Hey all! Hope you are having fun reading the story! Let me know what you think! This is a bit of a filler chapter (sorry), but hope you are enjoying!
Don't Leave Me
Roman
I sit at in my office finishing up some last documents before my date with Vanessa. It has been a week and I haven't spoken to either Peter or Clara since the party. My heart races every time I think about Clara and what I did to her. I cannot even look at her without thinking of the terror on her face when I was on top of her.
I avoid Peter altogether as well, and he doesn't seem to have any interest in speaking with me either. I don't know what next week will bring with the full moon and neither of us planning an attack against the Vargulf. I can only hope that Peter has something planned for us.
The door to my office opens and I look up hoping to see Vanessa but to be greeted instead by Norman.
"Norman?" I let out in shock. "What are you doing here?" I ask him confused as he hasn't stepped foot in Godfrey Industries since the death of Letha.
"I am so sorry, Mister Godfrey," Vanessa says following him in. "He didn't have an appointment but demanded to see you now." She says apologetically.
I put my hand up for her to relax. "It's alright, Vanessa. He can come in." I tell her with a sincere smile.
She smiles back and closes the door behind her. "Another young secretary for you?" Norman points out.
"She is different." I tell her.
"Of course she is." He lets out in a condescending tone.
"What brings you in?" I ask him in the same tone, motioning him to sit down.
"Doctor Pryce tells me that you have frozen all the accounts for miscellaneous R&D." He says in his deep tone of a voice, showing no emotion on the matter.
I let out a scoff. "Pryce was skimming the company." I tell him. "Over 30% of our annual spending was going to 'miscellaneous R&D'." I say with exaggerated air quotes. "He doesn't even have the sense to make up an explanation for what miscellaneous R&D is. So, if he can't tell me what project is taking up 30% of the company's earnings, then I am not letting him spend another dime of my money on some fetish site."
"Miscellaneous R&D is a project that I personally am working on with Doctor Pryce." Norman says in a flat tone. "I want those funds reinstated to the program." He demands.
I am taken aback and let out a humorless scoff. "So then are you able to explain to me what miscellaneous R&D is?" I ask him.
"That is between me and Doctor Pryce." He says defensively.
"Yes well," I sigh leaning back in my chair. "You signed away your shares with the company over to my mother whom, due to the clause in my father's will, lost all her shares to me when I turned 18." I tell him with a condescending smile that reaches my eyes. "So, if you want the money back, you will have to explain to me what miscellaneous R&D is." I tell him coldly.
I watch as he stews on the opposite side of the desk, hating himself for selling his shares, hating my mother for being a cold bitch that JR would write this clause in, and hating Pryce for being so obvious about the company spending.
"I can't tell you that, Roman. But I assure you, it is very important to me, and we need the money." He says in a leveled tone.
"And what could possibly be going on down there that is costing the company that much money?" I ask him. "Is he finding the cure for limp dicks, is that why this is so important for you?" I joke crassly and Norman finds no humor in the matter.
Norman gets up and grabs for my collar. "Listen here you privileged little fuck," He yells, spitting in my face. "You are going to return the funding to miscellaneous R&D or I will shove you out that window and splatter your face on the pavement." He says viciously.
I laugh, looking at the veins bulging from his neck and forehead. "Go fuck yourself, Norman. Or rather, go fuck my mother since you're so good at that." I tell him, pushing him off of me. "Maybe if you weren't so busy shoving your dick in his wife, my father would have left you the company." I say to him.
Norman's face contorts in angry and before I can process anything, he punches my right in the face. I hold my nose as blood begins gushing out.
I look at him angrily, grabbing onto his tie and taking his mind immediately. "You are going to walk out of here, and you are going to slam your face into the wall until you can't see anymore." I command of him. "You are going to forget you ever asked me about miscellaneous R&D. You are going to go to my mother, you are going to call her a cow, and every time you touch her, you will feel like your skin is on fire." I tell him, feeling satisfaction knowing that my mother won't be getting his dick anytime soon. "Now get the fuck out of my office." I saw shoving him from my desk.
I watch as he leaves my office with a stiff robotic walk. I pull out a cigarette and light it, shaking at the rush of emotions as blood falls from my nose. I inhale the cigarette smoke, allowing the nicotine to calm my nerves as I wipe up the blood from my nose.
Peter
It has been an entire week since the party and I keep my distance from Clara and Roman. I haven't seen them since the party and I focus my time on building back the relationship with my Pack.
