Letha noticed the way Eclipse was looking at the new kid and nudged Eclipse lightly causing Eclipse to look at her in confusion. "I don't think Roman would appreciate to find out that you were looking at the new boy with oogly eyes."
"I was not. Besides how would Roman find out that I was looking at the new boy, if he's not even in this class," Eclipse asked.
"All Roman has to do is wink at one of these girls, offer them a good time in exchange for information that took place in this class between you and the new boy," Letha reminded Eclipse.
"Damn it. I forgot that we attend a school with a bunch of whores who would drop to their knees, just to have a chance with Roman Godfrey," Eclipse said causing Letha to giggle a little bit.
"You and I both know that they would do more than trop to their knees," Letha said gaining the attention of their history teacher.
"Ms. Godfrey and Ms. Godfrey is there something more important that the two of you would like to share with the class, that maybe, dare I say it more important than history," Mrs. Tims asked.
"Sorry Mrs. Tims. I promise that we won't interrupt the lesson again," Letha said.
"I would hope not. Another outburst from the two of you, and I will be forced to separate you two for the remainder of the school year. And school has only just begun. So please don't be so quick to disappoint me today. Lord knows that at some point throughout the day, I will have Mr. Godfrey in my class to do that," Mrs. Tims said while rolling her eyes at the mention of Roman's name.
Letha raised her hand to get Mrs. Tims attention. "Yes Ms. Godfrey?"
"Not to sound rude, but I'm sure Roman will be on his best behavior today," Letha said.
"Please don't lie to me and get my hopes up with that. I don't want to go and expect too much from Roman. I'll be impressed if he makes it to my class and remains until the end without feeling the urge to leave halfway through, to do whatever it is that he does for the last half of the period," Mrs. Tims said before returning to the lesson.
Throughout the lesson, Peter kept sneaking glances at Eclipse thinking of how he was going to get her all alone that way he could speak to her. Peter didn't want to run the risk of speaking to Eclipse in front of the Godfrey girl, because he knew that there was a chance that she would go running to Roman letting him now that she saw Peter hanging around with Eclipse. That would be too much of a risk, and he didn't want Eclipse to be the one who paid the price for his idea.
Peter shook his head to clear his thoughts and pay attention to the last bit of the lecture before the bell rang, releasing everyone to their next class.
As Eclipse and the other girl passed, he heard the other girl speak up. "Do you think the new boy will be in class with us again?"
"I don't know. Why do you ask," Eclipse asked.
"Because if he is in class and Roman is in the same class as us, and he catches the new guy staring at you, Roman is not going to be pleased about that. You know Roman might even go as far as to pick a fight with the new guy," Letha said.
"Then we do our best to keep Roman away from the new guy. Then we have one less problem to worry about," Eclipse said.
"And what about when they are in class together that neither of us have with them," Letha asked.
Eclipse gave Letha a look. "Do you honestly expect Roman to sit through an entire lecture all on his own? He will find an excuse to get up and leave. Or he may use his normal excuse he has to go to the bathroom excuse and go fuck a random girl in the girls bathroom like he always does until the end of the period."
"You have a point. Only time I have ever seen Roman sit through an entire lecture and turn down fucking a girl in the bathroom, is when he has a class with you. Then he seems to want to hang around and learn something," Letha said.
"He only hangs around, because I refuse to leave to the bathroom to fuck him," Eclipse said before walking out of the class leaving Letha behind. Letha turned back and made her way back to the desk that Peter was sitting at.
"Hey new boy. I couldn't help but notice the way that you were looking at my friend, Eclipse. You have a crush on her," Letha asked.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but why would I go and tell a Godfrey my business," Peter asked.
"Fair enough. Only I'm nothing like Roman," Letha said.
"How is that possible? Isn't he your brother or something," Peter asked causing Letha to laugh. "What's so funny?"
"The fact that you think Roman is my brother. To answer your question, no Roman, not my brother. He's my cousin. I'm Letha. Now, do you feel safe answering my question." Letha asked.
"How can I be sure that you won't go and say something to your cousin," Peter asked.
"Because Roman can be a bit overprotective at times. It also gets to the point where he gets a bit too controlling; especially where Eclipse is concerned. He barely gives her any freedom to do anything on her own. If you are interested in my friend Eclipse, maybe I can help arrange some time for the two of you to meet without Roman finding out about it," Letha suggested.
"And how do you plan to pull that off? It seems that no matter where Eclipse goes, Roman is never that far behind her," Peter said.
"You leave distracting Roman to me. I will take care of Roman. Meet me in the library for lunch, and I'll be able to give you all the details that you need to know. But we can't make it obvious that we are talking about you meeting up with my friend, Eclipse. There is a possibility that someone could overhear, and they would go running back to Roman and say something to him about it," Letha said.
"Alright. I'll meet you in the library," Peter said as he and Letha walked out of the classroom. Peter stood there watching as Letha walked away.
Letha ran down the hall catching up to Eclipse, only to find that she wasn't alone.
