Just as Charlie had suspected, Vaggie was very worried about her and had asked her why she had wondered off.
"I didn't mean to." Charlie explained. "But I saw the owl. The one who visits me at my window. I wanted to know where he came from."
"Owl?" Levana said with a raised eyebrow. "An owl visits you, you say?"
"Yes." Charlie confirmed.
"And just what does this owl do when he visits you?"
"He just leaves me little gifts and leaves. I don't know why he does it or where he's getting them from. But Vaggie you're not going to believe this, the owl talks."
"It talks?" Vaggie asked skeptically. "What do you mean it talks?"
"I mean it speaks like you and me do. It actually talked to me. I mean I think that it might have been a robot or something, but it looked very real."
"I can tell you for certain Charlie, that it was probably a robot. Parrots are the birds who can talk, remember?"
"Yeah you're right. But it was so bizarre, and when I followed him, these...These people...I think they were thugs and they shot me out of the sky."
"They what?!" Vaggie gasped in horror. "Ay dios mio! Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?"
"No. You're not going to believe this either Vaggie, but someone saved me from the fall. He just came out of nowhere and caught me."
"He?" Vaggie said.
"Yes I heard about that." Levana said. "You finally met Alastor. Someone saw you talking with him and told me."
She remained composed but you could somehow tell she was irritated at the same time.
"It's so infuriating, I try, and try to keep that predator away from the children. I fix all my doors and windows, I tighten my security, and he still manages to slip through the cracks."
"Predator?" Charlie said confused.
"What kind of predator?" Vaggie asked.
"The kind that you two should never be around." Levana answered with disgust in her tone. "He was once one of my favorite servants, very charming, polite, and a great performer. That's why I kept him employed for so long. But later I found out that he much preferred to entertain girls more than boys. If you know what I mean."
"Eww! Gross!" Vaggie gagged. "You mean he's a pervert!"
"A dirty old one." Levana said. "Disgraceful creature he is, forty years old, and preying on girls as young as fifteen."
"Really?" Charlie said. "I mean it was obvious there was something off about him but I didn't get the vibe that he was a pervert."
"Charlie very few perverts give off the vibe of one." Vaggie said. "At least that's what my mother says."
"Fair point. But he saved my life, so he can't be that bad."
"Oh I'm afraid he's much worse." Levana said. "That's the curse of being pretty Charlie, you attract men and boys who act like your friends so they can get you close. Close enough for them to hurt you. Alastor is the worst case of them all, he acts like a gentleman but he's far from it. If only he wasn't so slippery, then I could catch him and make sure he'd never pose a threat to anyone again. But until that happens, stay away from him."
"You don't have to tell me twice." Vaggie said.
"Now that we have that mattered settled, shall we go back to admiring your new garden Charlie? Or maybe you would like to paint a new mural, Vaggie?"
"Both sound great." Charlie said. "But we should probably go home now. I'm still technically supposed to be babysitting."
"Very well. But will you come back tomorrow?"
"We'll try to." Vaggie said.
After that, the girls said goodbye and went on home, just an hour before their parent/guardian would return. Charlie paid Husk for his services, thanked him, and sent him back to the upper flat. Octavia had been fed, looked after, and was in bed at the correct time. But she had still had not fallen asleep. She had purposely stayed awake in bed, waiting for Charlie to come home so she could talk to her.
"Please don't do that again Charlie." Octavia had said when the two were alone in the house. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you."
"Nothing bad is going to happen to me." Charlie insisted. "And why are you still awake? You have school tomorrow. You're not supposed to be up this late on a school night."
"And you're not supposed to go out after dark or when you're supposed to be watching me." Octavia argued. "Just because you're older doesn't mean you can do whatever you want."
"Oh be quiet and go to sleep. You're such a pest."
"I am not, and I'm not going to sleep until you pinky promise that you're not going to do this again."
"Sorry but I'm not making that promise."
"Why not?"
"Because I think I might want to do it again."
"Charlie you can't! Bad things happen in the dark! Monsters come out in the dark!"
"There are no such things as monsters Octavia, for the millionth time."
