Problemi [Ophelia+Athena]

[Cosimo Alessi (DELETED 6612)]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

<Ophelia Sutton> Ophelia had left the club in quite a hurry, her finger nails digging into her scalp in a desperate attempt to abate an oncoming headache. She had only truthfully consumed a small amount of liquor while in club but the music was so loud and the bass so intense that it left her fleeing from the building. The cold air bit at her cheeks and nose, tinting it a soft rose hue as she turned the corner and begun to walk down the alleyway. Little did she know that she was not the only occupant. Heels clicked softly against the pavement as she trudged through, hoping to use the alley as a short cut to get back to her apartment flat on the other side.


<Cosimo Alessi> Cosimo found himself outside more often as the Winter settled in. He wanted to experience as much of the snow as possible; to enjoy it, before it got to be too much. Before he became a local, and it started to get on his nerves. Everyone kept telling him that it would happen - that his fascination could only last so long. Being of a mild, childish kind of temperament, however, Cosimo wondered if that were true. The steam did not issue from his lips as he walked - there was no heat in his body to cause it. But he dressed like a human should, with his jeans and his jacket with the collar pulled up around his neck, and his hands shoved into the pockets. Hair fell across his eyes as he walked, his gaze ahead, a cheery whistle emanating from his lips.


<Ophelia Sutton> The club she had previously been in was so damn hot that she currently did not bother to put her jacket on and slung it messily over her shoulder, the neck of the vodka bottle dangling in her hand. It was a wonder how the hell she got her hands on it. Loose pale-blonde ringlets bounced against her back and shoulders, curtaining the small girl in a blanket of her own hair. She smelled of vanilla. A candle she often had lit. It was so potent that the smell just infused with her skin and left her smelling like a bakery. As she walked down the alley, snow had begun to drift down from the sky, catching in her hair and inky-black lashes. Pulling a scar from her jacket, she neatly begun to tuck it around her throat, her attention pulled toward the task at hand and not the approaching stranger with a slight slump to his walk. He was hooded and sort of sketchy from the start. As he begun to pass her, the man reached out and grabbed her arm, pushing her up against the wall. His yellowing teeth had begun to graze over the tender flesh of her throat, a perverted groan escaping his lips. Ophelia, in pure horror, had been frozen in spot. The man smelled of... pine needles and sweat. The most disgusting mix of scents she could imagine. Without another seconds hesitation, she begun to squirm and fight back against him. However, he was too big for her small frame to move and so she simply smashed the bottle of vodka against the brick wall behind her, spattering it with liquor before she smashed him over the head with the shredded neck. He yowled and lashed out, stabbing her in the side without her realizing and then took off like a coward, leaving her to vibrate against the wall, blue eyes wide.


<Cosimo Alessi> Cosimo was nearly bowled over as he passed by an alleyway; at his back was a club, its bass thumping and the sound of laughter and reverie coming from within. There was a line out front, women scantily dressed despite the weather because .... well, Cosimo never really understood why. The man who nearly knocked Cosimo over smelled of Vodka and blood. Cosimo caught sight of his face, briefly, before he was across the road and gone - his lips and chin were smothered with blood, too. Curious, Cosimo turned down the alleyway. The scent of blood only grew stronger. Around the corner, he found her - a young girl with blood pouring from a wound in her gut. Cosimo immediately reached for his phone, to call the ambulance, approaching only so that he might also press a hand over the wound to stem the bleeding. "I will call an ambulance. It will be okay..." he said, words precise through the thick Italian accent.


<Ophelia Sutton> The girl had reached for her stomach, trying to grip at the wound that she had just noticed. She gently touched it and winced, letting out a low curse. Blood coated her delicate fingers, causing her to feel a bit dazed. She then glanced up at Cosimo, expression a mingle of fear, pain and terror. Did... he say ambulance? She let out a guttural sound of protest in the back of her throat and begun to slide down the wall, not able to hold her weight up any longer. She wasn't dressed like the other woman and wore a blouse and black leggings. With the scar and coat now messily tossed to the ground, she looked more like a wounded deer than an actual human being. With a soft whimper of pain, she leaned her head back against the brick wall, eyes screwing shut. "Don't... call them..."


