It was December 10th, and everything was absolutely perfect.
Tony and I both passed our exams and classes with flying colors.
The Winter Festival was another huge success for my school and the student council.
Everything seemed to be running smoothly for my school career and was on the up and up.
Now I can enjoy my winter break and relax with my family and clan.
That was another thing that made me happy. My winter break had officially begun yesterday, and I was able to spend it putting the finishing touches on Gregory's Christmas presents.
After I had completed Gregory's scarf, with Ismey's help, I had showed it to Freda. I figured that a mother knows their child the best and she'd be able to tell me if Gregory would like it or not.
She assured me that he would absolutely love the well thought out and handmade present. Freda told me that her favorite part was that I had added vampiric runes to the piece, giving a slight nod to his heritage and customs. She was also ecstatic to hear that it was Ismey who taught me how to embroider these symbols into the scarf.
And even though Freda was sincere and honest about my creation for Gregory, I ended up getting him another Christmas present along with the scarf.
I was still insecure about my creation because he didn't have a use for a scarf…not to mention he could only use it during the Fall and Winter months…
Uncle Gernot ended up helping me with this final present. He is actually a wonderful artist, his medium of choice being oil painting and watercolors, and he had created a piece that was inspired by Gregory and me. Apparently, he was flying through the castle, enjoying the night air, when he spotted us curled up together on the roof. We had been listening to music and ended up so deep in conversation that we didn't notice the inspired older vampire.
It was during my Fall Break when I went to ask him a question and he had just finished putting the final touches to his artwork. He asked me if I liked it, to which I told him that I loved it. I was completely gob smacked by its beauty that I just stared at it in awe before an idea popped in my head. I asked Uncle Gernot if I could borrow it for a day. He told me that I could have the piece since I seemed to like it so much.
I fiercely hugged the wonderful man and requested that he not tell Gregory about it because I wanted to get it photocopied and turned into a gift for him.
Uncle Gernot was excited at the prospect of his work becoming duplicated and gave me the all clear. Promising me that he wouldn't tell the teenaged vampire a word of our meeting.
I profusely thanked him once more before making a mental note to buy that man a year's supply of art material.
So, here we are now.
All of my Christmas presents tucked secretly away in my closet and people constantly bugging me what I wanted for my birthday that was in five days.
I simply shook my head and told them to just give me their well-wishes.
Anna and Rudolph groaned at my response, but I reminded them that my birthday was so close to Christmas that it seemed silly to celebrate both and reminded them that I had everything that I've ever wanted or needed.
What warmed my heart the most was that even Ismey and Cornelius inquired what I wanted for my birthday.
I nearly wept with joy when I heard the two-former mortal-hating vampires ask me, a mortal, what I wanted for my birthday.
My response remained the same, though, and I assured them that hearing them wish me happy birthday would not just make my day but would make my entire year.
It truly looked like a fresh and beautiful start to a wonderfully prosperous alliance.
Until today…
When the majority of us were resting in the den, watching the snow fall from the evening sky, and Cornelius abruptly rose up from his spot with a jerk before snarling out in alarm.
We all looked at him in shock. The other vampires suddenly seemed to understand why he raced off and they soon followed after him. I grasped Gregory's arm and demanded that he take me with him.
He seemed hesitant at first but quickly complied and flew at breakneck speeds, following the other's to Maney's new workshop.
No.
Not Maney…
When we reached the doorway. I gasped out in shock as Marcus held Maney by his neck with Lionel pounding his fists on the older vampire. He was demanding that Marcus release Maney from his bruising hold.
"What the Hell are you doing?!" I snarled out, immediately stepping up to the redhead's defense, "Let go of him this instant!"
Marcus hissed back at me before throwing Maney to my feet.
The others rushed with me to Maney's aid.
The poor man was sputtering and wheezing as he tried to regain his breath. I could see mean bruises already marring the pale skin of his neck.
"…Marcus, what happened?" Cornelius calmly questioned his oldest, "You used your anima resonare to call me."
"I just wanted you to know what a traitorous best friend you have," he seethed while glaring at Frederick, "All these months and he didn't even have the guts to tell you that he permitted a hunter to enter the ranks of his clan."
My body froze at his statement.
…We never told them that Maney used to help a hunter.
"I-I'm so-sorry," Maney wheezed to me, tears in his eyes, "I-I tho-ack-thought they knew…"
"Shh, Maney…it's okay," I soothed the older man before standing up to face the anger of Clan Genovese.
