Brianna had decided when she was looking for a place to sleep on her first night away from Mystic Falls was to save as much money as she possibly could on her journey to finding herself. Even though Brianna had ten thousand dollars in her savings account from birthday and Christmas gifts along with the money she got from working at Mystic Grill and what she got from her parents, she still wanted to be cautious with her money as she didn't know how long she would be staying in New Orleans.
The brunette girl slowly cruised around the new town for a couple of minutes before she decided that she should pull over as she wasn't going to get any answers by just sitting in her car. So, Brianna followed her own advice a couple seconds later as she pulled into the next parking lot she saw, which happened to be in middle of the French Quarter, the place her parents told her about in their letters.
Brianna turned off the engine and grabbed her cell phone from one of the two cup holders in the middle of her car once she was parked before she slowly opened the door and stepped her red velvet combat boots onto the pavement of her birth town. The hazel eyed girl then reached into her black jeans once she was standing straight and pulled out the two letters that her parents left her before she began to scan the words. Brianna soon realized that the letters didn't specify where she could find this Marcel person nor a certain location.
Brianna huffed out a disappointed sigh as she shoved the letters back into her pocket before she began to look around her surroundings. The only place that piqued Brianna's interest at the moment was a bar called Rousseau's as the brunette girl realized she hadn't eaten anything since she had stopped a gas station in Birmingham, Alabama and picked up a breakfast sandwich and a black coffee.
The brunette girl figured that the bar would have some type of food that would fill her empty stomach. Maybe luck will be on my side, Brianna thought while she walked across the street to the bar as she might find the answers that she's looking for inside of Rousseau's.
Brianna pushed her cell phone into her leather jacket before she grabbed ahold of the wooden handle of the establishment and slowly pulled the heavy door open. The first thing Brianna sensed when she stepped foot inside was that it was very quiet. There was only an old man sitting at the far end of the long bar and a couple of people sitting at a table in the middle of the room as they looked like they just got off from work. The brunette girl didn't really know where she should sit, so she just took the first spot at the bar before she nervously began to tap her point finger against the smooth surface of the wooden counter.
"What can I get you?" An unfamiliar voice questioned the young girl after a couple of silent minutes had passed as the woman had just walked in from the kitchen after she heard the bell that signaled her to a new customer.
Brianna jumped at the sudden voice as she was lost inside of her running thoughts about what she would find in the town that she didn't even hear anyone walk up to her. However, the brunette girl calmed her racing heart when she noticed a woman in her early twenties standing behind the bar. "Uh, hi," Brianna uttered awkwardly before she cleared her throat and wondered as there wasn't any menus around, "what do you recommend to eat here?"
The woman, Jane-Anne, ran a clean gray rag across the bar as she got rid of the whisky glass from the person who had left before she looked back up at the young girl when she heard her speak. "My sister is the chef and and she makes a mean shrimp gumbo," Jane-Anne responded as that was what mostly everyone orders when they came here.
Brianna nodded her head as she folded her arms across her purple tank top and leather jacket before she told the brunette bartender, "I'll have one of those then." Brianna figured that the dish was her best choice as it would fill her up quickly and give her time to get some answers before the sun disappeared for the day and she had to find a place to sleep.
Jane-Anne didn't bother saying anything to the young girl before she turned around and walked back into the kitchen to her sister and placed the order. She then walked out a moment later and went right back to her same spot in front of her unfamiliar customer. "Can I get you anything else?" Jane-Anne questioned as she boredly wiped off some crumbs from the bar.
"Vodka on the rocks," Brianna requested easily as she looked directly at the woman that she realized was named Jane-Anne once she had scanned the bar and caught the name tag on her black tank top.
Jane-Anne rose one of her dark eyebrows at the young girl in disbelief before she told her, "I'm gonna need to see some I.D."
Brianna nodded her head before she stuck her hand into her leather jacket and pulled out her small leather wallet. She then pulled out the first card she saw which happened to be her fake I.D. "Here you go," Brianna exclaimed calmly as she handed the woman her identification card. Brianna was notorious for being able to buy alcohol when she wasn't at the legal age. She and Caroline, her close friend, were always the ones that got the alcohol for parties as they could talk their way into anything.