<Cosimo Alessi> Cosimo didn't hesitate to reach out - to scoop her jacket from the ground so that he could use it as a sponge as he pressed it against her wound, applying pressure. All the while, he didn't take the phone away from his ear. "You need help. I have to call the ambulance," he said, thinking she was insane for not wanting him to call them. The operator picked up, asking how she might be able to help. "Si, there is a girl. She has been stabbed..."


<Ophelia Sutton> Ophelia feebly reached out and took his phone, hitting "end call" and loosely dropping it into her lap. Her head had begun to loll slightly but she was fighting to keep it up. "Hospitals scare me..." she said breathlessly. It was too much for her to handle. After all of her bad experiences, no one would ever get her into a hospital willingly. They would have to knock her out. Thinking about it, she begun to experience a panic attack. She was helpless and terrified. Breathing deeply, the girl begun to vibrate violently, panicking.


<Cosimo Alessi> A frown creased Cosimo's brow as the phone was taken from him. He did not hesitate to take it back. "Perhaps death should scare you more. It is what will happen, if you do not go to hospital," he said, scolding. He had dropped to his haunches beside the girl, and now he shifted to glance over his shoulder. As if he expected someone else might come and help him to convince her that she was being stupid. "It will be okay, si? I will come with you," he said, noticing how she had begun to shake. He did not know how the body functioned - he wondered if hers was already beginning to shut down. Again, he dialed the emergency services number and lifted the phone to his ear.


<Ophelia Sutton> Ophelia moved forward, nearly slumping on him. "Don't..." she requested desperately, her blood now soaking his clothing as well. She trembled against his body, unable to pull herself away even if she wanted to. Her forehead rested gently against his chest, her face now pale from either fear or the fact that she was losing blood. She had grabbed a fistful of his shirt, trying to pull herself up enough to grab the phone again.


<Cosimo Alessi> The Italian did his best to keep a hold of the phone, this time. To twist away just enough so that she would not be able to reach. "Please, stay still. Keep calm. You are losing too much blood," he said. The way she had slumped made it hard for him to keep applying pressure to the wound - she would only lost more blood. He held her there, hoping that perhaps a comforting embrace might help her to calm down, all the while knowing that Athena would kill them both, were she here. But that didn't stop Cosimo. The girl was too young to bleed out in an alleyway. The operator answered again. "Si - I got disconnected. It is an alley, down beside..." he started to explain where they were.


<Ophelia Sutton> Ophelia begun to make sounds that were similar to sobs, just lacking the whole tears part of it. She was definitely scared. She hated feeling so weak and would mentally kick the **** out of herself later if she lived through this. She had given up on trying to get him to stop calling. Mentally, she was preparing and reserving her energy to escape once the phone was hung up. The girl had begun to cough, spitting up blood on the pavement.


<Cosimo Alessi> "...Club Argent. Si, yes..." he answered all the questions that the operator asked, and, finally able to hang up he pushed the phone back into his pocket. Now, he could focus his energy on the girl. The scent of blood was thick, and the way she coughed it up onto the pavement had him thinking perhaps her lung had been punctured. It couldn't be good. But she was breathing, and she was alive. "They will not be long," he said, trying to shift the girl so that he could again apply pressure to the wound. "...please sit still."


<Ophelia Sutton> Ophelia settled for now lounging her back against his chest, the pressure painful but still somewhat... comforting to know that it might stop the bleeding. She wheezed slightly, her eyes shutting. Her pale hair had streaks of blood now, turning sections a bright crimson. She was still absolutely terrified. Unsure what to do, she simply waited, trying to gather herself. He wasn't going to like her trying to get away.


