Freya's Point of View
It's been days since Hayley and Kelsey have gone missing. Nothing I've tried has come up with any answers on where they are. Keelin was, thankfully, very understanding of me postponing leaving to be with her. She is even coming home to support us. However, I fear the day her patience runs out. She may know how important family is to me, but one day she might get tried of always being put second.
"Sister." Klaus' voice sounds from behind me. Excitement floods me as I turn around and stand up from the couch. Klaus stands in the doorway of the study with a smirk on his face. "The years have been kind to you." He compliments as we approach each other. We simultaneously collide in a tight hug. He arms circling my waist and mine his neck. Relief and contentment invades my body, happy to have my brother back, even if just for a short while.
"Well, you know, just sun block, the love of a good woman, and literal witchcraft." I joke as we let go, making him smirk in amusement. I sigh deeply. "You can't stay. Hope and Bexley are home." I add defeated.
"I have no interest in infecting my daughters with this darkness." He assures. "Once we've found their mother and their aunt, I'll crawl back to whence I came." He shifts on his feet. "Freya, this city reeks of blood like it hasn't since the War of 1812."
"Yeah, well, you're to blame this time." I tell him bluntly. "I know you spoke to Elijah and then hours later, it rained red."
"No story that begins with water turning into blood has ever ended in triumph." He states walking past me and my eyes follow him. "I need to leave or things are gonna get worse. Tell me about Kelsey and Hayley."
"I've tried every locator spell I know in every language I know and I..." I start to explain, but Klaus suddenly vamps away.
"Dad?" The twins say in unison as they jog into the room. My face falls at their looks of disappointment when they realize he isn't here anymore.
________________________
I see Vincent walking up to me, as I sit in the witches market on a bench. Vincent and I have gotten closer over the years and he's become an very trusted friend. I hate that what I have to tell him is going to make him uneasy and frustrated. He clinks his tongue and pats my knee as he passes me to sit in the empty spot to my right. I smile at him. "Americano with extra remorse." I tell him passing him the peace offering in the form of coffee. "I'm sorry I haven't called you back. A family emergency."
"Yeah, well, it's gonna take something a hell of a lot stronger than an apology coffee for a Mikaelson family emergency." He says.
"Yeah, well, I thought you might say that, so that's more whiskey than it is coffee." I gesture as his cup and he raises an eyebrow. "Take a big gulp, because you should know Klaus is in town."
He sighs in annoyance. "You see, I knew that that blood rain had something to do with your siblings. But the weatherman was talking about some 'freak meteorological phenomenon', but ain't nobody stupid because I know what blood in my eyes feels like, huh?"
"Kelsey and Hayley are missing, Vincent." I reveal and he sighs, dropping his head. "Klaus is in town to find them, which he will, and then he's going to leave. And so will Keelin and I. But, hey, in the meantime, why don't you ask the Oracle of Jackson Square what to do next." I turn away from him and look at a pretty woman with flawless milky skin and long dark hair sitting at a table with a crystal ball in front of her as she talking to a customer.
"I need something serious, Freya." Vincent counters.
"I'm being serious. Look, if something sends a shiver down your spine, ask Ivy." I tell him. "And... after she reads your palm, maybe she'll let you palm her..." I trail off suggestively, but he doesn't find in amusing. "Alright." I give in. "No crystal ball puns for you." I smirk.
"Freya Mikaelson." He says taking my hand. I rest my chin on our hands and look at him. "I'm gonna miss you when you go."
"Yeah." I agree. Pulling our hands away from my face.
_____________________
Bexley's Point of View
"Look all I'm saying is he's here now." I point out as my sister opens he dresser draw. I had just got her out of bed, so she was getting ready for the day, like I did when I woke up. "So, shouldn't we..."
"No." Hope denies. "Not until he actually talks to us."
"But Hope this doesn't feel right." I sigh.
"B, don't you want to see him? Don't you want an explanation for why he ignores us?" Hope questions.
"Of course I do. More than anything." I sigh. "But..."
