For Good | Hale- TO/TW [8]

19 | With A Boy

Lexi sits in the Salvatore study. Bottles of bourbon are piled in a glass cabinet and books layer the shelves surrounding her. Caroline paces the length of the room, her hands playing with her clothes. Lexi holds a phone in her hand.

"You call him," Caroline insists. "and he'll kill that kid."

Lexi shakes her head. "I don't call him, and he kills Roman anyway."

Caroline pauses and her expression falls. "Lexi, when he hears about this..."

Lexi stands, smoothing out her jeans. She walks over to Caroline and places a hand on her shoulder, squeezing comfortingly. "It'll be alright," she says. "We'll call together. Derek's already waiting for damage control. Teddy and Laura are searching through packs. Cora is off trying to get in touch with the McCall pack." Lexi looks down at the phone. "We can do this."

Caroline bites down on her lip as Lexi presses the call button. Klaus' name flashes as the phone rings.

"Hello, Lexi," Klaus answers. She can tell he is grumpy: Greta Sienna escaped. "Can you please tell your husband I don't need a murder watch?"

"Hope's gone," Lexi says.

A long silence stretches through the air.

"WHAT?"

"She took off with a boy—a research assistant," Caroline explains. "Sometime last night, we think. Our tracking honors class is looking for them."

"Who is this boy?" Klaus demands. "I'll kill him."

"Nik, I've been doing my own tracking," Lexi says. "She's headed to New Orleans."

"She's coming home. Why?"

"You can ask her when we find her," Lexi says. She catches Stella's scent getting closer. She can also hear Stella's racing heartbeat. "I'll text you the meet point."

Klaus is the one to hang up the phone as Stella bursts into the room. The Hale girl's eyes are wide and filled with alarm. Lexi can see her veins pulsing with blood. "I need to talk to my mom," she says as she grabs Lexi's arm and pulls her from the room.

"Just be ready in 15 minutes!" Caroline yells as Stella slams the door shut.

The girl pulls Lexi aside into a small corner of the large mansion. She pulls out her cell phone and shows her mother a text.

From Carter:

Hey Stella

I know what I did was terrible, but I really need to talk to you

You probably don't want to talk to me, but I need to explain, you know? 

I heard you are in New Orleans visiting family--I'm visiting schools in the South with my dad. Can we meet up? For coffee or something?

Lexi releases a long sigh as her eyes fly over the words. Stella's heart beats in her ears.

"What do I do?" Stella asks. "I don't want to talk to her, but—"

"Then say no," Lexi replies, handing the phone back. "You have control now. You decide what happens. This is your decision. She's trying to elicit some reaction from you: don't let her. She broke your heart." Stella looks down at her hands. Lexi gently cups her daughter's cheeks and presses a soft kiss to her forehead. "You decide how to exact your punishment."

Stella chuckles as she wraps her arms around Lexi. She breathes in deeply, Lexi's cherry and vanilla scent surrounding her in a blanket of safety. "Thanks, Mom," Stella whispers before pulling away. "Now, we need to find Hope."