repeated suspiciously. "Ted, do you believe in love?"
Ted hesitated, staring at her confused, "Yes, Charlotte, I do. I know for a fact it exists."
"How?"
"How what?"
"How do you know it exists?"
"Well, I mean, I just do. I've experienced it before."
"With who? Wait- That girl, Jenny, right?"
Ted's eyes bulged for a moment as he stared at her, utterly confused what she meant. "Yes, not just her though..."
"Well who else?" she demanded, turning over to face him. At the sight of him, staring at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Oh."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, oh."
The two sat in silence for a while, before Charlotte rolled over and said good night. Ted left the room, leaving her to her slumber while his mind raced.
Charlotte dreamt about the movie she'd watched, this time with her life replacing the characters within. Ted came to serenade her as Sam was kept away from her to let him get his point across with three simple words.
"I love you, Charlotte."
In the dream, they kissed and as if the passion alone could do it, she sat straight up, wide awake and confused. The room was dark, the sun having gone down long ago. Charlotte could hear the voices of Ted and his brother coming from the kitchen as they discussed whatever board game they had picked out to play.
Charlotte imagined her life, here with Ted. With someone who loved her. She couldn't even tell herself that Sam loved her anymore, that ship had sailed. Ted's words in her dream, however, rang in her ears as she lay there listening to the two brothers playfully argue.
Ted appeared at the door suddenly, breaking her of her reverie.
"Hey, I should've said it more clearly earlier but, you know I'm in love with you, right?" he told her.
"Yeah, Ted, I know," she smiled, "I think I love you too."