Thursday: May 28, 2009
Who: Ava, Maggie and Charlie When: Thursday morning, around 1am Where: his apartment What: breaking the bad news
How were you meant to do something like this? That was all Ava could think as she and Maggie walked towards Charlie’s room, and there was no answer coming to her. She had told Ana it was better if she did this alone, not wanting her twin in the firing line when Charlie inevitably exploded. If she had her way Maggie wouldn’t have even been there for it, not until she had at least warned him, but the teenager was... well a teenager, and she had insisted on coming.
This shouldn’t be happening.
Ava knocked and waited for her ex husband to open the door to them, and in the end, when it all came down to it, her first words in this whole thing were...
“I’m sorry....”
---
Charlie hadn’t been back in his apartment for more than a few minutes. He’d gone for a run with Cassius, and had just showered and sat down on the sofa when the knock came at his door. He could smell Ava on the other side, and that made him smile. But he smelled something else. Something different. Curious, he hopped up and went to greet his wife, ex-wife, and was immediately concerned to see Maggie. She didn’t smell the same. And he could tell right away something was wrong with her. “Mags?” he asked.
Maggie was scared. Not for herself, because her uncle wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. Ever. But she didn’t know if he’d be able to keep his temper with Ava. That was why she’d insisted upon coming. She felt the need to protect her aunt, now sire. “It’s not her fault!” she said in a hurry.
---
There wasn’t a way to hide this from him, as soon as he stopped to think about what he could sense... he’d know. Yes, Ava was terrified, worried how Charlie would react to this, but she didn’t want Maggie having to try and protect her. That wasn’t the way it was meant to be.
“It is my fault, directly my fault.” She corrected Maggie’s words, voice almost flat. “But if I had any other choice....” She didn’t have any other choice? Right? It was something that was likely to be asked over and over in her mind for a long time.
---
Charlie pulled Maggie inside, his focus locked on her for the time being. The second he touched her, he knew. He knew what she was. Her skin was cool to the touch. And in those few words she issued, he could see the glint of fangs. Charlie’s heart sank, and then so did his body. He stumbled back and fell to the floor. His facial features twisted, looking anguished, then furious, then anguished again as tears started to well up and fall. “No..” was all he could say, soft at first, then in a yell. “NO!”
Maggie rushed over to him and dropped down on her knees at his side. “She didn’t want to. He made her. Saul.” She wanted to explain, wanted to make her uncle see that Ava was no more responsible for this than Charlie was for what Val had done. Saul and Val were evil. They were cruel. They’d both hurt her as a means of punishing their children, but the punishment was unjust, because there’d been no crime.
Charlie looked up at his beautiful niece, now stuck like this for eternity. She was so young, and she had a wonderful life ahead of her. It was ruined. He put his face in his hands and wept openly.
---
Seeing Charlie cry, falling apart.... it was agony. All Ava wanted to do was go over and hold him, tell him they could fix this somehow, but the first was not going to be welcomed, and the second would be a lie. There was no fix. She had done this, and they all had to live with it. All she could do right now was stay there, wait for him to become angry and let him shout at her, because she deserved it.
“He knew.” She said, tears in her eyes, which she refused to let fall. “About us, about Ana and I, about Adam. He knew every lie. He was the one who cursed Ana. He sent the flowers to Maggie, she was just a way to punish me to him. I couldn’t say no.... I tried. I really wanted to. I hate him, but he said it and.... I did it.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper by the end.
---
Charlie finally turned his eyes up to Ava, and they were filled with rage. “You tried? Are you fucking kidding me?” He got to his feet then, fueled by the anger pumping through him. Charlie got right up in her face. He was unhinged right now, and it was hard saying what he’d do. He felt like killing her. He really did. “You killed her! You murdered Maggie!”
Maggie interjected, “I’m still here!”
“Shut up!” Charlie yelled at her. He’d never once said those words to his niece before, but he was not in his right mind at the moment. His eyes stayed locked on Ava, and if looks could kill, she’d be six feet under right now. He grabbed hold of her throat and pushed her back into the wall. “I begged you.. pleaded.. to never change her. Is your loyalty to that absolute piece of shit so strong that you couldn’t do this one thing for me? Do you love her at all?” If she did, she would have killed her sire just like Charlie had.
