Trigger Warning for the last half of this chapter.
Emma likes Peter, like a lot. She likes to sit in his living room floor and listen to him and his mom talk about everywhere they've lived, and how they just moved if they wanted to. Emma had only lived in two different places in her whole life, an apartment on one side of Hemlock Grove and the house she lives at now on the other side.
She learns quickly that his mother defies the gypsy stereotypes TV pushes. Lynda doesn't stay home and clean all day, she hustles. Peter says that when his dad was around she was different, but he barely remembers that. Emma knows what that's like.
Lynda always wraps up the night by feeding them some traditional Romani meal that Emma had never heard of before, then she heads to bed. The two teens move outside so Lynda can sleep in peace. They usually sit around the fire smoking, or if they're feeling lazy they'll climb into the hammock.
In her memory, it feels like these experiences happened for months, but really it was only a week or two. It had just started after they took the jar of intestines to Destiny's apartment. Peter's cousin was something else, and maybe in a different situation, Emma would think she was cool. She actually had abilities and she swindled people out of money. It really sounds like the life.
Roman had picked her up from her house then picked Peter up. Emma desperately wanted her own car but it didn't seem likely in the future. She wasn't allowed to have a job, she had to focus on school. Good grades = good college = med school. That's the goal she reminded herself.
They pick up Peter and she scoots over to the middle to make room for him. He's got a bag of candy and the jar of guts in his hands. "Hello!" He says in a very cheerful town.
"How are you?" Emma asks.
"I'm alright, what have you been up to today?"
"Cleaning the house, watering plants, studying, thinking about how to kill a mythical monster, just the girly things."
"Ah yes, the girly things," Peter laughs. She loves his laugh. She thinks it's honest, Peter never fakes his emotions, good or bad. He has a kindness to him that boys here didn't have.
Yeah, Emma likes Peter quite a lot. But Peter likes Letha, sweet, sweet, Letha.
The two converse without the intervention of Roman. Peter tries to throw him a joke but it lands unreciprocated. "Are you okay?" Peter asks.
"I'm fine," Roman looks at him. "What about you? Did you have a good lunch with my cousin?" This stumps Emma a bit.
"Nutrition, they don't call it lunch anymore," Peter tries to lighten the mood. Roman stares daggers into him.
"Roman! Please, eyes on the road!" Emma yells as the cross the yellow line.
"Look, Roman, she pities me. That's it."
"Yeah," Roman says in a voice laced with hatred, "she's all heart." This all called for a very uncomfortable ride that wouldn't end soon enough. Emma's uncomfortable next to Peter, the potential ruined. It's not helped by the tension racing between the two boys.
The first thing Emma notices about Destiny is that she's whimsical and childish but at the same time very adult. Her personality is an interesting combination of those things. Her apartment has beads and tapestries hanging up, and plants in every window. She gives Peter a big hug when she sees him.
"Give me a second," she turns around. She walks a man out of her apartment.
"Happy customer?" Peter asks her as soon as the door is closed.
"I crushed a couple of blue pills into his tea and told him to take some vitamins, common sense stuff."
"Like when your doctor tells you to quit smoking."
"One size fits all," Destiny barely looks to Roman. When she does there's a bit of disgust on her face. Instead, she grabs his large hand and traces.
"See anything interesting?" He asks with the excitement of a child at a candy store. She drops his hand without an answer and looks at Emma. She moves to stand in front of her and looks her up and down.
"You have an interesting aura," She grabs her hand. "We'll speak later."
"Shee-it," Roman says under his breath.
"We have something for you," Peter says. He first pulls out the bag of candy and gives it to her.
"Oh, Orangies, how sweet!" Peter holds out the jar. "And tell me how this is better than running?" She takes it from him and smells it. She gestures for them to follow her to the kitchen. She pulls a worm from one of her plants and drops it into the jar. "Sorry, buddy."
"How long will this take?" Peter asks.
"Let's leave it overnight for good measure," she puts the jar on the counter. "We'll need some tequila."
"Is that part of it?" Roman asks.
