Hello everyone! I know it's been a while, but I had a lot of schoolwork, and I've started my internship. So yeah, I've been pretty busy.
Anyways, let me know what you think of this chapter, it's a little bit different from the other chapters I've written, but I wanted to try something out. So tell me what you think!
This chapter takes places between episode 2 and 3, so this isn't something from the series.
And I'm not gonna do real shout-outs anymore, but I still want to thank everyone who follows, favorites and reviews my story. SO THANK YOU :)
Now, onwards with the story!
Song I've played a lot while writing this chapter: Bring Me The Horizon – Alligator Blood
Chapter 11: How Could I Have Been So Stupid?
It was about 5 pm when Jack Crawford raised his head in surprise as he saw Will burst into his office. The expression on his face told Jack enough: something was very, very wrong.
"Do you know where she is?"
Confusion filled Jack's face as he answered, "Who, Victoria? No, I don't know where she is, why?"
Will let out a shaky breath, covering his face in his hands for a moment. When he looked back up again, he said softly, "Because I can't find her. I've looked everywhere. She's just … gone."
Jack felt his cop side take over. "When was the last time you saw her?"
"This morning, right before I left for my class. When I came back, she wasn't there anymore," he answered.
"And you didn't have a fight or anything? Was there any reason for her to leave the house without letting you know?"
Will felt a slight stab of anger at what Jack was implying. "No, everything was fine, we didn't fight. And there was no reason why she would leave the house. She couldn't go anywhere, anyway. I had the car."
"You do remember what happened two weeks ago, when she just went for a walk and got lost? Couldn't that have happened again?"
"No. She said she wouldn't do that anymore, she promised me" Will said, almost snarling at Jack.
Jack, who noticed how Will was getting very worked up, said "Will, calm down, I'm only trying to help." He waited for Will to take a deep, shaky breath, after which Will nodded his head. "Now, is there anything of her stuff missing, like her purse, or her clothes?"
Will shook his head. "No, everything is still at home, even her coat and shoes are still there. I mean, she wouldn't go out without shoes or a coat, now would she?"
Jack was feeling alarmed now, too. "Yes, that's not really normal. I'll file a missing person report, get people looking for her."
Will nodded his head and sighed heavily. He walked up to one of the comfy chairs at Jacks desk and sat down on it, his head in his hands again.
Jack watched him, and felt sympathy for him. "Will, look. We're going to find her. She'll be okay." Will just nodded his head.
He hated feeling so helpless. He couldn't really do anything to find her, it was in the police' hands now. He could only wait, and hope she would be okay. He couldn't lose the one thing in his life that he truly loved...the light of his life...He wouldn't know what to do without her.
One week earlier…
I rolled over on the couch, bored out of my mind. A week had passed since I had regained my memories and I was still processing the things I had remembered. I just couldn't believe I had ever loved Hannibal. I knew it was true, but I just couldn't imagine how or why I had loved someone as crazy as him. True, I didn't know he was a cannibal, until that one night. That night had changed everything, and I no longer loved him, as I had found out he was a freaking cannibal.
But what I didn't get, was why I didn't notice it sooner. I mean, we had been together for months, before I finally found out. There must have been signs, right? Then again, maybe there had been, and I just hadn't been smart enough to see them.
And all those meals he had made me - I had eaten it all. I had eaten human flesh and organs. I still felt sick at the thought. The first time I had realized this, I had gone straight to the bathroom to throw up.
Ugh, I had been angry with him even before, but now I was pissed off at him for making me eat human flesh. I mean, it was bad enough that he was a cannibal, he didn't have to include me in his sick habits. Asshole.
I snapped out of my vicious thoughts when the door opened. I jumped up and walked over to the door to greet Will, who had just returned from his class. He smiled at me as I kissed him on his stubbly cheek.
"Hey, sweetheart. How was your day?" he said, smiling, and I grinned at his words, getting warm on the inside.
"Booooorriinng," I said in a singsong voice. "I had nothing to do. I didn't feel like reading or drawing, so I just laid down on the couch, bored out of my freaking mind," I complained. Will coughed, trying to cover up the fact he was laughing at me. I smacked him on the arm playfully. "Don't laugh at me! At least you can go out. I'm stuck here all day."
He smiled and kissed the top of my head. "I'm sorry, you're right. I would be bored too."
I went to sit on the couch and he sat down next to me, his arm over my shoulders.
"Maybe I should get a job," I suddenly said.
