You slowly turned to close the door in front of you, keeping your back to Vicrul. Taking the deepest breath you could possible take, you turned, looking up at the one person you couldn't bear to hurt.
"Vic..." you whispered, taking in his round, glassy eyes and quivering lip. He already knew...
Before you could think of what to say next, Vic had wrapped his arms around you, holding you impossibly close and burying his face in your shoulder. You had only ever seen his cry twice; when Genevieve had passed and when his very first girlfriend, Elizabeth, broke his heart. Outside of those two instances, he was either stone-faced, or had the goofiest grin you could possibly think of plastered on his cheeks.
"I'm so sorry...," you whispered, rubbing his back and holding him tighter, "I was going to come get you, but then it was too late...," another hiccup shaking your chest, attempting to keep more tears from falling. You had to keep yourself together for Vic. If you lost your composure now, he would lose his tenfold.
"It's okay," Vic sighed, sniffling as your name tumbled from his lips, getting muffled in the fabric of your scrub top, "You were here, that's all that matters to me." He began to loosen his embrace on you, pressing a gentle kiss to your temple as he stood to his full height. His eyes were still glassy, a stray tear sliding down his cheek, the light that normally danced in his irises now extinguished.
He looks like a small, frightened boy; the same way he looked when our mother died..., you thought.
You took his giant hand in yours, feeling the familiarity of his warmth seep into your bones. Squeezing it gently, you knew you didn't have to think of any combination of words to spout off to him about how much he meant to you, or how you would never leave his side, no matter what; he simply knew. You felt his other hand come up quickly to ruffle your hair, something Vic always did when you were 'being a sap', as he lovingly explained.
"Come on, I'm sure there's a wine cellar or liquor storage in this godforsaken hell hole we can raid." Vic said, nudging you in the ribs with his elbow, eliciting a giggle from you. You rolled your eyes as you followed him back through the labyrinth-like hallways of the mansion, eventually finding yourselves in the kitchen, the butler from before quietly washing dishes in the corner.
"Hey, Skeeves, do you happen to know if there's any liquor in this joint?" Vicrul said, peeking into the cabinets beside the refrigerator. You simply shook your head, placing your forehead in your hand.
"Vic, just because he happens to be a butler, does not give you the right to call him Skeeves!" you yelled, slapping his arm as he stood beside you once again. Vicrul flinched, rubbing the part of his bicep you slapped, giggling the entire time.
"Ms., Sir Vicrul is not taunting or name-calling. My name is actually Skeeves." The butler said, draining the water from the sink basin and drying his hands, giving you a polite smile as he turned to face you both. You looked up at Vic, his response only to be to stick his tongue out at you childishly.
"To answer your question, the bar cart with whiskey and merlot has been placed in the formal dining room. The rest of the Knights are enjoying a glass as we speak." Skeeves stated, the booming conversation from earlier had morphed into what sounded like alcohol fueled karaoke. You and Vicrul could only stare at each other with wide eyes, both knowing that this can end only one of two ways; either on an upswing, or in holes punched through drywall.
"Well," you said, sighing and crossing your arms over your chest, "if you can't beat them, join them." Vicrul shrugged, speeding past you and through the door to get to the bar cart before you. Before you could cross the threshold of the door, you heard a drink being poured and Ushar's obnoxious yelling.
"VICCYYYYYYYYY, it's about time you showed up! Where's your hot sister at? I wanna show her my movessssssss!" Ushar boomed, the rustling from inside the room clued you in that he was doing some dance moves nobody was sober enough to witness. You saw Vic roll his eyes, downing his partially filled glass of whiskey and beginning to pour another. Before he could speak, you rounded the corner, rolling your eyes once you saw an almost blackout drunk Ushar doing a horribly sloppy rendition of the 'Robot'.
"Stop while you're ahead, sweetie." You said with a smile, after finally get your hands on a glass of wine. Though it wasn't the best glass of wine you'd ever had, it was alcohol so you weren't one to complain. Taking a seat next to the least rambunctious man in the group, a green eyed, brunette with tattoos sprawling the lengths of both muscular arms, you were surprised to find your raven-haired savior from earlier missing in action. You couldn't help the fall of your smile before you took another sip.
Snap out of it! You never even knew this man existed before today and now you're searching the room for him? Get your shit together!, you thought to yourself.
