* Two weeks later *
He turned the engine off and sighed, rubbing his hand over his face before unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out of the car. He groaned as he stood and his knees flexed. He had worked a long grueling day. He hadn't needed to. It was his business. He could have left hours ago if he wanted, but he took on an extra shift behind the bar at the last minute. A lot more convenient to sneak in a drink or two from there. Anything to occupy his mind. Otherwise the thoughts of her would overwhelm him and he'd lose it all again. He wanted something to keep him busy, trying to delay the inevitable time when he'd have to call it quits and pack it in. And then he'd be right back to thinking about her.
He hated this part of the day. Coming home to an empty flat.
But it wasn't just the flat.
It was everything in his life.
Everything felt empty without her there.
As he walked up the drive to enter the apartment building, he began to replay her words over and over again I his head.
"It's a long, dreary life when you haven't got anyone but yourself. I was tired of going it alone."
Was this what she meant?
He thought he knew what loneliness was before. But when he looked back on it all, he wasn't really alone. He had the guns, the money, the suits… there was always something there to occupy him.
Sure, he may have been a con, but at least everybody knew it. He never had to hide who he was.
He could only imagine what it was like for her.
Having to endure a long, drawn out existence of solitude and loneliness simply because no one was willing to give her a chance. Because no one could look past what she was. Something that just happened to be a part of her… something that she couldn't help being anymore more than she could help her short stature, or her beautiful blue eyes.
The more he thought on it, the more he began to understand.
He knew for a fact he'd never been happier than he was when he was with her. Sometimes his heart felt full to bursting with all the emotion inside of him. Emotions he never thought he could feel. And he knew she felt the same way about him.
He walked through to the elevators and pushed the button for his floor, thankful he was alone in the space. It gave him a few extra moments to sort through his thoughts.
He looked at his reflection in the metallic doors of the elevator car and sighed.
He thought back on the way he exploded at her. He could remember her beautiful eyes brimming with tears, as she tried her best to defend herself against his tirade. And this was after they'd supposedly fallen in love. He could only imagine what his reaction would have been had she made the confession any earlier on.
He hung his head. She was right.
He wouldn't have given her a chance if he knew. To say it was a shock would put it mildly, but she didn't deserve that. He promised her his love. That he'd never desert her no matter what. It was the very reason she felt she could trust him with her heart in the first place. It was the reason she had trusted him enough to show him a part of herself that she'd never shown anyone before. It shouldn't matter that she wasn't exactly normal. Isn't everyone different in one way or another? Doesn't everyone have something about themselves that they hide from the rest of the world? Hell, with what he did for a living, he could hardly afford to lecture anyone on morals and telling the truth. Sure, most people aren't hiding the fact that they're vampires, but still…
She had trusted him to look beyond that and remember that she was still the woman he fell in love with.
And look what he did with it.
He couldn't help feeling like he'd broken his promise to her. It wasn't as though their relationship was conventional to begin with. He was able to look past the age gap, after all. And he was able to do that because he realized that what she was on the outside wasn't as important as who she was in her heart. Just as she'd looked past his trade and saw the man underneath. So why did all that fly out the window so suddenly?
The elevator stopped at his floor and he fumbled around in coat pocket for his keys as he walked down the corridor toward his flat.
He stopped midway and leant against the wall, still trying to delay having to face the emptiness.
He wasn't sure exactly how old she really was, but if this is what her life was like in all the years before she found him… if this constant ache in his chest was any indication of the existence she was forced to endure alone… he could understand why she hid it.
It can't have been easy.
Either keep the secret and hope it all pans out later, or tell the truth and risk losing the love of a lifetime before it ever really began.
A dreadful choice to face.
And if the tables were turned, he'd have probably done the same.
He knew in his heart that she'd never hurt him intentionally. She just wanted a chance. She just wanted him to understand.
And he did.
Finally.
He just wished he could see her again. He wished he could take back the horrible things he said. He was foolish to let her go. She was the only real silver lining to anything. The only one who really made him feel like he was living for something good… something special.
And now... he'd probably lost her forever.
He clenched his keys in his fist, trying to stop the tears from flowing.
The last time he cried, he was just a boy. It was when his parents died. After that loss, everything else seemed inconsequential.
But now…
He wept every night for her.
He had to get her back. He had to find a way to make things right again. He only wished he knew where she'd gone.
He closed his eyes and wished with everything he had left in him. If he could just see her one more time, he'd hold on tight. He wouldn't let her slip away. Not again. He couldn't.
His eyes fluttered open and he finished the journey down the corridor to his flat.
He raised his hand to unlock the door, only to find it unnecessary.
The door was already open. But there was no sign of forced entry.
And only one other person had a key.
He gulped and took a deep breath before slowly pushing the door open.
When he stepped inside, he could hear someone moving around in the back room. He closed the door quietly behind him and stepped further in, setting his keys on the kitchen table.
She came out of the bedroom hurriedly, her face flushed, eyes swollen, lip trembling. She'd obviously been crying. Her ears and eyes looked normal at the moment. Well, perhaps not normal for her, but she looked the way he remembered her… before.
She was clutching a small box to her chest, containing a few personal items she'd left behind for the scattered occasions when she stayed with them. He wondered if she'd already moved the rest of her things or if she was just getting started.
Before he had the chance to say anything, she looked up and saw him.
"Olli?"