Distract and Sedate | Hemlock Grove |

Chapter 11 | Atrophy |

Olivia walks further in while Roman stares speechless. "I know you're a busy man," she says and leans on the back of the couch for assistance. "I'm so proud of you and your... entrepreneurial spirit, but you need to let Pryce do his work. It's important to us."

"Important to you," he corrects. "Had I known the budget was paying for your... your whatever this is." He motions to her living body. "I would have cut it a long time ago."

"Don't be a fool, Roman," she scolds him like a child. "Are you hungry?" She asks in an almost patronizing tone. "Or have you been eating?"

"I'm fine," he growls.

"You are hungry, aren't you? You think it's something you can control like a normal person. But you are not normal, Roman. That's why you went to Hawaii, and Bora Bora, and all that flying to Philadelphia, to ignore it. But you can't outrun it forever. You think you're smart, don't you? Going after the people no one will miss, feeding without killing anyone." Olivia walks close to his desk. "But bodies will eventually line up and point right to you. And the thirst will never stop."

Roman attempts to demand she leaves, but Olivia's voice stays strong in his silence. "We've spent centuries outrunning our victims- slaves to our appetite. Until now. Until I married us into the White Tower."

"At least you admit that you've fucked and finagled your way through the centuries."

"I did all for you Roman," she says to him softly. "You're my flesh and blood. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you."

"And what about Shelley?" He asks bitterly. "Have you even thought about her?"

"Of course I have! You think I haven't grieved?"

"And what about me?" He continues. "The things you made me do. The things you wanted me to do."

"It was the only way for you progress."

"I don't want to progress. I want to be human."

"You'll never be," she chuckles. "You're my son."

"I would do anything not to be."

- Philadelphia -

Emma desperately wishes she could point to a single trigger or thought that caused this reaction, but she can't. It's a sudden downpour that flooded the basement and had breeched over the porch before she noticed. It was too late.

Maybe it was the overwhelming task of filling out her planner for the semester. Chem II, Bio II, Calculus, and somehow the most daunting of all- American Folklore. The pages and dates fill up quickly with notes of due dates and tests. She should probably start looking at extracurriculars too. A whole semester had come and gone wasted.

Dr. Lowenstien is the only professor that notices her missing from class. Her other classes were in large lecture halls where taking attendance was nearly impossible. He emails her asking if she's sick and she lies and says yes. There's nothing wrong with her physically except everything hurts and she's too tired to move.

She calls Roman that morning but he doesn't answer. When an hour passes she panics and calls his secretary. He notifies her he's busy with meetings but that he would be happy to take a message. She feels silly after hanging up- of course, he was busy. It was the middle of the day.

With no one else left to call she turns to her computer for a distraction. Putting on a TV show she's watched a million times, she stares at it and tries to pay attention. Fading in and out of sleep, her rest is plagued with dreams. She's back in the room with the intense energy that radiates with Roman's stare. Then she wakes up and checks her phone, hoping to see a missed text. There is nothing.