𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐀
Seventeen years was a long time. Long enough to have four kids, bury old wounds, and almost-almost- forget the sound of his voice.
Angelica Parker had spent every one of those years trying to scrub Klaus Mikaelson from her memory, but Klaus Mikaelson was the kind of storm that never really passed. He lingered in fragments, including the ache she still felt when the night grew too quiet and she felt like being on the edge of a cliff.
Angelica stood by the window of the Salvatore Boarding School, her fingers curled around the mug of half-drunken blood. She didn't move when Alaric Saltzman entered the office, his brows furrowed, jaw tight with his 'somethings wrong face'
''Morning, Ric,'' she said, still watching the driveway below.
He dropped a file on the desk with a weight that wasn't just paper ''You're gonna want to sit down for this."
Angelica pursed her lips. ''I'll stand'' She replied, forcing a calmness she didn't feel. It was never good news when Alaric had that face.
Alaric didn't argue. Instead, he just stared at her, wondering how he was going to break the news to her. He opened the folder and turned it towards her.
A single photo lay on top. A school application. Sprawled across it in elegant old-fashioned handwriting: Hope Mikaelson
Looking at the application, Angelica blinked once, then twice before looking up at Alaric, "You're joking''
''I wish I were'' Alaric ran a hand through his hair, frustration curling in his tone. She's sixteen. He's enrolling her. Klaus, Rebekah, Elijah the whole damn family. They're moving back to Mystic Falls.''
The world tilted for a moment.
Angelica's heart came to a full stop. Her body couldn't catch up to the name she spent years pretending she didn't hear in dreams. Her fingers tightened around the mug, knuckles white before the mug slipped out of her grip, shattering on the floor.
She pressed her hand against the window, hoping to anchor herself to something real.
This couldn't be real. Something long buried, carefully stitched together, split open with the sound of his name. Her breath caught in her throat, sharp and unexpected, and for a moment, the room felt too small, the air too thick.
Angelica Parker was falling apart, and Alaric was there to witness it all over again.
''Angelina'' The sound of her name being called wasn't enough to snap her out of the state of pure panic that she was in. ''Angelina'' Alaric's voice was drowning in her ears as her eyes trailed back towards the paper, if it might vanish.
She hoped it would. But it didn't. His daughter's name was there, bold and final.
''Angelina'' Alaric's voice was more stern now. She hadn't even noticed that she was on the floor and that he was crouched in front of her.
''Why now?'' Angelica asked as she stared numbly into Alaric's eyes.
He felt his heart hurt for her. He hadn't seen Angelica like this in a long time. It took her a while to get better after what Klaus had done to her the first time.
''Why after all this time?''
And for the first time in a while, Alaric didn't know what to say or do. He didn't know if there was anything he could truly do to make her feel better.
Klaus Mikaelson was coming back.
And so was the past she'd never truly escaped.
