You're My Everything
Chapter 14: Home Is Where the Heart Is
Ryan had been gripping the steering wheel of his car from the moment he had started driving. Hope had already been asleep by the time they were out of New Orleans, and Ryan was scared to look over at her. Scared that if he did, he wouldn't see his girlfriend. That she would somehow look different, be different now that she had the Hollow inside her. That, somehow, someway, she'd be the Hollow. That the girl he was so emotionally deeply connected to would have already ceased to exist, replaced by the evil spirit of her ancestor. So he chose, instead, to grip the steering wheel and solely keep his eyes on the road. Anything to keep him from glancing at Hope.
They were already almost to Montgomery, Alabama by the time Ryan needed to pull over at get gas in the car. Happy to find the gas station clear of any other travelers. Less people who might ask questions about the age difference between him and Hope. Although as he paid for the gas and bought some snacks, Ryan saw the clerk's eyes drifting out to where Ryan's car was, landing on Hope in the front seat and a quick lie was falling from Ryan's lips before he knew where it had come from.
"I'm taking my sister back to school."
"Where at?" The clerk asked.
"That's not really any of your business." Ryan replied with a narrowed gaze.
"Sorry... naturally curious." The clerk said, holding his hands up in surrender.
Finishing the transaction as quickly as possible without any more useless chatter, Ryan made his way back out to the car and slid into the driver's seat right as Hope was stirring awake. Her brilliant blue eyes landed on him, and she gave him a smile, moving to lean over the center console to steal a quick kiss, but Ryan gently held her back, taking her hand in his and giving it a squeeze before turning the engine on and pulling away from the gas station. While she was disappointed that Ryan didn't want her to kiss him, Hope didn't press the issue, a smirk pulling at her lips when Ryan pulled over a few minutes later and took her face into his hands, leaning in and pressing his lips to her in a deep kiss.
"Sorry, Princess, but I had to tell a little white lie about who you are to me to the gas station clerk. Didn't want that already fragile fundamental lie to crumble just minutes after I had said it." Ryan muttered into the kiss.
"Who did you say I was?" Hope asked with a raised eyebrow as she pulled back enough to look up at Ryan.
"My sister." Ryan replied sheepishly.
"Oh, really? If that's the case, there is a large number of things that we've done over the last couple of months that we shouldn't have done." Hope said with a smirk.
"Very true... so it's a good thing you aren't my sister." Ryan responded, stealing another quick kiss before turning back to the road. "We should keep going. We're only two states away, and neither of us have any idea how long it's going to take for you family to get out of the Chambre."
"You mean you don't want to have a little bit of fun?" Hope asked as she ran her hand up and down Ryan's thigh.
"Hope..." Ryan said warily as he gently moved her hand to her own lap.
"Come on, baby. We're alone... no one to barge in on us... and I know you want to." Hope purred.
"Stop it, Hope!" Ryan snapped. "We are not having sex before you turn 18, and that's final."
"Well then..." Hope commented with pursed lips. "You are missing out."
"And you aren't my girlfriend." Ryan bit out, mentally kicking himself for not putting it together right away.
"That hurts. You are, after all, dating the body, why not enjoy the spoils when given the chance?"
"Even if that were remotely true, the body is still that of a 15 year old girl. A minor. And I made a promise to her mother. A promise that I intend to keep as the only way that I can honor her memory."
"You really know how to sweet talk a girl."
"Give Hope back control of her body."
"I don't think I will. I want to see the look on your face when I break your resolve, and you take what you want."
Ryan gripped the steering wheel as tightly as he could without breaking it. This was exactly what he was afraid of. Exactly what Hope had been afraid of. The Hollow taking over. He needed to do something to get her to give Hope back, but he had absolutely no leverage in this situation. Any physical action against Hope's body would be child abuse, and just abuse in general. Something that he would never be able to forgive himself for, even if Hope eventually did. But on the other hand, if he didn't do something, then the Hollow was determined to break him and get him to have sex with her. Something else that he would never forgive himself for doing. This entire situation was way out of Ryan's league. He should have gotten more information from Vincent on how to proceed if this very thing happened. He should have asked more questions in general to the people closest to Hope and her family. Because he was now on his own. He wouldn't be able to ask the heads of Hope's school when they reached Mystic Falls, because that would blow any further involvement in Hope's life out of the water. He'd be arrested, and then Hope would be alone. Ryan was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and he couldn't see a way out of it. So instead of just sitting there, dwelling on his regrets, and getting nowhere, Ryan put the car in drive and pulled back onto the road, hoping that a solution would come to him if he continued to drive.
