The idea came to me while I was watching season 2 of True Blood. I love the character of Godric and was extremely disappointed when he chose to meet the sun. I took it upon myself to give him a happy ending instead.
I want to state a few things before we get started, though:
1) I know nothing about Dallas. Not one, single thing about it. So, if something I write isn't quite right, please remember that I am making most of locations and situations up in my mind.
2) I am not eighteen and haven't been in high school for a while now, so the characters might act older. I am trying to keep it as realistic as possible I tend to write older characters.
3) Unlike my other stories I am writing as I go. If anyone has any ideas or would like to see something happen in the story, please let me know. I am open to comment, suggestions, and feedback.
With those few warning out of the way, I am very happy to present the first installment of Virtus.
Please enjoy!
~Pixie
"Parents blow." Liliana stated simple as she hefted herself through the trapdoor lodged in the far corner of the floor. Romi snorted as she sat hunched against the plywood wall, picking at the peeling barn red paint, "Pretty much."
Liliana had to close the door before there was enough room for her to sit down. She glanced around the tiny room, smiling softly at the children's scribbles and pictures strewn across the walls and ceiling. The pictures spoke of whimsical wishes and dreams that were never going to be realized; knights and horses, damsels and dragons, talking animals and magic, of childhood and the innocents that had been lost somewhere along the way between then and now. "Is it sad that we still run here when the world gets too real?"
"No," Romi answered honestly, stretching out her legs. There was barely enough room for the two of them, forcing the two to sit opposite each other; their legs running side by side. The thick plastic furniture had long been done away with; only a stack of milk crates shoved in a corner remained, no longer filled with broken dolls and half full coloring books. Empty soda cans, a pack of menthol cigarettes, bikinis, dangerously high heeled shoes in vibrant colors, and other contraband that would never be allowed in either of their houses now filled the plastic boxes.
The tree house inhabited the large oak tree that rested in the middle of both their backyards. Liliana's dad had built it during the summer of their second grade year and it had become their secret retreat, the command center for all their adventures, complete with a rope swing and a pulley to hoist their treasures to the left little square window.
Romi shoved the tattered floral curtain, which had once been her mother's tablecloth, to the side, looking out to their two houses, hers on the left, Liliana's on the right. They had grown up together, their parents becoming friends because the girls never left each other's side. The two of them had been pretty much raised by both parents. The view had once offered comfort, like no matter where their imaginations took them, home was still in sight; now, it felt like prison and the wardens' disapproving eyes never wavered from them. "What are you in for?"
"My parents found Twilight under my bed." Liliana stated as she lit up a cigarette before handing it to Romi, "You?"
Romi accepted it with a nod of appreciation, "Mom found the Dallas acceptance letter." Liliana choked on a lungful of smoke, coughing viciously, "Holy shit, Ro. Are you serious? Why didn't you put it up here? Mine's up here."
"Mom got to the mail before I could get it. She's wickedly pissed, banned me from going to Mickey Rolland's party tonight."
Liliana nodded, exhaling a smooth stream of gray smoke. "Yeah, me too. All over a stupid book. I hadn't even got the chance to read it yet."
"Parents blow," Romi restated, flicking ash out the small window. Liliana nodded, leaning her head back, "Pretty much."
Silence stretched between the two of them, heavy with remorse and quiet anger; both lost in thought of what to do next. Graduation had been only a few days ago and their first school free summer wasn't turning out as they had planned. They had adventures and trips mapped out before starting college in the fall, Mickey Rolland's party was supposed to be the torch that started it all.
No longer did they have to sit in those little, uncomfortable desks as their teachers preached at them. Highsdale Christian Academy was now just an oppressive memory full of cynics, rules, and uniformity. Everyone left that school with a pack a day habit and the words of the Reverend Steve Newlin ringing in their ears. That is, until they filtered into Highsdale Christian College, which was exactly where he mother wanted her to go in the fall to study social work just like she had, and her grandmother did. A long, noble legacy, one she was expected to follow; it hung around her neck like a noose.
