Burnin' Up | J. Saltzman - Legacies [1]

N I N E

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Hope sits alone in her room. It had taken her hours to decide whether or not to make the call; it is almost a betrayal of trust—at least, it would be in her cousin's eyes. But now, she is glad she did.

"I don't know what to do. She couldn't control it," Hope says. Her voice is quiet as she glances at the door. "It was like she wanted the world to burn out of spite."

She pauses, listening to the response. 

"I've never seen her like this. It wasn't just a lack of control. Her eyes were silver. It was just for a moment, it could have been a trick of the light, but—"

The door bursts open. Hope stops talking as Stella stands in the doorway, tears flowing down her cheeks.

When the Hale girl sees the phone, she asks, "Who is it?" Her voice breaks as she asks.

Hope's heart shatters. She's never heard her cousin sound so hopeless. When Carter died, Stella hadn't said anything to Hope. But something had happened, and not even the great, emotionless Stella Hale could cope.

"I gotta call you back," Hope says, hanging up.

Stella's eyes move away as more tears spill over. "I-I didn't mean to interrupt," she rasps, starting to close the door. "I should have knocked—"

"Stella." Hope stands from the bed, her voice hard yet soothing. "What happened?"

Stella shudders before throwing herself into Hope's arms. "I-I d-don't—I don't—know." Stella cries, clinging to Hope as if letting go would kill her. "I don't know what happened."

Hope runs a hand down Stella's back, trying to soothe her, but both know she cannot. Silent tears slip down Stella's face. Her body shakes with grief and exhaustion as Hope leads her to the bed.

The elder witch draws soothing circles over Stella's palms as the younger witch lets her tears run. When Stella's blue eyes meet Hope's, the older cousin's chest burns. "I can't help unless you tell me what happened," Hope whispers, tucking a strand of hair behind Stella's ear.

The girl closes her eyes to steady herself. "I like Josie." Her voice does not rise above a whisper as if afraid someone would hear. "I-I went out of my mind today. My magic was screaming, and I couldn't control it. But then we found her. I found her."

Stella slumps forward from the memory as her posture relaxes slightly. The corner of her lip twitches up in a half smile.

"I wanted to tell her. I went to tell her but..."

Her shoulders tense. Her smile drops. More tears run down her face.

"She was kissing Penelope, and I—"

She buries her head in her hands. "First, Rafael. Now, Penelope. I can't keep watching her fall for people who are going to hurt her. Every time I see them, I want to protect her. All I want is to protect her, Hope."

Hope opens her mouth but pauses. She puts a hand on Stella's left shoulder, pushing her closer to the wall, as Hope looks at the door. A second later, Dr. Saltzman walks in, his eyes rimmed with red.

He stops in the doorway. Stella hastily wipes away her tears, avoiding his gaze. He looks between the girls. "I'm sorry," he rasps. "I-I should have knocked."

Hope shakes her head, offering a sad smile. "It's not a problem. What's up?"

Alaric sighs and runs a hand down his face to relax. "I wanted to thank you both for helping find Josie today," he says. He swallows thickly before turning his gaze to Stella. "The girls wanted to talk to you."

The dark-haired Hale perks up, her eyes going wide. "Really?" she breathes.

Alaric nods.

Stella hesitantly pushes past Hope's protective arm. Each step she takes feels like a weight dragging her around. She nods her thanks at Alaric before practically racing towards the twins' room.

The moment Hope can no longer hear Stella's quiet footsteps, she stands to meet Alaric. He looks down at her, confused by the alarm in her eyes. "We need to talk."

~~~~~

Stella stops before the closed door. Josie's and Lizzie's names are plastered over the wood panel. Her heart beats frantically in her chest; her magic pushes her forward. She presses her hand against the door, and it creaks open.

As she steps into the room, both twins look up at her. They all look the same—red-rimmed eyes matching drawn faces.

Stella closes the door behind her and slowly approaches their beds. She stares down at them, no emotion in her eyes. She does not know what to do.

Surprisingly, it is Lizzie who stands first. The blonde faces Stella for a silent moment before launching herself at the witch. Stella stiffens before wrapping her arms around Lizzie's body.

Lizzie nuzzles her head into Stella's neck; she lets her tears soak Stella's black hair. The blonde squeezes tightly, afraid the witch might try to leave.

"We siphoned bio-mom," Lizzie tells her quietly. "She's gone."

Stella tightens her grip.

The Hale girl's eyes drift from the back wall to Josie. The siphoner sits on her bed, tears leaking from her eyes. Hope fills her expression as Stella slowly lowers herself and Lizzie to the bed.

Stella extends her other hand; Josie dives into the hug. The twins are already back to sobbing. They cling to Stella's clothing, trying to anchor themselves to reality.

Despite herself, Stella finds herself crying with the siphoners. 

Friendship! Hope you enjoyed!

-L