So, this is embarrassing but I posted the wrong version of the last chapter. It was chapter 26 with the first part of the actual 27. I know. I am super ashamed. Sorry about that and now it should be all fixed. Sorry about that again.
I have for you here, the actual chapter 27 which I am hoping you will prefer to the other version for reasons that I hope will be obvious at the end of the chapter!
Thank you to Hope of the Darkness, , and RogueShadow94 for following the story although I thanked you in the weird repost chapter, thank you again.
But also, thank you to Emiliana18 for following the story! Thank you to nutski for favoriting the story! Thank you to shaye87 for following AND favoriting the story!
Enjoy the chapter and please review. I would love to hear any and all thoughts.
xx,a
"Do you like your present?" Klaus asked.
Charlotte lifted a brow and waited. When she finally was ready, she looked at her "present" and covered her face with her hands. "You bought me a cat?"
"To be fair, it is a kitten. It will be a cat eventually."
"What do I need with a cat?"
Klaus gave her a smile. "I thought that you could love it. A cat is never going to betray you. Could work on those pesky trust issues of yours?"
Charlotte sighed and rolled her eyes. She looked down at the cat and started to pet it. "Is it a boy or a girl?"
"It is a female kitten. So I trust that you are pleased?"
Charlotte sighed once more. "Yes, I like the kitten, Klaus. I will probably love the kitten. I will lay away at night and think of the ethical complications of making a vampire kitten. Will the kitten survive? Will the kitten murder? But that doesn't erase the past."
Klaus closed the space between Charlotte and himself. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "No, it doesn't. But you have to start somewhere. And even if you are mad at us, we still care."
She shrugged his hand off, but gave him a smile. "Thank you, Klaus, but that is all the grace I am giving you today. Now, shoo, Dusty Springfield and I need to bond."
"Dusty Springfield?"
She gave him a censuring look. "I am allowed to name my kitten whatever I like. I happen to think Dusty Springfield is a lovely name. Don't you have that whole Claude thing to be attending to?"
-ahc-
After playing with Dusty Springfield until the little kitten fell asleep, Charlotte thought about her conversation with Alaric and pondered falling asleep to finish it. Dream conversations were better because there was less chance of someone overhearing her although it would sound like she was talking to herself.
Sleep as a vampire had always intrigued Charlotte. She still needed sleep even with her stronger, more resilient body. Not in the same way though, or with the same frequency. She still loved the feeling of curling up in bed with the thought that she had as much time to sleep as she wanted. The special kind of sleep when you have no work or plans in the morning. Just a complete renewal of yourself.
She checked her phone one last time before getting under the sheets. Still nothing from Katherine. She had even sent her friend a picture of Dusty with the caption "New cat in my life. Could never replace you, Kit. Get home please."
She laid her head on the pillow with excitement in her heart because maybe being honest with the history teacher was the best thing she had decided to do in a long time. Maybe, just maybe something good could come from relaxing for once and giving trust. Either way, her cat would always love her right?
-ahc-
This time they were in a bar that Charlotte could not place right away. It was lovely to be sure, but it was not immediately familiar to her. The more she looked at it, the more the slight familiarity grew, but nothing that could bring forth the memory. In fact, if she stared too hard, the image became blurry. It definitely reminded her that she was in a dream, but the effect was beautiful.
"Where are we?" she asked around to the generic people populating the bar. Unsurprisingly no one answered her, but the generically handsome bartender brought her a drink.
Alaric approached her dressed to the nines with his hair slicked back. "I pulled this bar from your memory, but I have no idea where it is. I just thought I would give you a nice little date."
Charlotte looked at him with a full on bitchface. "This is not a date."
Alaric laughed full throatedly. "No, it is not. But god, kid, you need something to be happy about."
"I am not a kid," she answered obstinately. All she needed to demonstrate her bratiness would be to cross her arms.