Noah and I are on better terms as we practice boxing and wrestling with one another like we use to when we were kids. Niko is always sitting outside, reading and watching Noah and I fight one another. He has packed on some mass since he has been under the care of my mother, and he seems to be doing a lot better here.
I look over at Mags who sunbathes in the hammock. I have spent every night with her this week, feeling guilty most nights. I think about Clara a lot, but I couldn't get over my feelings for Mags. Despite how much I hated her for what she did, I loved her more. I think about what my mother said, about picking between the two girls, and I am not sure if picking Mags was the right choice in my mother's eyes, but it felt right in mine.
"Guys!" Lynda calls out. "Dinner's ready."
Everyone jumps up and sprints for the door, Noah and Niko fighting to get in first. I find myself smiling at the sight, feeling as though we are travelling all over again. I cant think of the last time I genuinely smiled.
Mags look at me as she gets out of the hammock. She smiles at me and I take her under my arm. I kiss the top of her head and we walk inside. She grabs a coverup and heads to the table with the rest of the Pack.
I look over at Destiny who watches us carefully. She has been very vocal about her distaste towards mine and Mags' union, but I don't listen to her. For the first time since Letha's death, I am happy.
I smile as Noah and Niko give my mom shit for making salad when none of us want "that leafy bullshit" as Noah so eloquently states.
Destiny watches me with hard eyes while she eats. I swallow hard, not liking her judgmental glares. She never liked Clara in the first place, and she adamantly opposed any mention of me being with her, so why is she now angry that I decided to be with Mags instead?
"This is nice." I tell my mother. "It reminds me a lot of when we were travelling." I say with a big smile.
My mother lights up at my happiness, "Those were some good times." She agrees.
"That being said," I begin, "I think we should go back out." I tell her. "I think we should leave Hemlock Grove. There is nothing for us here." I say this and everyone at the table looks up in shock. The Pack seems willing, but surprised that I would be the one to suggest this, while my mother and Destiny's reactions are different all together."
"What about your friends?" My mom speaks up.
I shrug, "I have my Pack. I have everything that I need."
"What about the Vargulf?" Destiny says lowly. "You know, the one that marked Magdalena, slaughtered 6 people, and is targeting virgins; virgins like Clara." She says putting emphasis on her name to draw out some reaction from me and Mags. "Or has being balls deep inside Mags made you forget about Clara?"
"Destiny!" My mother calls out.
"Maybe the Vargulf is here because of me? Maybe he will stop killing once I am gone." I suggest.
"You can't seriously believe that." She says with a scoff. "Why would the Vargulf be targeting you?"
I shrug again, pushing the hair from my face. "Maybe the Vargulf is not our problem." I say and both my mother and her look at me dumbfounded. "This town has taken a lot from me." I say thinking about Letha. "I don't think I owe it anything."
"I don't feel like eating." Destiny declares as she throws her napkin on the table and walks outside.
I let out a labored sigh as I get up and follow her outside, wanting to hash this out and get it over with. "Dee," I call out to her as she heads for the stairs to the road. "You can come with us. I don't want to leave you behind in this shit town."
"What about Roman and Shelly? You're so willing to shrug off your relationship with Clara since you got your dick wet with more willing pussy, but what about them? They are your friends!" She yells at me.
"They will understand." I tell her sternly.
"Like hell they will." She tells me. "Peter, they need you. What happens when the Vargulf goes after Clara or Shelly?"
"I will be too far away to hear about it." I tell coldly.
I turn around as I hear Mags approaching the commotion carefully. She stands behind me, as if her presence will aid me in this fight.
"Have you forgot that your Pack that you are so eagerly willing to leave with have turned against you?" She lets out helplessly, looking at Mags with cold eyes. "What is going to happen when she decides she wants to be Alpha again, or maybe it will be Noah this time. What happens then? You come crawling back to me in Hemlock Grove, hoping Clara is still alive so you can still get your dick wet."
"Fuck you, Destiny." I say viciously, hating her for thinking so lowly of me.
"When Clara first came to Hemlock Grove, she stopped by the shop to taunt me or something." She shrugs. "I read her palm that night, and do you want to know what I saw?" She asks me as I swallow hard, not sure that I want to. "She was getting her throat ripped out by a black wolf…with yellow eyes." She says carefully.
I look over to Mags whose eyes are wide with shock. She refuses to look at me, and I turn looking back at Destiny with shame. "Well then maybe it's a good thing I am leaving Hemlock Grove."
