In the Stars

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Give Me Shelter

"What happened the other night? Egon and I tried to get in touch with you, but your mobile was off," Leighton said Sunday morning, as she sat with Charlotte at a table in Maltby Street Market.

Charlotte sighed and leaned forward on her folded arms. "I know- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Suddenly I wasn't feeling well and I just needed to get out of there."

"All right. If you're sure you're fine...." Leighton looked at her from under her shaggy fringe. She stirred her matcha green tea, her bangles clinking as her hand moved.

"I really am. Now tell me how the rest of the night went."

Charlotte was not only interested in Leighton's evening. She also wanted to know what happened with her boss.

"It was pretty fab. Some of the toffs got a bit carried away, singing and dancing. Security asked them to move to the courtyard." Her friend twiddled her fingers in the air as if conjuring a fairy.

Charlotte nodded, taking a bite of her artisanal sandwich. The rustic bread was hard to chew.

After a gulp of water to wash it down, she asked, "So, did you happen to see Damian Waincroft at all?"

Leighton lifted a corner of her mouth in thought. "He came in after I last saw you. Walked right through the crowd, actually. Looked distracted."

Charlotte averted her eyes, trying to play cool. She used a corner of her napkin to dab at her mouth. "That's weird."

"Maybe he was just playing intense. You know...make yourself seem unapproachable so everyone wants you. It's a thing." Her friend nodded for emphasis.

"Is it now?" Charlotte smirked at her friend, picking up her cup of bubble tea. Leighton could get rather involved in her psychoanalysis.

"Who knows? Too bad you didn't get a chance to catch his eye."

Oh, I caught his eye alright.

Charlotte wanted to know what Mr. Waincroft saw. Their eyes had connected for a few seconds before he was consumed by the crowd, who had clamored for his attention. Then she disappeared with his prisoner. She didn't know what to expect from him, but had a bad feeling it wouldn't be to her advantage.

"What did you do yesterday then?" Leighton asked, pouring ponzo sauce in a small dish.

My reality shifted into a completely different plane.

"Not much. I just relaxed, tried to get over last week." Charlotte's casual hand flip felt over done.

Leighton nodded, and then went back to spearing dumplings with her chopsticks. Luckily for Charlotte, her friend really wanted to tell her about her upcoming trip to Zanzibar. As she listened to descriptions of the resort Leighton had booked, she let her mind wander over the events that happened after finding out her fate had been sealed decades before.

She had napped for a few hours. Crying put her exhausted body over the edge; it was the best sleep she'd had in a long time though. When she walked back downstairs, the Foxes were gone. Owen, however, still sat at the kitchen table. He had shaved, leaving behind the face from her dreams.