Legacies – YME – Legacies
"You're really handsome when you're brooding."
"I'm not brooding." Ryan retorted.
"Yes you are. And it's really attractive. Hope was really lucky to find such a sexy guy to make her feel good."
"Hope is the best thing that's happened in my life. I will not jeopardize that by giving in. So you might as well stop trying to seduce me and just give her back control of her body." Ryan said through gritted teeth.
"You know that me being in control of Hope's body means that I have access to her magic, as well as my own, right?"
"I figured you at least had access to hers."
"So I could always make you give in."
"But that would defeat the purpose of you wanting to break me. Making me give in with magic, and breaking my resolve, are two vastly different things."
"We'll see."
Ryan gripped the steering wheel even tighter than before and glared out the windshield. He downright refused to allow himself to give in to what the Hollow was trying to do. His promise to Hayley was the only thing that he had to honor her. And he was determined to keep his promise. He owed it to Hope and to Hayley.
Legacies – YME – Legacies
When the Hollow finally fell asleep, Ryan let out a sigh. He was getting exhausted. All the driving, and mental warfare that the Hollow was inflicting, with no solution as to how to combat her advances was draining his energy. So he knew that he would have to stop at a rest stop or motel at some point to get some sleep. He just had no idea if he did that if he'd be making himself more vulnerable to the Hollow just taking what she wanted, or if he would be waking up to having Hope back.
"Ry?"
"Hope?"
"Yeah… what happened? Where are we?"
"Almost to Atlanta. We've been driving for about 6 ½ hours."
"Okay… but what happened?"
"Hope…"
"Just tell me, Ryan."
"You were asleep before we even got out of New Orleans, but when you woke up… the Hollow was in control. She was trying to break my resolve and get me to have sex with her, despite it still being your body."
"Then what happened?"
"I didn't give in, if that's what you mean."
"Do you want me to do some of the driving? You look like you need to sleep, and I'll need something to keep me from falling back asleep."
"Have you ever driven before?"
"A little here and there. Declan and my mom had been starting to teach me."
"Are you sure you'll be able to handle it?"
"I think so. As long as the GPS tells me where to go, I should be good."
"Okay."
Ryan pulled over to the side of the road and made sure there wasn't any oncoming traffic before climbing out of the car while Hope climbed over the center console. Once they'd gotten resettled into their new spots, Ryan guided Hope through the motions of pulling back onto the road. When Hope seemed to have a good grasp on everything, Ryan reclined the seat and attempted to close his eyes, but every time he did, he was jarred back awake by what horrible things the Hollow could inflict on him and Hope, even with Hope being in control, if he fell asleep, so he contented himself with simply watching Hope.
"You're staring."
"I'm gazing."
"It's creepy."
"It's romantic."
"Ryan…"
"Hope."
"You're distracting me, and me being distracted while I drive is not a good thing… for either of us."
"So me gazing lovingly at my extremely beautiful girlfriend is distracting? I don't know if I should be offended or not by that, Princess."
"Just… gaze somewhere else, please, honey. You're making me extremely self-conscious and nervous about driving long distances."
"I'm sorry, Princess… you're right. You're still new to driving, and I shouldn't distract you from that."
Hope nodded in agreement but kept her eyes on the road. If she actually looked at Ryan, she'd be even more distracted than he was already distracting her, and that wouldn't end well.
Legacies – YME – Legacies
It was nearly 10 pm when Hope saw the Mystic Falls city limit sign. It had been a long and draining day, and she was exhausted. But before she could actually cross over into the town line, Ryan gently urged her to pull over. Despite being curious as to why her boyfriend was having her pull over instead of just waiting until they got to his new apartment, Hope did as Ryan asked and pulled over before turning off the ignition and turning to face him.
"What's wrong?"
"I need to say something before we are officially back in Mystic Falls." Ryan replied slowly, choosing his words carefully.
"Okay…"
"Alaric and Caroline are aware of you having the Hollow back inside you and have set up a space to get you to if you have an outburst. I don't know for sure if they are aware of what happened to Henry, or Roman's involvement with what happened to your mom, but they at least are prepared for if the Hollow does something to cause you to lash out."
"And why did that have to be said before we are in Mystic Falls?"
"That's not all I have to say…"
"Just tell me what you need to say, Ry."
"Hope, you know that you are the most important thing in my life, and that I will do everything that I can to keep you safe, right?"
