Goodbye

The next morning, Grigori was getting ready for the day. He dressed, distracted by thoughts of Charoum. Poor girl, she’s had so much happen to her… After dressing, he went to her room, to wake her up.

 

I’m sure she’s still hurting, so I have to get her to open up so I can help her…

 

Arriving at her room, he gently knocked on the door. Hearing a faint muffled sound, he poked his head in.

 

She had sat up, and was sleepily rubbing her eyes. He started to speak, but froze upon noticing that her chest was not hidden at all by the nightgown. She didn’t seem to notice him staring, and he recovered quickly.

 

“Good morning, Charoum. Go on and get dressed; we’re going to get your things today.” He managed to compose himself, although his eyes never left her. Finishing his statement quickly, he stepped out and closed her door.

 

Outside, he ran a hand through his hair, disturbed at himself, of the way he looked at her. A faint shudder went throughout him, and he left to pursue other thoughts.

--

Charoum was startled awake by a knock, and with a groan, almost automatically sat up. Grigori poked his head in and she sleepily rubbed her eyes. He seemed distracted for a moment, before simply saying good morning and telling her to get ready. For some reason, he seemed relieved to get out of her room. What a weird guy…

 

She got out of bed, and stretched slightly. Mid-stretch, she froze, as she felt the increasingly familiar sensation of heat tingling in her cheeks. Oh god! He was staring at my chest! Despite the initial panic, it didn’t bother her as much as she thought it should. I guess it’s not like he hasn’t seen b***s before…

 

She collected her clothes from the previous day, not particularly looking forward to wearing them but figuring it wouldn’t be very long, and laid them out on her bed. Remembering the bath, she quickly headed into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind herself.

 

It had a showerhead, but she preferred the idea of taking a nice long soak in the tub. She turned on the water, and then began searching for any bath supplies.

 

There were plenty of soaps and shampoos to wash with, but she didn’t find anything to make a bubble bath with. With a sigh of dejection, she went over to the tub, and finding it filled, turned off the water and delicately got in.

 

Once in, she felt herself relax completely. The tub was plenty big enough for her to stretch her legs out, and she leaned back against the tub walls. She sighed in bliss and closed her eyes, allowing the warm water to soothe her.

 

She didn’t know how long she spent in the tub, but at some point she stood and drained the water. Midway through the drain, she turned on the showerhead, and washed herself. It was only while she was washing herself that she noticed how grimy she felt, and enjoyed how relieving it was to get clean.

 

Finishing her shower, she stepped out and dried herself with an oversized towel. Refreshed and content, she headed back to her room, and began to get dressed. She got her underwear and skirt on, and started to get her bra on. After several failed attempts, she started to panic, realizing she couldn’t get a bra on with one hand. And so she stood there, in the middle of her room, half dressed and panicking.

 

Again, a knock on her door made her jump. “Charoum? It’s been awhile, are you alright?”

 

“Y…yeah. Just…having some…issues…”

 

“…do you need assistance?” She blushed at the thought, but she was painfully aware that it was fruitless to keep trying to get it on on her own.

 

“…yes…” He poked his head in, and she self consciously covered herself with her arm. Too embarrassed to speak, she simply nodded at her bra, which she had abandoned on her bed. With the same calmness as always, he picked it up and carefully moved it around her, and gently clasped it.

 

“Is that too tight?” She shook her head, wanting to get it over with quickly. “Move your arm…” He said softly, with a gentleness she hadn’t yet heard out of him. Despite herself, she moved her arm away from her chest, with barely a thought against it. He tugged the bra up into its proper position, and carefully placed the straps on her shoulders, though the right one threatened to slip off.

 

Before she could do anything, he retrieved the shoulder cap and easily got it onto her.

 

“Do you need anything else?”

 

“N-no…thank you, but no.” He nodded slightly and left, closing the door behind himself. Once he was gone, she took a deep, long breath. He saw me again…

 

She tugged her shirt on, and then poked her head out of the room. Grigori was standing across the hall, watching her door.

 

“Are you ready?” She nodded and stepped out of her room. He led her outside, and like he had the previous day, opened the car door for her. Still embarrassed, she remained silent as she got into the car.

 

It didn’t take long for them to arrive at her house. Charoum quietly got out of the car and went inside, trying to ignore the silence that hung over it. She went to her room, and delicately opened the door, as if expecting something to happen. Of course, her room was exactly as she left it, and she felt an odd mixture of comfort and surrealism as she stepped inside.

 

She stared blankly at her room, trying to comprehend the fact that this would no longer be her room.

 

Suddenly, Grigori lightly tapped her shoulder, making her jump and spin around. He simply raised a brow at her, and offered her a suitcase.

 

“Take your time. I have more suitcases if you need them.” He set the suitcase on the ground, and then walked out of the room. The first thing she did was collect all of her clothes, and pack them into the suitcase. She didn’t have loads of clothes, but she had enough to live with. Once she had finished that, she walked out of her room to find Grigori.

 

She was faintly surprised not to find him in the living room. Maybe he’s exploring the house… The first place she intended to check was the kitchen, until she heard a noise from a different direction. Turning on her heel, she went in that direction. She paused in front of her mom’s room. This is where I heard it…

 

As quietly as possible, she peeked into the crack where the door had been left slightly open.

 

Grigori was in there, silently looking through the various picture frames that her mom had kept in there; mostly of Charoum, but there were group pictures as well. He silently studied the one he was holding for a few minutes before setting it down and moving onto the next one. She wasn’t sure how long she stood there, watching him pilfer through her memories.

 

“Charoum…” He said softly, touching his finger to a picture. She immediately tensed and panicked a little. Crap, he saw me. “…I’ll take care of you…” His focus remained on the picture. As silently as possible, she backed away from the door and went back to her room.

 

It took a few hours to get all of her things together and packed. Aware that he had in fact not seen her watching him, she decided it would be easier not to mention it at all. He acted like he usually did, except a bit more withdrawn, perhaps.

 

Charoum silently watched her house fade into the distance as they drove away.

 

Good bye…

Reviews

[*Kantola*]

Such a sad chapter.
Well... depressing... and shocking... and OMG!!! (the bad omg xD)
This was well-written. She seems to not care much about people seeing her topless. Wonder what that says about her future occupation ;D I enjoyed this chapter, but not as much as the others.

[Lady V]

Okay from what I've read so far, this is a nice story line. I think I missed some parts but I got the idea. Great job.

Live, Love and Learn

Lady V

Can't wait to read more.