Chapter 3 - Hearing Each Others Voice (Charlotte)

It had been a few days since I messaged Matthew. I felt really happy once I had done it. I don't know why I was so nervous about doing it. It was nice to have a min catch up on text. Even if it felt awkward. He asked all about things that I was up to and I told him. How I was a trainee paediatric surgeon and how I was really enjoying what I was doing these days. He told me he had joined the police. I know how much that was a dream for him. The more I think about him, the more I feel all jittery inside.

"Oi, Charlotte! What are you doing staring into space? Let me put a face mask on you," My Mum says. Since Dad said what he said to her, we both have spent some time together. Mum has been less in my face about guys and has started to spend time with me. It has been nice to spend time with her.

I look up from my phone. For some reason, I have just been staring at my phone. I guess waiting for Matthew to reply is something that was sending me absolutely crazy. "Can you have some patience? I may not be ready to have a mask on yet," I tell her with a grin and she shakes her head.

"You have been working all week. Kick back and relax. You are definitely your dad's daughter," Mum utters with a grin.

"I will always be like Dad. It's what happens when he bullies you as a child," I say and I hear a large scoff. That is so Dad.

"I never bullied you!" Dad says with a roll of his eyes.

"You roll your eyes like your father does. You are definitely his double. Where Rihanna is my double, you are Dad's double," Mum says. That is one point that she has got right. Mum is the type of person who finds a Monday to Friday job more suitable for her. Rihanna is also the type who prefers a Monday to Friday. The idea of working night shifts and even weekends is horrifying to them. The amount of times before I moved out when I was waking up for work and Mum and Rihanna were getting ready to settle for the night was hilarious. Dad and I are more the type of people who can deal with those crazy shift patterns . For some reason I thrive off of those kinds of working patterns that me and Dad work. Even if some days I wake up and wonder why I do that to myself.

Weirdly when me and Matt were messaging, he asked me how I found the crazy shifts. He asked if I would dream of doing a typical 9 to 5 and I told him I would not dream of it. I wondered what he thought about the shifts. And, he told me he couldn't imagine a 9 to 5 job. I guess once you have started to work a certain way and gotten used to it, going to something else would definitely be difficult. I was also pleasantly surprised to know we had been in the same city for a couple of months since he transferred. However, we had yet to bump into each other.

"Who's double would you say Gray is?" Dad asks as Mum gets the face mask out. She passes me a face wipe.

"You still have some makeup on, sweetheart," She says with a grin and I just roll my eyes. I look at Dad, considering his question.

"Well, he's a police officer... he's a total hot stuff. He has a secret musician side to him," Mum lists as she thinks. She was very surprised when he chose to study music at college before he went to do public services. Mum was also pleasantly surprised when he wrote a song for her 50th birthday. I have never seen my mother look so proud and emotional. I guess being the only boy he and Mum have a special bond.

"I wouldn't say he's much like any of us. Maybe your granddad though. Granddad was a brilliant musician. I am sure if you gave him a guitar nowadays he would still be brilliant," Dad says, talking about his own Dad.

"Matt used to love coming to granddad's house with me because Granddad would constantly serenade the two of us," I utter with a smile. It was a fond memory. Not because Matthew was there. But, also, it was something that was heartwarming. My granddad would sing me songs and would make me smile with his musical side.

"Do you talk to him these days?" Mum asks, with a slight smile.

"I have been messaging him, yeah," I reply. I wipe my face with the wipe. Getting the remaining makeup off of my face.

"I know I said to you that he was just one of your childhood phases. But, you two got on really well," Mum utters as she starts to put the cucumber and whatever else mask on my face. I close my eyes as she does this. I have a little think to myself. I remember all the times we would dance without music in the middle of the park. The more I think about those random little things we would do together, I feel a hint of sadness in my stomach.

"Right, you gotta keep that on for 15 minutes," Mum says, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Have you put it all over my face on the blemishes?" I ask her.

"Yes, I am not going to miss those, am I?" Mum says and rolls her eyes.

"Alright alright," I say and I get comfy on the sofa. Mum gives me a glass of wine and I sip it carefully.

"Don't worry, your face mask isn't going to fall off," She says with a laugh.

Dad walks over and sits next to Mum. "Charlotte, your face is green," Dad says, frowning at me with a massive grin on his smug face. No shit Sherlock.

"It is a cucumber peel mask, it's not meant to be pink is it?" I say to him, My phone buzzes and I pick it up and see it is Matthew. I scramble to my feet, putting my wine glass on the coffee table.

"What's wrong?" Mum asks.

"Matthew is ringing me," I exclaim. I sound far more excited than I probably should. But, we haven't spoken to each other in so long.

"Answer it then," Dad says in a high pitched voice.

"Not cool, Dad!" I say as I press the answer, putting the phone to my ear. "Hey," I say softly.

"Hey Charlotte. Are you ok?" Matt's voice asks. Hearing the sound of his voice makes the butterflies in my stomach start to flutter after a long time of not having fluttering butterflies in my stomach.

"Hi, I'm good. Are you?" I ask softly.

"I'm good," Matt sounds nervous as he pauses for a moment. As if he is trying to formulate a sentence. "I don't know why I called you. I just... miss chatting to you,''he says sweetly.

