Animals (sequel out)

🗡️30🗡️

Caroline helped my out of the car slowly.

"What the hell happened" Josie throws opens the front door and tries to help me. " she looks like a walking corpse"

"Thanks" I tiredly but lightheartedly chuckle.

"Josie what are you doing home?" Caroline practically drags me.

Josie pretends to cough and says "Whatever hope has must be contagious."

I try to hide the tired grin I'm shooting her.

"She's not that kind of sick, food poisoning." She quickly lies. "Why are you actually here?"

"You and Hope have just been M.I.A for like two days at school now and last time I saw hope she was sick and I was worried." She helps Caroline guide me to the sofa.

"I'm sorry" I let out a chapped whisper.

"I'm just happy you're okay," she gives me a soft hug.

"Sorry to take off on you again" I rub my eyes.

"I was just worried something was wrong." She lays down on the couch beside me resting her head on my lap. "Do you want to watch something?"

"Sure but I might fall asleep on you" I dryly chuckled.

"That's okay" she scrolls through streaming service after streaming services.

I think I fell asleep before the movie started. Because I woke up around five and Josie was passed out beside me on the couch.

I softly climb off the couch and scurry up the stairs to Caroline's room. I slowly push open the door and the room immediately smells like her perfume and the scents that were in her bath earlier and I tap
her shoulder.

"Whats wrong" she rubs her eyes and turns on her lamp.

I just kind of look at her for a minute.

"Climb in" she scooches over in her giant pink and white bed.

I pull myself under her blankets and she hold me in a close hug to her like a newborn child. I'm not sure how she knew what I needed but she did even when I didn't. Her skin was warm but not to the point it was overheating me.

"Couldn't sleep" she mumbles making sure I have plenty of blanket.

"Kind of" I mumble back tiredly.

The truth is I had been internally wrestling with telling Josie about what happened I worried that something like this could have happened to her and just lying to Josie in general felt wrong.

I wanted to tell Caroline because headmasters aren't supposed to do that. I want Caroline to just make my problems disappear. I don't ever want to go back to the school if he's running it.

I feel violated and I want my skin and bones to just dissolve and sink through the bed and floor. I want to be nothingness an absence of anything.

"There's a lot on your mind?" She asks.

"Yeah" I grumble tossing and turning.

"Do you want to talk about it?"she rolls over to face me.

I don't say anything instead I just lay closer to her and hug her arm.

"Why won't you tell me who did that to you?" She asks softly looking up at the ceiling. "Is he someone....How long have you known him?"

I think about my answer for a minute "I've known him for a long while...he was all I had." I look up at the ceiling too

"Do I know him?" She asks.

"I don't think you do...." I wasn't lying technically I don't think she knows him because if she did she'd never let him be around. He does a lot of of unorthodox stuff but he means the best and he keeps me in line.

"What he did to you wasn't your fault, you know that."

"Yeah yeah." I roll over and look at the wall.

"I mean it, you know it's not your fault hope."

"I know he was just drunk he didn't mean to." I absentmindedly and tiredly groan trying to get comfy.

"He was drunk...were you drunk." She asks softly trying not to spook me.

"Nope I don't really drink that often usually only if he offers it and it's been a hard day." I realize I should probably just give her some answers so she won't bother me for some later.

"Is it that kid who works at the grill?" She asks

"Ew gross, it's not like that at all," I scoff

"Have you and this guy had sex before" she ask gingerly.

"What!" I turn on the lamp on the nightstand and sit up.

"Has he done anything like this before is it a boyfriend hope, because I'm worried."

"No! It's not like that at all he's like a father to me." I get out of bed hostilely

"I hate to break it to you but fathers don't do what he did to you or tried to do to you" she sits up and slides out of bed "How much older is he Hope?!"

" I don't like late forties?" I sigh knowing she won't understand.

"You've just been running around with a forty year old man I know you think you have everything under control Hope but that is a grown man and you are a little girl." She looks at me in just a state of pure shock.

"This is exactly why I didn't tell you I knew you wouldn't understand " I walk out of the room.

"Damn right I don't understand hope" she follows me.

"How long have you just been hanging around him?" She follows me quickly down the stairs.

" Since I first got here." I turn around on the stairs defiantly

Lizzie steps out of her room tiredly and Caroline stares at me shocked.

"You were like seven! Did Klaus or Hayley know?!" She asks.

"DONT YOU DARE BRING THEM INTO THIS!" I yell up the stairs throwing the framed pictures on the stairwell on the steps.

"Did they know!?" She persists at this time Josie and Lizzie are both awake and confused.

" None of you were around enough to give a shit, so I took care of myself and found someone who could keep me safe!" I yell back and run out the door into the cold rain.

Caroline chases right after me

"Leave me the fuck alone!" I keep walking off in the rain as Caroline softly jogs to catch up.

She doesn't say anything she just keeps jogging after me soaking her pink silk pajamas.

I look back at her in the rain and stop walking away and she stops and I turn around and start bolting down the street running as fast as my body can push it self my organs ache but it feels so good. I keep running as hard as I can putting all of my willpower into it until Caroline is so far behind me that I can't see her anymore.