She shakes her head in shock at my detachment to everything, but the fact is that I am scared of the Vargulf and staying here any longer. The Vargulf was able to use the scent of my Pack against me, and he hurt Mags. I am too afraid to fight him.
"You know, I thought a lot about how the Vargulf was able to match the scent of the Pack and I asked Katarina for help." She says with a scoff. "She told me that she knows of a ritual to extract memories from someone, like we did with Lisa Willabee, but alive. And I thought that we could do that with Mags in hopes to learn the identity of the Vargulf. But if you are so willing to leave Hemlock Grove, then leave!" She yells at me with a cold tone. "Hopefully the Vargulf follows you out of here." She says turning away from me and leaving me alone with the thought that we can find him.
Clara
It has been a week since the party and neither Roman nor Peter have reached out to me. I have stopped trying to show up at their houses, since they are never home when I am there. I feel as though they don't want to see me anymore. The killings started when I came to town, and the Vargulf has been targeting virgins like myself. I cannot help but wonder if it is me that the Vargulf is after, and everyone around me is a causality waiting to happen.
I think about Mags and how terrible I feel that she was hurt while chasing the monster after me. I don't know what I would have done if she died for me. The best thing for everyone is that I keep my distance from them. When the full moon rises next week, the Vargulf can find me in my bed alone.
I lie in bed, stewing in my own self-hate. I have been doing this all week, and besides the trips to bring me tea, my sister leaves me alone, understanding how shameful I feel for dragging everyone into this.
I think about the Vargulf and why they would be attacking me in the first place. I don't know any werewolves that became a Vargulf to kill me. My mother never knew any to the best of my knowledge, so I cannot imagine there is one out there seeking revenge against me for her actions.
I keep running the night of the party over and over in my head, and it makes some sense that the Vargulf has been targeting me this whole time. The first killing was at the country club that I had originally stayed at before my sister and I located this house. The next killing was the grocery store that I buy food from, granted it is the only grocery store in Hemlock Grove. The third killing was a girl on the running trail that I take. But the fourth killing was at a strip club that I never went to and the fifth was at a pool that I never swam in.
Maybe I am reading into the Vargulf targeting me, and maybe the Vargulf only saw me the night of the party. If that is the case, then the Vargulf had to have heard me speaking with Shelly about being virgins, meaning that the Vargulf knows to target us next. Dread fills my head as I think about what I told Shelly that night. I told her I was an Angel, I said that Peter was a werewolf, meaning that the Vargulf must have heard and knew we were planning an attack against him. Was I the reason the Vargulf got away?
My head keeps spinning and I don't know what to think anymore. I get up and head out of my room and to the living room where the TV is on but my sister is not here. I look over at the TV to see the news is on. The banner at the bottom says FBI deems animal attacks the work of a serial killer. I grab the remote and turn up the volume as my heart races.
"We have determined that the recent killings afflicting the people of Hemlock Grove are that of a Serial Killer rather than an animal attach as first believed by the Police Department of Hemlock Grove." A handsome dark-haired man says. "Currently there are no subjects in custody, however, we do have many persons of interest." He says and I wonder if they actually have people they are watching, or if that is a line to help the people of Hemlock Grove feel at ease.
"So far we have determined a demographic between 14 and 24 with woman being the primary focus." He continues. "We have yet to determine a weapon." He explains a few minor details that show they don't know much about the murders.
He opens it up to questions and I turn away from the TV realizing that they will not find the Vargulf with the current leads they are following. I feel my helplessness growing and nothing is making me feel better about staying here.
I head back to my room and look into my closet. I know that I can't pack too many clothes; I don't have that much stuff here, as I was always told to pack lightly. I could leave town and I could never come back.
I pack a bag and leave a note for my sister. I make it short, not wanting to focus so much on my leaving. I put the backpack on and head out of the house, heading in no particular direction.
I head towards the library and I decide to do some research before I head out. I ask the librarian for a map of Hemlock Grove. I head over to one of those ancient computers and type the addresses of each victim. We have why the Vargulf is killing their victims, but there has to be more than that. There has to be more correlations between each killing than just virgins.
I find the first location, and mark it with a red X. I find the second and mark it as well. It takes me a moment, but I finally have all six murders marked on the map. I look at the map, hoping to see a pentagram or something to suggest devil worshipping virgin sacrifices, but there isn't any of that.
