“Wait,” the voice on the other side of the door called.
Maria stopped and turned back to face him, smiling.
“Do you have a ride back home? A pretty girl like you shouldn’t be kept waiting.” The voice sounded slimier and slimier by the second.
Maria blushed, turning her head slightly away. “My boyfriend doesn’t get off work for another hour. It should only take him thirty minutes after that to pick me up.”
“Would you like to wait inside?” He smiled through the crack of the door.
“Oh, I would hate to—”
The door quickly shut, and then the sound of the chain could be heard before the door reopened, this time all the way, revealing the man Vincent was more than ready to kill.
“No, come in and wait inside,” John told her, licking his lips.
Maria giggled. “Well, if you insist.”
Vincent, Nero, and Amo readied themselves.
Taking one step in, Maria smiled at John before her hand flew upward at his face, his nose breaking in one quick hit.
Vincent quickly ran in the moment he heard the sound of bone crunching. Nero and Amo followed right behind, closing the door.
“Where the fuck is she!” His foot came out, kicking the fucker in the stomach while he stood, holding his nose as blood began to gush out.
He fell straight backward like a domino with a hard thud, hitting the floor. Then he began to manically laugh. “That trailer trash piece of shit is dead!”
Something inside of Vincent broke. “Motherfucker, where is she?” He started kicking him over and over as hard as he could.
Nero brought out a hysterical Pam who had been hiding in the kitchen.
Amo pushed Vincent back, trying to calm him. “Go look for her, make sure she’s okay, and then you fucking kill this fucker.”
He nodded a couple of times, getting himself under control. “You’re right.” He headed for the stairs, trying to keep his demons pushed back for a little bit longer. “Maria, come on.”
He and Maria went up the stairs to see a pole at the end of the hallway bracing the ceiling. Fuck! He ran down the hall, yelling for Maria to check to see if Ashley was there.
Vincent quickly moved the pole out of the way, his heart pumping out of his chest. Pulling down the string, he unfolded the stairs and swiftly crawled up as fast as he could. With each step he took, he repeated in his mind, Please, be okay. Please, be okay. Please, be oka—
The world stood still when he saw Lake on the cold, hard floor in a ball. His heart constricted into a tight knot as he reached out to her, his fingertips lightly smoothing over the bruise on her cheek. “Lake… baby…”
* * *
Lake’s eyes drifted open, only to close them when it was just a dream. The dream started to feel more real when she felt her body slowly laid down on something soft.
Opening her eyes again, she met Vincent’s face one more time; however, that time, she was on her old, soft mattress instead of the cold floor. Finally, it dawned on her that it might not be a dream.
“Vincent…?”
Vincent swept her bangs off her face. “I’m here, baby. Everything is going to be all right.”
Tears flooded her eyes again when she realized he was real. Leaning up, she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him as tightly as she could. “You came for me,” she whispered into his neck.
“Of course I did. I will always come for you, baby.” He tugged on her hair so she would look at him and then wiped away at a tear that fell down her cheek. “Why wouldn’t I come for you? Haven’t I come for you every time?”
“Yes, I…” Lake looked down and away from his intense eyes. “I just thought that you might’ve gotten sick of coming after me now.” Instinct and feeling told her this time was different. She had run off from him too many times, pushed him away too many times. I thought he might not want me anymore.
Vincent’s thumb caught another tear. “I will never get sick of you, Lake. I love you.” His voice slightly changed to a darker tone. “But we will talk about you running from me when we get home.”
Nodding, she understood her feelings had been right. I have broken the last straw.
When his lips crashed down onto hers, it wasn’t like any other kiss he had given her before. This kiss held a different promise, one of possession. His mouth owned hers in one long, hot caress. Her body shivered when he pulled away, and she came face-to-face with the darkness inside him.
Lake licked the dryness of her lips as she stared at him. This other Vincent wasn’t trying to hide, showing her he was there to stay.
Maria softly came up the stairs while her eyes remained unable to move from his crazed baby-blues.
“I want you to stay up here with Maria.” His voice was as cold as his eyes.
Oh, God.
She grabbed his hand, stopping him from getting up. “Why?”
He merely stared at her, his eyes saying it all.
Lake blinked back the tears, holding his hand tighter. “Vincent, please. I lo—”
His thumb covered her lips, hushing her before the pad of his thumb began to rub her kissed-swollen bottom lip. “You will not tell me that now. If you still feel the same tomorrow, then you may tell me.”
She stared in shock while he got up and whispered to Maria. Her eyes fell shut as the fresh tears ran down her face, unable to watch him leaving. There was no pleading or fighting with someone that dark. It would only make the outcome worse, his eyes promising her as much.
Maria sat down on the bed, taking her hand when Vincent closed the attic door once more.
“Maria, please go talk him out of it. He might listen to you.” Lake’s tears only multiplied.
“I can’t,” Maria whispered to her as she laid Lake’s head on her lap, gently smoothing her hair.
“W-why not?”
She continued the rhythm of stroking her hair. “Do they not deserve it after all they have done to you? I just saw them, Lake. They have gone mad and lost all sense of reality. When you are born insane, you have to keep some kind of anchor to keep you grounded, to keep you in touch with reality. The moment you lose that, you have lost your humanity. They need to be dealt with for the sake of other people and for themselves. To know you have lost it like that—to the point of no return—can be the ultimate suffering.”