"Yeah…"
"I need you to know that it's so much more than that. I know that we've only been together for 4 months, and that you still have so much of your life to live before you settle down, but I need you to know, that I… I love you, Hope. And I hate that you have to find a way to stay in control of your body now that the Hollow is back inside you, because… Hope, it means that we shouldn't be alone together until Vincent has found a way to safely remove the Hollow from you and destroy it."
"You're… you're not…"
"God, no, Hope… I'm not breaking up with you. I would never do that. I just think that, for the time being, after we get you to school, that we keep our distance. The Hollow wants to break my resolve and get me to break my promise to your mother. And while I love you more than anything, and you've experienced exactly how much I want to physically be with you, I don't know how well I'll be able to control myself if she happens to take control again while we're together. As it was, when she was in control earlier, I didn't realize right away that it wasn't you. I knew that there was a possibility that when you woke up, she might be in control, but I was more focused on… well, I was more focused on the fact that you were awake, and she hadn't done anything at that point that was much different than how you've acted a couple of times over the summer that it didn't tip me off right away."
"So… what are you saying… exactly?"
"I just got a text from Vincent. He and Marcel are coming up to Mystic Falls to be nearby for you while they try and figure out how to destroy the Hollow. So until they figure something out, we keep our interactions to video chats, if it's just the two of us. And as long as Vincent and/or Marcel are around, then we can be around each other."
"Is that best for me, or for you?"
"I want to think it's best for both of us. Because I know that if anything were to happen to me because of the Hollow, that you'd never forgive yourself, and I don't ever want to put you into a position where she can potentially hurt me in some way. But trust me, Princess, if I could, I would have you by my side 24/7."
Hope was silent for a few minutes as she mulled over Ryan's words. She knew he was right. She just hated that this was the situation they found themselves in. But she couldn't take back what she'd done to save her family. And if Vincent and Marcel were coming up to Mystic Falls, that meant that her family had gotten out of the Chambre, and Elijah's mental maze. And it would be nice to see her brother again after so long of being separated from him because of Rebekah having a piece of the Hollow in her. But it did raise the question… where Vincent and Marcel were going to be staying while they tried to figure out how to destroy the Hollow. But all of that was getting away from the point.
"Okay… if you think it's what's best, then we can manage it. It won't be easy, but we'll get through it. And we'll be a stronger couple for it, right?"
"Right. Now, with all of that said, you are staying with me tonight. I don't know if there's anyone at your school this late at night when it's technically still Summer, but we'll get you to school first thing in the morning."
"Okay."
Before anything else could be said or done, Hope's phone started ringing and Hope gave a small smile at seeing Marcel's name on the screen.
"Hey Marcel."
"Hey kiddo. Where are you and Ryan?"
"We're by the Mystic Falls city limit sign."
"Where will you be staying tonight?"
"At Ryan's new apartment. But that's just for tonight. It's late, and we don't know if anyone will be at the school, so he's going to drop me off in the morning."
"And everything…"
"I told him everything… with Keelin's help. He knows."
"Good. And I want you to know, Hope… I didn't agree with Kol and Rebekah's decisions to return to New Orleans. And I'm so sorry that you were put into a position where you had to do what you did. And I don't blame you for putting me in, too. While I didn't agree with them returning, I still probably would have tried to stop you, simply because I don't like the thought of the Hollow residing inside you."
"I appreciate that, Marcel. How is… how is everyone else?"
"Freya is still confused about everything; Keelin is staying back in New Orleans to try and figure out what happened to Freya. Elijah has his memories back and was still in stage of processing everything when Vincent and I left an hour ago. Kol and Davina are already on their way back to San Francisco. Your father… it's hard to say how he's doing. And Rebekah… we broke up."
"Oh, Marcel, I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, kiddo. It was a long time coming."
"Are you okay?"
"I will be. But we'll talk tomorrow when Vincent and I get to Mystic Falls. Try and get some sleep. Alone."
"We will. See you tomorrow, Marcel."
"See you tomorrow, kiddo."
Once Hope hung up the phone, she turned to Ryan who was giving her a confused look.
"What's wrong?"
"There is one thing that still confuses me."
"What's that?"
"The other night, Marcel said he was your adopted brother."
"Oh, that… yeah… because most of my family is vampires, my dad adopted Marcel when Marcel was a kid. And then when he got older, and was dying, my dad gave Marcel his blood to turn Marcel into a vampire as well."
"And he is dating… or I guess was dating… your aunt Rebekah? How does that work?"
