The same day; the same day as their youngest child's death anniversary, now became the anniversary of two Hoffman sisters' deaths.
Several deputies tried to get the grieving family to leave the scene, pushing them away lightly, but they were determined to remain standing—besides Lilah who was still sitting on the floor, her throat burning as she screamed and cried.
She had now not only lost her baby sister, but now her best friend as well—all on the same day, only four years apart.
But you know what they say, history is bound to repeat itself.
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"We stand here today, in remembrance of a girl who'd only ever known kindness and love," came the man dressed in black as he stood at the podium resting beside the large coffin with flowers laying neatly on the wood. Beneath them, lied Corinna Hoffman's body. Her wounds had been cleaned and stitched together, her pale, rotting skin now covered in a beautiful black gown as her shining blonde hair spread around her head like a halo. How fitting.
"Corinna Hoffman was this town's very own angel, one that we were unfortunate to lose so soon. I now ask that anyone that would like to say a few kind words regarding the victim, to come forward and speak." He added before patting the podium gently and stepping aside, allowing anyone to come forth.
Surprisingly, Lilah Hoffman was the first to step up and walk slowly to the wooden podium. Her face was completely flushed due to the never-ending tears slipping down from her gorgeous blue eyes, but she still looked beautiful as ever. The girl dressed in black reached the podium, her hands gripping the sides tightly as if it were a life-line. Oh how she wished it were.
The blonde took a deep breath before speaking through her tears. "Corinna Rose Hoffman was my sister, as well as my best friend." She began, receiving hundreds of expressions of sympathy and pity as they listened to her words. "I don't know . . . what kind of monster could have done this to her, but I am determined to catch them, and ensure they never do this to anyone ever again. No one should have—" she paused as more tears slipped down her face, her words getting caught in her throat. "No one should have to experience the loss of losing their sister—let alone two. Corinna was good. She—she was this God forsaken town's angel child, and I just—I wish she was still here," she said quietly as she turned to look at the coffin lying beside her. Lilah brought one shaking hand to the wood, placing it gently on top of it as she released more tears. "I'm so sorry this happened to you, Cori."
With that, Lilah nodded her head at the people staring at her silently, their own faces stained with tears as well as she stepped down and returned to her seat beside her mother, who immediately engulfed her in a tight, loving embrace.
It was still for a moment, no one moving to speak more after the eldest Hoffman's speech, until finally, Lydia Martin came forward.
The strawberry blonde girl stepped up to the podium, her hands mimicking the tight hold on the sides as Lilah had done prior. "Corinna was the first real friend I ever made in this town. And she was the best kind; loving, affectionate, understanding, and extremely kind. She'd never done anything wrong to anyone, because that was just Cori—no matter what you'd done to her, she'd always treat you with the love and respect she thought everyone deserved. Like we all say, she truly was this town's angel," Lydia paused as she wiped away the stream of tears on her cheeks. "I had the unfortunate luck to be the one to find her body; the body of my best friend—my sister. And while that's truly a terrifying, and horrific experience, I can't even begin to imagine what Corinna thought as that person did this to her." She paused again, her eyes falling onto the few teenagers seated near the back that had figured out exactly who did this.
"I wish there was more I could say, but no words will ever be enough to describe the kind of person Cori was. My heart goes out to her family, I'm so sorry this happened . . ." she whispered as she stared at the Hoffman's that hadn't stopped crying since the moment they received the phone call from the sheriff. Lydia took one last glance at the coffin that now contained her best friend, before walking off and joining the group in the back.
She wanted to say more—to inform the family that the person responsible for their daughter and sister's death was someone they trusted, someone Corinna looked up to as her English teacher, but unfortunately, the world of the supernatural was much more complicated than that.
And Corinna Hoffman was soon to learn just how complicated it really was.
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Nearly everyone had left, leaving in their cars to go to the Hoffman house for the reception, all but one. He stood before her grave, a bouquet of her favorite flowers in hand, as he stared down at the carved stone.
CORINNA HOFFMAN best friend , daughter , sister now in Heaven with all the other angels.
"You didn't even believe in Heaven, so clearly whoever wrote this didn't know you well enough," he said quietly as he placed the white lilies beside her grave. He released a sigh as he tucked his hands into his pockets, unsure what else to say. "We're gonna stop her, Corinna. I promise you that. I'm not gonna let the person who did to you keep doing it."
The wind blew harshly at his body, causing the flannel wrapped around his upper to blow back. He instantly wrapped his arms around his waist in order to try and keep some warmth, because he wasn't leaving—not yet.
Stiles sighed and ran a hand through his hair, his brunette locks becoming messy the more he did so. "I should've told you the truth," he whispered. Though he wasn't sure what he truly meant by that. Did he mean the truth about his feelings for her, or the truth of the world she actually lived in? Either way, Stiles hated himself for not doing so. If Corinna had known about what lurked in the dark, and who the people she hung around with really were, maybe this could have been avoided. But deep down, he knew it wouldn't have changed a thing. But at least then, if he had confessed his feelings of undying love to her, at least she would have died knowing his heart belonged to her—that someone in this world truly did love her, more than anything.
But he didn't. And Corinna died alone, and in fear.
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Ups! Tento obrázek porušuje naše pokyny k obsahu. Před publikováním ho, prosím, buď odstraň, nebo nahraď jiným.
𝖠𝖴𝖳𝖧𝖮𝖱'𝖲 𝖭𝖮𝖳𝖤. . .
i hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter! i'm actually in love with this plot and i'm so excited to continue to write corinna's character. she's a little different than my other oc's but i love her all the same <3 please vote and comment, i love you!