"I seen that Gypsy boy walking into your history class. You didn't speak to him, did you," Roman interrogated Eclipse. "Don't bother lying to me about it either precious, because I have plenty of people that I could ask. And they won't dare dream about lying to me to spare the gypsy boy from being punished. If I find out you are trying to protect him, I will make you pay for it."
"I can assure you I didn't say a word to Peter. I still have the promise you made very clear in my head," Eclipse said.
"Roman leave Eclipse alone. I can tell you that she isn't lying to you when she says that she didn't say anything to the new kid. We were busy paying attention in Mrs. Tims history class. Is there a problem with Eclipse and I trying to get good grades, so we can make something of ourselves when we're finished in high school," Letha asked.
"Eclipse doesn't need to worry about getting good grades. She will be taken care of. I have every intention of keeping Eclipse as a stay a home wife," Roman said.
"Roman, you can't keep Eclipse away from the rest of the world. Eclipse needs to be around friends," Letha said.
"Letha, I won't run the risk of Eclipse running off with that gypsy boy. He's already trying to poison her mind against me. Before he got here, she was content with the life that I had given her before," Roman said.
"Roman, Eclipse isn't content with the life that she is living with you. Eclipse is afraid of being beaten for speaking up. She's afraid of Olivia speaking down to her. The way that your mother speaks to her is not healthy. Olivia is always looking for a way to talk down to Eclipse. It's not good, nor is it fair that Olivia is continuously insulting Eclipse," Letha explained.
"Eclipse is not your concern. So, you will do your best to mind your damn business. If you try and say anything that may concern Eclipse's wellbeing, I will personally see to it that you will never get to hang out with Eclipse without me around again. Are we clear on that," Roman asked.
"Yes Roman," Letha said before Roman walked away to his class with Eclipse following behind him.
Olivia was sitting in the living room sipping wine, when she heard someone knocking on the front door.
Who in the hell could be knocking on my door at this time of day? I didn't order anything; and I know it's not one of Roman's little friends. They're all at school at the moment. If this is some sick prank being pulled by the kids, then I'm going to be beyond pissed, Olivia thought as she got up off the couch, making her way to the front door.
Olivia opened the door and was shocked by the sight of the Sheriff standing in her doorway. "Sheriff Sworn. To what do I owe the occasion of you stopping by my house again?"
"Well, we have received a phone call that you have been talking down to one of your 'children.' And it has been brought to several people's attention how she acts. Even teachers at school have been noticing how she acts or doesn't have much interaction with other students. And she also seems to appear fearful of speaking out of turn."
"Yes well, Shelley has always had a bit of a hard time making friends at school, all because she is different from all the other students who attend Hemlock Groves High school. That and it's only the first day back, so naturally she's going to be shy with freshmen running around the school. But if it will rest your mind, then I will be sure to have a talk with Shelley when she gets home from school, and let her know that she can speak to the freshmen and try to make friends with them," Olivia said before making an attempt to close the front door, only to have the sheriff stop her from closing it. Olivia grew annoyed by the Sheriff's actions. "What now Sheriff? This is the only alone time that I get while all three of my children are in school, and I don't have to be in the office today. I don't want to waste my morning standing here talking to you."
"Well, that's just too damn bad Mrs. Godfrey, because that's exactly what's gonna happen. Or I should be saying that you are gonna stand here and listen to exactly what I have to say. There have been several phone calls to my station now over the past several years. And every time I had to come to your residence to do a wellness check on one of your kids. Again, the same pattern is occurring. Several phone calls to my station worried about Eclipse's wellbeing in your care. Some of those phone calls came from the school, from teachers saying they have witnessed the encounter between your son and the girl that you call your daughter. They say the way that he has been treating her in the halls today has them believing that your son forces Eclipse to do things that she doesn't want to. And the feel that she is in danger being around him," Sheriff Sworn explained.
"What?!? That is impossible! My son doesn't lay a hand on Eclipse. Yes he chases unworthy males away from her, but Roman has always been highly protective of his family. And you're telling me that a teacher witnessed Roman being protective and it leads them to believe that he's forcing my adopted daughter into doing things that she doesn't want to do with him? This is simply ridiculous and a waste of my time. That damn high school wouldn't have half the things it has now, if it wasn't for the kind donations that my family has made over the years. And this is how they thank us for that," Olivia said outraged at what she heard.
"You're not the only Godfrey family in this town to have made donations to that schoo. Dr. Norman Godfrey and his wife Marie made their fair share of donations as well. In fact, they have made more donations where they're needed. You can't go around saying that," Sheriff Sworn snapped before getting back on track as to why he was here. "Anyway, I'm here to inform you that an order has been put into immediate effect which is now taking place."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean," Olivia asked.
"It means one of my deputies is on their way to the high school to pick up Eclipse from the school, that way she can collect all of her belongings so that way she can be moved to a safe home until you manage to make some much-needed changes in your house. Until then you won't get her back," Sheriff Sworn said.