Charlotte After Dark

Chapter 39: Have a Seat

Author's Note: Sorry for the late update everyone, this week was really tough. As some of you may know, I am in nursing school and it is completely kicking my butt. However, I found out this week that I got a 4.0 GPA for this semester! This update is also significantly shorter than my usual ones because the creative juices were just not flowing this week as well as I would have liked, but I hope you still like it anyway :)

I practically skipped as I headed down to Luca's study from the parlor, but as I approached the tall oak doors I noticed Sergei perched at the entrance like a guard dog.

"Shoo," I told him as I walked up to the doors, trying to hurry him away like a stray cat. He was more similar to a stray now than ever before, unwanted and unwelcome.

"You aren't safe yet," he told me as he opened to doors for me.

"Maybe not, but whom is opening doors for whom around here?" I responded before heading into Luca's study. I could hear Sergei grumble to himself like a low growl as he shut the door behind me.

Luca was sitting at his desk, buried in paperwork, not even acknowledging me as I began to walk into the large study. My footsteps were muffled by the plush carpet below my feet, and the study was an eerie kind of quiet, like the rest of the home. I let my gaze fall on the bookcases stuffed with books of various bindings, colors, and materials, some older than the rest and their spines tattered like they had been read thousands of time before. So many looked like they were threatening to disassemble and they were most likely older than me, and quite possibly the country itself.

"You rang, dear old Dad?" I said as I strolled further into the silent study, letting the agitation drip from my words like a river. I was still perturbed at Valentina's threat, but even having to deal with Luca was a godsend at this point.

"Have a seat," he told me, looking up from his paperwork and pointing to a chair in front of his desk, his emphasis less intimidating this time than before, but still strong.

"'Have a seat'," I repeated to myself. "That's different."

Luca continued to pay attention only to the stack of paperwork in front of him as I sat as mute as I could in my seat. My stare settled back on the bookcases behind him, trying to read the faded titles from my seat.

After a few more moments of silence, I cleared my throat, reminding him that I was still here.

"How is your lesson with Valentina progressing?" He asked me.

"Between the sadomasochism and the no so thinly veiled death threats, I would say it's going fantastic," I said.

"Successful then, I gather," he deduced.

Another few agonizing moments of silence passed between us as he continued with his paperwork. Luca's mind seemed far off in the distance, the conversation between us terse and uncomfortable.

"You know, the funny thing about conversations is that it is difficult to have a one-sided one without looking like you have a few screws loose," I finally said as I tried to interrupt his attention to the work sitting in front of him.

Luca let his pen drop to the desk as he turned his attention to me, finally.

"I spoke with Abel Lestrange this evening," Luca began, not bothering to look up at me as he spoke. "He told me you were ... unusual."

"Unusual? What is that supposed to mean?" I asked.

We were interrupted momentarily as Pallas now entered the study, carrying a silver platter like one of the servants with his evening coffee. I wondered why Pallas so easily delegated herself to serve Luca when the house didn't seem to be hurting for help. Maybe that was the reason that he had kept her around so long. The platter had a kettle similar to the one in the parlor, with two identical cups.