Hallows: Pretty Snakes & Devils

Vic's Fault

Madcon- Beggin

B.B.

Stacy and Diana are trying their best to get the paint out of my hair but the ends are done for. I am going to have to cut my hair. Lucien is going to be so upset. But that was so worth it. I can't even begin to describe what f*****g happened. It was madness. It was insane. It was one hundred percent, Victor Escobar's fault. He doesn't have another setting. Carson and I were at his mercy completely and the son of a b***h didn't disappoint.

"So, Ro and Ahsan," Diana clears her throat. I nod as she prepares to cut my ugly crispy hair.

"Yeah,"

"Does that mean you're out of the picture?" Stacy asks.

"No," I shake my head. "It just means-" I clear my throat. "I don't know,"

"What about Vic and Carson?" Diana adds.

"What about Vic and Carson?" Stacy looks between us confused.

"There is no Vic and Carson. Not the way there's Ro and San," I shake my head. "They're just close,"

"That's what you said about the caramel drops," Stacy points at me with the comb in her hand.

"Okay, enough," Diana waves her off. "I'm sorry I couldn't save your hair, B,"

"It's fine," I shrug.

Carson and Vic? I mean sure I see the way they are with one another but is it the same as Ahsan and Rodrigo? After what happened last night and this morning, it doesn't feel like it. Ahsan never allowed himself to be open this way with Ro Up until he snapped Ro knew exactly what he was doing to Ahsan. Ro knows exactly what he does to all of us. He's just that b***h. He'll have what he wants. Selfish and passionate.

Victor is definitely passionate but he's not selfish. Carson on the other hand is. I think what he likes about Vic is that Vic isn't the kind of person that says no if whatever we ask of him is well within his power. It's been that way from the start. I definitely see where Diana is coming from, but I know them.

Tears slide down my face as I see the lengths of my hair slide down my shoulder and onto the kitchen floor. James is picking them up and laying them down on the counter. It's a lot worse than I expected. I probably should have washed it out immediately but I lost all my senses when Carson unleashed the power of his glamour. It was a hundred times worse than the sexy time oils.

And then there's the transformation. Carson has completely tamed the devil inside of him and when he gave into it. I haven't been able to stop thinking of his pretty red skin, the horns, the tail, and his dark demonic eyes. f*****g hell. Can all three devils do that? Will they do it for me? Group therapy is going to be a lot more fun now.

"You look good in everything," Diana shakes her head. "f*****g criminal,"

"Finished?" I ask. The two of them nod and hold up a mirror.

My hair falls just over my shoulders. It's wet right now so once it dries and gets curly it'll be right under my ears. Lucien will either love it or hate it. I kind of love it actually. I also feel so much lighter. Stacy takes a bottle from Diana's huge bag and starts spraying my hair with it. The two of them start styling it. This is how Carson and Rodrigo find us. My hair in a net and Diana defusing with the hair dryer.

"No," Ro grabs two handfuls of my hair on the counter and looks up at me, his eyes almost teary. "What did you do?"

"It was Vic's fault," I say.

"I'll kill him," he growls.

"Ready?" Diana laughs. I nod and hold up the handheld Jeffery Star meat cleaver mirror. She pulls the net away and my hair falls perfectly in frizzless ringlets. I shake them out a little and pull the bigger ones apart. The two of them just stare at me.

"Right?" Stacy nods. Carson is the first to reach for it. He pulls on a curl and then releases it. A smug smirk on his face.

"Lucien is going to kill us," he sighs. "Worth it,"

He pulls my stool closer to him. He wraps his arms around me to show me his phone. There I am. Naked and covered in Vic's paint. He has pictures of the entire interaction and someone edited them to look a lot scarier. You can't really tell it's me but I doubt they want these for anything public. Their egos wouldn't allow them no matter how beautiful these are.

"Is that you?" Diana asks. Carson growls at her and she takes a step back.

"Hey," I scold him. He glares at her but doesn't growl at her again.

"With that. I am out. I have a bunch of s**t to do anyway. We have nothing on the changeling before you ask," she rolls her eyes at him. "And FYI if I wanted her, I'd take her and you wouldn't even know what hit you,"

"Keep telling yourself that," he growls again. This time Ro backs him up.

"Tell Presley I'll see him on Monday. Hey, what's going on with him and Miles,"

"Miles," she sighs. "He needs to get his head out of his ass. He's hurting Pres badly. Sad cobras just aren't as springy. You get me?"

"Yeah," I nod. If it's anything like a sad Eve. I get her a lot. "Be careful. Ahsan isn't here anymore so, watch for him and me,"

"You're the boss," she salutes me and leaves.

"You need to chill," I poke Carson in his chest.

"I don't need to chill. Her f*****g glamour is all over you,"

"Yeah, she was keeping me from freaking out while she was cutting my hair. She had my permission,"

"No," he grips my face tightly. "You don't get to give anyone that privilege. I will get Dec over here faster than you can say I gave her permission, Belladonna. Stop doing s**t like that,"

"Relax," Ro pulls his hand off my face. "Okay, why do you look so pretty today?"

