RIPTIDE ▹ THE ORIGINALS

eight; she who knows no peace

-•-•-

Nothing had ever been quite easy for the littlest Marshall girl. It was almost as if it were written in stone, bound to the Earth forever. With every breath that would escape her lungs, a new obstacle would be placed in her path for the years to come. No matter how hard she tried to divert away from the course she seemed to inevitably be stuck on, River Marshall was not in for smooth sailing. A storm was brewing, and she was caught right in the middle. 

Her young frame still lay on the dark, grimy, cement floor of the mausoleum, and her mind was still haunted by nightmares of the past - nightmares River thought she has pushed to the deepest corners of her subconscious, but soon rose to the surface like a hellhound crawling out of the pits of perdition.

All bad things come in threes, they say, and River was constantly being reminded of the first. The night Hayley was kicked out was the turning point in her life - and not the good kind. The second was Sophie Devereaux, despite the woman's own internal thoughts thinking otherwise. In Sophie's mind, she was just doing what she thought was best for her family. Wasn't that just what everyone was trying to do, in their own twisted way? The third had yet to happen, but it would be by far the worst. When would it happen? Next week? Next year? Two years? Five years? That's the terrifying thing about fate - you never know when in it will strike. 

All River felt as she laid there was the sharp edges of pebbles poking into her skin, the vibrations from loud voices echoing throughout her blood vessels, and the undying sensation of paralysis. It was as if she was in a dream, unable to snap herself out of it no matter how hard she internally pinched herself.

-•-•-

"River, you need to get up for school," the thirteen-year-old's mother sternly stated, nudging her stubborn daughter out of bed. River clutched her pillow, a pit instantly forming in her stomach.

To be frank, River Marshall was an empty shell of who she used to be. The girl hadn't been the same since that one fateful night - a night her parents had no idea their daughter witnessed. To them, they just thought that she was going through a 'teenage rebellion phase.'

"Yeah, yeah, okay. Just let me get changed," River sighed from beneath a mountain of blankets.

"Ten minutes - that's it. If you're not downstairs by then, you're walking to school," her mother warned one last time before swiftly exiting River's bedroom.

The girl sat up, wiped the crust from her eyes and yawned one last time. 'Damn it,' she internally groaned. 'Another day.'

After throwing on a hoodie and jeans, River still had about two minutes before her mother threw a fit, so she decided to sit on her bed for a little while, just until the deadline was near. She felt the air entering and leaving her lungs. She felt the utter exhaustion growing within her, manifesting itself under her eyes. According to all laws of science, River was alive. 

But why didn't it feel like it?

The girl turned her blurry gaze toward her nightstand. Her heart fluttered as she opened up the top drawer and lifted up a glossy picture of Hayley Marshall: an unspoken name in the household, but one that constantly lingered.

River forced herself to choke back the sob that had been building up for a year, but the buzzing of her alarm clock snapped her out of it. Within seconds, she was running down the hall and out the door with her mother. It was just another day.

-•-•-

Though still existing within her dream world, River could once again sense someone (or something) gripping her tightly and lifting her off of the cold mausoleum floor. She didn't know who, nor did she know exactly what was going on, but she did feel a comforting arm wrapped around her shoulders, and another around the back of her kneecaps. Whatever was happening, River felt safe.

The sensation continued for another ten minutes, before being placed on yet another surface - though the new one was much softer and encapsulated her like a cocoon.

River sensed a new set of voices, as well. It royally frustrated the girl to not know what the hell was happening. Instead, she was locked in a mental prison - no doubt because of whatever strange powder Sophie incapacitated the girl with.  

Soon, she felt yet another sensation - a cool hand gently resting on her cheek. Though unaware of whose hand it was, it sent waves of calm throughout her. 

-•-•-

For hours - perhaps days - River felt these sensations come and go, though only for short periods at a time. Her conscience was still trapped within itself. The outside world was beginning to slowly fade away, and the memories continued to poke and prod around her brain. For one moment she would experience the emotional torment of her sister's departure, and the next she would experience a clean slap across her cheek accompanied by the lingering smell of whisky. 

But suddenly, without rhyme or reason, River's eyes fluttered open. Her dark blue irises dilated, and the fogginess of her vision retreated with it. 

River Marshall was carefully propped on a king-sized bed. Around her were three people. To her right, a familiar gruff blond man and a similar looking blonde woman stood with their mouths agape. Directly to River's right, was her: the gorgeous brunette woman with deep green eyes.

This time, the teenage girl was not being tortured with ungraspable fragments of the past. In that very moment, she was leaning against her big sister's chest, whose cold hand was pressed against River's cheek.

"What the fuck," is all her raspy voice could manage to blurt out. 

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I know, I know, I'm bad at updating. sorry about how boring this chapter was, I just needed to put all of that in there. all of the next chapters will be much more interesting.

thanks for reading<3