There is no pentagram, upside-down cross, or devilish figure drawn out on the marking on the map.
The markings are, however, close together and form a small circle. I figure the killer must live around the area of the killings, or the killer is targeting someone in the area of the killings, and resorting to these people.
I look closer at the middle of the circle, why is the killer going in a circle and not going out in a line, or going back and forth between spots. I think about a predator, and how they sometimes circle their prey before killing it. I wonder if the circle is the Vargulf taunting their prey, and the middle of the circle is the target.
I grab a magnifying glass and look into the center of the circle, following each street inward to the perfect center. My heart races and I drop the magnifying glass when I see the perfect center of the circle.
I push my chair out frantically as my heart races. The bystanders of the library look at me with cautious eyes. I take the map and shove it into my bag, anxiously heading out of the Library with the knowledge that at the center of all the killings in my house.
Roman
I smile when I look at the clock, telling me that it is 5pm. I log off of my computer and head out of my office. I look to see that Vanessa is not at her desk.
"Kyla," I let out, "Where is Vanessa?"
"She left early for the night." Kyla says. "She said she needed to get ready for an appointment tonight."
An appointment. Is that what she thought of this? Is that what tonight is to her? Or is this her way of keeping our date a secret. Maybe she doesn't want the other girls to get jealous or speak negatively of her.
"Very well." I tell her. "You can have the rest of the night to yourself." I tell her and she smiles at me.
"Have any plans tonight Mister Godfrey?" She says twirling her hair seductively.
"I have an appointment." I tell her, walking out of the door before I can see her frown.
I log onto my phone and grab Vanessa's address from the employee portal. I go home and get myself ready, showering, grooming, and putting on a fresh suit.
I look at myself in the mirror, seeing the three distinct marks on my chest that Clara left me. I swallow hard, trying to bury that memory down as far as I can.
I cover the scars with a button up shirt. I style my hair back and put on come cologne as my final touches. I look good in a navy-blue suit with a light heathered blue button up, and matching brown belt and shoes.
I head out of my room and towards the door. I look over to see Shelly lurking in the halls watching me. I smile at her and she looks at me curiously. I approach her and ask her what is on her mind, looking at my watch to see that I don't have much time.
"How is Clara?" She types in her phone.
I clear my throat thinking about the last time I saw Clara and what I almost did to her. I have been grateful that she hasn't made an appearance at my house, because I am not too sure how I would react if I saw her again.
"I don't think she will be coming around here much, Shelly." I tell her honestly and she immediately saddens at this.
Her shoulders fall and she slumps into herself. She shakes as she types on her phone, "Why not? She is my friend."
My heart pangs at this and I hate seeing Shelly so saddened by this news. "Why don't we go for a ride sometime?" I tell her, bushing her cheek with my thumb. "We can go anywhere you want." I tell her with a warm smile, turning away from her.
"Did you hurt her?" The phone calls out as I walk down the hall.
My shoulders tense and I look back at her. "What did you say?" I ask her trying not to be harsh.
Her large eye is watery and she looks distressed. "I heard her screaming." Is all Shelly types on the phone, not daring to speculate what happened in the room.
My mouth dries and I try to formulate this as best as I can without worrying Shelly. "We were just…having fun." I let out hating that I describe attempting to rape her as fun.
Shelly staggers away from me at this response. "You promised you wouldn't with her." Her phone says emotionless, but her face contorts in betrayal.
"We didn't Shell!" I call out to her desperately. "I wanted to, and I tried to, but she didn't want to so we stopped. That was it. I didn't break your promise." I tell her with my hands up, pleading with her.
"Why did she scream?" Her phone returns. "I heard her scream."
I shakily comb my fingers through my hair. "I am not a good guy, Shelly." I tell her sternly. "I don't know how to protect you two." I let out without thinking.
She looks at me with a tense body. "By not hurting her, you protect her." She types carefully.
I let out a weighted sigh, knowing that Shelly doesn't understand the gravity of the situation and how her and Clara's lives are at risk. "I am sorry, Shelly." I tell her. "I shouldn't have put my hands on Clara. Can you keep that to yourself?" I ask her and she looks at me with a confused look. "I just mean, don't bring it up to Clara. I don't want her to relive it." I say not wanting to admit to wiping her memory.
She turns away from me and heads to her room. It is clear that she is disappointed in me, probably not realizing the full extent of what went on in that room that night.
