It was true; Charlotte and Aiden were too alike. And if one did stand back and see their personalities, they could see why the vampire couple drove each other crazy. They were both passionate in their beliefs, stubborn, and loved “playing with their food”. Unfortunately when it came to choosing paths, Charlotte and Aiden were too stubborn to say anything other than “Well, I guess this is it.”

Charlotte continued to look at Aiden with a hard face. She was beyond upset with him, and since they were getting more mature in their conversation she had no problem reflecting that. She was sure Aiden knew she blamed him for everything, since she couldn’t admit she too was at fault. They always had problems compromising. Too, Charlotte knew that Aiden probably blamed her for the same reason. She stood her ground, not willing to show any hurt emotion though it was obvious. Hearing his response made her clench her jaw again. It was an automatic response, no feeling or belief in it what so ever. She didn’t mean it when she said it and she hoped neither did he. However the way Aiden said it, sounded rehearsed.

“Don’t patronize me Aiden,” she said firmly. Her voice was filled with annoyance and anger. Again, like so many years ago, Aiden was beginning to drive Charlotte crazy. His short answers and thoughts would make her bitter, for Charlotte was always one to speak her mind. She hated the thought of him believing she wasn’t hurt too. Giving Aiden up was the hardest thing she ever did. But then Charlotte’s eyes widened quickly before returning to their natural diameter, once Aiden said his next comment. Her fury built up inside her, and at times her emotions got the best of her. The fact was that Charlotte only allowed herself to be vulnerable to those she cared for. So far those were only two people: Aiden and Jackson.

She ran to him and instantly was in front of his face, blocking the view of the dark street. “But you did!” she shouted in her velvet voice. She wanted him to feel pain, as much as she had. And even though she knew he had, it wasn’t enough. She wanted to see it for herself. She clenched her fists, wanting to slap his face. But she snapped her head away from his so he wouldn’t see her pain stricken eyes.

Charlotte was more expressive in her emotions than Aiden. And the fact that she was seeing this occur that very moment, only more contributed to her fury. It was worse than old times, for it wasn’t one of the mild fights they had. Then again when it came to vampire fights, any human wouldn’t consider hissing and pushing each other to the opposite side of the room as mild. Of course they were more of sexual banters than the serious one happening over 60 years later. Like Aiden, Charlotte was aware that the argument was able to progress to worse. But unlike Aiden, she was ready to confront it. If the argument led to emotionally damaging each other, she was ready. That was another difference between the two. Charlotte preferred to deal with things and tackle them head on. Aiden preferred to avoid them if possible. It wasn’t as if he was afraid of it, but being that person he was, Charlotte understood that to Aiden it was just unnecessary.

As the two stared each other down, Charlotte looked into Aiden’s cold eyes. It was difficult to read, which meant that he was deliberately hiding what he truly felt. This annoyed the vampires, and again her fury was triggered. The fire within her heart was boiling, raging, ready to explode. After yelling at him, she couldn’t help but feel more anger at herself. She hated getting her emotions out of control. Unfortunately with Aiden, that wasn’t possible. He had her heart once, and in a way still did. She wanted Jackson to take the pain away, hence why they were able to be together. He wasn’t stubborn like Aiden, able to tell and show his emotions; the complete opposite of Aiden. Jackson helped Charlotte forget the Volturi admirer, and live again; and that she did (in her vampire way). Now, it all meant nothing. Aiden was back in her life and all the pain returned like a fireball slamming into her.

As she looked away, Charlotte noticed her fists. She instantly crossed her arms and turned her whole body away from Aiden, mirroring the beginning of their encounter. His words circled her mind, causing the fury to boil again. The fire increased, and her breathing grew short and strong. Again she wanted to scream at him, hating him for his stupid question. But for that brief second, Charlotte understood it wasn’t going to help the situation. Unfortunately that second was just that, a second; and Charlotte’s fury overcame the best of her.

“What did you think this whole argument was about?” she yelled back. “My bloody health?” Her hands were clenching her arms and her jaw was tightened. The Southern current blew again with a stronger speed. Charlotte’s hair flew wildly around her, making her look more like Medusa than a vampire. Now if only her eyes could turn Aiden to stone.

She saw the shadows around Aiden’s feet. Good, she thought. He was extremely upset and was even more bothered, if not hurt, by what Charlotte had said. Charlotte knew that when his temper got the best of him, his shadows would appear as well. It gave her pleasure to see him very upset. In a way it reminded her of old times during their “fights”. The shadows would engulf them and their passion would control them. However this wasn’t the case. Both of them were stubborn, irritating and just plain children. Especially with the ongoing banter they were still having.

After yelling at him with her sarcasm, Charlotte turned to face her past lover. She had no problem showing her angry eyes as the wind continued to blow her hair wildly. Her maroon eyes illuminated in the moonlight just like Aiden, making them both look incredibly regal. Seeing Aiden move his hands, she stared and waited like a statue. She didn’t move, but internally she remained furious and grew more impatient for his answer. And then he told her. The old woman, the one who made her what she was now and forever, was Aiden’s fault? She stood there, not able to understand what he meant. Nevertheless seeing him look away as soon as he said it made Charlotte’s fury turn into shock. Her arms dropped to her sides, her scolding face grew soft. He wanted her from the beginning, to taste her blood and feed on her. She couldn’t believe that he was there from the very beginning of everything. Her confusion returned, for she didn’t understand whether he wanted her to be his and turn her or to just drain to death as a snack.

A split second later, Charlotte’s face turned back to a scold. “What did you want me for?” she asked firmly wanting to know his answer. When it came to being a vampire, Charlotte believed herself to be blessed. She felt so alive, even though she was dead. And she was able to live forever and do whatever she pleased. Her beauty was even more beautiful and she was very into vanity. However what she believed was best about being what she was, was the new form of power she had within her. The strength she had both physically and mentally. Not to mention having her special gift.

