Breathless (35 page)

"Goodbye," she whispered, hating how easily the words came to her mouth.

Jack kissed the tip of her nose before whispering back. "Goodbye. I love you." He turned and walked down the stairs and to the door.

"I love you more!" Charlotte called out to him.

He turned back to her, a laugh in his eyes and a grin on his face. "Not possible," he told her. He gave her one last sweet smile before the door shut behind him. And then he was gone.

The rest of the day felt like a surreal blur. Everything about it was normal. Charlotte packed her bag and went to the theatre. She met with Mr. Olivier to hear his notes from the previous night's performance. She congratulated her castmates on such a successful performance. She pecked Lizzie on the cheek and asked about her boyfriend. She went to her dressing room and changed into her first costume. She unpacked her makeup and set it up in a line across the surface of the vanity. She brushed her hair from her face and tied it back with a ribbon. Everything seemed so typical, like any normal performance. But really, Charlotte felt as if she were in a haze. It felt as if life was continuing and she was just riding along with it.

A knock sounded at the door and Charlotte was forced out of her stupor. "Come in!" she called, beginning to powder her face.

Wesley poked his head into her dressing room with a cautious smile. "May I?" He stepped in, closing the door behind him and sat on the chair next to Charlotte's. He looked at her pointedly. "How are you?"

Charlotte turned to look at him and gave him a smile. It wasn't forced. It wasn't fake. This time it was strong. "I'm fine," she answered honestly. "I told him everything."

A smile spread across Wesley's face. "And?"

"And..." Charlotte continued. "Maybe someday there will be a future for us."

Wesley grinned at her. "I'm so happy for the both of you, Char. Really I am." He stood and planted a kiss on the top of her head. "Break a leg out there. I know you'll be amazing. You always are. In everything you do."

Charlotte smiled back at Wesley as he closed the door behind him. She turned around to look at herself in the mirror, a sigh escaping her lips as she looked at the girl before her. This girl was only a shadow of the person she had been when she come from Paris. No longer was she a child with her fringe and bobbed hair, the cute upturned nose and little chin. No longer did she wear a look of insolence or of naivety. No longer did she look scared or unsure. Staring back at her wasn't the reflection of the child who had stormed out of her family's last dinner together. Staring back at her was the reflection of a woman who had survived the death of not one, but two parents, the beginning of a new life, and heartbreak and beauty of falling in love for the first time. Staring back at her was a woman who had survived everything and had come out stronger than she ever could have imagined. Not only for herself, but for the people she loved. And there were so many people she loved.

As she walked backstage to the place of her first entrance, she caught the smiles and quiet greetings of her castmates and friends, of Lewis who looked upon her proudly with such a father's love that Charlotte's heart swelled. She smiled back at him gratefully for all he had done for her. She walked behind the stage curtains, hearing her talented cast projecting their heartfelt lines to the audience. She smiled just listening to them, hearing their incredible talent. Looking up at the wires and lights behind the stage, she couldn't imagine how much more beautiful life could possibly be.

She took her place backstage, between the heavy black curtains, and could feel the warmth of the bright stage lights upon her face as she looked out at the actors in the scene before hers. She spotted the bright hue of Lizzie's hair, masked by the powdery makeup. She could see Wesley's bright eyes as he delivered his lines, as if he still had the excitement of a young boy who was on stage for the first time. Charlotte smiled at the pair of them, feeling lucky that she was able to work with such amazing people.

As the scene continued and Charlotte prepared to make her entrance, she took a deep breath. This was for Helen, who would have played the part perfectly but never got the chance. This performance was for her Papa, who never got to see Charlotte perform, but who she hoped she could make proud every day. It was for her mother, who Charlotte now could understand better, because she now loved what her mother loved most in the world. It was for Lewis, who had cared for her even when she had been a spoiled brat and who had taught her some of the most important of life's lessons. It was for Joey, who she had never gotten the chance to meet. And it was for Jack. It would always be for Jack.

Charlotte took one last breath, one last smile, before she stepped onstage, prepared to leave the audience just as breathless as this life had left her.