You polished off the rest of your glass of wine, feeling your face begin to flush from the consumption of the rich alcohol. Once again, you looked around until you found Vicrul, leaning against the wall, deep in thought as the rest of his comrades hooped and hollered. You could sense his reservation about being in the mansion now that your Uncle had finally passed, you felt the same way and had since before you set foot on the exuberant grounds.
The small party was quickly interrupted by the arrival of the arranged funeral home director, coming to collect the stiff, cooling body. In the blink of an eye, the energy in the room had shifted, a silence filling the large space between you and the handful of men.
The ringing of your cellphone pulled you out of your thoughts, quickly fishing the device from your scrub pocket.
Perkins is calling...
"Fuck," you whispered, standing from your seat. Vicrul's eyes followed you, raising an eyebrow as to why work would be calling at this ungodly hour while you were supposed to be mourning.
"Excuse me for a moment, I have to take this." You said, picking up the call and stepping out into the hallway you had first entered through.
"Doctor Perkins, is everything alright?" attempting to sound relaxed, you had begun to chew at your lip again, a nervous habit you REALLY needed to break. You leaned up against one of the walls in the formal sitting room, trying to keep your voice down.
"Yes, everything is fine. I didn't see you before you left and wanted to call in and check on you. You never make a hasty exit, I figured something must have been going on." Perkins' voice ringing through ear.
When you had first started at this hospital, you had caught Perkins' eye, even though you were sure you were closer in age to his oldest son than you were to him. Once you had finally finished your internship at the hospital, Perkins had all but harassed you into letting him take you out to dinner. Had he not been such a sleezeball, attempting to feel you up in the middle of a crowded restaurant, you might have actually considered being somewhat decent towards him. But after digging your stiletto heel into the toe of his expensive dress shoes after he groped your breast while you waited for a cab, you were more than giddy to show him how much of a raging bitch you could be.
"Um, yeah, I guess. Just some...family stuff. I won't be available the next few days though, while we're taking care of things, but I will be back Monday." You stated, looking up at some expansive portrait of Snoke hanging over the fireplace.
Men are self-absorbed pricks.
"Oh, okay. I guess I'll see you around then." He said, sounding defeated. Catch a fucking hint, dude.
"Bye." You stated, ending the phone call as soon as you possibly could. It wasn't until you had sat down on one of the horribly uncomfortable couches that you realized exactly how exhausted you were, your limbs feeling as if they had been molded out of hardening cement. Your temples pounded with a headache that you could only blame on the sleep deprivation and the glass of wine. If you didn't go to sleep soon, you knew you would be useless in the meeting with the funeral director about preparations tomorrow afternoon.
Maybe I can steal fifteen minutes away from the commotion..., you thought, fighting a losing battle with a yawn.
"Tired already, Princess? I thought the party just started." a slow, deep voice sounded throughout the sitting room, nearly sending you into a frenzy.
You snapped your eyes up to find Kylo leaning up against the fireplace beside you, making you jump. He gave you a sexy half smile that gave you heart palpitations, his beautifully warm brown eyes roaming over your face, gauging how well you were taking his taunts.
"No, I'm not tired. Besides, you don't look like the partying type..." you snapped, hoping to have hit a nerve. His smile only grew.
Kylo stood up fully, only breaking eye contact with you to look back at the door. You felt small, almost like a little girl again. A blush crept up your chest, neck and cheeks as he stood in front of you, his hips nearly at your eye level, looking down at you with a devilish grin still plastered on his face.
You stood abruptly, attempting to collect yourself.
"By the way, my name isn't Princess." you barked at him, attempting to step around him. Almost as soon as your back had turned from him, his hand closed around your wrist, wrenching you to his chest, so close you could smell the whiskey on his breath. You could feel your heart hammering against your ribcage at an alarming rate, your respiratory rate increasing drastically from the closeness. A hum drew out of Kylo's chest, setting a fire deep in your core.
"Not yet, it isn't," He whispered into your ear, feeling his breath on the shell of your ear, sending a shiver down your spine, "But I plan on changing that soon." Kylo pulled back just enough to look into your eyes, intensifying the blush on your cheeks, feeling as if he was staring into your naked soul.
Holy fucking shit...
Just as you were about to pull away, Kylo released his grip on you, giving you another smile before leaving the room all together. As you watched him walk away, you attempted to calm yourself down.
"What the fuck just happened?" you whispered to no one other than yourself. Shaking the explicit thoughts from your head, you weaved out of the sitting room and into the hallway, hearing that the men in the dining room had begun conversing again. As you approached the threshold, you listened in, staying as quiet as you possibly could.