Jane-Anne shook her head with a quiet chuckle as she stared down at the young girl's card. She knew without a single doubt that Brianna wasn't twenty-one as she looked a little bit younger than her sister, Sophie, and her sister had barely turned twenty-one last month. However, Jane-Anne handed the young girl her card back before she began to pour the clear liquid of vodka into a glass filled with ice as no one in New Orleans really cared about mundane things like ages and rules when they were in The Big Easy. That was one of the reasons why New Orleans was the party capital of Louisiana.
"So, what are you doing in a town like this?" Jane-Anne questioned as she leaned her back against the counter that held all types of alcohol; ranging from different shades of colors. She had nothing better to do as the rush of customers wouldn't be coming in for another thirty minutes, so she might as well chat up the unfamiliar face.
Brianna took a small sip of her glass of vodka before she looked into Jane-Anne's brown eyes with a raised eyebrow. "Is it that obvious?" The brunette girl wondered curiously.
Jane-Anne shrugged her shoulders lightly before she explained to the young girl, "you don't have that look everyone else in N'Orleans does." The bartender then shook her head with a chuckle when she noticed the confused look on Brianna's face before she further explained, "you just have this innocent and curious look that everyone who's grown up here doesn't."
Brianna could guess how that would be true. She had never even been outside of Virginia, so everything was just so new to her. The brunette girl then took another sip of her vodka when Jane-Anne began to clean around her before a thought suddenly popped into Brianna's head. Maybe Jane-Anne could help, Brianna thought before she asked the aforementioned woman, "hey, you wouldn't happen to know anyone by the name of Marcel, would you?" However, when the woman didn't respond to her, Brianna nervously played with her red nails before she added as Jane-Anne was only staring at her, "I-I don't have a last name just that a man named Marcel stays here in the French Quarter."
Jane-Anne stood frozen in her spot when she heard the name of Marcel as she knew exactly who Brianna was talking about. The brunette bartender then squinted her brown eyes once she was out of her trance as she carefully studied the young girl. Jane-Anne didn't think Brianna would be someone to get involved with the likes of Marcel. But then again, random people don't just show up in New Orleans unless they are involved with one of the many supernatural beings that surround the city.
"There is only one Marcel around here," Jane-Anne told Brianna emotionlessly before she went back to focusing on cleaning the bar. However, as thoughts began to run freely through Jane-Anne's head, she couldn't help but want to warn the young girl about Marcel. She didn't want Brianna to get mixed into Marcel's games like everyone else does. "Brianna, I don't think you -" Jane-Anne had began to warn the young girl but was soon interrupted by the man of the hour.
"I think you're looking for me," the man with the buzzed dark hair announced as he pushed his way through the entrance of Rousseau's Bar with three smaller men following closely behind. The man walked directly up to the bar with a grin shining on his lips and looked directly at the young girl that his men had informed him about how she was asking about him before he held his hand out and introduced himself, "Marcel Gerard."
Brianna instantly twirled around in the red and silver stool when she heard the loud voice and noticed four men standing in front of brunette girl then placed her small hand into the man's surprisingly cold hand as she also introduced herself, "Brianna Gilbert."
Marcel's arm went limp once he released the young girl's hand along with his brown eyes slightly widened when he heard the name fall from the girl's mouth. Marcel knew he recognized her from somewhere. He remembered like it was just yesterday when he took two baby girls out of New Orleans with identical hazel eyes and handed the older one to a family in Virginia before taking the younger one to another family. Marcel didn't think he would see the young girl so soon as he thought the Gilbert family would have kept her adoption a secret like they told him years ago.
Marcel soon realized that he had been staring at the young girl he hadn't seen in seventeen years for too long, so he swiftly went back to his cocky self before he shot the annoyed Deveraux woman a glare and ordered, "bring Brianna's food once your sister is done taking her slow time." Marcel then looked back over to the young girl with a soft gaze before he uttered, "I think we should talk," as he knew that she was here for the truth about her biological family.
