World on Fire | J. Saltzman - Legacies [4]

T W E N T Y - T W O

Since coming out of that therapy box, Aaron's head has been too full. Lizzie has gone off on her own, even though the box pushed them together. There is safety in numbers, yet he also pulls away. He spent the morning in front of the hospital, unable to gather the courage to actually go in.

So, here he sits. Watching cars drop off patients and doctors eating their lunches while he contemplates everything he thought he knew. The world just got ten times more complicated, especially with a new hybrid loyal to Hope Mikaelson now in the mix. The supernatural issues might just have to wait, but he knows Hope won't. She has no humanity, no patience for emotions, so how can he expect her to wait while they deal with gods?

She already took out Stella, isolated her and broke her body. If he were smart, which he'd like to think he is, he would entertain the possibility of that being the catalyst. Everything changed when Hope turned on her own.

Brother slain brother. Cousin slain cousin. But this time, the cousin isn't helpless. Death doesn't have to be the end anymore.

He barely notices when a tall blond walks out of the door and heads straight for his bench. Aaron quickly tries to cower, looking around for somewhere to hide as he raises an upside-down newspaper in front of his face.

"You know, I can still see you," Isaac says.

Aaron slowly lowers the paper with a sigh. "Yeah."

"Can I sit?" Aaron nods as Isaac settles beside him. "So, should I ask why you're here instead of in class?"

"Probably not."

Isaac shrugs. "To be honest, outside the school, I don't really care. So, instead, I'm going to ask why you aren't inside and why you've been sitting here for two hours."

Aaron runs a finger over some of his runes if only to make him less awkward. "Saw some things in the therapy box. I wanted to check on Stella, but I don't think I'm welcome."

"For the record, you are. Lexi's the one who asked me to come out," he says as he slumps on the bench. "What happened? In the box?"

Flashes of a false friendship with Stella, a betrayal that cut deeper than expected. Power he didn't recognize, all surrounding the eljun. "It was weird," he replies after a moment. "We were living a cowboy dream. Hope was the villain, killed people, ruined their lives. So, we set out to kill her, and we did." He inhales sharply. "Then, it got worse."

"Ok." Isaac nods. "Tell me."

"I don't know if I should."

"Then tell me what's worrying you."

Aaron bites the inside of his cheek enough to taste iron. "We keep thinking Hope took Stella out, that she's no longer a piece in this weird game. I don't think that's true. Not anymore."

Turning to face him, Isaac holds his stare. "Why?"

His chest hurts, but he knows Stella trusts him. He knows Josie trusts him. Even Aaron trusts Isaac enough, but if his theory is right, voicing it so close to Stella may be a mistake. "In the box, part of the goal was to find Josie and Stella. Both were taken, both missing. The narrative turned Josie into a vampire, and Stella was just dead. Lizzie ended up killing Josie, the motivation she needed to take down Hope, I guess. But..." He remembers the power of the storm, how it had been anything but natural. How it centered around the eljun, protected them.

Isaac glances back at the building before asking, "But what?"

"After Hope was dead, they were there. I saw Josie die with my own eyes in that box. Stake through the heart, and yet there she was with Stella. Perfectly fine. They had immeasurable power, Isaac. Even in the box. It was all a ploy to take out Hope."