Twisted and Broken Things

A small stream of smoke escaped from Hayden's mouth and was soon caught by the strong wind. It was whisked away so quickly that she almost didn't smell the acrid scent of her cigarette. It remained only faintly, and unless she smelled her hands, she could almost pretend that she hadn't fallen victim to her old bad habit.

Smoking wasn't necessarily something that she enjoyed, but it was one of the most distracting actions that she had ever come across. Each exhale allowed her time to focus on expelling the poison from her lungs, watching the end of the cigarette burn left her utterly transfixed, and she enjoyed having something to do with her hands. She had found a pack of cigarettes in Jon's jacket earlier that morning, and she had grabbed them without a second thought. Given the events of the past week, she had almost commended herself on waiting as long as she did to pick up the habit again.

It had been eleven days since she had met Brendon. She was sure that her parents had probably called several times in the past week, and she had a feeling that they had contacted the police when they hadn't heard from her or when Brielle or Lydia hadn't answered their calls to assure them that their daughter was fine.

Hayden was also aware that the police wouldn't look for her much longer and that they wouldn't be able to find her in Brendon's castle.

She took another deep drag from the cigarette and almost crinkled her nose in distaste. Jon smoked some strange unfiltered brand that had a disgusting artificial flavor mixed into the tobacco. She made a mental note to ask Ryan to pick her up a regular brand the next time he made a trip to civilization. He was quickly becoming her favorite person in the castle, along with Travis. She didn't see much of Jon or Spencer, but when she did interact with them, they treated her with the same condescending attitude of Brendon, although admittedly to a lesser extent.

"Hayden?"

The voice put her on edge, and she brought the cigarette to her mouth again. This time, she focused on the horrible taste of Jon's almost girly cigarette so that she might be able to ignore Brendon's presence.

However, the Dandie was not used to and did not tolerate being ignored. He cleared his throat loudly as he walked out onto the balcony of the library behind her. "I called your name," he pointed out.

"I heard you," Hayden admitted. She flicked some ashes from the end of the cancer stick. "And I ignored you."

"I came to ask you if you wanted to come to town with me," Brendon declared. "But if this is the way you're going to behave, then I should probably just leave on my own."

Instantly, Hayden dropped her cigarette and stomped on it with the toe of her boot. "No! I'd love to go to town. Anywhere, really," she added, hoping that he wouldn't realize what a bad idea it would be to put her around people. The first chance she got, she was using a telephone and would be free.

Brendon didn't seem very suspicious of her intentions as he pulled a ring of keys from his pocket. "Alright. If anyone asks, your name is Marie Folier," he told her as they left the library.

She wrinkled her nose. Hayden Delaney was a much better name. "Why Marie Folier?" she asked.

"Because the townspeople know me as Henry Folier, mysterious billionaire who lives with his family in the old Chateau du Maurier," he explained. They paused in the entrance hall, and with no more than a look from Brendon, the butler had hurriedly collected their coats. Hayden allowed the man to help her into her warm peacoat and gloves, but Brendon snatched his overcoat and yanked it on himself.

The car that was waiting for them out front was understated as far as Brendon's automobiles went. She had noticed that he liked sleek, noticeably expensive pieces for himself. A little investigation of the grounds had led her to the garage where she had located an expansive collection that included an Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Bentley.

The Lincoln towncar was one that Ryan had used many times as well, and Hayden figured that they didn't like to draw too much attention to themselves when they visited the nearby towns. Brendon didn't open her door for her, and he looked annoyed when she took her time settling herself into the passenger seat before she closed the door.

"There are rules for the day," he began as he started driving down the path that led away from the front of the castle. Once they were out of the expansive greenery, they crossed a stone bridge that led to an actual road.

"Of course there are," sighed Hayden as she directed her gaze out the window.

"You're not to speak to anyone without me," Brendon announced. "If anyone asks, I'll just tell them that you're shy. That should suffice as an excuse."

"Yeah, if I was five years old," she scoffed. "Would trusting me really be all that difficult for you?"

He laughed and glanced at her, looking thoroughly amused. "You really think that I don't know that if I leave you alone for two seconds, you'll search out the nearest law enforcement and try to have me arrested for kidnapping you? Really, Hayden, I'm not in the mood to take out an entire police department today. It gets much too messy because of the long chain of command."

She slumped down in her seat slightly and decided not to reply. Slowly, the woods began giving way to farms and the farmland soon dissipated into small little houses. They were cottage-like, quaint and comfortable looking. Aside from the cars, technology and attire, the town didn't look like it had changed much at all in the last hundred years.

"What are we even here for?" she asked.

"I thought you were getting a little bored, and there's a nice bookstore in town. And I need new pens."

She raised an eyebrow. "Pens?"

"I only use fountain pens that this woman orders for me," he explained. "And we're low on alcohol."

