just for a bloody contract | Roman Godfrey au

ch.19 • the old steel plant

We stopped the car at a very dark place. There was a faint light in the distance and the headlights. That was it. The headlights showed that there was a chicken wire fence in front of us. Where on earth were we? I must admit I got a little scared. Suddenly, I remembered that Roman was an upir, and the thought of being killed entered my head. He wouldn't kill me. Would he?

"What is this place?' I asked.

"A place Peter and I used to come to often. It's the old steel plant that my grandfather ran. It shut down as our family business became the institute instead. Follow me," Roman said.

I did as told. I noticed there was a plate that read "Godfrey". Of course; they owned everything.

"It's really dark," I said.

"Hold my hand then," Roman replied. I extended my hand, and he led me in.

"How on earth are you able to see in the dark? Should I turn my flashlight on?" I asked.

"Nah, the police patrol around here. I don't really want to have a chat with them right now. It's alright. I have the whole place memorized by heart."

This seemed very sketchy, but I just followed wherever he led. There were a lot more stairs than I thought. We came to a stop on the third floor. Roman and I went to an extended platform. It was like a veranda with no railing.

"Is this safe?" I asked.

"Is anything I do safe?" Roman replied. True. "Just sit down."

Roman and I sat next to each other with both our legs dangling off the ledge. It oddly felt peaceful. There were faint lights and silhouettes of the ghost town ahead. There were trees that peaked from the shadows and cicadas chirping somewhere beneath us. For a while, neither of us talked. We just looked ahead and enjoyed the tranquility.

"So, what do you think?" Roman asked. "I know this isn't exactly where you'd go after a date. And I was hoping there would be stars, but we lucked out."

"No, it's, it's perfect," I said. "This is probably the most peaceful I've felt in a long, long time." I looked at Roman, smiling. The moonlight hit his face perfectly. He really was devastatingly handsome. If only he would just be like this all the time. If only. He looked so harmless, angelic almost.

"I'm glad you liked it. Listen, sorry about dinner. I haven't really been on a date before. I don't do dates. I don't do relationships."

"I figured," I replied. "It's completely okay. I get it. You're new to this."

"Yeah. And I'm learning to get used to it all. It's just hard sometimes. But I know I've been horrible to you in the past and yesterday too. And I'm sorry for that."

"I forgive you. I know you're trying. And you haven't really had good parental figures to sort of teach you stuff. But do you know that I knew you had a soft side pretty much the first week I met you?"

"You did?" Roman looked puzzled. "How?"

"When you were protective over Letha going home alone and over Shelley. You have good in you. You're not a lost cause. And it doesn't matter who said you were. You aren't."

"Thanks," Roman's voice faded off. "It means a lot." He looked ahead again. "A year and a half to go, huh?"

It felt like someone punched me. I completely forgot this contract was only for two years. It was an involuntary response but I started getting choked up. "Yeah," I muttered. Why on earth was I getting so emotional? Shouldn't I be happy?

There was silence again, but this time, I was just sad. A year and a half. That was all the time I had. With Shelley. With Letha and Peter. With Roman. I didn't ever mean to get attached to any one of them, but it happened. And I couldn't do anything about it.