A Life Once Broken (Hosie)

Untitled Part 1

Hope steers into the carpark and parks her car, turns the ignition off andsits still,  takes a deep relieving breath and exhales.  She opens the door and gets out of her car and walks down to the beach.  Taking her shoes off she presses her feet into the sand enjoying the feel of the movement under feet.  She walks down to the water and listens forthe calming waves coming in and out melodically.  This has alwaysbeen Hope's favourite place,  her peace from her life.  The sun is shining and she feels the warmth on her skin and the breeze that is silently blowing on this beautiful Autumn day

Hope has been here hundreds of times since moving from her home of NewOrleans after the devastating death of her parents 16 years ago. Evenas the time is passing, her grief never subsides, she can barely handle the pain of her loss.   Her mind wanders back to those daysand what would've been,  her parents would have been a loving,calming and above all supportive presence in her life.  She sighs again saying to the air "I wish you were still here,  I need you" a single tear trickles down her cheek.  Listening to the waves she wonders how her life turned and  ended up as it is now, painful,terrifying,  lonely and still grieving.  She looks to the water and thinks how easy it would be just to walk out into the waves it even seems to be beckoning her and to be absorbed by the water and tofinally be free, to succumb.  She's had suicidal thoughts over thelast  couple of years but the only thing that pulls her out of her darkness is the thought of her daughter,  Ava.   Ava Rose Mikaelson is a stunning 15 year old, with long auburn hair and bright blue eyes. She's the mirror image of her mother and Hope is so grateful to have her.  Ava is her daughter and  her best friend and without Ava even knowing, she has saved her mother's life several times over the last years.

Hope is pulled out of her thoughts by her cell phone ringer,  she looks at the photo on screen and smiles.   Her best friend and businessman manager Lizzie Saltzman is ringing.  Hope has known Lizzie since highschool and they have been each others support through good times and most definitely bad times.  Hope asked Lizzie to be one of the managers of the company she inherited when her parents died.   Mikaelson Industries, now a global company,  and is the top in the world in the IT and  technology industry.

"Hey you"  Hope says.

"Hi,where are you?  I swung by your house incase you wanted to grab some lunch before going to work.  You weren't there."

"Sorry Lizzie,  I had to clear my head,  I'm just at the beach, but yes, lunch sounds great, I can meet you at Salvatore's if you want?"

"Yeah Salvatore's works I'll see you in maybe a half hour?"

"Yes perfect, i'll see you then, Bye"

"Bye"

Hope disconnects from the phone call and rubs a hand through her hair.  She can't believe how lucky she is to have such a great friend.  She was worried when she offered Lizzie the job as everyone kept telling her friendship and business never works.  But thankfully it has. 

She starts walking along the beach to get back to her car,  pangs of jealousy shoot through her looking at the few people on the beach,they seem like happy couples.  'NO,  I can't let this happen i'm not getting in my head again'  she thinks to herself. 

She drives to Salvatore's,  a classy, expensive  restaurant that mainly the elite of business go for lunch or meetings and it happens to bejust around the corner from the Mikaelson Industries Head office,where she works. 

"Good afternoon Mrs Mikaelson,  it's good to see you.  We have reserved youa table along the window wall.  This is on the right hand side of the restaurant an entire side where there are only windows or stacker doors.  Hope likes it there she can feel claustrophobic where there isnot windows and natural light.