"But nothing." She cuts me off. "This will help mom, too. I know you've noticed that she's not the same without him. She misses him too."
"Then why do you push her to Davin?" I cross my arms.
"I just want her to be happy again." She mutters. "I want us to be happy."
A loud thud comes from our balcony. Hope and I share a look, before Hope quickly goes to the door, throwing her pants on her bed.
"Claire?" Someone whispers quietly as she approaches the door. A blond-haired, blue-eyed boy peeks in and I roll my eyes in annoyance.
"Uhh..." Hope trails, opening the balcony door. "Roman." Hope states in shock and I glare at him.
Roman is a boy that goes to school with us. Hope has a major crush on him and I can't stand him. He hasn't done anything specific, but his buddies are nothing but a bunch of bullies and I get a bad vibe from him, like he's up to something.
"You're at my house." She deadpans.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I groan and Hope sends me a look of disbelief at my attitude.
"Yeah..." He swallows, glancing at me before directing his eyes back to Hope. "I-I needed to talk to you, so, uh..."
"Oh." Hope breathes out. "Um, how do you know where we live?"
"Stalker, much?" I sneer, earning a glare from Hope.
"Nothing like that." He tells me. "Saltzman's got parent contacts in his file cabinet. Which is where he keeps his emergency bourbon, so I'm intimately familiar."
"An alcoholic." I mutter under my breath. "My sister can really pick 'em."
"Oh." Hope laughs.
"Can I come in?" He asks.
"No." I snarl at the same time Hope says "Mmm-hmm".
He looks between me and Hope. "You know I'm a vampire, right?" He asks Hope.
"Mm-hmm." She repeats.
"So, I, uh..." He says. "kind of need you to say it out loud."
"Oh. Right." Hope realizes and I shake my head in frustration. "Yeah. Come in." He takes a couple of steps inside, but Hope hasn't moved, so he ends up right in her face.
"Oh my god." I groan.
"Cute jammies." He comments. "Bexley." He nods at me in greeting making me scoff.
"Um, so why do you need to talk to me?" Hope asks taking a few steps back, putting distance between them.
"Yeah." He gets back on track and he shuts the doors behind him. "Um... Look, people are saying all this stuff about Henry at school. That he died. And that he killed himself."
"You know, your friends bullied him all the time." My sister points out. "He went through hell."
"Which makes you leader of the asshats." I smirk, hating that he's here.
"I know. Okay?" Roman sighs. "That's why I'm here. I should pay my respects of something. I let them push him around. Make fun of his poetry, his clothes. And now... I can't sleep."
Hope looks at him sympathetically. "You're not seriously buying this, are you." I scoff at her.
"Shut up, Bexley." Hope snaps at be, before turning her attention back on Roman. "Henry's not dead. He's fine." She walks away and then turns back to his confused face. "Look, I have to get dressed; we have somewhere to be." She tells him, referring to me and her. "Could you, like, turn?" I cross my arms and glare at Hope.
"Oh. Yeah." He agrees, turning to face the balcony doors. "Yeah." Hope hurries over to her dresser after grabbing her pants and her stuffed elephant off her bed. Roman looks to his left in Hope's mirror, which gives him a full view of her. I shift my body in front on the mirror. His eyes meet mine and I narrow my eyes at him. He gulps and turns his eyes back in front of him.
"Where are you going?" Roman questions. "It's barely even dawn."
"None of your business." I snap.
"It's a long story." Hope corrects me.
"Lizzie Saltzman said she saw Henry jump from the turret." He points out. "A werewolf wouldn't survive that kind of fall."
"Yeah." Hope states pulling up her pants. "Well, Lizzie also said that I exploded an orphanage with my brain when I was eight and almost killed my sister." Lizzie has always had it out for me and my sister. She likes to spread false information about us around the school. Hope and I have no idea where her ill feelings stem from, but we don't let her bother us too much. "You can, uh, look now." Hope tells Roman and he turns to face her again.
