Hotel Room (open, location elsewhere) - The White Tower

The room was paid, instructions that he didn't want -anyone- to come by for the next 72 hours made crystal clear, and the key handed over, allowing the youth a chance to slam the door shut behind him with a bit more force than strictly needed be once up in the penthouse suite.

All the blinds were closed, curtains drawn shut and the door locked and double checked before Charlie staggered over to the bed, turned around, and slumped down on the edge of it, cradling his head in his hands while resting his elbows on his knees.

He no longer felt the need to scream. But his head... oh his head was aching.

A good while later, he slipped the cellphone from his back pocket, chucked it onto the bed next to him and leaned back onto the covers without actually moving properly onto the bed. Leaving his feet still on the floor.
Charlie moved an arm over his eyes and let the other rest on top of the covers next to his head.

He couldn't save the situation either way he looked at it...

Eventually, eventually he pulled himself up onto the bed, kicking off his shoes as he did so and moved over onto his stomach while pulling in one of the pillows. The Toledo blade was slid in under the pillow, the two other knives still strapped to his body, as he closed his eyes with a low sigh.

The tension caused by anger was gone, but the tension still lingering due to the frustration and the building headache? That just didn't seem to want to let go and it showed in the way he just couldn't get comfortable.
Just.. sleep. If he could just get sleep, a bit of peace and quiet, and he'd face whatever punishment came his way and then deal with things from there on out.

His arm... his skin... his body... to think he might find the perfection he valued so highly cut and desecrated over a God damn Gangrel and a Rose... He seriously had to be loosing it. And more than that, he wondered something really silly; whether or not it would scar.
And if it did... would he think the youth flawed..?

Then the phone rang, Alex's name displayed in the caller ID. He didn't expect him to answer, but he had to try.

Time seemed to pass oh so slowly as he lay there, eyes closed, listening to all the unfamiliar sounds of the hotel room. It didn't matter if he was the only one there, that it was technically silent. Because there were always little sounds. Always. And at the moment, with the lingering tension that just wouldn't let go, all he could do was focus on them even if he tried not to.

Still some hours left of the night until day came. It was going to be some long long hours.

In fact, he'd just pulled the pillow over his head when the phone rang and actually managed to startle him by being all too loud among all too many soft sounds.

"Bleeding..." he fumbled with the phone, stopped as he saw the number on the screen and hesitated for a moment before placing the phone down on the bed and pressing the speakers button.

"Yes"

"Where are you? We need to talk. And I'm not going to make you frenzy..."

His voice was soft, he sounded tired, maybe even exhausted. But he had to make things right.

Yes, more talking...

The youth sighed, shifting around in bed by the sound of it as he gave Alex the name of the hotel and the room number.
"I'm not moving from this bed so if you want to talk, you get to come here" he answered calmly. "I'll stretch as far as leaving a window open"

"Thanks, Charlie, I'll be there in fifteen minutes. bye."

He watched the display power down again, pushed himself off the bed and walker over to open one of the windows so that he could get in if he decided to go the Gangrel way, and then wandered back over to the bed.
"I'm loosing it..." the youth muttered to himself, falling back onto the bed on his back, moving one arm to cover his face with one arm while the hand of the other came to rest on his chest.

Fifteen more minutes to listen to the sounds of an empty dark hotel penthouse suite.
Yey.

It was actually only about ten, and even then only because he came in particularly silent. As Charlie had laid there, the cloud of fine mist slowly crept into the window in the early hours of the morning. He didn't want to startle the Brujah, so he stood in one corner and gentle cleared his throat as he lowered himself onto his haunches. The wounds on his hand were still there and he hadn't yet healed the wound to his face.

He wanted to comfort the young Brujah, but he thought it best that he simply not touch the other vampire for the moment.

Sure enough, there was a brief twitch of his fingers, though he didn't actually move his hand when the sound reached his ears. Instead, he slowly turned his head to the side, opening his eyes to gaze in Alex' direction and letting them settle on the Gangrel's form. His own expression somewhat blank, making his current state of mind difficult to discern at best.

Still fully clothed, save for the lack of shoes and socks, still armed with all those blades Alex had made fun of earlier. The youth looked like he was trying to relax but not manging to do so.

"You wanted to talk" he said calmly, seemingly laying it on the Gangrel how he wanted to proceed from there.

"I'm sorry, Charlize, for what I've done. I'm sorry that it even has a chance to fall on your shoulders," his head bent down, his eyes focusing on his hands and the floor beyond them, "I went to Jamie, to appologize. I begged him to let me take all of the blame. You and Cass... maybe you made a mistake, but your mistake, Charlie, what the prince views it as... it wasn't nearly as bad as mine."

"I owed up" he said with that same calm tone of voice, seemingly deprived of emotions for the time being. "I might not have much honour left in life. Some would argue I've long since lost all of it. But I will not be labeled a liar or a coward because you did the one thing I asked you not to do. I'll take what comes my way, and I'll do so standing my ground as any Brujah should"
He still didn't move as his eyes slowly drifted shut.
"I made three mistakes. I freed you when you made it obvious you didn't want my help. I let you go when I should've showed a stake through your heart. And I was stupid enough to think you'd consider your actions knowing that they could be traced back and pinned on me" Charlie surprisingly enough didn't sound upset about it though. He sounded, resigned.
"What fucks this up worse is that there's jack shit I can do to try and keep Cassiel out of it. All I can do is rely on the Prince's judgment. You two... damn it..." his voice turned to a low mutter under his breath. "I should've just backed off...."

