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

-37-

"Weak?... you wanna see weak?" Roman fled the kitchen with a disturbing smile, rushing up the stairs. Olivia followed, racing behind him up the steps, her hand gently touching his back.

"Roman, where are you going- what are you doing?"

Roman pushed open the bathroom door with all his might - the handle banging into the wall; the knob stuck into the drywall. Roman paced, searching for something to end it all. Cocaine stopped working - marijuana relaxed him, but would eventually put him to sleep. He couldn't risk dreaming about Lyra - Roman had to end it once and for all.

He whipped back the medicine cabinet, the mirror jarring as it came open. He grabbed a straight razor; one he had used many times to self harm. He wasn't going to harm himself this time, no, he was going to finish the cause of his grief - Roman was going to kill his mother.

Roman pushed Olivia into the wall, pressing his forearm into her throat, forcing her to stay in her place. He stared into her eyes as he held the straight razor up to her face. Olivia smiled; seeing her lips turn only made Roman more angry.

"You think you're the first person to try and kill me? Think again." Olivia let out a small laugh.

Roman was unable to move; the razor was in his hand, but he was incapable of bringing it to her skin. He shook, trying to fight for control. This wasn't like what he and Lyra used to do - no amount of rage made him strong enough to fight back. "Face it, Roman... you're weak. That witch weakened you. You'll never be strong if you don't let go." Olivia encouraged.

"No... You. Don't. Win." Roman whispered. He pushed off the wall, slinking out of his blazer. He clenched his jaw tightly as tears began to swell in his eyes - he was about to do the unthinkable. He wiped the corners of his lips. Lyra's words sang in his mind - her last words: "Be strong." Roman was about be just that.

He dragged the razor up his forearm, moving along the track of his vein; blood spilling out of the deep wound instantly. He trailed the blade up his other arm, doing the same. Roman was going to die tonight. Dying was being strong. He could not foresee living in a world without Lyra. He refused to be controlled by his mother any longer - this was his only way out.

Roman fell to his knees; his back smacking against the wall with an audible 'thud.'

Olivia moved away from the wall; her heels clinking on the tile floor as she approached her dying son. She clicked her tongue, displeased. "Oh, Roman... To rise, the victim of your own hand. It is the way of our kind." Olivia kneeled before her son, gently stroking his cheek as he slumped to the floor. "There-there... this is what had to happen. This is what I've been pushing you for. Lyra, Peter, the baby... all for this. For you to reach your full potential."

Roman's body began to tremble; the realization sinking into his dying consciousness as he lay in the floor - helpless. Roman tried crawling away from his mother, the touch of the floor rubbing against his cuts, stinging; reminding him that he was still alive. His vision began to blur as his body went cold - numb.

When the darkness enveloped him, all he could think of was Lyra. This had been what she had experienced beneath those trees. They were now more alike in death than they had been in life.

After the darkness consumed him, Roman awoken with a keen sense. His mouth was dry, his head scattered. He watched as the blood on his body trailed up the walls, creating treelike patterns. He looked down at himself - assessing his attempt at suicide. He stared down at his arms confused; the wounds already healed and scarred. He stood, looking over to his mother bewildered.

"I always win, Roman... always." Olivia folded her arms, watching her magnificent son approach her in all his newfound glory.

Roman held her face in his hands, stroking her dark hair away from her cheeks. He gazed into his mother's eyes longingly - the first time ever had she felt her son's love through his stare. She gently rested her hand on his face, smiling.

"I'm so proud of you." She spoke. "You're so strong... just like me."

"No. I'm stronger." Roman trailed his hands through Olivia's hair, grasping tightly. He pulled her head back in a snap, sinking his teeth into her neck. Olivia fell to the floor, but Roman's teeth stayed sunk into her flesh as she struggled against the weight of his body. She tried pushing him away, but it was useless. Roman was now, indeed, strong than Olivia. He was a full bred monster - but he was finally out of his mother's control, which was what he had wanted all along.

Roman licked the blood off the corners of his mouth, slicing open the tip of his tongue from the sharpness of his canine teeth. It healed almost immediately. Roman smiled - for the first time in his life, he felt invincible.
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Roman sat on the rim of the tub; smoke billowing above his head as he made circles with his mouth, blowing rings into the air. Olivia lied dead at his feet; the blood from her throat had puddled around her.

He thought of what was to happen next - if he could convince Pryce to cover the murder, just as he had done the others for his mother. He would soon be running the Godfrey empire; Roman would be Johann Pryce's boss. With Olivia out of the picture, he would be making the demands.

A tall figure appeared in the doorway of the bathroom - Shelley stood motionless, her exposed eye wide and fearful.

"Hey." Roman said, taking a draw of his cigarette casually. Shelley's eye began to tear up; shaking her head as her bandaged hands began to tremble. "I had to do it. She was controlling me... us. Everything's gonna be okay now." Roman smiled, trying to comfort his sister.

Shelley's head continued to shake. He could hear her cries in her voice as she struggled to communicate. She reached for her phone; her hands unsteady as she tried to type. "They are going to take you away now." Shelley cried.

"No..." Roman cooed, shaking his head in denial as he stood from the bathtub rim, making his way to his sister. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll get Pryce to cover it up. It's just you and me now." Roman placed his hand on Shelley's shoulder.

She threw her phone to the floor; not hard enough to break, but enough to get Roman's attention. She covered her face in her hands, peeking through the small crack between her clasped hands to see her dead mother in the floor.

Roman wrapped his arms around her, pulling Shelley into a hug. "It's gonna be okay, I promise. You know what she did- she killed Lyra, she killed Anita and Jane Doe. Lyra was pregnant... with my baby. She took your niece or nephew away, do you understand me? She framed Peter - Peter's gone now." Roman pulled back, holding Shelley's shoulders; his eyes dancing along her face.

He looked stern - his demeanor cold and uninviting. Shelley could see something had changed within Roman; something dark and mysterious. She would never admit it, but Roman reminded her of their mother.

Shelley nodded, still loving her brother just as she had before he had killed their mother. Shelley knew that Roman was going to take the fall. He was going to be taken away - possibly in shackles. He had killed his mother nearly the same way the others had been murdered; which in turn would make authorities place blame on her older brother.

Shelley couldn't let that happen. The only people in Roman's corner were dead now; Shelley had failed at keeping their mother distracted - what Roman had asked her to do. It was the only thing Roman had asked of her. Peter had abandoned Roman in his time of need - Shelley was not about to let her brother take the fall.

"Come on, let's get some sleep." Roman said, guiding his sister out of the bathroom. He stepped over Olivia's body; even though she was dead, it didn't stop him from grimacing at the disgust he still felt for her.

A trail of bloody footprints led out of the bathroom and into Roman's bedroom as he led Shelley into his bed. He was her caretaker now - she was his responsibility. No longer would they be wedged apart due to Olivia's unexplained control she had over her children.

Roman tucked Shelley in, wiping the tears away. She was all he had now. "I love you... everything is going to okay now." Roman kissed Shelley's cheek before leaving the room.

He didn't want to sleep; he knew that Lyra would be waiting for him in his dreams. But at this point, anything was better than the insatiable thirst he had burning in his throat.