A/N: Thanks to all who are still with me. I'm sorry about the delay in posting. I'll try to post the next chapter tomorrow.
Chapter 24—The One Where She Tells Him Everything
After a few weeks of sharing a bed because of constant nightmares, Charlie asked Maya why she couldn't sleep alone. "It might help if you talk about it," he offered.
Maya sighed heavily. She knew that this conversation was coming, though she would have preferred a delay. "It was really awful," she said. "And I really feel stupid for staying with him for so long, you know? But Dad said it was for the best and that I should simply do whatever he wanted so that he wouldn't be mean. I tried, but I just could never please him.
"Of course, he wasn't mean at first," she continued. Charlie stayed quiet, but reassuringly rubbed her arm. "He was handsome and decent at first. He just is very particular about things. He first hit me when I told him about the magic. He wanted to see if I could protect myself. My wand wasn't handy, so he got away with it. When I did have my wand, I hexed him.
"Then, he took my wand away. You heard me tell him that the one in his safe is a fake and it is. Your brother helped me get the real one back," she added.
"Which brother?" Charlie asked, shocked. He was slightly affronted that none of his brothers had written him about Maya's situation. The answer hit him like a ton of bricks.
"Percy," Maya answered. "I ran into him near the Ministry. He really looked tired, so I invited him for tea. He only came when I explained that I hadn't heard from you or your Mum in a while. Anyways, over tea, I explained that I had lost my wand to Jack. Percy actually offered to hex him for me, but I wouldn't let him. I did let him come over and help me get my wand back. No matter what he says, he misses your whole family.
"Getting my wand back was the start of moving on for me, but I didn't really realize how truly unhappy I was until I saw you at Bill's wedding. I had started to think about how you never did anything to intentionally hurt me and how you were always so sweet and could make me laugh. I realized then that I could never marry anyone else, because no one could ever live up to you," she finished. Both were fighting tears when Maya finished her explanation.
"I'm so sorry," Charlie whispered after several long moments of silence. "If I had known any of what was going on, I would have come home sooner. And I promise; no one will hurt you again."
"Thank you, Charlie," Maya said, with a sigh. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't turned up."
"Drew and Jamie would never have let you marry that bastard," Charlie replied. "That's why they asked me to come to your bachelorette party. They figured I would make you figure things out before you walked down the aisle. And if you hadn't, they both would have objected to the marriage."
Maya smiled. Drew and Jamie had become like brothers to her and worked diligently to make sure that she was always protected. "That does sound like them," Maya joked. "They have a certain flair for the dramatic." Maya grew very quiet and added, "I really miss them. They became like brothers to me."
"They were good friends and I'm glad that you had them with you," Charlie replied. Maya yawned loudly and he added, "You should try to get some sleep."
"Will you kiss me goodnight?" she asked, sheepishly. Charlie leaned over to her and kissed her chastely on the lips. "Maybe tomorrow you'll really kiss me," she cheeked.
"Maybe," he answered. "But for now, it's good night, love."
"Good night, Charlie," Maya said. Then, she snuggled into his arms and went to sleep.
The next night, Charlie took Maya for a walk after dinner. "So, will you really kiss me tonight?" Maya asked, as they made their way around the compound.
"I haven't decided just yet, princess," Charlie answered.
"What would make you decide to do it?" Maya asked, slightly annoyed.
"I want you to tell me everything that you didn't tell me last night," he said, quietly. "I want you to feel completely safe and I want you to want me to kiss you because you love me, not because you think you need to get good and snogged."
Maya had stopped, dead in the road, and stared at Charlie for a moment. "What makes you think I didn't tell you everything? And what makes you think that asking you to kiss me was just about needing to get good and snogged?" she demanded.
"I know you, love," he answered. "I understand if you're not ready to tell me everything, but I won't kiss you until you do. And last night was not about you feeling safe and happy."
Charlie moved to pull her into a hug, but she shrugged him off. "Don't touch me," she ordered. "I need some time alone." She left Charlie standing in the road and went to the pub. At the pub, she ordered a beer and sat at a table alone.
"You're Charlie's friend, aren't you?" an unfamiliar voice asked.
"Yeah," Maya replied, looking up at her visitor. Charlie's ex-girlfriend, Rosalyn, was standing next to her table. "You're his ex-girlfriend?" She nodded. "Want to sit?" Maya offered. Rosalyn took the empty chair at her table.
"You're Maya?" she asked. Maya nodded. "You can call me Rose. Everyone does. I'm sorry about how I acted a few weeks ago. I wasn't really expecting to meet you then."
"We can start over. It's really good to meet you, Rose," Maya replied. "What do you do here?"
"I work in the hatchery," she answered. "It's where Charlie and I met. Charlie told me a lot about you."
"I'm sorry," Maya replied.
"Don't be," Rose ordered. "I had heard the rumors that Charlie was still quite hung up on you. Of course I had hoped they were wrong. I found out quickly that they were all true. But, now I'm dating someone else."
"I really am sorry, though," Maya said. "You shouldn't have had to live with a ghost and I'm not sure why I'm here anymore."
"What do you mean by that?" Rose pried.
"I mean that Charlie and I just had a fight," Maya answered. "And I'm not sure why he brought me here, other than I asked him to."
