Charlotte's Tangled Web: L.B. Pavlov (40 page)

I was already several weeks into school, and I was pleased with my grades. I was working harder than I ever had before. I told myself I was going to get a 4.0 that year no matter what. I knew that was my only shot if I wanted to transfer. My season was off to a great start. My summer training had made me a lot stronger, and my teammates were great, so we worked really well together.

I was staying out of trouble because between football and school, I never went out. I was focused, and I had one thing on my mind: Charlotte. I had purchased my ticket to go out there for her birthday, and I was nervous about it. I decided that I would just show up at her door. I didn’t want to call because I was afraid she wouldn’t speak to me on the phone. I thought it would be better to do it face to face.

James gave me all of her information. I would have to shower and change quickly after my game to get to the airport. James was going to take me. I had a rental car waiting for me when I arrived at the San Jose airport.

I had been tracking Charlotte’s season, and it constantly reminded me that I had done the right thing. She was exactly where she needed to be. She had started her season off by surprising everyone with a third place and a second place, and then two weeks later she won her first large, collegiate-level invitational and amazed everyone even more. Charlotte was in her element. She was running with the best college runners in the country, and she was excelling.

I saw a picture of her after winning the invitational, and she looked so beautiful. She definitely looked like she still needed to put some weight back on, which I assumed was due to the intense training she must be doing, and I stared at her mesmerizing brown eyes and her beautiful smile. I hoped that she would understand what I was going to tell her and why I had done it. If Charlotte had come with me to school, she would be running alongside me while I rode a bike. How would that have pushed her? Now she was an elite college athlete, and people were talking about what a bright future she had. Charlotte’s father was right; it would have been selfish to rob her of this.

Being faithful to Charlotte proved easy for me too. I was busy, and when I wasn’t I was thinking about her. Crystal Bryant was still hanging around like an annoying groupie at games, and there were plenty of girls who were interested in guys just because they played football, but no one had so much as tempted me.

I was happy we had the weekend off from racing, and I could catch up on studying. It was also my birthday, and I had plans to go to dinner with Misty, Todd, Nick, and Natalie—I had agreed to be a fifth wheel, but they were my friends. We would have an early dinner, and I could come back to my room to study.

I knew that Daniel had a game today, so I was anxious to see how he did. I went for a run in the morning with Nick and Misty, and it was starting to get a little chilly, even by my Indiana standards. California had much calmer weather, but there was a chill in the air that morning that we hadn’t had before.

I wanted to spend the afternoon studying, and they agreed we would meet at our room at 6:00 p.m. to go to dinner. I kept checking my phone for updates, but they hadn’t posted anything yet on the Notre Dame game. I decided to take a short nap and then get ready for dinner.

I ended up sleeping much longer than I had planned, and I had fifteen minutes to get ready. It was colder outside, so I decided to wear jeans and my cream, knit sweater with a pink scarf. I smelled the scarf as I wrapped it around my neck, and it smelled like Daniel. The last time I had worn it was when I was with him, and I kept wrapping it around his neck when we were sitting in the game room and goofing around.

I closed my eyes for just a minute to hold on to the memory, and I could see his beautiful smile and those eyes, and I could feel his arms wrap around me. Today had been particularly difficult because Daniel always made my birthday such a big deal, and now it just felt like a regular day. Everyone was waiting for me, but I took a second to check my phone. I had lots of birthday texts from friends and family but none from Daniel. I thought maybe he would send me a text for old time’s sake, but he didn’t. Daniel had moved on. I wondered if I ever could.

Misty, Todd, and Nick were all waiting for me. “Where’s Natalie?” I asked, confused.

“She’s meeting us there. She got stuck at work, so she is just going to go straight to the restaurant,” Nick said.

“Don’t you want to bring a jacket, Charlie?” Misty asked.

“I’m from Indiana, guys! This is nothing for me,” I announced proudly, and they all laughed.

As soon as we got outside, I realized how wrong I was. It was freezing. It was much colder than it had been that morning. The car was all the way across the parking lot, and I was shaking. Nick pulled his coat off, wrapped it around me, and hugged me tightly to warm me up as we walked.

“Take your coat back, you’re going to freeze!” I said, my teeth chattering.

“Oh, what happened to the big Indiana girl who thinks this is nothing?” he said, laughing as he hugged me tightly, planting a kiss on my freezing cheek. “Happy birthday, freshy!” he said, and we all laughed.

Nick had become like a big brother to me. When we got to the car, he grabbed my hands and tried to warm them with his breath while Todd unlocked the doors. “Damn, Charlie, you should have brought a coat and gloves, you’re freezing!” he said as we hopped in the car. He and I got in the back seat. “Are you doing OK today?” he asked. Nick knew that Daniel and I had always spent my birthday together, and he realized that today would be tough for me.

“Yeah, I’m good. Thanks!” I said.

“You didn’t hear from him?” he asked quietly so no one else could hear.

“No, I didn’t, but why would he call? We aren’t together anymore,” I said, turning to look out the window so I could compose myself.

“Well, he’s a fool! And I’m glad that we get to celebrate with you,” he said sweetly.