"…Look—"
"Is it true?" Ismey hissed at me, a look of betrayal in her eyes.
Dammit…this isn't supposed to happen…
I opened my mouth to try to explain what happened but shut my mouth when I saw the hard look Cornelius was giving me.
He didn't want reason.
He wanted the truth.
"…Yes," I eventually answered, trying to hold my head up as their angry whispers and murmurs flooded the crowd.
"Please, you have to understand that—"
"That you were going to let the majority of the clan go with such a man!?" Ismey cried in outrage, "You weren't even going to have the decency to tell us?"
"No, you don't understand, Maney was manipulated by—"
"By filthy human scum. Kind of like how you manipulate everyone around you?" Marcus accused while his clan agreed with him in the background.
I deeply felt the sting of his words and flinched at his dark assessment of my person.
I don't manipulate to selfishly gain…I just—I just want everybody to be happy.
Oh, God…is that how everybody sees me?
A master manipulator that is only looking out for herself.
Shame blossomed in my chest.
Gregory growled from beside me, "Lucy is not that kind of person, Marcus!"
"That's right!"
"Her and Maney have done so much for all of you and this is how you treat them?!"
I heard my clan cry out from behind me.
Come on, Lucy, quit feeling sorry for yourself and fix this.
Your clan is depending on you.
"I don't have to wonder what part you're thinking with when you defend your little pet, Gruesome," Marcus jeered at Gregory.
I quickly took hold of his arm when he took a step towards Marcus.
"Please, just everybody, calm down for one minute," I begged everyone, trying to figure out a way to make everything right again.
"We don't take orders from a weaker species like you," Ismey sneered, reverting back to her initial attitude for all mortals, "If you want a pair of groveling, boot lickers then turn around and face those two traitors behind you!"
"Ismey, dear, don't let the title of 'Lady' fool you—I will claw out those wretched eyes from your pathetic skull if you do not hold that serpent tongue of yours!" Freda snarled at the other woman fully showcasing her fangs and claws as warning.
Ismey hissed back at Freda.
"Stop! Please just stop!" I shouted at the two in a panic, "Please, can we just separate for a short period and meet later—"
"Absolutely pathetic, old friend," Cornelius finally spoke up, disdainfully sniffing at Frederick, "You let a human fight your battles for you? I bet you were going to let that little hunter of yours take us out when we least expected it. Your clan may have numbers, but my clan has always had quality fighters. You knew the only way to end our line was through underhanded tactics."
"Take out your sword, Cornelius, and we'll see who the 'quality fighter' truly is," Frederick angrily commanded, his eyes shining a brighter shade of red than before.
No.
No.
NO!
Why weren't they listening to me?
"No! Maney would never hurt anyone in your clan," I quickly denied, "Please nobody wants to hurt anybody—this is all just a misunderstanding—"
"A misunderstanding? You act like you know your friends so well," Marcus cruelly purred at me taking a step in my direction, "I have some bad news for you, precious—"
"That's enough, Marcus," Gregory interrupted with an angry growl, sheltering me behind his body.
"What's the matter Gruesome…are you afraid that I'll tell her of our time in America? It was during those wild, colonial times, wasn't it? Right after your poor, baby brother lost his little mortal to that mob," Marcus mocked.
Rudolph looked on edge, he quickly stood up from his spot next to Maney and hissed at Marcus.
Anna glared menacingly at Marcus before standing up for her twin, "That incident has nothing to do with you."
Marcus ignored the small girl and continued to taunt Gregory.
"Did he tell you how we spent our time living like real vampires? We both enjoyed drinking the blood of pathetic drunks and petty thieves—the look of fear in their eyes…simply delicious," He sickly hummed to me with a cruel glint in his eyes.
I clutched Gregory's back in response.
Just breathe Lucy.
He's trying to scare you.
Don't let his words affect you.
Just breathe.
"When we weren't terrorizing mortals we spent our free time in whore houses," he happily supplied with a cruel chuckle, "There was this one, little prostitute that was his favorite…never could remember her name…what was it again, Gruesome?"
"Marcus!" Gregory cried in outrage, taking a step towards him.
"G-Gregory, don't," I quietly pleaded.
Please don't leave me.
