𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 | Josie Saltzman

Chapter 6

"You still haven't said what you need my help for," Lydia's words echoed off the paneled walls of the hallway. They hadn't exchanged a word since Hope had taken her from the party in the woods. The closer they got to where she was going to lead her cousin, the stronger the strange feeling in the pit of Lydia's stomach. The memory of the look in Hope's eyes when she had asked Lydia for help made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Something was wrong with the Tribrid.

Her attempt to find out more, however, came to nothing again. Hope did not answer. Instead, she ignored her cousin's words.
"Hope," she repeated, quickening her pace to reach Hope. She put her hand on her cousin's shoulder, making her final stop. The tribrid's eyelids fluttered as she gazed at Lydia. The veil that had settled over her eyes seemed to be slowly lifting.
"I'm sorry. Did you say something?" she asked as if Lydia's words had passed her by.

"What are you going to do?" she repeated her question, letting go of the other girl again. She studied Hope's face with an inquiring look as if she could read the answer on it.
"We shouldn't discuss that here," Hope said quietly as her gaze wandered down the hallway. Even though most of the students were hanging out at the party, Hope looked nervous, as if she expected to be caught. A fact that further reinforced the uneasy feeling that had come over Lydia. If she was so worried about being caught here, her plan couldn't possibly be harmless. But Lydia decided not to speak those words. First, she should listen to the plan before concluding. Probably she was wrong in her guess.

"All right, where do you want to go?" she finally inquired in a lowered voice, ready to follow Hope's lead.
"My room," she replied, before starting to move again and taking the stairs that began a few steps away from them. Lydia followed her on close heels and quickly climbed the creaking steps. As she did so, she glanced over her shoulder down the hallway she was about to leave behind. Fortunately, there was no one there to see them disappear. Whatever Hope was planning, no one was supposed to know about it.

Arriving at the landing, she turned her head forward. At first, this school had seemed like a maze to her. The hallways had seemed innumerable, and none had seemed like they would lead her to her destination. After a few days of wandering, she had managed to memorize most paths and no longer lose the main corridor. Her room had been the anchor point, but the way to Hope's room had burned into her mind. She had caught herself wandering there in the evenings as if her feet would carry her on their own.

Often, though, she had just stood in front of it, dithering over whether to knock or leave again. Their relationship might have improved, and she got to see Hope more often than she had expected when she left New Orleans. Nevertheless, deep inside her was still the fear that could lose again just as quickly as it had arisen. That's why she usually chose to turn back and not knock on Hope's door, so as not to strain the tenuous bond between them.

Why she felt the need to come to her in the first place, she didn't know. She only knew that there was this indescribable longing for her family that she could not satisfy. Probably she was just not good at being alone after having lived uninterruptedly in the safe bosom of her family before. Hope had gone to this school at an early age, and once she felt the same longing that Lydia had, it may have been long gone.

Arriving at her room, Hope set about unlocking the door lock. Lydia sucked in a sharp breath. Hope liked to be a loner, reluctant to share personal information. Since she had lived here, she had never found her bedroom door locked. Something was different this time. Was there something in the room that could impossibly be discovered in her absence? The trembling of Hope's hands reinforced this thought as she tried to open the door. But Lydia kept the thought to herself, guided by a desire to see what it was that Hope was being so secretive about.

"Come in," Hope said as she pushed open the door. Her hands disappeared behind her back as if she wanted to hide the trembling of her fingers. She had no way of knowing that it was already too late for that. Without a word, Lydia pushed past her into the room.