“Stop it!” Maggie screamed, running over and grabbing her uncle’s arm to try and pull him off of Ava.
---
Ava didn’t back up at all when Charlie got in her face. Actually she wanted him to hurt her, because that was logical, and how it should be, she deserved it, a phrase going around and around in her brain. Even when his hand was on her throat, pinning her to the wall, she didn’t fight back. Ava had no need for air, it wasn’t going to kill her, he wasn’t going to kill her, at least not this way. She just looked at him as he ranted, with those eyes that said nothing he could say would hurt more than she already was, and tears starting to fall.
It was Maggie trying to save her that made her react and she reached up to put her hand on the blonde’s and try to lower it.
---
Maggie continued to tug at her uncle’s arm, until he pushed her away, almost violently. She stumbled back. It was only then that Charlie realized the force of his shove. He let go of Ava and turned to Maggie. “I’m so sorry, sweetie...” his face was immediately apologetic and filled with regret. His emotions were so raw right now, and he couldn’t seem to control his actions or words. His fists balled up and relaxed, then the motion repeated as he started to pace. “One of you fucking explain what happened!”
“She told you,” Maggie said in a softer tone. “Saul made her turn me. She didn’t want to.”
“You should have killed him, dammit!” Why hadn’t Ava just killed him?
---
it was an instinctive move to reach out when Maggie got shoved, a normal instinct, not anything vampire related. When Charlie realised what he had done though she just sank to the floor, watching them. It was clear he wasn’t fully in control, driven by his emotions running wild, and she was ready to interfere if it looked like he would hurt Maggie, even though she knew he wouldn’t normally.
She couldn’t ignore his question though. “I couldn’t.” Ava explained, shaking her head. “It wasn’t like the normal pull of a sire, I couldn’t say no, physically couldn’t disobey him. I think it was another part of the punishment.” It wasn’t a complete answer though, so she paused and started at the beginning. “He called and told me that he was in Boston, told me that Ana and I had to come, and I had to bring Maggie. I knew then I couldn’t say no. She fought us, you should be proud of her, and she was so brave with Saul at first, but then he got angry, and he told us the flowers were from him, and started talking about how Ana and I had to be punished, and.... I knew what he was going to make me do. I didn’t want to, but when he told me to... I didn’t have a choice. I killed her...”
---
Charlie collapsed on the sofa. It felt safer to sit right now. He’d be less likely to hurt one of them. And when Maggie made an effort to sit beside him, he shook his head. “No.. just.. sit over there.” He was afraid of doing something rash again, but Maggie looked hurt at being rejected by her uncle. She went over to Ava instead, wrapping her arms around her aunt, and that just made Charlie all the more upset.
“You should have killed yourself,” he told Ava with disgust clear in his eyes as he glared at her. He would never forgive her for this, even if some magic was at work, and it sounded as though there was. He didn’t care. What she’d done to Maggie was the worst thing she ever could have done to either of them. She had to know that. It sounded as though Saul knew it too. This punishment wasn’t for Ava alone, but Charlie as well. “I should have destroyed him long ago.” And now Charlie was blaming himself. He could have. He’d wanted to, but Ava kept talking him out of it.
---
Ava could understand how Charlie could need his space, come up with some reasoning for why he pushed his niece away, but it was still horrible to watch. It still amazed her that Maggie didn’t hate her for what she did, but she wrapped her arms around the younger girl, offering comfort with her touch since she wouldn’t get it from Charlie.
“I could have tried, but he would have told me not to, and I wouldn’t have had a choice.” She answered blankly. “He knew what he was doing. This wasn’t lashing out, this was planned and cold. He was aiming for the most damage possible and he wouldn’t have let anything stop him.”
Great, he had to turn to blaming himself. Ava laughed harshly, shaking her head. “I should have let you, but I didn’t, so it’s hardly your fault. We all know it’s mine, and don’t think I don’t hate myself for what I did, but it’s over now, and none of us can change it, so stop falling apart and deal with what is here.” It sounded a little harsh, but she couldn’t handle watching him fall apart when Maggie needed them.
