“You disgust me.”

“Disgust is better than apathy, I suppose.”

They were in the middle of yet another standoff. Well, it was more like a sit down as Charley was seated across from him and he’d taken the liberty of taking the seat directly in front of her. 

No matter what she did, Charley couldn’t shake Jacob. It should have been the easiest thing in the world to do, but it wasn’t.

She didn't even like him, but she found it difficult to send him away.

He would leave and never come back if she asked, but she never did. So, he took her silence as a willingness to let him in. Figuratively and literally. 

At first, she was slightly embarrassed by his crush on her as she didn't want her family to know a Boudreaux was sniffing around her front porch. 

But once she had gotten past that feeling, she felt … less lonely. It was an interesting dichotomy - she disliked Jacob and hated what his family stood for but his presence kept her from being alone.

She knows her family loves her; but when push comes to shove, they’re never around when she really needs them.

She doesn’t blame them because she knows they have their own lives, but it still doesn’t change the fact that her life was crumbling before her very eyes and she had no one to carry her through it.

It was how Jacob came to be a temporary fixture in her life. His timing couldn’t have been more impeccable.

One of the worst moments of her life and he shows up right on time. Being around Jacob allowed her to take her mind off of Davis’s shitty life choices; it was just one bad life choice after another that continued to affect her life, even after their break-up.

But then, there was her one moment of weakness - kissing him back. 

It felt nice if the lips weren’t attached to the person they were attached to. Charley wasn’t the desperate type, but who didn’t like to feel wanted?

She felt wanted in that moment, and it made her feel powerful. Someone still wanted her. 

Even after the man she thought she would spend the rest of her life with ruined that dream, she was still loveable. She was still someone who was easy to love. Remy may not have seen it in her, but Charley still had it. 

And she was determined to stay tapped into that inner goddess inside of her, even if it means letting the Devil himself into her home and into her life.

On the nights Jacob does come around, nothing ever happens between them.

Of course, she's sure he wishes it did. She could tell by the way his eyes linger a little too long on her full lips and how he doesn’t look away from her as if he’s riveted by her presence.

She allows him the chance to be a part of her world for a short while. She lets him bask in it because that’s all he’s going to get. He may want more, but he has no right to ask for more. Charley made that perfectly clear when he started coming around.

"Look, Charley, you consume me. You own me. When I first met you, I knew you were different."

"You mean like how your family owned mine, so I guess that's an interesting change of events. Your family has a history of consuming everything in its wake and leaving nothing behind but broken dreams and dead bodies."Charley bit back.

"I can't change the past nor am I trying to absolve them of any guilt, but I'm trying to make it right. I'm trying to fix it. I have no ulterior motives. I just .. I just want to be your friend." He said with a deep sigh.

"Excuse me if I don't believe you."

“You have no reason to believe what I say. All I can do is show you that I'm different. And maybe you can start to think of me as an ally in some way eventually.” He said with hopeful eyes.

Charley was starting to regret having opened her front door to this man, but they were well past that now.

“Let's just play it by ear, and see what happens.”

Breaking eye contact with her, he looks down at his hands before reaching up to run his right hand through his tousled hair.

“It's just ..”

“It's just what?” Charley challenged. 

“You came to me. You let me hold you.” He vehemently declared as he leaned forward to drive his point home. “You let me be a part of what you were going through. And now, you expect me to keep this strictly business.”

“I had a moment of weakness, and you were the only one there.” She said with a shrug of her shoulder. 

“I'm not stupid. I know you were only using me, but it still meant something to me. I saw you. You let me see you. I don't think there's anything you can say that will change how I feel. Not after that.” Jacob said. 

He was serious.

Charley could tell, but she didn't know what to do with this information now. She didn't know what to say. 

“I can’t change how you feel, although I wish I could.” Charley said. “I’m still not completely certain this is not a scheme cooked up by you and your mother to get me to kowtow to the Landrys.”

“It’s not!” Jacob lowly exclaimed. “I know what my family, extended family included, have done. I know who they are, but it’s why my mother and I are trying to stop them.”

“Or it’s why you’re trying to make me believe you are because the two of you are still working with the Landrys. It doesn’t matter though, because I have a plan.”

“A plan?”

“It’s nothing you should concern yourself with. It’s mainly to protect myself, my family, and my best interests.” Charley said as she leaned back into her seat.

Charley had thought up many different scenarios to stay two steps ahead of these people.They were used to pushing people around and getting away with it, but she wouldn’t let that happen.

She was not like anything they’ve ever seen, and she would enjoy taking them down one by one.

It didn’t matter if Jacob made her feel a little less lonely; he was a willing sacrifice and she wouldn’t mind using it to her advantage.