"No. Get something in a pretty bottle. Silver's good.
.....
Emma's been staying at the Godfrey house for about a week now. As much as she hates to admit it, everyone is right. Something about being home alone overnight doesn't sit well with her. Another body had turned up, this time in the woods about half a mile away from her house.
She sits at the dinner table with the family that night. Olivia had not so kindly suggested Peter leaves before dinner, Emma walks him to the door and hugs him goodbye. They depart, still without any ideas of how to get into Lisa Willoughby's house other than breaking and entering. It looked like their only option, so they "better be damn safe about it," as Roman said.
Olivia's sitting at the head of the table, as always. She's drinking a glass of dark red wine and demands the servant get Emma one as well. Emma tells her she's okay but Olivia insists. She takes a small sip before picking up her salad fork. "Emma," Olivia calls her attention, "drink up."
Emma instantly has the need to down the whole glass. She's never felt this thirsty before. It takes effort to slow down and she's finished with her first glass before she's finished with her salad. "Another glass for our guest please," Olivia snaps. Emma is thankful for her asking so she didn't have to. "The Gala is coming up."
"Oh yes," Emma takes a long drink. "I'm sure it'll be lovely."
"You must come," She smiles to the girl. "I insist."
"Okay," Emma smiles at her. "I'll come." On her right side, she can see Roman huff and roll his eyes. He doesn't understand why she just goes along with whatever his mother says.
"Tomorrow after school we'll find you a dress."
"Okay, tomorrow after school." This causes Roman to huff more.
"Is there something wrong, Roman?" Olivia asks.
"No," He looks to the butler in the corner. "Can I have a glass as well?" The butler comes forward bringing him a glass of wine.
"There, there," Olivia smiles, "that's better. A happy family." Shelley glances up at her mother then back down. "Drink." She says to Roman.
An hour, one meal, a small piece of cake, and 5 or maybe 6 glasses of wine later they're finally finished. Roman's family was so much more formal at dinner than Emma and her mother were, she could never get used to it. Emma stands from her seat wanting nothing more than to take off her formal dress and put on comfy clothes. She sways slightly once she's on her feet. Olivia bites her smirk back.
"Roman, help Emma to bed," She looks directly at her son. "I have to finish some work up. I'll be in my office." She stops in front of him and whispers something Emma can't make out.
Roman stands and tries to help her out the dining room. She's a little drunker than him, but not much. The thirst in her throat has finally gone away. They make it up the stairs together and she slams herself down onto his bed. She kicks off her heels and drags herself to a pillow. "Have you ever brought a hooker up here?"
"No, I don't bring girls to my house. Just the driveway," he chuckles.
"You don't fuck in your room?" She sits up halfway, leaning on her arms.
"No, just you." Emma looks down at the floor then lies back down. "I'm going to take a bath, you have clothes here?"
"Always," She slides off the bed makes her way towards the dresser drawer with her night clothes. She goes into the bathroom where Roman is sitting on the edge of the tub, water running. "I need to take a shower."
"Hop in the bath with me."
"You're disgusting," she laughs at his joke.
"We've bathed together before."
"When we were toddlers," Emma turns to him. "We're like grown-ups now."
"I've seen you naked."
"Yes, and what an honor that must be for you."
"Emma," she looks to him. "Get in the bath with me. It's not weird."
"Okay." Her eyes become empty. Of course, it's not weird she thinks to herself I'm making it weird. And that's how she ends up in the oversized tub, finally sobering up. The two pass a joint from his seemingly endless drug supply back and forth. Roman does a couple of lines and stares into nothing. When the water turns cold they wrap up in towels and fall asleep in them.
......
Roman's pacing in the foyer when the two return home. A butler carries in a large dress bag and a few other small bags. The sun is going down and it's making him even more restless. "What's going on?" Emma asks as she walks in. His hair is messy and he looks stressed.
"We have to meet Peter."
"Roman," Olivia enters. "Darling, relax." She runs her fingers through his hair relaxing him. He pulls himself away.
