Two days passed and, as the weather turned warmer, flowers blossomed and trees were leafy and green all over campus, turning what had been winter-beaten bare branches and shrubbery bright and colorful. Spring was a time of new beginnings, and, Alex thought as he studied the way Brian and Theresa sat under the shade of a wide oak tree, a time for love.

Or what some wanted to consider love.

He’d tried to be as neutral as he could for his best friends, but he knew it was becoming increasingly harder for him to not be angry with Brian for choosing Theresa over Charlotte. Hadn’t their friendship come further than this, been stronger than this? Or had they just been fooling themselves and let another woman come between them?

"What a cliché," Alex muttered under his breath as he began to walk towards the happy couple.

He knew Brian had taken Theresa out every night for the past three nights, sometimes for dinner or to watch the meteor shower the night before. He was pulling out all the stops to romance her and, Alex knew, make her fall in love with him before the week was up. As much as he loved Brian, Alex also understood how his friend’s mind worked and how desperate Brian was to prove that he’d tossed away a valuable friendship for something solid and true.

So far, there seemed to be no problems.

"Hey, guys." Alex stopped at the edge of the shade and lifted a hand in greeting at the couple.

Brian grinned up at him and waved him closer. "How’s it going, Alex?"

"Not bad. I’ve been packing and doing…other stuff." He didn’t have to see Brian’s face to know that Brian had understood he’d meant spending time with Charlotte.

Brian had to fight the urge to ask how she was, how her hand was, if she’d said anything about him. She hadn’t supported him, he reminded himself, and he shouldn’t be bothered by whatever was going on in her life. But it was still hard to push aside four years of affection and friendship. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I finished packing yesterday." He slid an arm around Theresa’s shoulder. "That way, I could have more time to spend with Theresa."

She smiled up at him and leaned her head against his shoulder before turning to Alex. "Have a seat, Alex. We were just talking about how New York is so obviously better than Boston."

Alex managed a smile and sat across from them. "Well, that must be an interesting conversation, considering how die-hard a Boston fan Brian is."

"Yes, but he didn’t grow up there, did he," she pointed out. "Sacramento’s across the country from Boston, Brian."

"I always knew I wanted to live in Boston when I grew up, though." He let his fingers tangle in her hair and felt a steady warmth glow in him. "It’s been my dream, so, at heart, I’ve been a Boston kind of guy."

Alex just rolled his eyes as the two of them continued to easily debate the issue and let his mind wander. It had taken him a little while to realize why Charlotte had been so truly against Brian and Theresa together. In fact, it had taken a none-so-gentle push from Melanie before he’d realized that Charlotte was in love with Brian. When he thought about it, he realized that he wasn’t really that surprised at the revelation, part of him had expected it for years.

For Charlotte, though, he knew it was a new realization. She’d never mooned over Brian or anyone else because both he and Brian would have caught on right away and teased her mercilessly. Nor had she ever really looked at Brian differently. Alex knew she’d been surprised at what had been inside her for their friend, but, before she could figure out what to do about it, their friendship had been over.

He hurt for her, but, he knew, it wasn’t anywhere close to the amount of pain she was in. Looking back up at Brian and Theresa, he wondered if Brian had told her what had happened between him and Charlotte. After a moment, he shook it off. Brian wouldn’t have. He would’ve thought Theresa wouldn’t appreciate being the cause of a broken friendship. Alex wasn’t at all certain that she would have cared.

He stood abruptly, not able to take watching Brian and Theresa any longer. This is wrong. He stopped himself from saying the words but managed a smile when they looked up at him curiously. "I have to go," he told them apologetically. "I’ll see you later."

And, walking away quickly, he knew it would take him a long time, if ever, to accept Theresa’s place in Brian’s life.

***

"You don’t have to go out," Melanie pointed out. "You should stay in bed."

Charlotte used her left hand to tug a brush through her curls. "If I stay in bed any longer, I’ll go crazy. Absolutely insane. Besides, I need to get out and get some sun."

"How’s your hand feel today?"

She looked down at her bandaged limb and sighed. It still stung quite a bit and, when she’d unwrapped the old bandage to put a new one on, it had looked horribly gruesome. "I’m not going to make deadline if I can’t type, Mel. What am I going to do?"