"Oh, I guess it doesn't matter anymore now…Especially since you snapped her pretty, little neck that one night. Ha-ha! It was…hilarious! I mean, he ripped her throat open and drank her completely dry! He looked like a savage animal with her blood dripping down his chin. Remember that Gruesome? When you brutally murdered that poor girl?" Marcus reminisced and questioned his former best friend with a deranged laugh before sending me a look of disgusting glee.
His maniacal grin would haunt my dreams for nights to come.
Gregory looked at Marcus in horror as he revealed to everyone what a monster he truly was.
I felt sick to my stomach but refused to let go of Gregory.
Please, don't leave me…
I silently begged him as I held tighter to his arm.
He seemed to notice my distress and gently placed his hand over my own, "L-Lucy…I-I wasn't, I didn't think—"
"He didn't think that he'd ever have the unfortunate circumstance of being stuck with a mortal-born as his soul bond," Marcus finished Gregory's statement, sneering with disgust at the end.
My head popped up at that.
What?
What was he…?
I looked towards Gregory for answers who looked at me in panic and shock of this information being revealed.
"G-Gregory…?" I whispered his name in question, unknowingly letting go of his arm in my distress.
"Oh, oh by the dark star! He didn't tell you!?" Marcus screeched in amusement, his sinister laughter ringing out through the workshop with the rest of his clan, "Wow, he must be really embarrassed by you, little mortal. Huh, I guess you haven't changed a bit. You'll still use these pathetic, female mortals until they serve no more use to you. Hey…since you don't want her—why don't you let me have a go at her, Grueso—"
Marcus never got to finish his request.
Gregory let out a furious bellow of rage as he tackled said vampire to the ground.
They were a mass of snarling, hissing, and screaming limbs.
Both Gregory and Marcus made ungodly sounds as they battled each other around the workshop.
The caterwauling from their fighting made my stomach lurch and my heart grow cold in fear's icy grasp... but I had to put a stop to it.
The thought of Gregory being exiled or worst allowed my body to shake off the immobilizing fear and move before my brain could catch up with it.
"Stop it! Stop it! Gregory, please! STOP!" I shrieked out, tears racing down my face as they both landed close by me. Quickly taking my chance, I reached for Gregory, trying to pull him off Marcus by tugging at his arm and shoulder with both hands.
The next thing I knew, I was hurtling through the air. A sickening crack ringing out as my back crashed into the wall. The force of the hit sent my head careening backwards until it also made contact. My body slumped to the floor like a rag doll.
All breath had left my body and I laid there motionless.
"LULU!"
Somebody was calling me, arms were gently pulling me up, fingers were being pushed against my neck, I felt a shaky hand brush my hair back.
Gregory.
Gregory.
Where is… "Gr-gry," I managed to slur out in a hushed mumble, trying to focus my eyes.
"…hospital…we need to go…"
Someone is talking…but I want, "Gr-gory," I mumbled again, begging for the voice to give me the one thing I wanted more than anything in that moment.
"Lucy, Lucy, sweetie, focus on mommy," my mom called out to me while gently tapping my face.
My hazy eyes fixed on my mom's worried expression.
"Mmm...mm—mommm," I managed to slur again, "Gr-gory."
"He's nearby honey, okay, but stay awake, we are going to the hospital. You need to stay awake for, mommy, okay sweetie," her voice cracked towards the end.
Something wet was touching my face.
Stay awake.
Stay awake.
Wet drops hit my face again.
Stay awake.
Stay awake.
I finally realized what it was.
Stay awake.
Stay awake.
My mother was crying.
Stay awake.
Stay awa—
Gentle beeping sounds started to rouse me from my sleep.
Pain brought me fully to my senses.
Holy—hurt, hurt, hurt!
My eyes snapped open as I sucked in a breath, trying not to scream from the searing sensations that were wracking my entire body.
I tried to turn my head when I saw I was in a white room but let out a startled, cracked cry from the anguish.
God, that hurts!
My dad was immediately in my line of sight. His eyes bloodshot and red as he peered down at me.
"Hey, sweetheart, don't move so much, okay?" He requested while gently moving hair out of my face, "I'll have the nurse give you some more ibuprofen and prednisone to help the stiffness and bruising. Thankfully, that's all the doctor says it is. Just really bad bruising. No head or spinal trauma, isn't that great?"
Tears slipped from his eyes as he stated the last part.
"Lucy…we were—we were so scared when we raced into that room and saw you get thrown across into the wall like that. You just—just crumpled to the floor and you didn't move, princess. Oh, God when you didn't m-move," My dad was bawling his eyes out at this point.