Will regarded me with a surprised expression. "You sure you want that?"
"Yeah," I said, shrugging. "I mean, why not? I wouldn't be just here all day, and I would have something to keep myself busy with."
Will nodded his head, seeming to understand. "All right then. Shall I get you the newspaper?" He smiled.
"Nah," I said, shaking my head. "It can wait till tomorrow. I'm kind of really comfy right now." I snuggled deeper into his embrace, my arms tightly locked around his waist, my head on his chest. I felt his body shake in silent laughter. We sat like this for a while, until I heard Will sigh and let go of me to get up. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"I forgot to tell you, I have an appointment with Dr. Lecter tonight." I could tell he didn't really feel like going.
I started to get up as well, and went to put on my shoes. "I'll come with you."
"You sure?" he asked me, his eyebrows slightly raised.
"Yeah, I don't want to stay indoors all day," I said as we pulled on our coats. He nodded his head, and we left.
We drove in silence, during which time I let my thoughts run free. This would be the first time I would see Hannibal again after I had remembered. How was I going to act towards him? I didn't want him to know I remembered, that was for sure. So that means I'll have to keep up my game. Otherwise he would notice if I acted differently.
But that doesn't matter at all. Hehe. Let him burn.
"We're here," Will said, snapping me out of my thoughts. We got out of the car and entered the building, sitting down in the waiting room. After about five minutes, we heard the door to Hannibal's office open.
"Hello Will, Victoria," he greeted us.
It appeared he only called me Victoria whenever he was pissed at me. Right now, he probably was still pissed for the last time we had seen each other, when I had started my game. Good. I smiled politely at him. "Hello, Dr. Lecter."
He closed his eyes in exasperation for a second, and then turned to Will. "Please, come in, Will." They entered his office, and the door closed behind them. I sighed and picked up the newspaper which laid down on the small side table next to me. Might as well look for a job, I thought.
After about half an hour, I put the paper down again, having found nothing interesting. I sighed again. I was bored now and hoped they wouldn't be too long anymore. Trying to keep myself busy, I started humming a song I had heard on the radio.
"The sound of the wind is whispering in your head, can you feel it coming back? Through the warmth, through the cold, keep running till we're there. We're coming home now, we're coming home now," I sang softly. I rather liked the song, but I didn't know what it was called. I shrugged, deciding I would look it up later.
I looked up to see the door opening. Will smiled at me and came over to me, ready to leave. I smiled back at him and stood up from my seat. I was already turning to the door when I heard Hannibal call out to me. "Victoria."
Turning my gaze to him, I asked him, "Yes?"
"Will told me you are looking for a job, is that correct?" he asked me, and I flicked my gaze to Will, who was avoiding looking at me.
"Uhm…yeah, I am. Why?" I asked him, feeling a bit nervous as to why he would ask me this.
"Because I have a vacancy for a secretary position here at my office, if you would like of course. I would be very happy to have you working for me," Hannibal said, looking me straight in the eyes, as if he were challenging me: I dare you, Tori.
I dare you.
I narrowed my eyes at him and answered, "Yes, that sounds great, actually. When can I start?" Both men widened their eyes in surprise; they hadn't been expecting me to actually take the job. Hannibal quickly recovered and said, "Tomorrow, if that's all right."
"I'll be here at, um, let's say...nine o'clock. That okay?" I asked him, letting him know that if I was going to be working for him, it was going to be on my conditions.
"Fine," he said curtly.
"Fine," I said, matching his tone. I turned to the door, which Will had already exited, I noticed. "We'll discuss the details later. See you tomorrow, Hanni." I said, the last part in a mocking tone, after which I walked out the door. Right before the door closed, I heard him sigh heavily.
The next morning, I woke up feeling irritated, nervous, and even more irritated because I was nervous. I decided to look professional, so I put on black trousers, a white shirt under a black blazer and flats. I pulled my hair up in a bun and put on a little bit of make-up. I had breakfast with Will, before we left and he dropped me off at Hannibal's office.
I wasn't angry at Will for telling Hannibal I wanted a job. Naturally, I had asked him about it, to which he replied that Hannibal had wanted to know how I was doing and stuff. Will couldn't help it that Hannibal happened to have a vacancy, so yeah, I wasn't angry at him.
I entered the building and at exactly nine o'clock, I knocked on the door to his office, quietly sighing.