But she and Liliana had come up with a new plan their sophomore year, one that involved leaving this small suburb and their parents expectations. College in Dallas, a degree in classic literature for her, art history for Liliana, and then they would move anywhere they wanted. New York, Paris, London, it didn't matter as long as it wasn't here. They had made the pack over a cheap bottle of wine and their first pack of cigarettes right in the tree house. Everything was going to be perfect, as long as their parents didn't find out.
Romi sighed, reaching over Liliana to put her finished cigarette in an empty soda can. Martin Casey, Liliana's wild cousin who no one spoke about, had been several years ahead of them in school, had opened a funky, thriving coffee house in Dallas and was always willing to help Highsdale students looking for an out. He had promised them jobs the moment they got to there. He had even gone as far as offer the small two room loft above the café, promising to hold it for them until the fall.
The only thing that was keeping them here was the fact that she was only seventeen and her birthday wasn't until the end of July. Romi wanted nothing more than to just pack up their two little cars and leave now for Dallas, but she knew her mother would send the entire police force after her, and possible a few armored tanks just for good measure. She had told Liliana just to leave and she'd join her but her friend staunchly refused, saying they'd go together or not at all. Damned nobility.
"What'd your mom say about Dallas?" Liliana finally asked, pulling out a pair of warm wine coolers from their hiding place. Romi gladly accepted it, taking a long drink before answering, "That she'd never let me spend her hard saved money on such a bad college, that it was too far and I wouldn't be able to live at home like she wants if I went there. Then she went into her usual, 'is this about your father' routine followed by the classic 'if you loved me you wouldn't do this' and finished with 'Jesus doesn't love people who don't listen to their mothers'."
"The trifecta," Liliana cringed. "You have my sympathy, girl. You have to admit, though, you're mother has mastered the art of the guilt trip. The result?"
"I'm drinking and smoking in the tree house, counting the seconds until I turn eighteen so I can finally leave." Romi stated, pulling another cigarette from the pack. "At this point, I don't care if I don't get my college fund. I just want out, I'm so done with this town."
Liliana smiled, clinking the bottom of her bottle against Romi's, "Amen, sister, a-freaking-men. My parents threatened pulling the camping trip from me if I ever brought 'vampire sympathetic, brain-washing trash' into the house again. They want me to speak to Reverend Newlin on Sunday."
"Oh God," Romi exclaimed, "Don't even get me started on that crap. My mom slapped me when I brought up the little fact that Dallas wasn't too far when we went to church every Sunday. Apparently, it's okay to make the hour and a half trip when it's for the Fellowship of the Sun but not when it's for college. I didn't mention the fact that I wasn't planning to live at home once classes started."
"My parents would have strokes if I told them that I was moving to Dallas and working for crazy Cousin Martin. Oh, hey, he wanted me to let you know that he's cool with you bringing Beowulf to Dallas. He even said he could hang out in the shop while we were at class."
"All hail crazy Cousin Martin, the savior of my sanity." Romi declared, knocking her bottle with Liliana's. Beowulf was the German Shepard that her dad had given her when he had randomly shown up on her sixteenth birthday. Her dad stayed long enough to tell her the dog's name, that he was specially trained, and that he was her guardian because her dad wasn't able to look after her anymore. The dog was highly trained, extremely well behaved, and followed her everywhere. He was, in fact, lying at the thick base of the tree; patiently waiting for her. She wasn't willing to go anywhere without him.
Romi glanced out the window again just in time to see her mother being let into Liliana's house. "Oh, holy shit, Lil. Your parents don't know anything about Dallas?"
"I told them I was going to apply to a couple of different school." She said, shoving the curtain aside to look out. "Why?"
"Because I think they're about to find out about it. My mom just stormed over to your house and I'm pretty sure that she had my acceptance letter with her." Romi banged her head against the wall, making the entire tree house shutter. "We are so screwed, Lil. They're going to freaking kill us."
Liliana sighed, pulling out two fresh bottles. "Well, there's nothing we can do but drink and smoke until they call us in and do some damage control. Two more months, Ro, just two more months and we're out of here one way or another."
