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DADDY DEAREST

THE HENRY HOUSE LOOKED DAUNTING, ALL OF THE SUDDEN.

Damon and Elena had dropped her off at the foot of the driveway, peeling off after she'd retrieved her belongings from the trunk. Neither of them had been in the best of moods, and in that regard, Charlotte actually thought she preferred the car ride to Chicago over the ride back home.

The long stretches of silence were good if you wanted to be lulled to sleep as the vampire behind the wheel drove, but the brunette couldn't get some shut eye for more than an hour at a time. How could she sleep when so much was on her mind? How could she sleep and run the risk of having that dream, all but taunting her?

Taunting her on a past life she could not return to. Taunting her by withholding her real origin— the one that was not related to the Henrys in the slightest.

Sure, she'd been raised a Henry, she'd been treated like a Henry, and she bore the Henry last name; but all of that seemed so insignificant because she wasn't a Henry by blood. They certainly had no ties to Chicago, so they certainly had no reason to be connected to her— to Lottie.

It was just another thing that had been added onto her growing list of things to worry over, truly.

And speaking of worrisome things, when Charlotte's gaze fluttered over to where an additional car was parked, her body lurched to a stop. She then realized two very important things.

One: it was the end of summer.

And two: that was her father's car.

"Shit," she began murmuring, looking at the vehicle like it was going to eat her. "Shit, shit, shit."

In light of recent events, the return of their father had entirely slipped her mind. He was now yet another face he didn't feel like seeing, because he'd been in on the whole ordeal when she was dropped off on their doorstep. He was now yet another person who was never going to tell her the truth.

"Don't be a pussy, don't be a pussy," she chanted under her breath, fingers tightened on the strap of her bag as she approached the home. Each step forward felt like a step toward a prison sentence.

She crept into the house, footsteps silent as she closed the door extremely slowly. She made it to the first step of the staircase when she stepped on a squeaky floorboard, the noise sounding like a gunshot in her ears.

"Charlie? Is that you?"

The brunette's eyes squeezed shut at the sound of her older brother's voice, exhaling through her nose. "Yes!" she called out, prepared to leave it at that and retreat to her room.

Nathaniel had other plans, as he appeared in the foyer within a second. His eyebrows were furrowed. "Where have you been?"

"Elena's," she answered.

He observed her for a minute, as if he was trying to sniff out the obvious lie. She thought that maybe her eyes gave away the fact that she so desperately wanted him to let the topic go, because he had.

"Dad's out back. He wants to see you."

"Now? Or can I shower, and then do some of my summer reading? Oh, and then I've gotta—"

"Charlie."

"Can I at least shower?" she snapped out in response. "Can the man who found me on the doorstep wait? Is that permissible?"

That got Nathaniel to sober up, and he couldn't help but stiffly nod. "I'll let him know," he replied, and Charlotte shot him an over exaggerated thumbs up before she charged up the stairs.

She'd been in the house for all of three minutes and already needed a breather. Diving into her room and kicking the door behind her, she tossed her bag onto the floor near her bed and began unpacking.

It only took about a minute for there to be a knocking at her door, followed by the squeaky hinges opening. "I said to give me a damn minute, Nate."

"Not Nate."

Charlotte whipped toward the voice that stood in her doorway. "Oh," she mumbled as her younger brother entered the room, "I thought— nevermind."

She resumed what she was doing, trying to find her wallet that was buried beneath the extra clothes and miscellaneous items she'd brought. He took a seat on the edge of her bed. "You so weren't at Elena's."

Charlotte looked at him again, her eyes narrowed in a challenge. "I so was."

His head tilted, a half grin on his face. "So you haven't been to Chicago within the last seven days, then?"

Her mouth went agape, looking like a fish out of water. "How—"

Joshua held up the phone that was in his hand, shaking it for emphasis. "I have your location." Charlotte's head fell into her palm, sighing out of pure instinct and exhaustion. "I won't tell, but— but I just wanna know that you're fine."

There was that subtle worry in his tone again, the tone she'd heard from him all too frequently, it seemed. She stood, coming to stand in front of him with her hand going to the top of his head. "I'm fine," she responded. "Though I appreciate the concern."

In a flash, Joshua was standing up, his arms around the girl. She froze for a split second, unused to having him initiate any sort of affection. It was always her that was pulling him into hugs or ruffling his hair or pinching his damn cheeks.

