The Elites

Two Ghosts

We're not who we used to be
We're just two ghosts
Standing in the place of you and me
Trying to remember how it feels to have a
Heartbeat"

"Two Ghosts" – Harry Styles

I wake up to an empty bed, I frown. Where is Hope? I glance at my alarm clock, it's seven am. Hope gets up way too early, it's Sunday morning. Who wakes up at seven am on Sunday? I lie in bed, not wanting to get up.

"Hope?" I call out, wanting to make sure she's okay. When I don't get a response, I push the covers down and get out of bed. "Hope?" I check the bathroom, but it's empty. Where the hell is she? She's not missing, is she? I couldn't sleep through a kidnapping, could I?

I race downstairs and let out a sigh of relief as I see Hope in the kitchen. "I thought you were in trouble!" I exclaim. Hope turns out to face me, she's making pancakes.

"I wanted to make my girlfriend chocolate chip waffles" Hope says, rolling her eyes slightly. We're finally an official couple, I'm so glad we've reached this stage. "Did you really think I was in danger?" I can't believe Hope is making breakfast for the two of us. It's really sweet that she woke up early so she could make us food.

"You got out ice cream" I state, as I see all the items she got out. She asked last night if she could use ingredients to make breakfast, but I didn't think she'd be making food this early.

"You like ice cream with your waffles" Hope shrugs. I can't believe she remembers that, I said it once in conversation. I didn't think she'd remember something so trivial, it makes me smile. Hope remembering little things about me makes me feel loved.

"Thank you, do you need any help?" I ask, not wanting Hope to have to do all the work herself. "How long have you been up?" I know she still has trouble sleeping, I just hope she hasn't been up for hours or anything.

"I woke up at five and I couldn't get back to sleep" Hope replies. "These are almost done, I don't really need any help." I grab some plates and cutlery and place them down on the coffee table in the living room.

Hope comes in and places our food down. We start eating in comfortable silence, the waffles are really good. "These are really good" I say, causing Hope to smile.

"Thanks, mom taught me how to cook at an early age" Hope replies. "I hardly have waffles, but I used to make them for the twins when we were younger." I'm not surprised, from what I've heard it seems like Eleanor basically raised her siblings.

"Is there someone who knows where all of your family is at all times?" I ask Hope, a thought occurring. I'm sure the kidnapper had planned this, I don't think he or she just saw Hope and Eleanor on a run and decided right then and there to kidnap them.

"Yeah, dad's assistant, it's kind of her job to know" Hope replies, between mouthfuls of food. "Why?" She asks, swallowing her last mouthful of food.

"Your dad's assistant could have told your kidnapper something that made them realize you and Eleanor would be on a run alone" I say, it could also have been Andrew's assistant who kidnapped them, but I'm trying to not jump to conclusions.

"That's why I still think we should look around my dad's office" Hope replies. "We shouldn't tell our friends, not until it's over." I'm willing to look around, the worst thing is that we won't find anything useful. Or being caught, but Hope knows her father's office, she'll be able to figure out a way to get in without any of the staff suspecting anything.

"I agree, we need to solve this, for you and Eleanor" I reply. Neither of them deserved what they went through, ending this will get justice for Eleanor, and it will help Hope, she'll know her attacker is behind bars and can't hurt her again.

"Do you think solving this will get you what you're looking for?" Hope asks me, I have no idea, I don't even know what I need or what I'm looking for. "I'm not the only one who's grieving." She's right, neither of us will ever be the person we were before the tragedies.

"I feel like I'll never be whole again, not without my parents" I admit, I think a part of me will pine for them for the rest of my life. I'll always wish their lives didn't end so suddenly or when I was so young. I was only fifteen, I shouldn't have had to deal with the loss of my parents, not while I was a teenager.

"Sometimes I feel the same way, but then I realize that we're not broken. Yeah, we had tragic pasts, but it doesn't mean that our futures have to be. I'll always miss Eleanor, but it doesn't have to define my life" Hope says firmly. She's right in a way, a lot of life is what you make it to be, having a positive or negative attitude can really affect your life, but it's so hard sometimes to push negative thoughts and feelings away.

"Do you want to hang out today or do you have plans?" I ask, I should study but I don't want to, I feel under control for all my upcoming tests. I'm used to studying heaps because I thought I'd need a scholarship to get into a good college, I never expected that I'd end up living with Melissa and William. 

"I have a boxing lesson at eleven and I told Skylar I'd help her do something in the afternoon" Hope says, apologetically. Skylar's my lab partner, I had no idea her and Hope would hang out together outside of school. "She wants me to help her pick out a dress, her parents are dragging her to an event." Most of my peers are dragged to fancy events with their parents, it's good for us in ways, it does help us build connections.

"I didn't know you two were close enough to hang out together outside of school" I comment, I guess I've just assumed that Hope's only close to me, Ashton and Wes. Her and Scarlet are friends, but I don't think they go to each other with their problems.

"Skylar and Scarlet are my shopping buddies" Hope replies, I guess she couldn't really drag Ashton shopping, he'd probably complain the entire trip. "I've been friends with Sky since sixth grade." I still don't know these things about my peers, I wasn't there in freshmen year and I didn't go to the same middle school that most of them attended.

"Are we going to do long distance next year?" I ask, I'm trying to enjoy the time we have now but I can't get attached if we won't be together next year, it'll hurt too much. I've already lost my parents, I can't handle losing Hope as well.

"I don't know, Juliet, I have no idea" Hope sighs, neither of us are going to give up our dream colleges. I'm not going to ask Hope to give up on attending Colombia, and she won't ask me to not go to Princeton. In a way, I wish I was selfish enough to ask her to come to Princeton, but I'm not.

"Are you coming back after college?" I ask, I need something to grab onto, even if it's something that could happen in five years. We've never discussed our futures, I don't even know if Hope wants to have kids. I know we're only seventeen, but I want to know what will happen.

"Again, I don't know. If I get a really good job offer in another state, I'll take it" Hope replies, there's the ambitious girl I fell in love with. Hope will put her career above almost anything, including me. She won't come back to California for me. "Are you?"

"Yes" I say, I want to live in California. A large part of me would love to go back to Seattle, but I want to be near Melissa and William and be able to help them as they get older. Besides, there's nothing left for me in Seattle anymore.

"I know we both want different things, but it doesn't mean we can't enjoy the time we have now" Hope replies, being sensible as always. "Stressing about the future won't change the future. I don't know what will happen to us in five years, but right now I know there's no one else I'd rather be with."

*Author's Note* Comment what you think of the story! I love feedback