Abrade - [Charles Leclerc] A Sequel To Corrode

Dodici

      Charles gently knocked on the door of Teresa's bedroom. He opened it softly, finding her curled up under some blankets, a book in her lap and a lamp on the nightstand on. "Hey," he said. "Can I come in?" he asked, and she nodded, closing her book to place it on the sheets. Charles entered her room, sitting on the edge of her bed. "Are you okay after today?" he asked, his fingers curling a little into the duvet at the thought of a guy creeping his daughter out. "Yeah, I'm fine, nothing happened, really," Teresa said. "It's good that Marcus was there, although mom put him in his place later," she added, a small smile curling her lips. "She did?" Charles was amused, making her laugh. "She was mad, she grabbed him by his shirt and told him to pull over because he suggested not telling you yet to not make you freak out," Teresa said. "Do you want to know something else about your mom?" Charles said, leaning in a little. "She knows how to shoot a gun. And she has a better aim than I do." Teresa chuckled. "Alright, honey, I just wanted to check up on you," he told his daughter, caressing her face. "Goodnight, dad," she said. "Goodnight."

Charles closed the door of her room behind him and crossed the hallway. Joanne was taking a shower when he went to check up on Teresa, and she was just done when he came back. He heard the sound of her hair dryer in the bathroom, and he started to undress himself to get ready for bed. It was quite early, and he eyed the book and the steaming mug of tea that was on Joanne's nightstand, so he guessed she didn't have plans to go to sleep yet. He pressed the button to reveal the TV on the wall, not turning it on yet. Charles opened the curtains in front of the windows just a little, looking down at the lit up marina. He didn't even hear Joanne exciting the bathroom as he zoned out. Joanne drank in the sight of him, his bare back turned to her, the dark, inked lines swirling over his back, his hair looked a little rough after he ran his hands through it many times today. "Charles?" her voice made him look up. "Sorry, baby," he muttered, closing the curtains again. Charles pulled her close by her waist, feeling the satin of her night gown under his fingertips. Her hands roamed over his biceps, up to his shoulders and his chest.

"Teresa told me something interesting," he said, his teeth gnawing at his bottom lip. "She said you, and I quote, grabbed Marcus by his shirt and told him to pull over." Joanne let out a laugh. "I was mad, okay? And I did not need to hear anything coming out of a man's mouth at that very moment," she said, and he chuckled. "I wish I was there," Charles said. "You're hot when you're angry at someone else than me." Joanne rolled her eyes at the cheeky grin on his face, nevertheless smiling before she kissed his lips. He squeezed her waist before letting go as she made her way around the bed to her side. Joanne shoved the duvet aside and hopped in. Charles turned the TV on and put it on some football game, getting in bed as well. Joanne grabbed her book and her mug of tea, soon enough getting lost in the story. Charles looked over at her, realizing Teresa looked like an exact copy of her mother this way. His hand reached out for her leg under the duvet, caressing her knee.

It didn't take long before Joanne felt her eyes starting to get droopy. She put her book away and curled up against her husband, who was still watching TV. Charles kissed her forehead as she drifted away.

           "Charles?" he looked up from his laptop when one of his men knocked on his door and popped his head inside. "Your son wants to speak to you." Charles nodded and motioned to let either Jules or Liam come in. He didn't expect Liam to stand in front of his desk a couple of seconds later. "Is everything okay?" Charles asked. "Yeah, I'm fine," Liam replied, taking a seat. "I want in," Liam said. "I want to help you and Jules to get rid of the assholes he got mad," he continued. Charles let his eyes wander over his son's face. "What changed your mind?" he asked. "I asked Mick to show me what they do," Liam started. "Mick took me there, even though he didn't want to. It's my fault for going there, sorry I didn't tell you. I just needed to see it with my own eyes. I saw how they pushed those young girls into those vans, and I can't stop thinking about the horrible things that will probably happen to them," Liam's fingers curled up into his fists and his knuckles turned white at the thought. "You agree with going undercover?" Charles asked, trying to ignore the fact that Mick and Liam went there without his permission.