"Do I?" I ask looking down at my black overalls. I have a tube top under and I was too lazy to put my contacts on so, I have my glasses on the table. I slip them on and shrug. I'm not even wearing shoes.

"You're not leaving the house today?" Carson asks as he fills a mug with coffee.

"I'm actually going to be at your house. Damian and I are going to start setting up to put the arch up by Monday. We already have everything in position. Just putting in some finishing touches,"

"Are you completely unconcerned with the Changeling running around our town?" he asks.

"No, I called in the big guy," I shake my head.

"The big guy?" Ro asks. "Vic?"

"Liam,"

"Oh," the three of them say.

"What the f**k has he been doing all Summer?" Carson asks.

"He and David are trying to negotiate with the Church. I sent Genisis and Octavio with him,"

"Who this f**k are Genisis and Octavio?"

"Gen is Diana's Reaper in Old Town and Octavio is Devistation's Hellhound,"

"You're friends with the Devastation Stone?" Ro asks. I nod.

"Since when?" Stacy asks.

"Since Delilah came back. She introduced me to everyone she knew before she left. You guys know Millie from Cadavar right?"

"Millie," Ro huffs. Carson pauses and sets his mug down.

"You f****d with Millie?" he growls. I groan when the prickling cold of Remy's possessiveness floods through me along with my own and Carson's.

"In high school," he clears his throat. I don't know why I feel this way when it comes to Ro but if it were any of the others, I don't really care. I guess because I've always known where the others stood. Ro never tells me about things he's been through. He's my mysterious little s*x machine.

"Well, this just got weird. I'm out," Stacy jumps up to her feet with a smirk on her face and taps the counter as she passes by me. She lets out a little crazed giggle and then breaks into a sprint when I growl at her.

"b***h," I roll my eyes.

"It was in high school, guys. It didn't end well. My sister liked going after the girls I dated. It started with Millie," he shrugs. "Lucien wasn't the only one that got a taste of Thompson. Chona was a b***h,"

"Died like one too," I agree. They both smile.

"I don't see you doing this with the others," he stops me from leaving.

"Maybe because the others talk to me. The only person you seem to be able to talk to is San, so maybe have him take notes for the rest of us next time,"

"Bella," he calls out but I ignore him.

"See what you did?" Carson scolds him.

"f**k off," Ro growls. "Belladonna," I scream when I'm momentarily blinded by crows. When they clear out Ro is standing in front of me with his hands on his hips. "A donde vas?"

"To my room," I step back when his eyes turn completely black. A cold shiver makes its way down my spine. "How did you do that?"

"Don't f*****g walk away from me," he says stepping down the stairs with each word until he's standing in front of me. I jump when his hand lashes out to grip my wrist. "Why are you so angry with me?" he asks fully invading my space now. "Hmm?"

"Where do I even start, Rodrigo?" I growl pulling my arm out of his grasp. He lets out a heavy sigh and nods.

"At the beginning, Bonita. Always at the beginning," he tips my chin. I meant to take a step away but as he gets closer, I can't help but want to be near him, but I can't help the anger I feel when I look at him either.

"You were the one baiting him," I remind him. He shuts his eyes and nods. "Ahsan is a lot of things but he's not what you made him out to be. You didn't care about me or Lucien you just went ahead and did whatever the f**k you wanted and then you had everyone lie to me to protect you," my resolves snaps and I strike. My fingers dig into his throat tightly so he doesn't move. He backs away as I step into him until he's up against the wall. "And you expect me to do what? Just let it go?"

"B.B.," Carson says my name from behind me.

"I know I have to let it go, Lovie. Not just for Daddy but for us because if I did to you what I really want to do to you, the others will hate me," hot angry tears slide down my face and his expression softens. "I'm not mad at you, Ro. You hurt me," I release him placing my hand on his chest. I can feel how fast his heart is beating. I can almost hear it drumming in my ears. "I don't know where we even stand anymore. I don't know if you even really-"

"Don't," he lifts his hand to cover my mouth. "You do know," he shakes his head. "Baby, you know I'm in love with you,"

"Do I?" I scoff taking a step back.

"B.B.," he reaches for me and I swat his hand away.

"It doesn't feel like you are and the stupid thing about this whole situation is that I know it's my fault,"

"B.B.," he calls out again when I rush up the stairs to my room. I go straight into my closet to get to my boots.

"Baby," Carson walks in after me. He shuts the door behind me and approaches very slowly.

I didn't even know I was as upset as I am until I inhale and the tightness in my chest protested. Carson's arms circle my waist. His lips are pressed against the back of my neck as I silently fall apart for the stupidest reason. I've been preparing myself for this since they told me a long f*****g time ago. It's been months and yet when he stands in front of me when they stand in front of me, a big part of me hates it.

"I don't want you to make me feel better, Carson,"

"I'm not," he tightens his hold on me. "You're going to have to get over this on your own," he says pressing his cheek to the side of my head. "You knew this has been happening for a while. This connection-"

"Enough," I pull away and turn to look at him. "What are you doing? Making up excuses because you're doing the same thing with Vic?"