"How'd you know I like books?" she added, having just realized that he had mentioned a bookstore.

He tossed something into her lap. Hayden picked it up and turned it over so that she could get a look at the cover. It was the first edition of Peter Pan that she had bought in Paris the day that she had met him. "I found it in your purse," he explained.

"Of course you did," she sighed as she dropped the book onto the dashboard.

There was a moment where Hayden thought that Brendon looked slightly apologetic, but a second later, his expression changed, and he parked the car. "Where to first?" he asked as he killed the ignition.

"You're asking me?" Hayden answered, perplexed by his lack of bossiness.

He rolled his eyes. "I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to me," he countered as he swept from the car. Before she could even unbuckle her seat belt, he was walking down the sidewalk towards a small store. She had to jog slightly to catch up with him, and when she did, she found they were headed towards a liquor store.

"Ah, Monsieur Folier!" exclaimed the storekeeper. "It is always a pleasure to see you! Is this Madame Folier? It's a pleasure to meet you at last, Madame!"

Hayden smiled politely. "Thank you," she smiled as the man shook her hand eagerly. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well." Brendon looked satisfied with her as he began examining the alcoholic beverages that lined the shelves.

"Go ahead and box up my usual," he finally decided after he had taken a turn about the room. "Marie, is there anything you'd like?"

Hayden had been so immersed in perusing the impressively aged wine that she had forgotten about her new name. It wasn't until Brendon had nearly barked, "Marie!" that she spun around. "No, thank you," she quickly declined with a smile. "Uh, monsieur, is there a restroom that I could use perhaps?"

"Of course, Madame," the owner replied. "Right down the hall." She followed his instructions without a second glance at Brendon. However, she didn't step into the bathroom until she could hear the two men enter into a conversation about the brandy that Brendon was purchasing.

To her delight and relief, the bathroom had a window. The general construction of the shops all looked the same, and she had noticed the ones lining the street had featured windows in the back. The liquor shop was no different. As soon as the door was locked, Hayden stood on the old radiator and removed the screen from the window as quietly as she could.

She worked quickly but deftly. The only noise that she really made was as she was climbing through the small opening: Her foot collided with a decorative porcelain cat and sent the figurine cascading to the ground. But then she was free and scrambling to her feet. One more deep breath, and she was running.

In all honesty, she hadn't put much thought into what she was going to do once she was free from Brendon, and she quickly tried to make a plan as she raced down an alleyway. She had no idea how to hotwire a car, so going back to the Lincoln was quickly eliminated. She didn't know where she was, so trying to get back to Paris was going to be a little difficult. So she settled on finding her way out of the alley and finding a police station or an imposing man that could help her.

"You lost, dear?" a voice asked.

She turned around to find a group of three men standing behind her. "Uh, no," Hayden countered with a smile. "I was just..."

"She smells like him," one of the men, a tall man with curly hair, noted as he grabbed a handful of Hayden's hair and brought it to his nose. "Urie."

"You his new pet, love?" a different man asked with an ecstatic smirk. "Wonder how he'll feel about us playing with his human pet."

Hayden shook her head. "No, you're mistaken. I don't even know who you're talking about," she insisted. Her mind was racing, and she could feel herself begin to ramble. "My name's Marie Folier. My husband and I came to town to get a little shopping done, and he's going to be quite worried if I don't meet him in the bookstore in a moment, so I'd really best be going now."

"Don't he go by that name?" the third man, a short and quite ugly man, asked. "Folier?"

The man closest to Hayden grinned, and Hayden noticed his fangs. They were street vampires, like Travis, but she had a feeling that they weren't nearly of the same sort of disposition as Travis. While Travis treated Brendon as though he were some sort of hero, these vampires obviously weren't fans of the Dandies. He beamed dangerously and snapped his fingers.

The other two vampires grabbed Hayden by her arms and slammed her into the nearest wall so hard that little dots danced before her eyes. "Got to be a good reason he's keeping you around," noted the obvious leader of the triad. "Shall we have a taste and find out, love?" He leaned in, and Hayden tried to squirm against the grip of the other two vampires as his teeth neared the skin of her neck.

"Rayford," a voice snarled. Hayden felt her stomach flutter, and she nearly exhaled in relief when she saw Brendon. "What did I tell you about hunting in town?" The two vampires who had been holding Hayden released her and took a step back.

The vampire named Rayford was the only one who remained unphased and glared at Brendon. "She ain't exactly townsfolk," he pointed out.

Brendon grabbed Hayden's arm and pulled her to his side. "Unfortunately for you, she's already spoken for," he retorted. "Now scram, all of you. You don't want to bring any more trouble onto yourselves."

"Actually, Bren, now that you mention it, I think we're in the mood for a little troublemakin'," Rayford grinned. His general manner made Hayden feel a little sick to her stomach, and she shifted a little closer to Brendon. He took her hand, which confused her immensely, and then turned on the three street vampires.

