TWENTY ONE

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It had been a month and I had joined mom and Kie for a short while but I was headed back to mystic falls already. I still felt like something was missing and whilst Thomas and Kiara didn't necessarily make me feel like a third wheel it was hard to deny I was one. Mom was actually going to meet up with aunt care and continue the rest of break together but I was feeling that either I just wanted to go home.

Unfortunately I hadn't really seen Ethan much due to being in a different country and such but I had high hopes for when I went back, I wanted to see him. He was really something different in the best way imaginable but I didn't want to rush into anything I liked being friends with him and that friendship was more important to me than anything else right now.

"Are you sure you don't wanna stay?" I almost feel guilty looking at my mothers pleading face but I knew she wouldn't mind really, not if I really wanted to go. "Sorry mom." She shakes her head and grins reassuringly, "no worries, go home stay safe and have fun ok?" I nod hoping I get more answers on my dad soon, if he really were alive then I wanted to find him for my mom as soon as possible. My doubts and worries aside it's what she deserved.

"We wish you would stay but I know you wanna get back to that human boy." Kiara teases making me roll my eyes, "he's just a friend." I say making her nod sarcastically, "a friend you wanna-"

"Bye guys!" I say leaving hurriedly as they laugh at my flustered state.

***

"Oh hey guys I didn't know you were coming to pick me up." I say pleasantly surprised once I see Landon Josie and uncle Ric waiting for me at the airport. "Oh yeah Landon and Josie had something going on right now, it was weird and for some reason felt wrong to me. I have no clue why, but I felt oddly protective of what I'm not sure. I just knew I didn't like them together.

"So what's new?"

***

Raf was missing and I felt awful about that but no matter how much I looked for him I couldn't find him but even if I did it's not like I could've turned him human again, it was a very complicated situation that left me feeling guilty.

I was really bored today so I began snooping through my moms room, again not sure why but I just had a feeling there was something there I needed. There was nothing interesting, just everything I'd seen a million times. She had her favourite pictures on display so there were a few with all of her friends from high school. I could see aunt Bonnie, aunt care, mom and aunt Elena a lot. Then there were the gang as a whole. The oldest one of all of them is probably back from when Elena was dating Matt and mom was dating Tyler. That was weird to me I could only ever see Elena with Damon and mom alone. I didn't really remember Tyler much, I know we used to visit him a lot when he and mom had both moved from mystic falls but I was pretty young then. The last memory I really have is when he took us to the zoo, he let me sit on his shoulders so I could see all the exhibits. He bought us ice cream even though mom told him not to. And at the end of the day when we didn't wanna leave he bought me a penguin teddy because I had loved them so much, he bought Kai a wolf because she thought they were cool and he loved that since he was one.

I move on to see mom and dad, there were quite a few of those pictures, they were moms most precious she didn't know that we knew but when we were younger especially she would wait till she thought we were sleeping and she'd look at his pictures and cry and she would say how much she missed him, that habit faded as we grew but I still caught her sometimes.

There's a few of mom and the Mikaelsons she told me that she loved klaus the most out of them and no one understood why, but she said she was bonded to him in a way only they could understand. It was a bit strange granted he killed her aunt and tried to kill Elena. I don't think I could love someone the way she loved him if they had tired to hurt my sister or anyone that I loved. I also found it strange that she loved him so much but the two of them were never romantic.

There's even a picture of the mikaelsons at moms wedding, I know it because I've seen it a thousand times but I don't see it here on the wall. My brows furrow, why wasn't it here? I know how much mom loved that picture she said it's where she first met aunt Hayley and that even though her real family couldn't be there she said there's no one she would've rather had there.

I check her drawers but it's no where in sight and so I begin searching more I just felt like something was going on. I'm confused once I accidentally trip over a loose floorboard. I crouch down and lift it and a few others to see there were boxes in the ground.

Pulling the first box up I find the picture I had been looking for, why was it under the floorboards? I skim over it only to stop once I see aunt Hayley holding a baby? Who the hell was that baby? I put the picture down and look further into the box. There's more pictures of this mystery baby all up until she's a child. At first I thought mom had a secret child but that idea is quickly dismissed once I see a drawing from this child and it's addressed to 'aunt Thea'.

The crazy thing was Kiara and I were in most of these pictures with this kid, there were pictures of us and her throughout years full of holidays and just general day. Christmas's, birthdays we basically grew up with this girl like she was our triplet. I'm so confused though because I do not remember any of this but by the way the three of us are posing together in our Halloween costumes you can tell we're close.

The girls name is Hope, I see it jotted down a few times, Hope doesn't sound familiar to me though. I conclude she's Hayley's daughter judging by how she was the only other person in these pictures, holding Hope close. So mom and Hayley were two single mothers who raised their kids together?

I wonder what happened to Hope and where she was now, I continue looking through the box before moving onto the next one. I'm extra confused now because this second box shows a more grown up Hope she's a teenager at the Salvatore school.

I have to stop for a minute because it hits me, Hope went into the pit, she must've it's why we can't remember her. I frown looking at the pictures throughout her life, I could see everything from when she was a baby to now and it was sad to think no one remembered. All these memories gone, her whole life had disappeared as though she were nothing. I wondered where she was and if she was ok, I know I didn't remember her but it was clear we were close. And knowing that Hayley and was dead meant she must've not had very many people, I can't imagine how much more alone she felt right now.

As I'm packing it all back up I find a note that must've fallen out, it reads; 'this box contains our memories with, Hope Mikaelson, she wanted us to burn it all because she's sacrificing herself and jumping into the malivore pit, we love her too much to destroy this so I'm hiding it in hopes she returns to us one day.'

I don't know what to do, do I tell everyone about this or do I respect hopes wishes? I mean I think I should tell people. Still pretty undecided I take one of the boxes back to my room and throw it into my closet for now. When school started again I'd show everyone.

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