"Yeah, I-I heard that one." He nods. "I also heard that you two are long-lost Romanian princesses." Hope chuckles.
"Well, if that were true, then the royal guard would have already thrown you out on your ass." I taunt.
"Bexley." Hope groans and I shrug. Roman just chuckles in amusement.
"So..." He takes a seat on the foot of her bed. "What is your secret, Claire sisters?"
"Oh that's an easy one." I muse and he looks at me in interest. "We're cursed. If anyone with the name 'Roman' gets to close, it's instant, excruciating pain for them, followed by death."
"I think I'll take my chances." He chuckles.
"Don't say I didn't warn you." I shrug.
"Could y... could you maybe wait here?" Hope asks. "We won't be long."
"Yeah." He shrugs, unbothered.
"You've got me all wrong, you know." Hope smiles as I walk towards her and the door. "Truth is, I exploded an orphaned Romanian princess with my brain." He looks at her, unsure if he should believe her or not. "Brat had it coming, though."
We leave him to figure it out and we exit the room. "You really think leaving him in our room is a good idea?" I question her, heading down the hallway and to the stairs.
"B, stop." She groans.
"I'm just saying, I don't trust him." I put my hands up in surrender.
"It's just Roman." She sighs. "What's the worst he could do?"
"Famous last words." I sigh.
______________________
Nik's Point of View
After asking around about Hayley and Kelsey's possible friends and acquaintances, I enter the kitchen of Rousseau's to talk with a Declan, who has apparently been on a few dates with Hayley, and a Davin, who is known to fancy Kelsey. However, no one said if they were seeing each other.
Both brothers were standing at the table with their backs to me. One is cutting a slab of meat and laughing at something the other one said.
"You know, for a gent with a missing paramour and a gent with a missing childish crush, you're both awfully chipper." I muse, making them both turn to face me.
"You might avoid sneaking up on a bloke with a blade in his hand." The one that is cutting the meat suggests.
"Where's Kelsey Claire and Hayley Marshall?" I get straight to the point.
"Best guess: roaming about their giant house, sorting out inspired new ways to be emotionally unavailable." He says. "Hayley's not exactly easy to get to know."
"Kelsey's no walk in the park either." His brother states, revealing himself as Davin and the one holding the blade is Declan. "Stubborn, that one. Who the hell's asking?"
"My name is Klaus Mikaelson." I introduce myself stepping in front of both of them.
"Doesn't ring a bell." Davin sneers.
I grab Davin's shoulder and make eye contact, compelling him. "Does Kelsey or Hayley have any enemies?"
"Enemies?" Davin questions. "Nah. Kelsey's a single mother, not a supervillain." I remove my hand from him. "You're Hope and Bexley's father, aren't you? You look like them, round the eyes."
"If you don't cooperate, Davin, 'round the eyes' is where I'm gonna start carving pieces of you and feed them to your brother." I threaten.
"Woah, woah." Declan says, trying to defuse the situation. "Hayley stood me up, okay? It's not exactly rare. And Kelsey, well, she's more unavailable than Hayley."
"I figured, hell, the twin's dad must have done a number on her." Davin shrugs smugly. "Well, since you're obviously a right ray of sunshine," He adds sarcastically, making my blood boil. "it must have been someone else that broke her heart-- and Bexley's and Hope's."
"Don't you dare say my daughter's names." I seethe.
"Really?" He continues. "Look around." I turn and look at the wall behind me to see two drawings, expertly done, of both bothers. One with Hope's name signed to it and the other with Bexley's. "We're here... I'm here... birthdays, holidays... Kelsey's even considering letting me teach them to drive. Eventually, Kelsey's going to see that I'm here for them, her and you... Where the hell were you? Do you have any idea the damage you've caused to that amazing woman?"
Rage courses through me and I've heard enough. Seeing nothing but red, I vamp him against the counter behind him, pining him down.
"Hey!" Declan protests, coming to pull me off his brother. I quickly grab his throat, choking him with one hand, holding him at arms length, while still pining Davin.
