sᴇʟғɪsʜ~ʟᴇɢᴀᴄɪᴇs {slow updates}

TWENTY SEVEN

The next morning I wake up confused as to how I got to wherever I was. I get up and look around to see this was my moms apartment, the one she used to share with dad. I don't get why or how I got here, the only thing I can think of is that mom was letting Hope stay here so maybe I was looking for her?

"Hope?" I find her passed out on the couch, "Hope." I say shaking her, she doesn't respond so I push her off the couch sticking my laughter once she wake up confused. "What the hell?" She asks before her eyes land on me. "Arabella!" I laugh at her face, "I'm sorry but that was just too funny, remember when I did that when we were ten only I pushed you off the top bunk at our house by accident."

"You remember?" I nod and laugh, "you remember." She says before jumping up and hugging me so tightly making us both fall to the ground laughing. "Lizzie remembers too but I didn't think anyone else would, I thought it was an accidental fluke."

"Lizzie remembers?" I ask confused as we sit up, "yeah she came and found me yesterday, I heard about how you were feeling so I went to your room only to be traumatised by Kie and Thomas..." she trails off with a shudder making me burst into a fit of laughter, "you walked in on them??"

"I was looking for you!" She protests joining in with my laughter. "I'm so glad I remember hope, I love you so much." She nods and hugs me tightly, "I love you too."

"Can we stay here today? And just hang out stuffing our faces with whatever junk we can find and watching all those crappy movies we love?" I ask making her nod, "of course, whatever you want." She says making me nod my eyes tearing up, I really had missed her.

***

It was commonwealth day soon and a week had passed since all the Sebastian drama and I really had been making progress and I was feeling better, I spent a lot of my time with Hope, Kie or Ethan just doing things that didn't stress me out or were just fun to do.

"Where are you going?" I ask Ethan as we were helping prepare the festivities for commonwealth day. "Football practice."

"You have an injured arm." I say pointing to his arm in the cast that I had signed in huge writing and decorated with hearts. "I know that but I can still help the team."

"See you later?" I ask making him shrug, "not unless you're joining me at physical therapy." He says making me frown at him, "hmm I may drop by, I know that I make it insanely fun for you." I say making him laugh, "that you do." I frown as I watch him go but shake it off and go back to making the decorations I had been as Hope has somehow disappeared.

Never mind I see her crawling out from under a table with Lizzie, I decide to let that go though because I was not ready to get back involved with monster hunting, not if I wanted to keep myself sane.

***

"Hey Kie have I missed anything interesting?" I ask as I make my way back to the school, "Um there was a zombie here this morning and now there's a demon who's feeding on secrets running around so if you're keeping any I say tell me or maybe leave." I shake my head I wasn't keeping anything from her aside from the fact I thought our dad was alive. You know actually maybe this wasn't the best place for me.

"I'm all good." I shrug before turning to her, "are you keeping any secrets?" I ask making her shake her head before a look of realisation dawns on her. "One, it's about the night of miss mystic falls."

"I'm the reason Jed left you again, I'm so sorry arabella I didn't tell him to do that, I just said to him that if he was going to lead you on again the least he could do was not be such a dick this time." My eyes widen, I'd been avoiding Jed pretty well since we returned. "I'm sorry." She repeats once I don't speak. "It's fine, I don't care you were looking out for me and you probably did me a favour." She looks relived before she turns back to me, "are you sure you're not hiding anything."

Before I can respond a masked figure in Olden garments starts stalking towards us, "is that?" Kiara nods and grabs my hand before we begin running from the monster. "What are you hiding?" She asks accusingly as we board ourselves up in a room, "nothing!" I say not giving in exasperated as she turns to me in disbelief.

"Just tell me Arabella, is it really worth dying over?" I hesitate making her gape at me, "you've got to be kidding me."

"I-" We both jump and move away from the door once the monster begins breaking it down. "Arabella!" I glance between my sister and the creature who was gaining on us, we were trapped there was nowhere to run.

"I think dad is still alive!" Kiara drops my hand as the monster retreats and leaves us be. "What?" She asks me in disbelief, "I think dad is alive."

"Why couldn't you tell me that?" She's looking at me confused. "Because I know how you and mom get about him, you went so crazy when the necromancer was here I just didn't want to get your hopes up only to crush them."

"How long have you known?"
"Since that day with the necromancer." She scoffs and steps away, "don't tell mom, whatever you do."

"Why not? So you can never tell her, you didn't not tell me because you didn't want to hurt my feelings. You didn't tell me because you didn't want us to find him."

"That's not true-"

"You hate him arabella, you don't want to meet him do you?" I shake my head vigorously, "that's not true, I have lost my mind searching for him, I've tried spell after spell and researched until I couldn't read anymore. I've been trying my hardest to find him but it's so hard."

"I had a right to know."

"This is just like the Hope situation, you said it'd do more harm than good, you were against us telling people because they wouldn't remember her. I did the same, I didn't see the point in upsetting you if I couldn't find him."

We stare at each other for a moment until she suddenly collapses, "Kie? Kiara?" It's not long before I follow after her and hit the ground harshly.

***

"Hope, I remember hope." Kiara says once we both wake up, it must've been Josie redoing the spell that gave Lizzie and I out memories back. "Oh my god, where is she?" She says before her eyes land on me and she remembers what we'd been taking about before the interruption. "Do you really think he's alive?" I nod, "the only think I can think of is he's in a prison world, it must be why I can't reach him."

"Prison world? Like where he first met mom?"

"It's the only logical solution, unless he's cloaked himself nor something but all the books I found with prison world information was limited."

"Well show me!" She says eagerly, "I can look over things with a fresh pair of eyes, things you may have missed."

So the two of us find ourselves in the library pouring ourselves over the books I had read about a thousand times, "oh my god!" I jump once I see Sebastian walking towards me.

"What?" Kiara asks me in concern. "It's happening again, he's back." I tell her panicked as I step back, "Arabella." I quickly cover my ears and close my eyes, "no, no don't speak to me, go away I'm fine. I'm fine."

"Arabella." This time it's Kie who puts a hand on my arm. "You're scaring me and whoever this boy is." My eyes widen as I glance back at Sebastian, "you can see him?"

"Well duh I have eyes." She says confused, "that's Sebastian." I say making her mouth open in shock as Mg also joins us. "Yeah I'm sorry Ari but there's something I should've told you."