{1.08 | Maybe I Should Start from the End | part 3}
Elara stood off to the side of the room, her arms crossed against her chest. Landon had found his mom, which was great, and Elara truly was happy for him, except a feeling she didn't want to name appeared in her chest the moment he and Hope reunited.
She was starting to figure out what it meant, but she didn't want to be right.
The air had been tense when they arrived, especially since Seylah held Elara at gunpoint, and the tension still remained. Landon gave a brief explanation of who the woman-- Seylah-- was and what happened to them, and that still didn't waiver the tensity.
"So," Seylah began, addressing Alaric, who stood near the window, "you're a headmaster of a private school for supernaturals, and you're the teacher's pet and you're his star-student?"
Elara didn't hold back her surprised laugh. That was what Landon described her as? Elara was far from a star-student, especially Alaric's.
"Actually, they're both a pain in my ass," Alaric corrected, turning to face the rest of the group.
"That sounds more like it," Elara commented, slightly pointing at Alaric.
Hope narrowed her eyes at Seylah. "A little judgy for an absentee mother."
Seylah looked at Landon as a smile played on her lips. "You were wrong." She looked back at Hope. "I like her."
Alaric stepped up beside Hope, hands in his pockets. "Well, now you know about us. All we know about you is that you gave birth to Landon, he says a monster attacked you, and now there's some sort of fake gas company coming after you two. So, I think it's time you start filling in some blanks."
Seylah walked over to the bed on the opposite side of the room and sat on it, watching the others carefully. She was a woman filled with paranoia, yet she remained calm, steady in the face of danger.
"When I finished my service in the army," she began, "I was recruited by an intelligence organization. The States sounded like a better life. I didn't know what I was signing up for, but soon I learned that things like you exist in this world." Her eyes flickered between Hope and Elara. "My job was very much like yours. To keep the supernatural world a secret."
Elara didn't really think Seylah's job and Alaric's job could've really been similar. Alaric's job was to protect the supernatural and help them learn how to exist without fear. Seylah's couldn't have been like that.
"Whenever a monster went bump in the night and risked exposing the truth, I tracked it down and brought it back to headquarters."
The werewolf was right.
"We're not monsters," Hope voiced, moving forward. Elara said nothing, her fingers digging into her biceps. Hope wasn't a monster, but Elara could be.
She was an impulsive teenager with anger issues and couldn't control her own abilities. A disaster was just waiting to happen.
"This headquarters, where is it?" Alaric asked.
"Sorry," Seylah apologized. "You just seem morally inclined enough to do something stupid, and there's too much blood on my hands as it is."
"Well, that didn't stop you from aiming a gun at me, did it?" Elara chimed in.
Seylah sighed softly, shaking her head, then continued, "a few years in, I saw something I shouldn't."
Elara heard a rustling of sheets as Hope sat down on the bed behind Landon, and she felt a muscle in her jaw twitch. She had always been impulsive. Acting on her first thought was something she did often.
But she couldn't. Not with this.
"I became the hunted instead of the hunter."
Alaric sat down in the spinning chair. Elara remained standing, her body tense yet ready for any sudden movement. She still didn't trust Seylah, and she wasn't going to put herself in a vulnerable position.
"What exactly did you see?" Alaric questioned.
Seylah answered quickly. "I wanted to know what was happening to the monsters." Her eyes passed over Elara, and the werewolf didn't miss it. "Because even though I spent all that time studying their every move, I couldn't remember them at all. So, I started taking notes. I realized my memory was being erased. The question was: How?"
"Malivore," Alaric answered.
Seylah looked at Alaric with narrowed eyes. "How do you know about Malivore?"
"Landon took a knife that belonged to our school's collection. Now monsters that shouldn't exist have been coming after it ever since."
"He means I stole it," Landon interjected.
"That he did. Not a smart move." Elara remarked. She felt Hope staring at her, but she ignored it.
Landon continued, "and then I, like, um, woke it up or something. What's Malivore?"
Surprisingly, Elara answered. "It's a hell dimension that traps everything put in it and erases them from everyone's memories." Her voice was sharp as if she were annoyed, and Hope lifted a brow, glancing at her friend. "Isn't it?"
"More or less," Seylah confirmed.
Landon lifted his head, his eyes widening. "Awesome."
"The last monster we faced was a Necromancer," Hope said, looking at Elara sympathetically, "who screwed us over and returned it back to Malivore." Landon glanced between them with confusion. "Long story. But he said that the knife is one of three keys that kept Malivore contained, so why are monsters still coming for you?"
"I've got an idea," Elara grumbled.
Only Hope seemed to notice the blond's agitation. Landon shrugged. "I have no idea. Didn't really get a chance to ask the last one. He just tried to eat me."
Alaric chimed in. "As you can see, it's been a rough semester."
Seylah wasn't amused by that. "It will only get worse if you don't go home and forget you heard the name." She looked at everyone else in the room, her expression unreadable. "Just like we forget anyone who's ever been there." She rose to her feet as if to leave.
Landon stopped her. "Wait, wait, wait, wait. You-you have to tell us more," he pleaded. "I mean..."
"I don't know who your father is," Seylah answered coldly and bluntly as if she could read his mind. "My job was stressful, so I had flings to blow off steam. Got pregnant, and just like your not-girlfriend said, I'm not equipped to be a mother. Sorry."