"You are utterly disposable." I grit. I expend my fangs and change my face. I go to bite his neck, but suddenly, I'm thrown backwards.
_______________________
Bexley's Point of View
Hope and I walk into the back entrance of Rousseau's to see Declan and Davin. We wanted to give them piece of mind about mom and Aunt Hayley, even if it is a lie. However, when we entered the kitchen, we see our dad about to bite into Davin, as he, simultaneously, holds Declan back. Hope acts immediately, by raising her hand and sending dad flying backwards into the wall behind him.
"Seriously, Dad?" I scoff, crossing my arms. He looks at us in shock, as he rises to his feet. I take in every inch of his face. I've missed him terribly and it's hard to belief he's actually standing just a couple of feet away.
Dad takes the meat Davin and Declan were preparing and tosses it in the garbage can. Then, he grabs Declan and looks him in the eyes, compelling him. "Looks like you need to go back to the butcher's immediately with your brother. You won't remember meeting me today." He moves to Davin and repeats himself.
"Ah." Davin smiles at us, when dad steps to the side. "Mornin', kids. Um... We'll be back. We forgot to stop by the Shank."
"But we saved you a bread pudding in the fridge." Declan smiles at Hope, taking off his apron. "Your favorite."
"If you see your mom, put in a good word for me?" Davin winks.
"It's not going to change her miinndd." I sing, smiling.
"I'll wear her down eventually." He says, patting his brother's shoulder, both of them walking out.
"Good luck with that!" I call out, chuckling. My smile falls as my eyes go to our dad.
"Go home, Hope and Bexley." He orders, avoiding eye contact.
Hope scoffs out a humorless laugh. "You're not even gonna look at us?" He keeps his eyes casted down, so we step closer to him. "Mom and Aunt Hayley are missing, dad. We're scared." His eyes slowly meet ours and he exhales.
"We're too close." He breaths out. "I can hear the whispers: you must, too."
"Let us help you find them." I plead.
"If you don't do as I say, I'll have Freya bind you both to the Compound with a spell." Dad raises his voice slightly, before lowering it again. "I don't want it to come to that. Go home." Dad walks pass us and leaves Rousseau's.
"Well, this is backfiring." I groan.
"We'll figure it out." Hope says.
_________________________
"I can keep a secret. I have plenty of my own." I hear Roman say as I walk into the study. Hope and I had went to check on him in our room and he was gone. So, before completely assuming he was gone, we split up and started looking. I had just got done looking on the bottom floor without any luck. I came to tell Hope, but it looks like she found him. She sighs.
"My name is... Hope Mikaelson." My sister reveals.
"Hope!" I gasp. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"Our grandmother practically invented dark magic." She continues, ignoring me. Roman's face covered in shock, as he takes a step back. "Our Aunt is the Cresent Alpha. Our mom, her cousin, is next in line. And... Our dad is..."
"Hope, shut up." I snap.
"Niklaus Mikaelson." She finishes. I clinch my eyes shut, pissed off.
"So, that makes you guys..."
"The mystical tribrid freak shows." Hope finishes. Roman swallows hard and looks away.
"I can't believe you just did that." I sneer at Hope. She turns and looks at me apologetically, but I send her a glare.
"Bexley!" She calls for me, but I ignore her. "Bexley!"
I storm to our room and I slam the door. I grab a pillow and I scream into it to let out my anger. Hope had no right to tell Roman anything, especially without talking to me first. We're in this situation because of her crazy idea and now she blurts out our secret to some Neanderthal.
"Bexley! Hope!" My dad's voice bounds off the walls of the Compound. I jump up and I rush out of my room.
I see him turn into the study, where Hope and Roman are. I sigh dramatically and make my way to them. Thankfully, as I enter the room Roman is out of sight.
"Here." He orders me, pointing next to Hope. I nod and follow his instruction and stand beside to her, in front of him. "Please tell me it isn't true." I look down and Hope holds his eye contact. But we don't answer. "What have you done to your mother? To your Aunt?"
