Hey guys! Wow, I update less than a week later? Impossible! But yes, I did. This chapter is kind of shorter than others ones, but this is just a quick chapter to wrap up all of my loose ends before I jump ahead to October where I can start new storylines. I have many things planned and I can't wait to write them!
And also, I updated because it's my birthday tomorrow and I wanted to do something special :)
I don't know if my timeline is confusing or anything but I just wanted to remind you guys that we are only in summer of 2014, and in case you were wondering about any of their ages:
(Tatia)-34
Finn (and Vincent)- 32
Jenna and Alaric- 31
Damon, Elijah, Sage, Enzo, Rose, (Gia and Camille)- 29
Klaus (and Marcel)- 27
Stefan- 26
Caroline, Bonnie, Elena, Matt, Kol, Katherine, Tyler, Lexi, Kai, (Kaleb, Hayley, Jackson and Oliver)- 25
Rebekah (and Josh and Aiden)- 24
Jeremy (and Davina)- 23
Anna and April- 22
Liv and Luke- 21
Freya- 14
Emma- 5
Christian- 3
Tate- 2
(The names in parentheses are The Originals characters who will make appearances later in the story, more specifically the Mabekah wedding, and some will have a bigger part than others, but nonetheless, they'll all be there.)
Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or The Originals.
Liv Parker stood behind the bar at her work, wiping down the sticky alcohol left over on the counter from partying students on campus last night. She sighed and wished she could graduate college before she gives up on finding an actual job and is stuck working as a bartender until she turns fifty. As she rung the dirty washcloth in the sink, she glanced up at the empty bar. When she heard the door open and the small bell ring, she didn't bother to look up. It was most likely just a wandering student hoping to day drink away their heartbreak or worries.
A guy sat across from her and she sensed a dark presence. She looked up through her eyelashes and saw someone she hoped she'd never have to see again. She hoped too soon.
She backed away from the bar and into the counter behind her, but it wasn't enough.
"Leave me alone, Kai," she hissed at her older brother.
Kai made no movement, at least no threatening ones. "Olivia.. I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to talk."
She spat in his face and moved out from behind the counter. "Sure." She rolled her eyes.
She kept backing away from the counter, and when she reached the end of it, she bumped into another person. She screeched and turned around, coming face to face with her twin brother, Luke.
"Luke!" She exclaimed, giving him a hug. He kissed her hair, and rubbed her shoulder affectionately.
"Aww, what a pretty picture," Kai said sarcastically. "I'd hate to break it up."
"What do you want, Kai?" Liv snapped.
"He just wants to talk," Luke answered for his brother. Liv turned wide eyed to her twin. The way his tone of voice was comforting, like he knew Kai was being for real. The more Liv thought about it, the more she realized Luke was never scared of Kai's return. He was nervous, but never feared what their older brother could do.
"What are you talking about, Luke? Why are you so.. calm?" Her eyes widened at the thought. "Please tell me you're not-"
Reading his sister's mind, Luke put a comforting hand on her shoulder and reassured her. "No, I am not working with him. I would never do that. I only.." He hesitated, as if not sure how to explain to his twin exactly how he knew Kai meant no harm.
"He visited me in prison," Kai broke the ice.
Liv's eyes widened even more. She turned to Luke and screeched, "What?! When?!"
"Don't worry, Livvy-"
"Don't call me that," she hissed. She turned back to Luke and asked, "Does Dad know?"
"Of course Dad doesn't know," Luke answered.
"But why?" Liv asked.
"All you need to know, my fearless baby sister, is that the reason I am here and a brand new and improved man is because Lukey over here basically came to my jail cell and gave me sickening psychology lessons and tips on how to be empathetic- which is gross by the way- and I could not get his stupid videos and lectures out of my head and when I got out of jail and smelled the fresh air and sun on my face-"
"Get to the point, Kai."
"Okay, fine, if you want to be boring about it," Kai sighed. "Luke helped me realize a few things, that's all. He's actually the reason I got let out early, because I improved behavior in my one-on-one meetings with my parole officer. But my point is, I owe my change in views and opinions to Luke.. And I came back to Mystic Falls to first of all apologize to both of you for being a psychotic asshole. And to thank you, Luke." He was now speaking directly to his brother. "I know you didn't have to help me get.. better. But you did it. And you're a much better person than I am. I guess you sort of rubbed off on me," he chuckled slightly. "But I owe you big time, little brother. And Liv.. Again, I am really sorry. For everything."
Liv just stared at Kai, and then at Luke. She then hit Luke on his shoulder. "Why did you never tell me, you jerk!"
Luke gently pushed her hands away and gave her a smile. "Because I didn't think I could actually pull it off.. The last time I visited him, he told me to go fuck myself, so when I heard he was back in town, I wasn't quite sure why he was here."
"Then why were you here at my work?" Liv asked.
"I hoped to give him the benefit of the doubt.. And to protect you." He side eyed Kai. "But I guess he's being honest about everything."
Liv turned back to Kai and raised an eyebrow. "Are you being serious? You've really changed?"
