Wings of Blood and Cruelty
A Hemlock Grove fanfic by Glamoured By-Eric
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.-Friedrich Nietzsche
Chapter 15 - Hellos and Goodbyes
Olivia had Ana drop her off at the mansion after they had left the bungalow determined to talk with Roman and straighten things out even if she had to swallow her pride to do it. Ana went back to the bungalow to oversee the movers. Olivia was met at the door by one of the bodyguards from the night before. She was disappointed to find Roman's car was not in the driveway.
"Ma'am," he greeted.
"Excuse me? Please do not address me as ma'am. Call me Mrs. Godfrey. Never ma'am."
"Yes ma... Mrs. Godfrey."
When she started toward the stairway, he stopped her and said, "Roman asked that you refrain from visiting the nursery during your visit."
"Visit? Is that what he called it? Hardly a visit in my own house. But very well, I will stay away from the nursery. Is Norman at home?"
"Yes, I believe he is upstairs."
"I noticed Roman's car was not outside. Where has he gone, and why aren't you with him?"
Smith glared at her but didn't answer. He was not happy at her or himself. He wondered when the rich, little shit had ducked out.
Olivia gestured toward the stairs and said, "I'll just see myself up."
On the second floor landing, Olivia paused and then went to the third floor. All the blood, crib and candles had been cleared away. Clearly this wasn't the nursery. She went back down to the second floor and began to walk through the hallway. Upon hearing a soft voice singing a nursery rhyme, she stopped just outside the door and peered in. A young, blonde girl was sitting in a rocking chair, holding her grandchild to her breast as she fed her. It suddenly hit her that she was a grandmother, even if the child was not upir as she would have wished, and she leaned heavily against the door jam and just watched.
"Liv," called Norman from across the hallway.
Olivia was startled from her own thoughts and turned towards him. "Norman."
"I thought you were coming back here last night. Where did you go?"
"I stayed with Ana at the hotel. I was overwhelmed after the viewing."
"Yes, I heard. It's not every day that your son asks you to move out of your own home."
Olivia stiffened her back and walked by him, going down the hall to her room. Once there, she crossed to the dresser, located her purse and cell phone and turned to face Norman, who had followed her.
"So, have you been staying with Ana this whole time?" asked Norman as he watched her look through her walk-in closet, making sure the movers had retrieved everything. "I know you weren't at a spa. Roman told me that he had asked you to move out because you were afraid of what people would think of you with an illegitimate child in the house and that Roman was the father by his own cousin. On another occasion, he explained that you have an ability to control other people. Is that true? Did you force him to have sex with Letha?"
Olivia looked affronted, got defensive and lied, "Of course not. However would I do that? If I could do that, I would just make Roman let me stay here instead of moving out. Does what he said make any sense to you? Honesty Norman, you know me better than that."
"Yes, I thought I did. Now I'm having doubts. There was something J.R. said to me before his death. He said you were evil and that he would no longer be deceived. He also wanted me to help him destroy you before you destroyed our family. Well, our family is pretty fucking destroyed. J.R. is dead. Letha is dead. Shelley is dead." He paused, looking to the left, then continued. "He hired a private detective. Did you know that? They didn't find your sister. Suddenly, a sister that you never told me about shows up out of the blue."
Olivia said, "Ana and I have never been close. I never mentioned her because I didn't know where she was."
"How do you lose a sister, Liv? I don't understand that. Your own flesh and blood. There is a special bond between siblings. You think I don't miss J.R.? I think about him nearly every day. If he was missing, I'd move heaven and earth to find him. It is almost like when you lost Juliet. You didn't mourn her loss like a normal person would."
"Don't bring up Juliet. I don't want to talk about her. I only came to retrieve my bag and cell phone before the service. We're going to be late. We can talk about all of this afterward."
Norman was still worked up, but he let it go for the time being out of respect for his daughter. "Very well, let's go then."
Roman had dropped Peter off at Destiny's and went home to change for the grave side service. Peter told Roman that he couldn't bring himself to go and watch her being lowered into the ground, and Roman had understood. Roman had also mentioned his talk with Amanda, without going into great detail, and that she would need their help.
Back at his home, Roman noted the moving van was gone. Roman walked in through the front door and smirked at Smith, who frowned at being ditched.
Smith said, gesturing to Roman and then to himself, "You and I. We're going to talk later."
"Whatever," said Roman dismissively as he started up the stairs. "I have a funeral to go to so be ready to ride along."
Roman stopped by his mother's room and noticed that everything was gone then hurriedly changed into a suit in his own room. When he got back downstairs, he noticed that Smith was not by the door, so he smiled, when he heard a toilet flush, and ducked out the front door.
