Fight With Me

Chapter 8

Josie's POV

I slowly blinked my eyes open and quickly realized my hands were bound behind me. I reached out, feeling a hand nearby. Turning my head as far as I could, I saw blonde hair.

"Lizzie?" I called softly, trying to grab her hand, but it was just out of reach.

"Lizzie, wake up."

She stirred slightly. "Let me sleep, Jo. It's Sunday."

"Lizzie, open your eyes, now!"

She lifted her head, blinking in confusion. "What the hell?"

Lizzie's POV

"Where are we?" I asked, a wave of pain shooting through my head. I could feel my pulse thumping behind my eyes. "What's the last thing you remember, Jo?"

Josie hesitated for a moment before answering. "We went somewhere so that we could talk, and then we saw something by a tree a couple of feet away. We walked over, and..." She trailed off, a look of worry crossing her face. "That's all I remember."

I sighed, frustration building. "Well, this is just great." I reached out, and Josie and I grabbed each other's hands as best as we could, our chairs binding us back to back.

Josie's POV

We sat in silence for a few seconds, and then a horrifying realization flooded back to me. "Oh my gosh, Hope!"

A tear rolled down my cheek as I let out a shaky breath. "Lizzie, we left Hope. She was waiting for us to come back."

"Jo, I'm sure she's doing everything she can to find us," Lizzie said, squeezing my hand reassuringly. "Where are we?"

I looked around the bare room, taking in the tan walls, one window, one white door, and wooden floors. Suddenly, I heard footsteps approaching from what sounded like upstairs.

The white door clicked as someone unlocked it. I turned my head to see a guy walk into the room. He stood probably 5'11", wearing a black hoodie and jeans.

"Well, hello twins. Glad you can finally join us," he said with a smirk.

Lizzie scoffed. "And you are?"

I knew she was trying to mask her fear with sarcasm.

"My name isn't important," he replied dismissively. "What is important is that Hope Mikaelson shows up to save you, and she can finally be eliminated. Her entire family destroyed my life, so I plan to make them suffer as much as I have."

Just then, a voice called from downstairs, "Hey, can you come down here real quick?"

The man rolled his eyes. "No one is capable of doing their jobs by themselves anymore, are they? Well, I'll be back later. Enjoy the view." He laughed to himself before leaving the room and locking the door behind him.

I let out a shaky breath. "Lizzie, what are we going to do?"

We sat in silence for what felt like hours, uncertainty hanging in the air.

Hope's POV

I opened my eyes and froze, seeing Josie and Lizzie bound to chairs back to back. "Hope?" Josie's voice croaked out, confusion evident in her tone.

I rushed over, kneeling in front of her and placing my hands on her thighs. She looked down, knowing she couldn't feel me. "Are you guys okay? Did they hurt you?"

Josie's eyes were red from crying. "Thank god! Hope? Is that really you? Josie, you see her too, right? This isn't just an episode?"

Josie let out a small laugh. "No, Lizzie, it's really her." She glanced down at my hand, noting the slight crookedness of my fingers and the bruises on my knuckles. "Hope, what happened to your hand?"

I looked at my hand before returning my gaze to Josie. "I can tell you later. Right now, I need to figure out where you are."

Standing up, I walked over to the window. Rows of white tombstones stretched out in the distance, and the sky was darkening as night approached. I hadn't realized how long we had been researching.

"Hope?" Josie's voice sounded broken, and my heart ached to hear her like that.

"This man came into the room," she said, her voice trembling. "He looked about 5'11", brown hair, hoodie, jeans. Nothing unique about him. He wants you to show up so he can kill you. He said your family ruined his life. I just... Hope, I can't let you get hurt for us."

I walked back over to her and placed my hand on Lizzie's shoulder as well, trying to comfort her. "I am going to come find you. I will bring you home. Remember, you're stuck with me, Jo."

Josie let out a laugh, the sound bittersweet. I turned to Lizzie. "And Lizzie, MG needs you to come home too so you can go to the dance together. We will bring you both back. Your dad is worried sick."

Lizzie looked up at me, giving a soft smile and a quiet thank you.

"Jo," I said, turning back to her. "I love you, Jo. I just want you to know that."

A tear rolled down her cheek, and I reached out as if to wipe it away, only to remember I couldn't.

"I love you too, Hope," Josie replied, trying to lean into the hand she could see but not feel.

Hearing movement downstairs, I looked back at the twins. "I will be back. I promise. Stay strong."

Josie met my gaze as I stood up. "Always," she said quietly.

I heard the door unlocking and focused on returning, closing my eyes tightly.