New Battles, Old Foes

Rough Nights, Calm Friends

She woke up early the next morning, unable to sleep the entire night. She had spent the entire night just tossing and turning on her bed, shutting her eyes tightly trying to fall asleep and failing. She tried the breathing exercises that Emma once told her, apparently these exercises were to try to calm herself down and help in falling asleep, but today it was of no use. She knew that it was going to be one of those nights where she wasn't going to sleep at all.

She hates when this happens, all alone in her room with only her thoughts for company. Usually they disturbed her by making her remember about Landon and what they could have been. Today it was her family. Her father. Her mother. This was one thing she didn't want to go through. So she did what she knew was too bad, she never would have thought that she would ever be in a situation where she would do this, but she wanted sleep, she wanted quiet and peace and her mind was just too much to bear at the moment. So, in a desperate attempt to shut her mind she picked up the knife she had firmly stashed from the bedside table with determined hands and plunged it into her heart. This would let her sleep for a few moments.

Next morning, she remained lying in bed remembering how miserable her life had become, unfortunately it wasn't going to get her anywhere, and remembering what she did last night in order to have quiet made her feel even more ashamed of herself. Sighing she threw off the covers and stood up, trying to put the events of last night away from her thoughts, cleaning the mess she had created last night with her blood she stood up and prepared to go out.

After spending the entire night in her room miserably she wasn't too excited about the prospect of going out either, because that made her remember the other incident of last night. To top her internal monologue of grief and misery she had to hear Ryan and whoever the freaking girl was making sounds of pleasure as she drowned in her agony. It didn't have to be this way. Out of all the possible scenarios that could have played out in her mind a few years back, not in one did she imagine this happening. She knew she was a beautiful and smart girl, Clarke on the other hand was a manipulator and evil despite his charming looks but still, this wasn't supposed to be this way.

As she entered the living room she saw that the sun had already risen and the rays were peeking through the windows in the room putting a golden hue over the living area, this was the kind of scene that she was used to regularly seeing in her room at Salvatore School. She always enjoyed this color and the hues that came with sunrise but she had always preferred dusk over dawn.

She moved forward and entered the kitchen, aware that only a cup of coffee would be able to get her the power required to go to school and do her job but as she reached she was surprised to see that Ryan was already awake and standing near the stove with his back to her, preparing something as he hummed a tune that he always kept humming. As if hearing his sounds the entire night was not proof enough of his active and engaging life, he was standing there shirtless, with his muscled back towards her, his trousers hung low on his hip revealing the hem of his underwear. She stood there for a moment, admiring him and how his shoulder bones flexed as he moved his hands to pour his coffee. Maybe there was no doubt that he could have gotten someone, with a back like this, one can only wonder what is... Wait. What was she thinking? She shook her head to remove the thoughts in her mind and cleared her throat to announce her presence.

He turned around at hearing her and smiled. "Morning" he said extra cheerfully.

Well great, at least someone is happy.

"Morning" she replied back.

"How did you sleep?" he asked, was he always this nosy?

"I slept quietly, unlike you" Hope said with a look that made him clear that she knew everything about his activities from last night