I Hate That I Love You

Chapter 16

This is a short chapter, but you know what? At least I updated hehe

Would you prefer it if I update more frequently with short chapters or occasionally with really long ones?

*****

Hope ran. She transitioned into a wolf and bounded through the woods that surrounded Mystic Falls. Usually, the night wind on her face always helped her clear her thoughts.

Not tonight, though. Tonight, all her thoughts became a blur. She couldn't focus, she couldn't think straight... It was all Saltzman's fault. Hope never should have gotten involved with that blonde Gemini girl in the first place. It had all been a joke in the beginning. Hope had been bored, and hooking up with a Salvatore kid had seemed like an amusing idea to her. But then the 'one night stand' had turned into two nights, three nights, and so forth. All that time, Hope had thought she had been the one in control. The one who could end or continue things as she saw fit. Lizzie had been just another one of the pawns.

Which was why Hope had been baffled to realize that at some point, Lizzie had turned into one of the queens on the chessboard.

Hope leapt into the backyard of an old house near the edge of town. Her father had bought the place decades ago, back when he had only recently broken his hybrid curse. It had been in the Mikaelson name ever since, and it was where Kol had been staying in for the past few days.

"Get out of Mystic Falls," Hope snapped. She grabbed a random magical artifact that was lying around and chucked it at her Uncle Kol's head.

He woke up from his sleep scowling. "Did you just throw a cursed relic at me? Do you even know what might have happened had this lid opened halfway during the toss?"

"No, and I don't care."

"I would have turned into a beetle!"

"Why do you even have-" Hope shook her head. "Again, I don't care. Get out of Mystic Falls," she repeated.

"I already told you I'm not going anywhere."

"Yeah, but you didn't tell me you'd be offering your blood to strangers so that they could use their magic to track me down with a locator spell," Hope shot at him. "Leave. Before I make you."

Kol laughed at her. "And just what exactly is that supposed to mean, darling?"

"Maybe having werewolf toxins in your system will help you answer that question."

"You know, despite having grown up without him, you sure as hell sound a lot like Klaus."

At these words, satisfaction flared in Hope's heart. "Thanks," she sneered. "I still want you gone."

"If you want to be rid of me, then why don't you leave?" Kol snorted. "Leave me alone. It's hard enough trying to fall asleep in this damned house without a stupid tribrid interrupting me," he grumbled.

But this sentence never made it into Hope's ears. Her mind was still focused on, 'Then why don't you leave?'

Why didn't she? She had contemplated it before, especially after triggering her werewolf side. But she'd had no way of getting money. Witch magic could only get you so far in the financial area, after all. Now, though, she was the tribrid whose genes had fully awakened after an unfortunate incident with a couple of the Mikaelson family's enemies. She had the power of compulsion. She could go anywhere she wanted. She could wreak havoc on international monuments instead of on stupid high schools.

'Thanks for the idea,' she thought in her mind.

*****

"Hope?"

Hope whirled around at the sound of her name. Then she groaned in exasperation. "What the hell, Saltzman? Are you stalking me?"

"No," Lizzie rubbed her eyes. "But Penelope decided to visit Josie in the middle of the night, and seeing as Josie and I share a room... Well, let's just say I didn't feel like watching by as the witch bitch fucked my twin sister."

Hope had to make an effort to prevent herself from laughing.

Lizzie frowned when she saw the suitcase that Hope was rolling along in her hand. "What are you... Hope, you've got to be kidding," the siphon witch said.

"Mind your own business, Saltzman. Get back to your school." Hope bit back a curse. Why did the only bus that led out of Mystic Falls have to be boarded from the station a block away from the Salvatore School?

"Are you seriously running away? Didn't everyone get past that phase when they were fourteen?"

"I was a little busy killing Nazi vampires when I was fourteen, so I guess I'm making up for the missed life experiences now," Hope rolled her eyes.

"Hope, get back to the academy. You're going to regret this the second the sun comes up tomorrow."

"You don't know my future thoughts. Stop sticking your nose in my business."

"If you didn't want to be seen, why are you trying to take the bus? You could have just compelled someone to drive you out of town. Or you could have stolen somebody's car. Or used yours."

"All three options are easily traceable. I need to disappear."

"Why? Aren't you just planning on wreaking havoc the second you get to a big city, anyway?"

Hope hesitated. "How did you... How do you know that?"

"You do realize how pathetic it is? Trying to get your father's attention year after year by pulling all these crazy stunts? Hope, forget about him," Lizzie pleaded. "If he can't see how special you are, if he can't be bothered to be a father to a brilliant girl who's better than most people even without her miraculous powers... Then he's not worth it."

"Say that again. Let's see how many words you can spew out when I've chopped off your tongue."

"You can't seriously be defending him, Hope. The guy's an asshole."

"He's just doing what he thinks is the best for me," Hope said. But her voice wavered, because she knew Lizzie was right. Hope had been denying the fact that her father wanted nothing to do with her for too long.

"A storm is coming tonight, Hope. Even with your werewolf and vampire abilities, getting hit with a lightning bolt is probably gonna suck. Let me take you back to the Salvatore School with me."

Hope hesitated. She actually hesitated, which shocked her so much that she hesitated even more. She should be snapping Lizzie's neck and carrying out her 'running away' plan, not considering accepting Lizzie's request.

"Look, if you want to run away even after you've slept on it, I'll even help you get out discreetly. Just... Come on, okay? I don't want to see you get hurt," Lizzie smiled weakly.

Later, Hope would look back on this moment and wonder just what manner of sorcery Lizzie had used on her to make her agree. Hope found herself taking a hold of Lizzie's outstretched hand. Together, they headed up the road to the Salvatore School.