I weakly reached my hand out to delicately grasp the sleeve of his shirt.
"S-sorry, da-ddy," I managed to croak out. Dad managed to get ahold of himself long enough to realize that I needed water and medicine before ringing for a nurse.
Once that was settled and the nurse left the room, I turned my attention back to my father to ask some questions.
"Maney?" I whispered in concern.
"Badly bruised like you and extremely shaken up by the situation," dad informed me, "He's blaming himself for everything and your mom is scared that he might…he might forget how much we all love him."
He turned away from my inquiring gaze.
Tears brimmed in my eyes.
I knew what he meant…Maney suffered from suicidal thoughts in the past and they were terrified that he might act upon them.
"Should we…?"
"No, your mother doesn't want to put him in a hospital," my dad told me, "I see where she's coming from, but I don't think it's the best choice…"
"Tell her."
"I have…she's argued that he might think we are dumping him off at the hospital because he's 'too problematic' and fears that it will set him over the edge," my dad quietly explained, "Your mother and I are going to take turns keeping watch over him at the house…"
Home.
"Gregory," I whispered.
My dad gave me a hard look.
No.
No.
NO…Dad adores Gregory.
Don't give me that look when I say his name, please…let this one thing stay the same.
"The families are going to spend some time apart from each other—"
"No! No, no, no please…" I begged him to reconsider.
I can still make this right.
I can make everyone happy.
Just give me time.
Please, just give me time.
But…maybe they don't want me…
Maybe I was forcing myself on their clan to accept me by providing lavish gifts.
No, that's not true…
They are my extended family now.
My clan—but…maybe that was me lying to myself.
Afterall…Gregory doesn't want me.
That's right…Marcus said so, I'm Gregory's soul bond, but he doesn't want me.
There must be something wrong with me…
Master manipulator.
A dark voice whispered to me.
That's right, I'm not normal.
Nobody could love someone that manipulates the people around them.
Even if it's for a good cause—
No.
That was always my justification, but at the end of the day I'm just a selfish girl with control issues.
I have control issues.
I manipulate the people around me.
I am not loveable.
"Lucy, sweetie, you need to calm down," my dad tried soothing me from my bedside, sending a worried glance at the heart monitor that was erratically beeping at him.
"Hu-hurts…" I managed to whimper out.
"What hurts, sweetie?" My father asked me, fervently ringing for the nurse.
"He-art, my heart," I finally sobbed out.
"What? Lucy, sweetie, you aren't making sense—"
"He doesn't—he rejected—he—I'm not loveable," I finally gasped out between sobs.
"Lucy…what?"
"It's okay, Mr. Thompson, it happens all the time," the nurse practitioner assured him, "Some people aren't used to any kind of pain medication and sometimes act in a loopy or depressed manner. We'll just give her a light sedative and she'll be right as rain after she gets some rest."
She left the room while I just wailed and sobbed as my heart broke even more.
Not loveable.
Not normal.
Not…anything…
Just a tool.
A computer.
A machine.
A business.
But never loveable…
I felt a warm liquid go in my arm and barely registered the nurse practitioner standing next to my IV drip with a needle in her hand.
My eyes clouded over once more, and I was more than happy to go back into a deep blissful sleep where I was safe from my hateful thoughts and distressing memories.
Two weeks on bed rest.
That's what the doctor's orders were.
After they kept me overnight at the hospital, to ensure that there weren't any unforeseen complications from my injuries, the doctor gave my parents instructions about my recovery process.
The doctor instructed my parents to try to limit my walking and standing as much as possible for the first part of my bedrest. They wanted my parents to help rotate me every two hours on my side for the first week and eventually every 6 hours the second week. These scheduled alternations of my body were to help prevent bedsores. The second week, the doctor instructed my parents to have me walk and stretch the best I could for 15-30 minutes every 2-4 hours. This regimen was to be repeated until I could walk and stand for long periods of time without any problems.
I insisted on walking to my bedroom since I was to remain in bed for a full week and that would be my only exercise. They agreed to these terms but told me that I better not even try standing without either of them assisting me the first week of bed rest.
Reluctantly, I agreed to their terms and watched them set up extra pillows and blankets on my bed. They moved my charging dock station to my bedside table so that I could keep busy on my tablet and laptop while I was confined to my covers.
Tony asked me for permission to sleep next to me the first night back at the house.