"We have to go," he tells Emma again, this time a lot calmer.
"Don't rush the girl, we just got back," Olivia answers for her. "You should see her dress. Emma, go put on your dress." The girl nods obediently and takes the dress from the butler. She heads upstairs to Roman's room. "Darling," she approaches him again. "Please take a seat." He nods and takes a seat on the couch.
Upstairs Emma unzips the bag and finally takes a look at the price tag. She's not allowed to ask about money with Olivia, it's almost like she physically can't. She knows how rich the Godfrey's are but she's curious. Her jaw drops at the stupid amount of money Olivia spent on the dress. If this is what she spent on Emma she can't imagine what she bought herself.
She remembers Olivia's order to put on the dress. She struggles but manages to get it zipped. Her feet pad down the hall and stairs to the living room. Olivia smiles at her creation. "She looks beautiful, tell her she looks beautiful."
"You look beautiful," Roman says as if he's been forced. He's restless and ready to go. She rushes to get dressed and meet him downstairs. Just as he hears footsteps coming down the stairs, Anna emerges with a tray of tea cups and an arrangement of various petite snacks. Roman stands quickly, hoping to get out before Olivia can stop them.
"Come on, come on, come on," he waves towards Emma.
"Roman," his mother's voice cuts through his impatience. "Let the poor girl take a breath. You have plenty of time to handle whatever teenage dilemma you have convinced yourself is so important. Emma, please sit."
Emma, uncomfortable by the mother and son tension that has formed, sits when told to. She drinks her tea, unable to do so fast enough to appease Roman. When the finally make it out the front door, the tea has left a terrible taste in her mouth, but Roman's speed left her with no time to wash it down with something else.
"What's happening?" She asks, following behind him as quickly as possible.
"I got a call from Norman asking if I knew where Letha is," he unlocks the car.
"And?" Emma grabs her buckle.
"And, I think she's with Peter, and if she's with Peter I'm going to kill him." Emma rolls her eyes.
"You can't go around killing every guy that talks to Letha. She's already pregnant, Roman, she can't get pregnant again." Roman doesn't talk to her the rest of the way to the trailer. He looks at her once they're parked. "Go, I'm not going with you," she crosses her hands across her chest. "This is your issue."
Roman walks down to the trailer then turns around. His face is filled with rage. The stalks back to his car and slams the door when he gets in. He turns the car on and drives of so fast in frightens Emma. "What does like about him?" Roman asks, breaking the silence. "What does she see?"
"He's nice." She struggles, words burning as they came out.
"Nice?" He asks in a harsh tone.
"Yeah, I don't know. He's nice."
"Have you fucked him?"
"What the fuck is your issue?"
"I want to know why my cousin is so obsessed with this fucking gypsy!"
"Because he's nice to her!" She shouts over him, scaring him a little. "He doesn't treat Letha like a child, he treats her like the young woman she is. She's your cousin, Roman, not your daughter. If she wants to fuck Peter, she can fuck Peter."
"And what about you?" He asks, quiet this time.
"What about me?"
"Why do you like him? Don't lie either, I always know when you're lying," he snickers.
"He's nice." She shrugs.
"You've already said that." He pulls out a cigarette and lights it.
"He's sweet, he listens, he's.. he's caring, he's gentle."
"And you like that?" Emma nods in response. She can feel jealousy radiating off of him. She doesn't know if it's because Peter is taking away his cousin or his friend. "You know what, fuck you, fuck all three of you." He pushes the Jag into 5th, flying down the curvy road. Emma grabs onto the door.
"What the fuck is your problem?" She yells. "Slow down."
"All three of you, you're plotting against. You're all liars."
"I know this might shock you, but not everything is about you, Roman." She stares at him harshly. "You're such a fucking child." He grips the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles turn white. He won't look at her.
"I don't want you around him alone, you got it?"
"Do you have something to tell me, Godfrey?" Roman's head jerks towards her. She only calls him by her last name when she's pissed, like really pissed. "You in love with me or something?" Roman laughs a bitter laugh. "Because if you're not jealous then you have some real control issues you need to work through," She barks. "I'm not Shelley and I'm definitely not Letha, so don't you dare tell me what I can and cannot do."
