Charles' Point Of View
"Well?" Rita asked softly, her eyes dancing with affection and amusement as she reached out to cup my cheek, her thumb smoothing over my skin with a gentleness that betrayed just how much she already suspected. "Are you going to tell me what's actually going on between our little girl and the Corvannis, Charles, or are you going to choke on your spit again?"
I let out a long, heavy sigh, wrapping my arms around her waist once more and pulling her back down against my chest until her head rested over my heart. The steady thrum of my pulse seemed to calm her, and for a moment neither of us spoke, content simply to breathe together in the quiet dark of our room.
Outside, the wind pressed softly against the windowpane, and somewhere in the house a clock ticked on, indifferent to the storm building quietly between us.
"Rita..." I murmured into her ear, my hands smoothing down her back. "If I tell you the whole truth... you have to promise not to lose your mind."