---
“I told you the lies would catch up. I warned you!” He wasn’t done blaming her. Far from it. He’d blame Ava for the rest of his days. But knowing he could have done something to prevent this from happening meant he’d blame himself as well.
He rubbed his face again and then looked at Maggie hugging Ava. It made him sick to his stomach. He knew what it was like to feel that bond to a sire. Even though he’d hated Val, part of him loved her too. Maggie had already loved Ava prior to being turned. This just deepened the affection she felt. Affection that was manufactured and magical.
“Come here,” he told Maggie, and without hesitation she did rush over to him. Charlie wrapped his arms around her. “I’m sorry for snapping and pushing you.”
“I know,” Maggie whispered as she hugged him back. “But I’m okay.”
“No, you’re not.” She just didn’t realize how much had been stolen from her.
Maggie didn’t argue with him. She felt really good right now, amazing actually. But she was young and hadn’t stopped to think about all the downsides to being a vampire. It was like using drugs for the first time. She was high right now, relishing the euphoric feeling, but it would fade and she’d come crashing down, and then she’d feel like shit.
---
“Really? I told you so? That’s what is important to say right now?” Ava rolled her eyes. She really didn’t want to fight with him, but she couldn’t help commenting on that. He had plenty of time to hate her, they were all going to live indefinitely now, now was not the time to get hung up on it.
Well, she couldn’t complain when Maggie rushed to her uncle, it was exactly what she had wanted him to do, comfort her, as long as that was what he did. Ava just stood there and watched them, feeling uncomfortable. She was only across the room, but she could feel even that distance between her and Maggie. It was odd, and scary, but she couldn’t let that show. She wasn’t the victim here. “Do you want me to go....?”
---
Charlie did want her to go, but it wasn’t what was best for Maggie right now. So he hesitated before shaking his head. “You’ll stay. Both of you.” Charlie had been abandoned by his sire right after being turned. He wouldn’t put his niece through that. She would always feel attached to Ava. The need to be near her sire would remain strong, and he wasn’t going to cause her pain by keeping them apart.
“Magpie, why don’t you go get changed into something to sleep in.” He kissed the side of her head and let her go.
Maggie had a bad feeling he was going to do or say something horrible to Ava in her absence, but she obeyed her uncle’s wishes and left the room. She still had a lot of her stuff here, her own room even, and that’s where she went.
When she was gone, Charlie glared at Ava. “I will never forgive you for this, and if I think for one moment that you’ve forgiven yourself, I’ll remind you of what a horrible person you are for stealing her humanity.”
---
How did life go to hell so fast? Less than 24 hours ago she had been relatively happy, things were looking up for her and Charlie, she was hopeful for working out how to help Ana with her problems, and as far as she knew her sire was far away and oblivious. Now Charlie would hate her forever, she hated herself, Maggie was a vampire, her sire had shown himself for a psycho and wanted the twins to suffer, and everyone was hurting. Why couldn’t life just stop screwing everything up for them all?
Offering Maggie a reassuring smile, she watched her leave and waited for Charlie to hit her.... but he didn’t. He just told her what she already knew, but still hurt to acknowledge. “He would have killed her even if I had somehow managed to disobey him. He wanted to punish us, and that was all Maggie was to him, a means to an end. I hate what I had to do, but I’d rather she was a vampire than gone completely, even if it means you hate me, even if it mean she hates me. I’ll still never forgive myself for being the reason it came down to this though, so you don’t need to remind me, but feel free to rant and rave. Hit me if it makes you feel better. I won’t tell.”
---
Charlie’s eyes narrowed. “Hit you? Are you fucking serious? Do you really think that will make me feel better? It won’t fix anything.” And Charlie would just end up feeling guilty, even if Ava might have deserved it. He lost his temper in grabbing her throat, but he wouldn’t strike her. “I’m going to kill him. And nothing you say or do will convince me otherwise.” Even if he died trying. Saul needed to be eliminated. What he’d put into motion that resulted in Maggie being turned had consequences. Charlie had wanted to behead the fucker for ages, but Ava had managed to convince him that it was best to let the sleeping dog lie. No more. Charlie was done listening to her. Who would Saul attack next? Even if it caused Maggie some pain, being part of Saul’s bloodline, Charlie had to ensure the bastard never came back to take more from his niece.
