Keeper's Oath

Chapter 5: Arrival

Time had gone by already. Before she knew it, Hope realized that it was Wednesday.

Eve had been avoiding Hope for the most part when she tried to talk with her. She would just go to her room after work. Peter had noticed this and had a short talk with Eve trying to get things settled when he would go pick her up. After all, it wasn't Hope's fault she was chosen or she'd be leaving for a while. It made Hope feel anxious like she did something to upset her best friend. All of the things were out of her control, after all.

Hope was laying in her bed, flipping through a page in her book when there was a knock on the door. She placed her bookmark between the pages and set it aside.

"Yes?" She hesitated not sure who it would be. To her surprise it was Peter who opened her door. "Oh, hello." Hope smiled sitting up on her bed trying to sound cheerful. She had been hoping that it was Eve.

"Dinner is ready in a bit. You should probably see if you can talk Eve into joining us. I know she grabbed some food from work but I'm sure she'd appreciate your company." He told her as he quietly entered her room. Peter shut the door behind himself.

"She hasn't talked to me much since Melanie announced that I won. In a few days I'll be going away for a while.." She felt uncertain how Eve was feeling. In her heart, she wished that she would just talk to her. She'd be back before Eve knew it.

Peter stayed silent for a brief moment.

"I know, I have tried talking to her. You know her better, Hope. You have a better chance." Peter reassured Hope. Moments later, Hope heard Peter walk out of her room and shut the door quietly. She got a sniff of what Melanie was cooking. It smelled like spaghetti, it was one of Eve's favorite foods.

Without waiting another second, Hope found herself exiting her room and being in front of Eve's room. Her door was shut of course. Raising her hand up to knock it, Hope thought against it. The feelings in her head were overwhelming. It wasn't her fault she got chosen. So why was Eve upset?

She knocked lightly first. No sound came from inside the room. Hope knocked a bit louder this time around. There came some noises from inside. Eve's door swung wide open as if she was expecting it to be Peter again. Her face relaxed seeing that it was just Hope.

"I think Melanie is making spaghetti if you'd like to come downstairs and have dinner with us." Hope tried first to see if that would make Eve a bit more friendly. She smelled the air and nodded to Hope.

"Fine, I'll come and join you guys." She sighed in defeat and was about to shut the door on Hope but she put her hand against it.

"I want to talk to you, Eve." Hope said quietly looking away from Eve's face.

Eve blinked a few times. She opened her door again, letting Hope into her dark room. She just had her lamp next to her bed on. Her friend went to sit on her bed while Hope pulled her chair from the desk and sat in front of Eve.

"I'm not going to be gone forever, you know that, right?" Hope started not sure how to begin. She felt silly talking to Eve about it. Her friend should understand that she won't be gone forever and leave her behind. Maybe... that's what she was afraid of. The two of them had been together longer than she could remember. They were close after all.

Eve sighed out of frustration.

"I know that!" She said the words a bit louder than she had intended. Eve looked into Hope's blue eyes which showed she was slightly hurt by her words. "I'm sorry but I know that you won't be gone forever. I also know that you didn't choose this. It's like... I feel like if you leave, you won't come back. It's silly, I know but I just have this feeling. It won't go away. It has been bothering me ever since..."