For Love of Evil - [Roman Godfrey/Hemlock Grove]

-21-

Lyra had walked home, demanding money and the car from her mother. She hated that she had to resort to the part of herself that she hated in order to get what she wanted, but knew it was in the best interest for herself and the baby.

She checked into the only motel in Hemlock Grove; obviously used far more for drug deals and prostitution - possibly affairs husbands wanted to keep quiet from their wives. But any place was safer than her own home.

There had been a problem with her age.  Legally speaking, the motel refused to accept money from minors, the staff made sure to enforce the protocol. But once again, Lyra used the part of herself she hated to make the exception.

It was nothing fancy nor nice, but it was safe and provided running water, a place to sleep and lousy television - which was good enough for Lyra.

It was now Monday, which meant school was in session. As badly as Lyra didn't want to go, she knew she had to in order to keep up appearances.

She didn't want anyone (especially Roman) knowing that her home life had recently been wrecked. She didn't want to miss school, only to have her father receive a phone call and get the police involved.

Ares knew he was treading on thin ice and that any sudden, non-meticulous plans would push Lyra over the edge to either abort the baby or ruin his career.

But Ares also had the upper hand, particularly if Lyra slipped up and did something stupid. He was her father after all, and Lyra was still underage; she was still legally bound to him.

Lyra sat staring at the blackboard, her mind everywhere but on the subject of World History. It was nearly two o'clock, which meant Roman had probably excused himself from class to meet her in the girls' bathroom. But Lyra remained seated, feeling the guilt rise to the back of her throat as it turned into nausea.

It pained Lyra to think about Roman and his feelings for her, considering they weren't real. Despite knowing the truth, Lyra was still in love with Roman.

But she needed to be the one to put an end to it - she would rather be known as the girl who broke Roman Godfrey's heart, rather than the girl who's father manipulated them to produce a powerful spawn for his own amusement.

The bell rang; Lyra was the last student to walk out the door. She was slow at getting her things, dreading the moment that was to come - she was going to have to face Roman.

Lyra kept her head down, staring at the passing feet of her peers as she walked the hall.

Lyra wished she was surprised by the pair of shoes standing at her locker, but she wasn't. Her eyes trailed up the length of his long body, his hands in his pants pockets as his leg swayed slightly in annoyance.

Finally, Lyra's eyes met Roman's, seeing the hollowness of his features. His eyes looked sunken into his sockets, his hair slick from his own natural oils, not from expensive product.

He looked angry, but Lyra sensed the terrified uncertainty that lied behind his light green eyes. His lips looked swollen, his cheekbones more prominent than she remembered.

Lyra wanted to reach out and touch him - she wanted to caress his beautifully broken face and tell him that everything was fine.

"Where've you been?" Roman asked, sloughing to be eyelevel with Lyra.

It didn't work; she kept her eyes away, too short to be in Roman's line of sight, despite his awkward slouch. "You're really gonna ignore me... I'm standing right in front of you." Roman leaned further down, whispering in her ear.

She could feel the heat of his breath and the disguised sadness in his voice as he seethed anger.

"I think we should take a break. You know, see other people." Lyra's eyes finally darted to Roman, then quickly shifted back to her locker as she pulled out her calculus book.

She couldn't look into his eyes - there was something about them that made her weak. If she stared too long, she would give into him.

"See other people... you mean, fuck other people?"

"Yeah. Clear our heads of... whatever this is." Lyra closed her locker, keeping her eyes on Roman's chest.

She watched his breath move in and out, his grey shirt moving under his black blazer with each inhale and exhale. She didn't have to look at his expression to see the hurt she had just inflicted upon him.

"I don't need your permission to fuck someone else." Roman growled, inching closer to Lyra, causing her to look up into his eyes again.

She could feel the agony of rejection radiating throughout him; the way his eyes danced back and forth along her face.

She wanted to hold him - to wrap her arms around him and tell him she didn't want him sleeping around with anyone else. She wanted to tell him everything and beg for his forgiveness.

Instead, she turned away, patting the center of his chest where his heart resided.

"Good." Lyra stepped around Roman, making her way into the class they shared. She sat in silence, keeping her eyes straight ahead as Roman sat in the adjacent seat.

She could feel his eyes on her as he slammed his books down on the desk, causing Lyra to jump - startled.

"Do we have a problem, Mr. Godfrey?" Mrs. Wilson asked, turning away from the sentence she had stopped writing midway through to look at Roman.

"No." Roman's fists came down on his desk, bracing his weight as he stared angrily across the room at Mrs. Wilson. "There's no problem." Roman plopped down in the seat, causing the metal legs of the chair to scrape across the linoleum floor.

Lyra kept her eyes forward all throughout class, never once looking in Roman's direction in fear of what she might see in his eyes. She had made it this far, she wasn't about to give into him now.

She heard the sound of paper tearing, then a balled up page landed on her desk, inside of her opened book.

Without looking at Roman or the paper, Lyra tucked it away in her bag, ignoring the gesture altogether. But internally, Lyra was dying to open it.

When the bell rang, Lyra rushed to gather her things, tucking them away in her bag. The whole time feeling the crumpled piece of paper acting like a cushion under her books as she fled out of Roman's sight into the hall.

Every ounce of him wanted to chase her down and demand that she answer him. Instead, he kept his distance, telling himself that Lyra would soon come around. After all, Peter said he had seen it - and that so far, he hadn't been wrong.