Welcome to Almusilaa

Chapter Six

I got back to the hotel room before Lauren and Nicole. Charlie was still in the room with the door closed.

"Hey, where are the others?" Cooper asked me.

"I got sidetracked and told them I'd meet them back here."

Cooper looked at me expectantly so I elaborated.

"Ai wanted to have a word with me."

Cooper gave me a blank look before something clicked.

"Oh, the vampire?"

I nodded. Cooper went back to watching the movie that was on.

Five minutes later Lauren and Nicole came back. Lauren had a large paper bag in her arms.

"Oh hey Ash, what did Ai want?" Lauren asked me as she quietly set the bag down on the couch.

"Nothing much," I reply, "just thanking me for helping her avenge her parents."

"Cool, we went and bought some Oreos, some chocolate and a new pair of socks for Charlie." She said, quiet enough that her voice couldn't be heard from the other room. She took the things from the bag before quietly making her way to the closed door.

"Charlie?" Lauren asked gently while knocking on the door. It was silent for a minute before the door opened.

"What?" Charlie asked with a muffled voice. Her face was swollen and red like her eyes. She wiped her nose with her sleeve and blinked away tears. She didn't look at any of us.

"I got you some stuff," Lauren said in the same gentle tone while handing the sweets to Charlie as a peace offering. "Do you wanna come out or do you want to stay in there for a while?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Charlie said as she came out of the room. She grabbed a couple of tissues and blew her nose before she looked at us directly. Her eyes were bright from her tears.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have acted like that." Charlie apologised. She ripped open a sleeve of Oreos and shoved one in her mouth.

"No, don't be okay? I crossed a line." Lauren said.

Charlie hugged Lauren, even while balancing her goodies in her arms. A fresh wave of tears appeared.

"I still miss them so much." Charlie whispered. Her voice shook at the confession.

She pulled away before making an effort to compose herself.

"And about Tom-" Charlie started.

"No, no. It is none of my business what you two do. As long as you're happy-" Lauren interrupted.

"-I don't have feelings for him. I don't love him anymore." Charlie finished her sentence.

"Oh. Good. I guess." Lauren said awkwardly. She patted Charlie on the shoulder. "Does he know?" Lauren asked.

"No, I haven't told him. I'm going to tell him tomorrow night on our date." Charlie said.

"I hope it goes well." Lauren said, a concerned look on her face.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore, let's talk about something else, like where did you get these socks?" Charlie asked, while holding them up. I hadn't seen them before but as she held them up, I could see they were covered in black cats and witch hats.

"Nicole picked them out," Lauren said, "they suit you."

Charlie laughed, the previous matter mostly forgotten.

"Ash, it's you!" Charlie said to me, pointing to a snarling black cat. The resemblance was uncanny. In response I arched my back like the cat on the sock.