"They're fine." Hope gives in and we sit on the couch.
"Do you have any idea what you've done?" He inquires, upset.
"We knew it would take something big to bring you home." Hope argues.
"So, you had your little hybrid friend attack your mother and aunt?"
"Henry just helped with the heavily lifting." I mutter, not wanting him in trouble.
"And 'attack' is a really strong word." Hope points out. "Aunt Hayley and Mom are fine."
"In two really nice coffins, sleeping." I reveal and Hope shoots me a look. "They're cloaked with a sleeping spell we wrote."
"Oh, well, in that case, I've never been prouder." He says condescendingly. "Where are they?"
"You're just gonna disappear again if we tell you." Hope snaps.
"Hope, you both are in danger when we're in proximity." He stresses. "I know you feel that." The flowers on the table between us instantly wilt and die. Going from a lively pink to black and a black, orange, and white snake slitters out of the vase. I hiss and immediately pick up my feet. "The dark magic inside us manifests itself in ugly ways. We could be putting others in danger, too. The whole city."
"I don't care!" Hope exclaims, jumping to her feet.
"This is not a debate!" He counters and he turns away from us. "The little girls I knew would never have dreamed a scheme like this."
"Sorry to disappoint you." Hope's voice shakes a bit. "But those little girls hadn't read your memoirs." He turns back and looks at her. "You compelled Cami O'Connell to write your story. About a guy who used to put his family members in coffins and use them as leverage."
He smirks and walks closer to us. "So, you've both studied my old tricks. Did you learn this one?" He quickly grabs her shoulder with one hand and her head with the other, doing a deep dive into her memories.
"Get out of my head!" She yells and shoves him away.
"You and your sister could die, Hope." Dad exclaims. "Just by standing here, I could be destroying you. I'll ask your mother to take it easy on you. Okay?"
"You don't have too." I finally speak up, scoffing. "She understands what it's like to be abandoned by you."
"Good-bye, Hope and Bexley." He sighs. He goes to walk out, and Hope uses her magic to shut the doors, blocking him.
"I know some tricks, too." She muses, as a black snake now appears coming out of the vase. "You called, you wrote letters, then you stopped-- why?"
"You know why." He answers.
"Well, so sorry." I snap. "We didn't think we had to knock before entering an astral plane." He tries to open another door, to find it locked.
"Sorry we interrupted your murder orgy." Hope sasses.
He takes a deep breath and looks at us. "You both came to me that night because cards and letters weren't enough. I stopped them for your own good."
"You don't know what's good for us." Hope shakes her head in denial, and I totally agree with her. "You know, you stir up these stories about a crazy Original dropping bodies, and people talk at school, and I have to be quiet little Hope Claire, when I'm so mad I want to scream."
"Well, welcome to the bloody party!" He yells in anger. He calms down and begins again. "I was protecting you both when I left. The horror in your eyes that night when you guys saw me is... burned into my memory."
"We were nine." I scoff in disbelief.
"And we saw this scary monster who looked like our dad." Hope says. "Who taught us how to mix paint... who called us princesses. We didn't know which version of you was real. And we waited for you to explain it... or apologize... Or tell us that you loved us." Tears are now streaming down both our faces. "We waited for you for years. And you didn't come."
"You were too worried about how you felt about what happened, you didn't even think about what disappearing on us would do to us." I tell him. "And I know you knew we were suffering here. Because I heard the arguments between you and mom, that she tried to hide. She told you what you were doing, and you dismissed it. You skipped out on us, and you skipped out on mom. And Hope's right, we read your Memoir, we know yours and her story from your point of view and hers. You did the one thing to her that she swore she would never do to you. You abandoned her."
"In my experience, fathers cause pain." He swallows thickly. "Whether by their presence or their absence, there's a certain type of ruin that only a father can... can leave behind. And you two... You were such sweet little girls. Perhaps I was always bound to leave you broken."
