Chapter 12
The next morning, when Charlie woke and slowly opened her eyes, she discovered that she was home and lying in her bed, neatly tucked beneath her blankets. She looked at her R2-D2 alarm clock to check the time, and since it was only 9:25 a.m., she thought about rolling over onto her other side and going back to sleep since she had another few hours before her first day back to work. Then, fixing her blankets to get more comfortable, she noticed she was sleeping in her dress. Suddenly, the events of the night before all came flooding back to her.
Her second date with Rowan.
Their run-in with Roxy.
The demons at Red’s nightclub.
Charlie quickly sat straight up in bed and looked around her room for any signs of danger.
There was none. She was totally and completely alone within the safety of her apartment. There were no demons, no bounty hunter, nothing that was life-threatening and near. Even Rowan was nowhere to be found. Then, looking past her R2-D2 alarm clock, she noticed a note sitting next to vibrant sunflower petal on her nightstand. She leaned over to pick it up, a pain shooting down her neck causing her to squeeze one eye shut and wincing, and read it.
Dear Charlie,
How can I fully express on a piece of paper how terrible I feel about last night? I should have never believed that I could trust a demon to keep us safe and hidden. Apparently, even magical people still have lessons to learn. If you’re wondering how you got home, it’s because after getting us out of the nightclub, I carried you back. I don’t think we’ll have to worry about the likes of Red for a long time. I’m really sorry about getting you involved in all of this. I care about you, Charlie Cradle. I hope you can find the heart to forgive me.
Sincerely,
Rowan
Charlie placed Rowan’s letter next to her in bed and picked up the sunflower petal from her nightstand. The yellow color was so bright and vibrant, and because the sun had been shining directly onto it, it still felt warm to the touch. She sat in bed, staring at the flower petal and slowly flipping it from side to side while examining her feelings. Things had gotten very complicated indeed.
Over the course of a week, Charlie’s life and the way she viewed the world around her had changed forever. When she woke up seven days ago, she was still the quiet, shy introvert she had been all her life. Today, she woke up with the knowledge that wizards, demons and who knew what else existed used the world as their playground. Seven days ago, the thought of controlling a wizard in Diablo III and laying waste to hordes of demons with magical powers and abilities sounded like a fun night of mindless gaming. But today, it brought back memories of the previous night and of how truly terrifying such an event can be in real life. Charlie’s life had become drastically less mundane than it used to be, and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing anymore.
Charlie returned the sunflower petal to her nightstand. Aside from feeling physically affected by what happened the night before, she felt emotionally and mentally drained as well. All she wanted at that moment was to lie down in bed and fall back asleep, but she knew her wandering mind would never allow her that pleasure. So, choosing not to fight the inevitable, she got out of bed, took a long shower in the hopes that it would help cleanse the memory of the demons filthy hands and lustful eyes all over her, and finally sat in front of her computer to play a game to help clear her mind.
But Charlie couldn’t get past the login screen. She stared at the blinking cursor that waited for her to input her username and password to begin her forays in a fantastical digital world, but couldn’t be convinced to bring her fingers onto the keyboard. All she could think about was Rowan.
I care about you, Charlie Cradle.
Those written words repeated over and over again in her mind. Because she realized that she in fact also cared about him. How could she not? He chased after her when she pushed him away, accepted her quirks and made her feel wanted, dazzled her with heart touching magic, and even fought supernatural beings to save her life. He was the embodiment of everything she ever wished for in a man. So why was it that she felt like it needed to end?
She grew up on stories of the fantastical and strange, the weird, wonderful, and often impossible. She dreamed of being whisked away into an existence where dragons were slain by courageous knights, where brave heroes saved fair maidens, and where magic was a central and important part of modern society. She used to crave that existence. But after living it for a few days, she wondered if it were better left to video games, movies, and books.
She hated to do this, but she felt that it was best to break it off with Rowan.