---
It would make Ava feel better, but that was sort of directly contradicting why he should do it. At least if he hit her she would feel like she suffering appropriately for what she did to Maggie, rather than just suffering by what happened to her. Instead she had to stand there and listen to Charlie.... and actually she liked what he was saying. “Feel free. I’d kill him myself if I could, even if it does hurt me, Ana and to some extent Maggie. He can’t be left to keep using the people I love, we love, to punish us because he doesn’t want us having lives, and now he knows Maggie is a way to do that. So kill him, but just don’t tell Ana or I, because I don’t know what this spell he seemed to have put on us would make us do if we knew.”
---
Charlie was surprised by her support. It gave him pause. It made Charlie realize she was suffering too. She did hate herself for what she’d done. “I won’t breathe a word of my plans to you, Ana or Maggie.” But he’d need help. Maybe. He’d managed to take down Val alone, but that could have been luck. He’d need a day or two to figure out how he was going to take down Saul.
“I have to tell Lewis,” he said with a sigh as he got to his feet. “Stay here with Maggie, and if I don’t come back, it’s because he killed me.” And Charlie would let him.
He headed back to pop his head into Maggie’s room. “Ava’s gonna stay with you. I need to tell your dad what’s happened.”
Maggie looked up. She was crouched on the floor, trying to get to something under the bed. It took Charlie a second to realize what. Edelweiss had been staying with him, and she was apparently hiding from Maggie. “I wanna go with you.” Maggie told him.
“No, you can’t. It’s not safe for you to be around humans right now, and he needs to hear this news without you nearby.” Because Lewis would fall apart, and Charlie respected his brother enough to let that happen without Maggie watching. He didn’t want Lewis saying something he regretted in front of his daughter.
Maggie sat up and frowned. “Edelweiss won’t come out.”
“You smell different. Give her time,” he offered softly as he came to sit for a moment on the bed. “It’s going to take time for everyone to get used to this. Try not to take it personally, okay? We don’t love you any less.. this is just really hard.”
Nodding, Maggie went back to lying on her belly and calling out to Edelweiss. Charlie rubbed her back and left her to it. He headed to his own room to throw on some shoes and a shirt.
---
The calmer nature with which he answered was a surprise to Ava, but a pretty pleasant one given the night she had had so far. “Thank you.” For agreeing to not tell her and for stopping the yelling. His next words made the worry flicker through her eyes again. “Ok....” Ava would have said she should go instead, but there was a real chance Lewis actually would kill her if she told him. He had already been angry with her for what she did to their family when she decided to stay, nevermind doing this horrible thing directly to his baby girl. It was the sort of thing that was probably best coming from Charlie if it had to come from anyone. That whole family was going to hate her, and that just added even more pain onto what she was feeling.
Staying in the living room, she heard every word Charlie said to Maggie, but she didn’t interrupt. He was right, it was going to be hard on everyone adjusting, and he deserved the chance to speak to her alone at the moment. Once he was gone to his room though she walked into the hallway and just watched Maggie trying to call Edelweiss out. The love she felt for the teen infront of her was clear on Ava’s face should anyone see her, and the pain.... and the worry.... none of which would exist without the love.
---
Charlie only glanced inside Maggie’s room as he made his way back through the hall toward Ava. He paused upon seeing his ex and looked her over. Charlie sighed and walked to her, keeping his voice low to try and keep Maggie from overhearing. “I get it, okay? You didn’t have a choice. But this..” he shook his head and rubbed his face, pinching the bridge of his nose after a second. “You know what she means to me,” he whispered, feeling himself getting choked up. “And you know how I feel about being a vampire. It’s a curse, Ava. We’re cursed. And I’ve accepted that I’m going to burn in Hell eventually.” He lost his voice for a second as tears welled.