I was so ashamed of my weakness and vulnerability that I initially sat next to him in silence as he pulled up a movie for us to watch on my TV. Tony had tried to get me to talk about nothing in particular, but all I could manage was a weak smile in his direction.
God, I felt like such a failure.
He finally had a best friend that he started a business with and a sweet girl that would be his future wife, and I couldn't stop his bright future from going up in flames.
I should have told them about Maney from the beginning.
I had thought about it, but figured that there wouldn't be any reason to bring up the past—
No.
That was a lie.
I didn't want them to mistrust us and ended up putting Maney's life on the line with this omission of truth.
God…how selfish and stupid could I be?
No wonder Gregory didn't want me.
Oh, God, it hurt so much just thinking his nam—
"Lulu? Why are you crying?" I heard Tony call out, interrupting my thoughts.
"I'm not—"
I cut off when I realized that tears were streaming down my face.
"Oh…uhm…it must be the pain med—"
"Lulu don't lie to me," Tony reprimanded me with a click of his tongue.
His small hand took hold of my shaking fingers to stop me from wringing my hands.
"Tony, really, I'm—"
"Is it because of Gregory?" He asked me, "Because of the people that he's killed?"
My head snapped up in his direction.
There was a stab of pain, but I ignored it as I stared at my little brother in shock.
"H-how did you…Were you in the workshop when—"
"You didn't see me fly in with Rudolph at the time," Tony deduced before explaining the situation, "I was next to Anna and checking on Maney when Marcus said… all those things."
"O-oh, I see…" I murmured as shame spread throughout my body.
Then he knows about…
"Look, Gregory made a lot of mistakes back then, but I don't think that you should hold that against him," Tony informed me.
"I-I don't hold, Tony, you don't understand…I…well, I-you…you don't understand," I choppily told him, my heartbroken sobs becoming worst.
"Are you scared because he threw you into the wall?"
"That was him?" I asked, still blurry on what exactly happened.
"Yeah, you tried to step into the fight and he threw you off his shoulder, but he didn't realize it was you," Tony quickly clarified, "I saw it in his face when he heard me scream your name after you…you, uh, fell to the f-floor."
Tony seemed to become choked up at the memory of my injury.
"Truth be told, I didn't really know what happened, but never blamed either one for my injuries," I admitted to him while sniffling ang brushing away my tears, "It was my own fault for trying to break up a fight in the first place."
"I wouldn't place all the blame on your shoulders, Lulu," Tony wisely told me, "All three of you are responsible for your bruising…but…if that's not why you're so upset then—"
"Tony," my voice cracked as the thought of being unlovable swam to the forefront of my mind, "Please, I'm begging you…just let it drop…please…"
My sorrow filled wails came back full force before I could stop myself and Tony looked at me with a helpless expression.
He's never seen me cry like this before.
I've cried during sad movies.
I've cried reading sappy books.
I've cried when my little brother was laying on the hospital bed…
But I've never cried with such heartache before.
I've never cried as though all hope was lost.
I've never cried as my entire world crumbled beneath my feet.
Because I've never felt so despondent.
There was always another plan, always another way, but now?...
Now there was nothing.
Now I was nothing.
Now I wished that I felt nothing…
I wished that I felt nothing for the bleak future of the two clans' alliance.
I wished that I felt nothing for my new friends.
And, God, I wished that I felt nothing for all my heartache and torment.
I wished that I felt nothing for Gregory Sackville-Bagg.
But this was real life and not a fairytale.
There were no genies to grant three wishes.
And there definitely weren't any happily ever-afters.
Just this terrible pain in my chest, a heavy heart, and these tears that wouldn't stop falling.
Tony held me as I cried throughout the night.
Eventually I turned my back to him and let him think that I was sleeping…
He needed to get some rest and wouldn't do so if he thought that I was still awake.
Tony fell for my acting and soon drifted off into, hopefully, pleasant dreams.
I stayed awake and stared at my hands before pulling out my laptop to get some work done.
I needed to stay busy.
If I focused on work then I couldn't focus on my painful thoughts and memories.
Maybe I could eventually work through the anguish and be able to clearly think of a plan to fix this?
Yeah.
That's a good idea…
And maybe I could find a way to make Gre—no don't think of his name.
But…maybe I could find a solution that would make him happy.
Maybe I could transfer to a different school so that he wouldn't be bothered by me any longer? I didn't want to embarrass him with my presence and if having a mortal-born soul bond brought him shame then I would make myself disappear.
