Stay With Me (On Hold)

1x12

There's A Mummy On Main Street

     I stared out the back window of the minivan Alaric chose to rent. Dorian and Emma took up the rest of the third row seat, while Hope, Josie, and Lizzie took up the middle. Kaleb lucked out and had the front passenger seat. The only good thing to come out of Alaric's distrust toward the boy.

     That was the entire reason why Kaleb came with them, so Alaric could watch him.

     "Dr. Saltzman." I could hear Kaleb voice across the van. "This van is very – white of you."

     Alaric looked away from the road and said. "It's retro."

     "It's a gas-guzzling atrocity on wheels," Lizzie corrected her father.

     Hope leaned up from the floorboard with a bag in her hands. "I brought snacks."

     "Oh, sweet. Did you pack them before or after you decided to FOMO your way onto our trip?" Lizzie questioned Hope from where she sat to her left.

     "Like I'm gonna let you guys chase monsters without me?" Hope quipped.

     "I would've thought you wanted to spend the break in the Scottish countryside, or at the least canoodling with your hipster boyfriend." Lizzie retorted with a fake smile.

     I sighed, turning away from the speeding foliage to the girls. "Unfortunately, all planes in and out of Glasgow are grounded for the next day. By then, we'd get there only to turn back around. Mom said to just say here."

     "And sorry for wanting to protect the outside world from my mistakes," Hope countered toward the blonde. "You know, there's currently an urn on a river cruise spreading plagues across America because I thought a unicorn was cute. It's called accountability. Maybe there's a bracelet for it."

     I rolled my eyes, while Kaleb oohed.

     "Or maybe you just wanted to ruin yet another Saltzman Spring Break." Lizzie said.

     "When have I ever ruined a Spring Break?" Hope questioned.

     "Girls?" Alaric called from behind the wheel. "We're gonna be in this classic automobile for six hours, alright? So, no bickering."

     "It would help if it wasn't a thousand degrees in here. I'm burning up," Hope said as she fanned herself.

     I nodded. "Yeah, can you bump down the a/c?"

     "You're burning up," Lizzie scoffed. "Now, that's ironic."

     Hope turned to her with creased brows. "What does that even mean?"

     "Don't play dumb. I see you. I see right through you."

     "I don't know what you're talking about. What happened to playing nice?"