Brianna silently nodded her head before she grabbed her half full glass of vodka and gave Jane-Anne a quick and small smile. The brunette girl could tell there was tension between the two of them but knew it wasn't her place. Brianna then stood up from her stool and followed after Marcel as he took a seat at a small table in the corner of the bar, where no one was around except for the three guys that had came in with him.
Brianna took a seat across from Marcel before she pulled out the letters from her parents and stated, "you know who I am." It wasn't a question as the young girl could tell by the look that she kept seeing on Marcel's face. It was like he was remembering something.
Marcel reached across the table and gently opened up the two letters, where he instantly recognized the smaller one. He remembered watching Miranda Gilbert write down those small pieces of details when he had delivered Brianna to them. Marcel then looked back up at the young girl and explained, "I was the one that brought you to Miranda and Grayson."
Brianna's brows instantly furrowed in confusion as the man in front of her couldn't be older than twenty-five. If that was true then Marcel would have been eight years old at the time. Brianna shook her head as she voiced her thoughts, "that was over seventeen years ago. You were barely a child then."
Marcel nodded his head in agreement before he pointed his long finger down to the list on the purple and white paper. "This right here," he began as he pointed to the word that read 'Andrea,' "this is my grandmother's name. I was there when she gave you away." Marcel knew he couldn't tell Brianna the truth about how he hasn't aged in centuries, so he lied straight through his teeth. "My grandmother had my name written down in case she wasn't around anymore when you found out the truth," Marcel added as he piled up the lies.
"Oh," Brianna mumbled as she looked down at the familiar writing that belonged to her mother, "that makes sense." She then looked back up at Marcel and whispered sadly, "my parents passed away a couple of days ago. That's how I found out about all this."
"I'm so sorry for your loss," Marcel uttered softly as he knew exactly what it was like to lose someone he loved. He then cleared his throat as he pushed his past to the back of his mind before he explained, "my grandmother gave Miranda this list the day you arrived in Mystic Falls in case they ever told you the truth and you wanted to know more."
"Well, can you?" Brianna questioned as she nervously played with her fingers on top of the table. "Can you tell me more?" She clarified once she had taken a heavy gulp of vodka to calm her jittery nerves about what she would soon find.
Marcel nodded his head before he stated to keep up his lie, "my grandmother told me about your life before she passed." However, before the man could continue to explain Brianna's origin, they were soon interrupted by a set of loud footsteps coming straight towards them. Marcel silently watched Jane-Anne place the light blue bowl of gumbo in front of the young girl. Marcel then gave Jane-Anne a grin when she shot him a hard glare before he amusingly uttered as he pointed his head towards the bar, "I think you have a customer waiting for you."
Jane-Anne rolled her brown eyes at the man she hated before she shot Brianna a concerned look. The bartender was worried about what Marcel was doing with the young girl but knew she couldn't say anything unless she wanted to end up dead on the streets. Instead, Jane-Anne quickly turned around and walked over to one of her regular customers that was looking for his alcoholic fix while she hoped Marcel didn't pull Brianna into his spiderweb of trouble.
"Sophie's gumbo is the best in all of Louisiana," Marcel told the young girl when he noticed she was busy looking over at Jane-Anne with her brows furrowed. Marcel didn't want Brianna getting involved into the problems that come with New Orleans. He just wanted to tell her everything she needed to know about herself and her family before getting her out as he made a promise to her biological parents to protect her from this side of her life.
Brianna nodded her head and gave Marcel a small smile as she pushed the problem with the man and Jane-Anne to the back of her mind. It was none of her business, anyways. Brianna then finally looked down at the food she had been craving and sighed happily. The shrimp gumbo smelled and looked extremely delicious, so Brianna quickly dove right in with her spoon. Marcel was right, Brianna decided after one bite as it was the best gumbo she had ever tried.
"Your birth name is Chloe Bella Labonair," Marcel told the adopted girl after a couple of minutes had passed by while Brianna ate spoon fulls of the famous shrimp gumbo.