<Cosimo Alessi> Cosimo relaxed a little as the girl relaxed; as she finally seemed to accept the fact that an ambulance was coming. Glancing up, Cosimo noticed the snow. It was falling faster, a little thicker. How long would it take them to get here? Surely, the ambulances were fitted with chained wheels. Something, to help them get places faster. "What is your name?" he asked, trying to keep her awake and conscious before the paramedics arrived. Asking her questions that she would have to focus on to answer.


<Ophelia Sutton> "Ophelia Sutton," she replied with a soft sigh, trying to ignore the pain from the stab wound. It had to be deep. Whenever she moved, she could feel the slit open up. It was the most disgusting feeling ever. All of a sudden, she begun to pull herself to her feet, automatically grabbing onto the wall.


<Cosimo Alessi> "No, what are you doing?" he asked, trying to keep the pressure on her wound while also trying to keep her still. "You will only make it worse. Please, just stay still?" he asked. His tone was not so gentle this time. This girl seemed to have no care for her own life, her own health. "Do you want to die?" he asked, gruffly. He laid his opposite hand on her shoulder, trying to get her to stay down. Perhaps if he cared less, he might have let her go. He might not have tried to help at all, given how hard she fought against it. But, that was Cosimo's flaw - at least, so many people tried to convince him, anyway, that his care was a flaw.


<Ophelia Sutton> Ophelia begun to struggle against him. "I don't want to go to a hospital," she nearly spat the words out. It was starting to become clear how much she hated being at a hospital. "I would rather die," she said finally and pushed against him, her spare hand pushing her jacket to the ground. There was no need for it.


<Cosimo Alessi> "Then what will you do?!" he asked. It was a stupid question. She said she would prefer to die, so she would die. She would run away and she would bleed out somewhere, unless she happened to run into someone who knew what to do - who knew how to stitch up a human wound. Cosimo could try, but he would fail. The only wounds he had stitched were vampiric ones. Ones that would heal, and it didn't matter how sloppy it was. It wouldn't be fatal. With this, however? He was out of his league. "Does your life mean so little to you? Just wait," he said. It was his natural instinct to try to get her to stay. To understand reason.

[Ophelia Sutton (DELETED 7578)]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

<Ophelia Sutton> Ophelia tried the best she could and she had reached her final straw. She offered him an apologetic look before she leaned forward and bit down on his forearm, teeth breaking flesh and the familiar taste of cop- Oh. No. That didn't taste right. She reeled back and grimaced before she begun to quickly walk down the alley in attempt to escape him. But his blood had already begun to work rapidly in her system. On top of that, her energy was nearly spent. With one final step, Ophelia simply collapsed to the ground.


<Cosimo Alessi> The bite was unexpected. She was struggling, but not enough to make Cosimo let her go - he was stronger than her, would have been regardless of whether he was human or not. When she resorted to that kind of violence, however, he shouted and he let her go. If she wanted to die, then so be it. She would die, because she was too idiotic to accept the help. As she stumbled away, Cosimo could hear the sirens approaching. He followed, slowly, to where she had collapsed; he did not know her. He knew nothing but her name. There were ways that he could save her, but knowing Athena, she would die anyway. Or live a life of grief. As the sirens got louder, Cosimo crouched, to check the girl's pulse. He'd stick around - he'd tell the paramedics what had happened.


<Ophelia Sutton> Her pulse was weak but still there. His blood stained her lips, leaving her looking like a bloody mess. Literally. The bite on his arm was pretty deep and in the back of her swimming mind, she felt bed for resorting to that. He didn't understand her irrational fear. He probably never would. He would never learn the horrors of her past. Weakly, she rolled onto her back so that she could watch the sky. The snowflakes were so beautiful. Her pale skin looked eerily perfect in that moment, much like a doll. Her blue eyes were glassy and opened.