"...swear to Christ, if Dameron doesn't keep his nose out of our business, he's gonna have a metric fuck ton of hell to pay...This deal with Kellwood HAS to go perfectly or we're all gonna end up either in the clink or six feet under." Kylo said, having done a complete one-eighty from how he sounded in the sitting room. You bit your lip, being unable to ignore how hot he sounded, even when slightly perturbed.
"And just saying, none of you would look good in orange or beige. It would wash all of you out." Ushar stated, you imagined him pointing around to look at every man in the room by the sassy tone of his voice. A chorus of deep groans and taunts were thrown in Ushar's general direction, almost causing you to laugh out loud.
"Remember, next Friday is the money drop. If that goes off without a hook, the deal is sealed. If not, every single one of you are getting your shit kicked in. This is my empire now. DO NOT FUCK IT UP!" Kylo's scream shook the walls, nearly sending you into a panic attack from the sheer intensity of it.
Money drop? His empire? What is the hell is he talking about?
You pushed yourself off the wall, slowly walking into the dining room. All heads snapped in your direction, the tension in the room nearly palpable. Your eyes found Vic's, round and pleading for you to leave the room as soon as possible. Spotting your backpack, you bent down to grab it, looping your arms through it and situating it on your back.
"I'm going to turn in for the night. Goodnight, everyone..." you said, your voice almost as small and quiet as you felt. They all nodded and murmured 'goodnights' as you turned to walk out into the hallway again.
"Goodnight, Princess..." Kylo's voice trailed out into the hallway, the blush that had since receded now flooded your cheeks in full force. His tone was deep and sexy, drawing lust-filled pictures in your mind. Heat flooded you completely, bringing life to a side of you that you had attempted to subdue. Silently, you raced through the hallway, trying to put as much space between you and Kylo as possible in this impossibly large home.
Horny bastard...
After a moment of trekking through the elaborate hallways, you came to a stop in front of your old bedroom, a room you never thought you would ever have to see after your hasty move from the mansion. Pushing open the heavy door, you were met with the same four walls and same four poster bed.
It was as if you had stepped back in time, the white comforter on your bed still turned down as if you were going to hop into it at any moment. The small desk in the corner of the room still scattered with letters from universities and medical schools from all over the country. You swore you could hear your heart shatter into a million miniscule shards when your eyed traveled to the picture frame facing you, two smiles you hadn't seen in decades. Your father and mother, dressed in their finest clothes, dancing and laughing as if they didn't have a care in the world.
Tears stung your eyes as you picked up the picture, seeing how it had yellowed over the years. You wished, so much that it almost hurt, that you could remember this side of your parents. Remember their love for each other and their family, remember their laughs or their hugs. Your breath caught in your throat, tears streaming down your cheeks. But you would never have that again.
Never hear your mother sing you and Vic to sleep when you swore you weren't tired, or running around the house because your father was playing a ferocious monster that loved to eat the pinky fingers of spoiled rotten children. Never have your father give you away on your wedding day, or see your mother's reaction when you would tell her that she was going to be a grandmother.
Dreaming of what could have been won't put you to sleep any faster, you snapped.
You quickly wiped your tears, setting down the picture frame and pulling your backpack off of your aching shoulders. Rummaging through the overpacked bag, you came across some comfy sleep clothes you normally had packed for the hospital when you would sleep there. Quickly tearing off your scrubs and hastily tugging on your pajamas, it seemed as if you couldn't get into your bed fast enough, simply wanting to sleep.
Finally, you climbed into your bed, resting your head against the down feather pillows. Your entire body felt as if it were a livewire, buzzing with energy that you did not have the reserves for. Sighing, you rolled onto your side, staring at the wall like it was the most interesting thing you had ever seen since that horrible case of necrotizing fasciitis you had seen in the Emergency Department as an intern.
It seemed like hours of tossing and turning before you could no longer support your heavy eyelids, consciousness weening and wading.
"Sweet dreams, Princess...", a voice that sounded as smooth as honey on the tip of your tongue, the warmth of it spreading through you like the strongest shot of top shelf whiskey. It felt as if someone had brushed a strand of hair from your face, brushing the tips of their fingers against your cheek in a gentle caress, causing you to nuzzle your face deeper into the pillow you cradled close. All at once, a dreamless sleep swallowed you whole.