24

Charlie

I don't know what it was, maybe it was the cookies or the conversation we had, but it was the best sleep I had had in life. Damon still slept in the living room, and I returned to my room. But because we were up so late, I had slept in until noon, which is not good. That means I only had a few hours to figure out which dress would be my comeback dress to the castle. I had to figure out my hair situation and makeup. I was going to be rushing. Damon was still here; he was waiting for me to gather my things so we could leave. He told me he would get ready when we got there. It's unfair that guys don't have to spend as much time getting ready.

The front door flew open and banged against the wall. Usually, I would be scared, but that is just Sarah's usual entrance. "I'm back! Did you miss me?" She yelled out and stopped in her tracks when she saw Damon. "Oh, I wasn't expecting you to be here." She sniffed at him and continued walking to my room. She's still not the biggest fan of him. "What's he doing here?" She asked as she plopped down on my bed as I continued to look through my closet of dresses.

"We stayed at the diner pretty late, and the castle is a far drive, so I just invited him. Don't worry; he slept on the couch." I told her with a slight attitude. "Yeah, but you made cookies." I could feel the eyebrow raise and the smirk on her face. "Okay? Your point?"

"My point is, you only bake when you can't sleep. But I digress. What are you looking for?" She said, changing the attention to me looking through my closet. "Damon invited me to dinner at the castle, which means formal. And we are leaving in a few hours to go there." I said casually, but Sarah shot up and ran to me. "Are you fucking with me right now?" She grabbed my shoulders and pulled me to her. "No." That was all I said and laughed at her response.

"This is huge. Look, I may not like the guy, but you're happy, and this is a big step! You're going back to the castle is huge. You are also seeing your mom for the first time in months. But overall, you're going to show all those nasty old bitches who hated you just how much you've grown up. And the hot shit that you are now."

Oh, Sarah and her glorious potty mouth. "Thanks, Sarah, for the positive words," I said slightly sarcastically and laughed. "You know what this means, though; we have to go to the back." She raised an eyebrow and me and smirked. I could see the excitement build up in her eyes. The 'back' meant the back of my closet, where I keep my nicest of dresses. I keep the zipped up in bags, and I have not worn a single one yet; I have been waiting for the right time.

"You think so? Which one?" I asked her. "I'm thinking little red riding hood." She pulled out the black bag and unzipped the front, and my jaw dropped. I know this dress is mine, but it's still so stunning that every time I see it, it's like I am seeing it the first time.

"It's perfect. Come on, let's do your hair and makeup and get you out of here. He's not going to know what hit him." Sarah whispered that last part to me and pulled me to the bathroom. Nerves started to course through me, but it was exciting to be going back to the good kind. And Damon and I are in a great place. But most importantly, I am going to see my mother, and that's what I am most excited about.

I grabbed everything that I needed and put it into a bag; I bought an outfit and pajamas for the next day just in case. Even though I don't plan on staying, but you never know, right? It's good to be prepared. "You do know you have work tomorrow?" Sarah raised an eyebrow as she asked while I packed my bag.

"Sarah, I'm a sub, which means if I don't get a call, I don't have to go in," I told her. "Oh, I wish I could have been a sub instead. You get all these random days off, and you can hang with your boo whenever you want."

"How is Robert? By the way?" I hadn't heard her say much about him for the past few days. "I don't know; things are really weird. I mean, I like him, but he's been kind of flaky. Part of me thinks he might be gay, doesn't know it."

I busted out laughing and rolled my eyes at her. "Robert? No way, there's no way. How could you possibly tell?" I asked her. "I have a hunch; I don't know. I could be completely wrong; who knows. But that door is closed. Anyway, I am going to go to bed now. But I will see you later at some point." Sarah got off the bed and gave me a smirk, and walked out of the room. After a few minutes of packing my last-minute things, I walked out ad Damon was on his phone in the living room, pacing back and forth. He was going on about something in the packhouse, I assumed, but I didn't want to pry.

"I will be there soon to discuss further in person. I'll see you in a bit." He hung up the phone and looked over at me with a giant smile on his face. "Are you ready?" He walked up to me and asked. There was an emotion running through his eyes, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. "Yeah, got my bag here, ready to go."