"Jamie is considering putting all of the punishment on me, Charlie. I don't want you or Cass to take any of the punishment for what I did. All I can do is hope he puts more punishment on me because neither of you deserve to be punished for something you couldn't have stopped."

"Doesn't work that way, Alex"
Really, he still hadn't moved one inch save for having turned his head so he could face the Gangrel.
"Actions and reactions, basic knowledge for anyone over the age of five. If you think you can act like a fucking caveman one moment and then revert to the knight in shining armour routine the next and have it all fixed you're not naive, you're outright stupid"

Charlie's eyes slowly drifted shut again. He felt exhausted...

"How's the jaw?"
It sounded like a casual question all things considered.

Alex shook his head, "I wasn't being a caveman, Charlie. I went to talk to Medwyn, to have a conversation. And when I left, honestly I just left. I didn't know where I was going, all I knew is that I had to be away from Cass and you because I didn't want to hurt you. The only time I hit him was when he tried to goad me into a frenzy that would have killed him. But you're right, that doesn't excuse what I did. But what I did shouldn't fall on you or Cass."

"I can't ask you to understand, but I will understand if you never want to see me again. Honestly, I wouldn't blame you."

"I don't know.." came the softly spoken reply. It was, if nothing else, at least honest. "I don't even know if you understand..."

Alex nodded, "Maybe you're right, maybe I don't understand. After all I'm just some stupid man, aren't I? As the situation's been laid out to me, you're in shit because you wanted me unstaked, said you'd keep me out of trouble and you couldn't. Cass is in trouble because she told me about her and Medwyn and the demons. And me... Well we all know what I did, now don't we?"

He gave a pause, "But you couldn't have stopped me. Do you understand that? You could not have possibly gone where I went. And Cass? She couldn't possibly have known how divulging everything to me in a fit of hysterics was going to effect me. She wasn't even in her right mind. But I was. I knew what I was doing. I made all of the choices I made. No one else made those choices for me. I could have punched a wall, I could have walked away from Medwyn... I didn't and that was my mistake. I listened to my heart, and not my head. And no one should pay for that but me."

He didn't have anything hard within reach to throw, so the pillow would do. Really though, it was just... out of place, throwing a soft piece of fluffy fabric at the Gangrel, as the youth sat upright.
"The fact that you did what you did well knowing of what it was you were doing simply makes it fucking worse" Charlie growled, eyeing the man for a moment before leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees and tracing his fingers through his hair before locking them behind his head as he lowered his gaze with a sigh.
"Just some stupid man is, by the way, a shit excuse" the youth muttered. "You won't get away with taking the full hit for this no matter what...."

Really. The kid still wondered if he'd be scarred...

Alex's gaze locked with Charlie's as he said, "You're right, it's not an excuse. But everyone is intent on using the people I care about to get even for something I did by myself. Sure, if Cass hadn't said anything to me I might not have gone to see Medwyn. I could also say that if a demon hadn't been hounding Cass I'd have never known. I could also say that if Cass wasn't scared of Medwyn taking what he wanted she'd have never done it. Yes, people made mistakes, Charlie. But I broke a law. You and Cass... you deserve slaps on the wrist at best. But me... I know what I should get."

He said... something. The Gangrel didn't speak French? Suited him just fine as he muttered something under his breath again, closing his eyes. His fingers still locked behind his head as he sat hunched over on the edge of the bed.

He had no clue what they would do to Cassiel. He had some idea what might come his way. The uncertainty was torture.
Unfortunately, Cassiel was out of reach for either of them, so wasn't as if any comfort could be offered to her either. Not that the youth felt he had much to give at the moment though.

"I was going to talk with you. Both of you. About the situation, about us, before all this happened... seems somewhat wasted now" the fingers unlinked, slipped away. His left hand coming to rest on his right shoulder as if tracing what might soon be a scar around it if the Prince decided to go with that approach. Fingers moving slowly across it, feeling his skin through the thin fabric of the shirt.
"Right now, all you should be worried about is having Cassiel forgive you for whatever comes her way" Charlie muttered, closing his hand over his shoulder and flexing the fingers of his right hand.

Alex's head looked up, "Maybe, Charlie, I've already accepted the fact that I don't deserve forgiveness. Yes, I love Cass, and maybe that's why a part of me hopes she hates me, hopes she never wants to see me again. Because at least that way, I can't hurt her. That's how much I love her, Charlie, I'm willing to let her go if it means keeping her safe."

Alex finally stood up, "I'm sorry I've wasted your time. I'll let you get your sleep before this conversation becomes any more circular." Then he turned and began to move for the door.

"In case you haven't noticed, the dark is already fading.." Charlie stood up, rubbing his shoulder for a moment or two. "I don't need you going up in flames added to Cassiel's troubles right now" he sounded... defeated, the wave of his hand somewhat dismissive, without much determination behind it.
"Go close the window and get to bed. The bedroom door's the only extra barrier in this god damn place" he muttered, not looking up at the Gangrel as he moved to go double check that he'd closed the main entrance to the penthouse suite. As if he hadn't already done so three times already.

Alex walked to the window and looked over his shoulder at Charlie, "I'm a Gangrel, remember? we sleep in the dirt."

He began to crawl out the window. It wouldn't take long for him to take a form that would allow him to safely reach the ground.

"For fucking once accept an offer of mine instead of continuously making it known that my help isn't wanted, needed or appreciated...." he sighed, pausing with his hand on the door, having checked the lock yet again. He figured Alex would leave anyways though.