Shatter (The Daevas #1)

4 • Cold Winter

[ An author's note: Good morning, guys! I'm feeling really happy for being on a roll here, omg. You cannot imagine the grin I have on my face right now. Anyway, how's the winter break going for you guys? I hope you're done with your Christmas shopping! I finished mine yesterday and, man, the malls were croooowded. Stay safe and battle it out like a ninja warrior, everyone! P.S. Enjoy seeing Matt Terry (Axel Van Allen) on that gif on the right. Also, for maximum quality, play the song I posted when you read about a piano in this chapter (wooops!). You can never go wrong with Coldplay. :) ]

4 • Cold Winter

I'd been staying at the mansion for almost a fortnight.

I had slept for four hours but I couldn't sleep after that anymore due to the nightmare I had. I was running away from something -- someone - while my whole body was in agony from trying to escape so fast, my throat went dry and I began to pant hard. It was a cold winter that day -- I ran as fast as I could, seeing my parents' and siblings' faces. Mom and Dad hugged each other as they smiled at me with love in their eyes; and Greg, picking on our little sister Jemma, who was laughing hard and getting annoyed at the same time. I ran and ran but instead of me getting near them, the road lengthened instead.

They cheered and encouraged me to come to them but I couldn't, as much as I tried.

"Come, Venise, come!" they hooted, their smiling faces directed at me.

"Hurry up, slow poke!" Greg shouted, his hands encircling his mouth. My handsome brother grinned as I huffed. Jemma beamed and gestured for me to hurry up. I ran as fast as I could -- until everything went dark and I fell onto the snow. There were cuts and blood on my arms and legs, making me cry in agony as the blood oozed from my skin, bathing the snow beneath me. I closed my eyes, sobbing and moaning from the pain, and then...

And then someone choked me. I couldn't move my arms to try to push away my attacker. That scared me so much. My eyes bulged out and the person tightened his hold around my neck, squeezing my windpipe with his thumbs. I was turning deathly white when the face became visible before my bloodshot eyes.

Roman.

I screamed and hit him as hard as I could, those amber eyes flashing daggers at me, his handsome face turning wild and deadly. His eyes glowed suddenly to a dark crimson, like blood. He began to laugh harshly and tightened his hands like a vise around my neck, making me choke and sputter as the my air started closing in.

Then everything went dark right before my eyes.

I woke up after that, tears running down my cheeks. There were tear-stains on my pillow. I sat bolt upright on the bed for an hour, staring blankly at the wall in front of me. Why did Roman show up in my nightmare? Why did he try to kill me in there? Could he be...

Could he be the one who murdered my family?

No, no. That couldn't possibly be the --

But nobody really knew who killed them, huh? Nobody saw who killed my family. Roman was the one who hated me the most in this house...he was the one who hoped that I stayed here only a little while, or none at all. He told me to stay away from him because he didn't want to see me. Why did he despise me so much?

I finally got up from my bed and went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and bathed absentmindedly. My mind was still on the second Van Allen male in this house. Could he really be the one?

Because if he was, I couldn't stand living here in one roof with the murderer of my family.

I changed to one of Georgie's hand-me-downs, and then I went to find her. I had to talk to someone in this house. I knocked on her door but there was no answer, so I opened it, thinking she was still asleep since it was only six in the morning.