Chasing the storm

32

Elijah rushed home as soon as he got the message that Freya had to run. He was stressed out already. The coven of sisters made it their job to haunt them, but he couldn't think about that now. He had more pressing matters.

Matters like why he was standing in the compound, blood trickling from the huge puddle to touch his leather shoe. Matters like the two dozen bodies that scattered across the compound.

He sighed, knowing exactly what had happened. But somehow, he found himself making up excuses. Any thing but Scarlett.

Elijah found her asleep on the sofa, the body of a woman lay on top of her, and Scarlett's skimpy clothing had been drenched in blood.

Elijah used his middle and index finger together to flick the body of Scarlett, coughing as he did so to make sure she was awake.

Her long eyelashes flickered as the blue in her eyes began to make an appearance. She looked up at him before turning her neck and sitting up, stretching her arms out. She should feel bad, she should feel crippling guilt and disappointment. But the satisfaction in her stomach took over.

"Are you quite finished?" Elijah rummaged through his inside pocket and dropped his handkerchief on her knee.

"Quite" she imitated Elijah's posh accent as she looked up at him, using the handkerchief to dab her mouth clean.

"And how were you going to cover up..." He looked around the room, pointing to each body "... This"

"Oh" she shrugged, looking around "I hadn't thought that far ahead"

"Scarlett you can't be so... Stupid" Elijah urged "you've lost control and you were just going to allow these people go missing. People talk, we have a very delicate boundary in this town"

She felt a little hungover, the noise of Elijah's voice, the one that used to sound like a melody, was now screeching in her mind. "Okay I get it, bad move"

"No, it was not just a bad move, Scarlett you could have destroyed the deal we have" Elijah lectured, not letting go.

"Simmer down, I get it" she huffed, pushing herself onto her feet "leave it alone" she made to leave but Elijah grasped her wrist and spun her back

"I'm only trying to help you" he said, still seething from the mess she had made, the mess he had to fix

"Maybe I don't want your help" she snapped back, she could feel the heat of his anger from a mile away. Maybe it want the best idea, but she didn't regret it.

"Trust me, you need it" Elijah replied hastily, his breath dancing across her lips in the most irresistible manner. But somehow, she didn't want to lean in and kiss him, somehow she just wanted to walk away.

"But you would have taken it from Alex" Elijah Was in the moment, he let his thoughts fly free, he needed this, they both needed it.

"Elijah" it sounded like those words had hurt majorly "don't start this"

He knew it was a mistake, from the change in her voice and her eyes now glistening with fresh tears.

"I can't do this, you need to let go" Elijah said "stop acting like him, stop this facade"

"Let go?" She asked, her face turning into thunder "you want me to let go, fine!" She stormed upstairs and into her bedroom.

Elijah followed her, immediately regretting this, but somebody needed to knock her into reality. She was a vampire, a vampire without Alex and she is not going to feel close to him by acting like a maniac.

In some ways, Elijah was hurt. He did love her and he wished she loved him as much as Alex. It seemed like she didn't, because it was obvious that her feelings for his friend had survived but her feelings for him had been left in ruins.

"What are you doing?" He asked as he stood by the doorway, watching her drop to her hands and knees, retrieving things from under the bed to put in a box.

"You want me to let go, that's what I'm doing" Scarlett sat up, still on her knees, showing Elijah the different objects before throwing them into the box. "This is- this is the necklace her bought me a few days before he died"

Everything was going in the box. The photo frame with his picture in smashed with the force she threw it in.
Even the bear went in.

If Elijah wasn't already feeling bad enough, she turned to him with fire in her eyes, the box in her arms, and she stormed outside.

Again, he followed her. That's always what he seems to do, follow her like an over-protective boyfriend, or a lost puppy.

"Don't do this" he pleaded with her as she slammed the box down outside the back of the compound "I didn't mean this"

"Then what did you mean?" She asked, looking over the box of memories filled with his clothes, his gifts, everything that meant something to her was about to disappear.

And when Elijah couldn't answer, she doused it in petrol and set it alight. Scarlett slid down the wall and sat, her head in her hands as she watched the last remnants of Alex burn into ash.

She didn't realise that Elijah had sat on the floor next to her, watching where she was watching.

"I've had to let go of a lot, Elijah" she said, the fire flickering, reflecting in her eyes "and I think it's best if I let go of you too"

Elijah knew it was coming. But he felt winded anyway.

"You don't love me" he came to the conclusion "I understand"

"You're a stupid, idiot" she exclaimed "I love you more than anything, but right now I'm not who I used to be and I know that is what you want, you want the old me back and for now, that's impossible"

Elijah quickly glanced at her and then back to the box, which was now ashes and the flicker was slowly dying.

"I don't feel much anymore, I don't feel bad for killing those people" she explained "I don't want to lose myself completely whilst you're still hanging on"

She rested her head in complete confidence on his shoulder, for comfort, to hear I'm say it's okay.

Elijah reached his hand up to stroke her hair. He grasped slowly and gently onto the back of her neck.

And he snapped it.