The Originals

Chapter Forty-Three: Orchid Gray

Orchid hadn't slept peacefully for a long time, she thought she'd sleep better if she solved the murders, but her slumber only seemed to worsen when Sam Finnegan, Madeleine Xing, and Stanley Crawford were finally arrested a few nights ago. Her stomach sickened and her mind filled up with images of Sam, unfazed by everything. He's sick in the head, she thought.

"Gray?" came Stoll's exhausted voice. Orchid turned away from the wall to face Stoll, sleeping in Bailey's old bed, spending the night in her dorm. Students tried breaking into the Finnegan House, throwing rocks at the windows. Bastards, she wanted to yell at them. But Stoll claimed he didn't want to stay because it was 'strange,' but Orchid knew he was really just scared to face the house where his brother lived too.

"Yeah?" she muttered, rubbing her eyes. Getting Stoll into her dorm without Ms. Tara, the Dorm Monitor, noticing was a hard feat too. Yet, they both couldn't seem to sleep properly.

"What time is it?"

"1: 00 AM," she replied, getting out of bed. She squinted in the dark, blindly walking towards Bailey's bed. Stoll's face was down on the pillow, muffling his speech. She tapped his shoulder to make sure he wasn't half-dead. "Can't sleep?"

Stoll sat up, looking as if he had just came back from a zombie movie. He sat cross-legged, staring at the ceiling. "This day has been so shitty," he laughed, his laughter humourless. "I just want it to end." Orchid seated herself next to him, intertwining her hand with his.

"We'll be okay." She willed herself not to stutter. "Or maybe not. I guess that's how shit works." Stoll rested his head on her shoulder and Orchid exhaled. For once, it felt like she could breathe again. Her other hand grasped her locket around her neck, rubbing each stub for comfort. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For getting you into this."

Stoll closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Better to know the truth than keep repeating a lie. Sam was never going to give the truth to me, so we had to discover it instead." His voice gave away. "This was a sick plot twist, just like Clue." He laughed again, but it was sadder this time.

"Stoll." Orchid was looking at Stoll, their eyes locking. For a split second, she wanted to apologize again. Say that she didn't mean to hurt him, say that if she could take it all back, she would. She would give anything so that Stoll didn't have to find out that his brother was a killer the hard way. She didn't need to cause anyone more pain.

"Yeah?" Stoll mumbled.

From the start of studying at Silverleaf Academy, Orchid promised herself that she wouldn't cause more pain or burdens to others. Navaeh Naylor's coma was enough said. She had broken her promise. "It wasn't your fault."

"What?" He gave her a wide smile, squeezing her hand.

"I-It's not your fault," Orchid stammered, hesitating this time. No matter how much either of them was good at pretending, they both were lying to each other. "Please, Stoll."

"I know," he replied more harshly, letting go of her hand to cross his arms. His upper lip was trembling now, on the verge of breaking down in tears. "You don't have to remind me, Gray."

"No, no, listen to me, it's not your fault—"

"I know." Stoll's eyes darkened and his jaw tensed. Orchid felt as if she was the one who caused him pain. Maybe she was, and she'd have to live with that. "I need to sleep. I'm...I'm very tired now." He glanced up at her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap." His hand found Orchid's hand again, tightening his grip. She waited until Stoll's breathing became even as he fell asleep on her shoulder before she heaved a sigh of relief.

Orchid's eyes became heavy as the darkness felt overwhelming. Suddenly, her phone rang on the nightstand. "For God's sake—" Annoyed, she left Stoll in Bailey's bed to pick up. It was two in the morning, she was going to give that scam caller a piece of her mind. It was a phone number she didn't recognize, but she picked it up regardless.

"Hello?" she asked, pressing her phone to her ear. "Who is this?" Orchid headed towards the bathroom to avoid waking up Stoll. He needed his sleep.

"It's me." Tommy?