A Secret Worth Keeping

Chapter 10

Milton's POV: Walking Spike to the park, I scrunched up my nose against the irritating scent of pollen. I fought a violent sneeze as I followed the usual path through the tall hedges. Spring time was a joyous occasion, of course, but it was always heralded with allergies for me. I slipped Spike's leash in my pocket and looked up when I realized with surprise that my feisty Belgian Malinois hadn't run ahead to the green fields across the path, but was sitting very calmly at the side of a sinister looking figure sitting on a park bench. Shaking my head, I walked toward the woman with two cups of coffee balancing on her knees.

"Good Boy, Spike", I said, patting the animal's head as I sat down a little stiffly beside Penelope and accepted one of the cups.  

"Morning, Mg", she greeted, her emerald eyes focused on the park that was still only just waking up. There were only a few early morning joggers and one or two people who cut through the park on their way to the bus stop. 

"Penelope", I nodded, taking a sip of the coffee as Spike tilted his head to one side and released a small whine. 

"No, I'm sorry, Spike. She's not coming today", Penelope explained as if the dog could possibly understand her. The dog snorted and dropped down to his belly, resting his head on his paws as he watched happier dogs playing with their owners. 

"Speaking of Hope...have you heard from her recently", I asked her curiously. 

"Not since yesterday. I had hope to hear from her first thing this morning, but...", she trailed off as her phone rang, causing her to set her cup to the side to answer it. "Hope", she questioned, her green eyes darting back and forth as she waited for a response. 

Spike shot to his feet at the mention of her name, his mouth open and his face alert. 

"Yeah, I'm here, Penelope", Hope's voice came through the phone, causing Penelope to relax in her seat. "Josie and I were worried about you", she said, before a small scoff reached my ears.

"Worried? Why were you worried", Hope questioned.

"Well, you called Josie last night and just hung up", Penelope pointed out, causing me to raise my eyebrows questionably. "And don't try to deny it was you. We heard your voice", she pointed out. "What was so urgent that you called us and hung up", she questioned.  

"What Penelope meant to ask was if you had anything to eat yet", I intervened, knowing Hope didn't like to be questioned. 

"Milton's there", she asked, her tone cold, causing me to frown to myself. I glanced at Spike, who just turned his head away as if to let me know I was on my own. 

"Spike says hello", I informed sheepishly, not knowing what I did to get on Hope's bad side.

"Would you give us a minute", Penelope asked me, causing me to frown in confusion, but otherwise got up to give her some privacy. I frowned to myself, watching her expression turn serious before she met my gaze briefly. "I understand", she muttered, narrowing her eyes. "She what? Shit", Penelope cursed, causing me to study her quietly. "Where'd you end up", she asked, filling the silence as I noticed Spike sitting at her feet. 

Smiling to myself, I turned on the comm in my ear, silently listening in on their conversation. "Some place called Mystic Falls...it's awful, Pen. All of the houses look exactly the same. There's no character, no danger...and there's no food trucks for miles...", Hope complained, causing me to shake my head with a small smile before I was able to pick up on her cursing under her breath. 

"What's wrong", Penelope asked.

"I'm going to kill her", Hope muttered, causing me to look up at them curiously.