The Vampire and The Ghost | ✔︎

Chapter Forty: A Mess

                                                                         Annalise 

It took a little while longer to return than Annalise had wanted. The others had teleported with Harvey, but her and Eugene had chosen to take the car back home. An eerie silence settled over the two of them, so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Eugene's hands gripping the steering wheel turned white under the pressure he was gripping it with. Turning away from him, she watched semidetached as the world ran past the window. Now they knew where her body was, they could finally reunite her spirit with it, and then she could live.

But she had a feeling that things weren't going to be as simple as that. For starters, her body was literally buried in Vitus' back garden and she doubted that he was going to let them just take it back. Not after all the trouble he'd gone to hiding it in the first place. They'd have to approach this with a plan, and not just barge in. At least, that's what she hoped they'd do.

The car made an ominous squeak as it pulled into the driveway of their home. Immediately, Annalise could tell something was wrong. Everyone stood outside the house, with varying degrees of worry plastered over their faces. As soon as the car was parked, Eugene shot out like a bullet. Slamming the door closed.

With more reluctance, Annalise got out, frowning as she came up to them. "You need to see it for yourself", Dawn commented to Eugene, gesturing to the open door. Annalise wondered in, ignoring whatever it was the others were talking about.

"Oh my god." She gasped, looking around the house frantically. It was completely upturned. Everything was thrown around in a disarray. Like the person who had done this, was looking to cause the most damage as possible. Books had been torn open, pages lay listlessly on the floor. A hairbrush smashed into two pieces, the TV broken and thrown to the floor. The sofa of the living room had been slashed, stuffing spewing out like intestines.

"Fucking hell." She heard Eugene whisper from behind her. There was a shuffling, and then Cassius came into view, his face as solemn as stone.

"That's not the worst of it." He said, and Annalise felt her metaphorical heart drop. He led them out of the living room and into the kitchen. The kitchen hadn't been spared from the wrath that had torn apart their house. Chairs had been broken in half, splinters scattered across the floor. The counters had dents in them, where someone had obviously hit it with something heavy.

Even the fridge had been toppled over, spewing out its minimal contents. Which was primarily just blood, but even still. What drew Annalise's attention though, wasn't the scattered remains of the kitchen but the small letter, sealed with wax on the table. Surprisingly the kitchen table had been left unmarred by the outrage that had run rampant through the house.          

Annalise stepped forward cautiously, gulping as she reached for the letter. Fortunately she was able to pick it up. Spurred on by the surge of confidence, she ripped the letter open without a glance to the others to see what they were doing.

Eugene.

You have really exhausted all my options and have given me no other choice. I wanted to resolve this between us, peacefully. You have refused me at every turn. I can no longer sit idly by and watch you ruin everything I have created.

I suppose you wonder why I myself am not there right now, to take you back to where you belong. I am no fool. I now know that you won't come back peacefully, and any attempts to take you back will be met with violence.

I do not want to reveal our kind to the humans, with the resulting engagement. I have planned things thoroughly, for too long, to have you ruin them without a thought. So I have prepared some motivation for you.

Noah? Mia? Does that perhaps ring a bell. You should ask your ghost friend, she'll know. I have them. Someone tipped me off on their whereabouts. 

You have 3 days to arrive at my personal house before I slaughter them. I will send their remains directly to your house.                

Come home, lion. I'm not asking anymore.

Vitus Modesto.                                   

The lights in the room began to flicker on and off, swaying violently like there was a strong wind. Eugene was there in a flash, ripping the letter and skimming over it with a curse. Small objects within the kitchen began to levitate and vibrate, as if they would explode on a moment's notice.

Despite the chaos around her, Annalise couldn't focus on anything. Vitus had Noah and Mia, and was going to kill them in three days if Eugene didn't turn himself over. Her emotions ran riot, as she began to shake. Anxiety clutched at her throat, tightening it so she couldn't speak.

There was a clutter of noise around her, and she vaguely noticed the others rushing into the room. A gasp came from Harvey and he uttered in awe, "I guess she really is real." As if he hadn't quite believed their story.

"What is going on!" Dawn exclaimed, looking towards the epicentre where Annalise was standing. In lieu of words Eugene chucked her the letter, and focused his attention on Annalise.

"Anna," He called, but Annalise was too far gone to recognise anything. She was torn into pieces. She didn't want Eugene to turn himself over, to give the rights of his life away to someone else. But she couldn't stand the thought of her friends dying. Dying because of her.

If she wasn't who she was, none of them would be in this situation right now.

"Annalise!" Eugene shouted, grasping her shoulder and shaking it violently. "You need to listen to me! We're going to get them back. I promise." He said it with such sincerity, that Annalise stopped her ruminating for a moment, and looked at him. Her eyes were wet with tears that couldn't be shed.

"You need to listen to me. Nothings going to happen. He's not going to get away with this anymore. We'll get them back." He encouraged. There was a sound of protest from Victoria, which was abruptly silenced with a dark look from Cassius.

Annalise took a moment, scrunching her hands tightly. She nodded, and slowly, ever so slowly the chaos began to settle. The lights stopped flickering, and the objects fell to the floor with a clang.

Eugene heaved a sigh of relief, and then Annalise watched as he turned on Victoria. His blonde hair was a mess, ruffled in every direction. His green eyes look harrowed, shoulders tense like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"How. Please tell me how, does Vitus know of Noah and Mia?" Eugene demanded, getting closer to Victoria. She shrunk back a few steps, looking this way and that for an escape.

"I didn't tell him anything! I mean it. I swear on my little sister." She said solemnly. Eugene seemed to cool down a bit at that, but Annalise was even more confused. She never knew Victoria had a sister, was she even still alive?

"I'll admit, I spoke to Noah and Mia, but you already know that. I hinted to them the whereabouts of Annalise's body. I wanted to give them solace, if anything. I don't know what they did with that information but Vitus found out. And he had me cursed for that reason." Victoria explained. Eugene rolled his eyes, annoyed but conceded.

"Seeing as he's keeping both Noah and Mia, and Annalise's body in the same place. We can kill two birds with one stone,"

Authors Note:  

Hi all! I hope you like this new chapter! Can you believe it. Chapter  40!!! Also, if you guys don't know there should be a text to speech option on my story now, just at the top of the chapter. So if that's something you may need, or want, there it is!! 

Just to update you all, unfortunately i have now got Covid too. Its been pretty rough so far. But i'm sure i'll be fine! Writing is just taking me a little longer than usual though, but its all good. Its a nice distraction as always lol

Hope you're all well! 

Love you, 

Sam.E