I look down at my watch to see that I am late. I turn from her, heading out the door for my date. I head to the address that I grabbed from the employee portal and wait outside of my car, leaning against the door.
I pull out a cigarette from my blazer pocket and place a cigarette on my lips. I pull out my lighter and light it, inhaling the intoxicating smoke. I exhale when I see her open the door and lock it.
I look at her as she exists her house. She is wearing a white blouse tucked into a high waisted navy skirt that sweeps above the knees with nude heals. She looks modest, yet sexy. Her black hair is down in large curls that frame her face beautifully.
She places her keys in her purse as she turns around, startled at the sight of me. "Roman, what are you doing here?" She asks in shock.
"It's not really a date if I don't pick you up." I tell her with a smile.
"How did you get my address?" She asks heading towards the car.
"I am your boss. I need to know these things." I say to her with a devilish smile.
She sends me one herself as she gets into the car. "Using your position over me to gather private information about me?" She says in a silky tone, "I am not sure the HR department would approve." She says with in a teasing tone and I find myself laughing at her joke. "So where are we going?" She says getting in the car, putting on the seat belt.
"It's a surprise." I tell her getting in the car and driving off.
"What happened to your face?" She asks me, noticing the black eye from Norman.
"Just a disgruntled employee." I tell her simply. "I can't take you all out to dinner." I say with a cheeky grin.
She giggles sheepishly and I smile at her, looking back at the road. We drive around for a moment and she looks out with window in awe. She smiles at me every now and then, and I can't help but place my hand on her thigh. She doesn't push my hand away, or grab it and place it between her legs. She simply lets the moment stay as it as, while looking out the window and enjoying the ride.
I park in front of the restaurant valet, getting out of the car and opening the door for her. She smiles at me, taking my hand as she exists the car. I toss the keys over to the valet and head inside the restaurant.
"I even made the reservation myself so you wouldn't know we were going here." I whisper to her, ducking my head down to her level.
We are seated at the table and I grab for the menu. She opens the menu and looks around for a moment. She bites her lip and looks at the menu with a perplexed look. "Umm Roman." She whispers, leaning across the table to me. "There are no prices on this menu." She says quietly.
I let out a humored scoff. "This is the type of place where people don't really concern themselves over the price." I tell her with a smile.
"I don't know, Roman. This place looks expensive." She says sheepishly looking around feeling out of place.
"Hey," I look at her, "Don't worry about anything but having a great time tonight." I tell her with a smile that flashes my teeth.
She sheepishly smiles, hiding her adorable face from me behind the menu. After a while she orders her food and I find out that she is a vegetarian and doesn't drink alcohol. She tells me that she has two sisters and came to Hemlock Grove to get away from an abusive home situation but keeps the details to a minimum. I find myself relating to her story, understanding the same mental manipulation from my mother. She tells me that she loves dogs and I wonder how she would react seeing Peter turn, the image bringing a smile to my face.
I look at her while she speaks, wondering if she would understand the world that I have been placed in. What will she do when she sees a wolf tearing out of Peter's skin? What will she say when she sees Clara use her aura to explode someone's head? Will she greet Shelly with as much acceptance as Clara has? Will she hate me as much as Clara does when I enter her dreams at night? Will she look at me with the same helpless eyes when I take away her memories?
I clear my throat at the idea, not allowing Clara to enter my mind during this night. This date is not about Clara or Peter or Shelly. This date is about us, and I will not let them ruin this for us.
We share a dessert together and after we are finished with dinner, I drive her around until we reach a viewpoint where we park and look at the stars and lights from Hemlock Grove. I look down at the city wondering where in the town the Vargulf must be hiding. From this angle, I can see the whole town, and am probably looking at him right now.
"You know after all that talking, you never told me anything about you." She says turning to me. "Tell me something about you. Something that you have never told anyone." She tells me with an angelic smile.
I swallow hard, thinking about something to tell her. The images that plague my mind are nothing but bad ones. I think about Ashley, the girl from my class that I forced myself on. I think about Letha and the child I placed inside her. I think about Clara and my desires to take her.
"I don't know." I let out to her. "Sometimes the things we keep from people are the worst things about us."
"Sometimes telling people about the bad things helps you move past them and grow from them." She rebuttals with a soft smile.
I shake my head. "I am afraid that if I move past them, I will forget about them, and then I will do it again." I tell her, biting my thumb as I look away from her.
"You were worried in your office about being a bad guy." She says carefully.
