Royal Mistake || BxB || Complete.

Chapter Forty-nine

Alexander's POV:

I yawned, walking into the living room, my smile was faced with pale stiff faces, I frowned and walked towards them, sitting on the couch opposite so I could lightly pry, 'are you guys okay?', 'of course', 'why wouldn't we be', the answers of two people who were clearly hiding something, Simpson forced a smile and not very subtly nudged Charles to do the same, 'alright, I am sorry to pry into your conversation, I was just going to ask if either of you wanted coffee, you can go back to your secret discussion now'. 

I huffed and walked away, okay maybe I was petty, but Charles and Simpson had been acting weird for a few days and it was frustrating to feel like the only person in the house that didn't know this apparently very private thing, I heard footsteps hurry to the kitchen as I poured a coffee, at first I ignored the attempts to grab my attention, the hands around my waist, the gentle kisses to the top of my head, but I eventually caved in and turned around. 

'I thought you and Simpson were having a little moment, you didn't have to interrupt that to console me', he sighed and pulled me closer, 'I promise you it's nothing you need to worry about, Simpson is just helping me with something important to me', I sighed as well, I was really being immature, and inconsiderate towards Charles's steps for healthy distancing, 'I'm sorry Calder, I was being a bad partner, you can talk about whatever feels right in the moment to whoever you want'. 

He smiled, hugging me tightly, 'I'm so fucking right about this', his words were mumbled and I chose to let him have his privacy in that, when he pulled away his grin was wide, 'I finished my assignments yesterday, wanna go out today?', his smile lightly dropped, 'I'd love to, but I got an appointment today actually', Charles had been going to therapy for four months now, it was going really well, I had noticed a huge weight lift off his shoulders, but after four months I had memorized his appointment schedule, it was twice a week on Mondays and Fridays, it was a Saturday. 

'not your usual day or time', he shrugged and pulled away, heading for the fridge, 'doctor had to reschedule, she's been working on her book so her schedule is packed tight and she moves whatever patients are nice enough to agree', I gulped, 'and you're that nice person?', he closed the fridge and took a sip of his juice, 'I wouldn't say nice, just have too much free time on my hands', I smiled, I tried to make it seem natural, 'okay baby, let me know how it goes', 'of course I will', he kissed my forehead and left. 

I stood there with a strange feeling in my chest, a feeling I hadn't felt since I met Charles, an emptiness of sorts, like the trust he had for me had wavered just enough for him to stop telling me about the things that mattered, but I didn't want to overthink so I shook the feeling away and left the kitchen, Simpson seemed to be acting normal again, 'hey pops', I flopped down on the couch and his expression was still neutral. 

'I'm going out today kiddo, want me to bring you something home with me?', I shook my head, 'no need, have a good time though', I forced another smile and he didn't seem to question it as he got up and left nonchalantly, I hadn't been alone like this in a while, I felt a little lost, maybe I needed to go out too, find something to do, have a life beyond the house and beyond hanging out with other people, but it was terrifying, I had managed uni just barely, the thought of going out to do an activity on my own seemed strange, but I knew that things were only unfamiliar and strange if you hadn't tried them. 

So I got up and got dressed, nervously collecting my things and almost wandering my way out of the door, there was no particular destination in mind, but a lone trip to the movies was long overdue so that was my top option, the train ride was peaceful and filled with nice scenery and the sound of gentle music from my headphones, I also took it as an opportunity to practice how I was going to get my ticket and food without sounding like a lost toddler, eventually I settled on keeping the talking to the polite minimal.