<Cosimo Alessi> Cosimo thought that that was it. She rolled over onto her back and she looked like death. Like at any moment she would breathe her last breath. He should have walked away. It was her own fault, in the end. But he couldn't help himself. Again, he crouched down. She didn't seem to be bleeding so much anymore - maybe she'd run out of blood. It was when he focused on his own blood smeared across her lips that it dawned on him. That he realised... "Ophelia," he said, saying her name for the first time. "What have you... did you swallow? Any of my blood, did you swallow it?"


<Ophelia Sutton> Ophelia's eyes moved ever so slightly gaze up at him, her lips parting to speak but no words seemed to come out. She then simply just looked back up at the sky. Why would he be asking her such a stupid question? What did it matter if she did? She was dying and he was just asking her if she swallowed his blood. Did he have some blood born disease? Ophelia's eyes had begun to close and sometimes open, as if she were fighting sleep.


<Cosimo Alessi> Cosimo wasn't going to give up. Seconds ago he'd been relieved to hear the sirens. Relieved that this girl might be picked up and taken elsewhere, she could become someone else's problem. Now, however, if there was a chance that she had swallowed his blood and that she might turn... the hospital was not the best place for her. The impending sirens only stressed Cosimo, now. He laid a hand on her shoulder and shook her, gently. "Please, answer the question. Are you in pain? Are you.... do you feel strange, like... " he did not know how to explain it. "Did you swallow any?" he asked again.


<Ophelia Sutton> "It... didn't taste right," she said. Her body was feeling weird but honestly what didn't feel weird about this situation? She turned her gaze on him. "..What.... what is happening?" she asked, brows knitting together. Her mood was starting to shift and her overall personality traits morphing into something completely different. The girl just watched him, her eyes intense under the dim light of the moon.


<Cosimo Alessi> "Maybe nothing. Maybe something..." he said. He didn't want to tell her anything. He wouldn't explain if there was nothing wrong. He shook his head. There was no way to tell. He reached to lift her blouse, just enough so that he could see the wound, sharp against her skin. The blood had started to coagulate, but the wound was still there. But that didn't mean anything. If she had only swallowed a mouthful, it wouldn't work that quick, right? "It is blood. Of course it does not taste right..." he said. She could just be dying. A regular person didn't experience dying on a daily basis.


<Ophelia Sutton> Ever so suddenly, extreme pain shot through her like liquid fire. She curled up with a loud sound of discomfort. Her breathing had started to become labored and she felt as though something like sharp needles were moving through her veins. His blood was attacking her blood cells, trying to take over. She arched her back, teeth gritting.


<Cosimo Alessi> "Fottere," he mumbled. The ambulance was getting closer, but now he didn't want it anymore. He was none too gentle as he grasped Ophelia's arm and pulled her up. She was in pain, but they had to move. They had to go somewhere else. He pulled her arm up over his shoulder and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Come, we must leave. You should not have bit me," he grumbled. He headed further into the alleyway - it had to lead to somewhere.


<Ophelia Sutton> Ophelia gasped out in pain as he pulled her to her feet, causing her to nearly topple back over if it weren't for him. She hissed out, the pain now overwhelming. She didn't want to move but it appeared she had no choice. The girl limped, trying to move with him but she groaned and nearly collapsed with each step he forced her to take. She had experienced pain before; stab wounds included but nothing amounted to the feeling of her organs rearranging themselves. Was her body shutting down? "I can't..." she breathed out. "Eto piz`dets..." she spat blood.


<Cosimo Alessi> "You can and you will," he said, roughly. If she passed out, he'd just have to carry her. He had nearly been home when he had come across the scene - the apartment was only two blocks away. Less, even. Cosimo knew that Athena wouldn't like it. He knew that this was not going to end well - but he had to take Ophelia home. The tome wouldn't carry them both back to Ivory Towers, and he wasn't going to walk all that way. That would be stupid, when he had a safe haven so close. Athena would just have to deal with it. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone. If she was home, he would warn her. It went through to message bank. "Athena - something has happened. I am coming home - I have someone with me. I want you to be calm, until I can explain. I will see you soon," he said, and hung up. Maybe she wouldn't be there - it might be better, to begin with.