I take a step back, like I had been smacked in the face. Hope gasps lightly in shock. "You-you really think we're broken?" Hope gathers herself as dad looks at us with regret. "Maybe you're right." She crosses her arms. "Maybe those little girls you miss so much would be better off if they never loved you at all."
"I told you this was a bad idea." I mutter to Hope. "We never should have lured him here."
"You didn't want to?" He asks me, still looking regretful and now a little hurt.
"No." I shake my head, stepping slightly in front of Hope. "What I wanted was for YOU to want to. But you didn't and you don't. You don't want us, and you don't want mom." I hold my fist up and release the spell on the doors, making them swing open. He looks down. "So, you can leave. Calling you here was a mistake."
"Girls, please..." He begs, eyes wet and voice shaking. My glare goes to the floor, and I shake my head. Hissing sounds behind him, catching our attention. Snakes cover the fountain and the ground. He looks at us again, wanting to say something, but he doesn't. Instead, he vamps away.
Hope and I release the breath we were holding. I immediately turn and look at her heartbroken face and she looks at mine. We simultaneously wrap our arms around each other.
"I'm still mad at you." I mumble into her hair.
"I know." She sighs pulling away.
"You can't just tell our secret like that." I tell her. "You exposed me too. Without talking about it with me."
"I knew you'd say no." She looks down.
"Of course, I would." I agree. "I don't trust Roman."
"But I do." She counters.
"Well, it's too late now." I shake my head. "From now on I think we should agree on the person before either of us reveal that we're Mikaelsons. We have that lie to protect us."
"Deal." She sighs.
__________________
Once Hope and I were able to relax for a few minutes and collect ourselves, we went underground to the basement. Marcel had come back to New Orleans, and we had yet to see him. He is here to dry out Henry, another person we need to talk to. The Vampires were set on getting justice at the expense of Henry and closing him in here is the only way to appease them and keep Henry safe.
"Not the best time for a visit, but I'll take what I can get." Marcel smiles when he sees us. He is slowly placing bricks around Henry, enclosing him in the wall.
"You busted us." Hope smirks.
"Jerk." I wink, jokingly. When we get close enough, Marcel opens his arms and we walk into them, hugging him tightly. We pull away as we hear Henry panting and breathing heavier.
"We are so sorry, Henry." Hope apologizes.
"So sorry." I nod in agreement.
"We never meant for any of this to happen." Hope says sincerely and he nods in understanding but keeps his panic on his face. "You have to do what I say, remember?" He nods, again. "Okay, so, you're going to be calm now. When you get out, we'll be there, and we'll be friends." She gestures to me too and I smile sadly at him. "If you get scared, you'll feel peace if you just close your eyes and sing."
"You're going to be okay." I promise him.
_____________________
Marcel finished what he needed to for Henry, the three of us walk back to the Courtyard, Marcel in between us. "That was really nice, what you did for Henry." He comments to Hope.
"Great." She smiles. "I'll give myself a point."
"What?" He asks.
"It's this weird thing I made up when we were little." Hope explains.
"She roped me into doing it too." I shrug.
"W-We'd get a point if we do something nice, follow the rules." Hope continues, stepping in front of him. "If we, uh, have a bad thought, or... lose our temper, then we lose a point."
"Oh, honey, you guys can't put that kind of pressure on yourselves." He advices.
"Our family sacrificed everything to save us." I tell him. "We are supposed to be worth it. We have to be worth it."
"We're supposed to be better, right?" Hope inquires. "Our dad thinks... that we're broken." She sighs and exhales as my eyes prick. "I don't think that, um... I don't think that he loves us anymore." Her voice breaks.
"Bexley, do you feel this way too?" Marcel asks softly.
I shrug defeated. "I think he stopped loving us and mom a long time ago."