"You are wrong." I tell her. "Girls don't like the bad guy. He's the one that hurts them."
"I don't think you are a bad guy, Roman." She says. "I know that I haven't known you for long, but I am good at reading people. And you're not a bad guy."
I look at her and I wonder if she would change her mind if she knew how many girls I have fucked in the seat that she is sitting in. I wonder what she would say if she knew what I wanted to do to her since she entered my car.
I exhale, trying not to think about that and to focus on her. "So," I let out looking out onto the lights of Hemlock Grove. "Why does a pretty girl like you not have a boyfriend?"
She lets out a laugh, rolling her eyes. "You know how scummy of a question that is?" She says giggling.
"Well hey, what can I say, I am a scum bag." I tell her with a laugh.
"See, you're not a bad guy, Roman. You're just a scum bag." She laughs, hiding her smile behind her hand.
"I am not sure what's worse." I tell her with a laugh, running my fingers through my hair.
She smiles looking away from me and out the window. And I want to know so desperately what is going on in her head. "You need to stop seeing yourself like everyone else sees you." She looks at me with large doe eyes. "If only you could see yourself the way that you truly are, then maybe you'd see just how special you really are."
She sees me in such a perfect way and I don't know how else to get her to understand how bad I am. I think about them all…all the girls that I have hurt, and I want to tell her about them.
"There was this girl." I tell her with a frown thinking of Letha. "She thought the world of me, and I hurt her. I didn't want to." I tell her thinking of Olivia and how she forced me to take Letha. "I didn't want to but I still hurt her, and then I couldn't save her." I tell her with tears building in my eyes. "Then there was another girl." I continue, "Her name was Ashley." I begin, feeling the rush of feelings enter that night. "She was good to me. She let me in her home when I was lost. She took care of me and I…" I look up at Vanessa with conflicted eyes. "I hurt her." I tell her. "She took care of me and I hurt her." I swallow hard and continue. "And then Clara." I let out. "I wanted to hurt her so badly." I tell her. "It's in my nature. I hurt girls. I can't help it." I tell her.
"Then why did you call me here tonight?" She asks me with a leveled tone. "Did you want to hurt me?" She asks me.
"No!" I say quickly. "God no, no I don't want to hurt you." I tell her, placing my hand on her thigh. "I wanted to show you… or maybe I wanted to show myself that I could be here and I could not hurt you."
"Then don't hurt me." She says simply. "I know you can."
"You don't know me, Vanessa. You don't know anything about me." I tell her lowly.
"I trust you." She says.
"You shouldn't." I tell her. She places her hand on my cheek and looks at me with soft eyes. I grab onto her and look into her soft blue eyes. I grab her mind easily and dig into her mind. "Why are you here with me tonight?" I ask her, capturing her mind.
"I want to get to know you." She returns in a robotic tone that mirrors Clara's.
"Are you trying to take my money?" I ask her.
"No," She returns simply.
"Are you using me to make the other secretaries jealous?"
"No."
"You really just wanted to get to know me?"
"Yes."
"Do you think I am a bad guy?" I ask her.
"No." I release her mind and she blinks rapidly as my nose begins bleeding.
"Oh no, Roman, your nose is bleeding." She says digging in her purse and handing me a napkin.
"Must be the dry air." I tell her grabbing the napkin. "Thank you, Vanessa." I tell her and she looks at me with a confused look. "For not being like the others." I say with a smile and she smiles back at me.
I put the car in drive and head back to her house. I walk her to her doorstep. She looks back at me and smiles at me. "I had a great night tonight." She tells me and I tell her the same. She digs in her purse for her keys as I place my hands in the pockets of my pants. She looks up at me with nervous eyes. "I…I would invite you in but…" She takes a moment then says with an uncomfortable laugh. "It's just that…"
"It's fine—" I begin but she interrupts me.
"I'm a virgin." She lets out with a nervous laugh.
"What?" I let out, unable to say anything else.
"I know, I know. What twenty-one-year-old is still a virgin? Especially one that went to college. And I am definitely not one of those bible thumping weirdos that wants Jesus in the bed with me. It's just that I haven't found the one that I want to do that with you know? And I hope you understand…" She trials off as her word vomit is finally over, but the fact of the matter is that I stopped listening when those three words spilled from her mouth.
"You're a virgin?" I ask her incredulously.
"Yeah…" she lets out in dismay. "Shit, I should have known this would weird you out."
