An arrangement

The vampyre was actively keeping him hostage, and yet he didn't see himself as a villain. Was there a word for that? Perhaps psychopath or sociopath would fit rather nicely. However as he mentioned Loralei it was clear the nephilim had struck a nerve. Bracing himself to get punished, all he got was just the vampyre holding on to his chin rather harshly, giving him a stern warning, before pushing him away. Scoffing softly, Gerard sat up, running a hand through his thick curls that had been flattened against the mattress. Moving to his feet he buttoned his shirt as Eden instructed him to, not meeting his gaze, because he knew better than to poke the bear while it was awake.
Outside a car was waiting, and he got in after Eden, sitting down before getting ordered on the floor. "If you killed her, I would've been dead too," he just muttered, frowning at his own words. He just couldn't live in a world where she wasn't alive, he loved her too much, and a world without her would be dark and lonely. He moved down to the floor, looking up at Eden with a cold look. "Is this how you treated Loralei too? Just pushed your old cold cock in to her mouth when you were tired of listening to her?" he scoffed, but he knew it could be dangerous. However what did he have to lose? This wasn't a part of the arrangement they had set up, so he was free to talk about it, right? "I bet she was pretty ... Way prettier than I was back then; And I guess she used to love you too, huh?"

Oh he had hit a nerve alright, but he wasn't done. He was so angry that Eden thought he had the right to do this, and he wanted some sort of fight back. He groaned slightly as being pulled by the hair wasn't nice, but he listened to what the vampyre said. "I think they'd be surprised you'd want to share my corpse with them," he said, pulling a pained expression as his neck felt like it was being twisted backwards, but he kept his eyes open, looking at his captor. "You honestly think I would want your lips anyway near me?" he scoffed at the vampyre's threat. Sure, he would die horribly, but then the pain would end, right? To Gerard it didn't sound like a bad deal, the only thing keeping him from egging the vampyre on to actually bite him was the thought of Tessa and Xalvador.
"The only problem is that you aren't ready to let me go yet, you've been holding on for ten years and you think that it means nothing," he said, looking at Eden. His old self would've cowered at the face of the vampyre looking this angry, but right now he could see the sad and lonely man he was. "But tell me about her then ... Tell me about Loralei, because you clearly aren't over her, and my guess is that you never will be," he spoke calmly, only grunting slightly at the tight hold he had of his hair.

Getting pushed back was definitely not nice, but not the worst thing that the vampyre could do. The car stopped abruptly, making him slam his head back against the seat as Eden got out of the car. Feeling mildly disoriented, he somehow managed to stumble out of the car, following the vampyre, because he didn't get to decide this. "Did you kill her!? Did you ravish her body and regretted it afterwards!?" he yelled after him, walking a good few meters behind him. "Or perhaps you just held her neck too tightly one day and POP her head fell clean off!" he yelled. He didn't care now. He just needed to know why this was the only thing that seemed to bother the vampyre.
"WHO IS LORALEI!?" he screamed at the top of his lungs, making people turn their head and looking at him like he was a crazy person. However being in public was also much safer for Gerard right now. "Do I look like her, is that why you chose me? Did she get on her fucking knees everytime you asked her, huh?" he asked, feeling out of breath, but he would continue to hassle him.

He thought the vampyre would finally snap, getting grabbed by the neck and thrown in to an alley. The stench alone made his stomach turn, but it wasn't before he asked if he recognized the place, he realized why his body was shaking slightly. He got pushed back, feeling the clammy alley wall against his back as he looked at Eden. And that was when it finally hit him. Loralei wasn't his victim ... He was her victim. The mention of his past trauma seemed to make him a bit more distant in his gaze, but he had spent years working through it. "So that's why," he mumbled under his breath, but he just looked at Eden as he started yelling about owning him, making him scoff. "Can a slave have possessions of his own?" he asked. Because if Eden belonged to this Loralei, then in reality Gerard belonged to her too, right?
"Oh I thought I was miserable, but it seems you're the worst off of the two of us," he said, stepping out of the alleyway, looking around as he adjusted his collar. He knew something now, something that might help him. "I want to meet her," he said, turning around to face Eden once more, the shadows of the alley making the vampyre stand out more in the dark. It was some sort of etherial beauty to him, but it was only genetics, nothing else in Gerard's eyes.

