The Replica // l.t.

Chapter Fifteen ❄ [edited]

As soon as the door was shut behind Louis, Jaime immediately walked into the bedroom and quietly grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt so big it stopped a few inches below her mid-thigh. Then, in the bathroom, she switched her little black dress and heels for the pajamas. Once she was in comfortable clothes, she threaded her fingers through her curled, blonde locks and pulled her hair into a ponytail.

Cold water splashing on her face had calmed her racing thoughts and pounding heart. He's okay, she kept on telling herself. Louis isn't upset, he's probably just tired. It's been a long night.

A very long, amazing night...

Patting her face with a nearby towel, she glanced in the mirror. Her eyes were hooded, a deep frown on her face with worry wrinkles on her forehead. She huffed out a breath before turning to leave with her clothes and heels in arm.

She tip-toed silently into the guest bedroom, hoping not to wake Charlie. Setting her things on the floor in a corner of the room, she tip-toed towards the opposite side of the bed Charlie was in. In her absence, Charlie had switched positions to laying on his side with his hands tucked underneath the pillow.

Climbing underneath the covers, Jaime laid down on the bed, facing Charlie as he was now facing her. Only his eyes were now open and a smile was gracing his lips.

"You're here," he whispered.

"Yeah, it was a lot of fun. But it's nice to be ho--" the word, 'home' was right on her tongue and nearly tumbling off her lips when she caught herself. No, this wasn't her home. It was Louis'. She corrected herself quickly, "Here. It's nice to be here."

His hand slipped out from underneath his pillow and slowly slid across the sheets until Charlie tangled his fingers with Jaime's. A slow smile grew on his face when she didn't move her hand away from his.

"You asked about my home," Charlie said, the smile slowly fading from his lips as he spoke. "Are you still curious and want to know more about where I come from? Though I'm sure I can't give you the details, there are some things I can say."

Jaime nodded her head enthusiastically and pulled the covers up to her chin. Warm and toasty. Now, she was ready to listen.

"I know you humans have created this time line," Charlie began, his eyes no longer meeting Jaime's green ones, as his eyebrows furrowed down. He concentrated hard on the words that were coming out of his mouth, "of Earth using what you've discovered over time. There was a period of massive creatures roaming the Earth. I'm not sure I know the name of what you called this period, but I believe you called these creatures dinosaurs."

It suddenly felt like someone had squeezed out all the air in her lungs when Jaime fully grasped his words. Dinosaurs lived millions of years ago. Struggling to breath, Jaime still listened to Charlie's words.

"My people lived in this time," he said. Those gray eyes became distant, as if he were remembering something long ago. "We were strong, mighty and we were able to live along side these massive creatures for centuries. Although it was much more dangerous than it is now, we were able to survive then."

Again, when he confirmed it, it took Jaime's breath away. When she spoke, her voice was quiet, breathy almost. "You lived among dinosaurs? What was that like?"

A corner of Charlie's mouth lifted in amusement. "It was dangerous, of course. Many of those creatures were picking us off one by one. But it was a beautiful place back then. There weren't any of those buildings or cars back then. However the food now is much better. There is a lot of variety."