Just A Casual Nose Bleed (A Hemlock Grove/Roman Godfrey Fanfiction)

Chapter 22 - Lucky Escape

A/N: Sorry that this is late but I had no phone but here it is. The triple update. Be prepared for the feels trip of your lives my friends.

I lay curled up under my soft, white quilt in the fetal position, gently sobbing. I've been like this since I returned from the woods in the early hours of the morning several days ago. My family haven't questioned me, instead they've left me to grieve for my heart that lies dead and broken on the muddy floor of that god forsaken children's park. I sniffle quietly, as music plays from my ipod dock. A bittersweet smile graces my lips when Walk Like A Man by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons starts playing. Memories of dancing around to this song in my living room with Roman earlier in the summer appear in my mind as a stray tear rolls down my cheek. I close my eyes firmly and let out a long sigh. I'm pathetic. He's not even worth my tears. What day is it? I've lost track of time in the past couple of days. I need to get my life back on track. I sit up straight, brushing my hair out of my face.

Hurriedly, I grab a tissue and wipe at my face, tossing it in the overflowing bin that is surrounded by numerous other tissues. Reaching over to my bedside table, I pick up my phone, and glance at the date and time. Holy cow, it's 6am and a Monday. I quickly jump out of bed and grab some random clothes for School, before walking into my bathroom. I take a brisk shower and get dressed into a pair of black skinny jeans and one of Roman's grey jumpers, screw him if he thinks he's getting this back. I regard my reflection in the mirror. Dark circles line the bottom of my eyes and the last remnants of faded hickeys litter my neck. I look like trash, but who cares? I'm not trying to impress anyone.

Walking into my bedroom, I pick up my old black converse up and pull them onto my feet. I lace them up in quick robotic movements. My ringing abruptly interrupts my peace. Sluggishly, I turn off my ipod dock and grab my phone.

"Hello?" I ask, answering without glancing at the screen.

"Hey, Cortelia. It's Jenny. I was wondering if you're okay. You didn't come into school last week" Jenny speaks through the phone. Worry is present in her voice. I let out a sigh. I hadn't realised that I'd missed that much school.

"Yeah, I'm better. I'll talk to you about it at lunch, yeah?" I respond, pulling my school bag towards me and ruffling through it to make sure that I have everything.

"Okay, see you later" She replies. I mumble a 'see you later in response before hanging up.

.................................

Slowly, I trudge up the grey concrete steps of Hemlock Grove High School, gripping the strap of my bag as I walk through the big doors. People chatter happily, walking with friends and standing at their lockers. I roll my eyes as a guy pushes a girl up against a locker and proceeds to shove his tongue down her throat. My heart pangs with jealousy as I remove my eyes from the pair. I reach my locker and quickly open it to get my books.

As I close my locker, I spot Jenny rushing towards me through the crowded corridor. She pushes her way through and eventually stops at my locker, gasping for air.

"Where-have-you-been?" She asks, speaking rapidly whilst still slightly out of breath.

"At home" I respond as first bell rings and I start to make my way to English. Steadily, I push my way through the crowds in the direction the English Department. Jenny eventually catches up with me and walks alongside me. "Roman broke up with me" I tell her as we walk into the empty classroom and sit at our desks.

"He what?" She gasps, obviously shocked.

"Yep, last week" I add, hurriedly grabbing my things out of my bag as the rest of the class filters in through the door. "Apparently, he only dated me to see if he could get the prude of the century to fuck him" I sigh, feeling tears threaten to spill over my eyelashes. Taking a deep breath, I attempt to pull myself together.

"I'm guessing that you probably won't want to hear what's happened over the past week" She replies listlessly. Immediately, I swivel around in my chair and shoot her a pointed look.

"What happened?" I ask, bluntly.

"Well... er, Shelley supposedly murdered that weird Christina girl who's a freshman at our school and is now on the run" She reels this information off in a hushed tone, watching the door in case the teacher walks in. My eyes widen as my brain processes her words. Shelley couldn't possibly do something like that... could she?

"Holy shit!" I whisper, shock resonating through my voice. Thing has to be up here. Shelley wouldn't harm a fly. She's told me herself that she's a pacifist. And I'm pretty sure she was friends with that girl.

Jenny tilts her head in the direction of the door and I rotate to the face the front just as Miss Maren walks in. Glancing at the desk in front of me, I notice that is unusually empty. I sigh quietly, rolling my eyes whilst I grab my own and open my notebook. Roman is probably off somewhere getting high or fucking a random girl for all I know. That's what he does best. Living in his own little bubble, unaware of how much he actually hurts other people. From what he told me about his mother I'd say that he's becoming more and more like her everyday. Manipulating and using people for his own personal gain etcetera... I'm just glad that I got away from him as soon as I did to be completely honest. I probably had a very lucky escape. You could say that it was too easy to escape the pain he caused me. Sure, I'm hurting at the moment, but I'll eventually move on and he'll still be the giant shīt stain that he is. Always.