Chapter 8: A Terrifying but Relieving, Familiar Face
Tate's POV
I can't believe Vi has stayed with me all day. She could have done anything with her one day of freedom, but she decided to spend her time with me. We've spent all day talking, cuddling and walking beside each other at our spot, something we both seemed to love equally. We were now cuddling together to keep warm near the rocks of our spot, near the fire we decided to build. I really couldn't be any happier than I am right now, to spend Halloween with the only person I love, but I feel like I forced her to stay with me.
"Vi?" I say, bringing her closer to me.
"What is it, Tate?" she asks, looking for cute and innocent.
"You know, you didn't to spend all day with me."
She leans up and stares at me, I could sense the confusion in her mind.
"Didn't you want me to?"
"No, no, I wanted you too! Damn, I'm so glad you did. But I don't want to feel like I forced you to," I paused. "That's the last thing I'd want."
She leans in and kisses me on the tip of my nose and smiles. She is so beautiful.
"What time is it, anyway?" I ask her, kissing her on the cheek from behind.
She pulls out her phone from her jeans and leans closer into me. "Oh fuck. It's 10:34pm."
"Do you want to go?" I kiss her cheek again and again.
"My parents finished dinner with Nora and Moira at ten, and the whole house is planning a Halloween party at eleven. So I'm already late, Tate."
I sigh at her. I want to pull off a sad puppy face, but I know that will just make her feel bad. So I leave it alone.
"Alright."
"Alright?" she smiles.
"Alright."
She gets up and brushes the sand the sand off of her ass, something she lets me watch to my delight. I don't want her to leave, but she's already late and it's a hell of a walk back to the house.
"Aren't you coming with me?"
I just stare at her, trying hard to hide from her that I'm still a little on edge.
"Tate?" she asks again. "You coming?"
"Nah," I say, staring off into the ocean, hoping this doesn't upset here. "I'll meet you at the house."
To my surprise, she smiles at me, accepting that I want to stay home until I have to leave.
"Promise you'll find me straight away," she demands, crossing her arms. "Promise me."
"I promise, Vi. Now, come here and give me a kiss before you leave."
I get up off of the ground and take her in my arms, placing my lips against hers. I know I love Violet Harmon, and I know I'd protect her from anything and anyone. I play with her long and luscious hair with the tips of my fingers as my lips battle hers for dominance, like our own private game. But I couldn't help myself but not want the kiss to end. I wish I didn't have to let her go and wait for our next time to meet, the thought drags me back into the dark, but her presence brings me back to the light.
The kiss parts, and her hand caresses the edge of my cheek when she begins to walk away, smiling.
"I love you, Tate."
"I love you, Violet."
And like that, she'd disappeared into the dark, and I was left alone, with nothing but the fire as my only light.
Violet's POV
I walk through the dark. I can feel the soft ground of the sand, so I know I am still to leave the beach. I turn to see that the light of fire still lingers in the distance, Tate was the darkness, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He's the darkness seeking a light, the devil seeking an angel, and I believe that I'm going to help him find the light, and keep the angel he has tight in his grasp. No doubt that I love him, he's the only guy that I'd ever love, even if I still wasn't talking to him right now, I'd still love him. It's 10:53 now, fuck, I'm going to be so late for the party. I can feel the cold lowering itself onto my soft skin. The thing about L.A. is its somehow hot in the day, and cold at night, something that's probably the only weird thing I've experienced since I died.
I turn on the torch of my phone to find out where I was standing, which was at the edge of the beach. I could hear screaming and cheering in the distance, probably a Halloween party organised by the high school students of my old school, a party I would have attended if I wasn't, you know, dead. I walk to the parking lot when I notice people hanging around the cars parked, with torches, and crowbars.
"Oh fuck," I say to myself, quietly. The last thing I want to do Is to deal with a bunch of criminal fucks.
I walk faster with my head down, trying to ignore everything but walking away from the parking lot. But what about Tate? What's he going to do?
"Oh, hey girl!" one of the guys say, walking towards me. Fuck!
I walk faster than before, ignoring the talking, until another guy stops me in my path.
"Where you going, girl? Don't you wanna' have some fun?"
The guy is wearing all black clothing, making it hard for me to see him properly, almost impossible. Next thing I know they're all surrounding me, five guys, all wearing black, and all equipped with torches,
"And I thought breaking into cars was gunna' be fun! Now we have something better," one guy says, smiling sadistically.
I'm so fucked. They're not going to kill me, they're going to do worse. I pull the gun I took from Tate from my pocket and point it at one of the guys.
"Fuck off!"
"You fucken' bitch! I'm going to enjo-"
"Shut the fuc-" I get hit in the head, stopping me from and dropping the gun, but not from trying. "Tate!"
One of the guys hit me in the leg with a crowbar, causing excruciating pain in my thigh.
"Shut up! SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
I slide my hand across my forehead, feeling blood gauzing down it. I'm so fucked.
