𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐎𝐍 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄, roman godfrey

ROMAN I

Roman had blue green eyes that didn't smile when his mouth did.

*:･ﾟ ✧

Roman took the last pill from the bag he kept behind a secret door in his closet. He embraced the euphoric feeling it gave him, and at the same time hated himself. Not for being addicted, he has known addiction from a very young age. The thing he truly hated was who he had to go to for it. Oscar Crawford earned the "craw" in his name. He was like a scarecrow: managed to creep him out by only looking into his eyes.

His mother had always told him not to cross paths with this family, but of course he didn't listen. Every twice a month, he went to the Crawford house and listened to Oscar feeding him bullshit. Some people said that the reason why he dropped out of highschool and chose to be an autodidact was his precarious mental health. He didn't know him that well, but one thing was clear: the boy was clever. However, there was a significant difference between being clever and being wise. And he was going to take advantage of that, especially because he couldn't control him as he could do with other people; it was frustrating, really. The only two people she knew he couldn't get to obey were Oscar and his sister Elane.

When they were angry, glass shattered around them. And then there was Tatiana Crawford, the smart girl who graduated last year at the age of sixteen with the highest grade. She was brave as well. She had to be, to survive the life she's lived. The rumors alone gave him chills down his spine. People kept whispering about the way Dean Crawford was treating his children, especially Tatiana, who he had heard the man would take out his rage on everytime he liked.

People liked to call the Crawfords the lions of Hemlock Grove. If that was true, Tatiana roared the loudest of all three. He admired her, much to his own wonder. She tried to blow up his car in junior year, but he admired her.

There he was again, knocking on the Crawfords' door, giving them easy money for some opiate he became addicted to. Tatiana answered after a few minutes that seemed like an eternity to him.

"Can I help you?" She said, while holding a tea cup in her left hand, her right one hidden at her back. He wouldn't be surprised if she was hiding a gun, waiting for the perfect moment to end his life.

"Is Oscar home? I need to talk to him." He tried to sound as casual as he could.

"You're Roman Godfrey, right?"

"Yes. But I think tou already knew that." When he said that, a shadow of a satisfied smile appeared on her face. "Sorry about the car incident." Bullshit. She enjoyed it.
"You're not sorry, are you?"
She shook her head.

"Well, come on in. Oscar is working, but you can wait for him inside."

His gaze fell on the many stuffed wild animals that decorated every corner of the living room. That's what Oscar worked. Taxidermy. He seated himself on a chair across from Tatiana, who was taking small sips of her tea. She may have wanted to seem like she was waiting with him out of politeness, but he knew better. She didn't want to leave him alone, most likely afraid he would snoop around their stuff, maybe digging out some old family secrets she didn't want the outsiders to know.

He was alerted by Elane descending the stairs and taking a seat next to her sister.

"What's up?" She asked cheerfully, but he could hear the smirk in her voice after what happened the day before.
"I'm waiting for Oscar. There are some things I want to discuss with him about."

"Like what?" Elane said and Tatiana took a sip of her tea. Before he could say anything, the older sister spoke.

"Oh, I'm being a bad host. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Wine, perhaps?" And lowering her voice, she added. "Or maybe some opiates? We got some new ones recently. Thought you, uh... Thought you might be interested."

Taken by surprise, he muttered a "No, I'm good."

He allowed himself a few seconds to study both the girls without staring for too long. Elane had a wild kind of beauty. Her dark eyes and pale freckled skin gave her an exquisite appearance. But no matter how bright a candle might burn, it was no match for the rising sun. Tatiana had the look of a warrior and in her hair there were already a few thin strands of silver, barely noticeable.

Oscar came into the room faster than he expected, and his sisters got up from the table, leaving him alone with the Crawford boy - well, actually the Crawford man. He was twenty, yet he looked younger than himself, who was barely seventeen. He had the same blue eyes as Tatiana, only his were .

"Hello, Roman." He said in his usual voice that gave him chills, a confident smile on his face. "I guess you're here for your, uh.. guilty pleasure, as i like to call it."

Awkward silence was present in the room, as the older man took out a set of pills from a bag he brought with him. He looked at him, his hands steadily working on packing his drug, like it was a child's toy.

"Do you know why I dropped out of highschool, Roman?" He looked up at the man, and answered with an honesty that shocked both of them.

"Humor me." There was no point in lying to this man or telling him your opinions and your thoughts, he would always manage to inflict his own views and make you think the way he wants you to think.

The thing that really made him uncomfortable around Oscar was the twisted way he manipulated people using his eyes and his words. Letha has kept telling him how kind and amazing he was, but all he could see was a schemer who knew his tricks.

"They called me a deranged psychopath, the mad lion of Hemlock Grove, the moment they found out i do taxidermy." He smiled bitterly.
Not only the taxidermy. Roman said to himself.
"Yeah, they told you you're crazy a bunch of times." He said, thinking of how they called him the future of this country and the heir of the dragon in his face and whispered spoiled prick behind his back.
"But you know what? You could fuck them and get on with your life. Yet you don't. And let me tell you why. You're afraid to live outside this cabin of yours, that I must add, it really needs redecorating." Roman was left impressed at the way he just spoke.

He thought he saw a glimpse of pride in the raven haired man's eyes, but it was gone in a blink of an eye.
"Tell me, Roman. What right do you have to judge me? I'm human, as are you." He leaned in and his voice became a whisper.

"Don't pretend to know what I'm going through. Listen, I'm gonna tell you one thing, but if you ever say it again I'll deny it. You're not the only one who I'm supplying. Drugs can take away a life. They did take away mine, in some ways. If I were you, I'd run."

*:･ﾟ ✧

DEDICATION

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