Charlie loosely grabbed hold of Ava’s arm and pulled her out of the apartment and into the hallway. “I can’t accept that for her. I won’t. I bought all of this into her life. I can’t deal with her being punished over and over again for my mistakes.” He wiped at his eyes.
---
Of course she knew how much Maggie meant to him and how he felt about being a vampire. Unfortunately so did Saul, and that was exactly what made this so effective a punishment. It was working so well. “I know...” Ava nodded, voice soft. She might not agree with his views on curses and hell, but she could respect what it meant to him. Even if she didn’t mind being a vampire so much herself it wasn’t what she wanted for Maggie, especially not as young as she was.
It didn’t take much to make her go into the hallway with Charlie. “Our mistakes... “ She corrected him, her fingers playing the skin where her wedding ring used to sit and not even realising she was doing it. “But you can’t change it now. You can kill Saul before he makes his next move, but it won’t change Maggie back, nothing will. All we can do is try to make this as easy on her as possible.” They couldn’t focus on everything they had done wrong, he’d just end up falling apart, and maybe she would too. They didn’t have the space to do that right now. They had to be the adults and as responsible as they could.
---
Yes, Ava made mistakes too. Huge ones. But this had all been set into motion years ago by Charlie’s mistakes. He never would have become a vampire or met Ava if not for his carelessness when he was younger. Once again, he couldn’t help thinking it would have been better for his family if he’d died in Afghanistan or Iraq like so many of his friends.
“Easy? Nothing about her life is going to be easy again. I’m guessing she’s already fed, because she’s not a nervous wreck right now.” Charlie had been once he came down from the high and came to his senses after being turned. He’d wanted to attack the first person he saw. Hopefully, Ava and Ana gave Maggie bagged blood, because he didn’t want to think about his sweet little niece feeding on a human yet. “She’s a little girl.. far younger than she looks. She can’t handle this, Ava. She’s going to be stuck as a child for eternity.” To never grow up.. it was a horrible crime. Not that Charlie was in a rush for Maggie to grow up, but he wanted it to happen eventually. For her to graduate college, get a good job, meet someone, fall in love, have kids. All of that. It hit him then that their family tree would end. She was the last Burghard.
---
It was good he wasn’t voicing his thoughts on it being better if he’d died. Ava would have smacked him. Hard.
“She fed. Ana and I brought her back to the school and found a bag. It seemed the best way to do it.” She nodded. She wasn’t going to tell Charlie about his niece trying to seduce a guy so she could feed. That was not something he needed to hear about her. “I was thinking that she could possibly do with some time with Ana and I before joining the feeding class. I’m not sure how we are all going to deal with that.” Ava was keeping things focused on practical things so she didn’t get trapped in her feelings and emotions surrounding the situation, and yes, that meant ignoring what Charlie was lamenting. “There’s also the complication of her bloodlust combining with her animal instincts from her shifting, which she can still do by the way, so we might need to talk to Candi or Jason since they are the nearest we have here in terms of that problem.”
---
Even though he’d not asked, because he was afraid to, Charlie let out a sigh of relief when Ava said that Maggie had drank bagged blood. It had taken a lot of work for him to feel comfortable feeding from a donor. Maggie wasn’t ready for that. She’d hurt someone, and then she’d feel terrible about it. The fact that he was even thinking about it made his heart ache again. He never wanted her to understand this world.
“Meaning she’ll want to hunt...” fuck. Maggie shifted into big predators all the time, but she’d never hurt another creature in the process. That would probably change. She’d have the craving now, and when shifted, she’d be more likely to act on her desires.
Charlie paced for a moment. “I have to go tell Lewis. It’s late, but this can’t wait until tomorrow, and I can’t tell him over the phone.” Lewis was likely to want to see Maggie right away, something Charlie understood, but he couldn’t allow it. Maggie was a danger to humans right now, and she was in a weird head space. He’d done enough damage already in how he treated her. It would be bad if her parents flipped out in her presence. “You two can sleep in my bed. Don’t let her out of your sight,” he warned.
---
“I don’t know for certain, but yes, she’ll probably want to hunt, in both human and animal form.” Ava sighed. “We just have to wait and see exactly what happens, and deal with it then.” Luckily they were all reasonably good at thinking on their feet.