Two hours, a pack of cigarettes and a six pack of wine coolers later; Liliana's back porch light flashed; the universal sign to get their butts inside. "Ready for this?" Romi asked, offering Liliana a mint as she sprayed herself down with perfume.
"Why not?" Liliana asked, yanking open the trap door, stepping onto the first wooden plank that was nailed to the trunk. "Might as well meet the firing squad with a chest full of smoke and higher alcohol content."
Beowulf dutifully trotted beside them as the two made their way across the backyard. Liliana held the door open for Romi with a sweeping gesture, "I'm going to use you as a human shield." She whispered as Romi slipped passed. "Wouldn't expect any less from you, Lil." She stated with a hushed giggle.
Their parents were seated at the dinner table, looking like the Inquisition. They patiently waited as the girls sat at the far end, Beowulf lying back down between them. For a few minutes, they all sat staring at each other while the tension continued to climb until it threatened to choke. Finally, Romi's mother sighed, clasping her hands together, "I want to start by saying how extremely disappointed I am in the both of you for keeping this a secret from us." She motioned to the acceptance letter in the middle of the table. "I can't believe that you two thought that you weren't able to come to us with something like this."
Her mother got this shimmery look in her blue eyes. She looked like someone had just died in a brutal car accident and it always managed to make Romi feel like she was stabbed in the stomach. Liliana was right; her mother was the master of guilt. The two girls glanced at each other before Liliana's dad took over. "I'm going to assume, Liliana Marie, that you received one of these too?"
Liliana paled but nodded, waiting for her father to start screaming at her like he always did when he was angry with her. His face twisted, turning a shade of red that wasn't healthy, before he just sighed and glared at the two of them. "We're going to skip over the part where the two of you lied to us and get straight into the issue. Is going to college in Dallas that important to you both? Explain it to us."
The two shared a hopeful look before Romi hesitantly began describing their plan, leaving out their chosen fields, who they would be working for, and the final end destination. She closely watched their parents as she talked, taking in their faces and body language for any insight to what they were feeling. She had always been able to read people pretty well but never worked when it came to the parents.
"I can tell that you girls have put a lot of thought into this." Liliana's mother said once Romi finished. "But why Dallas? Can't you guys just move into the dorms at Highsdale instead of going all the way to Dallas?"
Liliana carefully fielded the question, "Mom, we just want some room to figure out who we are. Both Romi and I feel like we can't get that if we stay in Highsdale. We chose Dallas because it was close to home but far enough away that we'd have to rely on ourselves. We're looking for some independence. If we were to stay here we'd still be running back home every time we came across a problem. Dallas would mean that we would have to handle it ourselves without the option of running home."
"We're just hoping for a chance to figure out who we are," Romi added, "Away from Highsdale away from what we know and are use to, and away from our safety net we stand a better chance of growing up and gaining some real life experience. Besides, Dallas is only an hour and a half away; we'd be able to come home for breaks and the holidays. We're not really even going that far. You'd still be able to see us every Sunday at church too. And the apartment where we're staying even allows dogs. We'll have Beowulf there to protect us."
Liliana nodded, "Yeah, and its way closer than some people. We could be like Brittany Adams; she's going all the way to Montana for school."
Their parents looked at each other for a moment before turning their attention back to the girls. Silence expanded throughout the small room again and Romi felt a small balloon of hope filling her chest, her mother looked defeated, like she couldn't argue with their logic. She clasped Liliana's hand under the lip of the table.
"If we let you girls do this," Liliana's father started, tapping the letter, "You guys have to do something for us this summer so we know that you'll have to proper foundation before you leave us for such a sinful city." He waited for the girls to nod before continuing, "We have both been approached by Reverend Newlin, and he would like the two of you to be part of Light of Day Institute over the summer."