It's not the fact that you are mortal that's the problem…
Shut up.
It's because his soul bond is you that's the problem.
I said shut up!
You are nothing but a control freak and a manipulative sociopath—
SHUT UP!
EVERYBODY hates you and can't wait until you're gone!
SHUT UP! Shut up, shut up, shut up, just shut up!
Eventually the dark voice of self-doubt and loathing went quiet in my head and I removed my hands from over my ears.
I'm losing my mind…
Focus.
I need to focus.
I need to plan…other things for right now, but I will eventually come back to my ideas of…leaving.
As soon as it stops hurting from thinking about…
About how unlovable I am…
Focus.
Just focus.
He'd messed up.
No… 'messing up' sounded like a bouquet of flowers could fix this situation.
He had irrevocably ruined ever having a chance of making any of this right again.
God, he had…he had hurt his soul bond.
He had…had injured his Lucy.
What the hell was the matter with him?!
When Tony had cried out her name in alarm, his senses finally caught up to him and screamed at him why those soft hands tugging at his shoulder felt so familiar.
Yet he had tossed her to the side like…like…
A wave of nausea hit him as he sunk lower to the floor. Dents and cracks were splintering along the stone walls of his room.
He would rather feel the physical pain that was stabbing his bloodied knuckles than the emotional heartbreak that was shattering his undead heart.
Why wouldn't father just end him?
He'd injured his soul bond!
That was an offense punishable by death in vampiric law.
He deserved to be tortured then killed for what he'd done.
But Frederick Sackville-Bagg had earlier ordered his future heir to lower the makeshift stake from his own heart.
Flashback
"What would you have me do, Gregory?" He solemnly asked his son with a pained expression on his face. Frederick's eyes never moved from the sight of the deadly stake aimed at his son's heart.
"Do what is right!" Gregory had ordered shouting at his father in anger, standing in the small clearing of fallen and shattered trees at his feet. He could still feel the rage that was bubbling within him. Gregory wanted to unleash that rage upon himself for what he'd done but knew that it was frowned upon by their law if he took the coward's way out of things.
If he killed himself then his name would be disgraced, and the clan could never speak of him again.
He wouldn't care so much since he felt in that moment he deserved such a fate.
But his mother and his younger siblings would be broken hearted if he chose the cowardly departure from this mortal plane.
Hell, Gregory, was sure that even his father would be upset by not being allowed to grieve his eldest son…
Which left him holding the stick that he had sharpened to a deadly point aimed at his undead heart, begging his father to punish him for his crimes.
"Gregory your soul bond still lives, and it wasn't intentional—" Frederick tried to remind his son, but he was not hearing a word of it.
"The law doesn't specify whether the act be intentional or not, father," Gregory interrupted him with a fit of anger, "I hurt my Lucy and need to be punished—please don't make me do it myself!"
"Don't you dare speak like that!" Frederick hissed at his eldest, finally stepping up and ripping the stake from his hands before throwing it deep in the forest, "You will not leave us like that! Do you know what that would do to us if you—By the dark star, Gregory! Do you not know how much we all love you?! Please, my son, don't ever talk like that again!"
Frederick enveloped Gregory in a firm hug. Pleading to whatever greater entity above that his words of love reached his thick skull.
Countless battles and countless standoffs with death and not once did he feel a fear that couldn't be overcome with his courage. But here he now stood, the Great Frederick Sackville-Bagg, utterly petrified of what could happen in that moment.
What his eldest son might do if his words of hope and love didn't reach him.
"Please…my son…we will find a way to make this right," Frederick's voice cracked as he spoke into his son's ear, "Please, trust me…I won't let you down."
"Father…" Gregory hoarsely begun, reciprocating his hug with a fierceness, "It is I who has let you down. I-I am so sorry…You and mother tried to tell me. To warn me about not telling her sooner, but I…I didn't listen. And now, I've hurt her…I could have killed—"
Gregory couldn't finish his sentence as sob suddenly wracked his body. Weakening his knees and sending him pitifully to the ground.
Frederick followed him to the earth and maintained his tight hold on Gregory.
"I know my son, I know…But what's done is done. The past is the past. We need to move on from it and you need to talk to Lucy—"
Gregory immediately pulled away and looked at his father's face in shock and disbelief.
"You heard what Mrs. Thompson said!" He exclaimed, "She doesn't want any of us, especially ME, near Lucy!"
