Make Quiet Things Heard

Chapter 32 : There's Something Off About Her (Ep. 3|Part 1)

Hope's POV

They say that it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Whoever wrote that clearly never experienced the love of their life forgetting their whole existence. It makes you want to be alone because you can't lose what you never had. I have loved and I have lost, and I don't regret my decision. Loving Josie was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Losing her is one of the worst pain I've ever left, next to losing my parents.

The past few weeks have been hard, painful really, but I'm trying to stay strong. I'm trying to move on, but it's hard. It's hard knowing that I could just walk to the Salvatore School and tell Josie that I'm back. That I'm the one she loves, and that I'm the one that loves her. To stop myself from doing that, I keep myself distracted. Dr. Saltzman got me an apartment and some clothes, he's been helping me a lot. The only thing he wanted in return was that I go to school. But I don't want to go back to the Salvatore School, so I'm a Timberwolf now.

Being in school has its perks. It keeps me distracted from missing Josie too much. I've been going to class, the school works keep me busy. I've sometimes been hanging out with Ethan, but I'm mostly with Maya. I would even go far as to say that we're best friends. Me and Maya playfully flirt all the time. I like spending time with her, she's fun to be around. If I wasn't hung up on Josie, I might actually have feelings for her. But I'm still nursing a broken heart. Another perk is Dr. Saltzman is near. So when a monster comes or we need to do research I just need to go to his office.

Today is the day for the monthly football game. The Stallions versus The Timberwolves. Maya and Ethan asked me to join, but I declined, I'm not ready to see Josie. Not yet. As I walk to school I see graffiti and toilet paper everywhere. The Stallions were never like this before, but I guess things changed. When I'm about to enter the school a police car approaches and parks in front of me.
"This looks pretty self-explanatory, but you want to give it a shot?" the sheriff asks when she gets out of the vehicle.
"Um, toxic masculinity mixed with outdated sports pranks?" I suggest.

Then the car window rolls down, revealing Maya inside. Why is she there? Did she get arrested or something?
"There's no way Hope did it. She's a Timberwolf, not a Stallion." she states.
"Maya? What happened?" I ask.
"Oh, don't worry. She's my mom." she gets out of the car. "We don't really like to talk about it." "We?" Just then Ethan comes into view. "Hey, Hope."
"Ethan? So you guys are...?"
"My kids, no matter how much it embarrasses them." the sheriff says. Okay. I definitely didn't know that. Including the fact that they're siblings. They don't hang out a lot together, not like the twins do.

" 'Cause who doesn't like getting dropped off to school in a cop car?" Ethan says as he and Maya walk into school.
"I'm on official business." the sheriff calls out to him. They both ignore her so she turns to me. "Now... show me where I can find Principal Saltzman." I show her to the principal's office and knock on his door. The sheriff goes in. Dr. Saltzman keeps the door open, making it clear that he wants me inside. So I make myself invisible then I walk inside, sitting on Dr. Saltzman's chair.

I keep quiet and listen to their conversation. Turns out a student has gone missing just by the Old Mill in the Salvatore School, similar to Dana and Sasha last year, so there might be a new monster. Once they finish talking about the case I notice Sheriff Mac flirting with Dr. Saltzman. They say their goodbyes and she walks out the door.
"Did you get all that?" I then reveal myself. "Yeah. She's definitely into you."
Dr. Saltzman laughs as if the suggestions is absurd.

"What? No. No, she's just new to town, trying to make friends. Which is exactly what you need to be doing. " he says.
"Yeah, well, tried that last year. Didn't really work out. So I'm gonna focus on monster slaying." I reply.
"Well, it sounds like there could be another monster lurking around the Salvatore School. So I'll check in with Dorian, since he has access to research we don't. Any other ideas?" He asks.
"Just one, but, uh... we are both going to hate it." I guess I'm gonna have to tell Maya that I changed my mind about playing.