the secret of distance

Chapter 21

Notes:

"You think falling in love is about holding on, but it isn't. It is about hands gripping the edge of the world and letting go, one finger at a time.

Take a deep breath—here comes the drop. I know it's your first time here, but soon you will get used to the motion; the headlong dive into the deep. Just go with it. You only get one chance to fall in love with your heart still whole."

—Lang Leav, The Edge of the World

They wake up just as Alaric pulls into the parking lot of the cheap motel they're staying at.

Hope is short enough that she has to sit up a bit to see out of the window. It's not as pathetic as it sounds, she promises.

The tribrid yawns and slowly blinks her eyes open, immediately met with the sight of Lizzie Saltzman glaring at her. It looks like she was watching her sleep or something.

Gross.

"Ew." Lizzie huffs out a noise of disgust and turns back around in her seat. "You snore."

Hope rubs at her eyes and glares back at the blonde half-heartedly, too worried about Josie to even think about arguing with her sister.

The tribrid glances down at the unconscious girl in her arms and wonders if she should even bother waking her.

Josie looks...tired.

The skin of her face is a sickly, pale shade of green. Hope doesn't like it at all. She has half the mind to admit Josie to the nearest hospital, but she'll settle on just watching and taking care of her for now.

Hope stares down at her soulmate, letting her thoughts wander as Alaric parks the car. Hmm. Maybe she can call her aunt Freya? Just to ask if she knows any good healing spells? Hope spent most of her years at the Salvatore School studying offensive and defensive magic—a fact she is cursing herself for now. The single good healing spell she knows only fixes broken bones and cuts.

"Hope?"

Josie starts to shift restlessly on top of her, wincing in discomfort. The tribrid snaps out of her thoughts and runs a hand through Josie's hair to calm her. The short, brown strands feel soft between her fingertips.

"Hey, Jo," she murmurs softly, lowering her voice. The siphoner is still warm to the touch. Not good. "We're here. Are you feeling better now?"

Hope furrows her brows in concern when Josie just nods sleepily, stretching her arms out beneath the blanket.

"Mhmm," she hums, snuggling into the tribrid more. She keeps her eyes clenched shut and smiles tiredly. It's kind of sad, the way she does it. "Yup. 'Was right. Just a cold."

"O-kay," Hope says slowly, unconvinced. She frowns and narrows her eyes at the other girl, but she doesn't try to argue the matter again.

Around them, everyone starts to unbuckle their seatbelts, piling out of the car with their things. Since she and Josie are in the back, they're the last to leave.

The siphoner has some trouble moving once they get out of the car.

"Sorry." Josie groans and brings a hand up to her forehead, rocking back and forth unsteadily. Hope keeps her upright with one hand under her elbow, shutting the car door with her other. "My head is pounding."

"It's okay," Hope hurries to say, shifting the weight of their duffel bags to her other shoulder. She doesn't want Josie to think of herself as a burden. "Do you want me to carry you?"