Rescue - Roman Godfrey

Chapter 2

I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock ringing. Groaning, I reach over and shut it off. It was too early in the morning and I felt exhausted. I sit in bed for a few more minutes before finally getting out of my warm sanctuary.

Quickly, I get ready for the day. I didn't know if I should wear something casual or fancy. It was the first day of school so I wanted to make a good impression. However, I didn't want to look over dressed. In the end, I decide on some jeans, flannel, and a beanie. It was something I wore often.

My dad had already left for work. Even though I was seventeen, I didn't have a car. I had my license, but we have never had enough money to afford a vehicle. I wasn't mad or upset because I knew I would get one eventually and walking wasn't so bad when the weather was nice.

I eat my breakfast which consisted of coffee and a stale granola bar that I found in the bottom of my backpack. I told myself that I would go to the grocery store later tonight to get my father and I some proper food. As much as I wanted to, we couldn't live off of pizza forever.

The birds were chirping and the sun had almost finished rising. Finding the school was easy, I just searched the address and put it in my phone. It was a decent sized school with a lot of areas to hang out outside. I grab my class schedule from my back pocket that my dad printed out for me. It was crinkly and the words were small. I huff, already feeling stressed and anxious.

"New student?" A guy questions as he approaches me. He has brown hair that falls past his ears and small beard. He was wearing a leather jacket with a cross body backpack hanging from his side.

I nod. "Yeah," I mumble, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Is it that easy to tell?"

He laughs, holding his hand out. "I'm Peter. I'm also new."

"Elsie," I say, shaking his hand. "Do you happen to know where Mrs. Peterson's class is? She teaches English."

"I'm not sure, but I have the same class," Peter replies with a smile. "C'mon, let's find it together."

"So, did you just move to Hemlock Grove?" I ask him as we start walking. I was happy that I wasn't the only new person here.

"No, I moved earlier this summer," Peter tells me as we go up some concrete stairs.

When we get up to the top, I notice the same man from yesterday in the red car. He is leaning against a stone wall, smoking a cigarette. He looks at us with an intense stare. We make eye contact and I look away. Peter glances over at him as well, but doesn't say anything.

"Do you like it?"

He shrugs. "It's alright, kinda quiet." We approach a girl with long brown hair with books pressed closed to her. "Hey Hemingway," Peter amusingly greets.

"Don't call me that," she mumbles, her face clearly upset.

Peter looks at me then back at her. "Uh, okay. I guess summer is over." He grabs my hand and gestures me along, "Let's go, Elsie."

I give a small smile to the young girl before following Peter into the school building. "Who was that?" I ask.

"Some freshman who showed up at my house one day," he replies. I raise my eyebrows at him. "She was just walking by, I guess. Claims I'm a werewolf."

"A werewolf?" I chuckle. That was something I had never even heard of. I can't believe a young freshman would make something like that up.

"Yeah, pretty crazy," he laughs. "I guess my fingers being the same length make me a supernatural creature."

We find our lockers. Luckily, they were close together. I put my backpack and some of my books away before meeting up with him again. We are laughing about a silly joke when a girl approaches from the end of the hall. Our eyes widen when we see her. She is very tall, probably seven feet. Her hands are wrapped in bandages and her black hair is covering her face as she looks down. A phone tied to a string is hanging from her neck.

As she walks past, a group of girls mimic her walk and laugh loudly. I grow angry because making fun of someone and bullying was horrible and something I did not tolerate.

"Bitches," I mutter under my breath. Peter agrees and we walk to our class that we eventually find. We take a seat next to each other and listen to the teacher go over the syllabus.

The day drags on. The school bell rings, signaling the end of the first day. It was long, but at least I made one friend. I had looked for Brooke, but she was nowhere to be found.

I shut my locker after grabbing my books and homework. I begin walking toward the doors when I am grabbed by the arm and spun around. The man from yesterday and the one who was leaning against the stone wall earlier this morning was in front of me. He had a very prominent facial structure and piercing green eyes. He was incredibly tall, practically looking down as he stared at me. He smelt like cigarettes and cologne.

"Hello," he said, his large hand still on my arm. "I'm Roman."

"Uh, nice to meet you," I awkwardly reply, moving away from him.

"This is the part where you tell me your name."

"I'm Elsie," I mumble and he smiles slightly. I begin walking down the hallway and he follows. I was tired and just wanted to go home. Whoever this Roman was, I didn't want to get involved with him, especially after what I saw yesterday.

"Can I ask you something?"

I shrug. "It depends."

"Why are you hanging out with that gypsy piece of shit?"

I stop walking and turn to face him. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Who? Peter?"

"Who else would I be talking about?"

"Why do you care?" I question. I had no idea who this guy was, but he was really starting to piss me off. Sighing, I continue home with Roman still trailing behind me. Can this guy not take a hint?

"Hey, don't walk away from me," I hear him grumble. "I asked you a question."

"Look, I don't know what you want or why you care that I am hanging out with Peter, but you need to back off."

Roman completely ignores what I said. "Why are you hanging out with him?"

"I just met him," I sigh, running my fingers through my hair. "I like him. He's nice. You got your answer, so can you please leave me alone?"

"Well, stop hanging out with him," Roman says. I turn around and face him. Now, I was really pissed off.

"You don't even know me!" I shout angrily. People turn to stare, so I lower my voice. "Don't tell me who I can and can't hang out with! Now, leave me alone."

"Elsie, wait-"

I don't listen to what he has to say. Luckily, he doesn't follow me this time. I continue on my journey home, frustrated and confused. Peter was a gypsy? What did that even mean? And why did Roman tell me to stay away from him? He didn't even know who I was and yet he had the audacity to tell me what to do.

I wasn't going to listen to Roman. I was going to hang out with Peter as much as I wanted to and there was nothing he could do or say to stop me.