Chapter 6 | Take A Leap

Charlotte

Relief flooded through me when Sebastian lightly knocked on my door and walked inside. He has a small smile on his face as he asks, “How’s the day been, Char?”

I smile, “It’s fine, and I’m all ready for our trip tomorrow!”

He nods in acknowledgement, but I notice his lips are pressed together. He’s still cautious, but I recognize that this is just a part of who he is. He doesn’t jump headfirst into decisions, he likes to take his time and think everything through.

I am pushing him outside of his normal limits and I have to respect the fact that we will butt heads during this journey. I look at him and say, “We’re going to leave first thing. As soon as the sun is up!”

His eyebrows crinkle and he says, “I thought you liked sleep.”

I nod, “I do, but I also like adventure.”

“Okay, but adventure can wait for a decent hour.”

I huff and walk over to Sebastian and tug on his arm and say, “Come on, Seb. It’s my birthday, shouldn’t we do what I want to do?”

He looks at me annoyed and says, “Fine, but on one condition.”

I look at him with my eyebrow raised as I silently question him and he says, “I want to stay in here tonight.”

I shrug my shoulders and say, “That’s fine, it means that I don’t have to find you in the morning.”

He chuckles and sets the food he brought on the side table and he says, “Why do you have this sudden desire to leave, Char?”

My shoulders stiffen, flashes of his dead face appear inside my head as if it was happening before me. I have to leave because of him.

I shake my head and murmur, “It doesn’t matter.”

His eyes soften and he says, “Charlotte, we’re best friends. You can trust me with anything in the world. Please, let’s talk about this for real.”

“I’m just tired of being a slave, Sebastian. I want my own life!”

“We are fortunate here and you know it. And you have never mentioned being so miserable until a couple days ago. I think something happened to change your point of view. Could you please just open up and talk to me?!”

I stare at him and focus on his gray eyes and the little blue flecks inside them. I shake my head, “I just know I’m meant for more. I can’t stand being here any longer.”

“Then stay with me! I swear to you that I will give you a better life! Just give me the opportunity to prove this to you.”

My heart beats faster than it ever has before. I genuinely believe that it might beat out of my chest.

Where is this coming from?

Sebastian has never showed any romantic interest in me before. Why… why now?

I never considered Sebastian being a love interest. During my first life, I knew the likelihood we would be mates was slim so I never allowed myself to consider it. He was like my brother and that’s the only way I allowed myself to see him.

But, this is my second life. I know for a fact he’s not my mate. And… if Cassian and Maddox weren’t my mates then maybe I could be with Sebastian and be happy.

But he wants to stay here. He wants to stay in the Lightning Pack and we have no future here.

As soon as Cassian and Maddox smell my scent, they will come to find me and they would tear me away from him. And knowing their jealousy… they would probably kill him without question.

As long as we are in the Lightning Pack, we have no chance.

I breathe out, “If you come with me, we could have a better life.”

Sebastian pulls at his auburn hair and shakes his head, “I’m sorry, Charlotte. You’re just… you’re wrong! It’s not possible for us to have a better life as rogues.”

“Why aren’t you willing to see if you could be wrong? Why can’t you just take a leap and trust me?”

“I am, Charlotte! The fact I’ve worked it out for me to come with you proves how much I love and care for you!”

I take a step back, alarmed by his sudden declaration. I look at him with wide eyes and ask, “You love me?”

He breathes out, his shoulders shrug and he asks, “How can you not see that? I have loved you forever, Charlotte.”

“I thought you loved me like a sibling. I didn’t realize it went deeper than that.”

He takes the few steps between us and grabs my face with both of his hands before pressing his lips against mine.

Although, what he did would normally be considered romantic… it wasn’t. It made my skin crawl, this was my second first kiss.

This isn’t what my first kiss was supposed to be like. It wasn’t supposed to be with him. And now… he’s stolen that first in this life. He took it away from me without any concern for my feelings.

I try to pull from him, but he doesn’t let go off my face. He nibbles on my bottom lip, trying to get me to give him more access. I use more force and make him let go of me before swiftly slapping him across the face.

I gasp as soon as I did it, bringing my hands to my mouth in shock. I see tears well up in his eyes and he looks completely and utterly shocked by my actions.

His eyes flicker up to meet mine as his face looks stunned as he says, “You slapped me.”

My lips purse together and I gulp nervously as I say, “You kissed me.”

His eyes spark with anger as he says, “To prove my feelings for you. To show you that we could be happy together!”

“And who said I wanted you to do that?!” I cross my arms as I give myself a hug as if trying to comfort myself from this uncomfortable event.

Sebastian says, “You wanted us to run off together! Surely, this isn’t a surprise! I just wanted to prove that we could stay here.”

I huff before snapping, “If you want to stay here so bad then maybe you should leave!”

He turns and walks out the door slamming it behind him. I crumble to my knees, I lost him.

Maybe, he doesn’t have to come with me to guarantee his life. Maybe… as long as I leave then he’ll be okay. It will be hard to live my life without my best friend, but this occurrence definitely makes it easier to walk away.