SYMMETRY ➽ D. HALE [1]

31 ; discoveries

31➽ DISCOVERIES

Elise reached over the tables, wiping down spilled coffee and gathering abandoned mugs. The sound of the door to Cuppa's swinging open alerted Elise to someone's presence. "Sorry, we're closed," the brunette sighed without even looking up.

"Actually, I was hoping we could talk?" Melissa McCall's voice floated through the coffee shop.

Elise's head snapped up, her eyes wide. It was the first time since Elise had revealed her knowledge about her past that her mother had spoken a full sentence to her. "Y... You want to..."

Melissa nodded, waiting for a real response. Elise mirrored her nod and gestured for Melissa to take a seat in the booth she'd been cleaning.

"So, what all do you know?" Melissa asked after a tense moment of silence, wherein neither of the McCall women had any idea what to say to the other.

"Not much," Elise confessed. "I mean, I know that I'm adopted and that's really it. I looked for anything else related to my adoption but nothing came up."

Melissa inhaled deeply, her tight curls bouncing with the slightest tilt of her head. "Well, I'll answer your questions... if you answer mine."

"I can't tell you anything about Scott. That's a conversation between the two of you-"

"It's not just your brother. You've been acting strange too, recently."

Elise tugged her bottom lip between her teeth. She'd almost thought that she'd gotten away with hiding her abilities. After a moment of hesitation, she agreed. "You go first," Melissa suggested.

"Who are my biological parents?" Melissa inhaled deeply, prompting Elise to speak again. "We can work up to that one if you want."

"No, it's fine," Melissa assured her daughter. The air inside of the coffee shop was much cooler than she'd expected, and Melissa couldn't help but feel as if it were symbolic. It was as if the ghosts were watching her. "I really only knew your father. Before we moved to Beacon Hills, he lived next to your father and I. Well, Scott's father, I suppose." A shrill breeze swam through a parted window, prompting Elise to rush over and shut it, for fear of letting more chilly air into the shop. Melissa continued, "His name was Perry Kidwell. He was a nice man, but he always seemed... nervous. Like he was waiting for someone to sneak up on him." Melissa seemed to not want to give any more information than she needed to, as she quickly changed course. "My turn to ask the questions now. Why were you going through the old records in the attic in the first place? You hate it up there."

Elise sighed, only now realizing how difficult it would be to explain everything to her mother. "Weird things have been happening to me. I've been seeing things and feeling things... it's hard to explain, but I was hoping I could find something up there to tell me what was going on with me. What happened to my biological dad? You said he 'was' nervous."

"Perry died when you were less than a year old. I was working at the hospital as a nurse when it happened. They said that it was a heart attack, but he was just... he was so young. He was only a few years older than I was. When did those things you mentioned start happening?"

"A few weeks ago. Do you remember a patient that you had? Peter Hale?" A nod. "Well, he's not exactly human. We got in a bit of a fight. I broke a vase over his head and he scratched me. The next day, I started getting the visions."

"He scratched you?"

"It's my turn to ask the questions," Elise reminded her mother. "Why were you the one that adopted me? Wouldn't it have been someone else's responsibility? Like a family member?"