Enemy Fire | J. Saltzman - Legacies [3]

E I G H T E E N

As the sun shines in her eyes, Stella groans to herself and covers her face with her blanket. With so many students gone, Alyssa had joined them and officially left the Salvatore School. Especially after yelling at the witch for cheating, Stella hadn't been too upset that she gets some space now that the semester is finally continuing. And the fact that she now has a girlfriend doesn't hurt the desire for privacy either.

At the thought of said girlfriend, Stella can't help but smile, her teeth digging into her bottom lip as she forces her eyes open to see the empty bed beside hers. A twinge of sadness twists her heart as she sits up, blowing the hair out of her face.

Silence spreads through the room as she glances around. Her books lie scattered on the ground with papers covering her desk and sticky notes attached to the dresser. She can hear birds chirping outside and feel the heat from the sun, but the silence gnaws at the back of her mind.

She puts on her some music, sticking earphones in her ears as she gets ready, bobbing her head along to the beat. Before leaving the room with a bag of books, Stella pauses to text Josie's new phone (Alaric had surprisingly given her the number) and wish the girl luck on her first day. The message she ends up sending has a lot of hearts. Too many hearts.

Tucking her phone away, she continues letting music beat in her ears as she knocks on Hope's door. When the tribrid greets her, she smiles and pauses the music. "Hey, cus'," she says, walking in. "So, I know you probably want to be alone, but I thought I'd try. So...How are you?"

Hope sighs as she tries to hide her frown. "Not great," she admits as Stella sits on the bed. Hope walks back over to her canvas and picks up a brush. "Everything reminds me of him. I just feel...guilty."

Stella purses her lips. "Well, you know that I understand, to an extent. I'm here to talk if you need."

"Yeah, I know." Hope places the brush down after a moment and turns back to Stella, forcing a smile. "What do you have planned today?"

"I finished all the work I missed," Stella says. "So, I think it's time to search through the library. Try to get a more complete picture of what's going on." She runs her hands down her knees, wincing when they touch bare skin. "Also, these uniforms? Why?"

Hope lets out a laugh. "No idea. You look cute though. Did you see Josie yet? I'm sure she'd fall for you all over again."

Stella's cheeks grow red. "Shut up." A moment of silence passes. "You think?"

"I know."

The door swings open, making both cousins turn to see Lizzie strutting in. "All right. Commence Operation: Rescue Hope From Herself. Good, I see Stella's already started."

Stella frowns. "I never agreed to this—"

"Whatever, Lava Girl. I know you don't want to hear this right now, but—"

"I'm in," Hope says.

Lizzie freezes in her spot before turning to the girls. "Wait, what?"

"I'm in. For whatever crazy thing you were about to say."

"But I had a whole speech."

"And I'm sure it was amazing, but I'd rather not talk right now. Let's just do anything."

"Great, Dad wants us to run the tour for prospective students."

Stella inhales deeply through her teeth. "Yeah, that's not gonna happen. I've got research to do."

Lizzie nods. "Probably a good idea since you did go all black magic, and we had to go on break."

Pursing her lips, Stella shakes her head. "Good talk, Lizzie. Good luck, Hope. I'm gonna bounce and do some research or talk to Isaac."