"When he was a kid, he had a massive crush on Rebekah, despite her being his adopted aunt. When he got older, they got together. But I really don't feel up to going into all of the family relationships right now, because there are really confusing and are a bit of a headache."
"So we'll have something to talk about tomorrow?"
"Absolutely. Because you do deserve to know all of the relationships now that you are in the know about the family."
Ryan gave a smile before suggesting that they switch seats again so that he can be the one actually driving them into town and to the bookstore before heading to the apartment. And while it only took a few minutes to get situated back into their original seats, as Ryan drove into town, and they passed the Mystic Grill, Ryan spotted Landon outside and cursed under his breath as Landon spotted him and started making his way towards Ryan's car.
"Fuck… Princess… is there any way that you can do a spell or something to hide?" Ryan muttered.
"Sure…"
From the angle that the car was to the Mystic Grill, and ultimately to Landon as well, Hope hadn't seen him, which meant that Landon hadn't seen Hope before she used the invisibility spell.
"Where the hell have you been all summer?" Landon snapped as Ryan rolled down his window slightly.
"Out of town." Ryan replied.
"No fucking shit. Mom's pissed."
"And I really don't care."
"Whatever. Now that you're here, you can drive me home."
"That's not happening, Landon. You've managed to get home from work without me driving you all summer. You can manage on your own going forward as well."
Before Landon could say anything else, Ryan rolled up the window and drove towards the bookstore. He could still see his brother in the rearview mirror, looking pissed off as usual, but it wasn't until Ryan had pulled around to the back of the bookstore that he turned to Hope.
"We need to hurry to get inside."
"You go get the keys from inside, I'll wait here. If Landon comes back here, I can take care of myself."
"I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone with him lurking about, Hope. Even if you can take care of yourself. It's him that I don't trust."
"I know, but it's better than him potentially seeing me getting out of your car. Besides, didn't Jake say where he was leaving the keys to the apartment?"
"Yeah, so it shouldn't take me long to go in and get them. I'll be right back."
"I'll be waiting right here."
Hope leaned over the center console and pressed a quick kiss to Ryan's cheek as reassurance before Ryan got out of the car and hurried to the backdoor of the bookstore. He was climbing back into the driver's seat in less than 5 minutes and turning the car around. He wasn't sure if Landon had actually followed them or not, but he wasn't taking any chances, so while he knew that his new apartment wasn't that far away from the bookstore, Ryan took the more scenic route through all of Mystic Falls before arriving at the apartment at just about midnight.
Legacies – YME – Legacies
By the time they got everything out of Ryan's car and into the apartment and sorted all of the boxes into which rooms they needed to be in, both Hope and Ryan were completely drained. It was almost 2am, and neither of them could stay on their feet for much longer. Hope was the first to fall asleep, collapsing onto the mattress in their room, and after pressing a kiss to her forehead, Ryan grabbed a couple of blankets and a pillow and headed out to the living room to sleep on the couch. Despite having been sharing a bed for the past week with Hope, he knew that, now more than ever before, they wouldn't be able to share a bed until the Hollow was out of Hope for good. But despite how exhausted they both were, neither of them were asleep for very long before Hope woke up from a nightmare and called out for Ryan.
"What's wrong, Princess?" Ryan asked, brushing Hope's hair out of her face and lightly cupping her jaw.
"I can't do this, Ryan…" Hope replied as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Can't do what?"
"I can't live knowing I'll never see my mom again. I can't do this without her."
"I know it's hard, Princess, but I promise you, you can do this. Your mother died the same way she lived… protecting you. And I am positive that even though she's gone physically, she's still here, watching over you. You'll always have her in your heart, and nothing and no one can ever change that, or take that away from you. And believe me, Hope, no one expects you to be okay with what happened right away. Grieving takes time, and it's a different length of time for everyone, but I will be here for you through everything. So whatever you need for me to do, tell me, and I'll do it."
"Stay with me tonight… I know it's not safe, because the Hollow can take over while I'm asleep, but I can't get through the night without you, Ryan."
"Of course, Princess. Let me just go get the blankets I had with me on the couch and I'll be right back."
Hope nodded slowly as Ryan pressed a kiss to her temple. Once he'd gotten off the bed, Hope pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. She felt so vulnerable and heartbroken, and once again, not worthy of Ryan's love and devotion. But when he came back from the living room and draped the blankets over them before pulling Hope into his side, she knew that he wasn't the only one that was in love.
"Ryan?"
"Yes Hope?"
"I love you too."