"Come in," I heard him call out and I opened the door. Walking into his office, I looked around in awe. I had to give him that, he had a gorgeous office. A lot of open space, nice leather seats, a massive desk and pieces of art which looked very expensive. But what I admired the most, was the library, which surrounded the office a level higher and which you could access with a ladder.
Remembering I was not alone in the room, I looked over at Hannibal, and the look in his eyes disturbed me. He was watching me with a look of pure admiration and lust.
When he noticed I was looking at him, he quickly blanked his expression.
"Good morning, Victoria. How are you?" he asked me. He was always so polite...it was so goddamn irritating.
"I'm fine, thanks," I answered him. "So, what do I have to do?"
He stood up and walked into the waiting room, telling me to follow him. At one wall of the room stood a small desk, which I hadn't noticed before. Hannibal told me this was going to be my working space, and explained my tasks to me. He told me to expect the arrival of his first patient at around half past nine, before entering his office again. I sighed, sat down, and got to work.
The day went by pretty fast, and so did the next couple of days. We hardly talked, and when we did, it was strictly professional. Working for Hannibal Lecter wasn't that bad, and before I knew it, the week was almost over.
It was 5pm, and after the last patient, who had an appointment at half past five, I was free to go. Coincidentally, Will was that last patient.
I looked up from the agenda when I heard someone enter. It was Will, and I automatically started smiling.
"Hey, you're early, your appointment is not until another half an hour."
He smiled back at me and said "I know, but my class was over and I thought I could keep you company."
"Well, come over here then," I said, grinning slyly.
He walked over to me and I stood up. He held my face between his hands before he softly planted his lips on mine.
Suddenly feeling very aroused, I kissed him back harshly and our kiss became more and more passionate. Will turned me and sat me down on my desk, his hands pulling through my hair. My hands were around his neck and we were both breathing heavily. When I started losing my balance, I put a hand down on the desk, accidently pushing a stapler to the floor, which landed with a loud thump. Not noticing, I kept kissing Will feverishly, wanting nothing more than to have him, right now.
But we were pulled out of our trances when we heard someone clear his throat. We turned around, blushing, and saw Hannibal standing in the door to his office. We let go of each other and I came of my desk, straightening my clothes and my hair. I looked back at Hannibal, still blushing, and saw how angry he was. He was furious, and I tried to hold back a grin. I don't know why, but whenever he was angry, I just found it funny. And the look on his face right now, was fucking priceless.
Will, on the other hand, was obviously uncomfortable. He walked over to Hannibal and said, avoiding eye contact with the doctor, "I…We're sorry about this, we, um…got kind of distracted for a moment. It won't happen again, we promise."
Hannibal looked over to me and I nodded my head.
He looked back over at Will and took a deep breath, calming himself down. "Apologies accepted. Now, please come in. Since you're already here, we might as well just start our appointment."
Will nodded his head and entered the office. Hannibal looked at me once more before closing the door, and this time I couldn't hold back my grin. I saw the anger cross his eyes again when he realized why I was grinning, and he nearly slammed the door shut.
Now that I was alone again, I had the chance to calm down again. Our kiss had made me feel really...hot, and I waved some air to my face in an attempt to cool down. I walked up to the small mirror on the wall and straightened my hair, combing it with my fingers.
When I had finally calmed down, I was surprised when I heard the door to Hannibal's office open. It had only been twenty minutes?
They walked out of the office and Hannibal shook Will's hand. "Until the next time, Will."
Will nodded his head and said goodbye. He walked over to my desk, but I wasn't ready yet. So I said to him, "Sweetie, you can wait outside for me, I still have to pack up my stuff. I'll see you in a minute." He smiled at me and turned to exit the building.
When the door closed behind him, Hannibal turned to me. "Victoria, when you have packed your 'stuff,' could you come into my office for a moment?" I swallowed and nodded my head, after which he went back into his office. I quickly gathered my things and put them in my purse, feeling a bit nervous. I really don't have a good feeling about this, I thought as I knocked on his door.
When he called for me to come in, I opened the door, quietly walked in and closed it behind me. I walked over to his desk and stood still in front of it. He didn't look at me at first, and when he did, he looked tired, but also very annoyed. "Victoria, could you please not behave that way to me anymore?"
"What way would that be?" I asked, playing innocent.
"I think you know what I mean," he answered me darkly.
I crossed my arms and sighed. "You mean my little game, in which I hurt your tiny whiny feelings?" I asked him in a mocking tone. "I'm sorry, Hanni, I'm just having too much fun."
