My Precious Bird (Alma Peregrine X OC)

Chapter 21: An Apology

Two weeks. Minerva's little visit had finished three days early and Caroline hadn't heard off of her since. Caroline had stayed locked in her room for two weeks, never daring to leave out of pure fear. The fact she was still allowed to stay here was a miracle, she dared not push it.

Once Alma had tried to bring Caroline's food up for her, but Caroline just used her peculiarity to bag on the door until it made a harsh cracking sound which deterred Alma.

She was going to try again, a completely foolish idea of course, but what other options did she have? A gentle and swift knock on the door. Only one person in the household knocked like that. Caroline buried herself deeper into her bed.

"Caroline? Please, I just want to talk." A long stretch of silence presented itself and not a single movement was made. "go away."

Concern immediately grasped at Alma as she heard Caroline speak. This wasn't her girlfriend at all. Were they even Girlfriends anymore? The word left a sour taste in both women's mouths now.

"you need food." "I'll survive" Alma inwardly groaned. By the sounds of it Caroline was just barely grasping onto the last of her will to live. She wouldn't survive, that was her entire point. Who knows what would happen if Caroline was left alone for too long?

"Caroline darling, please... We need to talk." "do we? Last time I checked I fucking warned you and now I feel like absolute shit because I lost control due to you. Thanks, DARLING." That stung more than anything Alma had ever experienced. A few more tries couldn't hurt. "I just want to talk, please can I just come in?" "you already know the answer to that."

Alma was starting to cry but she had already stopped caring. "Caroline, please. Just let me see you." She was met with dead silence. More tears. "Caroline I am so sorry. I just..." Even more tears. Alma placed a hand against the closed door to steady herself. "I just want my girlfriend back. My love, my light and my happiness back." Alma was practically choking on her sobs at this point.

"please..."

Alma's keen hearing picked up something, footsteps? Caroline was definitely moving closer to the door. Alma moved back slightly as Caroline opened the door a fraction, enough for only one half of her face to be visible.

"fine, you want to talk so bad. Come in, five minutes, then you're back out. Got it Peregrine?" Alma visible shook at the vague threat. "yes." Caroline opened the door all the way and allowed Alma to enter her room.

Once Alma entered she looked around, this felt nothing like when she was last here. The fireplace had been sniffed out for God knows how long. The curtain were fully drawn and only let in a small amount of light. The bed was messed up beyond messed up. Items littered everywhere.

"are you going to carry on gawking or do you want to talk?" "I apologise, its just that everything looks different than when I was last here." Caroline let out a groan and rolled her eyes before gesturing to the bed. It was then that Alma realised that Caroline's sofa had been flipped on its side and pushed into the wall.

"four minutes." "right, yes. Of course." Alma sat next to Caroline before the latter moved further across the bed. "well, I'm sorry, I provoked you. You just responded, yes it was negative but I honestly deserved it." Caroline started laughing before lighting a bedside candle.

"deserved it. My word! I'm just waiting for you to get sick of me, and you're just refusing to!" Even though Caroline was using a joyful tone, Alma could tell how much those words stung. "Caroline, I have one question. You don't have to answer but if you do decide to I will leave right after you do." "go on..."

"Caroline... What do you honestly think of yourself?" Caroline sat stunned while Alma tried to make out what her facial expressions meant. "heh, that's a loaded question if I've ever heard one." Alma reached out toward Caroline's face and Caroline allowed her to.

Her expression sifted once she noticed Caroline's obvious regret. "it shouldn't be." "I've killed, I've hurt, I've tortured. There's no hope for me anymore." Alma gripped Caroline's face rougher and pulled her closer by her waist. "Caroline, there is. We were talking, we were reminiscing, we were laughing. You can still be a good person."

Caroline's expression said it all. "oh, really." Caroline moved her arms before placing her hands on Alma's shoulders. Alma watched with a deep blush as Caroline moved her hands from Alma's shoulders down to her chest. Caroline started unbutton Alma's jacket and Alma's breath caught in her throat.

Once the jacket was removed and tossed to the other side of the bed Caroline moved to remove Alma's blouse and glanced at her face to find a deaply focused Alma. Caroline let a blush come over her face before lightly teasing Alma. That caused Alma to let out a noise somewhere between a breath and a wine.

"honestly, I'm just trying to show you something. All you're thinking about is sex. Aren't you a bad girl?" Caroline got the response she wanted as Alma let out a wine. Caroline let a smile grace her face before letting out an upset sigh.

As the blouse was removed a nasty scar was revealed just above Alma's cleavage. "how did I not notice that?" "It was the same thing that I did to you that I did to Hugh. But, I actually managed to connect my skin to yours which amplified its power tenfold. Which left a scar."

Alma ran her hand over it and sighed.

"Caroline, I honestly don't know what to say. I came to apologise but it's obvious that that was just a catalyst. Please, tell me what's wrong." Caroline placed her hands in her lap as she moved a short distance closer to Alma.

"honestly, I don't even know. Past mistakes just kind of took place in my mind and refused to leave. It's just been a lot." Alma placed a hand back onto Caroline's cheek and tilted her head upward to meet hers. "trust me, dear. I know." A quick kiss and smiles were exchanged between the pair before Caroline started laughing softly.

"would you care to tell me what's so funny?" Caroline grinned before moving her hands back to Alma's shoulders. "where are the children?" "outside, why?" Her hands started to wander again. "are the older children there as well?" "yes. Why...?" A flick of her wrist. "Oh my word!"

"I believe they can fend for themselves for a while while we make up."