Once again she nodded. It was probably for the best she stayed with Maggie anyway. Ava would just have to turn her phone off and avoid the door unless she knew who it was, but she didn’t think Saul would be visiting her at the school, not tonight. Actually... “Could you inform security to be on alert, just incase Saul tries to come to Ana and I?” She asked him as the thought popped into her head. “I doubt he will. Maggie scared him, but they should be aware, and I’ll look after her. I think perhaps attempting sleep might be best for both of us...” Not that she expected it to come easily.
---
“No, we need to deal with it now. I’m not waiting until something goes wrong to do something about it. We have to prevent her from getting to that point.” Charlie needed to be proactive about all this. Yes, Maggie would learn to feed, because it would keep her safer in the end. But not yet. She had to learn how to do it right, and she needed to get used to blood bags in the meantime. She’d also be staying with Charlie as much as possible until she got control of herself.
“I’ll have them post someone outside the door, and I’ll tell McKenna to keep a listen as well.” Being an elemental, she didn’t really need sleep, so she’d be able to help watch out for trouble.
He sighed heavily and then motioned to Ava to go back inside the apartment. Then Charlie made his way out to the parking lot. This was going to suck.
And suck it did. Charlie returned about an hour later. His eyes were bloodshot, and there was some blood on his shirt, lip, and eyebrow. He’d not bothered to wipe them off. And not enough time had passed for the cuts and bruises to have healed on their own. He should have known Lewis would take the news bad and take it out on Charlie. Lewis wanted to take it out on Ava, but he couldn’t.
Charlie ditched his shoes, phone and keys in the living room and then headed back to his bed.
---
Ava spent most of the time Charlie was gone worrying about what was going on. She knew this was not news anyone was going to take well, least of all Lewis, and Charlie was putting himself in the firing line. She definitely owed him. She tried to just stay busy, warming blood for her and for Maggie too if she wanted it, convincing the teen to give Edelweiss some time and try again in the morning, and eventually, getting them both to bed.
Bed was where Charlie found them, the younger asleep while the elder watched, biting her lip. She was dressed in a pair of his trackpants that were far too big for her, and a t-shirt. Ava looked up when he came through the bedroom door, keeping her voice low so as not to wake Maggie. “Sorry I borrowed something... I needed out of that dress and I don’t have anything here anymore...”
---
Charlie was only going to his room to check on them. He’d crash on the couch tonight. Seeing that Maggie was asleep made him feel a little better, because she was safe and not getting herself or anyone else into more trouble. He put his finger to his lips when Ava tried to talk then headed back out of the bedroom.
He took a seat on the sofa and waited, knowing Ava would come out to talk to him when she was able to climb out of the bed without waking up Maggie.
---
There was no way she could just stay in his bedroom without finding out what happened, so once Charlie had gone and she was sure Maggie was settled enough, she wriggled herself out of the bed, and followed him to the living room, holding up the pants so she didn’t fall over them.
Logically Ava would have thought it a bad idea to sit so close when he hated her, but she wasn’t thinking all that logically as she saw Charlie’s face in better lighting. “Are you ok?” She asked with genuine concern as she grabbed a teatowel and sat next to him. “What happened?”
---
“What do you think happened?” It should have been obvious given how he looked. “Keep your phone off and stay away from the house. Talking to Lewis and Alicia would be very bad right now.” Especially Alicia, who didn’t have to worry about the ‘no hitting women’ policy that Lewis and Charlie tried to follow. Alicia would murder Ava without a second thought.
---
She really wasn’t that surprised that the news hadn’t gone down well. “I can’t keep my phone off....” What was life without her phone? “But I get the idea. I will avoid your family.” Ava sighed, giving him the towel and biting her lip again. She had lost another family, and she had no-one to blame but herself when it really came down to it, not directly. “I’m sorry my actions got you hurt even more.”
---
“I don’t care about some cuts and bruises.” They’d heal in a few hours max. The injuries were temporary, what happened to Maggie was not. So if Lewis wanted to kick his older brother’s ass over and over again to vent his anger over what had happened to his little girl, then Charlie would let him.
