Oliver had fished work almost two hours ago and Vinny was talking to his dad somewhere in the mansion. He wanted to talk about Desmond but he also wanted to talk about tomorrow. He needed to be certain that he fell asleep before twelve and woke up after Oliver was taken out of the room. He thought about sleeping in a different room but that wouldn't work. They would need each other too much.
Oliver was standing next to the garden doors in the dining room. He watched the heavy snow fall and cover everything in thick blankets of ice. Having just a t-shirt on made him feel a little cold, however, the mansion was really warm compared to the minus temperatures outside.
"One thing I hate about humans is how pathetic they get when it snows," A voice suddenly said, making Oliver jump. He turned to see Scarlet walking up behind him."Why do you feel the cold so much? I say it's because you're weak."
Oliver didn't really know what to say. How can one family member hate humans so much when the rest don't?
"It looks cold out there doesn't it?" She reached forwards and opened the door. Oliver felt the harsh cold air, piercing his skin. "Oh I'm sorry, do you not like that?"
Oliver hugged himself in an attempt to keep in some body heat.
"It's chilly," He shyly smiled. Scarlet smiled back but he could see it was obviously fake.
Suddenly, she grabbed his shoulders and pushed him with quite a lot of force. He stumbled outside and fell into the deep snow.
He gasped at the shock of the freezing temperatures as he quickly got up but Scarlet shut the door behind him and he heard it lock. He instantly ran over and tried to open it but it wasn't moving. Was this a joke?
"Scarlet, please, open the door!" He shouted and began to shiver. She couldn't hear him through the thick doors as she laughed and started walking away. Oliver banged on the glass in another attempt to get her attention. "Scarlet!"
She kept walking.
Oliver watched until she had left the dining room.
Things became silent too quickly as he turned around. It was dark outside and he could only see about three meters in front of him. He didn't know of any other entrances into the house and was scared he'd get lost, but surely he couldn't stand out here until someone came into the dining room?
He patted his pockets and realised his phone was in the bedroom. His teeth had started to chatter as he rubbed his arms. Vinny had been gone for about an hour so Oliver could be stuck out here for ages until he came to look for him.
Five minutes had passed and every minute felt like ten.
Oliver was still standing outside the dining-room. The cold was hurting his skin and he tried to control his shivering. What was he to do? There was still nobody in the dining-room and he was scared he would become too cold to even move.
But he had to move and keep his blood flowing.
He looked left and then right. Which direction should he go? He couldn't believe that Scarlet would do something so terrible. Oliver was losing his mind from the cold and he had only been outside for a handful of minutes.
After shifting his weight from one foot to the other, he decided to go left.
* * * * *
Half an hour had passed.
"I'm going to see Oliver now." Vinny stood up. He was still in his dad's study. He was talking with his parents about tomorrow but he had started to miss his soulmate.
"Okay, we'll be down soon," Madison smiled. Vinny nodded before heading out of the room. He walked downstairs and towards the dining-room. That's where Oliver said he would be.
He opened the door, looked around and was surprised to see that he wasn't there. He frowned, where could he be? He thought that maybe he went for a wander and got himself lost so he turned and headed back into the corridor.
Fifteen minutes passed.
Vinny was starting to get a little worried. He checked everywhere and had not run into him. They only had fifteen minutes until they had been apart for two hours and he could feel a distant pull in his chest. He didn't like it.
He was on the second floor and was starting to panic. What if Oliver had hurt himself but was lost and on his own? The thought of that made him walk quickly back to his dad's study.
He opened the door without warning and entered.
"I can't find Oliver and it has been almost two hours." He breathed. His parents saw the clear panic on his face as they stood up.
"Where was he last?" Duke asked.
"The dining room, but I've looked everywhere," He said, just as Scarlet casually entered the room. "Have you seen Oliver?"
Her cold eyes looked him up and down.
"Well, wherever he is, he might be a bit chilly," A smirk worked its way onto her lips, making everyone frown.
"What do you mean? Where is he?" Vinny snapped angrily. He had no time for games.
"Son, calm down." Duke could see he was clearly distressed.
"I may have accidentally locked him out and in the garden," Scarlet spoke with innocence and shrugged like it was no big deal.
"You did what!?" Vinny roared but his mind was racing. His soulmate has been locked outside. Did he even have any warm clothes on? How long has he been outside in the dark, alone?
He didn't wait for an answer and ran out of the room. He ran down the corridors and towards the stairs. He heard his dad sprinting after him but he couldn't stop.
As he reached the dining-room again, he continued until he got to the garden doors. He unlocked it and ran outside. Even he felt cold as he looked desperately around.
"Oliver!?" He shouted, just as his dad came outside too.
"Oliver!?" Duke yelled and looked around too. Where could he be? His son disappeared into the darkness with sharp eyes, trying to detect any movement. The snow crunched under his feet and the snow fell calmly around this chaotic situation.
Just then, there was a little voice from underneath one of the statues. Duke turned to see Oliver curled up and trying to shelter himself from the falling snow. He was shaking violently as he tried getting up.
"Vinny, he's here!" Duke shouted and ran over. "Oliver?" He looked lost and disorientated. Duke knew he was developing hypothermia by how blue his lips were.
When Vinny spotted him, his heart almost broke. He ran over and quickly knelt down in front of him.
"Oliver, are you okay?" He asked desperately and placed his hands on the side of his freezing face. Oliver shook his head and slowly reached for him. His teeth were chattering hard as his body trembled.
Vinny didn't waste any more time before he and Duke helped him to his feet. They walked him back towards the dining room. Madison was waiting eagerly by the door when she spotted them. When she saw Oliver looking so weak and frail, she quickly picked up a blanket next to the fire.
As soon as they were inside, she wrapped it around his shoulders.
"You poor thing."
He tried to smile, showing how thankful he was.
"I-I'm S-Sorry," He stuttered through chattering teeth.
"What for?" Vinny put his arms around him, trying to keep in the heat.
"F-For making you w-worry." He felt extremely bad. Vinny looked panicked and stressed, he hated seeing him like that.
"Don't apologise, this is not your fault." The vampire hugged him tightly. He felt his cold cheek against him as he rubbed his back.
"Scarlet, why the hell would you do something like this?" Duke yelled. She was standing next to the dining table with her arms crossed and a bored expression.
"I was proving a point," She muttered but she knew everyone was angry with her. Vinny turned and gave her an evil glare. If he wasn't more concentrated on making Oliver better, he would have said some incredibly hurtful things.
"You locked that poor boy outside and left him to freeze because you wanted to prove a point?" Madison asked. Her tone was harsh. She was finding it hard to believe that her daughter would ever do something so cruel.
"Yes. That is a perfect example as to why Vampires should not have human soulmates. They're weak," She said without a trace of sympathy in her voice.
Duke's mouth hung open. Oliver could now get seriously ill. What would have happened if they didn't find him?
"Scarlet, get out of my sight," He grumbled, just as John walked into the dining-room. He gasped when he saw his son shaking with blue lips.
"Oliver? What happened!?"
"He got locked outside." Vinny could not look at his sister, he was disgusted by her behaviour.
"What!?" John was extremely worried. "For how long?"
"Too long."
"How?" John asked as he rubbed Oliver's arms, trying to help warm him up.
"We'll explain later, but you need to get him into a warm bath," Madison said as Vinny nodded before walking towards the door with Oliver and John.
Scarlet had left in a strop but she had no right to be angry.
Vinny didn't know how he would ever be able to face her again. She did this to his soulmate on purpose and didn't even say sorry. She was kidding herself if she thought their relationship would ever be the same again. He would never forgive her for this.
Never.