Fire in Her Eyes - Charlie Weasley

Chapter 26

**TW: language and drinking. I've been bad about them lately but this one deserves a heads up. Also, some potential triggers for an abusive relationship.

Kai slept for two days. She didn't stir when Charlie knocked on her door that night, a bottle of tequila in his hand, or when Gus came and left.

She woke in the morning, sunlight streaming through her windows. Her throat was dry, and she shuffled to get out of bed when a cup was placed in her hand. She blinked and saw Charlie's blurry face. She closed her eyes and sipped, warm tea with a lot of honey soothing her throat. She rubbed her eyes and saw Charlie more clearly, concern etched into his furrowed brows.

"Were you trying to die?" His voice was light, but his eyes watched her like a hawk, scanning over every inch of her face.

"Hello to you too," she croaked. Her throat burned and it hurt to swallow. Her whole body hurt. Her limbs felt like lead weights, like she had worked every muscle. God, muscles she didn't even know existed ached. And her head was pounding. It felt like someone had smashed her over the head with a rock. She closed her eyes against the headache. "If you get me the blue tonic in the fridge, you can yell at me all you want."

She heard the fridge open and close before a bottle was in her outstretched hand. She greedily chugged the tonic, the citrus drink chasing the pain away the moment it hit her tongue. She was so thankful she had managed to figure out how to make healing draughts taste good, as well as being more powerful. Within a few moments, her headache was gone and the aching in her body had subsided, even if it still lingered slightly. She sighed in relief. Magic was amazing.

She opened her eyes and got out of bed, noticing she was still in her clothes. "How long was I asleep?" She kept her voice calm and carefree, as if Charlie wasn't just about to unleash on her. He was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, arms crossed, face emotionless.

"Two days," his voice was slow and measured. The dangerous tone. "It's Saturday. Nothing woke you up."

Kai didn't respond or look at him. She knew better than to engage or argue when he was angry like this. She had seen him verbally tear into other trainers when they talked back when he was in this kind of mood. Instead, she pulled out a pair of fresh clothes and headed toward the bathroom so she could change and freshen up.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" He hissed at her, throwing up an arm to block her entrance to the bathroom. She kept quiet, knowing by now when he was going to start a rant. "I told you not a step further than the barrier and you go and almost get yourself killed?! Jesus, Kai! Did you even think about what you were doing? Or do you just enjoy playing Russian roulette with your god damn life?!"

He paused and she met his eyes squarely. She wasn't going to let him scare her. She casually arched an eyebrow and kept her voice calm, "How is she?"

His eyes narrowed and his grip tightened on the door frame, taking a very menacing, controlled step toward her. She tried to hide her gulp as she felt his large, very firm body as it pressed up against hers. She probably should have thought this through a bit more. She didn't think Charlie would ever hurt her, but she couldn't help the tingle of fear that raced through her body at the anger that radiated like heat off of him. He wanted her afraid of him and she knew that. And it made her double down on her effort to not let him know.

He kept eye contact as he slowly lowered his head until she couldn't see him anymore, his face continuing toward her ear. She froze, feeling his warm breath brush across her carotid artery, making her shiver. It would be so easy for him to bite. All it would take would be one quick motion to let her bleed out on her own floor if he so wished. She felt vulnerable and exposed, a feeling she was entirely unfamiliar with in recent years. She wasn't sure she enjoyed it.