Brianna looked up when Marcel uttered the first piece of information about who she really was while she slowly ran the silver spoon through the brown liquid of the gumbo. Brianna never really thought of her having another name. It felt weird that she used to be called Chloe but she could see Bella as her parents named her Bellatrix as her middle name. "And what about my biological parents?" The brunette girl questioned before she took another bite of her food.
Marcel didn't say anything right away, instead he glanced over to one of his men, Joseph, and commanded, "go grab a bottle of the finest vodka for my friend, Brianna and I," before he focused back onto the aforementioned girl. "Your parents, Lauren and Justin," Marcel began in a soft voice before he told her the bad news, "they were killed when you were only a couple weeks old."
Brianna swiftly avoided Marcel's brown eyes once the words were out of his mouth as she tried to absorb that not only did she lose the people that raised her but her biological parents were also dead. It was a lot for the brunette girl to process. It took a couple more minutes but when Brianna was ready, she cleared her throat and downed the rest of her drink before she questioned in a weak whisper, "what happened?"
Marcel knew he couldn't tell Brianna the truth. He had made a promise to Justin Labonair when she was first born. Marcel promised that he wouldn't let Brianna get wrapped around the supernatural life, instead to let her live a good and normal one. So, Marcel, once again, had to tell another lie instead of telling her how they were actually killed by an angry werewolf. "A drunk driver rammed into the side of the car on their anniversary while my grandmother was babysitting you," Marcel lied as he gave her a simpler story that wouldn't raise any concerns or questions.
Brianna barely showed any emotions when Marcel told her how she lost two sets of parents to a car accident. The brunette girl shook her head in disbelief as she grabbed ahold of the vodka bottle that one of Marcel's friends placed onto the small table before she poured it into her glass. She then downed half of her drink before she let out a humorless chuckle. "Wow," she mumbled, "my parents drop like flies." Brianna didn't really know what she thought she was going to find when she came to New Orleans, but it definitely wasn't two more dead parents.
Marcel grabbed the bottle of vodka and poured more into Brianna's glass as he knew how difficult of a time she was having. Not only did she lose two parents this week, but she also lost two more that she just found out she had. It had to be a lot to handle for a teenage girl.
Brianna took a shaky deep breath after she downed the rest of the vodka in her glass before she shook her head as she tried to calm herself down. Brianna definitely didn't want to start breaking down in front of someone she just met. "So," the brunette girl began after she cleared her throat, "we've gone over everything on the list except for one." Brianna twitched her head to the side as she stared at Marcel before she curiously wondered, "what does the crescent moon mean?"
Marcel aimlessly nodded his head as he glanced down to the list and realized there was only one thing left. The most important one. "The crescent moon is just your birthmark as you might have figured out," Marcel lied as he shrugged his shoulders before he poured vodka into his own glass, "I'm not sure why my grandmother wrote that down." In reality, Marcel knew exactly what it meant and it was a big part of who Brianna really was. However, a promise is a promise and Marcel didn't plan on breaking Justin Labonair's last dying wish.
Brianna furrowed her brows as she stared down at the list that sat in the middle of the table. The brunette girl found it weird that Marcel's grandmother, Andrea, would write down her birthmark onto a letter. It was a strange thing to want to remember. However, Brianna decided to just push that thought away as her mind was so full of important things along with how her stomach was full of gumbo and she could barely move. "So, would you happen to know a good place around here to sleep?" Brianna questioned before she added, "I don't think I'm finished when New Orleans just yet."
Marcel widely grinned at the young girl before he nodded his head and told her, "there's a hotel a couple buildings down from here." He then stood up from the red and silver chair before he exclaimed, "I can take you there now."
Brianna sighed thankfully as she didn't feel like driving all around New Orleans for a place to sleep. She would have probably just slept in her car with how full and tired she was. Brianna reached across the table for the letters from her parents as Marcel was waiting for her and pushed them into her jacket pocket before she stood up from the table. She then took out her wallet from her pocket and went to pay for her food and drink but was soon stopped as Marcel placed his cold hand on top of hers.