I saw the anger flash up in his eyes and remembered he hated the rude, which made me giggle.
"Why would you do that?" he asked me, almost growling.
I sighed again and became irritated and angry myself. "You know damn why. Because of all the fucking shit you've done! Calling to the Hobbs house, which caused everything that happened there; making me tremble in fear of you, making me have a serious mental breakdown; my fucking amnesia; and last but not least, being a freaking cannibal!"
I froze and shock filled my face when I realized what I had done. NO! How could I have been so stupid?! I had called him a cannibal. He didn't know I knew. But now he did…Dammit!
Looking over at him, I saw shock also fill his face when he realized the same thing. "Tori… You remember?" he asked me softly.
Taking a few steps back, fear filling my entire being, I quickly shook my head. "N-n-n-no…" He got up, and I saw his expression darken and his face twist in anger as he walked up to me. I kept stepping back, away from him, until I felt my back hit the ladder to his library, and I couldn't get away before he got to me. He placed his hands on the sides of the ladder, right beside my head. He brought his face up to mine until our faces were only inches apart.
"I have told you before" he whispered darkly. "Don't. Lie. To. Me." Unable to say anything, I just watched him in fear. "Victoria Harris, you've been terribly rude and terribly naughty," he said, his voice both soft and threatening. "Now, what should be done about that?"
When I heard him say that, I felt shivers go down my spine and my knees became weak. But somehow, I felt something different, too. Was that…arousal? No, it can't be. Though I felt like I'd felt it before.
And I had, I realized. It had been when he and I had been together, he had said the same thing to me once, after which we had had rough, angry sex.
Damn.
Thinking of this, I felt my cheeks burn. He was still watching me, his face only inches apart from mine. Trying to find a way to get away, I said, "Will is waiting for me outside. You better let me go. If you hurt me, he'll immediately know it was you, and your dirty little secret will be revealed."
Horror and anger filled his face as he stepped back. I quickly grabbed my purse and ran to the door. Opening it, I yelled at him, "I quit!" and exited the building.
When I walked out of the front door, I cleared my face of any emotion and calmly walked over to the car, where Will was waiting for me. He doesn't need to know about this, I still don't want him to know. I didn't know why I was still protecting Hannibal. All I had to do was tell Will or Jack and he would be locked up in prison for the rest of his life. Why didn't I just tell?
I got into the car, a soft smile on my face. "Hey, you," I said.
He smiled back and started the car. "Hey, you," he replied.
"I just quit my job," I said calmly, sounding almost bored.
Shock and surprise filled his face. "What? Why?"
I shrugged and said, "I was still bored, and I didn't really like the job anyways, so...yeah. I quit."
He softly chuckled. "You're so cute when you're bored, you know that?"
I playfully smacked his arm and said, "Don't laugh at me, it's not funny." But I started laughing myself, feeling the tension wash away from me as Will soothed my nerves. We got back home, changed into our pajamas and got into bed.
Will woke me up by kissing me on the top of my head. I opened my eyes and saw he was already fully dressed, ready to leave for his class. I smiled at him and said, "Good morning, Mr. Graham."
He smiled back at me and replied, "Good morning, Ms. Harris."
I chuckled. "Do you really have to go?"
"I'm afraid so, sweetheart," he said, and like every time he called me sweetheart, I got all warm on the inside. "But, hey, it's only for two hours," he said as he stood up and walked to the door.
I pouted and said, "Bye, William, I love you"
He grinned. "I love you too." And with that, he left the house. I heard his car leave and rolled over in the bed, stretching myself out. I closed my eyes again and enjoyed the coziness of the bed.
After about five minutes, I heard a car drive up the driveway. Thinking it was Will, and he had come back because he had forgotten something, I ignored it and rolled back over, my back towards the door. I heard the door open, but froze when I heard the footsteps, footsteps that weren't Will's. Will's sneakers sounded soft on the floor, but these made a clicking noise, as if they were from dress shoes.
I remained still, acting as if I were asleep, but my instincts were yelling at me to get the fuck away.
The footsteps walked through the room and stopped at my side of the bed. Then I heard nothing for a while, as if the person was just standing there, watching me. My curiosity got the better of me and I opened my eyes, and looked straight into Hannibal's eyes.
I screamed when he reached over and put a small, wet towel on my face. I panicked when I recognized the smell - chloroform. I thought one last word before everything turned black.
Shit.