Distract and Sedate | Hemlock Grove |

Chapter 13 | Melodrama |

Emma would never tell him, but she hated his house. It was overwhelmingly modern and obscene in its settings. She wishes she had been there when he built it to tell him it was a bad idea. She's sure there are a million other homes he could have built that would have been better.

Over the winter break, she had spent so much time here she could almost say it felt like home. Almost. They never got around to decorating the house or switching out his silk sheets for cotton ones. She left at the end of the break with the house still grey and gloomy.

She pulls into the driveway and parks the car. She hesitates before getting out. Maybe this was a mistake. She should have told him before she came. Then again, when did Roman ever warn her? He had always invited himself in and stayed. He never stopped to ask if it was okay.

It takes a while before anyone answers the door. Emma's not surprised to see the housekeeper answer the door. She'd worked for Olivia before her death and came with Roman. Anna was not a particularly cruel person. She's not kind either, but she is ferociously loyal to the Godfrey family.

It was hard as a child to not take her distrust personally. Anna didn't trust anyone who walked into the Godfrey residence, child or adult. Everyone was a potential threat. Even to this day, years and years later, she looks at Emma with a bit of distrust. "Mr. Godfrey's asleep," she says.

"That's fine, I can just wait." Anna thinks it over for a minute. There was a good chance Mr. Godfrey would be furious if she sent her away. There was just a good of a chance he would be furious if she let her stay. He was rather unpredictable at times.

Giving in, she nods and holds the door open. She disappears quickly, leaving Emma alone in the dark living room. For the first time in probably weeks, light pours through the windows as she opens the curtains. She makes a cup of coffee and breathes in the smell. It almost feels homey.

While she waits, she starts thinking through what she could do to make it even better here. It would have to wait until she came back from school but some ideas wouldn't hurt. Roman wouldn't take too much convincing to let her make things a little less depressing. She knows he sees it too.

He doesn't keep her waiting long.

He turns from the steps to the kitchen rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He's in flannel bottoms and a grey tee-shirt. He looks like a disheveled mannequin. "Oh," he jumps a bit at the sight of her. "What are you doing here?"

"Try to not sound disappointed I'm here," she says with a nervous laugh.

"Hi." The way that he says it and looks at her makes her feel insane. Why is it fine when he shows up at her dorm but not the other way around? Was she insane? Had she overstepped some boundary that was never made clear? "Why are you here?"

"I just wanted to say hi." Emma shrugs.

"I meant Hemlock."

"My mom's birthday dinner is tonight," she reminds him. He should remember, he was invited to dinner.

"Oh, yes." Roman nods and looks much more awake. He racks his brain for an excuse. "I have that in my... in my calendar. I was going to come."

"It's okay that you forgot," she assures him.

"Sorry. It's been-"

"Hectic, I know," she finishes for him. She sits in the silence waiting on a response that he can't seem to formulate.

"I'm going to try and get some work done." Roman gets out a clean mug for himself. "I'll plan on coming over at like what? 6:00?"

"6:00 is good." She can feel him trying to push her out but she resists it. "Is everything okay?"