Haunted: A Lockwood & Co Story

Chapter Fifteen: Eggs and Soldiers

Charlotte shuddered as she stepped out of the cab. The cab had stopped a fair way from their house and so Charlotte immediately sought out the warmth of the house. Crossing her arms she walked down the street. As she walked closer to 35 Portland Row, she thought back over the last few months. Lockwood was so easy to love. He made her feel safe. He made crossing the road an adventure; with his hand on the small of her back. He laughed at things easily, he was soft, gentle and kind. He listened to the words, and he listened to her silence.

"Come here." He would say, arms wide open, and she would go.

"Stay." He would beg, and she would stay. She would stay. Charlotte had been running for too long and now she was going to stay here. She wouldn't leave.

"Charlotte, love, I can't stand it anymore. Say something. Anything. Please." Lockwood said from behind her. She kept walking. "We won. We beat Winkman. We got the mirror. It's safe with Barnes. George will be back any moment. You can relax. It's over."

Charlotte spun around, braids flying to her back. With her makeup having run, it made her look like she had two black eyes. Lockwood stopped in his tracks at the look on her face. They were so close to the house and all Charlotte wanted to do was have a hot shower.

"No, it's not. We nearly died tonight, all because of your bloody bet, and now every relic hunter in London is out to kill us." Charlotte said to him. "They could be watching us right now. Or waiting for us inside the house. What are we doing this for, Lockwood? What does any of it mean if we end up stabbed or dead at the bottom of the Thames with nobody left to care? This doesn't feel like winning."

Charlotte then crossed the road and walked up the steps. Her hands were shaking as she pulled out her keys and unlocked the door. She closed the door behind her and placed her keys on the table, next to the crystal skull. She took her shoes off and then trudged up the stairs. Her dress was definitely ruined now and she probably wouldn't be able to wear it again. She really liked the dress too. Charlotte didn't spare Lockwood's room a glance as she heard the front door open and close. She just opened the door to her own room and shut and locked the door behind her. She leant against the door before sliding down, crying.

Charlotte began to feel her heart beating faster and faster, her breathing getting more shallow with each passing second. She felt dizzy and her vision blurred. She tried to take deep breaths to calm herself down but it didn't help. She felt like the walls were closing in on her and she was going to suffocate. She tried to focus on something, anything, to distract her. She looked around the room and noticed a small plush bear on her bed. She reached out to grab it and held it tightly in her arms. She closed her eyes and felt the warmth of the soft fur against her cheek. She felt her heart rate slowing down and her breathing evening out. She started counting her breaths, one by one, until she felt her panic slowly subsiding. She opened her eyes and let out a deep sigh of relief. She hugged the bear tightly and stayed in that position until she felt completely calm.

When she was calmer, she grabbed out some clothes and got in the shower. She made the water as hot as she could handle before stripping and hopping underneath the water. Charlotte pulled her braids out so that she could wash the smell of the Thames out of her hair. She stood in the shower for fifteen minutes, allowing the hot water to wash away her worries and the tension from her body. She stepped out feeling refreshed and energized. She dried off and put on some fresh clothes, feeling ready to take on the day. She had pulled on a purple shirt that Felicity had given her for her 15th birthday.

Charlotte looked around her room and suddenly remembered that her birthday was in three days. She hadn't thought of it in weeks and the sudden realization made her heart heavy. She was not in the mood to celebrate - the last few weeks had been hard and filled with worry. She felt like she had aged years in the past few months, and a birthday seemed like too much to deal with. She lay down on her bed, the plush bear still in her arms, and closed her eyes. She tried to think of something else, anything else, but the thought kept coming back. She lay there for a few minutes and then sighed, resigned. Charlotte had managed to keep her birthday a secret from the two boys she shared a house with, but knowing these two they would probably figure it out. She would just have to find a way to get through it.