I look at her stunned, scanning her up and down to find a lie in her body language. I contemplate it, using my powers to subdue her and take her. It would be for her own good. All the regret that I have from not doing this for Bree crashes into me, and all I can think about it doing this for her. It is for her.
I swallow hard, trying to remind myself that I am a good guy now. I think about Clara and the look of fear in her eyes staining my memory. My heart aches at the thought of how much she feared me that night. I can't put another person through that fear, and I swallow hard, looking at Vanessa with forceful eyes.
"You need to get out of here." I tell her sternly. "You need to get out of Hemlock Grove."
"What?" She lets out in a confused tone.
"You can't stay here. You can't be here if you're…" I trial off.
"I don't understand." She says completely confused.
I grab her viciously by the wrist growing impatient at her inability to understand. "You need to get out of Hemlock Grove." I tell her harshly.
"Roman, you're hurting me." She lets out and all I can hear echoing in my head is the terrified screams of Clara crying out in my skull.
"Ugh!" I let out, grabbing her head with both hands. "Look at me!" I demand. She looks at me with tear-filled eyes "You are going to go back inside and you're going to pack a bag and get the fuck out of this fucked up town." I tell her, feeling the blood falling from my nose. "You are going to get as far away from Hemlock Grove as you can." I tell her, digging into my pockets and pulling out all the cash I have on me and shove it into her hands. "You are going to take this money and you are going to use it to get out of here. You're going to forget about this town and everyone in it. You're going to forget about me, and you're going to have a good life. A long life." I tell her as tears begin falling down my eyes.
I let go of her and turn away from her, brushing the blood from my face as I head to the car, unwilling to look at her for another moment.
I get into my car and I speed as fast as I can out of her neighborhood. I let out a built-up sob thinking about what I have just done. I know it is for the best and if I don't tell Vanessa to get out of this town, she would just have become another victim of the Vargulf.
I try to calm myself down and take labored breaths. I continue driving when I see someone walking on the side of the road with a backpack. I think about it for a moment. Taking this girl walking down this street alone. I can take her mind and she won't even know what happened to her the night before.
I am a good guy.
I figure that I should offer her a ride instead. It is cold out, and it isn't safe for her to be walking on her own. I slow the car down as I approach the backpacked girl, squinting my eyes to get a better look of her.
I notice the girl's long chocolate hair curling down her back, her tight clothes hugging her curves. When she notices my headlights, she turns and my heart drops when I see her.
I stop the car immediately. I open my door and head towards her. "Clara, what are you doing?" I ask her, moving towards Clara who looks up at me with wide eyes.
"Roman!" She says lighting up at the sight of me. "I am so happy to see you." She says cheerfully. "Much happier to see you than Peter." She lets out and I frown knowing those are my words and not hers.
"Clara, what are you doing out here?" I ask her sternly.
She looks down at her feet with confliction. "I am leaving." She says simply.
"Leaving where?" I ask her as I approach her.
"Leaving Hemlock Grove." She tells me. "These killings are happening because of me. Here, I can prove it." She says grabbing her backpack and pulling out a map. "This is a map of all the Vargulf's killings." She tells me showing the red markings on the map. "They form a circle around my house. The Vargulf is circling my house like a wolf circles its prey before killing it."
"Get in the car." I tell her lowly, wanting to get her to safety.
"No, Roman." She says, "The Vargulf wants to kill me. All these deaths are my fault." She says sadly.
"So, you think leaving Hemlock Grove—away from the protection of me or Peter—will be better for you?" I scoff, "The Vargulf is just going to follow you out of town and kill you." I say sternly.
"Yeah but at least it will be away from all of you." She says with teary eyes.
"No!" I yell at her. "I am not going to let you sacrifice yourself to save all the shit people in this town!"
"We can't stop him, Roman. Mags got hurt because of me. Peter won't talk to me anymore. You won't talk to me anymore. I messed this all up, and this is the only way I can fix this." She says sadly.
"Fuck that, Clara." I tell her sternly. "Mags will get better, Peter will get over it, and I…" I stumble on my words, knowing that I have avoided her not because of the Vargulf, but because of what I did to her. "And I don't want you to leave." I tell her honestly.
"There is nothing we can do, Roman." She tells me hopelessly. "He's going to kill people we love. Think about Shelly. It will be better for her if I am gone."
"You're Shelly's only friend. She needs you." I tell her helplessly. "I need you." I let out. "Please, don't leave me."
