UP IN FLAMES - Lydia Martin

005. Like mother, like daughter

Skylar sat down on the seats outside of Morrell office and stared at the wall ahead of her until someone sat next to her.

In her daze, Lydia didn't notice who she had sat next to. She was more occupied with her slowly declining mental health and her bandaged hand.

Scowling, Skylar raked through her brain to find the most annoying way to be mean to Lydia. "Hey ginger," she taunted.

Lydia turned to see who was next to her and her eyes widened. "I'm not ginger, it's strawberry blonde."

Skylar shrugged. "The same thing. I don't see any difference." She glanced down at the gloves Lydia was wearing. "Nice gloves."

The strawberry blonde slowly nodded her head. "Thank you."

"I was joking. They're the ugliest thing I've seen all week, apart from your face." Attack her ego. Attack her self-confidence. Attack her self-image.

A tap on Lydia's shoulder from the person next to her made Lydia spin around to them. It was a boy that had slightly long brunet hair. "So, what's your brand of psychosis?" He asked and Lydia scoffed.

"Really?"

"We're both here for something. We don't have to be ashamed of it. However, I would be ashamed of what the blonde next to you is here for."

"I have an acute phobia of people prying into my personal life. You?"

Skylar turned her head to Lydia who seemed to be talking to herself. What a weirdo.

Marin Morrell opened her office door and was about to call out Lydia's name when she spotted the smirking blonde, a certain hunter for blood in her eyes.

"Skylar Amara Argent... What a surprise to see you, come in."

Skylar rapidly shot up and entered the room, followed by the slam of Morrell's door.

From outside, Lydia leaned her ear against the glass and heard a cut-off conversation.

"How's life with the Wolves, hmm? I bet it's furry. Do they shed during summer or is that just a common misconception?"

"Skylar... I know the real reason why your in town..."

Skylar gasped. "Really? I never would've thought."

"You're digging for answers about her, aren't you? Everyone's forgotten about the tragedy, other than her father. It's killing you, isn't it?"

"I have no clue what you're on about." Skylar said. "The only thing killing me is your boring voice."

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Skylar had declined the offer to go to the lacrosse game. She really wasn't interested in a bunch of sweaty boys when there was better things to be doing. . . Like burning buildings or committing murder. Even though she currently hasn't done either, she was flipping through a VOGUE magazine, occasionally admiring the models.

She heard a knock on the door, which was Allison and Gerard returning from the game.

"Oh, good! You're back. Dinner's almost ready." Echoed Victoria's voice.

"How was the game?" Asked Chris and when Gerard replied, she could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Why don't you ask the star player?"

Skylar frowned.

"Hi." Came Scott's sheepish voice and the blonde threw her magazine across the guest bedroom and bolted upright. Why was Scott McCall here?

At the dinner table, everything was drowning in an awkward silence.

Gerard placed his forks down. "All right, why is everyone so quiet? Is it that uncomfortable that they dated?"

Chris squinted. "Did you ask them if they'd be uncomfortable?"

The old man gasped. "Okay, I know it's been a few centuries since I was a teenager, but even back then, we dated and broke up all the time."

Allison shared a look with Scott. "We're fine. Right, Scott?"

Scott gulped. "Totally fine."

"Then why did you break up?"

Scott's eyes widened in fear. "She... dumped me..."

"No offense, Scott, but I think maybe Allison felt the two of you were just growing apart?" Said Chris coldly and Gerard scoffed.

"As if the father's opinion isn't biased! How do you know they weren't as passionate as Romeo and Juliet?"

Skylar twirled her fork around in amusement. "Romeo and Juliet committed ritual suicide. We could use a little less passion."

Allison was starting to become anxious. Skylar's behaviour reminded her of the dinner she and her family one had with Kate. The saying goes, 'like mother, like daughter'. "Can we please talk about something else?"

"Brilliant idea!" Exclaimed Victoria.

Chris stood up from his chair. "Scott, how about you help me grab dessert from the kitchen?"

Shortly after Allison and Scott excused themselves from the table, Skylar followed them. She knew very well that they wouldn't 'exchange biology notes'. They were looking for the Beastiary that Skylar had the honour of keeping.

She leaned against the door frame as Scott and Allison were too busy to notice, their attention focused on the safe.

The lock clicked open and the brunette turned to Scott. "You wanna do a few banks later?"
Scott nodded and took the leather-bound journal from the safe. He flipped it open and read out loud.

"Salmon tart, crème fraiche? What is this?"

"A recipe." Skylar said, and the two's eyes darted to her, horror evident in them. "I've always wondered why Gerard keeps his cookbook in a safe but I've really stopped questioning what he does." A cruel smirk spread on her face. "I'll give you guys a little hint. It's not exactly physical but you can hold the place where it lives. That's where you will find your Beastiary."

Scott frowned. "Why are you telling us?"

A cackle escaped Skylar's throat. "Oh, petit loup. It's sometimes more entertaining to play around, don't you think? It certainly is for me."

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