Darkly Devoted (Book 1, 2, 3)

DB Chapter 30 - Obstacles to Destiny

VIVIENNE WASN'T SURE how long she hid in bed after the events of that day. It might have been hours. She didn't even notice that she was covered in his blood. Eventually, the servants managed to convince her to change out of that blood-stained grey dress and take a shower.

After she washed up, she searched her closet for the clothes she had come to Manna City in. Her maid saw her frantically looking through all the expensive dresses for her jeans and t-shirt and asked to help.

Eventually, the maid came back with Vivienne's old clothes. They had been washed and ironed. Vivienne put them on and looked at herself in the mirror. It had only been a couple of days, but she felt as though she had aged a decade. She wasn't sure if she was sick with grief or if she really had the flu. It hurt to take a deep breath. She stumbled out of her room and into the lounge area. The sky was black now. Night had settled.

Allison and Julian were both there, waiting for her. Watching over her? Were they here because they were afraid she would do something stupid? Or were they worried that she would black out again and kill even more innocent people?

You were wrong, Blake.

Vivienne reached for the walls to support herself as she walked. She saw her reflection in the floor-to-ceiling windows. Her eyes looked even more starkly pale now than they had before.

You told me I could learn to control my gift.

In the process, I killed you.

In a city of demons and vampires, I am the true monster.

"What are you wearing?" Julian asked, making a disgusted face. It was a face that was familiar to her now, after her days in Remin.

"I'm going home," Vivienne stammered. "I can't stay here anymore, not after w-what happened."

"No one is kicking you out," Julian retorted. "It's not like they're going to come after you for rent."

"No, it wouldn't be right. I stabbed him. This is his house. I-I should leave."

"Vivienne!" Allison exclaimed as Vivienne stumbled and fell to her knees. Vivienne broke her fall with her palms and wondered why she was suddenly dizzy. Allison grabbed her by the waist and led her to a seat nearby. A maid brought her a glass of juice and some crackers.

No, she wasn't stumbling around because she was hungry. She was so tired. It was as though her body had fought off an enemy she couldn't see. What had it been fighting? A knife wound to the chest?

Vivienne reached into her pocket and wrapped her fingers around the cameo necklace. It was nothing now, just a chain of scrap metal.

If you were drawing the life from me to heal, why did you stop?

Why break the bond, Blake?

None of it made any sense.

"Allison," Vivienne whispered and clutched her friend's outstretched arm. "I trust you more than anyone in this awful city. Tell me he's dead and I-I'll believe you."

"Vivienne, what does your heart tell you?" Allison asked tearfully.

"That he's alive."

"Then why hasn't he reached out to you?" Allison demanded. "Why hasn't he called you? Why hasn't he walked in that door? He's gone, Vivienne."

"I want to go home," Vivienne said after a long pause. "I want to go tonight."

"You can go back to Remin," Allison promised as she wrapped both her hands around Vivienne's clasped hands. "We'll arrange for you to leave tonight."

"No, not Remin," Vivienne looked down, felt the tears appear again. Her body was too weak to move, but the tears still came. She wondered if she would ever stop crying. "I can't go back to Remin. It reminds me of him."

"Where do you want to go?" Julian offered as he joined them on the couch that was only meant for one. "I'll take you anywhere."

"Lewisville," Vivienne finally answered. "I want to go back to my house, the one I remember before all this happened. I want to sleep in my bed." Vivienne laughed bitterly. "But that's impossible, right? That house is long gone."

"Ahem," Litchus cleared his throat and appeared from where he was listening in to their conversation. "Mr. Oslen purchased that house from your father last September. He moved your family to Remin to protect them. But, Miss Weisse, you are always free to return to it. It hasn't been touched since your family moved away."

"Really?" Vivienne asked, her red eyes widened with happy shock. Litchus nodded and disappeared into a nearby room. He reappeared with a set of keys and a black keycard.

"Here," Litchus said. "Your old house keys, and a keycard when you wish to return here. You will always be welcome to stay here."

Vivienne accepted the keys and the card. She didn't even have a purse to put them in, so she stuffed the two precious objects into the pocket of her jeans. She had no wallet, no money, nothing. Her only possession was a lone cellphone. What was she going to do in Lewisville?

There was no time to think of that. Vivienne felt the guilt settle into the bottom of her stomach.

"Wait, Litchus," Vivienne stammered. "Do you know that I stabbed Mr. Oslen? Or that I'm the reason why he is dead?"

Litchus nodded, but his face betrayed no emotion. He looked about as impressed as if she had just confessed to him that she accidentally mixed up the soup and the salad forks.

"He left instructions that you are to be given whatever you ask for. I am simply following his orders."

Vivienne nodded, but his response did nothing to assuage her guilt.

"That card also functions as a credit card if you should need it," Litchus said. "You have nothing to fear, Ms. Weisse. As for what you believe you did, I'm sure you had a good reason for it. If Mr. Oslen were here, he would agree."

Vivienne stood up from the couch and stumbled over to Litchus. She embraced the old man and buried her face in his gray, woolen jacket. He smelled of old books, overgrown ivy, and dusty attics. How she missed that smell.

"Is he dead?" Vivienne finally asked. "Can you tell me?"

"I'm not at liberty to say," Litchus responded patiently. He stroked back her hair, and suddenly he seemed less like a stern butler and more like a weary father figure. "Back when you left the first time, so many years ago, I told him that what is destined by fate will occur, no matter what winding roads one takes to escape it. Miss Menthe, this will not be the last time we welcome you into this apartment."

Litchus' voice softened to a whisper as though he was sharing a secret that was only between the two of them.  "Nor will it be the last time the two of you will meet in River Way."

"Will you deliver a message to him for me?" Vivienne asked as she wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. She smiled for once, with hope. "If he is able to recieve it?"

Litchus tilted his head only slightly in agreement.

"Tell him I'm still waiting to hear what he was trying to ask me this morning. He knows where to find me."