Chapter 10
I wake up to screaming.
"WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?! YOU SAID I WOULDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT HER, AND YET HERE SHE IS!" A high pitched voice shrieks, followed by a slur of profanities. I care less and less about the velociraptor, and grow increasingly aware of a mysterious pain on my back.
I strain to open my heavy eyes. The shrieking reminds me of a fire alarm, loud and consistently irritating.
Through half lidded eyes, maybe ten feet away, I see a male and a female facing off. The screeching seems to be coming from the female. The male… no. Godric. He's just standing there, accepting every vulgar word this harpy throws in his face.
I lean forward, palms flat on the cold tile, easing myself into a sitting position. Crouching forward, I move to stand, knees shaking with every movement. It's not fair that he's being yelled at. Godric is a kind soul, he doesn't deserve this. I have to stop the harpy.
Finally on my feet, I take the first wobbly step, determined to stop this injustice.
I'm within arm's reach when Godric notices me and takes a wide step between myself and the fragile creature, successfully putting a halt to her screeching.
His face contorts from a placid look of disdain to the beautiful monster from my nightmares. Fangs out, he bears his teeth, hunching over aggressively.
I stop in my tracks and my determination is replaced by fear. I step away from him, the last few events coming back to me.
Staring into his cold grey eyes, I still long for him, for his touch, for his kind words. I know this isn't who he is, only who he once was. I choose not to voice these thoughts, and my gaze shifts to the small form behind him. She is staring at me, shaking as if I were the one causing this nightmare.
Without another word, I turn around and sit on the floor, my back to him, waiting patiently for his next move. I refuse to be the villain in this fairytale.
"See? She's docile. She will bring you food, provide you anything you need. She will make our bed in the morning and make you breakfast and coffee just as you like. This is the best punishment for her, seeing us happy together will destroy her."
I ignore his words. On the contrary, seeing him content with living is enough for me. Being a servant on the other hand… well that's just going to have to change.
'Genevieve, I'm so sorry. I told Eric everything about you, and he used it against you.' Sookie's voice interrupts my thoughts. She isn't in the room, so she must still be in the house.
'How does Eric have anything to do with this?' I inhaled deeply, keeping my calm. I noted that I no longer smelled like sulphur, just myself. When I was in between flights, I slept in a hotel and was able to shower and buy new clothes. It was well needed, but all for naught. I studied the unflattering black dress I had on. It doesn't form to my body like most dresses do. It looks more of a sack that falls passed my knees. Thankfully, my hair's length is still intact and I feel nothing except a dull throb on my back.
"Don't try to run from me, because I will find you." He continues, as if I'm actually paying attention.
"Third time's a charm." I murmur playfully, still not fully grasping my situation. He makes a point to crouch in front of me, leaning in aggressively.
"I caught you the first time. I have for the second and the third, and I will every time after that. I will break your legs if you attempt to, so please plan your escapes very carefully." He indulges my playful banter. 'I knew you couldn't help but play back.'
A smirk comes to me.
His hand slaps my face, turning me away from him. I sprawl out on the white floor, holding myself up halfway.
Shock engulfs me, and I can't help but crane my neck to catch the look on his face. Contempt. I don't know what possesses me to speak, but the words are out of my mouth, with a sense of loathing I didn't know I was capable of.
"One day, very far from now, you will remember me. You will remember this warning. You will regret what you do to me. So plan your torture very carefully." I know we are bonded, something he doesn't know. With every negative feeling I have, he will feel it too. He will figure it out eventually, and he will hate himself more than when we first met… But is this any better than him just knowing?
The sudden thought scares me.
He can't remember me, so why is he bothering with me? Why does he want to torture me like this? I should just leave, this is not my home. This isn't where I belong.
"Get moving." He demands, wrapping an arm around the delicate female, guiding her out the room.
He's right though. I may be immortal, but that doesn't mean I can't feel pain. It would still take a long time to heal if I were to break a bone, and if Godric is as sadistic as he said he was, I may need to tread lightly with his anger…
If I leave, I need to do so carefully. Seeing this side of him is new to me. Something I didn't think he was capable of anymore. He said he never wanted to hurt another being like he had, yet here he is, doing so to the one he confessed to.
I shake these thoughts from my head. Instead I study the small white room. The only furniture in the room is the washer, dryer, and a small cot. No pillow or blanket. Great.
Whether I liked it or not, this would be my new life. Though only temporary, this still meant no more drinking, no more partying, no more happiness. This must be what it takes for Godric to live on and accept his past. I see now that he has accepted his monsters by embracing them through me instead of letting them go. It dawns on me, that in a fucked up way, I too, am making him happy by enabling him to share his worst parts with me. Something he could never do with his fragile Victoria.
The morbid thoughts engulf me. I'm so consumed in them, that I don't even realize that Sookie has entered the room until she starts babbling apologies.
I embrace the fairy, putting a stop to her bothersome ramblings.
"It's OK. I will make the best of this, as I always do. He can love Victoria, and eventually he'll get bored of me and let me leave." The thought of his disheveled office passes my mind, and like a switch, I make that my top priority on my to-do list.
I guide Sookie through the kitchen to the living room, where Bill waits expectantly for her.
