Bring Me To Life | The Originals (1)

The Battle of New Orleans

Walking into Rousseau's since Sophie's death was a bittersweet event for Imogen; of course, she had been in there before but there were always other people around to distract her from the absence of her best friend. The witch stood in the middle of the empty bar, tears blurring her vision as she looked around and she felt a sob building in her throat but she took a deep breath to calm herself down before she had the chance to break down. She closed her eyes as she inhaled slowly and she could almost smell the familiar scent of gumbo cooking on the shove, almost hear Sophie's husky laughter echoing throughout the cavernous room. A small smile played on her lips as her eyelids fluttered open and she nodded once to herself in determination, coming to a firm decision in her mind.

"Are you okay?" a familiar voice asked in concern from behind her, causing the brunette to spin around in fright with a startled gasp escaping her lips and she internally admonished herself for not sense another person's presence.

"Cami! Don't do that!" she scolded playfully with a scowl as she pressed her palm to chest, just above her racing heart and the blonde laughed in amusement as she strolled further into the establishment. Imogen rolled her eyes with a huff at the grin that had spread across the other girls lips but didn't say anything because it was nice to see Cami showing some positive emotions after spending the last couple of days since Kieran's death in a sombre state.

"Sorry. Are you okay though?" she repeated the question in a serious tone of voice, her eyebrows drawing together in concern as she moved to stand behind the bar and deposited her purse underneath the counter.

When the estate lawyer had called her cell phone earlier that week when she was at breakfast with Hayley, she hadn't known what to think but she certainly hadn't been expecting to be handed a property deed to the bar and a set of keys. Trepidation was the main emotion that she was experiencing and it was easy enough to admit that she was scared, because she was, terrified if she was being completely honest. She didn't have any experience or knowledge on how to run a business, she wasn't even sure that she had time to manage the place effectively but everything inside of her was screaming to hold on to the place as tightly as she could with both hands.

Imogen sighed to herself as she cast one more glance around the empty bar before walking over to sit on one of the stools on the opposite side of the bar and she leaned one elbow on the counter as rested her head in her hand. "I'm just thinking about Sophie. This place was her life, you know? Her parents left it to her and Jane-Anne. Jane-Anne left her share to Sophie. And now, they're all gone and it's still here."

"And Sophie left it to you. So, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to make sure this place is something she would be proud of. That's what I'm going to do."

Determination laced her voice as she sat up straighter on her stool, the set of her shoulders radiating confidence and Cami couldn't help but smile slightly at her friend because she knew that if Imogen decided to do something, she would do it to the best of her ability. It was one of the qualities that had gotten her to where she was in life; amazing big sister, loyal friend, talented witch, psychology student and now, business owner.

Imogen huffed out a sigh as she slumped her shoulders, folding her arms in front of her on the counter and dropping her head onto her forearms so that her face was hidden. Cami tried to hold in a chuckle at the overdramatic gesture as she leaned her hands on the other side of the counter and she tilted her to the side in contemplation as she asked patiently, "But that's not the only thing bothering you, is it?"

"I shouldn't be friends with a therapist, you're too perceptive." The witch grumbled in annoyance, the words coming out muffled because she hadn't lifted her head from her arms.