....
She hears a knock on the door. It's cold outside, and when the door opens a gust of wind chills her to her core. "Roman?" He stands there, just in a tee shirt, very out of character for him. "Come in, you must be freezing.." He comes in and, without any hesitation, continues in his path to her bedroom. Emma, still cold, grabs a cardigan and wraps it around her chest.
"Are you okay?" She asks, brushing his hair back with her fingers. "You seem upset." He doesn't answer. "Is it about earlier? I'm not really mad. Just frustrated." No answer. "We don't have to talk if you don't want to." He stays still. She looks away from him, giving him some space, and puts a blanket of his shoulders. It reminds her of when they were younger.
She jumps when she feels his ice-cold hand touch her face. He's still not speaking and his eyes look vacant.
He kisses her but she doesn't react, sitting there with her eyes wide open. He breaks away from and looks up into her eyes, his face looks so gentle, his lips soft like always. It would be hard for anyone to not kiss back, so she does. She breaks away from him and puts her hands on his face. "What're you doing?" She asks, eyebrows furrowed in concern. "What's going on?"
"Nothing." He mumbles, then tries to kiss her again. She dodges his face.
"Stop it." She pushes him back. He holds her head in place and kisses her again. "Roman, stop, you're hurting me." She slams her fists into his chest. "You're being an asshole." He laughs at her. Just sits there and laugh.
"I'm sorry." He smirks at her, but she swears she sees the sadness in his eyes then. "I'm so sorry, Emma."
He lunges at her, pulling the hair on the back to her head to force her down to the bed. The yank causes her to release a high pitched yelp. She continues to push at his chest once he's released her. "Roman, let me go. Stop!"
It all happens so slowly but so fast. She can't figure out what it is. She's still trying to move away from him but it's no use.
She finally stops fighting and stays still. She doesn't want to think about it, so thinks about the French test she has coming up instead.
Construire to build
Casser to break
Regarder to watch
Rire to laugh
Pleurer to cry
And so on and so on...
When he notices she's looking to her side he roughly grabs her jaw and holds it, forcing her to look at him. She releases a high pitch sound of pain before trying to fade away again.
Looking just past him, she feels relaxed. It would be over soon. It would all be over soon. She's so relaxed she could fall asleep. The pain fades away into just an annoying rhythm. She's so calm that she doesn't notice his hands moving to her shoulder where his fingernails pierce her skin. The sudden sting pulls her from her trance and the gates break open. She finds her eyes acting on their own, giant tears rolling from her eyes back to her hair.
She keeps reminding herself it's almost over, but the pain only increases with his speed.
Construire to build
Casser to break
Regarder to watch
Rire to laugh
Pleurer to cry
Finally, he slams into her hard and lets out a low grunt.
In less than a second, he seems to remember who he is. He looks down to see what he's done. "Em.." He panics, staring at the girl struggling to breathe through her sobs. "Em... I don't-" He reaches up and unties her. "I don't know what just-."
She quickly backs herself into the furthest corner of the bed. He attempts to reach toward her, but she only pushes herself further back. "Please don't touch me." She begs, barely above a whisper. "Please."
He nods and stands up from the bed. She stays seated in bed until she hears his car pull off. Finally building up the courage, she finds herself standing in the shower even when the water has turned ice cold.
She can't go back into her room and chooses to stay on the couch until the sun is coming up. Kay comes in carrying her usual post-work breakfast of fast food and a decaf coffee. "What are you doing, Emma? You have school."
"I don't feel well." Kay comes and feels her head. Emma pulls the blanket closer, covering the bruises on her jaw.
"You don't feel warm, what's wrong?"
"My stomach hurts."
"Okay, take it easy today. I'm gonna eat and go to bed." Emma nods. She stays on the couch for an hour or so before getting up. It takes everything in her to make it to her mom's car, but the drive becomes a blur. Her body does what it must while her mind wanders away.