Lucia wasn't letting Stone off the hook. Charlotte didn't want to intervene since she needed to let Lucia get everything out or else the thoughts would fester over time. It would be best that they figure out their next step with her at the moment now rather than later which could be a make-or-break timing for everyone.
The frustration was evident in Lucia's body language which was about to burst. Charlotte placed her hand on Lucia's shoulder to try and calm her, but Lucia slightly shrugged it off.
There was only so much that Charlotte could do within her capacity. She was about to draw another breath when Vincent nodded over to her to let her know that he got it.
"If the people are happy, you're happy?" Lucia muttered back to Stone.
A smile played on his lips. "You seem to be the exception."
Lucia sighed. "I don't even know anymore."
"What do you want?" Charlotte eventually asked. "Will it lead you to happiness?"
"Happiness is subjective," Lucia said.
Vincent shrugged. "Do what you would like, Lucia. We have nothing stopping you."
Lucia finally quieted and paused to gather the words that she was searching for. "Will you support me no matter what I do?"
"After?" Stone clarified.
Lucia nodded only after long, uncomfortable seconds ticked by. Charlotte smiled, glad to have come to a conclusion. It was understandable. Lucia had no one in her corner to help her whether that be financially or in life. There were so many things that Lucia was never able to experience. Doing everything on one's own was a daunting task.
"Yes," Lucia answered slowly. "I want safety now, and I also want safety afterward."
"That seems like a lot of work," Stone said. "You have nothing that I want."
"I assure you I can keep quiet about these matters," Lucia pressed. "I'll be here for blood that you will need whenever at your disposal. Fresh blood is always better, no?"
Charlotte hummed. Lucia had a good proposition. But the large question remained in the contracting phase. She wasn't sure if contractors were a big secret, but they didn't seem to be popular either with the population of the vampires deeming it to be odd and not the ideal standards for the higher breed.
"A contractor may be needed," Vincent said.
Stone brought his hands together. "We don't know how long the blood bags will last us out here."
Charlotte raised her brows. "A contractor shouldn't be taken so lightly."
From what Vincent told her, a vampire could only have one contractor for life. They would be tied down to only having that person's blood, extending the human's life span. Bounded by words. Something that was being exploited. Lucia needed to know what a contractor was firsthand before Stone did anything concerning her in that matter.
"Hendrey will be coming here, won't he?" Charlotte added. "Why don't he bring supplies?"
"Yes, Hendrey will come here," Stone said with a frown. "But what you two don't understand is that he will also be staying here. He is on the run as much as we are, arriving anytime now, and it is dangerous to even call him out here. However, we need to regroup immediately. It's a risk we have to take."
"That's fair," Charlotte said. "Don't you both need to go to sleep?"
"He should be arriving shortly," Vincent said. "Don't worry too much about us. We should be able to last for a few days before shutting down."
Charlotte grimaced. "Let's not get to that point, please."
Vincent dipped his chin down. "Of course."
Stone set down his water glass drawing everyone's attention. "I'll think about it, Lucia. For now, sit tight."
"I guess that will do," Lucia said eventually with a long sigh.
Stone and Vincent stood then, and Vincent was the first to say, "Thank you for the meal."
Charlotte was doing a lot of sighing these days with Lucia, so she mustered up a smile. "It was no problem."
Vincent grabbed their dishes to put away while Charlotte cleaned up the table. Lucia was right about the fact that the pace of their escape had dramatically slowed down to the point where everything felt very domestic. Stone leaned himself on the wall to keep himself busy while Lucia took her perch on the stool at the island again.
"Why don't you two go retire?" Stone said.
Charlotte shook her head. "I would like to meet Hendrey, and be present for whatever meeting called."
Vincent slid the dishwasher shut. "That's fine. Get some sleep now, and we'll wake you up when he arrives."
"Are you sure?" Lucia said slowly.
"Yes," Stone snapped, agreeing against his will. Charlotte found it funny that Lucia was able to get Stone around her finger easily but decided not to push it by laughing since Stone already seemed to realize that he was doing a lot of it lately.