sunset

London was one of those fast paced vacations. Everyday they were doing something, usually history related thanks to Magnus. Endless museums, which sometimes started out as a guided tour with a member of staff until Magnus or Hector stepped in to tell them they were giving incorrect facts to the group. A handful of times one of them took over the tour to give them eyewitness accounts of what happened. Aruba was different. Everything was slower. They spent hours lying on the beach or swimming in the crystal clear sea. It was a damn good job he couldn’t burn though.

Being in Aruba gave him some kind of travel bug too. There was a whole damn world out there beyond Mystic Falls and he’d seen a tiny fraction of it. Listening to Magnus and Hector speak about their past made Lawrence want to board a ship and sail the world, except he had no idea how to drive a boat. He could barely keep a car on the road.

The twentieth rum and coke settled in his stomach as he started to drag himself away from the bar. They had a dinner reservation in two hours— which was mainly for Tobi, Kit and Cassie’s benefit. Just before he left the bar he ordered an ice cream to go, which was delivered to him in a waffle cone. It wasn’t like he was going to spoil his dinner. His dinner was the blood bags sitting in the fridge in the apartment, to be shared between him, Magnus and Linc. Upon reflection it was an interesting room allocation. Lawrence, two men who wanted to cave his head in for various reasons and Magnus, who already caved his head at one point. But so far things have been smooth. Somehow he even managed to sort things out with Linc too.

Lawrence strolled along the beach, desperately trying to eat his ice cream before it melted. Little drops had already started escaping forcing him to quickly run his tongue around the edge of the cone. But suddenly he collided with someone, causing the top of his ice cream to fall to the sand. He didn’t care about the ice cream though. He was more bothered that the person he’d just literally bumped into was Penny. What the fuck? “Hey.” He tried his best to give her some kind of warm smile, pretending he wasn’t internally spiralling. He let out a hollow laugh at her comment, “All the way to Aruba? Nah. I’m here with Hector and the others from the bar.” He gave a nod in the general direction their hotel was, “You being in London I accepted was a bit of a coincidence. But here? Why are you here?” Wait. Was she Tobi’s plus one? Surely that curly haired idiot wasn’t stupid enough to invite Penny along.


PENNY BARTLETT

Lawrence should have been happy to see Penny—he wanted to be happy—but he wasn’t. Instead it filled him with sadness. Seeing her was a sharp reminder of what he’d lost. He stood there, feeling the heat between them that had nothing to do with the Caribbean sun. Penny was so close, too close. He could’ve stepped back, but he didn’t, scared that if he did try to make a move his legs would buckle from under him. He longed to reach out and brush his thumb gently along her cheekbone. He yearned to close the gap between them, pulling her body close to his to feel her in his arms once more, but he couldn't.

She didn’t really answer his question though. What was the reason she was in Aruba? The exact same place he was and Tobi too. He dropped the topic, not wanting to know the answer in case it did trace back to Tobi. His fragile heart couldn’t handle it.

He glanced down at the sandy mess of ice cream near their feet, but his thoughts were nowhere near it. “Don’t worry about it.” Lawrence said quietly, his voice low, though he wasn’t sure if he meant the ice cream or whatever was pulling at her beneath the surface. Her eyes had already moved away, but Lawrence found himself searching her face, trying to piece together the layers she was hiding. Penny was always good at that—deflecting with humour, sidestepping what really mattered. “Maybe.” The words hung heavy in the air. He knew she wasn’t just talking about coming to Aruba, she was hinting towards them. He’d spent enough time with her to figure out what thoughts could have been trailing through her mind.

Was there regret simmering beneath the surface for Penny? All she had to do was admit it and he’d make his way back to her. “What makes you think you might’ve been wrong, eh?” He refused to acknowledge the bubble of hope that was trying to expand in his chest because he knew she was about to pop it.

PENNY BARTLETT

Despite the swirling feeling of a dread building inside his chest somewhere deep inside there he was glad he bumped into Penny. It was buried deep inside, but he could still feel it. But what made it even worse was the fact she looked good in her bikini top and sarong. He wanted to tell her too, but bit back his comment.

A quick frown formed on his face at her comment. “Vampires usually are.” He glanced at her, searching her face for something—maybe an explanation, or maybe just a hint of why she was really here. If she wasn’t here for Tobi then was she here for him? He pushed that thought from his mind, refusing to fall down that rabbit hole.

She was wrong by coming to Aruba. “Maybe.” She could have tried to pretend she was there for work or vacation too, but Lawrence wouldn’t fall for that story again. Still, her words lingered in the air, unspoken accusations woven into the softness of her tone. You’ve been keeping yourself occupied. It wasn’t an accusation exactly, but there was something behind it, something she wouldn’t—or couldn’t—say outright. “A little.” He muttered quietly, not even wanting to know who told her. Tobi probably. Asshole. He looked back at her, offering a small smile. “I can’t spend forever chasing after something I can’t have.” He had some element of self respect.

PENNY BARTLETT