Dark Side

Chapter 77

“Get in the back seat,” Hope said, pushing MG towards the door of a shiny, black car. MG paused when he saw a shock of blonde hair through the tinted windows.

“Hope …”

“I said get in the back seat,” Hope repeated. She sank into the driver’s seat, waiting. impatiently. Lizzie was still sound asleep in the passenger seat next to her. 

MG slowly got in. His movements were hesitant, and his eyes never left Lizzie, like he expected her to jerk awake at any moment.

“Relax,” Hope said. “She’s fine. She’s just under a sleeping spell.”

“Why is she under a sleeping spell?” MG asked cautiously. He knew he could be next at any moment.

“Because I can’t fight both of you at the same time.” Hope watched him in the mirror. What a dumb question to ask. 

He held up his hands. “You don’t have to fight me.” 

“Good.” Hope raised a fist in the air, unclenching it. Lizzie shot awake with a gasp.

“What …” Her eyes darted from Hope to the backseat. “MG?”

“H-Hey Lizzie.” He tried to smile wide like nothing was wrong but the unusually high octave of his voice said otherwise. 

Lizzie pulled at her seatbelt. “Where am I?”

“Stay buckled,” Hope commanded as she threw her new car into drive. “You’re a witch.”

“And …” Lizzie looked around again, still bewildered by the sudden change in her surroundings. Hope wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. “... what are you?”

“What?” MG appeared between their seats.

The tribrid’s voice came unusually soft. “I’m Hope, remember?”

“No, yeah, I remember that,” Lizzie said. “But you’re a witch, right?”

Hope raised a shoulder. “Among other things.”

“Among other things? What does that mean?” Lizzie leaned back in her seat. The road zipped by them terrifyingly fast.

“It means she’s also a werewolf and a vampire,” MG said. “Which you know, Lizzie.”

“Knew.” Hope smirked at him in the mirror. “Turns out Lizzie is suffering from some amnesia.”

MG lowered his chin, his face growing dark. “What did you do to her?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Hope protested. Amusement sparkled in her eyes. “Someone else did this to her.”

“Who would do that?” MG countered. “Other than you?”

“Maybe there are things you don’t know, Milton.”

“Excuse me,” Lizzie spoke up finally. “Does someone want to clue me in on why you would think that my girlfriend would do something like that to me?”

MG’s eyebrows rose. “Your girlfriend?”

“Why are you saying it like that?” Lizzie turned to Hope quickly. “Why is he saying it like that?”

“MG didn’t know about us,” Hope said calmly. “Until now.”

“Oh.” Lizzie snapped her mouth shut, eyes wide. Of course she would say the wrong thing. “Was it a secret?”

“Sort of.” Hope shrugged. “You really didn’t want Josie to know.”

“Why would it matter if Josie knew?” 

“Because she used to like me too.” 

Lizzie nodded along. “That makes sense.” She began to settle into her seat and relax. It didn’t last long before she shot back up again. “Where are we going?”

“Oh, we’re running away.” 

Hope’s deadpan voice was starting to creep Lizzie out. Something wasn’t right with her. It was like she had no emotions behind her words. 

“Running away where? And why did you put a sleep spell on me?” 

She was starting to get fidgety and anxious. Hope could tell.

“Because I thought you’d freak out,” Hope said honestly. “Kinda like you are right now.”

“Sorry.” She could stop. Lizzie tried to force herself to relax again. It didn’t work. “You’re not my girlfriend, are you?”

“Not exactly.” 

“So what are you then? To me?” 

Hope pursed her lips. “Your best friend? Your casual hook up? The love of your life? Your ex you never resolved your feelings for? I’m a woman of many hats for you, Elizabeth Saltzman.”

Right. “It’s complicated then.” Lizzie crossed her arms. “So if you lied about that, what else did you lie about? Did witches really spell you into the cellar?”

“Yes!” Hope said brightly. Her smile faded a moment later. “Just … you were the witch who did.”

“God damn it, Hope.” Lizzie was scowling now. She didn’t like having her trust broken, and granted, she was probably the fool for trusting someone she knew nothing about a whole five minutes after meeting her, but it still stung all the same. 

“Relax.” Hope waved a hand through the air. “It wasn’t because you wanted to. It’s because your dad told you to.”

“Why would I just do whatever he says?” Blindly going with what other people wanted when “other people” wasn’t Josie didn’t really sound like Lizzie’s style. 

“Because he was trying to protect me.” Hope drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. “And you.”

Lizzie rubbed her fingertips against her temple. “And why would locking you away protect me?”

“Hope doesn’t have her humanity,” MG said finally. If Hope wasn’t going to cut to the chase, he was going to do it for her. Lizzie deserved to know. 

“What?” Lizzie blinked a few times. That didn’t make sense. Vampires without their humanity on were supposed to be ruthless and bloodthirsty. They weren’t supposed to be so … sweet. 

Something wasn’t adding up there.