"I miss chatting to you too," I responded as I walk out of the room. I can hear silence for a moment. It's almost as if he can't believe I have said that. "Matthew?" I ask, wondering if he is still there.

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to say that," He says and laughs slightly.

"Even though we lost touch," I pause for a moment, "I still thought about you." For some reason, getting that off my chest felt really good. As nervous as I feel about telling him that, getting that off my chest felt so bloody good.

"I have never stopped thinking about you, Charlotte," Matthew mutters back.

As he says that, I feel a little bit of fluttering in my chest. There was a very sincere tone to what he said. But, for some reason, I have no idea what I should say next to him. My words have seemed to fail me.

"Charlotte?" Matthew asks nervously.

I take a deep breath, and I mentally slap myself. I am probably freaking him out right now by not saying anything to him.

"I am sorry, you just shocked me saying that," I whisper.

I can hear him laugh slightly. I have missed the sound of his laugh. The laugh was something that brought me joy when we were together. He had a contagious laugh that made everyone around him laugh back. I used to love being silly and making him laugh just so I could hear his laugh.

"Why are you shocked? You were my first love, Charlotte," He mumbles softly. Even though he is on the other side of the phone and I can't physically see him, I feel his presence.

As I shut my eyes, I remember how safe I felt when I was in his arms. How being close to him made me feel safe. How his hot breath would feel as he whispered sweet nothing to me.

"You were my first love," I whisper. And, I feel an ache set in my chest. I have had my heart broken by my ex. The more I talk to Mstt, the more I find my mind trailing back to the times where he would tell me he loved me. How he wanted to give me the world. Wanted the world to know he loved me so much. There are times I wonder what may have been. No one has made my heart flutter the way that he makes my heart flutter.

"You were also my first love," He says back. There is a small moment of silence before I hear him clear his throat. "Do you fancy hanging out at some point? It has been so long since we have seen each other," Matthew adds.

The idea of seeing him again makes me excited. I would love to see him. To just catch up. See if he has changed. Oh, don't be stupid Charlotte, of course he would have changed. He is probably in a new relationship and is happy.

"That would be really nice, yeah, I would love that," I say. For a moment, I am sure I can hear him take a deep breath with relief. Like, he had been holding his breath, waiting for me to answer.

"I will have to text you and we should arrange a day we can meet up," Matt says, sounding really excited.

"Ok. Well, I best go back to my relaxing night with Mum and Dad," I say.

"Have a good night Charlotte. I've missed your voice," Matt says and my heart flutters once again as he says that. Did he really just tell me he missed my voice?

"You too, Matthew," I say softly. I stare at my phone as I bring it down from my ear. I just stare for a few moments. I don't have any racing thoughts. I just stare at my phone. I can't believe I have spoken to him. It really has been away too long since I last saw him. The last time we properly saw each other was before I transferred to a different medical school in my third year. We ended things amicably. It wasn't even ending things because we wanted to. But, we didn't want to risk whatever we had because of how far away I would be. I still regret that.

"Charlotte, you alright?" I hear and look up to see Mum. She has been standing there for a little while.

I nod and speak softly, "Yeah, I am good, sorry I was talking to Matthew."

"That much I could tell," she responds and she smiles. Like she is trying to find something to say to me.

"It was nice to talk to him," I admit with a smile. She nods at me with a smile.

"You know, you should meet up with him," she suggests. Like I haven't just agreed to meet up with him. I know she probably didn't hear the conversation and I know she isn't being nosy or anything.

"We just said that," I say and pause, looking at my phone again for a moment, "we said we would find a time to meet up, which works for both of us."

Mum smiles and she looks at her watch. "You need to peel the face mask off, now. It's been 15 minutes. Unless you want to keep it on a bit longer," she says.

"I'll go take it off, now," I say, getting up and I go to walk up the stairs. I go into the bathroom and take the face mask off. As I do, I groan slightly as it does pull on my skin. I wash my face and I can see the skin looks smoother. It definitely does work like Mum promised me it would. I go back downstairs and I go and sit back in the living room.

"How is Matthew? Has his voice gotten sexy and deeper?" Dad asks, with a grin on his face.

"I mean, he sounds the same as last time I spoke to him," I shrug.

"Isn't he a police officer now? I am sure when I last spoke to Judy she said his Mum had said he had joined the police," Mum says.

"Yep, he is a police officer," I respond.

"He always wanted that as his career to be fair," Dad says and smiles over at me. He winks at me before he speaks. "Just like you always wanted to be a doctor," He says softly. I can hear a lot of pride in his voice as he says that. My heart warms up as he gives me that smile he gave me when I got accepted into medical school, when I finished each year, when I graduated, and when I chose my specialty. It is the kind of smile that has brought me to tears many times.

"I am sure he is a very bossy one," I add, trying not to get emotional. Both Mum and Dad laugh at that..

"He used to be really bossy with his sister, do you remember that, Adrian?" Mum asks.

Dad nods and smiles. "You should see him, sweetheart. It will be good for you," Dad utters. And, for a moment, I wonder what he means by that. And, I can sense, he is having his usual fathers intuition at this moment in time.