"What?" he glares at me. "There is nothing going on between me and Vic,"

"Right," I scoff taking a pair of boots off the wall. I look down at them and decide that this isn't what I want to wear today. I step around him and go for my sun dresses. I change out of my overalls and into a pretty red dress.

"B.B. There is nothing going on between me and Vic," Carson says as he sits on my bed. "You know that. You're upset,"

"I am upset. You know, I never hid anything from any of you. From the start, I've been pretty f*****g transparent and I never hid a single thing from you. My lies come from how overprotective all of you are. You didn't need to know about Rionegro. Not until Valentina caught up. But it's not the same thing as all of you agreeing to f*****g lie to me. It's not just Jimenez I'm upset with, Carson. It's all of you. You broke your own f*****g rules and for what? I already knew,"

"This is why," he says calmly. "Because of the way you react to things,"

"Carson, I react like this because you f*****g assholes try to hide things from me. Not only do I catch you doing the stupid s**t you do but I also catch you lying to me. Then you manage to flip it on me and somehow I become the guilty one. I carry a lot of that already. I don't need it from all of you as well. I'll be at your house if you need me,"

I grab my coat off the headboard and head downstairs. When Smalls's engine purrs to life I take a couple of deep breaths to calm myself. The Maserati isn't here anymore and I'm a little grateful for that. Floral And Fading blares from the speaker and I turn it all the way when Carson steps out of the house. I hit the gas spinning the car around before taking off.

Dec and Damian are already arguing when I arrive.

"This panel is the wrong f*****g size for this," Dec growls at Damian as he pulls one of the solar panels we've been working on for the arch.

"Not if you turn it this way," Damian turns it.

"This is f*****g ridiculous," Dec shakes his head and lets go of him. "f**k off, D. Give us a minute,"

"Sup, Blackstone," Damian gives me a nod as he walks past me.

"Don't go too far. We have to talk," I tell him.

"You look like you can use a drink too," he pats my back and leaves.

"What's up, Lil Mama?" Dec asks pulling me to him. I wrap my arms around his waist and just rest my head on his chest. His hand makes its way into my hair. "What the f**k? You cut all your hair off?"

"It's Vic's fault," I nod.

"That motherfucker," he shakes his head. "What happened?"

"With Vic? Nothing. I just had a conversation with Ro and his stupid easy to rip-out throat," I go around to look at the panel they were just fighting over. "This isn't for the arch,"

"Thank you," he laughs. "Damian is really good at people parts but that's as far as his brain goes,"

"Be nice to him. He just lost his stone," I inform him. He tenses up.

"What? They're dead?" he asks. I shake my head.

"They left him. That's what I wanted to talk to him about. Now I know why he didn't want to spend the weekend with Del. He doesn't want to worry her,"

"That's tough," he sits at our workstation. I nod.

"It gets worse. They want to replace Vic too,"

"Vic is the only reason they have everything they do," he shakes his head.

"Drinks," Damian comes back with a bottle from Mr. Kennedey's stash and some glasses. "f*****g Kennedys only have the best s**t in this place,"

"Word," Dec agrees taking the bottle from him. "Told you that panel isn't for the stacks,"

"Aww, what's it for then?" Damian looks over at me.

"It's for our room back at the house. It's what I used for Ro's part of the room. It's an extra panel," I shrug and sit down next to Dec. I tap the table so he takes a seat with us. "D, Vic, and Carson told me what's going on with Daemon,"

"s**t," he groans and falls onto the stool. Dec slides a glass over to him. He doesn't hesitate to take it. "B, I couldn't be with them anymore. I keep telling Vic and he's not listening to me. He literally does everything for those f***s and they treat him like s**t,"

"He's really upset about that," I agree. "He was all over the place last night,"

"Yeah, I felt it. He has a little feather flurry around him,"

"He does," I smile remembering my moody bird and all the black paint. "You should have told me,"

"You got a lot on your plate with Ro and Ahsan right now, B. I also didn't want you to tell Delilah. She's doing really good in New York and I wanted to keep it to myself for a little longer,"

"How about we take a break for the rest of the weekend and head to the clubhouse?" I suggest.

"You want to go the clubhouse?" Dec asks.

"I know you're dying to see the new sniper rifles San got," I poke his side. I'm met with a wide grin. "What about you, Damian?"

"Yeah, let's go," he finishes his drink. I do the same. We clear everything up and head over to our cars. Damian gets in the car with me. He's been staying here the last couple of days just wrapping the wires together. It's what takes up most of our time. "B?"

"Yeah?" I glance over at him.

"If I asked you to help me to permanently remove them, would you?" he asks.

"For Vic?"

"For me," he shakes his head. "Vic would be upset with both of us after. He loves them. Even little Thompson. They don't deserve him. Vic is the best person I know and this darkness around him as of late, isn't him. It's only going to get worse. They're only going to push harder,"

"We should wait until it's dark. Show me some of those new kick-ass moves you learned," I bump him playfully. He smiles but it doesn't reach his eyes. "Come on, D. We can't both be sad at the same time,"

"These f*****g crows are going to be the death of us, B," he smirks. "The s**t we do for our birds,"