VESTIGE ↬ D. HALE [3]

09 ; beta

90 ↬ BETA

"Just, uh, let me do the talking, okay?" Nancy warned as a blonde woman strode into the back room. Her blonde waves fell just past the collar of her long coat and the sound of her heels clicking against the floor echoed in the room as everyone fell silent. Nancy got to her feet, the shadows from the unlit room hiding her expression.

"Nancy Briana Kidwell!" The woman hissed, her eyes narrowing venomously as she appraised her daughter from the doorway. "I have been all over the West side of America looking for you!"

"Did you find any cool souvenirs?" Nancy offered nervously as she approached her mother.

Harper Kidwell let out something between a scoff and a chuckle as she reached out and pulled her daughter into her arms. "I was so worried about you!" Suddenly, the lights flickered back to life and the raging storm outside quieted.

Nancy hissed as her injured shoulder shifted under the pressure of her mother's embrace. Harper immediately retracted, staring down at her daughter's shoulder in shock.

"My God, Nancy! What happened to you?!"

"It's nothing really, I'll be fine-"

"No, I have a salve in the car," Harper frowned as she moved to guide Nancy out of the office.

"Mom, wait," Nancy insisted, gripping her mother's wrist and rooting her feet to the floor. "Mom, I found her."

Nancy paused, her brows furrowed as she looked back up at her daughter. "Found who?"

Nancy moved to the side and used her good arm to gesture toward the three strangers standing behind her. Her eyes settled on Elise.

Harper followed the younger Kidwell's gaze, and her lips parted in shock. "Ev- I..." Nancy trailed off, her wide green eyes affixed to Elise's face.

The brunette returned her gaze. It seemed to only just then settle in that these people were the link to Elise's past. They were the missing part of the puzzle she'd been trying to piece together for the better part of a year. This was the family she'd lost all those years ago, the one she'd never gotten to meet. Until now.

A sharp ringing pulled Elise from her daze, and Harper averted her gaze back to her daughter. Elise pulled her phone free from her pocket and answered the call.

Jenessa's shocked voice rang out on the other end, "Elise? Elise you finally answered! Are you okay? Where the hell have you been?"

"It's a long story," Elise sighed, her eyes flicking back toward the Kidwells. Nancy had pulled her mother into the corner of the room and they were exchanging rushed whispers. Occasionally, the two of them would risk a glance toward the brunette. Nancy's eyes were filled with worry, Harper's were filled with anger.

"We've been looking all over for you! Braeden and I just got to the hospital."

"Wait, what are you doing at the hospital?" Elise asked.

There was a short pause on the other end of the line before Jenessa answered. "You don't know what happened? Some family was killed last night. They were hacked apart in their home. The youngest son survived. We were all worried that maybe the person that hurt them had also... well, I think you get it. We were going to see if the kid could tell us anything."

"Oh, God," Elise grimaced, "poor kid."

"Braeden thinks we should still talk to him," Jenessa announced. "Hold on, Elise, we're right outside of his room..."

There was a short pause on the other end of the call and Elise could hear the sound of a door being opened. Then, suddenly, a scream sounded from Jenessa's side of the call.