"What's going on?" Hayden demanded, her voice much shakier than she would have liked.

"We're going home," Brendon explained in a new tone that she had yet to hear from him. He sounded almost comforting, like he knew that she was terrified.

But although they made it to the Lincoln, they weren't going home, and Hayden felt like Brendon knew it before Rayford attacked him, knocking him to the ground. Hayden jumped away from the brawl, too terrified to do anything else. In a way, she was glad that none of the vampires took any notice of her.

One of them howled in pain, and the sound brought Hayden back to the moment. Something was heavy in her hand, and when she opened the clenched fist, she found that Brendon had slipped her the keys to the Lincoln when they had been holding hands. She was free. All she had to do was get into the car and drive far, far away. It would all be over.

She rushed to the driver's side of the car but paused and glanced over at her shoulder. One of the unnamed, lower vampires was lying in a crumpled heap on the ground, but the other two were still violently trying to overtake Brendon. The taller vampire was holding Brendon down while Rayford was trying to stab him with some kind of metal object, maybe a pipe, and they were all hissing so violently that Hayden was amazed that everyone in the town wasn't standing in the street watching the display.

Even if she had wanted to, there was nothing that she could do. Hayden slid into the driver's seat and turned the car on. She glanced out the window at the brawl once more.

It was now only Brendon and Rayford. She didn't know what had happened to the second vampire, but Brendon was no longer on the ground. The two were both on their feet, and it seemed like they were trying to quite simply rip each other to pieces.

She put the car into drive and took a deep breath. It was now or never. As Hayden examined Brendon, she realized that if she helped him, it was quite possible that nothing would change between the two of them. She was also painfully aware of the fact that she might never have another chance to leave.

Nonetheless, she put her foot on the gas and sped forward. The Lincoln collided with its target, and only when Rayford was cleanly trapped beneath the wheels of the car did Hayden stop.

It took a moment for Brendon's fangs to disappear, and Hayden tried to avoid his gaze until they did. When he seemed in control of himself, he crossed to the car, grabbed a gun from the center console and returned to the outside of the car. He checked the cartridge, which was a glowing blue color, took the safety off, and squeezed the trigger, against Rayford's desperate imploring.

There was a horrible moment when Ryaford's body turned black, and he screamed in agony. However, a moment later, he became completely silent and soon, he was a pile of ash. Brendon crossed to the passenger side of the Lincoln and heaved a sigh as he fell into the seat. "Can you drive?" he asked. "I'll give you directions."

Hayden nodded and took her place in the driver's seat. "Why didn't anyone come outside?" she asked as they drove away from the town.

"Dandies have the ability to persuade humans to do certain things," Brendon explained. He looked utterly exhausted, although Hayden felt that it wasn't due to his altercation with the vampires. "Like stay inside even though it sounds like someone's being murdered out in the street."

"You're bleeding," she noted, glancing over at his face. She reached out to wipe the blood, but he waved her hand away.

"Eyes on the road," he ordered. "It'll heal in a moment."

But by the time they returned to the castle, it hadn't healed, to Brendon's irritation. Despite his constant insistence that he was fine, she followed him to his bathroom and doused a rag in rubbing alcohol. "Would you please just shut up for two seconds?" Hayden demanded as she pressed the rag to the gash in his forehead.

He howled and smacked her hand away so hard that she had to flex her fingers to make sure that they weren't broken. "That hurt!" he snapped.

"I was just trying to help!" she countered.

Brendon glared at her. "Is that what you were doing when you snuck out the window of that store?" he demanded.

"Can you blame me?" Hayden asked in a weak voice. "Brendon, I know that you don't want me here. I know that this wasn't your idea, but you make me hate you instead of William. I mean, if you were just decent to me..." She trailed off and shrugged. She dropped the cloth on the sink, noticing that the blood was gone and that his skin had indeed healed itself. She turned to leave the bathroom.

"I'll see you at dinner tonight," Brendon muttered in a tentative tone.

Hayden shook her head. "I think I'm just going to go to bed early tonight," she decided, her own exhaustion finally catching up with her.

He nodded, and there was a small silence before Hayden said, "Thank you. For not letting them just kill me."

"You're welcome," replied Brendon tersely.

She turned and almost left the bathroom. However, she still hesitated. She turned around again. "Brendon?"

He looked over from the mirror. "Yes, Hayden?"

"I'm... I'm sorry you didn't get your pens," she finally sighed.

He didn't seem to know what to make of her at that moment. "They'll still be there tomorrow," he finally replied. "I'll have someone else go out to pick them up."

She nodded and finally forced herself to leave. She had no idea if her decision to help him had changed anything for the better. She had no idea why she hadn't drove the Lincoln to the opposite side of France when she had the opportunity. All Hayden knew at that moment was that she needed a cigarette, and she needed one bad.