Romi was horrified at the thought. The Reverend had also talked to her about it after services but she wouldn't commit to it. Unlike her mother and the rest of the congregation, she had no issue with vampires. She couldn't understand the blind hatred the Fellowship of the Sun had against them. Both she and Liliana had laughed at how narrow-minded a church of God could be. One of the reasons they had chosen Dallas was because of their vampire population, and Martin's coffee house proudly served True Blood as well. "Mom, are you serious? Isn't the Institute super expensive?"
"The Reverend was very generous," Her mother stated stiffly, "He lowered the admission price for the both of you." Liliana's father cut in with a stern look that caused both the girls to gaze at the table, "If you want to go to Dallas, you will do this for us."
Liliana looked pale, "But, Dad, the camping trip is in a few weeks. The entire graduated class is going, it's going to be our last chance to say goodbye to some of our classmates."
"If Dallas is as important as you lead us to believe than missing that questionable trip is a small price to pay, wouldn't you agree?" Liliana's mother countered, looking just as fierce as her husband.
The two friends looked at each other. They had been beaten back into a corner. "Could we have a few minutes to talk about it?" Romi offered, wanting to escape back to the tree house; the need for a cigarette and its calming affects nearly collaging her throat. Her mother looked like she was about to object but Liliana's mother just waved them away and the girls quickly retreated; racing across the dewy grass, into their sanctuary as if they had just escaped the gallows.
Once they were seated, they instantly lit up and cracked open the remaining wine coolers. They smoked in silence, chugging back the cheap liquor just staring at each other. "What are we going to do?" Romi asked, lighting up again.
"I don't know," Liliana admitted, taking a drag off her cigarette. "I mean, we were just talking about packing up and running away a few hours ago. What's changed? Our parents just offered an out where we get their blessing and our college funds. Seriously, we'd have full access to thousands of dollars, no questions asked and all we have to do is give up a few weeks to go to some stupid church camp. It's not like we haven't been doing that since we were eight."
"The camping trip?" Romi prompted, waving her hand towards the bikinis they had bought. Liliana shrugged, taking another drink, "We miss it. We save the money that we were going to spend on it and buy furniture for our new apartment. We could get out of this God forsaken place and never look back and all we have to do is go to some stupid camp."
Romi nodded but her stomach twisted at the idea of joining that Light of Day Institute. "It just doesn't-I mean, it's not like camp when we were little, Lil, you know? This stupid Institute is the Newlins attempt at building an army of vampire hunters. It-It just feels so wrong, I hate that freaking church, and I don't want to be part of this."
"I get what you're saying, Ro, I have nothing against vampires." Liliana said. "But if we don't agree to go along with this than we'll have to leave for Dallas without any money and our parents will probably never speak to us again. I mean, your mom may smack you around a bit, mine do to, but do you really okay with the idea of never speaking to her again?"
Romi fell silent, lighting up another cigarette. She had never told Liliana, or anyone for that matter, how bad things had gotten with her mother. Her father had left when she was just a toddler and her mother had never really been right since. Back then she looked like her mother, bright blond hair and giant blue eyes but once she went through puberty she started to take on more and more of her father's features, dark hair and eyes, the dimple on the side of her mouth when she smiled; and her mother wasn't able to handle it.
It started with being slapped when she mouthed off but it quickly escalated to full out beatings with whatever her mother could get ahold of. She would be locked in her room for days at a time, not being allowed to eat. She would play as many sports as she could so she would have an excuse for the bruises and welts when her teachers would ask. Romi learned very quickly to tread lightly around her mother, never doing anything that could set the woman off but she would always manage to step on some kind of trigger and her mother would have another episode.
They would always end the same, with her mother smiling brightly at her, saying they were starting over, and nothing else mattered. Not the hours of pain, the gnawing, consuming hunger, the whispers that followed her around school, the questions from teachers; nothing mattered because they had started over, until it started again.
Liliana couldn't be more wrong, she had no issue never speaking or seeing her mother again; she wanted nothing to do with that woman. But she couldn't imagine what her mother would do to her if she refused to go to the Institute.
"All right," Romi finally consented, crushing her cigarette on the wood plank floor. "We'll join the Light of Day Institute. But believe me when I say: once we're done, I am never coming back here."