Vanity

two

I wanna fuck you like an animal, I wanna feel your insides,
you keep me closer to God
- Asking Alexandria

It was the end of the school day, finally. All Rue hoped was that she could get out of the school grounds without another stop from the prince of Hemlock and make it safely to her own house but nevertheless that was not possible as a red Jaguar XK 150 rolled up in front of her and there sat Roman. 

Rue took his silent glances as a means to get in his car but she didn't, instead, she stood stiff as a board as she gazed at the top of the car rather than at him. "I'll give you a lift home," said Roman after a long and painful minute of silence. 

Rue glanced at him before looking at the long road ahead of her. She knew it was a bad idea but she couldn't stop herself from circling the front of the car before climbing into it, sitting hunched up as if trying to protect herself from his gaze. She didn't even reach for the seat belt. 

"So, where did you go?" He asked, breaking the silence as he drove. His eyes trained on the road in front of him as he patiently waited for her response. 

"We went to England first, dad didn't like it all that much there so we moved to Australia. We lived there for most of our years before Junior rang us, saying something bad had happened in Hemlock that needed my dads attention as soon as possible," she answered, her voice quiet as she remembered the hectic way her dad had been packing when she walked into his room. Her mother had sat on the bed quietly staring at her father. 

"What was the problem then?" Roman asked, breaking her from her reverie. He glanced from the road to see her frowning at the dash board, her finger tracing a patter on her black jeans. 

Rue didn't answer, her mind still on her father and the state he had let himself come. Her family could only watch as he wore himself out, drugs, alcohol and women that were not his wife. She had even overheard her parents argue when he had brought home a woman who was willing to have a threesome. 

Roman looked at her again and saw how her eyes had clouded over with tears, she looked as if she was made of glass. His fists tightened around the steering wheel, his teeth gritting as he watched her face drop before he let out a breath. "So, where do you actually live?" He asked, breaking the tension. 

Rue blinked, looking away from the window ad towards Roman who still stared forwards. "Uh, at the end of this road go left, it's just at the end. You can't miss it," she tried to joke but her voice was too quiet. 

Roman followed her instructions, chuckling when he saw the house she now lived in. "Bigger and better than the last one," he scoffed. "Why didn't you go back to that one?" He asked as he pulled up outside of her house. 

Rue let a smile break out onto her face. "Well, dad was polite enough to not kick out the current family that lives there," she said, opening the door. "Thank you, Roman," she said, her voice considerably softer. 

Roman let a small smile on his face, nodding his head. "Anytime," he muttered as she climbed out the car. His eyes were only on her until she walked through the front door before he sped off back down the road, his thoughts on her.

-

Rue sighed as she gently placed her school bag on the glass table, the house was quiet, as usual. She looked around the spacious kitchen and groaned. It felt empty and fake. Her mum and dad weren't even talking, they only stayed together because of Rue and she hated that. She was nineteen years old, she could handle her parents splitting up better than them not talking to each other. 

With that in mind, she grabbed her bag again, not caring that her school stuff was still in and stomped back out of the house. Hemlock Grove was surrounded by two things, water and the woods so she had places to go. Quiet places. She set off on the path leading to the back of her house and into the woods, the trail was small but it was beautiful. 

The way the window rustled the trees, the crunching of the twigs and leaves on the floor made her release a breath of fresh air for the first time since coming back. She could feel the knots in her back from being tense since she's been in Hemlock Grove and hated it. She hated the feelings that the small town gave her, she never liked it.

She saw a large rock in the middle of the woods, the grounds clear around it making it look lonely. Rue smiled as she saw it and ran over to it, wanting to claim it as her own. The rock was oddly warm, it was cold outside to the point where she was shivering slightly but the rock seemed to have easily warmed her up. 

She stayed on the rock until late in the night, simply enjoying the nature as the day shifted to night. She heard the snapping of twigs and looked to her right, spotting a doe caught in between two trees, branches blocking its way. She slowly moved her way to the frail animal, lowering herself as not to scare it as she neared. 

Slowly she peeled away the branches, her eyes on the doe as it hesitantly moved forwards, pressing her muzzle against Rue's arm. The wetness of the muzzle made the teen smile as she moved out of the way of the doe, watching as his galloped off into the distance. 

"You have a way with animals?" A hoarse voice asked. Rue screamed, not expecting anybody else to be out in the woods so late in the night. "Whoa, sorry," the man said as she whirled around, her eyes wide in fright. 

The male in front of her stood still, his arms raised as he regarded her with concern. She let out a breath, her eyes scanning him as she tried to calm her racing heart. "Why are you here?" Was the first thing she asked before she shook her head. "Never mind, stupid question," she said spotting the trailer a few yards away from them. 

The guy chuckled, brushing his hair from his face as he looked at her. "I'm Peter Romancek," he said, walking closer to her until they were a foot apart. "You?"

Rue stared at him for a moment, narrowing her eyes. There was something about him that rubbed her the wrong way. She knew from first glance that he was a gypsy, by the rings and the clothing, the trailer. Everything about him screamed gypsy but that wasn't what got to her. "What are you?" She whispered before slamming a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. 

Peter's eyes widened too, stepping back in shock as he quickly looked her up and down. The he snapped, shoving her against a tree with his fingers wrapped tightly around her throat. "Who are you? What do you want from me?" He all but snarled in her face, his eyes expressing anger and panic.

Rue felt panic rise in her, her arms and legs kicking wildly as she stared into his eyes. She didn't know what made her ask that, she hadn't meant to. She felt confused, fazed... She could feel herself becoming unconscious. In hopes of him understanding, she tapped his arm three times and luckily he let her go, letting her drop to the floor. 

She heaved a big breath in, her eyes on the floor as she tried to register that this guy nearly killed her. "I-i-i." She couldn't speak.She tensed when she felt a soft touch on her arm and looked up to see Peter staring at her, still tense but slightly sorry. "I don't know," she whispered, pushing herself up and away from him. "I don't know," she repeated before running up the small trail and away from Peter.