"Dottie was in a fit of rage when she spoke those words," Frederick reminded him, "Your mother has been sending correspondence to both Bob and Dottie from my cell phone. Lucy is fine…there's just some bruising—"
"The truth father," Gregory commanded, already detecting the lie in his voice.
"…It's severe bruising, Gregory…" Frederick solemnly began telling his son, "The doctor said that it was lucky her spine didn't break…"
"I-I threw her that hard?" Gregory questioned in disbelief, "Oh…God…let this be a nightmare, please!"
His hands ran through the sides of his hair as he tried to wrap his mind around this new information.
"Gregory, my son, please you must listen to me," Frederick pleaded, "Dottie has already told Freda that Tony informed her of everything, and she knows now that you never meant to hurt Lucy. She doesn't excuse your actions, but both her and Bob are willing to talk to us once things have calmed down. Neither want anything to do with Clan Genovese anymore, but—"
"Father, please, you don't understand," Gregory morosely cried, "I still hurt her. I hurt my Lucy. Please, just pass your judgement like you would on any other clan member. I beg of you!"
Gregory was clutching his father's shirt with his head bowed down in shame. The weight of his sins against his soul bond being too terrible for him to look Frederick in the eye.
"Alright, you want my judgement so badly…fine," Frederick hissed out at his son as he gripped the tops of his arms and wrenched him to his feet, "You shall live a full and long life knowing what you've done. You will spend every waking moment that you possess on this mortal plane making it up to your soul bond. You shall never sleep again until she goes to sleep knowing how much you love her and how sorry you are for harming her. You will never unintentionally hurt her again because you are going to learn from your mistakes. You will never go into a fight like that again when so many innocents stand near you. Do I make myself clear, Gregory Sackville-Bagg?"
Gregory swallowed in fear from the hard look his father bestowed upon him.
He wanted to dispute his sentence of living with such a guilt.
He thought that such a punishment was too harsh, but finally realized that he deserved such a fate.
It was the least he could do to begin atoning for his sins.
Every day he would remember the gravity of his foolishly impulsive actions and everyday he would seek to rectify his guilt.
The judgement was fair and just.
"Yes, father, I understand," Gregory nodded before agreeing to his leader's terms.
"Good boy," Frederick whispered before loudly declaring, "I, Frederick, leader of Clan Sackville-Bagg have deemed this vampire's punishment. So, it has been stated and so it shall be done. Quod est!"
"Quod est," Gregory repeated back to his father in affirmation to finalize his decree.
"Now…let us return home," Frederick gently ordered before leading his son away from his newly created clearing.
The only thought going through Gregory's mind at that moment was: How could he call it home without Lucy?
Gregory still wondered how this was home.
She wasn't here.
It's true that she had moved out of the castle a couple weeks before, but he would always fly to her bedroom whenever he missed her.
Which was all the time.
But now…now he was forbidden from stepping foot near the Thompson's house.
They all were…but that look that Mr. and Mrs. Thompson had sent him…the look that he was nothing but a monster…
And it was true…he is a monster.
By the dark star…Lucy now knew what a despicable creature he was.
Damn Marcus to Hell.
He should have killed him that first night when he attacked Lucy on that trail.
More cracks formed beneath Gregory's fist as he punched at the stone wall again.
Trying to distract himself from that memory of Marcus' initial attack, he pulled his fist back before slamming it down at a new memory that entered his mind.
Dammit…he had sworn to Lucy that he would never let anything bad happen to her again and look where they were at.
He was the worst bonded in all of vampire history.
Gregory couldn't even begin his punishment until her family gave him their permission to enter their residence again.
They were adamant about doing this at their pace and Gregory was forced to wait here with his thoughts.
These painful thoughts and memories that tormented his every moment.
He refused to sleep or talk to anyone in his clan.
They all gave him such pitying looks when they should be tearing him to shreds for his actions.
Why were they so forgiving?!
He hurt Lucy.
He knows that they all love her as much as he does!
So, why wouldn't they—
Dammit, he just wanted to make this right again.
Please.
He just wanted—
He just needed to make it right…
He just needed a chance to do so.
Please, God, let him have the chance to make it up to Lucy…
If she never wanted to see him again or acknowledge their bond…then-then he would find a way to make it work. Gregory would let her live her life, but, please, let him have the chance to make it up to her.
Lucy…please, please, please…let me stay by your side.