“Did she have more blood before going to bed?” It would help her sleep and she’d be less hungry in the morning. Less desperate to feed.
---
If he really didn’t want to take her apology or discuss it then she wasn’t going to push. Ava was the one who said they needed to concentrate on the practical, so she couldn’t change it now. “Yeah, I got her to leave Edelweiss alone for the night and try again tomorrow, and we both had a drink. Sorry for stealing your blood as well as your clothes, I hadn’t fed with everything else going on. I’ll get you some more bags, you’ll need more now I suppose...” This was so wrong! They shouldn’t be discussing this stuff!
---
Charlie gave a dismissive shake of his head. “Take whatever you want.” She had caused all this shit, but now at least she was staying put and trying to make the ‘best’ of it. He didn’t mind her taking blood or using his clothes.
“You should stay here for awhile. It’ll be better for Maggie to have you close. She’ll learn faster.” Because Charlie hadn’t learned shit about being a vamp in those critical early days, which was why he’d been so damaged by it. Well, that and it was forced upon him. Ava and Ana were pros at it all so quickly because of Saul’s guidance. Fucking asshole. Charlie couldn’t wait to cut his head off. “Just don’t teach her the bad shit.. and you know what I’m talking about.”
---
Ava was relieved to hear him say he wanted her around to help Maggie adjust, if sad it needed to happen in the first place, and she offered him a small smile of thanks. “I think that might be a good idea. It might not be for that long, she might adapt well and not need me so close. We already have the advantage of her being a part of this world already and knowing a lot of it in theory.” She felt like it had helped her a lot that she already knew vampires existed from her time as a blood doll and Maggie knew a lot more than Ava ever did before being turned... if kind of different stuff since Maggie’s experiences were more PG than Ava’s. Speaking of... “She already asked Ana and I if she had to have sex with the people she fed off. I didn’t realise how much she had noticed. We told her no, of course. Actually Ana told her she shouldn’t sleep with them. She’s been really helpful. I think she really cares about Maggie in her own way.”
---
Charlie felt sick to his stomach the second Ava mentioned sex and Maggie in the same sentence. He leaned forward onto his knees and rubbed his temples. “Jesus fucking Christ.” Maggie. His little Maggie. She wasn’t ready for any of this. “She hasn’t even kissed a boy yet.” At least he didn’t think so. Maybe he needed to talk with Kim. They were close and talked about the ‘girl stuff’.
“I don’t feel comfortable having her in your classes.. with everyone else. I don’t want the older vampires filling her head with that kind of garbage.” He rubbed his head some more. It felt like it was going to explode. This was too much for Charlie. He still wasn’t sure he believed it was happening at all. Maybe he’d wake up soon.
---
“It’s not something I particularly want to think about, but hormonally she’s a teenage girl.” Ava pointed out. “She’s going to think about these things, and she obviously notices a lot more than we realise. I wouldn’t even be sure she hasn’t kissed anyone, although she hasn’t mentioned anything to me.” It was an uncomfortable truth, but it needed addressing.
Truthfully, she thought it naive if Charlie thought keeping Maggie from her class would stop her getting those ideas of what feeding entailed, but he’d learn. “I think she’ll probably end up wanting to attend the classes, but for now, like I said, Ana and I can work with her individually to help her learn how to control her bloodlust, and eventually how to feed off someone else.”
---
Charlie’s head was throbbing. “Please never mention Maggie and hormones together again. I’m begging you.” He’d be too tempted to murder someone who didn’t actually deserve it, unlike Saul. Then again, Charlie had signed off on Maggie and Devon’s slumber party that one night. He liked Devon. He felt like Devon understood Maggie because of their similar circumstances with growing up too fast. And since Devon did a lot of things he regretted as a result of that speedy aging process, he was, hopefully, more inclined to protect Maggie from following that same path.
“Sixteen or eight.. it doesn’t matter. She’s still a minor, and that means she has to do what her family says. I say she’s not joining the class right now.” And he wasn’t budging on it. He doubted Lewis would attempt to overrule him either. “I get to pre-approve donors, and I get to be there when she practices.” If Maggie didn’t like it, too fucking bad.