<Ophelia Sutton> Ophelia was trying desperately to be stoic, biting down on her lip hard enough to draw blood. She was soaked and in so much pain that she forgot half of the walk. She was just focusing on staying upright and conscious. "Where... are... we... going?" she managed to get out, her head snapping to the side. Her bones sound as though they were painfully grinding together.


<Cosimo Alessi> "Home. To my home," he said, pushing the phone into his pocket and focusing on the path ahead. He could see the building, and it wouldn't take too long to get there. Another two minutes, and they would be inside; the warmth of the lobby would envelope them. "The building, it is called Sanctuary. My girlfriend, she is jealous. She will not like that I bring you home but it will be okay," he said. He hoped. It could have been a complete lie. "I will explain to you, once we are inside."


<Ophelia Sutton> "She sounds like a bundle of joy and insecurity," she said under her breath. What normal girlfriend would get mad at their boyfriend saving someone's life? Ophelia would have rolled her eyes if she wasn't in so much damn pain.


<Cosimo Alessi> "She is what she is. I love her," he said, as if that should be enough to silence this stranger on judgment of his girlfriend. He hoped that Athena would not overreact. But that might be hoping for too much. He would have to wait and see. He pushed the button for the elevator, which just so happened to be sitting and waiting on the bottom floor. He ushered Ophelia in, and pushed the button for the eighth floor.


<Ophelia Sutton> Ophelia leaned against the wall and finally away from him, not wanting his support. That would only make things worse for him when it came to his girlfriend. What was this all even about? She had no idea and nor did she care as long as this pain would just cease to exist.


<Cosimo Alessi> He watched Ophelia, concerned. As she leaned away he tentatively reached out to lift her blouse, to check on the wound again. The skin had started to pucker, the wound had started to heal itself. Cosimo hummed under his breath. There was no doubt what was happening. When the doors opened, he would wait - he would help Ophelia, if she wanted it. The apartment wasn't too far away.


<Ophelia Sutton> Ophelia's eyes had closed as she rested her forehead against the cold metal of the elevator, which was pleasant because she felt like she had a fever so damn back that there was fire just beneath her skin. She was breathing hard, a soft wheeze escaping every now and again. When the doors opened, she ginger pushed her way through it.


<Cosimo Alessi> Cosimo led the way - though he went slowly, and he lingered nearby, just in case Ophelia stumbled. She seemed as if she were intent on being independent - given how the whole night had turned out, and why, it was hardly surprising. She was stubborn. And Cosi would assume she was slightly careless, too, with things she shouldn't be careless about. At the door, Cosi slipped the key into the lock. Inside, the apartment was tidy, mostly, except for the few feminine items strewn around the place. Cosi led Ophelia to the couch. "How are you feeling?" he asked. It didn't look like Athena was home. Yet.


<Ophelia Sutton> Ophelia stood before the couch, looking at the pristine condition of it and then the not-so pristine condition of her clothing. There was a difference when it came to herself. She didn't care about herself but she was very selfless toward other people. So she simply stood, using the table to hold herself up. Her eyes had begun to shut and open, fluttering ever so slightly.


<Cosimo Alessi> Cosimo sighed and pulled out one of the dining room chairs; most of the furniture was new. The apartment had that smell to it, as if it had recently been renovated. After this, he might have to renovate it again. It might be never ending. "Sit down," he said. "How do you feel?"


<Ophelia Sutton> Ophelia sat down and looked away, not wanting to make eye contact. "It hurts... so bad..." she rasped and tried to keep steal. She wanted to curl up and never wake again. Death would have been more pleasant. She was quivering, affected by waves of indescribable emotion and pain. She felt dazed and confused and like she was floating in and out of consciousness.


