The Curse of Once Upon a Time

Chapter XII: Where?

Serenity didn't think that she had the best plan. It was not the best plan in the world, but she was thinking that it was going to work for a little while. As long as she could get Eryx to help her out, she would be able to hide from her family until she found out what she was going to do after.

As soon as school ended, she made sure that she met with Salvadore at the library. Once Salvadore had left to go back to their house, she left the library too. She wanted to get going before she ran into Lani or before Salvadore got back.

She hurried on her way towards Eryx's bakery in hopes that he might be able to help her. She wasn't sure how he would be able to help her. She had been trying to figure out her odds of the current plan working.

On the bright side, the plan did get her away from her family. They wouldn't know where she was, but with Aoiski, it would only be a matter of time before they found her if she stayed. Somebody would see her or they would come to find her. She couldn't push her time there.

Her biggest problem was going to become getting out of Aoiski. Eryx wouldn't drop everything and leave just because of her. He had his father there, everything that he knew was there. Serenity couldn't get out on her own, unless maybe she found a way to get a bus.

She only had her permit, which would work better than no permit, but she wasn't going to be able to get access to a car easily. If all else failed, then her last resort would be the bus, but she didn't know where she wanted to go. If she got on the bus, she had to pick somewhere to go and it would be easier for somebody to track her if there were records of where she was going.

Until she figured something out, she was hoping that Eryx would help her out. If he didn't, then she would be screwed. She didn't have anywhere to stay or anywhere to go. He had pretty much been her last option. If he didn't help her, then she would have no other options.

She tried not to run when the bakery came into view. She stepped in, looking around at the few people already in there. She didn't recognize any of them. She didn't want anybody to see where she was going so that they could track her.

She walked up to the front counter as Eryx came around. He paused for a moment when he saw her. "You're back again?" He asked. "I wasn't sure you were interested in talking to me after yesterday. You seemed a little insane."

"I still might be a little insane, but I really need your help and there isn't much time to explain." Serenity said. She hadn't thought about explaining it before. She would sound out of her mind, but it was the only option that she had. She had no idea if he believed in ghosts or demons, but she needed to give him a reason to help her out.

"Salvadore thinks that Grandmother might try to hurt me and I don't know if I can trust him to help me and you're the only person that can help me."

Eryx stared at her for a moment while he processed what she said. Serenity bit her lip, feeling anxious. He wasn't responding to her at all. She really needed his help. If he didn't, she had no clue what she would do. The bus was really her last option. She didn't want to have to buy a ticket; it would waste money, she didn't know where to go, and it would be a record of where she was going.

"Okay, I'm sorry, but why would your family try to hurt you?" He asked. "I don't understand what's going on."

Serenity didn't know any other way to explain it. It was confusing and she found herself lost by it too. She didn't want to tell him about Saige or about the demon living inside of her, but it didn't seem like she had any other choice. He wasn't the same as Salvadore. She wasn't trying to figure out if she could trust him, she was trying to get him to trust her. But for him to trust her, she needed to be honest.