Chapter 273: Lots and lots of Pictures

Charlene was the epitome of sweetness, love and warmth. It was so intense that Theo always found herself staring at the woman, wondering how Cain had the heart to raise a hand on someone like that.

Charlene walked with a small limp, but she was much more active than the rest of them. She’d prepared a wonderful meal for them, and had made the boys sit by the small dining table together with everyone else and eat.

And she’d asked many questions.

She was so invested and concerned about everything anyone was doing.

When the topic about what happened during the trial surfaced, she had been so furious and expressed how angry she’d been when she heard about it...and how satisfied she was when she heard how Theo had handled it.

That alone that earned Theo more food in her plate, and my oh my, it was delicious.

Now she knew where Zeke and Sylas had learned how to cook from.

"Can I get seconds?" Zeke had asked.

"Go to that stupid booth at Gravemont and request for seconds there. You better get your butt up, and go serve yourself here,"

Theo has laughed so hard her chest had started to hurt.

The next few hours were wonderful.

Charlene made her feel so comfortable that Theo was pretty sure she’d never expressed this level of comfort even with her mates. The woman had shown her all the photos she had taken with her camera, and Theo had been glad to see that she also had the one she had taken of her and Ava that night after the ride.

There were more pictures.

Zeke. Sylas.

Many of them came unaware.

There was one there Zeke was just stepping out of the bathroom, frowning at the image with his towel barely hanging.

There was one of Sylas with a mean look on his face. She’d never seen him with a mean look before.

Another was Sylas and Zeke together. They looked like they were strangling each other.

Theo laughed again.

"I wish I had the chance to take their photos while they were younger," Charlene sighed.

"They are still young," Theo said.

Sylas glanced at them.

Charlene continued showing her pictures.

There were pictures of Sylas sleeping.

Zeke eating.

Both of them fighting.

Both of them pretending not to smile.

Charlene herself.

The cottage.

The stream.

The trees.

Their lives.

Theo listened to every story the woman told her.

Sometimes she laughed, sometimes she asked questions, and sometimes she simply stared.

And every now and then, Charlene would touch her hand, like she needed to remind herself Theo was really sitting there.

.

.

.

The next two days passed faster than Theo expected.

Very peaceful ones.

There was no intense training, no talk about whatever is happening in whatever territory, nothing about demons.

Just the three of them.

And Charlene.

Lots and lots of Charlene.

On their first morning, Theo woke up to the smell of something delicious. She stumbled out of the room she’d slept in and followed the smell into the kitchen.

Charlene was standing by the stove. Her hair was wrapped in a scarf, and she was humming quietly.

She turned when she heard Theo.

"Good morning, dear."

"Good morning."

"Did you sleep well?"

Theo nodded.

"Good." Charlene smiled, then she looked at Theo’s hair. "Oh, no."

Theo touched it, "What?"

"Come here."

"Why?"

"Come."

Theo hesitated before walking over, and Charlene ushered her to sit down. She grabbed a comb, and Theo immediately laughed. "What are you doing?"

"Fixing this."

"My hair isn’t that bad."

Charlene gave her a look."It is."

A few minutes later, Charlene was gently combing through her red hair.

Theo went completely still.

There was something about it.

Something she couldn’t explain.

The simple movement of someone standing behind her and brushing her hair made her chest ache.

It felt like something she had experienced before.

Not with Charlene.

Maybe with someone else.

Maybe a long time ago.

She didn’t know.

But she didn’t want to move.

Charlene noticed her expression in the mirror, "You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah." Theo nodded.

Charlene continued combing, then she smiled, "You have beautiful hair."

"Thank you." Theo smiled too.

"It’s very stubborn, though."

"Sounds like me."

Charlene laughed.

The following morning, Charlene woke everyone up early. Theo stumbled into the living room, yawning, "Why are we awake?"

"Because we’re going out."

"Where?"

"Somewhere."

They walked down toward the stream behind the cottage. The morning air was cool with birds chirping somewhere in the trees.

The water moved quietly over the rocks, and Theo walked between Sylas and Zeke, holding one of their hands each while Charlene walked a little ahead of them. Then she suddenly stopped. "Wait." She said and turned around. "I have an idea."

She pulled a small camera from her bag, and Theo’s eyes widened. "Oh."

"A picture." Charlene smiled.

"No," Sylas said immediately.

"Yes," Charlene replied.

"No."

"Yes."

"Fine. Just me and Theo," Charlene said and pulled Theo aside, "Since you all don’t want to take a picture with your mate,"

"What? I never said that," Zeke immediately moved and stood beside them.

"Didn’t say that either," Sylas murmured.

Charlene rolled her eyes. Theo hid back a smile.

Then, Charlene pointed toward the camera. "I’m taking the first one."

She positioned them near the stream.

Sylas stood on Theo’s left, and Zeke stood on her right while Charlene squeezed herself between them.

Then, Charlene lifted the camera."Smile!"

Zeke smiled. Sylas did not.

"Sylas." Theo looked at him with a pout.

He instantly gave in, and smiled.

The camera clicked.

"Oh, beautiful." Charlene cried excitedly as she looked at the photo. She turned the camera around so all of them could see, and Theo stared at it.

She didn’t know why her eyes suddenly burned.

Maybe it was because she had never imagined herself in a picture like this.

"I want another picture!" She blurted.

Before Zeke or Sylas could make a bolt for it, she threw her arms around their necks to keep them there. The camera clicked again, and Charlene clapped this time as she stared at the image.

"More!!" Charlene exclaimed this time.

By the end of the afternoon, Charlene had taken dozens of pictures.

Some were terrible.

Some were blurry.

Some had Zeke making ridiculous faces.

One had Sylas looking annoyed while Theo was laughing beside him.

Another had Charlene laughing so hard she had to sit down.

And one—

One was perfect.

Theo sat between Sylas and Zeke near the stream, while Charlene stood behind them with both hands resting on their shoulders.

Everyone was smiling.

Theo stared at that picture longer than the rest, and she was smiling.

She felt like she had come home.

"Can I have a copy of this?" She asked.

Charlene smiled, and answered, "You can have all of them."

Theo’s eyes softened, "All?"

The woman kissed her forehead, "All, my dear,"