Thanks for your review EC Brenway! So glad you like where the story is heading and that the bond between Chelly is getting stronger!
The Chemistry In Darkness
Chapter Forty-Nine
Sunday 15th December 2024 – The Night Of The Full Moon
"Elly home?" Chloe asked the second Bea opened the front door at the Kennedy's.
Bea raised her eyebrow at Chloe's unexpected brashness, deciding to tease her, "Hi, Bea, nice to see you this bright and early on a Sunday morning. You're looking great like you haven't been up all night with a toddler trying to get Aster to go to sleep because her Mum was away and Aster thought it'd be fun for Yashvi and I to not go to sleep most of the night. Say, any chance Elly's home?"
Chloe blushed at Bea's teasing, "Yes, I meant all that too."
"But, you mainly meant the Elly part?" Bea continued teasing, surprised to see Chloe blushing even further as she silently nodded, "You just missed her. Elly had breakfast with Aster then took off with her for the day, said she'd need Vee and I to mind Aster again this evening for her. Elly didn't say why or where she was going today…or what time she'd be back. Were you expecting her to go on your run together this morning?"
"Oh," Chloe replied sadly, feeling desperate to talk to Elly about their kiss the previous night, "Ah, no I know Elly and I weren't going to be able to go for our run for the next few mornings."
"You look worried about Elly," Bea picked up on, "Actually, you don't happen to know where Elly slept last night, Chlo?"
Not with me… Did I want her too? Wow, that is not a question I thought I'd be asking myself…
"Okay, now I feel a little justified in my worry. Elly didn't sleep here last night? I was with Elly 'til just after eight-ish last night but she…ah…took off. She said she was meant to go stay with the other family for several nights but I wasn't sure if she still took off to them after she left my place…or came back here," Chloe stumbled over her words.
Came back here after she ran away from me up the street from here…if I tell Bea that part then I'll need to tell her about the kiss I shared with Elly…and as much as I need to talk to Elly about that…I can't risk anyone else finding out cause then that risks Pierce finding out…
Bea shrugged, "My sister was being weird this morning when I saw her in the backyard changing into a t-shirt that she'd gotten straight from the clothes line. I swear it looked like she'd slept outside in the backyard. She didn't end up going to spend the night with the other family like she'd planned. I dunno, maybe she took Aster with her to see them even though she'd be back with Aster later for Yashvi and I to mind tonight again."
"Okay, yeah that is weird if Elly slept in your backyard…I'm sure she slept in her bed and was just outside early this morning," Chloe decided.
"That makes more sense," Bea admitted, yet didn't believe that Elly had slept in her bed last night, then changed the subject, "So, what were you chasing Elly for?"
Chloe opened and closed her mouth for a moment, "Well, I just…needed to talk to her."
"You can talk to me," Bea offered.
Chloe shook her head, "Nah…it's more…Elly related. So, she didn't tell you what time she'd be back here?"
Bea wondered what could be 'Elly related' for Chloe, worried her sister's feelings for Chloe had caused something to happen between them, yet thought to herself, as the married one, Chloe wouldn't be so eager to get a hold of Elly, "Not a clue what time she'll be home."
"I'll call her," Chloe decided, then as she turned to leave, Chloe turned back to Bea, "When she gets home, can you let me know, Bea? I kinda really need to speak to her."
"Sure," Bea agreed, as she watched Chloe wander back across the road to her house, feeling like something had happened between the pair and worried what that would mean for her sister who had a habit of running away from her problems.
Over at the Flametree Café, Elly sat at a table with Aster, having a cup of tea and hot chocolate, hiding out away from the main Erinsborough haunts that Chloe would know to look for her.
If she wants to look for me…she so doesn't…
The Flametree Café was part of the day spa away from the Lassiters complex, it was still part of Erinsborough but with Harold's Café, the Waterhole and the Tram, as dining experiences locally, this café was the least frequented by locals.
