Vampire Bride

Chapter Seventeen - Part One

Charlie

I stomp my way over to my suitcase and throw any loose articles in before I harshly zip it up. Great one, Charlie, try not to be a complete bitch and still get scorned. I mean, who would look twice at me with Stella in the room? She has similarities to mine, but they look better on her. She's skinnier, taller, more mature looking, and the best attribute she has is that she's already dead. I deserve this, I tell myself.

Sitting on the corner of the bed, I allow my head to fall into my hands. I can feel fresh, warm blood seep through my bandages and smear on my face, mixing with my tears. In the middle of arguing with myself, the pounding starts again. I didn't bother listening to Maxwell's speech. Part of me doesn't want to hear his apologetic words as that same part of me believes what he says to be more lies.

I laugh to myself as I hear him threaten to break down the door. But he's completely serious because seconds later he crashes through the door. Splinters of wood scatter across the floor and fly in air from the sheer force.

"What. The. Fuck," I say as an afterthought. My body is still glued to the bed.

"You wanted me to break down the door."

"No, I didn't," I interrupt.

"Yes, you did. You said you can try. Well, guess what, love, I don't have to try. I can and I did. Do not ever do that to me again. Do you hear me? I won't let anyone or anything come between us, including a damn door. Understood?" Maxwell bickers as he walks into the room and begins pacing.

"I didn't mean it literally. It was a figure of speech. Calm down."

"I don't think you understand, Charlie. You drive me crazy and it takes a whole lot of self-control to not be who I was. Do you want that side of me, Charlie? I'm not proud of what I did in the past, what I did with Stella, but I try to change every day. Try to impress you every day and when you keep pushing me away it drives me mad. It turns me into this."

His features go from hard to soft in the matter of seconds when he sees how much he's scaring me. His hand stretches out to me, expecting me to take it as he speaks in a nurturing tone. "Let's get you cleaned up."

With the refusal of me moving my hand into his, he grabs it himself. I shuffle my feet all the way to the bathroom. My body goes rigid as he picks me up and sits me on the countertop. His head shakes from side to side as he wets a washcloth. I refuse to look him in the eye when he grasps my chin firmly to lift my head up. Roughly, he wipes at my left cheek and forehead.

"You got blood all over yourself," he mutters. Once he's done, he grabs some clean bandages and re-wraps my left hand. "Are you going to say anything, even if it is to yell at me?"

"Did you love her? Do you still have feelings for her?" Once I speak the words, I instantly regret it.

"Do I really need to answer that? I never loved Stella. She and I only...how can I say this without making things worse...I'm not proud of the person I was in the past. Stella was just as cruel as I was and we added fuel to each other's hateful fire. I'm not that person anymore and her behavior, her attitude hasn't changed after all these years."

I can feel myself start to forgive him. He's trying awfully hard to convince me and no matter how hard I try to fight it, I find it sweet. "When can we go home?" Part of me wants to fix the tension between us, but a bigger part of me wants to go home. This place has been nothing but a disaster.

"We can leave tomorrow afternoon."

"Really? That easy?"

"It's only a day earlier than I planned, but I did bring you here a day earlier than I first said. Now, please go eat before your food gets cold."