"Mommy and Daddy say that monsters are real."
"They do not."
"Yes they do."
"Octavia in all the years I have been alive, I have never once seen a monster. I have never seen vampires, werewolves, goblins, zombies-"
"Not those kind of monsters. I know those aren't real."
"Then what kinds are you talking about? The kind with three eyes and tentacles?"
"No. The kind who don't look like monsters. Mommy and Daddy say that real monsters don't look scary at all. That they look completely normal. Sometimes they even look sweet. And that's how they get you."
"They're talking about strangers Octavia. Not monsters. They don't actually believe monsters are real, they're just saying that so you'll be careful around strangers. Which you should be."
"Where did you even go tonight?"
"None of your business."
"Is it close by?"
"None of your business."
"You went somewhere you weren't supposed to go, didn't you?"
"What part of none of your business, do you not understand? I'm not telling you where I went or anything relating to that because it's none of your business. And remember our deal, you don't tell Stolas about this or you'll never ride your bike again. Got it?"
"Fine." Octavia complied. "But when you get into big trouble, don't say I didn't warn you."
But like any typical teenager was to a small child, Charlie brushed off Octavia's words. Then both girls went to bed for the night, and when Stolas came home, he was none the wiser.
Charlie was scheduled for after school tutoring all of next week, and Stolas didn't want babysitting to interfere with her schooling, so he asked Gina if she could watch Octavia on days she could work late. Gina was the only other person apart from Charlie and his ex wife, that Stolas could trust with his daughter's care. Yes Gina was strange but she had raised children and grandchildren with love and responsibility. She would prove to be a more than acceptable babysitter. The only reason Stolas has asked for her services before was because she was older and because he had a fling with Blitzo that didn't really go anywhere beyond sex.
"I'm terribly sorry to trouble you with this Mrs. De Luca." Stolas said to her over the phone. "But there's no one else I can ask. Charlie has already had to compromise fun and friends to watch Via, but I can't ask her to risk her grades."
"No I understand completely." Gina replied on the other line. "And I would love to keep your little one for a few nights. She's such a adorable and sweet girl. I've missed having the company of little children, and I need a break from the company of big children."
"Where are my silk briefs Blitzo?!" Stolas heard Angel shout in the background.
"What makes you think I took them?" He heard Blitzo respond.
"It was your turn to do the laundry and none of my silk briefs are in my drawers! You took them! I know you did!"
"No way! I wouldn't wear cheap shit like that!"
"Cheap?!"
"Yeah, if you wear them then they have to be cheap."
"Oh you did not just insult my fashion sense!"
"I did! And I'll do it again! Your shirt looks like it came from the closet of rejected prostitute clothes!"
"Alright that's it! You're going down clown boy!"
Stolas suddenly heard the sound of glass breaking and furniture getting turned over.
"Boys! Boys stop it! No fighting inside!" Gina cried. "I'm sorry to cut this short Stolas but I have something very important that I have to take care of."
Stolas heard glass break again.
"Anthony! Baldwin! That better not be my fine China you two just broke! Because if it is, I'll be cutting off your ears instead of pinching them!" Gina threatened. "I'll call you back Stolas, goodbye."
"Um...Goodbye." Stolas said awkwardly before hanging up.
"Daddy there was screaming on the phone and you weren't talking to Mommy." Octavia said. "Why?"
"I honestly have no idea Princess." Stolas said. "But maybe it's best that we don't know."
He sat down at the table between Charlie and Octavia as they ate their breakfast.
"So good news Charlie, Mrs. De Luca will be watching Octavia this week so you can stay after school for tutoring." Stolas said. "How long do your sessions usually last?"
"Until six- I mean eight." Charlie lied.
"Eight? That's awfully late for tutoring. In fact it's well after dark."
"Don't worry, Vaggie is staying after too and we always walk home together."
"Well as long as you're not walking home alone at night, I guess there's nothing to be worried about. But be sure to keep your phone on and pick up whenever I call."
"I will." She assured him.
"Good."
Little did Stolas realize that Charlie planned to do more than just study after school that day and for the days to come in the following week.