<Cosimo Alessi> Cosimo sat down opposite - he didn't reach out. He crossed his arms on the table in front of him. "I am not human. You will not believe me, but you will soon find out - I am a vampire. You swallowed some of my blood, and you are now turning. You are in pain, because your human body is dying. It will feel like you are dying. But... you will come back to life," he explained, slowly - maybe she would feel better if she knew it was going to end.


<Ophelia Sutton> Ophelia looked up at him, her eyelids half closed. "That explains why I feel like death," he said and with that, she lost her grip on her consciousness and slumped forward in the chair.

[Cosimo Alessi (DELETED 6612)]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

* Athena comes barging through their front door without so much as a second thought, the door slammed behind her and she stomped her skinny stilettos with every step she made. "Cosimo?" she hissed, already pissed and for what reason? He had told her not to be. She wasn't sure where he was, or what he was doing, but she was sure, no she was -certain- she wasn't going to like it.


<Cosimo Alessi> He had opened his mouth to clarify - to continue explaining what was happening, except there was no reason to. Ophelia had passed out, slumped forward in her chair at nearly the exact same moment that Athena came home. It might have been too much to expect, for her to be calm. Cosimo stood, lifting his hands in a passive, calm-down kind of gesture. "It was an accident... it was around the corner. I had to come home..."


* Athena walked until she saw her lover, until she caught sight of his sudden passive gesture and then the woman in their chair. Her blue orbs dropped, looking over the woman in one single swoop of her eyes before she lifted them back to Cosimo. They darkened then with her anger, she tried, if anything not to scream at him. "What the flying ****, Cosimo?" she asked with a hiss, her teeth clentched as she attempted to calm herself without moving closer to him. No, she was angry. She wasn't going to kiss him hello now.


<Cosimo Alessi> Cosimo breathed a sigh - it was okay. She wasn't being unreasonable, yet. He had time to explain himself. "She was stabbed. She was going to die. I called an ambulance and she did not want it. She bit me, to try to get away. She swallowed some blood - she is turning. I could not leave her on the street, Athena. Please tell me that you understand?" he asked, almost pleading with her. He did not want this trouble.


* Athena 's eyebrows rose at that. He couldn't? Well, she was more than certain that he was both capable and unwilling. "You're full of massive ****, Cosi. You want me to believe that you couldn't? Maybe in your mind you couldn't, but yeah, you absolutely could have." she gestured then to the sleeping woman with a dissmive gesture. "I want her the **** out and I want that now. I told you, I did not want you bringing home stray dogs this is not a homeless shelter." Athena had to take a sharp breath she didn't need, she had to calm herself. "This is our ******* home."


<Cosimo Alessi> Cosimo nodded. "It is our home. She is going to be my childe. She will... change. She will be vampire. Whether I did it on purpose or not, I was there. It was me. I am not going to abandon her. I am not going to kick her to the curb," he said, squaring his shoulders. Although he had not agreed with the girl's carelessness about her own life, and he did not know her at all, she was his obligation, now. But, he nodded again. "You are right. I could have. But the guilt will have consumed me. Do you want that?"


* Athena didn't hesitate to square her own shoulders at the man, to tense every muscle in her already toned body. It was a moment before she answered, she wanted to scream, she wanted to rip the woman's head straight from her neck. Athena narrowed her blues and flicked her tongue over the plump flesh of her lips. "Her or me, Cosimo. I'm not staying here with some random *****."


<Cosimo Alessi> "That is stupid, Athena!" he said, rolling his eyes at the difficulty of the situation. He wanted to be able to get Ophelia comfortable somewhere - he had acted hastily. Here was not the best place to bring her. How could he have expected Athena to understand? To help? He had hoped. "She is not yet turned! She is going to wake up and she is going to be thirsty. She will need help. What do you want me to do? Put her out in the gutter?"

