Chasing Love

“I gave into him that night because I loved him more than life itself, but it was soon afterward that I realized what Momma tried to tell me all along. The big bad wolf had come for me. Taken all that was mine, then left me alone in the dark. He’d emptied me of everything good and pure, leaving me hollow and unable to love, wandering alone in the darkness like a tortured soul.”

The big bad wolf fairy tale Charlie Mason details in the prologue foreshadows her fraught relationship with Lex Edwards. Charlie didn’t accept the story as truth when she was a little girl, but she later realizes that the story is an allegory for predatory relationships. Her description of being “left alone in the dark,” “emptied […] of everything good and pure,” and “wandering the darkness like a tortured soul” evoke notions of helplessness and fear. These are emotions that will come to define Charlie and Lex’s relationship throughout the novel.

“This time, I manage to laugh instead of yell. It’s been a long time since I’ve flirted with a guy, and if there’s anyone worth flirting over it’s Julian Baker. I have a good feeling about this.”

Charlie’s tone in this scene conveys her excitement over dating Julian Baker. For the past nine years, Charlie has isolated herself and set love aside in an attempt to heal from her and Lex’s breakup. In the present, she discovers a newfound ability to “laugh” and “flirt.” These are positive expressions of joy that convey Charlie’s desire for a stable, loving romance. The moment also foreshadows the rapid development of her and Julian’s love affair.