"It's on the house," Marcel told Brianna when he received a confused look from the brunette girl when he stopped her from paying for her meal.
Brianna glanced over to the bar, where she saw Jane-Anne pouring what looked to be bourbon into a glass for a man in his late twenties, before she looked back over to Marcel. "Are you sure?" Brianna asked with her brows furrowed. The brunette girl didn't want to piss anyone off while she was staying in New Orleans for a couple of days. Plus, Jane-Anne was someone Brianna was beginning to like.
Marcel nodded his head before he threw Jane-Anne a smirk as they walked towards the bar. He then gave the bartender a pointed look once her eyes were on them and stated, "Jane-Anne loves helping out the new folks," before he pulled on the wooden door handle and stepped out into the dark city he calls his home.
Brianna gave Jane-Anne a quick smile and mouthed, 'thank you,' before she followed after Marcel once the older woman gave her a small nod. She then jogged over to her red Mazda and grabbed her black bag from the backseat. Brianna figured since Marcel said the hotel was only a couple buildings down, then there was no point in driving her car there.
Once Brianna had her black bag in hand, she and Marcel then began to silently walk down the streets as the town of New Orleans caused enough noise on its own. The town was very lively compared to Brianna's normal and quiet home of Mystic Falls. Brianna could hear different variety of jazz music and people drunkenly yelling along with the sounds of their booming laughter. Another thing Brianna quickly noticed was the way people looked at them, or how they looked at Marcel. It was the same looks she saw from Marcel's friends. It was like they were either scared of him or they wanted to please and praise him.
Marcel suddenly came to a stop a couple of minutes later before he interrupted Brianna's running thoughts and exclaimed, "here we are," as he gave the brunette girl a bright grin.
Brianna curiously glanced up at the place she would be sleeping for the night and was instantly in shock at the hotel. It was a huge and beautiful off-white colored building with red lights that read Crowne Plaza. Brianna never had the opportunity in her entire life to stay at a place like this. The brunette girl thought she would be staying in a small motel not this mansion-like place.
"Wow," Brianna gasped as she expressed her thoughts. She shook her head and mumbled, "I don't think I can even afford a place like this." Brianna figured this place would at least cost a thousand dollars for the night and she couldn't go spending that much money when she had barely arrived in New Orleans.
Marcel chuckled at the marveled expression on the young girl's face before he told her, "you don't have to worry about. I got it."
The brunette girl finally moved her gaze away from the building and looked over at Marcel before she questioned with her brows furrowed, "are you sure?" Brianna felt bad that she was letting someone she just met pay for all her things. It was just how she was raised; like a Gilbert.
Marcel grinned at the young girl before he assured her, "it's on me."
Brianna continued to stare up at the man in front of her for a moment more before she finally nodded her head in agreement. She then quickly followed after Marcel as he led her into the lobby of the fancy hotel. The brunette girl didn't feel like looking all across the town for a cheaper place, so Brianna decided that she would let Marcel pay for the night until she could find herself a cheaper one tomorrow.
"Mr. Gerard!" An elder woman exclaimed as soon as she sat her green eyes onto the man everyone knew, Marcel Gerard. It wasn't very known for the man to set foot into the Crowne Plaza as he had his own apartment a few blocks away. So it made the woman, Helen, nervous to what he would want with her establishment.
Marcel leaned his body against the smooth granite counter once he and Brianna reached the elder woman before he commanded kindly, "I need the Lion Suite room key."
Helen hurriedly nodded her head and exclaimed, "right away, Mr. Gerard," before she shakily gave the brown eyed man the gold and black key card.
"Thank you, Helen," Marcel praised as he tapped the key card against the counter before he faced the brunette girl with a grin. He then held his hand to the right and told her, "right this way," before he led her towards the bronze elevator.
Once they were standing in front of the elevator, Marcel turned and faced the brunette girl and held the key card out to her. "Your room is on the eighth floor and it's all the way at the end. You won't be able to miss it," Marcel explained once Brianna had the card in her possession. Marcel then gave the young girl one last smile before he suggested, "if you do decide to stay here in New Orleans, we can talk some more tomorrow if you wish to learn more about where you came from."
