Cerberus' Heart

Cerberus' Heart 17

Pacing in front of Violet's room door, I chewed on my nail. She hasn't come out of her room since last night though she did eat the food I left outside the door. Oh God, what if she thinks I'm some pervert?! I wouldn't blame her after yesterday's incident. No, in fact, I'd side with her. What if she's disgusted by me? Again, I don't blame her. I pulled at my hair, frustrated with my thoughts.

Screw it! I'm knocking, even if she attempts to stake me, I thought knocking on her door. She answered, opening it a crack, "What is it?"

"I..." I squeaked before clearing my throat and starting over, "I'd like to go pick up your stuff from your home and take you out shopping for whatever else is needed." Surprise painted her face before a smug grin plays on her lips.

"You just squeaked," she mocked.

I huffed rather defensively, "I don't know what you're talking about." Turning my back to her and rushing down the stairs, I called out behind me, "Be down in an hour!" I heard her guffaw before she closed her door.

~~~~~~~

She came down just under the hour, dressed in a wine gold dress; one of the simpler gowns Isadora used to use. Around her neck was the scarf I gave her and on her shoulders rested a fancy beige fur coat. She looked warm yet uncomfortable.

Threading my fingers through the white wolf fur around the collar, I muttered, "It suits you." Her cheeks tinted pink as she nods, "Thanks." Retrieving my hand, I led her to the entrance. Before opening the doors, I flipped on her hood and tugged the scarf higher around her face. She remained frozen in place before shaking her head and proceeding to walk out the doors after me. Shutting the door behind us, I scooped her up into my arms and darted down the snow covered mountain towards her home, her arms wrapped tightly around my shoulders.

~~~~~~~

Reaching the house, not much had changed, the scent of blood was still faintly present. Hopping onto the remaining porch, I entered through the open doorway, Violet still in my arms. Once inside, I set her down on her feet. She whispered her thanks as she stiffly walked forward in slow strides, her muscles tensed and her heart pounding.

Slightly behind her, I followed closely on her heels, glancing into the thrashed living room and kitchen. We came across a dead wolf and I cast Violet a curious look, to which she shrugged. Lifting Violet up by her waist caused her yelp in surprise, as I carried her over the corpses in front of the stairs, placing her onto the platform between the two sets of stairs leading up. She slowly ascended, mindful of the various creaks the stairs emitted while I rushed up them with quick and light steps fearing them collapsing beneath me. She finally arrived at the top, heaving a sigh of relief.

We passed by an open door and from inside, the faint scent of honeyed blood wafted through the air. Peeking inside, the room was a mess of old blood and gore, damaged furniture and walls. Overall, it might've been quite the grisly scene when it all happened.

Violet stood beside me, a sad smile on her face. She almost looked regretful. What for, I was not sure. She whispered, "This was my mother's room." Her eyes glazed over but returned to normal when I spoke.

"I see," I began. "It must've been quite terrifying to see it happen," I muttered, remembering my own mother's death.

She swallowed roughly, "It was."

She stole a glance at me, tears in her eyes, "I can't believe that I forgot about it," she sadly whispered, looking down at her feet. "How must mother's spirit have felt? She was probably upset that I forgot about her," she sobbed. I patted her head, something my own mother used to do whenever I was upset, and softly said, "I doubt that, Ms. Violet."

"Sure, you can be annoying and plenty childish," I began jokingly, to which she playfully shoved me. "But you're not someone to be hated. Least of all for forgetting something like that."

She looked up at me hopeful, "How can you be so sure?" I took a step into the room and picked up a shattered and blood covered photo frame, examined it and smiled, shaking out the glass shards before handing the damaged item to her. She gingerly grasped it, staring in confusion at me.

Pointing at the image, I directed her gaze to the smiling face of her mother. "That smile, Ms. Violet, can not be faked for all the evil and greed in the world. That's a smile of a loving parent; the same one my mother had towards me and she loved me till the very end even if only I survived. She would've loved me regardless if I had forgotten about her and I'm ninety-nine percent certain your mother would be the same too," I ended.

More tears gathered in her eyes as she tightly clutched the photo frame to her chest, sagging to her knees and crying. I remained motionless, now standing awkwardly in the room. I didn't look at her, rather I focused on the room.

There were claw marks on the bedding and vanity counter that were hidden by the old dried up blood. The strength used to fling her mother, Mariana, was capable of both vampire and weres. Besides the claw marks, the faint scent of the mutts lingered in the air here and there when I shuffled around the room earlier. This confirms it. Weres attacked here. So that alpha was really after the Amanti.

Violet's cries finally lessened to soft sniffles as she rocked back and forth on her heels. Wiping her runny nose along her hand, her voice came out nasally while her eyes remained puffy. I pulled out a handkerchief from my breast pocket, wiping the mucus from her hand before tucking it away in my back pocket. She avoided my gaze, choosing to hide behind her hair. I bent forward, trying to catch a peek at her face. She spun on her heel, turning her back to me.

I attempted to come forward but she yelled, "No! Don't come closer!"

"But-" I began only to get cut off.

She yelled desperately, hands covering her face, "No! Don't look! I look ugly when I cry. I ugly cry," she sniffled.

I guffawed. "Ugly cry?" I echoed incredulously. She nodded, still attempting to hide her face.

I moved infront of her and pulled her hands away, making her face me, "I don't think you could ever look worse than a shrunken head," I joked. "In fact, I'm glad you cry. It makes you more normal. And I like normal," I whispered softly, smiling at a tearful Violet. Her eyes glistened again and I panicked, "Did I say something wrong? Offensive maybe?"

She laughed, joyfully, despite her tear stained face, the sound easing my panic. "No, not at all. It was sweet; in a weird sort of way," she smiled. I relaxed, giving her hands a gentle squeeze and pulling her along towards the other room. Glancing back at her, she had a small smile on her face, the sight making me feel relieved.

"Thanks," she softly said.

"What for?"

"Everything, bloodsucker," she snickered.

Ruffling her hair, I huffed, "Now I'm not even sure if that thanks was even sincere in the first place."

Standing in front of her closed room door, I turned to face her when she stopped beside me. Without looking at me, she smiled as she stepped forward, "Everything I said was sincere. Every word." She opened the door and headed in, leaving me dumbfounded by her doorway.

(A/N: They say we should talk to our readers...welp, we've seen how that's gone so far. Terrible, if I do say so myself... And I'm out of things to ramble...see you guys next chapter?)