Learning My Roots (Hope Estheim Love Story)

Chapter 11: Hope's Home

Disclaimer: Everything besides Bella and her family belong to Square Enix.

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Normal point of view...

Hope had been fighting the machine for a while. Fang and Lighting came to help him. "Not bad kid," Fang said to him. "Where's Snow and Bella?" Lightning asked him. "They're okay," Hope said to her. They were able to beat the machine.

Hope gave the dagger back to Lightning . He made the realization. Lightning went to help Fang with Snow. Hope went to Bella. He kneeled down and check her pulse. She was alive. He carried her on his back and they walked to his house.

He walked up to the door of his house and rang the bell. The door opened and quickly his father Bartholomew came out. "Hope," he said in relief. Hope struggled to tell him the news. "Um...Mom's gone," he said. Bartholomew saw two people knocked out. He allowed them inside. Hope went to his room and set Bella on the bed.

He put a hand on her hand. "I'm so sorry Bella. I hope you forgive me," he said. He gave her hand a light squeeze and quickly made his way to the living room to talk to his father. He went over to the couch and sat next to his father.

Hope told him everything that had happen to his mother. Bartholomew broke down into tears. He couldn't believe that his wife was gone. Hope felt bad for what had happened to her. "Dad, I uh...I know I...I will be in my room," he said. He stood up and walked a few feet away from his father. "We're going to rest up. Then we'll leave. If they find out that you are sheltering l'cie, they'll..." Hope started to say.

SLAM! "You're my son. This is your home," Bartholomew said. Hope turned to him. He walked over to him and sat next to him. Bartholomew put a hand on his shoulder. "My son," he said. Hope was glad to hear the words. They caught up for a while.

His father gave Hope the box. "There's a bracelet inside. I was going to give it to your mother but, I thought you should give it to someone who you care about," he told his son. Hope looked up at him. "I...I don't really have anyone I like," he said. His father gave him a look. "I can tell that you like Bella. You should give it to her," his father said. Hope gave him a nod. He got up from the couch and walked back to his room to see her wake up.

Hope got back to his room and pulled a seat next to his bed. He opened the box to see the bracelet. It was gold with purple gems. He knew that it was her favorite color combination. He closed the box and laid his hand on her hand.

Bella's point of view....

I opened my eyes slowly. "You're awake," I heard. I turned to see Hope. "You're okay," I said in relief. "You too," he said. I sat up and looked around. I was in his room. I turned to him. "Did you talk to you're dad?" I asked him. "Yeah. It felt...good," he said. I gave him a smile. "I'm glad," I said with a smile. {I like him a lot. I care for him a lot.}

"You were right. I'm sorry for everything. I was blinded by my anger and focus, that I neglected you. When your mother died, I made a promise to myself that I would take care of you. And to protect you. I probably had broken our friendship. Please, give me a chance to make things right," he said to her.

I looked at him closely. I could tell in his eyes that he meant what he said. I looked down at my hand. He hand his hand there. I smiled at the sight. {He really cares about me.} I turned to him. "I'll give you another chance," I told him. He gave me a smile.

The door to his room open. It showed a man. "You must be Bella. Your mother told me about you," he said. "You must be Hope's father," I said to him. "Yes I am. I am sorry to hear about your mother," he said. "It's alright," I said. He turned to Hope. "You should bring everyone to the living room," he told him. "Okay," Hope said and walked away to get the others.

We all gathered in the living room. I sat next Hope's father while Hope sat on the other side of his father. Snow got up from his seat and sat on his knees. "The blame is mine. I couldn't save her," he said. I turned to see his father resting his head on his hand. "Without snow, I wouldn't be here right now," Hope told his father.

"Snow. Did Nora say anything to you," Bartholomew asked him. "Hope. She said to...get him home," he responded. "And that's exactly what you have done," Bartholomew said. Hope, Snow, and I gave a bit of a sigh in relief.

His father gave us an explanation of what people thought of l'cie. We did plan to take the Sanctum down, but the cost would be the growing violence and chaos of the people without any guidance. His father was on our side. I was glad to hear that.

"Coming here was a bad idea," Hope said. His father put a hand on his shoulder. "This is your home," his father said. Hope gave a bit of a smile to him. His father turned to me. "Bella. When your mother came to us on one of her visits, she made me promise her....if anything were to happen to your mother, my wife and I would take you in with us. This is your home as well," he said. I gave him a smile. "Thank you, sir," I said. He gave me a nod. He was really nice.

"We're all here. Lets figure this out together," Bartholomew suggested.

Suddenly, the lights went out. I got up and listened carefully. I heard footsteps around us. It sounded like metal. Lighting got up and listened. She and I looked up.