Brianna slipped the key card into her jacket pocket before she nodded her head and muttered with a small smile, "I'd really like that." Brianna decided she couldn't just leave now, not when she barely learned anything. She wanted to find herself and the only way she could do that is to know everything about her biological family and the city she was born in. Brianna then furrowed her brows in Marcel's direction as she wondered, "how am I suppose to find you again?" It wasn't like it was going to be easy like the luck she had today with finding him inside of Rousseau's Bar.
A small smirk lifted onto Marcel's lips as he slowly began to walk backwards from the young girl. "I'll know when you're looking for me," Marcel cockily called out to Brianna before he swiftly turned around on his heels and began to exit the hotel without another word.
Brianna shook her head in confusion but when a loud yawn escaped her mouth, Brianna decided not to question it as she'd found out tomorrow. The brunette girl then rode the elevator for a short ride before she slowly walked down the eighth floor. Once Brianna reached her room, she let out a small chuckle at what she saw. Marcel was right. It was very obvious as there was a small head of a lion settled on the center of the white door.
Brianna then pulled her key card out of her jacket pocket before she quickly pushed it inside the thin hole. Once Brianna heard the small clicking sound and saw the flash of the green light, the brunette girl pushed her way through the door before a gasp escaped from her lips. Brianna was in shock at how huge the room was. It had a queen sized bed in the center of the room along with a large flat screen hanging on the wall with two sets of cherry wood dressers in the corner.
The hazel eyed girl tossed her black bag onto her new bed once she was out of her shocked trance before she made her way over to the white curtains. Brianna grinned excitedly when she pulled them open and saw the large view of the French Quarter. She could see all of the bright lights and the people walking down the streets of New Orleans with the happiest smiles on their faces. It was a beautiful sight after the week Brianna was having.
Brianna stood in front of the clean sliding glass door for a couple of minutes as it was nice to see the culture that is New Orleans before she closed the white curtains. The brunette girl was extremely exhausted and all she wanted to do was to sleep in her new bed for a couple of days.
Brianna sighed as she slowly began to take her jacket off for bed but swiftly paused when she felt her cell phone vibrate inside of her pocket. She had totally forgotten about her cell phone ever since she arrived in Louisiana.
Brianna stuck her hand into her jacket and grabbed the device before she noticed she had several text messages from different people. She had one from her aunt Jenna that said, call me later xoxo, and a short one from her angry sister that said, 'I hope you are safe.' Brianna sighed sadly at her sister's message. She knew Elena was still mad at her for leaving, but it was something she needed to do. The brunette girl then skipped over the two messages before she reached the last one which was from her best friend, Caroline Forbes that said, 'I'm still mad at u 4 leaving ... BUT I love u! Plz come home soon! ... p.s. have u seen any hot guys... or girls? ;)
Brianna shook her head with a chuckle at the blonde girl's message. She should of known those type of texts would be coming in as Brianna had texted all of her friends once she was a couple hours out of Virginia as she didn't want everyone to freak out when they didn't see her. Brianna's friend; Caroline and her sister's friend; Bonnie Bennett weren't really happy that she left but they quickly understood once she explained what was happening.
The brunette girl then closed out of her messaging app once she opened all the missed texts as she would talk to Caroline in the morning. Instead, she opened her contact list and scrolled down to the J's before she pressed the first one.
"Brianna? Are you okay?" The fast rapid questions quickly was thrown at the hazel eyed girl as soon as the call was answered.
Brianna instantly smiled at the worried voice while she began to slowly pull off her combat boots. "I'm okay, Jenna," she told her aunt before she explained, "I just wanted to give you a call before I go to bed."
The strawberry blonde sighed in relief on her end of the call. She had been worrying about her oldest niece nonstop since Brianna walked out of the Gilbert house a couple of days ago. "So, you made it to New Orleans okay?" Jenna questioned once she felt calm enough to talk as she was finally hearing Brianna's voice.
Brianna nodded her head even though she knew her aunt couldn't see before she stated, "yeah, yeah." She then tossed her leather jacket across the navy blue rolling chair in the corner of the room before she continued, "I made it here a couple of hours ago."
