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

-19-

Lyra had packed a bag and left in the middle of the night. She could feel her father's eyes on her through the window when she made it outside of the house.

She began walking, unsure of where to go. Upir's and werewolves were the least of her worries as she made her way down the winding road.

Lyra knew she couldn't go to Roman, not yet. She didn't have the heart to tell him the truth, that she was pregnant with his child - that part of their child would be that of a demonic spawn. Nor could she tell Roman that their feelings for one another had been falsely planted by her twisted father.

Their dreams were forced - their feelings not real.

She was scared of Roman's reaction; but most of all, she was scared of how he would feel about the growing fetus within her body.

Would he want her to get rid of it? Lyra didn't want to abort the child, but seeing as how it was the only way she knew to protect the baby from her father, it was all she could think to do.

Perhaps she could run away, have the child in secrecy and live out the rest of her days alone. Or perhaps she could abort the child and never speak of it to anyone - Roman would never know.

After walking for nearly an hour, Lyra came upon an old trailer; the lights from inside glowing through the blinds of the windows. She glanced at the mailbox, the name reading: Rumancek.

A relieved smile spread across her lips. She trailed down the steep gravel driveway, approaching the only safe haven she knew existed in the moment - Peter's house.

She knocked on the door, hearing movement inside. She expected to see Peter standing on the other side, only to be greeted by a free spirited looking lady with frizzy reddish brown curls.

"Can I help you?" The woman sucked the pads of her fingers, the smell of meat wafting in the air - she was cooking.

"Does Peter live here?" Lyra asked, knowing the answer.

"Who wants to know?" She smiled, wiping her hands on her dirty white apron.

"Lyra." She spoke, seeing Peter step into her line of sight behind the woman.

"It's fine." Peter nodded, gesturing the woman away from the door. She smiled, turning on her heels as she trailed back to the kitchen.

Peter stood shirtless, only wearing a pair of dark jeans with a belt keeping his pants in place. He held a beer in his right hand, leaning against the door frame of the trailer. "What do you want?"

"I need someone to talk to." Lyra swallowed.

"Isn't that what Roman's for?" Peter took a sip of beer, the smell of the malty drink churning Lyra's stomach.

"I can't tell Roman... it's about Roman." Lyra admitted. Peter stepped down from the trailer, causing Lyra to back up.

Peter closed the door behind him, crossing his arms as he waited for Lyra to continue.

"Something's happened. You know how Roman and I can't seem to stop-" She tried thinking of how to appropriately phrase it.

"Fucking each other?... yeah."

"My dad... he's been implanting dreams into our subconscious. We were just an experiment. The way Roman and I feel about each other... it's not real." Lyra buried her face in her hands, stifling her cries.

She felt Peter's arms wrap around her, the feeling unusual and unexpected. All this time she had thought Peter hated her, but in this moment, she felt he was scared for her.

"Hey, hey... look at me," Peter demanded. Lyra removed her hands from her face, looking into Peter's eyes. "I've seen the way Roman looks at you, you can't fake that." His words made Lyra smile. She hoped Roman saw it that way once he knew the truth.

"That's not all." Lyra sniffled, regaining her composure. "I'm pregnant."

Peter stepped back, his eyes wide and full of surprise. "Well, congratulations!" He smiled with a laugh, chugging his beer. "So Roman's gonna be a dad, huh. Shee-it..."

"No, I have to get rid of it. It's a monster, just like me. My dad... this was his plan. He wanted me to get pregnant. He wanted me to have Roman's child. An Upir and a succubus... he wants to experiment on it. I can't let him do that."

"So you found out what you are... a succubus, that's rough."

"I'm only half." Lyra corrected.

"Listen, you've gotta tell Roman. He'll find a way to protect it - to protect you. We both will."

"I have no where to go, Peter. I can't go back home. I can't tell Roman, not yet. Is there any way I could stay with you, just for tonight?" Lyra begged.

Peter looked up into the night's sky with a drawn out sigh.

As badly as he wanted to turn Lyra away, he knew he couldn't leave her alone outside, not with whatever it was lurking out there. Not to mention she was pregnant with his only friend's child. "Fine, but you have to tell Roman, I mean it. If you don't tell him, I will."

Lyra nodded, wrapping her arms around Peter's neck with excitement and relief. "Thank you. Thank you so much." She kissed his cheek, causing Peter to push her away with a grimace.

"Alright, that's enough." Peter wiped the small bit of saliva left behind on his cheek, making his way up the steps.

He opened the door, calling to the woman inside. "Mom! Lyra's gonna stay the night, you mind digging out those extra blankets?"

"Ah, sure, yeah - just gimme a second." Peter's mom said, rushing to pull dinner out of the oven.

She pulled the apron off of over her head, tossing it onto the counter before making her way down the hall. She emerged from the darkness soon, carrying two folded fleece blankets in her hands. She handed them to Peter, placing her hands on her hips, looking to Lyra.

"Lyra?" She asked. Lyra nodded, taking the blankets from Peter's hands. "I'm Lynda, nice to meet you. I've heard quite a bit about you." She winked.

"Nothing good, I'm sure." Lyra's eyes wavered to Peter, watching his expression change guiltily. "Thank you for letting me stay. I'll be out of your hair as soon as possible." Lyra promised.

Lynda nodded with a smirk, her eyes shifting to Peter. "I didn't say you could stay, you should be thanking Peter."

"Mom..." Peter butted, "She's pregnant, give her some slack."

Lynda silently did a "yikes" with her lower lip, looking to Lyra apologetically. "It's just been kinda crazy 'round here. This guy... he worries me. Especially when it comes to the people he runs around with." Lynda turned, going back into the kitchen.

"She talking about Roman?" Lyra whispered to Peter, her eyes remaining on Lynda's back through the passthrough.

"Yep." Peter stopped there, not willing to go any further on the subject. "Let me show you where you'll be sleeping." Peter started to walk toward the hall, only to be stopped by Lyra grabbing his forearm with a sheepish smile.

"Oh no, you're letting me stay here, I'll be sleeping on the couch."

"If Roman finds out that I made his pregnant girlfriend sleep on a dirty old couch, he'll kill me." Peter joked.

The phrase "girlfriend" pulled at Lyra's heart. She had never considered herself Roman's girlfriend; she never really wanted the title. But now that she was pregnant with his child, the title was wanted - not to mention that once he discovered his feelings aren't real, he may not want Lyra at all, nor the baby. The revelation only made Lyra want Roman that much more.

"Just remind Roman that I refused to sleep in your bed simply because it's not his." Lyra smiled weakly, moving toward the couch to make her own bed.

As much as Lyra looked forward to sleep, she dreaded what was to come the next day.