"Don't ever think for a minute that Charlie doesn't love you," Rose said. "You're his soul mate, even if he doesn't always necessarily understand it. What was your fight about?"
Maya hesitated; she wasn't sure if she wanted to tell Rose everything, but she felt, strangely, like she could trust this woman with her life. She finally answered, "When I left England, it was because of my Dad and my ex-fiance, Jack. Jack was really horrible to me and my Dad set us up and was furious with me for leaving him. Charlie wants me to tell him everything, in great detail, before he'll even kiss me."
"That sounds like Charlie," Rose mused. "He always wants to know everything, even if you don't really want to tell him. What did you leave out? You don't have to tell me, but maybe I can help you and Charlie reach an agreement on what you tell him."
"I told him about Jack hitting me, but he did worse," Maya replied. She didn't have to elaborate; Rose somehow understood. "And I'm afraid that if I tell Charlie, he'll fly off to England just to kill the bastard. I also don't want him to look at me with pity. I don't think I could take that."
They sat quietly for a long moment before Rose said, "I think you should tell him, but make sure he doesn't think that you're looking for pity and make sure he promises not to do anything stupid first. You know Charlie. You know he'll keep whatever promises he makes. I never understood that until he brought you back. When we first started dating, he said that he had promised to love someone forever a long time ago and had no intention of breaking that promise. He really has kept it."
Maya wiped a stray tear from her eye. She finished her beer and stood up. "Rose, thank you," she said. "I really hope that you're happy. And I really would like to hang out with you again, if you don't mind."
"I don't mind," Rose answered. "I'll set something up for next week." Maya nodded and left the pub. She took her time walking home, thinking over what Rose had said.
When Maya arrived home, she found Charlie on the sofa, looking terrified. "You didn't think I'd left, did you?" she asked. Charlie jumped at the sound of her voice; he hadn't heard her enter the house.
"Where did you go?" he asked, quietly.
"I went to have a beer," Maya answered. "I was at the pub the whole time. I talked to Rose."
"Really?" Charlie asked. "What did she say?"
"She's really sweet," Maya replied. "She told me about why you broke up and about how you told her about me when you first started dating her."
"She thought she could change my mind about things," Charlie said. "Did she try to run you off?"
"No," Maya said. "She got me to stay." Charlie started to interrupt, but Maya quieted him. "Let me say this without interruption, please. I went to the pub thinking that I'd come back here, pack my bags, and be gone in the morning. She reminded me that you have kept every promise you ever made to me. So, I'm going to do what you asked and tell you everything I left out last night, but you have to make promises first."
"What are you asking?" he asked.
"First, you must promise to let me say it without interrupting me. And you must promise that no matter what I say, you will not pity me. Last, you have to promise, that no matter what your inclinations may be, you will not tell anyone else, or go back to England just to harm anyone," she ordered.
"I can live with that," Charlie replied. "So, what didn't you tell me?"
"Have you not guessed?" Maya asked. Charlie shook his head. "Jack was abusive on his good days," she continued. "He was cruel and terrifying, but I could live with that. I could live with him constantly calling me a freak, or stupid, or anything else. I couldn't live with him forcing himself on me and making me do things that I didn't want to do."
Charlie looked up and said, "Bugger. Did you try to have him arrested?"
"No," Maya answered. "I was too embarrassed. And I have never told anyone else. I think Drew and Jamie suspected, but they never asked and I never told. Do you understand why I asked you to promise me that you won't go telling anyone or grab the first portkey back to England to kill him?"
"Yeah," he said, shaking. "Because right now, I really want to go and murder that slimy little bastard and your father for allowing it to happen. He should have protected you. And I really hate myself right now for not picking up on it sooner."
"I'm fine, now, Charlie," Maya promised. "I know that you will never put me through that and I really want to forget it ever happened. Will you kiss me now?"
"What?" Charlie asked, barking a laugh.
"Will you kiss me now?" Maya repeated. "And none of this chaste kissing bollucks. I want to be snogged."
Charlie didn't say anything as he got up from the sofa and crossed to Maya. He gently put his hands on her face, pulling her to him. Slowly, he brushed his lips against hers. The kiss was sweet and intimate, and conveyed to Maya exactly how much Charlie loved her. "I'm so sorry," he said when they broke apart. She noticed he had tears in his eyes.
"You promised," Maya said. "No pity." Charlie inhaled sharply, but nodded. He took Maya's hand and led her to his room. "I can't…do it, yet," she said. "I'm not ready for that."
"I have no intention of going any farther with you than you can handle," Charlie promised. "I'll wait until the end of time for you."
"Maybe not that long," she joked. "And we could do other things. Like take a bath together?"
"You want to take a bath together?" Charlie asked. She blushed and nodded. "I'll go start the water." He left and drew them a bath, with bubbles. When it was ready, he called her to the bathroom. He had undressed and lowered himself into the tub. "I won't look if you don't want me to," he offered. Silently, Maya nodded and Charlie averted his eyes until she was in his lap in the tub. While they soaked, they talked about anything that they could think of, from weather to dinner to what Maya wanted to do. In the end, she decided to start working at the pub on the compound, and perhaps singing with the band every now and then.