It was silent on Jenna's side for a moment as she quietly moved around the Gilbert house before she settled onto the couch with a glass of red wine in her hand. "So, did you find anything about your parents?" Jenna wondered as she relaxed against a soft pillow.
A frown slowly formed its way onto Brianna's face at her aunt's question. She took a seat onto her large bed as she mumbled, "um, they're actually both dead."
"Aw," Jenna cooed sadly. Miranda never really told the strawberry blonde anything about Brianna's parents so she didn't even know if the young girl would find them. "I'm sorry, honey," Jenna told her niece before she asked softly, "are you okay?"
Brianna relaxed her body against the soft bed and laid her head onto the white pillowcase before a loud sigh escaped her lips. "I guess," Brianna muttered as she turned her body to the side. "I'm suppose to meet up with Marcel again tomorrow, maybe I'll get closure with knowing who they really were," the brunette girl told her aunt. That was what Brianna was hoping. She just wanted to know who they were. She wanted to visit the places they went to on a daily basis, where they worked, where they fell in love. Brianna just wanted to feel connected with them as they were the last thing that connects her to who she really is.
"I'm sure you'll find something," Jenna uttered gently as she tried to console the young girl as best she could over the phone.
Brianna laid there in silence as she thought about her biological family and tried to imagine what they looked like before she asked her aunt, "how is everyone doing over there?" Even though Brianna was trying to learn about her birth family, it didn't mean she wasn't worried and didn't miss her siblings and her aunt. She missed them horribly as they were the only family she had ever known.
"I'm good," Jenna responded to her niece, "I've just been working on my dissertation for my physiological class." The strawberry blonde then took a small sip of her red wine before she continued, "Jeremy's been having a hard time." Jenna sighed before she mumbled, "I don't know what to do with him. He's drinking all the time and getting in super late."
Brianna's brows furrowed in worry for Jeremy. She didn't know it was that bad for him. "I'm sure he'll get better," Brianna told her aunt even though she wasn't so sure herself. "Tell Jer I love him for me," Brianna requested as she felt horrible not being there for him right now.
"Bellatrix, don't worry too much about it," Jenna quickly told the brunette girl as she could tell Brianna was feeling bad. It was just how Brianna was. She always wanted to protect everyone even though she can't really help someone get over a death. "You just need to focus on you," Jenna added to make her niece feel better.
"Yeah, I know," Brianna mumbled before she wondered in a quiet voice, "is Elena still pissed at me?" Brianna hated to know her sister was mad at her. There had never been a time where the brown eyed girl didn't talk to her, so Brianna was having a hard time since Elena would barley leave her a small text and wouldn't answer her calls.
Jenna was silent for a couple of short seconds before she told Brianna, "Elena's still trying to grieve and with you leaving... it's just been hard for her. Elena will get over it soon once she realizes that this is something you needed to do."
"Okay," the brunette girl whispered as she thought back to her sister's face on that dreadful day. Brianna hated leaving Elena like that without fixing the situation but she knew if she would have stayed, Brianna would have never left. Brianna just had to remember that she had to do this. She deserved to be selfish.
"She'll be fine. You don't need to worry so much," Jenna told Brianna with a soft chuckle. "Now, I love you, Bri, but I really need to go to sleep," the strawberry blonde told her niece as she had to be up early for school.
"Alright," Brianna uttered and said, "love you too and goodnight," before she ended the phone call with a yawn. She then tossed her cell phone onto the other side of the large bed before she softly closed her hazel eyes.
Brianna was exhausted and she knew she had a long day ahead of her. She had a whole town to discover and what else Marcel would tell her about her biological parents. The young girl just hoped she would get the answers she needed to find herself and get closure over the parents she never got the opportunity to love and get to know them like she did with the parents that raised her.
Brianna's brain slowly began to shut down for the night once she relaxed her body against the soft sheets of her new bed with only the calming sound of jazz music softly playing from outside of her window with one final thought running through her mind -
Who is Chloe Labonair?