Peter stood in the cemetery, watching the service from afar. He didn't want Roman or anyone else see him crying after last night's show of weakness. He'd taken his mom's car to attend and was now standing under a large, maple tree some distance away, tears streaming down his face. When the service was nearly over, he wiped his face, turned to leave and found someone blocking his way.
Acting Sheriff 'Chin' Chinowski was standing there with handcuffs in his hands. "Well, look what we have here. Just who we were looking for. Turn around and put your hands on your head, Rumancek. Your killing days are over."
Peter grimaced but complied and winced when he felt the cold steel of the bracelets clamp around his wrists. Chin roughly grabbed his arm and steered him toward his cruiser. Practically shoving him into the back seat, Peter barely had time to get his foot inside before Chin slammed the door shut.
Feeling panicked, Peter began to sweat just thinking about being locked up again.
The funeral was uneventful. Seeing his mother and Norman across the casket, he decided not to join them. He left before his mother could try and talk with him. In his car, he let the tears fall. Life was not going to be the same without Letha. At least he had a part of her through Michelle though she would be a constant reminder that he had fucked his own cousin, albeit against his own will. God, he needed a fucking drink.
Roman, driving directly to the bar, parked in the first spot he could find and went inside. He saw the big, burly, tattooed bartender who usually worked there, standing behind the counter, as he sauntered to the bar. He also noticed the brunette in a black, leather jacket who was sitting there, smoking a cigarette. He sat down one barstool away from her, flashed his fake I.D. and asked the bartender for his usual. While the bartender poured his drink, he took out his cigarette holder, removed one, and lit it up.
When the bartender handed him the drink, Roman caught his eye, motioned him to come closer, then said quietly, "Don't ever call my mother again when I come into this bar."
The bartender blinked and then shook his head as if to clear it then started wiping down the bar surface. Roman smirked, drained his drink, and asked for another.
"Better take it easy with that. You'll be drunk in no time. It is better to pace yourself," said the brunette he had noticed earlier.
Roman was pleased that she had shown him a little interest first. He liked that, and he also liked brunettes. Smiling at her, he said, "I just came from a funeral. I need this." He took a sip of his second double.
"Were you two close?" asked the young woman as she watched Roman take another drag of his cigarette.
"Yes. She was my cousin. We practically grew up together."
"I'm sorry for your loss." She said, pushing her ashtray closer to Roman so they could both use it.
Roman flicked his ashes into the tray and said, "Thanks."
Thirty minutes later, they were in the restroom with the door locked. His pants were down around his ankles, and he was taking her up against the wall with her legs wrapped tightly around his middle and dangling from her foot was her thong. Her miniskirt was hiked up to her waist, and Roman watched his hard cock thrusting in and out of her where their bodies met. He pushed in even further with his next thrust and watched her eyes roll back as she cried out in pleasure. Digging her fingers into the back of his neck, she ground into him at each thrust.
Roman fucked her hard until he heard her getting close. He ramped it up a notch until she cried out, and that finished him off as well. They stayed like that with him buried to the hilt, both of them breathing hard and fast. He pulled out and helped her climb down. When she got her footing, he went into the stall, removed his condom, threw it into the toilet, and used some toilet paper to clean himself off before flushing. He pulled his pants back up and exited the stall while his partner went in, sat down and went to the bathroom.
Looking into the mirror, Roman noted that his normally pale face was now a rosy pink hue. He used his fingers to straighten up his hair and washed his hands, using a wet paper towel to clean off the lipstick on his face. She joined him at another sink as she put herself back together, smoothing out her skirt, brushing her hair, and reapplying her lipstick. He grinned at her in the mirror. She smiled saucily back at him.
To keep up appearances, she left first. He followed a minute later only to find that she had left. He looked frantically around the bar, then saw a cocktail napkin on the bar with her first name and her phone number written on it. 'Morgan.'
"Along with what Roman has told me about you, I don't know what to think anymore, Liv. According to Roman, you have done some unspeakable things to him, to Shelley, to my daughter, and to me. Would you care to explain? Why is he afraid to let you near my granddaughter?" asked Roman as they went into her former bedroom at the mansion.
"I'm sure that I wouldn't know. Why does Roman do anything he does? Even though he's eighteen now, he is still a teenager, and teenagers are young and very dramatic. Everything is a crisis with them."
Norman grabbed her arm and said firmly, "I need you to come clean with me, Liv. No more pussyfooting around."
Olivia met his eyes and said, "I don't want to talk any more. I want you to fuck me, Norman. It's been weeks."
AN:
The music for the closing credits would be The Heavy: Short Change Hero.