Derek Hoffstetter

14 hours later, New York City

Violet found herself standing beside the brunet inside the elevator heading to her apartment. If two weeks ago, someone told her that she would be taking that same elevator ride beside the Abomination. She would have called them crazy or delusional.

But looking at her history record closely, she wasn't even that surprised at her current situation. She could only imagine some sadistic entity must be playing with her fate.

The elevator dinged the moment they reached her floor, and the two stepped out, walking side by side towards her apartment. It had only been three days since she was captured. And if she was honest, she half expected a fuss when she arrived in the lobby. But funnily enough, the vampire had covered his tracks. Smart, she thought.

It would cause controversy if her apartment were found the way it was, the door ripped from its hinges, and destruction inside with a missing female tenant in her 20's.

The possibility of her face being posted all over the news as missing was high. Still, if she thinks about it thoroughly, nobody would really be looking for her, other than the Guardians, they are always looking. She didn't have friends or family, and she had no one that really knows her to the degree that she would consider being missed.

In her mind, it was almost probable that no one would even notice if she suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth. She made sure to live her life as unnoticeable as possible after all.

Violet walked in the closed-door; the general destruction and clutter in her apartment had been taken care of; however, the charred marks on the wooden floor were still evident.

Oddly, she felt sad realizing the possibility of it all, of no one searching where she was. But wasn't that the point of it all, she thought? No one gets hurt; no one gets worried, and no one else dies because of her.

Unfortunately, that included living her life to the point that she wasn't someone important to anyone. Just another face in the sea of strangers, Not a friend or family to anyone.

She missed a few classes in school because of her current situation, but that wasn't really unusual for her considering she almost regularly missed class. Her paranoid mind made sure that she came in random, just in case. She was a college student studying Archaeology, and it's not that she needed it, but she thought that she should at least live her life trying to experience as much as she can even with the cards she was dealt with. And with the help of the secret stash of money, her parents had left her before their death. A contingency plan on their part, it made everything easier for her. Traveling in short notices, moving, even faking new identities a few times throughout the years are all thanks to them.

And she wondered, during all those years while she was growing up if they knew all along that they would die for her sake. The sacrifice they made for her. She knew she didn't deserve it, no, but she couldn't say that out loud. Never.

And most of all, she couldn't die. Not yet, at least. She had to take her revenge. Destroy the people responsible for their demise.

So, as she looked at Aldren's broad back, she decided that she would live, no matter what.

Even if it cost her Sanity.

No, even if it cost her Soul.

Violet went straight to her bedroom and pulled a duffel bag on top of her cabinet, and put as many clothes as she could inside. Aldren flopped on her bed, savoring the scent of her in the bedsheets and pillow, a grin spreading on his chiseled face. Her sweet hypnotizing scent filled his senses.

He quietly watched the blonde pack her belongings as he lay on the bed sideways, arm propped under his head. His eyes scanned her bedroom; she didn't own much, he noted. And most of all, he couldn't help but notice that she didn't have any photos lying around, nothing that could be used to identify her.

Moments later, the platinum blonde disappeared into her big bathroom, grabbing her toiletries. She returned to her bedroom seconds later and found the brunet casually throwing a small piece of clothing in the air like it was a ball. Her eyes narrowed at the item in his hand, "I like this. Wear this." he said, pausing to show her the article. She snatched it immediately from his hand after registering that it was indeed like what she initially assumed it was. Her black lace underwear.

Violet clenched her jaw in annoyance as she shot him a glare, cheeks flushed. "Please avoid touching my belongings," she said, earning an eye roll from the brunet.

*Knock-knock*

The blonde turned towards the source and made her way towards the front door, leaving the brunet after sending him a warning glare. She swung the door open, revealing a very familiar dark-haired man, Derek Hoffstetter, a classmate of her. They shared a class together, was it chemistry? she wondered to herself.

But most of all, 'What the fuck is he doing here!?'

Violet subtly closed the door, giving him just the image of her and hiding the mess behind her.

"Derek, what are you doing here?" she asked in hushed tones, even though she knew at the back of her head that the vampire could easily hear her if he decided to listen in. Derek smiled at her, glad that she was home. He had visited yesterday, but nobody answered, and he assumed she left for an errand.

"Violet, hello." he greeted her, recalling the paper in his hand. He handed her the printout for their shared History class, of which she eyed for a moment in confusion, her mind too lost at the thought that the man was in grave danger. She took it immediately, smiling awkwardly at him. She needed him gone soon; the longer he was there, the closer he was to Death. "I brought them since I noticed you missed class." he said, "Thank you, I appreciate it," she said, wanting to get the conversation over with.

"I dropped by yesterday, but you seemed to have gone out," he said, sheepish. His cheeks were turning red, embarrassed with his admission. He had seen her many times in class; they had been acquainted and worked together on some projects. In addition, they were almost neighbors since he lived just a block away from her building. But they wouldn't call each other friends.

She was never an overly friendly type. However, she wasn't rude either. She was just detached. Like she wasn't interested in making friends.

The funny thing was it wasn't unusual for her to miss a few classes, so his visit really didn't make sense; it was just an excuse to see her. He had been interested for a while because he found her really cool. She wasn't the usual college girl who would get involved in dramas in university, and she was always quiet; she only spoke to people when they talked to her, but she was always pleasant.

Violet's eyes shifted to her left for a moment, "Yeah, I was...occupied with something." she reasoned. "Anyway, I'm a bit busy at the moment. Anything else I can help you with?" she asked, holding the door.

"Darling, what's taking so long? I've been waiting in the bedroom for far too long", Aldren spoke from behind her, swinging the door open. Violet tensed immediately at his proximity, and she discreetly sent him a glare.

Aldren feigned a look of surprise as he stared at the man by the door, "Hello, good evening." he greeted casually, offering his hand of which Derek accepted and shook with his. "Hello," he said, eyes bouncing from Violet to the strange man in question. "I'm Aldren, Vi's husband. A pleasure to meet you." he introduced casually, smiling broadly at the man-whose face contorted into brief disappointment and surprise. He wasn't aware she was married.