A Love Split in Three

Chapter 10

Hope sat alone on a beige colored couch, talking to Dr. Saltzman on the phone, "Listen, I want a seat on the council. I'm a tribrid, the only one of my kind. No one can represent my interests but me." Hope started

"Is this about Landon? Because you can't let this get personal." Alaric said from the other side of the call

"The political is personal. I learned that in Advanced Civics, taught by you." Hope replied

"That's cheating. But I trust that you'll make the right call." Alaric said, before Hope hung up the phone and walked off, to the honors council meeting

Josie, Rafael, and Kaleb were all seated gathered around a table ready to vote on whether or not Landon will stay at the Salvatore Boarding School for the young and gifted.

"Sorry I'm late." Hope said walking in, with Emma beside her. Josie looking up as her eyes met Hope's

"Hold up. Who voted for her?" Kaleb asked

"I ran unopposed." Hope said sitting down looking away from Josie and towards Kaleb

Emma began chanting a spell, raising the balance scale that was previously sprawled on the smooth wooden table.

"We're here to discuss if Landon should be allowed to stay at the school. My vote, on behalf of the lower school, is to err on the side of inclusion. We exist to help kids like him." Emma said placing a Salvatore voting tile on the yes side of the scale

"Which is what I am going to go do now. I have a search party out looking for Jed. As you've all seen, violence leads to more violence. If you'll excuse me." Emma said, looking at three who were at the game, before walking out of the room

"All right, who wants to start?" Kaleb asked

"Landon has to go." Hope said quickly, as everyone turned to look at her slightly surprised and Rafael, betrayed

"I never thought I'd be saying this, but.. Hope's right. Humans refuse to make room for us in their world. We start letting them in, it's only a matter of time before they take this place from us, too." Kaleb said before picking up a voting tile and placing it on the no side of the scale making it even

"Landon goes." Kaleb said

Rafael finally spoke, "Landon is my brother. He's the only reason I'm alive. He can't go back to a human life knowing that the supernatural world exists. We took his whole crappy life from him. Be awful selfish of us not to give him one to replace it." he then grabbed a voting tile and placed it along with Emma's tipping the scale lower

"That two-one" Rafael said

"It doesn't matter how much we want him to stay. Look what one mad wolf did to him. Earlier, I asked him if he felt safe here. He said yes, he was lying. This place is dangerous for him, and even he knows it." Hope spoke

"I will protect him" Rafael replied

"And where were you an hour ago?" Hope asked Rafael, looking him right in the eye before he looked away, "That's the point. If he stays, It's on all of us. It is all of our responsibility to protect him. Can we honestly say we believe every one of us can handle that kind of a responsibility?" Hope finished looking at each one of them in the eye, before picking up a voting tile and placing it along with Kaleb, making it even once again.

Everyone then turned to look at Josie, waiting for her to make the final decision.

"Looks like it's on you, Josie." Kaleb said

Josie looked at Kaleb and then to Rafael, and finally Hope. She scanned her face, hoping that it would have the answer on what to do. She knew that Hope cared deeply about Landon, he was the first one that she had opened up to since her parents died two years ago.