A fanfiction by CountessMecilia
Chapter One
"Klaus, do you ever regret what happened?" Violet tilted her head up to look at Klaus. Though she was only 24, she looked much older. Her face looked grayed- faded almost. It looked as though she had experienced too much, too quickly. You could tell, just by looking at her that a smile hadn't lit up her face in a long time. And, Klaus knew how beautiful her face looked.
"What happened? You mean... with us?" Klaus replied.
"No," Violet said quickly, jerking her head up from the ground. That was what she always seemed to be staring at. Nothing. But it was better than looking at anything else in her life.
"What I mean is... do you regret what happened to Sunny?"
Klaus sighed, and his head fell into his hands.
"Violet, we've been over this. Many times. There- there was nothing that we could have done. You know that..." Klaus sighed once more, and looked around. He stared to the window. It was raining, and the weather made the small apartment look even more depressing than it already was. It was dark... even though it was the middle of the day. But, lately, it had seemed like their surroundings were always dark.
Klaus's eyes tore away from the window, as her saw a flash of light. He blinked, and his eyes adjusted after the bright flash of light. But it had only been Violet, lighting a match. She lighted a cigarette, and brought it to her lips. She took a long drag, and then breathed the smoke out. Her smoke-filled breath mixed with frigid air of the room, and there was a cloud around her slender head.
"Let me have some of that," he said, and Violet handed the lighted cigarette to him. He sucked the smoke in, feeling a sense of comfort and lust that it had just been on her lips. He could still feel the warmth.
"You never answered the question," Violet said, breaking the silence. "How do you really feel about what happened to Sunny?".
"What makes you keep bringing this up?" Klaus whispered. Right now, she was sounding genuinely bothered about the topic.
"Don't you know what day it is?" She said bitterly. "This marks 10 years since it happened. 10 years... 10 years that she has been dead. 10 years that we've had to make it on our own. 10 years... that we've been without money."
"Ah, so that's it. Money," he gave a little laugh.
"Would it be so bad to get some damned heat in here?!" Violet yelled. Klaus was surprised that she had raised her voice like that.
"I-I'm sorry. I just... this was not how it was supposed to be," she whispered. She didn't need to explain what she meant. Everything was wrong. Everything was the opposite of what they had both expected.
10 years ago, they would have expected to be rich... lead successful, but separate lives. To watch each other grow up and get married. It seemed to be expected. They would've imagined seeing Sunny grow up... it didn't seem real. It just didn't. It had been the same way for years, but they had still not quite adjusted to it.
"It so cold..." she stated.
"Come here," Klaus told her. He got a blanket, and they both draped it over them.
"That's better," she said. Klaus hoped that the kind gesture would make her smile... that it would make her happy. But she didn't smile. She cuddled up next to him, but she still didn't look happy. Not at all. Wasn't she happy? She was with someone she loved. That's what she had told him, anyway. He certainly knew that he loved her.
For them, it had never seemed odd... holding hands, light kisses. When it progressed to more... it had seemed natural. They had never acted like that before Sunny's death. They had been somewhat close... but never affectionate. But with all the trauma and stress, they had needed someone. And there they both were. Klaus had never noticed how gorgeous Violet was... not before Sunny's murder. It hadn't seemed like lust, at first. But soon, he figured out that was what it was.
Klaus leaned over and kissed Violet on the cheek. She turned to him, her face nowhere near smiling, and kissed him on the lips. But there was no feeling, no passion. When she pulled away, it was as though he had kissed a burnt-out match... instead of licking tender flames. It hurt... somewhere inside. But Klaus pushed these feelings aside. He knew shouldn't dwell on them. Not now.
Suddenly, Violet stood up. The blanket fell away from her, landing on Klaus. This seemed to jolt him out of his thoughts.
"What?" He asked, as he looked at Violet.
"I-I saw... something," she whispered, staring into his eyes. She said no more, but her eyes gave off a haunted a disturbed look. Something... something was terribly wrong with her.