And that's when it happens, I see one of guys putting down his crowbar and unzipping his jeans. I instinctively scream like a woman in a horror movie, begging for someone to come and save me.
Tate's POV
I sit at the fire with my arms crossed over my chest, staring off into the distance that is followed by the sound of waves and seagulls. It's lonely, but also quiet, and I love the quiet. All I can think about is Violet's, everything. She's all that's in her mind; her hair, her eyes, her smile, her skin, and most importantly, her love. But I can feel something wrong, like something terrifying is about to go down, like I'm going to do something that will bring out a common enemy. I open my hand and flow it across the edge of the fire, feeling the heat swallow my hand in the beauty it conceals. I already miss her. Like I haven't seen her in centuries, not months. I should have gone with her.
What are you doing, Langdon?
"Huh?" I pull out the bag of cocaine I hid in my jacket.
You should be with her. You shouldn't be here, shouldn't be touching that shit.
"Shut up!"
I'm trying to help you, not torture you. She's going to need you, soon.
"What does that mean?"
I hear a loud scream. A familiar one. Violet's? What's happening to her?! If someone's hurting her, I'LL KILL THEM!
"VIOLET!"
My scream echoes through the beach, and on purpose. I can feel myself darkening again, like an evil awakening. I taste blood in my mouth, feel it drip from my chest. Here we go again, the hate, the evil, the anger, it all floods me like a broken dam. I screamed, to send my own personal message. I screamed to show Violet that I'm coming to get here. And I screamed, so the poor soul that's hurting my Violet knows, I'm coming for him.
MY VIOLET!
Violet's POV
Nobody's coming. I'm merely hanging onto false hope, something I thought I'd been rid of when I let Tate go for all those months. These guys are going to take turns raping me, and then I'll disappear back to the house at twelve, and they won't know where I've gone. But that doesn't matter, what they're going to do to me will scar me, permanently. I wish Tate was here. I would do anything for him to come here and save me. I'm being held down by one of the guys while the other takes his belt off.
"Let go of me, you fucks!" I yell.
"Shut it, whore!" The guy with the belt says.
"FUCK YOU!"
The guy kicks me in the mouth, making my vision blur, but I can still hear them.
"Tommy?" The guy with the belt says.
"Yeah boss?"
"Anyone around?"
The guy he was talking to turns around towards the beach. "Yeah. There's a guy standing at the edge of the lot, looking all fixed for Halloween and shit."
"Go deal with him!" the guy yells.
"Sure. Hey, dickhead! Wanna' leave the fucken' scene!"
Next thing I know, Tommy is thrown into a nearby car, breaking the wind-screen.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!"
It's Tate's voice. "Tate! Help!"
I look at Tate, but it doesn't look like him. He's got tattoo looking markings all over his arms and face, and his eyes are dark and evil looking. I watch as another one of the guys walk towards him with a crowbar, with a look of a killer. The "boss" picks me up off the ground and puts me in a headlock. I can feel a cold metal against my neck, instantly knowing its a knife. I watch as Tate launches the guy trying to fight him to the ground by the neck, and I hear bones break. Another guy launches himself at Tate but is stopped when his neck is gripped.
"You guys fucked with the wrong girl!" Tate yells.
"You fucked with the wrong guys, dickhead!"
Then the guy stabs Tate in the stomach with a knife multiple times.
"TATE!" I scream, watching as the guy stabs him another few times, but to surprise, Tate doesn't flinch.
"Want to try that a few more times?" he says, scaring me a bit.
"What the fuck are you?!" the guy yells.
"I'm the devil."
Tate slams the guys face into a car window, breaking him through it.
"Jay!" the boss yells, muffling in my ears. "Kill the bastard!"
"Fuck this!" the guy screams, running away.
"God dammit!"
I turn to see Tate holding the gun I took from him, pointing it at the boss.
"Let her go," he snarls, eyes clinching at the man holding me hostage.
"I'll kill her! I'll kill the whore!"
BANG!
His grip loosens and he falls to the ground, but he wasn't dead, Tate shot him in the shoulder.
"Violet?" I look at him, he's changed back to normal. No markings. Back to normal.
I try to move but I fall to the ground due to my leg. "Tate, help me."
Next thing I knew, Tate was picking me up and holding me close to him. I could feel his heart beating fast and strong; he was terrified of the situation, terrified of losing me. We walked past the man who planned on raping me, and Tate spits on him.
"I should've have killed you."
Tate holds me even closer to him, kissing me on the forehead as we walk out into the street. Tate's breathing is so heavy that it's hard to find a rhythm to it. I feel so safe, but worried knowing that he was still bleeding from the stab wounds; we don't heal as quick out of Murder House. I look up at him, his face is so serious and worried, so I kiss him on the neck to calm him while we make our way back to our safe haven. He saved my life. Tate Langdon is my hero.