Gerard looked at his wrist where the vampyre was holding on. Was he genuinely concerned now? "You were the one who just threatened to suck me dry and cut me in to pieces - I think I'll be fine," he replied, widening his eyes at him, mostly because did he really hear what he sounded like? An absolute psycho, and Gerard didn't use that term lightly. "You forbid me? No, that wasn't part of our deal; I can submit to you, but I am not your dog," he said firmly shaking his head. This wasn't just a thing they could negotiate. "Is it really wrong that I want to meet her? What can she do to me that you aren't capable of?" he then asked staring at the wrist he was holding on to.
"Tell me, what is she to you? Former lover? Creator?" he then asked, wanting to know what he was dealing with. His eyes moved from his wrist that were already forming small bruises from where he was being squeezed tightly, to now look Eden in the eye. Of course the vampyre was secretive, but did he honestly think that Gerard hadn't evolved in those ten years? "Were you with her while you were away?" he added, just needing to know as much as possible.

When his tone changed it was like Gerard fell silent. Eden admitting that he couldn't lose him was rather surprising to say the least. The nephilim had always felt like he was disposable in some way, and hearing him admit something like that, along with an actual display of emotions was shocking. "So you're saying you can't lose me?" he asked in disbelief. The vampyre had never shown emotions before, but how could he trust him now? "Yet you force me away from my loved ones, you keep me to yourself and you threaten me at any chance you get," he said, feeling his eyes water.
"Why do you need me? To fill some void? To gain back the power you've lost?" he asked. At this point he just wanted honesty, even if it was the cruel truth. Was Eden only clinging on to him and a past that was so long forgotten at this point? "If you hadn't left me back then, I would've been with you still ... But you left, and you took whatever affection I had for you with you," he said rather seriously. He stepped closer, looking in to the blue green eyes. "You lost me the minute you left me," he said in a saddened voice.

He felt his own breath tremble as he had admitted his own weakness and shown emotions he hadnt dared to before. He looked away but kept his grip on the nephilim, listening to him as he spoke in disbelief. Wasnt it obvious that Eden hadnt known what else to do? Everyone was a threat, friends, family and loved ones. Then he frowned as Gerard seemed to want to know why. He looked back at him with a sadness in his eyes. "I dont know. I just know that I cant lose you," he said, not knowing what else to say.
Obviously it didnt really matter to him that Gerard wasnt feeling the same way he did back then. That wasnt something that would change anything. Eden was thinking beyond feelings, because obviously he didnt know much about them. "I've got you now. And I'm not letting you go," he said with a shake of his head. "You've been all I've thought about for these last ten years. I dont need you to love me. Or tolerate me. But I'm not letting you leave me," he then said, shaking his head like it wasnt up for discussion. "I know that you love that valkyrie. And she and all of those you love is the only leverage keeping you here with me"

Gerard could barely believe what he was hearing right now. The vampyre stood there, claiming that he needed him in his life. How easy wouldn't it had just been to not threaten his loved ones and just ask for a friendship? Perhaps then the nephilim would have believed that things could change. But wasn't it too far gone for that at this point? "So you just want to keep me like some pretty trinket?" he asked. He was genuinely trying to understand the mindset of the vampyre, but clearly they were much different. Emotions were a part of him, they ran freely, but with Eden it seemed much more empty.
"Let me go, Eden," he then said, looking at the vampyre with a firm gaze. "Let me go." He didn't know where he found the courage to say that, but he wasn't taking no for an answer anymore. The vampyre wanted him to stay at all cost, but couldn't he see that it was wrong? They didn't love each other, the only thing they would do great at was ruining each other's lives.

Frankly it didn't matter what it was like. Gerard was done. Seeing Tessa today, feeling her close and opening up to her had reminded him of why he had tried to submit to Eden in the first place. But what good did it do when it was hurting the one he loved? The vampyre slowly let go, but soon enough he was back with his threats. "You won't touch her; You won't hurt any of my friends ever again," he said calmly. It was as if he had ice in his veins, keeping him cool and so much more rational than Eden. "You know I have connections too ... Finding Loralei would be easy, and I bet she wouldn't approve of these games," he said, taking a step closer, looking Eden directly in the eyes. "So, here's your options: One, I break myself free and you never see me again; or two, you let me go freely, and maybe - just maybe - I'll consider seeing you again on my own terms," he spoke calmly.

It was clear that the tables had turned, and that the fire within the nephilim had been reignited. He felt strong, stronger than he had for a while, and now without the fear of Eden he just looked like any man on the street. Of course he knew he should take the threats seriously, but it also felt redundant at this point because those he cared for was prepared for whatever might come. Watching the vampyre turn around and leave felt almost like a victory in it of itself, but he couldn't express it.
Instead of standing around for too long he decided to dump the phone that Eden had given him in the trash, knowing he would have to buy himself a new one, but he was willing to use his savings for that. Then the nephilim headed home. It was a weird feeling, almost like he was bubbly, or perhaps drunk was more accurate, and as he knocked on the door to him and Xalvador's apartment he felt a little giddy.