---
Amazingly she did stop talking about Maggie’s hormones and probable desire to explore things on that side. Eventually Charlie would have to deal with the fact his niece was now a teenager, and he was only making it harder on himself by putting it off, but she had bigger problems to have him angry with her about. It wasn’t like he was going to let Ava talk to her about it anyway.
“Why do you say that as if I am about to make her join it?” She asked, rolling her eyes. He could be so annoying sometimes. “I will involve you as much as possible, but insisting on being there when she finally practices on someone? That is ridiculous. If she wants you there that is one thing, but she should have the right to learn something like that without you hovering over her if she wishes to do it apart from you.”
---
Charlie glared at Ava. “You mean like how she had the right to decide if this was the sort of life she wanted?” He got up. “Fuck you. Being her sire doesn’t give you any rights. And she’s a minor, which means she really doesn’t have any either. Maybe you’d know that if someone, anyone had ever said no to you. You don’t know shit about taking care of a child, Ava. You still are one.”
He walked out, heading to the bathroom to wash his face and cool off. Just a few hours ago, he’d been thinking about how good it was to be with Ava again, even if things weren’t back to perfect between them. They were working on it. They were rebuilding their relationship. That was gone now. He could forgive a lot of things, but not this.
---
“Says the man who throws more tantrums than a two year old.” She muttered under her breath as he walked away. He had a point, she had taken away Maggie’s right to choose, even if that choice was death or becoming a vampire, but she had also had her choices taken away earlier tonight. Ava had no intentions to let Charlie take away Maggie’s, even if every argument she made for the girl made him hate his ex-wife more. Maggie was her priority right now, and as her sire and her aunt (if not legally), she felt a responsibility to doing what was best for her in a bad situation.
Standing up, Ava walked towards the bedroom, stopping at the bathroom door. “Well, after that spectacular display of maturity and utter ignorance regarding the woman you used to be married to, perhaps I should go back to your room.” No-one had ever said no to Ava and Ana? Did he miss their entire lives between the death of their parents and being able to strike out on their own? The twins had heard no a lot, and had their aunt trying to control them, and it was all a part of what drove the way she wanted to be with Maggie, ie nothing like their aunt had been with them. She didn’t want the teen to go the same way they had, rebelling and falling further and further into things that were bad for her.
---
“You really expect more out of me than this? You should be glad I’m functional right now.” He grabbed a towel and wiped his face. “I’d love to physically throw you out of my apartment, possibly through the window. I’m letting you stay because I know it will comfort her, and Maggie’s all I care about.” Especially now, because he felt no love for Ava in this moment and doubted he ever would again.
“You can sleep on the couch,” he said in a rude tone, looking down at her as he threw the towel into the sink and pushed past her. The couch was close enough. She didn’t get to take claim over his bed.
---
Part of Ava wanted to tell him that he could shove his couch, and that she would go back to her apartment. It wasn’t that far away, but she didn’t want Maggie waking up expecting her to be there and find her gone from the apartment altogether, so she didn’t lash out. “You’re not the only one who has had a bad night.” She reminded him, following him back to the living area. “And right now it sounds like you’re more sorry for yourself than Maggie, so before we do something we regret even more I am going to go to my apartment and find my own clothes, and calm down. Don’t wait up.” Pulling off his clothes to leave her in just panties, she walked out. “Keep the clothes.”
---
“Fuck you!” he declared louder than he should have. He did not pity himself. Loathed, yes. Totally different things. His heart ached for all that Maggie had lost, because he could actually relate. Ava couldn’t. She’d picked this life, wasn’t religious, and probably never had family aspirations. But Maggie had often talked about how she wanted children, and she was a devout Catholic.
He didn’t look at Ava prance out nearly nude. He just rolled his eyes. “And you call me immature,” he grumbled, not bothering to pick up the clothes she’d dropped on the floor. Fuck it. Fuck everything. Charlie just pulled off his hoodie and headed back to bed. He’d share it with Maggie and Cassius and deal with the rest of this bullshit in the morning.