Charlotte continued to look at Aiden. His smirk made her upset again, and her fury came back. Her temper was growing very short after 60 years of not seeing Aiden. And then he admitted to not joining the Volturi immediately after they parted ways. At this, Charlotte felt her cold heart break. Aiden had won the banter. His words were too cold and torturous to listen to. At that point, Charlotte wanted to kill him. She wanted Jackson to make her feel better again like when they first became mates. However that would never happen, for now she didn’t want Jackson as a lover anymore. Her heart was too broken for it to be mended. She tried to make herself not love Aiden anymore, to forget what they had. She had no choice for he appeared to be able to forget her so quickly. She hid her true feelings for 60 years and finally concluded that he didn’t ever care about her.

She looked away, unable to even look at him. Her disgust for Aiden was worse than she ever thought capable. “Everything was a lie…” she whispered with Aiden still able to hear. She knew what she had to do now. Her revenge would be long and torturous, just as he tortured her. She would kill him for it was the only way to feel better at this point. Taking a deep breath, Charlotte closed her eyes and readied herself for her attack. Using her gift would be necessary, for Aiden was many millennia older than her. However Aiden knew that his shadows completely engulfing him would make her unable to control his body. If he remained in his shadow shield the entire fight, Charlotte would have to rely on her own speed and hunting skills rather than focusing on his body.

She tightened her jaw, unable to believe she allowed herself to be this foolish; to love Aiden as much as she did and not even be loved in return. Without any warning, Charlotte immediately ran to Aiden and pushed him so he would fly off the roof. During that time, it would give her a chance to focus on controlling his body if she was lucky enough to get him distracted and not focus on his own power.

Everything was different now. The time and love she spent with Aiden was wasted to her. She hated herself for her foolishness and it was the reason for her lack of trust in others, especially those of her own kind. The fury she had for her former lover was impossible to describe, and she wanted nothing more than to erase the bitter pain he caused her. As she stood there glaring at him with more and more distain, she heard his response. I planned to turn you myself, he said. It echoed in her head. For that brief moment, she was actually happy he wanted to have her for himself. A flash of a smile emerged from the corners of Charlotte’s lips. However the smile came as quickly as it vanished for she was still very upset with Aiden. As she looked away, too disgusted to look at him, she said her opinion even though it was stupid. She said partly because it was how she felt, the other was to attempt and bother Aiden as well. She succeeded, hearing his attempt to refrain his snarl. She could see from the corner of her eye his shadows licking around his feet and his hands were clenched.

As she attacked him she grabbed the collar of his coat while also grabbing his marble skin. Her jaw was clenched and she hissed wildly as she let go and watched him fall to the ground. Then Aiden attempted to attack her with his needles, however using her skills she dodged them quickly and returned to her previous position on the roof. She observed Aiden the entire time, as if he were human prey. It was just like old times however one fact stood out that made it different: she intended to kill him.

Charlotte was about to use her power, however she saw Aiden’s shadows nearly engulf him and she tightened her jaw more. The battle was going to be difficult just as she expected. She studied him, her breathing was heavy, and her fury was increasing again as each second past. She hated him, truly hated him and loved him. She was torn between two emotions, so different from each other yet equally powerful. Unfortunately, Charlotte’s hate was overruling her love, logic and reasoning. All she saw from Aiden was the person who had deeply hurt her and she wanted her pain gone. Currently she believed the only way to do it was to kill him. She understood that she needed to make sure no humans were nearby; however like Aiden she wasn’t able to detect any scent.

She watched him as he landed, ready to attack him again swiftly and with precision. His shadows entangled him making him look devious and regal. Charlotte couldn’t help but remember what they had together. Hissing at the memory, Charlotte looked to Aiden with her maroon eyes, feeling the hatred and pain burn her cold heart that no longer beat. His next words made the anger ravel her heart again. She closed her eyes, not wanting to look at him again. Her logic was able to return for that moment and she knew that Aiden never lied to her. Accusing him of lying was just her way of hating him more. But her being stubborn, she wouldn’t accept his words. She heard the pain in his voice and hearing his nickname for her made the memories flash back. “You loved me, but couldn’t be with me. You had to be selfish and stubborn,” she retorted in the same painful voice. In reality, she was also speaking of herself, however didn’t realize it. They were both at fault for the unhappiness they currently had and Charlotte wanted to blame Aiden for everything.

“It’s too late now,” she said in a monotone robotic way. All of her anger and mental energy was worn away, and she knew that killing Aiden wouldn't solve anything. She did want to slap him, and would as soon as she regained her strength. Fighting out of emotion was never wise; only skill could would win a fight; only using one's brain not heart. She said it was too late, for he was Volturi and she believed they couldn’t be together unless she too joined them. They would accept her due to her gift, however she did not believe in their cause. It was too ridiculous to her. Not caring anymore, Charlotte turned away from Aiden. His view of her on the rooftop was no longer visible and she dashed to the other side to contain her composure. Her logic made her not want to kill him any longer, but the pain was still there. Jackson wasn’t in her heart anymore for it was broken. All feelings she had for him were gone and Aiden replaced them, only to turn to hate. For the first time in her dead life, Charlotte Ashe didn’t know what she wanted or what she wanted to do. She didn’t expect Aiden to leave everything for her and because he did still love her, she didn’t know if she could forgive him for all the pain he caused her.

Standing on the opposite side of the rooftop, Charlotte closed her eyes and tried to collect her anger. She was too worn out mentally to try and use her power or to fight Aiden anymore.