When we walked into the restaurant, I was shocked when a large group yelled, “Surprise!” Natalie was front and center and smiling. She had gone early to decorate. They had just made up the work story. She and Misty had planned this whole thing. They had the whole team come to dinner and had reserved a room in the restaurant that was decorated with balloons and candy sprinkled all over the tables. Even Coach Little and his wife Angie had come. It was so thoughtful of them to make such a fuss over me. We ate too much and laughed a lot. Everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to me, and they all really made me feel special.

I was exhausted by the time that we got home. We said good-night, and Misty and I headed down the hallway to our room.

There was something at our door, and as we got closer, my stomach dropped. There was a bundle of pink balloons, a bouquet of pink roses, and a copy of
Charlotte’s Web
placed against the door. No card. No sign of anybody.

I placed my hands over my mouth. “Oh my gosh. Daniel was here,” I said, looking at Misty.

“What? Why would he come all the way here and leave?” she asked.

We carried everything inside and sat on the couch trying to figure out what had happened. “I don’t know. He couldn’t have come, he had a game today.” I raced to get my laptop to read about the game. “Yes! He had a game in Indiana today. He couldn’t have been here. And why would he come and leave?” I said, puzzled. Had he asked someone to put this stuff at my door because he felt bad?

“Do you think someone else knows that my favorite color is pink? I mean, I guess someone could get me
Charlotte’s Web
because of my name?” I said, still trying to work the mystery out in my mind.

“I don’t know.” Misty was deep in thought. “But we need to find out,” she said, and she ran out in the hall and started knocking on doors and inquiring if anyone saw who left the stuff at our door.

No one had seen anyone except for Kim Lee, who told us she saw a guy at our door set the stuff down, but she never saw his face. She only saw him walking away.

“Was he tall?” I asked.

“I’m four-foot-ten, Charlie, everyone is tall to me,” she said, laughing, “but yes, he seemed pretty tall and muscular-looking. But he had a baseball hat on, so I couldn’t see his hair, and I never saw his face,” she said apologetically.

We went back in our room. “It couldn’t be?” I said.

“From what you have told me about him, it wouldn’t shock me if he made a romantic gesture like this, Charlie,” she said, thinking some more. “Hey, text your brother and just ask if Daniel is in Indiana. You don’t have to say why you’re asking,” she said excitedly.

“That’s a good idea, but it’s so late there. It’s already after midnight here,” I said.

“Well, then he’ll respond in the morning. It doesn’t hurt to ask,” she said, encouraging me to send it.

I texted James and simply asked if Daniel was in Indiana. I didn’t explain why I was asking, and I fell asleep waiting for the response. I had gone to sleep without crying for the first time since Daniel and I had broken up. I think it was the sheer excitement of the thought that Daniel had possibly remembered my birthday.

When I opened my eyes in the morning, I grabbed my phone, and there was a text from James. It said that Daniel was in Indiana. My heart sank. He hadn’t remembered. Or maybe he had found someone to put those things on my door? I just couldn’t imagine that a stranger would know that I loved pink and to get me that book.

Tears streamed down my face. I had wanted the text to say that Daniel wasn’t in Indiana, and maybe he had come to see me. I wished that he missed me the way that I missed him. I put on my headset, and I drifted away into my dreams.

I woke up Sunday, and my head was pounding. I had had the worst and longest day of my life the day before, and I had no intention of getting out of bed all day. What in the hell had I been thinking? I had played in a football game and then flown across the country to surprise my girlfriend, who thought that we had broken up because I told her that I cheated on her. I had to see her with her new boyfriend and fly all the way back home. What kind of messed up plan was that?

“Daniel, are you up?” It was James, and he sounded concerned.

“No, I’m not up. And I’m not getting up today,” I said grumpily.

“Dude, what are you doing back here? Why is my sister texting me and asking if you are in Indiana? What happened?” he asked.

Of course James was confused. He dropped me off at the airport the day before right after my game. He hardly expected me back this quickly. I sat up in bed to try to explain, my head still pounding. I hadn’t eaten since the previous morning, and it was hard to think straight.

“Well, I got to San Jose. Stopped for flowers and balloons. Drove to her dorm. As I was getting everything together to walk in, I saw her come out of her dorm with three other people. The other girl was holding hands with one of the guys, and Charlotte was with the other guy. I couldn’t go talk to her when she was with another guy,” I said angrily.

“What guy? What did you see? How do you know it wasn’t a friend?” he said, confused.

“It wasn’t a friend, James, trust me. He wrapped her in a coat and had his arms wrapped around her, and he kissed her cheek while they walked,” I said with disgust in my voice. “And when they got to the car, he grabbed her hands and held them, and then he kissed them or something,” I said, the anger in my voice growing.

“What? Are you sure?” He was still puzzled.

“Dude, I flew across the country to see her, I’m sure. She was on a double date,” I said, flustered.

“What do you want me to tell her? Should I say you were there?” he asked quietly.

“No! Tell her that I was in Indiana. I’m not going to make her feel bad,” I decided.

After he replied, he looked at me and asked, “Did she see you? Why is she asking?”

I had completely forgotten about the gifts.

“I left all the stuff at her door. At least she would get her pink presents and her book. Now she will probably think that her boyfriend left them there for her,” I said, getting worked up again.

“Daniel, listen to me, I don’t think she has a boyfriend. What did he look like?” He asked calmly.

“He looked like a fucking predator!” I snapped, and he started to laugh. “You think this is funny?” I asked, offended.