Hope glanced about while suffering from a severe headache, taking in her surroundings. She was in a large, sweet bedroom in the style of a library. A regular room with plants and tall book stacks in every nook and cranny. She observed numerous enormous tapestries with classics on the walls.
On the right wall, she recognized a phrase from The Portrait of Dorian Grey. It was one of her all-time favorite quotes. It felt strangely comfortable and familiar. It made her shiver. Where was she?
Suddenly, a loud rustling noise came from the wall. Shit, Hope thought as she scrambled to adjust herself. There was someone singing; they sang well. What if they're here to kill me?
Hope looked from across the room where she saw a huge, opened window. It had a semi-pleasant view of the street. It looked like she was a few stories up so jumping out wasn't a reasonable answer. What do I do?
While considering her options, Hope decided to peak from the window to find any close items she could possibly land on and escape this weird apartment, but just as she was about to jump a beautiful brunette stopped her.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Who are you?" Hope said as she hung from the window's frame.
"Hope please get down," she pleaded as she dropped the water can she held in her hand.
Hope studied the girl and her mannerisms. She looked genuinely scared and worried for her. Looking at her up and down, the auburn-haired woman decided to step a leg into the apartment room.
"How do you know my name?"
The brunette shook her head. "When you come inside then I'll explain." Then, out of the blue, she left the room. Hope tilted her head at the empty space in the door where the brunette was and let out a: what the fuck?
Confused, the auburn-haired woman got down from the window frame and sat on the bed. After a few minutes, the brunette re-entered the room with a glass of water and a blue pill.
"Drink this," she said.
"What if you're trying to poison me?"
"Why would I poison you now when I clearly could've killed you when you were drunk last night?"
"Maybe you're so sick you want to watch me suffocate and choke on my own saliva."
"Hope," she said while taking a pause. "Just drink it, you must have a bitching headache."
With a suspicious glance, Hope took the pill and quickly downed it. The brunette looked so familiar it almost bothered her. She studied her eyes and her figure. "Why do you look so familiar," she said under her breath.
Josie just stared at her. "Look, it's obvious you're not really all that comfortable being here. So, I can either take you home or pay for a taxi."
"How do you know my name?"
Josie grabbed Hope's driver's license from the small nightstand and threw it at her. "I am not a stalker. I found your ID yesterday. That's how I know your name."
Hope looked at the brunette and weighed her options. She could stay and find out more about what really happened, or she could leave and get her life back in check. The answer was clear.
"Do you have any more of my stuff?"
The brunette scrambled to find Hope's purse. "Yeah, you had this. I'm guessing it's yours?"
The auburn-haired woman checked every single pocket of her purse, and everything seemed to be there. With a sigh of relief, she handed the brunette her card. "Yeah, well as you may know I'm Hope Mikaelson. For your trouble, if you ever need anything, I'd be happy to assist you in anything legal if you ever need it."
The girl studied the small business card. It read: Mikaelson & Partners. She nodded and gave Hope her hand. "I'm Josie Saltzman."
Hope nodded. "Yeah, well I should get going."
Josie shook her head and smiled. "Right, I'll show you out." As they walked towards the front door, Hope took another glance at the brunette who had been so kind to help her and smiled. "Thank you."
Josie just nodded and lead Hope to the elevator.
Outside, Hope took out her cellphone and noticed it had full battery. Did this girl charge my phone too?
Quickly forgetting the gesture, Hope dialed Jed who for some reason answered in the first ring.
"That's new," Hope said while grabbing her purse and looking for her cards.
"What is? You staying out late and not answering any calls?"
"No... You answering on the first ring. Anyways can you pick up some files for me?" Hope said while ordering an uber back to her house.
"Yeah sure. What files are you looking for exactly?"
"The Stanguard Case."
"I'll be over in 15. Anything else?"
"No, but please, for our sakes, make sure nobody sees you and don't lose anything."
"As you say," Jed said before ending the call.
After a while, in a poorly cleaned car, Hope finally arrived home where her armed guards were waiting in the entrance. Upon arriving to the gate, they asked for the code.
"Dog. Tree. One. One. Grape," Hope said while making her way towards the huge driveway that surrounded her home.
"Welcome back Ms. Mikaelson," her bodyguard said while flashing a smile.
"It's good to be back," Hope yelled back while finally arriving at her front door. She looked at the glass palace that surrounded her and sighed. Why the fuck is this house so pretty and ugly at the same time.
A loud sound overtook her senses when she realized the door was open. On edge, she grabbed the small pocketknife beside her and kept it until she saw her best friend. It was Jed.
"You scared me," Hope said while putting the pocketknife back in its small holder.
"Yeah, well you basically told me to fly here so here I am with the files you asked for."
"Thanks," Hope said while taking off her shoes and going to her study.
"Do you need any help? Is there anything I can help you with?"
"No, it's fine. I can take it, I think," Hope said while closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
"Is it okay to ask where you went last night?" Jed said while nudging Hope.
"It's okay to ask it, sure. Am I going to answer? I'm not sure, depends on my mood to be honest."
"And is your mood good enough to answer?"
"Not really, ask tomorrow."
He nodded. "Remember we have that book signing tomorrow," Jed reminded her while leaving.
"What book signing?"
"Come on Hope. You remember we have Ben's book signing?"
"Oh yeah, I'll be there. I just need some sleep, but just in case, please send me reminders. Multiple."
a/n: idk, ideas?
feedback please
