ARCANE

008

The door opens, and Hope nearly jumps off the barstool in surprise. Erik left her hours ago, and it is now the middle of the night. Her delicate fingers shut her notebook, as she walks over to the entryway.

Hope pauses at the front door. Her Dad drops his briefcase in his arm when he sees her. His tie is screwed to the side, his normally manicured hair sticks up at all ends, and his eyes are bloodshot.

Quickly, Hope jumps into his arms. She buries her face into his soft suit. His cologne is strong, but she can still smell the sweat on him. Her father's hands wrap tightly around her, one clinging to her waist and the other wrapped in her hair.

"I'm sorry," he musters, gripping her tightly. "I came back to town as soon as the trial was over, when I heard the news. I have to leave again to help the police."

Hope pulls back to look at him. She studies his confused face. Despite her inquires (though rare) Hope knows very little about her Dad's job. However, she knows that he normally helps the police over the phone rather than waltzing into the police station.

"What happened?" her voice is higher than she had hoped it would be. If she had any doubt in her mind that she would play the cute, innocent girl in a romance novel, it has evaporated. Even the crazy events of the last 24 hours haven't changed her.

"You know I'm not at liberty to discuss, sweetheart," her Dad sighs, moving into the kitchen. He takes two glasses out of the cabinet, filling each with filtered water. He reaches in a drawer, pulling out Hope's medication. He pauses, frowning. "You didn't take it this morning."

"I forgot," she manages, guilt climbing up her throat. She waits for it to spill on the ground and for her Dad to notice the mess, but he continues to stare down.

"It's really important that you don't forget it," he tells her, passing her the "Just, make sure to take tonight's."

She nods, opening up the Wednesday evening slot. With the glass of water from her Dad, she plays with them in her hand. "I'm sorry. I'm just nervous."

Her Dad's face tightens. He leans across the island to kiss her on the forehead. "I know."

"Do I need to worry about you, tonight?" She asks, the guilt once again strangling her. Hope asks herself why she thought it was a good idea to ever sneak out in the first place. Worrying her Dad is the last thing she wants since he already has so much on his plate. However, she decides that having already dug this whole, the damage is done. What's a little deeper?

"No, love," he walks around to her side of the kitchen. With one hand placed lightly on her arm, he leans his head against hers. "There was an accident last night, in the park."

Hope pulls herself away, staring at him. Maybe she should have taken up acting instead of writing. "Was it Mom's bench?"

"No," he is quick to cut himself off. He pauses, finally looking at her. "They found a girl in there. Did you go to high school with a girl named Thea?"

~~~~~

Wesley is frustrated that since his mothers' truck stop is just outside of town, the power never went out. Which means that some of the morning staff from out of town came in and opened. Resultingly, he and his mothers are in as well.

In the employee bathroom, he wipes his face with water. A massive power outage that cuts out the phone lines and the batteries in cars isn't enough to keep the store shut, apparently. Wesley's face is weighed down by heavy bags under his eyes. He feels bad about it, but he wishes that he had been sick like Jamie the night before or concussed like Eden. Perhaps then, he would be at home in the comfort of his bed.