[Athena (DELETED 6736)]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--



* Athena 's lips pursed at him calling this stupid. No, it wasn't. Not to her. He had done the only two things she had asked him not to do. To turn more women and to bring anyone home. Yes, he had been stupid to think she'd help or want anything to do with this. She wasn't here for his childer, for his human-shaped mistakes. She was here solely for him, to love him, to marry him. "Yes, exactly that, Cosimo!" she took another deep breath in, but this time it didn't help. Maybe it was his use of the word 'stupid'. "The only two ******* things I've ever asked you not to do! The only things yet here we ******* are!" Athena's voice raised, she was screaming during the other woman's sleep, during the worst moments of her life yet Athena found herself giving no fucks.


<Cosimo Alessi> Cosimo lifted a hand to rub at his temple. He did not know how anyone could be so ... heartless. Would Athena be the same if it weren't him? If she had been the one to stumble across a girl, stabbed in an alleyway, would she stop to help? Cosimo, somehow, didn't think she had it in her. The care she had for other people was buried deep and reserved only for a select few. "I did not do this on purpose!" he said. "I did not consciously turn her. It was an accident. She will not stay here. She will not have a key. I will take her back to Ivory Towers. I hoped that you would let me keep her here just for tonight. Just until she is well enough to get there herself. But you will not, will you?"


* Athena couldn't fathom why he kept asking her. Why, he would even think there had been a chance especially now with her already in her home. Cosimo wasn't wrong about her, about who she cared about and how, it was buried deep and it was only reserved for a slim few. "Oh yeah?" she asked, sarcastic with an added roll of her eyes. It was funny to her then, that he would think that any of this woul be okay even if it were an accident. "No, I won't." she gestured then grandly towards their front door. "I have no problems leaving, Cosimo. I'll gladly leave you alone with your whore."


<Cosimo Alessi> Cosimo stared. Athena didn't like him touching other women, but he was going to have to carry Ophelia away. His jaw was set and his eyes were wide - a mixture of anger and hurt. "No," he finally said. "I will go," he added, first opening the front door before returning to scoop the unconscious girl into his arms. She was out like a light, but light as a feather. She didn't struggle against his care now. He didn't clarify. He didn't tell Athena what he was doing. Calling this stranger a whore was not only a judgment upon a girl whom neither of them knew, but it was a judgment upon him. An unfair judgment. The door was left open behind him as he walked out of it.


* Athena watched him go and it only made her angrier, it only fueled the fire that he started with a simple voicemail. But, she didn't fight him either. She didn't yell at him to stop. To come back home. Athena was a lot of things and prideful was one of them. It held her back, it kept her from keeping him home where she wanted him. Where she needed him. It wasn't like she could sleep if she didn't have him next to her. But none of that mattered now, none of it mattered against that the woman he now carried in his arms. "Don't come home." she said simply, her voice softer than before. But it wasn't because she was calmer, it was because she was boiling. Reaching out her arm, she simply slammed the door behind him.


<Cosimo Alessi> Cosimo was boiling, too. He heard the words just before the door slammed, and he flinched. A month, two months ago he might have taken her seriously. He might have hesitated. This was his home, however. He had keys. This was a place he had bought, a place that he had renovated with his own two hands, after Athena had wrecked it. She couldn't keep him away. Nor did he think she wanted him to stay away. This far into their relationship, he didn't believe her. But he would give her time to calm down - he would take Ophelia to where she would be welcome, and he would help her with this transition, as much as she required it. Perhaps, he would give Athena time to stew. Perhaps, if he did not cave first, he would let her think he wasn't going to come home.


* Athena stared at the door after she slammed it, moving closer to it then to lock the door as if it would keep him out. As if she wanted him out, which she didn't. She just wanted him. Sucking in a deep breath, she wiggled out of her jacket then to toss it on the floor - a gesture Cosimo hated before she stomped towards their bedroom where she was more than tempted to destroy. Just to spite him. As if she hadn't done so already, as if she hadn't already crossed the line and hurt Cosimo just because she was angry. Just because she didn't get her way when life happened.