Melanie wrapped an arm around Charlotte’s shoulders. "Maybe you could dictate it to me, and I can type it up for you. How much more is left of your book?"

Charlotte shrugged. How could she explain that she didn’t know when it would be done until she finished it, until her characters led her to the finish? But, even more, she thought with an inward sigh, how could she explain that the desire to write had dried up amidst the emotional train wreck her week had been. "I don’t know," she finally admitted. "I guess I could call up my agent and tell her that I can send the majority of the manuscript. I don’t think she’ll be able to sell it, though, unless it’s complete."

"You never know." Melanie gave her a comforting squeeze. "We’ll figure something out. Besides, the bandages come off in ten days, and then you can write to your heart’s content."

To her heart’s content. Charlotte wasn’t sure how she could explain to anyone that her heart’s content was out of her reach now. It had taken less than twelve hours for her to realize what she’d always had stored inside her for Brian before she’d lost him through her own stubbornness and fear. For if she were truly honest with herself, she could admit that she’d been undoubtedly unreasonable in her reaction to Theresa because she’d feared that Theresa was the first person who could actually take Brian away from her. And she had, hadn’t she?

Charlotte swallowed the tears clogging her throat and set aside her brush. "I’m just going to go for a drive. I’ll be back in an hour or so."

Not waiting for Melanie’s reply, she hurried out the door, down the stairs, and collapsed in the driver’s seat of her car. True to his word, Brian had returned her car after having had it washed and cleaned out. Even angry, he’d done what he’d said he would. So when he’d brushed her out of his life, he’d meant it.

She rolled down the windows of her car as she drove, eager for the wind to slap the tears out of her eyes. She was tired of weeping, spent from it. It wasn’t in her nature to cry, but what had spilled from her eyes had been tears from her heart. She’d relied on Brian during four of the most important years of her life, and then she’d hurt him enough that he’d pushed her away. That was enough to crack even the strongest of people, she thought and turned down the avenue leading towards the mountains.

Charlotte drove until she reached her favorite overlook on the mountain road. From there, she could look down at the valley, see Duray, and be at peace. Or at least try to be. She could hear birds singing in the trees around her and swatted away a bee that buzzed near her face. Kneeling down, she plucked up a tiny blue wildflower that struggled to grow through the rocky ground. She twirled it absently between her fingers as she settled on the hood of her car and thought.

***

Dusk was settling by the time she drove back down the mountain. Melanie had called already to find out what had held her up, so, feeling guilty, she began the drive back to campus. Instead of heading towards her apartment building, though, Charlotte made an impulsive turn and drove in a different direction.

The neighborhood bordering the north end of campus was quiet and lined with stately homes, each more elegant than the next. The majority of Duray professors made their homes here, and Charlotte found herself driving towards a home she’d visited just a few days earlier.

Not giving herself time to rethink anything, she parked her car and walked up the stone path to the front door. She rang the doorbell then stood, twisting her fingers nervously together.

President Campbell opened the door, and pleasure lit his eyes. "Charlotte! What a great surprise to see you. Come in, come in."

She let herself be pulled through the doorway then stood in the foyer and glanced around anxiously. "President C, I was wondering if Theresa was home."

Campbell frowned a bit before his expression cleared. "No, she’s not. I thought she was going to be with you. Brian just picked her up an hour ago, so I just assumed…I mean, I thought it was pretty great that you, Alex, and Brian were really making her feel welcome by spending time with her." He studied the look in Charlotte’s eyes and sighed. "What happened?"

She shook her head and tried to smile. "Nothing. Nothing at all. Theresa and Brian have been spending a lot of time together, but I thought you knew." She paused. "I guess not."

"No." He sighed. "Well, why don’t we go on back to my office, and you can tell me what’s bothering you." He looked down at her bandaged hand. "And what happened to your hand."

Charlotte nodded, realizing that she’d needed this. She’d needed to be listened to by someone wiser than she or her friends. Someone who was an outsider to the situation. Sort of. She followed him back to the kitchen and grinned when he gestured towards the kitchen table. "Some office," she commented.

"Oh, yes. I enjoy it immensely." He pulled out a pitcher of lemonade and two glasses and brought them to the table. After pouring them both a glass, he settled in a chair across from her. "So, tell me what’s going on as it appears I’m out of the loop as concerns my daughter and some of my favorite students."