Elara suddenly felt agitated. More so than before, but it wasn't aimed at Seylah because she had essentially crushed whatever hope Landon had left but because she called Hope his not-girlfriend, and Elara was angry with herself for feeling that way. Landon didn't deserve it. He worked so hard to find his mother, and here she was, pushing him away.
"I thought I was giving you a better life."
Seylah walked out of the motel room without a second look. Elara heard Landon let out a shaky breath, and she heard Alaric follow after her.
Landon shook his head, taking a deep breath. "I-I need a minute." And he quickly went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Elara glanced at his backpack as she felt a tug in her chest. It wasn't the same feeling she got around Hope, but it was something else she couldn't describe.
Hope rose up from the bed, moving to follow after Landon, but Elara stepped towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Wait, just give him a second," Elara instructed. "He needs some space-"
"What is going on with you?" Hope asked, turning to face Elara.
Elara lifted a brow. "Pardon?"
"You wanted to save Landon, and you even opened up to him before, but suddenly, you're poking at him as if he's wronged you, somehow," Hope accused.
She shrugged. Her anger was irrational, and she knew that. But she couldn't stop herself. "Maybe he did. The monsters coming the first time was his fault. I don't see why this time is isn't his fault either, and seeing as the monsters might attack the school again and I live at the school, he's probably wronged me."
"We don't know that, El."
"It makes sense, Hope. Landon's appearance and the monster's appearance can't be a coincidence."
Hope's brows furrowed. "I thought you liked Landon."
Elara exhaled sharply, clenching her jaw. She heard the skip in Seylah's heartbeat. She heard the slight wavering of her tone, but she didn't say anything. She knew Seylah was lying, and she wasn't saying anything.
Elara's jealousy was going to get people hurt.
"Yeah, I thought I did too," Elara admitted, letting out a short exhale. "Maybe I changed my mind."
Hope took a step towards Elara, looking up at her with a mixture of annoyance and confusion. "Then tell me what changed your mind because it was your idea to come along and help me save him in the first place. Elara, I wanted to go alone, but you insisted that you should come along. It was your idea to help me. I thought you liked Landon and had a soft spot for him, or something."
"Yeah, I did. Landon reminded me of my dead brother, and now he's- he's irritating." Elara answered although she didn't seem too sure of it herself.
"He's not that bad," Hope defended.
Elara swallowed, her eyes looking everywhere but Hope. "He's not, but right now I can't stand the sight of him.
"Then why are you even here? Why come with us to save Landon?"
Elara took a deep breath. She had to tell Hope. She had to. It was Hope, after all, and she couldn't be around her without Hope looking past whatever barricade she put up.
"Because of you."
There were times when Elara wished she could read minds. The ability to poke into someone's head and hear their thoughts was enticing, but at the same time, it was a burden. If Elara could hypothetically read Hope's mind, she did not want to know what the tri-brid was thinking of her response.
Oh, her face seemed to say. Oh.
"Because..." she paused, her expression softening, "...because of me?"Â Hope blinked, and Elara stiffened. Suddenly, she was wishing that Landon was in the room with them, at least then she wouldn't have to explain herself.
"Yeah, because you want Landon. You want him safe, and you want to be with him because he's-" she took a deep breath, thinking of the right words to use, "because he's not dangerous. I want you to be happy, Hope, and it's clear that Landon will make you happy."
Hope looked at her as if she had two heads. "How can you possibly know that?" Her tone wasn't harsh, more so curious.
"I see the way the two of you look at each other. It doesn't take a genius to recognize it. The fear that was in your eyes when we found out he was in trouble, the relief in them when we found him. I said it before: boy likes girl, girl likes boy."
Hope stepped closer to her, the space between them hardly existent. "And I told you before: it's complicated."
There was that phrase, again. Every time Elara brought up Landon, Hope told her it was complicated. The term "complicated" could've meant many things, but Hope refused to elaborate.
"What makes it complicated, then?" Elara breathed out, exasperated. "Tell me."
And Hope didn't have to tell her.
Not when she looked at Elara like that with a glint in her eye. Not when her eyes dropped down, looking at her lips as if she was trying to memorize them.
Elara's own blue eyes dipped, glancing at Hope's lips. All she had to do was lean forward, but she couldn't.
Hope liked Elara, the same way she liked Landon-- maybe even more. Elara liked Hope. Everything felt natural with her. She felt safe and comfortable and like she could do anything. It made sense.
But Elara's own existence didn't make sense. She couldn't risk their friendship because she couldn't control her emotions, because she couldn't hide her feelings. Her father's appearance had truly rattled her, and his message was crystal clear. Elara was a danger to everyone whether she tried to be or not. She wasn't sure what the Bright Wolf was specifically, but she did know one thing was true about it.
She was a monster.
Hope didn't deserve a monster.
"Choose Landon," Elara whispered. Hope eyes flickered up to hers, and it took all of Elara's willpower to continue. She hadn't noticed Hope's hand gently holding the back of her neck. "Because with him it won't be complicated. We just became friends, and I-I can't risk losing you because I'm a monster who can't control herself. "
Hope opened her mouth to say something, hesitating. The click of the bathroom door caught their attention, and Elara used the split-second as her chance to break away from Hope. She reached the door and yanked it open.
"Elara," Hope called out. "Elara!"
The last thing Elara saw just before her vision darkened was Landon's confusion as he stood in the doorway of the bathroom, watching as Elara closed the door before Hope could reach it.
[a.n. :) did I forget to mention it's a bit of a slow burn?
~NYM]