Elly wanted to do what she could to give Chloe space and was too worried about Chloe outright rejecting her despite knowing the bond between them wasn't meant to be stopped by anything.
Aster knew something was up with her Mum, seeing as though she was still in town instead of disappearing to be with the Pack like she was supposed to be but Aster also knew Elly had a habit of trying to protect herself from getting hurt.
As they sat together at the café, Elly was on the phone to Lexa, having called her friend to let her know she was fine despite not meeting up with them as planned, "I'm fine, Lex. I didn't make it out to meet you guys because something came up and I couldn't get there. I didn't get lost halfway there."
"We were more concerned you didn't make it the whole way out to us before the moon rose and you transformed halfway on the way…that would've been dangerous if you had," Lexa pointed out.
"Very dangerous to have transformed out there but I didn't because I stayed out here in Erinsborough and it was…okay," Elly revealed, "I mean yeah, I didn't have the best timing because I completely and utterly lost track of time…and okay that it was the night before the full moon…but overall, everything went fine. I transformed, nobody saw me wandering around the town for the night before I curled up and fell asleep. I mean…Chloe kinda spotted me but it was from afar and I don't think I freaked her out…"
"I'm glad last night worked out for you. Can't believe you of all wolves would lose track of time on a wolf night or that it was a wolf night. Must've been some distraction. Chloe seeing you as a wolf even from afar still worries me. You know how careful you need to be before you tell Chloe the truth because if she reveals our secret to anyone else, we're at risk," Lexa worried.
"Tell me about it, I had everything planned out to give me extra time to make my way there and I just…totally lost track of time. It was fine, I promise you, Chloe only saw me from afar. I don't think she was scared of me. It was actually…it made me think that if I ever was to tell Chloe…and that is a massive IF…maybe she wouldn't…be as scared of me as I think she would be," Elly explained.
"Being scared is one thing, blurting out our secret to people who shouldn't know is kinda what I'm mostly concerned about, Fresh Meat," Lexa admitted, "But then again with Chloe being your mate, you kinda need to reconcile the fact that you need to tell Chloe the truth one day soon. If you think Chloe might be receptive to our big secret…I'd suggest you tell Chloe before you make a move on her, that way she knows what she's getting into by being with you."
Little bit late for the telling Chloe before I make a move on her…
Elly glanced at Aster, happily sitting across from her sipping her hot chocolate.
If I tell Lexa that I kissed Chloe and Chloe kissed me back in front of Aster…that daughter of mine will be overjoyed but also never stop talking about it.
"I know…after last night…I think I'm starting to see that one way or the other…I need to tell Chloe the truth about me. I guess you're right when you've said in the past that Chloe will work out something's different with me when I don't age…not to mention all my other powers. I'm just struggling to work out when to tell her…on top of waiting for Chloe to realize her future is with me and not Pierce," Elly confessed.
"It'll all work out in the end, Fresh Meat," Lexa promised.
"I really hope you're right, Lex," Elly agreed, "Look, I'm gonna stay out here tonight. I'll give you a call tomorrow morning to let you know I made it through another night."
"If you need any help, you know where we are," Lexa offered before hanging up the phone.
"Chloe will understand when you tell her you're a wolf, Mama," Aster added quickly.
"I can only hope Chloe will. I'm not ready to tell her the truth yet, Aster, but one day soon I will," Elly decided, "Perhaps before next months' full moon cycle…or the one after that."
"Okay, Mum," Aster agreed happily.
As Elly put the phone down, Chloe's name came up on the Caller ID for an incoming call. Elly flicked the phone on silent, letting the call ring out, then glanced at Aster who was looking at her strangely, "Not a number I recognize. Besides, I'm spending my day focused on you, Aster, my girl."
As Aster nodded and continued sipping on her hot chocolate, Elly placed a smile on her face.
