Get it together

She had been a bit off all day. Checking into the security room where Tolvin was now stationed, she didn't want to make him feel too...smothered, so she decided to work on documents for George. She checked her watch and realized she'd been at it for three hours. She barely saw Tijgerian today and had she, she would have probably gotten upset. Tij was her friend, she had been for a while...but this was going too far. She grabbed the folders and went to the office she was using. Pushing the door almost closed, she walked forward and let the folders fall onto the desk. Giving Tij a look, she stepped back.

"If this is all...I'll go to my room for the night. Rajat is with Vivian learning about plants." Her tone was a bit cold and sharp, but she was still agitated that Tij was still refusing to fix the problem she was having.

She looked up to see Rochelle walking towards her desk, both her brows going up as she let the folders fall with a loud thud. She tilted her head to the side, appalled at Rochelle's behavior. "Excuse...me?" She shook her head. "Is there a problem here?" This was very unlike Rochelle, very unlike her.

"You damn right there is a problem. Tijgerian Sevti, you said you had it under control. You said they stopped happening...and all this time...." She shook her head in disappointment. "You HURT him, Tij...you really hurt him. A lot. He's...he's not like you! Or John Quinn...we're just normal humans who can break...and die. I mean, WHAT were you thinking?? You're like a time bomb, what if it had been Rajat! I thought you had this under control, but I see I was wrong."

She scoffed and shook her head. "And then....you lie to me. You know....you knew Nik died because of a vampire attack and yet you feel the need to tell me Tolvin was attacked by vampires when it was really YOU!" She let it all off of her chest, feeling slightly better but her cheeks flushed from her emotions.

When Rochelle began to speak her mind, her brows rose even higher and she leaned back in her chair to fold her arms across her chest and listen. Bringing up her son was a bad move. She stood quickly and pointed a finger at her with a growl. "You DO NOT bring up my son, Rochelle. Do not." She growled, frustrated and pushed the chair away with her leg. She walked over to the window and looked out into the night. "I know, okay. I know." She sighed hard and closed her eyes. "I know that I hurt him." she turned to face Rochelle and opened her eyes. "Don't you get that. I feel horrible that he got hurt. It's why I ensured you were the one to care for him. I never wanted to hurt anyone, Shell. I never...I never wanted to hurt...anyone." She turned away from Rochelle and her anger grew because of her guilt. She used both fists, balled tightly and slammed them against the window pane. The glass shattered and the shard protruding from her hand was covered in crimson.

She looked down at it and hissed from the pain. Clenching her teeth together, she closed her eyes as she pulled the shard from her hand.

"Mommy, mommy! Come look!" Rajat said right after he entered the room. She bit back her pain and tears to look over her shoulder at him and smiled her best forced smile.

"Okay baby, I'll be..I'll be right there."

She jumped slightly when she slammed her fists into the glass and went to speak when she heard Rajat who had snuck in. She cleared her throat as Tij acted normal. Looking down at Rajat, she smiled and got down to his eye level. "Hey champ, mommy and I are finishing up work but I promise she'll come see right after. How about....Vincent gets you some ice cream? You were really good today."

He gasped and his eyes lit up. "Oh pleeeeeease can I, can I??" He bounced a bit and she chuckled, nodding.

"Go hunt him down and let him know that mommy gave the okay." She looked over to see if Tij disagreed but she smiled and nodded. He rushed out of the room to find Vincent. She stood back up and smoothed out her skirt. "Tij I hate to fight, I really do...but this isn't you. You're so angry and you refuse to talk to any of us about it. You're pushing the man who obviously loves and cares for you away, you don't....always have to be the strong one. It doesn't make you any less of you." She said softly, trying to help her friend.

Once Rajat left the room, she grabbed the scarf hanging from the coat rack, wrapping it around her hand. She turned and shook her head. "No, No Rochelle...we don't talk about it. We won't talk about it. This conversation is over. I'm sorry I hurt your boyfriend but remember the boundaries? This crosses that and I will not tell you about my feelings."

She began grabbing her things, ignoring the pain in her hand. Continuously shaking her head no as she found the urge to shift and just run, run and never look back. Rochelle went to speak again and she looked up with a hard glare. "NO! We will NOT discuss it Rochelle."

She could sense the hostile change in Tijgerian and knew this was her defenses coming up. She sighed and attempted to make her feel better only to be yelled at. She nodded and held her hands up. "Fine...you win. Whatever you wish, boss. My med-kit is in my room, should you decide you want to close the gaping hole in your hand. I wouldn't want to offer to help you and make you feel inferior."

She moved back towards the door. "Sleep well..." She said sarcastically, knowing that until Tijgerian came face to face with her demons, she'd never sleep well. Ever. And that only made her even more dangerous.

She had never heard such sarcasm and coldness come from her friend. Perhaps she was rubbing off on the girl or Tolvin's bed manners had her more confident. She went to speak but refrained, she did not want to make this any worse and if she spoke...well, the things she had to say were not very nice.


"Damn it!" She slammed her hurt hand on the top of the desk and cursed aloud, groaning through clenched teeth. "Son of a..." She groaned again and squeezed her eyes shut. "Fuck this day and everything about it." Maybe she would be better off going to Brazil alone. She clenched her teeth together and moved across the room to the small liquor cabinet. Pouring her a glass of the caramel liquid, she downed it and refilled the glass. The burn took her mind off of her hand and everything else. Stumbling toward the hall, she planned for a run.