His eyes trailed down my body, and they were slightly darker. I was wearing a cute black legging set. The leggings showed my curves wonderfully, and the sweatshirt kept me warm. It was getting harder to fight the mate bond. Everything in us told us we needed to mate and apologize and move on.

"Okay, the cars here. Let's get on the road; we have a long drive."

••••

I recognized these woods like the back of my hand. You would have thought by now that after all this time, I would have forgotten just how beautiful it is here. But I was wrong. It's just as beautiful as I remember. Maybe even more. All the memories came flooding back to me. From the first moment I got here, to Tyler, Kenny, and Damon. There are so many memories that I suppressed and forgot about, and now I can't hide from them. "How are you feeling right now?" Damon asked; I'm assuming he could pick up my energy change as we got closer. I just nodded and looked back out to the window.

"I know this is overwhelming, so if it gets to a point where you want to slow down. Or if you want to leave, we can." That immediately put my heart at ease. He grabbed my hand in his and started to rub mine to comfort me. It was a small gesture, but honestly, it was everything I needed.

We pulled in front of the castle, and there was a parade of people waiting outside for us. I didn't quite recognize many faces yet, but it was still a lot. "Who are all these people?" I asked him. "Something new my mother has instilled. It's a welcoming crew. Any time we leave and come back, we are to be greeted." I can hear the annoyance in his voice from saying that. "I feel like a teenager again, having to sneak out so that my parents don't wake up the entire castle." I laughed as we both got out of the car; he walked around the back and grabbed my bag from the trunk.

"Welcome back, sir." One of the men said and walked up to grab the bag from Damon. "Don't worry; I've got the bag. Thank you, though." Damon kept a firm grip on my hand as we walked up the all-familiar staircase and into the foyer that has not only been in my nightmares but in my dreams as well. "Still smells the same," I whispered, but Damon chuckled, and he laughed at me.

"And what is that?" He questioned me and smirked. I just ignored him and continued to let him lead me through the castle. "We're just going to go to hang out in my suite until we have to get ready," Damon said as we walked into the wing. It looked completely different than the last time I was here, which was good. It was hard to remember and place those bad memories that we had; it gave room for new memories to be made.

"Now, I already called to ask, but your mom isn't here; she won't be here until dinner. Stephen took her on a surprise trip, apparently. But until then, we can either go walk around, or we can hang here and chill until we need to get ready." Damon suggested.

"You know, a movie does sound really nice." I looked up and smiled at him. I followed him to the living room and basically threw myself on the couch and covered myself with the blanket. Damon walked over and put on a movie, then looked over at me. I can tell he was contemplating instead or not to sit with me or somewhere else.

"Here." I lifted the blanket and moved over so Damon could lay down behind me. He was hesitant at first, but I could tell that he was happy about it. He couldn't hide the fact that his eyes lit up with excitement. He grabbed the remote, and climbed over me, and laid down. He wrapped his arm around my waist, and my body unconsciously pushed itself into his. I fit so perfectly against him; it was insane how the moon goddess worked.

The movies started, but it was hard for me to focus on our closeness. I could feel his breath, and the sparks that he was creating on my skin were making my head foggy. He was tracing his fingers along my side, in what I'm sure he is thinking of as a soothing pattern. But it was just overwhelming to me, in a good way.

His head leaned closer and closer to my neck. To the point where I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. I could faintly feel his lips brush against my neck too. I started to tense up a bit, just because we hadn't been this close...ever. "Are you okay?" Damon asked, whispering in my ear. He immediately stopped moving his fingers and rested them. "Is that better?"

I could feel my cheeks get heated up from embarrassment; he could tell. "I don't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"No, no I'm not uncomfortable. It's just new.", I told him honestly. "I know what you mean. We'll go slow. One day at a time. Your pace, whatever you want." I could tell that he was being genuine and sincere, just like he had been the entire time we'd been together. Maybe I was just too much in my head about this. I needed to relax and enjoy our time together. I mean, I was comfortable around him; he did make me feel safe, which is the scariest part of all of this.

"I don't want you to think-" I started talking, but he cut me off. "You don't have to explain yourself. Ever. I understand." I looked deeply into his eyes, and it warmed my heart. I don't know why I am so nervous; maybe I am just scared to give him my heart again.

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