I can't avoid Chloe forever…how about until the end of the moon cycle when I know I'm back to myself…? I guess at least one good thing came out of last night…I don't need to leave Erinsborough to turn into a wolf on the full moon.
Later that day, Chloe returned to the Kennedy's, asking Bea as soon as she opened the front door, "Elly home yet?"
"Chloe, this is the third time today you've asked me that. Don't you trust that when she does come home, I'll let you know?" Bea pointed out shyly to her friend whom was clearly desperate to speak to her sister.
Chloe blushed once more, hating how obvious it was that she wanted to talk to Elly about their kiss yet it was appearing more and more that Elly was avoiding her as she also wasn't taking her calls, "I know, I'm sorry…I just really need to speak to Elly…"
"What happened between you both?" Bea asked.
"I will tell you, Bea…I just need to talk to Elly about it first," Chloe promised, before sighing, "I'll try Elly again later…"
Before Chloe turned away, Bea added, "Chlo, whatever it is that you and Elly need to talk about, just give my sister some time. She's not going to run away again…she promised us all, she wouldn't."
As Chloe turned back to walk home once more, she grumbled to herself.
I hadn't even thought that Elly might run away again…one little kiss and everything could change…I need to get Elly to talk to me about it…I don't even know what to say or feel about our kiss…
That evening, Chloe was once again standing against the balcony out the front of her house alone. She came to find that she was happy to do a lot of thinking at the balcony rather than locking herself away in her art studio.
Elly hadn't called her back. She'd avoided the handful of calls that she'd made. On top of that, Bea had texted about an hour ago to say that Elly had returned home to drop off Aster to be looked after for the evening before rushing out the front door again less than a minute later. Chloe assumed that meant that Bea either didn't have a chance to tell Elly that she had been eager to talk to the brunette.
Or Elly ran out on Bea because she truly doesn't want to talk to me about our kiss…
Despite her anguish, Chloe smiled as she suddenly spotted the dog from the previous night sitting on the corner of the street again. Chloe had secretly hoped it would come back but didn't think that it would.
Pierce glided outside to the balcony to stand next to his wife, "You out here again? What's going on, Chloe?"
Chloe continued staring at the dog from across the street, "Just doing some thinking, Pierce. Looks like I'm not the only one out here again."
Pierce groaned when he saw the wolf again, "What is that wolf doing back again? We seriously need to call animal protection on that wolf."
"You're not calling animal protection, Pierce. She's harmless," Chloe determined, deciding not to argue that it wasn't a wolf.
Pierce rolled his eyes at his wife, "How do you even know it's a 'she'?" before his foot nearly tipped over a bowl at Chloe's feet, "Chloe, what is with the bowl of water and…is that some of our leftover dinner? What are you insanely trying to entice the wolf to come eat this food?"
Maybe…I have no idea why I want to see the dog come over here to me…
Chloe shrugged, "It's hanging around outside at night on its own…thought it might be hungry."
Pierce glared across the road at the animal, feeling unnerved by the wolf, unable to argue with his wife about it because he refused to allow Chloe to be upset with him so he could get her to start a family with him like he desperately wanted, "Fine, feed the wolf, you're making a mistake if you do and that thing hurts anyone. But whatever you do, you are not letting that thing in our house. I'm going to bed, got some reports to read, don't be out here for long."
Chloe watched as her husband turned to go back inside, smirking at him, "Pierce, we both know you let me do anything I want."
Pierce shook his head at his wife's teasing, "I'm not letting a bloody wolf in our house, Chloe."
Chloe turned back to the edge of the balcony, staring back at the animal, unafraid of it.
What is it about you that makes me want to give you a good home and curl up at my feet at night…? Why is Elly avoiding me after our kiss? Does she think I'll refuse to be friends with her ever again if Elly does…have feelings for me…yet can't leave my husband for her…?
Next time - Will Pierce let Chloe get away with anything she wants when a rainy night descends on Erinsborough and a gorgeous dog needs a home for the night?