"You're a shit liar," he murmured, and Charlotte couldn't help but squeeze him tighter, "but I've got your back. Whatever it is, yeah?"

She pulled away slightly to look at him, to really look at him. This unassuming boy who still thought they were blood related and all— and she didn't have the heart to tell him. No, she'd gladly throw their parents under the bus for that.

No, she wouldn't be the one to do it.

"I ever tell you that I love you, lately?"

"You don't have to say it for me to believe it, Charlie."

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After taking her time in the shower to prolong the inevitable, she'd found her father in the backyard.

The sun was just about the set, casting a golden hue onto the landscape around them. He was sitting at the picnic bench, a notebook in his possession that he was writing in as she approached.

Charlotte cleared her throat, giving a small, albeit awkward wave when he finally looked up at her. She couldn't understand why she felt like this, like she was navigating awkward territory, because this was still the man that raised her, wasn't it?

"Hey Dad."

The tension visibly slipped from Daniel Henry's shoulders as he stood, rounding the table with his arms outstretched. "There's my girl!" he greeted, in the same way he always did when he came back from his work trips. "Come and sit with me for a bit."

And despite the betrayal she was feeling from the secret they kept, who was she to deny him of that when he'd only just gotten home?

He rounded the picnic bench again and sat in his seat, though this time, he closed the notebook and put it off to the side. She sat adjacent from him, vaguely remembering the last time she'd been out here— when Stefan came by to tell her that vampires were real.

Oh, how that seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Took you a while to come home," she said. Her attempt to break the small silence that stretched between them.

Daniel nodded, the motion paired with a sigh. "You know how it is with my work," he said, and she made of him of acknowledgement despite the fact that she didn't know how it was. That was Nathaniel who knew, not her, and certainly not Joshua. "My latest batch of developments were more unpredictable than the others... but they're finished."

"Meaning?" she asked.

"Meaning I'll be home for a little while," he told her with a smile, and Charlotte's eyes widened. "Don't look too surprised, Charlie."

"How can I not?" She held back a scoff. "You've never been home."

"While that may be true," he started with a noncommittal shrug, "it's time I stepped down a little, don't you think?"

What he was suggesting was clear: he wanted Nathaniel to finally take over the family business.

She never thought she'd see the day where her father did wish to give it all up. Daniel was a business-centric man, and boy did he love to work. "Are you doing this because you think it'll make up for the fact that you've been lying to me for eighteen years?" she asked plainly, her hands coming together in her lap.

Daniel paused for a beat. "You want the truth?"

"In case I've never made it abundantly clear, yeah I do," she responded, a touch of sass to her voice.

Her father chuckled, nodding more so to himself than to the girl. "The truth is that I've wanted to retire for a while now," he stated without any hesitation, now. "So I pulled your brother out of school so he could take care of things here, while I wrapped up my affairs in Richmond."

Charlotte's hand was raised in the air. "Wait— Nate didn't finish school?" she asked with a heavy dose of confusion. "That's why he came home so early?"

"He already has his Bachelor's in business... I saw no need for him to have a masters in it," he responded. "I certainly didn't have one, and I handled things just fine, right?"

"Yeah, but—" She shook her head. "Does that mean you're home now?"

"As of right now, yes," he nodded. "The transition period's not gonna be for another few weeks, but yeah. I'll be taking a back seat on the projects, now."

The brunette nodded, taking in his words. "Okay, yeah, cool," she breathed out. She truly never thought she'd live in a time where her father wasn't working— wasn't home. Suddenly, Charlotte didn't know what to say to that. "This is great and all, don't get me wrong, but I really have to do some last minute summer reading, so..."

"You go on," he said, gesturing toward the house before pointing at his notebook, "I've just got some things to wrap up out here."

Before her hand even grazed the door knob, she heard him call back out to her.

"And one last thing, Charlie?"

She turned to him again. "Yeah?"

"You're just as much of a Henry as the boys are, and I'd fight hell and high water to prove that to you."

She went inside after she gave him a wordless nod, feeling like something was lodged at the back of her throat.

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[ wyn's note ]

daniel is here!!! and finally after twenty six chapters LOLOL

joshua is my lil baby tho :( he loves charlie soooo much ugh

all my love!! and thanks for 45k x