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

-28-

*
Lyra found herself standing at the bottom of a staircase. It was night; the moonlight from the window faintly glowing onto the steps. The sound of rain hitting against the glass as a roll of thunder and a flash of lightning flickered across the sky.

She made her way up the stairs, the wooden panels creaking beneath her feet as she approached the landing. A door; it was cracked - behind it, a white ominous glow. Lyra knew that something bad was behind it, perhaps something she didn't want to see.

She pushed open the door, the light nearly blinding. The hinges squealed to life - alerting whatever was behind it. Lyra cringed, nervous of the potential threat lurking behind the wooden door.

It was a vacant hall, that looked to be a hospital wing. A steel rail lined both sides of the long corridor. Lyra looked back at the door, noticing it was no longer wooden, but stainless steel. The option of turning back was now out of the question.

She continued on, making her way down the brightly lit hall that led her to, yet another, closed door. She pulled down the lever, pushing open the door.

It was a bathroom; the tile floor drenched in blood. There was a trail of it, leading behind the white shower curtain into the bathtub. Lyra's hand trembled as she reached out to pull it back, scared of what was behind it. The sound of the clip rings scraping along the shower rod echoed loudly as Lyra whipped back the curtain, revealing her worst nightmare.

Roman lied in a tub of his own blood, motionless - lifeless. His eyes were closed, both of his forearms slit open along the tracks of his veins. He wore a black tank and black pants; his nose was bleeding, trailing down to his upper lip.

Lyra cried, jumping into the tub with Roman, holding his face in her hands. She tried pulling him up - thinking that if she moved him, he would wake up. "What have you done?... Roman, what have you done?" Lyra sobbed, letting go of his face as she laid her head on his chest.

She tried listening to the sound of his heartbeat, but there was none. Lyra was straddling Roman's lifeless body, pressing into the deep wounds to stop the life pouring out of his veins. Lyra was covered in Roman's blood, but the red fluid was the last thing on her mind as she held onto him.

"I wanna be human." Roman spoke quietly. The sound of his voice brought joy to Lyra's heart. She lifted her head from his chest, looking into Roman's eyes. She smiled, placing her hand on his cheek, wiping away the blood beneath his nose with her thumb.

Roman sat up, holding her face in his hands. The joy she had felt quickly disappeared when gazing into his eyes. This was no longer the Roman she loved - this was a monster. In an instant, Roman pulled Lyra's head back, sinking his teeth into her throat, ripping her flesh away in one bite.
*

"Hemlock police department, open up!" There was a pounding on the door, causing Lyra to quickly sit up. Roman's hand moved away from her lower abdomen - had it not been for the chaos, Lyra would've commented on where Roman's hand had been.

"Get some clothes on." Roman whispered, rushing to gather his own clothes. Lyra watched, perplexed, as Roman quickly pulled up his pants. He sleeked his hair back, his lips moving into a pucker before pulling his shirt over his head. He took his time now, putting his right arm into the blazer, then his left.

Lyra got to her feet, limping from the pain in her hip and the slight ache between her legs from what had taken place the night before. She grabbed the closest article of clothing she could find, a pair of sweats and a black jacket. She took off her ripped sweater, tossing it to the floor as she quickly got dressed, zipping up the front of her jacket to hide her bra.

"I want you to hide." Roman pointed to the bathroom as he started toward the front of the room. A set of knocks pounded against the door again, this time more forceful. Lyra stopped, grabbing Roman by his arm. She had flashbacks of her dream - the deep, long cut that trailed down the length of his vein. She swallowed hard, trying to bury the image.

"Roman, please... you have to make them go away." Lyra said, already knowing what Roman had in mind. He wasn't going to make them go away, he planned to go with them.

"Just... trust me. Hide, and don't come out til you know I'm gone - I've gotta plan."

Lyra stared back at Roman with fear. It took a few moments to talk herself into letting him go. She dropped his arm, doing as she was told, making her way to the bathroom.

Roman sighed softly, running his hands through his hair before adjusting his clothes. He opened the door before another set of knocks began pounding against the door.

"Ah, Mr. Godfrey. 'Bout time you answered the door." Two police officers stood before Roman, one with folded arms, the other with his hands on his hips.

"What do you want?" Roman leaned against the frame of the door, reaching into his pocket, pulling out his pack of cigarettes.

The officers exchanged looks, knowing Roman was underage, legally too young to be smoking. Roman cared less, instigating conflict as he lit the end of his cigarette.

One of the officers stepped forward, pinching the cigarette between Roman's lips, dropping it to the ground. Roman blew smoke in the cop's face. The officer grabbed Roman by his arm, pushing him up against the metal frame of the door - Roman smirked.

"You wanna go to jail, boy?" The cop taunted, his grip on Roman's arm becoming tighter.

"We both know I'm not going to jail." Roman said, his eyes narrowing at the sun peeking above the horizon.

"Oh, really? We came here for Miss Cambion, but if you wanna play that game, we can take you too." The cop pushed Roman away, taking a step back to see if his words had caused a reaction. They had. Roman's face went hard as his body stiffened. Roman licked his lips, standing directly in the doorway, hoping Lyra wouldn't be stupid enough to reveal herself.

"Who?" Roman played dumb, pushing the bottom of his blazer back, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He leaned against the frame again casually, trying to remain inconspicuous.

"You heard me, Lyra Cambion. She's been staying here for nearly a week."

"What makes you think that?" Roman smirked with furrowed brows, tilting his head ever so slightly, mocking the officer.

"Same way we knew you were here. That blue Toyota over there..." The cop pointed to the end of the lot, "plates came back belonging to a Mary Cambion. And you're the only one in this town wealthy enough to afford a jaguar. What is it.. an XK?"

Roman nodded, his tongue trailing across his top teeth. "Well she's not here." Roman said, removing his hands from his pockets, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, let's just have a look around to be sure." The officer went to step inside, only to be pushed back by Roman, extending arm.

"You're not going in there. You're gonna give me a ride to the precinct and my mom is gonna pick me up... no cuffs." Roman dropped his arm from the cop's chest, closing the door behind him before trailing to the only police car in the parking lot.

"What are you doing?" The officer asked the other cop, keeping his eyes on Roman's back in confusion.

"Taking him to the precinct." The officers followed Roman to the car, befuddled as to why they were taking orders from a kid. Roman's nose began to bleed, a trail of blood slowly cascading down onto his upper lip. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a handkerchief to clear away the red fluid before climbing into the back seat of the police cruiser. He looked back at the motel, his eyes fixated on the room number - 17.

Roman would be back; he would confront Olivia, then he would be back for Lyra. He wasn't sure of what to do after that, but he knew he had to figure something out, and fast. Running away together seemed like his best bet at keeping Lyra safe, but he knew they couldn't stay hidden for long. There seemed to be no solution to the problem.