The Pianist

Chapter Eighteen

It all happened so quickly that Molly wasn't even fully aware what was happening. The scream had tore her out of her state of happiness, eyes flinging open as the words "RAPE! RAPE! RAPE!" were screamed through out the skyscraper. Every light in every room of the skyscraper lit up, she was later told, like a Roman candle, and the sounds of screaming tore apart the peaceful night like a gun shot through the air, and though it was the middle of the night, the entire city awoke on that infamous night.

Gerard had torn himself away from Molly, throwing on his suit and picking the spare from the floor, leaving Molly naked and shivering and completely disoriented on her bed, a breeze blowing in the open glass door, the curtains dancing in the breeze. Molly sat up in a haze, her head spinning, and her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Gerard was sliding into the suit as quickly as he could, panicking.

"Gerard," She murmured groggily and slowly stood, but Gerard was already breaking for the balcony. Panting, she raced towards him, clasping a blanket around her naked body, but when she reached the balcony door, Gerard was standing on the edge. Molly nearly screamed as he opened his arms wide like and eagle and dropped off the balcony. "GERARD!" She yelled, and raced to the side. When she got there, Molly could make out her beloved on the ground twelve stories down. He lay motionless for a moment before standing and racing off and an inhuman speed into the park, the sounds of police sirens filling the night sky.

That was the last glimpse Molly ever got of Gerard as a free man.

They say that Gerard was later found in his home. They broke down the door and charged inside to find the Black Vein sobbing hysterically playing a mess of beautiful notes on the grand old piano. He didn't even fight back. He took the wands that jabbed into his sides, and his screams of pain could be heard all the way across Empire. They smashed his face onto the keys which caused the most terrible course of music and pain that had ever been played, before they carried him off to the hovercar.

Molly stood there, staring off blankly down into the park for a moment, tears welling in her eyes, but she couldn't say a word. Sniffling softly, she turned away and crawled onto her bed, feeling ridiculously numb. It was about that time another body burst in the door, and Molly turned her head to the side to see, in the utmost horror, her father charging in the room, hands clenched. Even in the darkness, Molly could see his red face and veins distended. The sheer sight made Molly burst into harder, actual sobs. She immediately sat up, only to find her face firmly grabbed in his palm.

"Get dressed and go to my office," He hissed in a deadly low voice, "Now." There was no point in arguing or fighting against Blaise. With her heart pounding, she nodded her head very slowly, and he turned and left, leaving Molly alone in her dark room. She was thankful it was so dark; Not one person could see the fake veins. The police men were now standing outside in the hall, whispering to each other and glancing back into the dark room. She could hear Blaise casting them away, and they closed the doors to Molly's room.

She let it all sink in as she sat there, the faint smell of burnt diesel and smoke filling her nose. The last few moments still played like broken records in his head. She pressed her palms over her ears, bending forward slightly, body shaking. Even in her later years, Molly would still wake in the middle of the night, wailing at the memory of her standing on the edge of the balcony and leaping.

After several minutes of trying to forget and finding that useless, Molly pulled herself from the bed, stumbling to her bathroom. She turned the golden faucet three hundred and sixty degrees, waiting a moment for the water to turn steaming hot before she stepped into the inferno. It stung immediately, and Molly didn't care. She pressed her back against the shower wall and watched as black paint ran down her arms and legs mixed in a little with a few drops of her own blood. She was surprised. Gerard was right. She could bleed.