Royal Dilemma

Chapter Twenty-Five

(Caleb's Point of View)

I haven't spoken to Colin at all since everything went down with Charli but my mom asked me to deliver his laptop because he's at the palace and they need it for something. Thus, I enter the devil's den.

His laptop is on top of his desk, right where she said it'd be. I'm about to leave when something catches my eye. Something shiny behind the books on his shelves. I set the laptop down and go over, trying to see what's back there. I take the books off of the shelf, being careful to keep them in order.

Behind them, laying on its side, is a single vial of Shirashio. My breath catches and I reach out and carefully pick it up, sliding it into my pocket. I put the books back and grab the laptop, my heart pounding.

I text Charli asking if we can meet in twenty minutes. I don't know how long it'll take Colin to notice the Shirashio is gone. If I'm going to take it, it has to be soon.

I drop the laptop off and check my texts. Charli said it's alright if I come over. My hands shake as I put the car in gear, adrenaline coursing through my body. I know I shouldn't be doing this but it's too sweet to pass up. I have to see Charli. I miss her so much my heart physically aches with it.

I park my car in the grocery store parking lot down the street from Charli's apartment complex. I walk to her building on foot and when I'm about a block away I duck into an alley and take the potion, slipping the empty vial into my pocket to dispose of later.

When Charli opens the door I sigh in relief. The hand that's been squeezing my heart and lungs for weeks lets go. She's here. She's standing right in front of me, she's here.

"Where the hell have you been?" She demands.

"I can't tell you."

Charli's eyes narrow and I can see we're already off to a rocky start.

"I don't have very long. I just wanted to see you one more time. I don't want to fight, can we just be together?"

Charli stares at me for a few moments and then steps back, allowing me into the apartment.

"How long do you have?"

It's early afternoon now, the Shirashio probably won't wear off until nighttime.

"Until tonight," I estimate.

Charli looks upset but it's quickly replaced by resignation. I follow her to her room where we strip out of our jeans and I lean against her headboard and hold her.

"I don't understand why it has to be this way," Charli says quietly.

"I'm sorry," I say because I can't explain it to her.

"Tell me something to remember you by," she says softly, repeating the words she said to me on the night we met.

I really take my time thinking about what to say.

"I'm in love with you," I admit. "If there was any way I thought I could get a good outcome out of this situation I would move hell and earth to do it."

Charli stiffens in my arms and I wonder if she's angry again.

"Can I tell you something to remember me by?" She asks.

"I'd love it if you did."

"The happiest period in my entire life was spent with you," she says. "And... I wouldn't take it back, even knowing it wouldn't work out I would do it all again."

I know this is her way of saying she loves me too.

"If I could go back I'd change the way we met," I tell her. "If we met differently things would've worked out."