"Have a good day Sookie!" I call, disappearing down the hallway to Godric's office. Off in la-la land, I absentmindedly tidy the room, sweeping up the wood chips from the broken furniture, and vacuuming the smaller pieces.
"Do you miss hurting people?" We were, once again, laying on our favorite rooftop. Just him and I and the open night sky.
"Yes. I miss drinking from them at their peak of fear. That's really the only way to get a good flavor out of them." He confesses without hesitation. It startles me a bit, but I appreciate the openness we have with each other more that the severity of his statement.
"Would you do it again if you could?" I question on, curious on what his answer would be.
He thinks before he answers- the quality I enjoy most about him - before finally answering. "I still could, but no, I would not. I now know the pain it causes others, and I wouldn't wish that torture upon anyone. Not anymore, at least."
"Hypocrite." I curse under my breath, recalling the exact conversation.
The room is now bare, save for the mantle with a hole in it. I also took the time to clean out the fireplace. I now take the time to organize the fallen books back in their rightful place, recalling how he likes his books placed by genre first, alphabetized by author, then title.
Finally, I find a screwdriver in the garage and I'm able to place the door back in its frame. I shut the door behind myself and head to the kitchen for a meal.
Upon entering the living room, I can see Victoria dancing in the kitchen. Wireless head phones wrapped around her head, silently providing her music.
"Hello, Genevieve." A smooth voice startles me. A falsetto yelp comes from me, and I swear I almost jump a foot in the air.
Leaning over my shoulder is none other than Eric, Godric's beloved child.
"Eric!" I can't help but smile! "It's so nice to -" I stop myself mid-sentence, realizing that he only knows me as the drunk.
"Nice to finally meet me, because you know exactly who I am?" He verbalizes my thoughts, leaving me flabbergasted.
"Don't bother looking surprised, Sookie told me all about your lover's escapade." He pulls back, keeping a watchful eye on the woman in the kitchen. She dances absentmindedly, singing not-so in tune with whatever is playing.
I'm at a loss for words. While this explains why Sookie was so apologetic, it does not explain my purpose here.
Since I'm not sure exactly how much he knows, I can't risk saying the wrong thing. I only told Sookie so much, there's no way she could know how in depth we were with each other.
I hold on to the silence, staring awkwardly around the room, hoping Eric would drop the subject and walk away.
"You're not going to ask why you're here?" He chides playfully. Shaking my head, I take a step back, making it clear that I want no part of being here.
"I am here to keep Victoria happy, which seems to make everyone else happy. Happy wife, happy life, right?" I brush off his suggestive innuendo, replacing it with the only other reason that makes sense. His arms cross over his wide chest, clearly unhappy with my answer.
"What's wrong? Afraid of a little competition? Your placement here was my doing, or Godric would have had you killed. Since you owe me for saving your life, I want you to return the favor by fixing your mess" His eyes drift to mine, a clear warning.
It's my turn to get aggressive. "Just how is this my mess? Blood was stolen and I solved half the mystery. The rest of this is just vampire's looking for something to satisfy the boredom in their lives! If anything, this is your mess for not being there for Godric when he needed you!" Blood pumps loudly in my ears and I'm brimming with the injustice.
"That's it, isn't it? You just want to use me as a scapegoat! Godric doesn't want to know who actually stole from him, does he?" My hands fly to my hips in rage. Are they really not concerned that there's a thief still out on the loose, taking vampire's blood for money? Must they really go and ruin my life to satisfy their sick needs?
Eric is silent in thought. The fact that he isn't arguing back means I'm probably right. I regret accusing him for Godric's depression. He may not have even known that Godric was so close to leaving.
"And Victoria is not competition." I add as an afterthought, recalling the delicate beauty still dancing in the kitchen. "Who says I even want the trophy at the end?"
Because what's a victory if you're taking from the poor. Godric is probably the best thing that's ever happened to her. He's so kind and she's so helpless, it just makes sense that they'd be happy together. If I were to take Godric from her, what would she be left with? And what would that make me?
He takes a threatening step towards me, ready to defend his maker, but the harpy's voice interrupts our conversation.
"Eric, be nice to her!"
A sour look crosses Eric's face. He doesn't bother with a reply, but instead chooses to take a seat on the couch and flip on the TV, completely ignoring me.
Before I can thank Victoria for the interruption, she saunters off to the kitchen, headphones placed clearly on the table.
Teddy Bear – Melanie Martinez
So I've come to realize that 2000 words is NOT a long chapter. I'm putting this out there for the readers, but keep in mind that I am in the middle of a HUGE rewrite. The plot won't change much, just how it's written. The idea is to have you so immersed in Genevieve's head that you understand how she see's things when she does something odd or stupid. I've come to accept that this IS INDEED A DRAMA, but because it's more of romance and mystery, I have to keep those genres. I will try to keep the drama at a certain level of integrity though.
See something off? Review or PM me.
AND A WONDERFUL SHOUTOUT TO THE LOVELY BETA, KYKYXSTANDLER ! With her help, I am able to see how y'all are reading it and explain things more in the story so y'all read it more fluently.
Happy Reading – K & S