You'll Never Find Me (Charlastor)

The painting

The birds were singing loudly, which made Charlie wake up. She noticed she was in her robe and got a little confused until she remembered what happened.

She fell asleep on Alastor's couch. She heard him read the poems for her, until she... Didn't remember anything more. If she was in her robe, he probably put her there.

It made her blush a little. Even when she didn't expect it, Alastor was still a gentleman with her.

She got up, going to the kitchen to see if Alastor was there. Probably not, since it was way earlier than she expected it to be. Charlie realized how early it was due the kitchen's clock. She was about to head out to take a shower when she heard a water noise coming from the small door a few meters away from the small dining table.

Charlie walked towards the sound and opened the door. She saw Alastor's wide shoulders. He was... Washing clothes?

"Al?..." She leaned against the door frame. Alastor stopped whatever he was doing, it was like... He froze or something.

"Are you okay?" She tilted her head a little worried.

"I'm amazing, my dear!" He straightened his back and looked behind himself in her direction. He was cleaning some dirty clothes. "I made our breakfast. It's over the counter by the side of the sink. Would you mind setting the table for us?"

Charlie took a step back and looked at the clock. "It's very early... Did you sleep alright?" She blinked.

"Oh, I know, I woke up early to clean the clothes." He chuckled. "So I don't have to worry about it later." He explained. "I'm almost done and then I will eat breakfast with you." He had a wide smile on his face before returning his attention back to the dirty clothes.

Charlie nodded with a smile as she walked towards the kitchen. She was still a little concerned with Alastor but he seemed okay.

She sat on the table adjusting her robe. It was way earlier than she expected.

Alastor was finishing cleaning his clothes. He took them out from the tank and placed them in a basket. The water from the tank was reddish, all dirty in a dark red color. He took off the rubber drain stopper and the water slowly vanished.

He went out of the room and passed by Charlie. She gave a look at the man who avoided looking directly at the girl. He just went to his backyard so he could hang up the clothes outside.

It didn't take too long before he returned and had a seat.

Charlie was studying the man, he looked as if his mind wasn't there. It probably was the third time it happened that Charlie noticed. Maybe the man had stuff going on in his mind. She knew how it was due to her father. It was the same look when her father had to deal with a bunch of serious stuff.

Alastor started to eat his breakfast just to stop and laugh a bit.

"Oh, it's very cold... I can reheat it if you want dear."

"No, that's fine, Al. I'm okay with it." She smiled at the man, placing a lock of her hair behind her ear in a shy way.

"Okay, but if you desire, I can. I actually prefer colder food." He chuckled a bit due to a memory that hit him. Before Charlie could ask, his eyes got lost in his plate as he continued eating. "'How can you eat cold food like that? My mom asked me often. And truth be told, I never had a problem with it." He gave a bite in his breakfast, while Charlie's eyes were shining. For some reason, the blonde was mesmerizing the brunette talking about his past. It wasn't something very common for him to do, but she appreciated every little moment.