"Hey." He gently speaks, tears escaping down Hope's and my faces. "He may not have the words to tell you, but no matter what, your dad will love the very worst of you until the oceans are dust. The two of you are worth every sacrifice." He grazes our chins with his thumb and pointer finger. We both smile through the tears at him with small chuckles. "And... you both are good. Period. Show me anybody who says otherwise, I'll eat 'em." He jokes and we laugh. Then, he hugs us.
"Oh, uh, I'm-We're okay. You-you don't..." Hope objects as I welcome it.
"No, this hug isn't for you." He whispers. "It's for me. I kind of needed it." Hope and I instantly tighten our grip around him. "Another thing you should always remember." He mutters holding us at arm's length after a long moment. "I've never in my long vampire life seen anyone affect your father in a positive way more than your mother. I never knew your dad was capable of feeling the love he feels for her. So, believe me, your dad has not and probably will never stop loving your mom. Things are tough right now and they might be for a while, but somehow everything will get worked out and you guys will be a family again."
_______________________
Our dad walks into our room and looks at us, solemnly. Last we knew him and Freya went after mom and Aunt Hayley. However, mom and Aunt Hayley didn't come through our door too, giving me a sinking, ill feeling.
"Where's mom?" I ask him, swallowing the lump in my throat.
"Hope, Bexley, we went to the church to get your mother and Aunt Hayley." Dad states. "They weren't there."
"What?" Hope asks confused, getting worried. "No. We protected them. We wrote the perfect cloaking spell; we kept them safe. We..." My breathing gets heavier as panicked creeps throughout my body. "I don't understand. The-the coffins were just empty?"
"The coffins were destroyed." He says.
"No." I shake my head. "No, no, no, this can't be happening."
"Whatever happened to your mother and Aunt, didn't happen without a fight." He informs us. Hope breathing picked up and I try calming my rising heart rate. Dad walked closer to us. "Look, I know it wasn't your intention for someone to get hurt. I know you guys did this because I left you with no choice." He places a hand on each of our shoulders and looks at us, but I don't meet his glaze. My breathing gradually getting worse. "Sweethearts, look at me. This... this is my fault. I'm gonna fix it." He backs up slightly. "I've already spoken to Alaric. You'll both go back to Mystic Falls tonight. I need to know you're safe."
Hope starts coughing violently and all my worries and attention goes to her.
"Hope?" I call, grabbing her arm.
"What is it?" Dad questions in concern. "Hope?" Hope's knees buckle and she falls to the ground, me following after her. Dad kneels in front of us. Hope's coughing worsens. She starts gasping for air.
"Dad?" I panic, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, a black, white, and orange snake slithers out of her mouth and onto the floor. "Go, go. You have to get out!" I exclaim at my dad, as she starts coughing again. "You have to get out."
"I'll find your mother." He promises. "And your Aunt. And swear I'll return them to you. I love you both." He says and sobs instantly wrack though our bodies.
_______________________
Unfortunately for me, Hope called Roman and he agreed to giving us a ride back to school. So, with our bookbags packed, we meet him outside at his older model, baby blue, Mustang.
"Hey, thanks for the ride back to school." Hope says. Then she nudges me when I don't say anything.
"Yeah, totally." I salute in fake agreement.
I didn't want to go back without knowing anything on mom and Aunt Hayley. I especially don't want to be stuck in the car with Roman. But I know dad can't stay and find mom if Hope and I are here. So, sucking it up I just open the door and climb in the back seat. Roman takes Hope's bag, passing it to me.
"Hey..." He says, when he sees Hope's bummed expression. "Is everything okay, Claire?"
"My name's not Claire." She corrects him.
"Right." He agrees. "Hope."
"Hey, what's going on?" I mutter, getting out of the car and looking towards the front of Rousseau's.
There is a group of people gathering and staring up at something. A woman screams in terror. "Somebody help him!" She pleads. I immediately take off running, Hope and Roman following me. I stop in front of Rousseau's and see Henry's dead body hanging by his neck, heart, clearly, ripped out, and his skin is grey and veiny. Hope gasps and her breathing picks up.
"Oh my god." She cries.
"Henry." I whisper, as siren's blare.