"Jesus! Can you not go with the flow and have fun? You are way too uptight. You are in a dream. You could literally do anything, be anyone. That is the whole point. An elephant can come in this bar right now and order a drink. People could start talking backwards. I could be eight feet tall. Purple could be blue and people could have three sets of teeth like sharks."
Charlotte's composure cracked a little. "I guess. It is a little ridiculous, but I can go along with it. Nothing wrong with things that are a little wrong. Okay. That wording was awful. I don't know how to relax, okay? I want to though. I am willing to try. You just have to be patient with me."
Alaric treated her with a warm smile. "Good," he said and paused. "You seem sad. Like very sad. I decided to take you out somewhere nicer than the old Mystic Grill. Even if it is just in your dreams." Charlotte's eyes started to tear up. Alaric's smile slipped and he put his arms around her. "Why does a genuine act of kindness make you cry? You realize that is insane, right?" Charlotte responded with sobs. "Okay, okay, cry if you need to, but this is going to be something that helps you, okay? I am going to help you because I get the feeling that no one has genuinely just tried to help you in a long time. It is not like I have anything better to do."
Charlotte laughed a semi-bitter laugh at the absurdity of Alaric's final sentence. "Gosh, are you saying if you had something better to do, I would be up shit creek?"
"You might be anyway. I am not a miracle worker. I am just a history teacher who also happened to be great at manufacturing weapons."
"That is a very unique recipe for a psychiatrist."
"Let's not give me a doctorate too early." She laughed again. "I am almost dead and apparently physically unable to tell anyone your secrets. It seems like the perfect kind of person to talk to. So, let's open up. Tell me about you. Tell me about your dreams. Not the boring ones like this. The ones where you let yourself wants something."
-ahc-
"You're humming."
"Yes, Elijah, I am humming," Charlotte responded light. "Is there something wrong about humming?" she asked him knowing that it bothered him enough to ask. They hadn't spoken in days and she had made her displeasure with everyone very clear.
Elijah paused and considered his wife. "No, there isn't something wrong with the humming. I just wonder what it means. In my personal experience with of you and your habits, you don't hum unless you are happy. I am not quite sure what would be giving you enough joy to hum."
"It is a secret, Elijah. One that I enjoy having. Let's leave it at that."
"Is it Damon?"
Charlotte pinned him with her gaze. "Don't be so transparent, 'Lijah," she said with a bite in her words.
"I am very willing to be transparent about this, Charlie. It is not a secret to anyone that I love you and want you back. So, yes, I care if you are having such a good time with Damon that it has you humming while you wash dishes."
"I wasn't washing dishes. Is this some weird fetish thing for you? Is Snow White your thing? I would not get my hair cut like the Disney cartoon. Or the Lily Collins movie. Or the Kristen Stewart movie. Or the ABC tv show. You would have to accept me as Snow White with my own hair," Charlotte teased.
Elijah growled in frustration. "It is an image that popped into my head; I am sorry for that. It is not the point."
She traced his jawline with a finger delicately after stepping close to him. "No, it is not Damon. The matter of Alexia matters to me quite a bit. And I barely know him. No, I am doing something completely platonic and entirely cathartic. Don't worry about it."
Something in those words fed into the mad hope that Elijah held for reconciliation with Charlotte and he started to move forward to kiss her. He deliberately moved slowly so to not startle her, but also to give Charlotte plenty of time to back out. To give her plenty of time to show him that there really was no hope. But even as he moved closer and close, looking her directly in the eyes to make his intention clear, Charlotte remained firmly in place. When he was close enough, he closed his eyes and delicately kissed her.
It was Charlotte who took a step and deepened the kiss. She curled her arms around Elijah's neck and gave herself fully to the kiss. Maybe it was crazy. He might still break her heart for the millionth time. After talking with Alaric though, she realized that she needed to let go. She still loved Elijah. And she definitely still liked kissing him. So, maybe this could be a move in the right direction, which was the last thought in her head before Elijah's kiss stole her senses completely.