Eliza was blinking lazily, feeling sleepy as she was sitting upright, yet curled up on the spot. The thing was that the human could fall asleep anywhere, and it sometimes made for awkward moments. However sitting here with Xalvador, she just held his hand, trying not to think about it too much, because it always seemed to make her heart beat faster. The knock at the door made her spring right awake, her eyes worried as she looked at the hybrid by her side. He had the courage to get up and walk to the door, but the silence made her feel worried. Walking out in to the hallway as she saw Xalvador embrace Gerard.

The nephilim smiled softly as the door was opened, wrapping his arms tightly around his brother and just holding him close. It felt almost surreal, but he knew it was real from the warm body that was pressed against his own. "I ... I think I just stood up to him," he said a bit confused, frowning as he didn't really know where to start. He went in to the apartment, taking off his shoes and hanging up his jacket. He didn't like the clothes he was wearing, still feeling the lingering cold from the vampyre's hand, but he hoped they would wash away with warm water. Gerard walked in to the living room, and Eliza almost jumped from her seat to wrap her arms around the nephilim, hugging him close but not saying anything. Then it was time to explain everything, and Gerard went on to tell what had happened after he had left. How Eden had brought him to the old hotel, how he had mentioned Loralei and kept pushing that button until the vampyre eventually gave in and left. "I don't believe we're safe yet, but he's way too out of it right now to even think of a plan or even act on what he may or may not be feeling," he said in a pondering tone.
"Can I borrow your phone? I want to talk to Theresa," he said, unless she was actually already in the apartment, although he doubted it.

"I don't have any intentions of contacting her - But Eden doesn't know that," Gerard explained, because if Eden was sadistic like this, then Loralei must've been a monster. He looked at Xalvador, seeing how he was sitting beside Eliza, and it actually hurt a little to see how the human so clearly was holding back. "Thanks, I'll just call Leona then, she'd like to know that Eden is hurt and might be scheming," he said, taking the phone to go in to the kitchen, making the call quickly. Even if it went to voicemail, he would leave a brief message, saying that he'd like to talk more tomorrow.
Eliza was sitting beside Xalvador, biting her lower lip slightly as she considered getting up and going home. There was no need for her to be there now, because Gerard was home - Or at least that was what she told herself. However to stop herself from wondering she just looked at the hybrid, her eyes softening up, but she knew he wouldn't notice at this point. "I should get going then," she said with a heavy heart, moving to her feet, walking out to the kitchen with her mug of tea, sending Gerard a brief smile. The nephilim frowned, looking towards the living room and went in there. "Are you really just that daft or can't you see that she's head over heels with you?" he asked in a hushed voice, eyeing towards the kitchen where Eliza was sniffling a bit, just to calm herself so she could say goodbye with a happy smile like she always did. "If you don't want to be with her, then don't string her on like this," he just said, giving Xalvador a warning look before he went to his bedroom.
Eliza was just rinsing the mug, not wanting to leave a stain on the porcelain, taking deep breaths as she mumbled to herself how she was being childish.

He was silent, of course he was, she told herself. He knew that she felt this way and she would gladly get strung along even if that was hurting her more. Going home seemed like the best option, because she felt in the way now. Gerard had come home, and that was all that was needed to make Xalvador happy and return to his normal self, which meant no hand holding, no leaning against her and ... Ugh! She sounded like such a narcissistic idiot in her mind. She was reaching the doorframe of the kitchen as she felt his warm hand on her arm. Was he going to scold her for thinking that he could ever be interested in someone like her? That he was angry at her for taking advantage of him in his time of grief?
However the world seemed to stop as he said those five words. She stopped dead in her tracks, her back towards him as her eyes watered. Was this some sick joke? Was this just him stringing her along once more with the hope of what could be? Then he let go of her arm, and she felt her eyes water, turning around to look at him. Her eyes were in disbelief, her tears threatening to fall any minute, but she just stared at him as he mumbled to himself and rubbed his face. "You love me?" she then asked, but it was clear she could hardly believe those words. He hadn't shown any sign that he was into her, not even a hint or just a glimmer of hope. She shook her head, like she thought she must've heard wrong. That he had said something different and her cheeks flooded with red color as she thought she might've misheard him. How pitiful. That she couldn't just seem to accept that this would never go farther than a friendship. She was standing still, looking down as she started sniffling, wiping her cheeks as she tried to control her tears. "I'm sorry ... I'm sorry," she mumbled, she knew by the way he wasn't answering that she had misheard and now she felt even more of a mess. She couldn't do this to herself. She always seemed to fall for the ones she couldn't be with.