She stared at him a moment and swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat. "President C," she began in a not so steady voice, "you make me wish I still had my dad around."

"Oh, honey." He patted her hand, remembering that her father had been killed in a car accident during her first week at Duray. "Talk to me."

And she did. She stumbled over the words, the story, but, eventually, it all came out. She winced a bit at the parts where she’d argued with Brian about how Theresa would hurt him, but, knowing it was too late to stop, she finished out the story.

"I know she’s your daughter, President C, but I can’t help it if I think she’s bad for him." Charlotte sniffled a little and sipped the lemonade, needing it to wet her dry throat.

He gave her a small smile before patting her hand again. "Charlotte, she may be my daughter, but I’m not blind to Theresa’s, let’s say, shortcomings. She’s more her mother’s daughter than mine." He stopped a moment and frowned. "That’s not to say that her mother is terrible because, after all, I do love her. What I mean to say is, we raised Theresa together as much as we could, but you kids end up turning out however it is you want to. We gave her everything we had, the best of it, and she thrived. Maybe she isn’t the most sensitive to other people’s feelings, but she is what she is. And I love her."

Charlotte sighed. "Well, Brian’s convinced he loves her, too. He’s so angry with me, though, and he’s never going to take me back as a friend. It’s just-" She sighed. "It’s just not fair."

Campbell felt a little like a parent watching his child learn that love was one of the hardest lessons a person could learn in life. "I know. It’s often not fair, and, no matter how your parents and teachers will try to shield you from it, there’re just some things that you have to learn on your own. Sometimes, life shoves you down hard, and there’s nothing you can do but stand up, brush yourself off, and keep going." He met her eyes. "I’ve watched you for four years, Charlotte, and there is no doubt in my mind that you will keep going. It’ll hurt because you don’t have Brian with you, but you’re not the type to close yourself off."

"I guess you’re right," she replied after several moments of pondering over his words. "Thanks for listening to me. It helped more than all the sympathy I’ve gotten from my friends."

"There are times when you just need a good, healthy dose of straight talk. Reality." He studied her gauze-covered hand again. "I’m sorry about the burn."

She looked down at her hand, too. "Yeah, me too." She shrugged. "It’s only for a few more days. I just hope it doesn’t scar or anything." Standing up, she shook his outstretched hand. "Thanks again. I have a lot to think about."

"It’s what I’m here for," he told her with a smile as he led her to the door. "Don’t be too hard on yourself or your friends. It’s almost time for you to move into a new part of your life. Try to make amends, Charlotte, or you’ll always wonder what if?"

She nodded and managed to smile back. "I’ll see you at the garden party on Friday."

"Friday," he agreed and watched her go.

***

"Hey!" Alex nearly pounced on her when she opened the door to her room. "Where’ve you been all day? Mel and I were ready to call the cops."

Charlotte hugged him hard and had his brows shooting up. "I’m okay. I just had something I needed to do."

He hugged her back then tilted her chin up to study her face. When he didn’t find anything worrisome in it, he nodded. "Okay. I’m glad you’re feeling better."

"Oh, yeah. Loads." She tossed her keys and wallet onto her bare desk and looked back at him. "So, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be hanging out with Brian and Theresa?"

Alex made a face that made her smile. "I don’t think so. I tried this afternoon, but it was too hard. They’re just so sickening." He sighed. "It makes me glad that they’ll be out East, and I’ll be here. I won’t have to watch them."

"Yeah." But she didn’t say more. Despite the new energy she’d gained from her talk with Theresa’s father, the majority of her still ached from the loss of Brian.

Alex must have sensed where her mood was headed because he threw an arm around her shoulders and grinned. "So, you’re stuck with me tonight. I thought we’d order in, since we haven’t done that in a while, and maybe watch a movie. I’ll even spring for a chick flick," he added in a dramatic whisper that brought a smile to her lips.

"Oh, Alex." She hugged him again. "I’m glad I still have you and Mel."

As his arms came around her to hold her close, he wondered if it was wrong to want to strangle Brian with his bare hands for making Charlotte so miserable. Brian may have been his close friend, but there were some things that Alex knew he couldn’t stand to see. A heartbroken Charlotte was one of them. It was probably a good thing, he decided, that in two and a half days, it would all be over. They would each go their own ways, down different paths.

Separately.