Kai nodded. Then he thought for a moment and shrugged. "Well, I don't hate you two brats anymore if that's what you mean."
Liv rolled her eyes. "You had no reason to hate us in the first place. We're not taking over the family business."
Kai's eyes widened and continued to stare at the pair of blondes. "What? I thought it's what you guys wanted! All of us wanted that business.. It was my- your dream."
"No, it was Dad's dream," Luke said. "After you went to jail, Liv and I realized what a huge disaster the family business was doing to this family. I mean.. Dad got all power hungry and his side of the family hated us, and.. It just divided us."
"I always wanted to work as a psychologist. The study of the brain always fascinated me, and Luke always wanted to work in architecture," Liv added. "When we told Dad we were going to college, he flipped out because Jo was becoming a doctor, and you were in prison, and the rest of the family was dead, so everything he spent his entire life to build was going to crumble down."
"Dad may not trust you. But he knows how badly you wanted to take over Gemini Industry, and that you won't screw it up.. It may take him a while to let you back in, but if you truly want the position, it's yours," Luke finished.
Kai just stared dumbly at the two. He shook his head and laughed. "Oh man. Of course I want the job, but I don't even care about that anymore! I just want.. My family back," he admitted.
Liv turned to Luke and nudged him. "What the hell did you say to him?" she whispered.
Luke sighed and ignored his sister's question. "Kai.. It's going to take a hell lot more than 'I'm sorry' to get us back. I hope you know that."
Kai nodded, but then his eyes widened as if he just remembered something. "How's Jo doing?" He asked. "Is she alright?"
"Yeah, she's fine," Liv answered. "She's in Africa at the moment. Part of her doctor program was to take a trip down to Africa to help those who are sick. She emailed me the other day, they're making a difference down there."
Kai smiled. "That's good! I really want her and Dad-"
"I don't really know how they are going to feel about all of this.." Luke spoke. "I mean you did kill their family."
"They were your family too.. Why aren't you guys, like, freaked out?"
"Oh, I am," Liv shuddered. "But I believe that Luke can work wonders.. And I believe you've changed. I just.. Don't think I can trust you or have a relationship with you.."
Kai nodded. "It's understandable."
Liv shook her head. "I just don't understand how someone could change so drastically over night."
"But I didn't," Kai admitted. "I'm still working towards this new personality.. I'm also getting professional help from therapists. Luke's good but he can't work miracles. I mean, I still have this urge to gauge out the eyes of every person who pisses me off, like Damon Salvatore for instance, but I mean I'm working towards putting my anger into different things other than brutal murders."
"Wow." Liv didn't know how to digest this information. Her twin was better at this kind of thing than her.
"Well, I'm proud of you," Luke grinned. "And if you want a second chance.. Well, since Dad was horrible to you growing up.. He shouldn't get a say, honestly. But it's up to Josette, in my opinion. If she says yes to being a family, then.. I think we can give it a try."
"Really?" Both Kai and Liv asked; Kai with a smile, and Liv with a shocked gaze.
Luke nodded and wrapped his arms around Liv. "You'll have to prove yourself, though."
Liv stared numbly as Kai shook his head eagerly. "Yes, whatever it takes."
...
Liv stood outside a house she has visited more often than she'd like to admit in the past few weeks. But something was different about this time. She usually just barged right into the house, but today she lingered on the front step and hesitated to knock on the door.
Her knuckles fell against the hard wood and she felt a vibrate through the wall. She took a deep breath and when the door opened, she threw herself against the man who answered the door.
"Woah!" Tyler chuckled, his hands gently patting her wild blonde hair. "What brings you over here?"
She didn't say a word. She just pulled back from the hug and leaned forward, colliding her lips with his. Tyler's eyes widened in shock. He was not expecting her to make the first move, or the fact that she even liked him back. But he eagerly responded to the kiss; tangling one hand in her beautiful curly hair, and resting one hand on her waist, pulling her closer. Her hands reached up to cup his face. He bit down on her lip, asking for permission, which she gladly granted. She giggled into the kiss as their tongues fought for dominance, and despite Tyler's obvious experience, Liv had won that battle. The kiss lasted several minutes before both needed to take a breath to gasp for air. They broke the kiss, but still leaned their foreheads close together.
"What was that for?" Tyler breathed.
"I.. I don't know.. I just needed it," she whispered.
He grinned and caressed her cheek. "Well.. Did you come here just to make out with me or..?"
She scoffed and hit his shoulder, breaking away from their embrace. "I just wanted to tell you that Luke and I have decided to give Kai a second chance and that you and Lexi can discontinue your search-"
"Wait, what?" Tyler didn't understand.
She sighed, leaning against the doorway of the Lockwood Mansion. "I really appreciate everything you've done for me, trust me. I really don't think anyone really cared enough... But, Luke.. I can't really explain everything right now, but I can just tell you that Kai is getting help, and he's not here to hurt anyone. I will forever not being his biggest fan. I will forever despise him, but I think it would do everyone a whole lot of good to not be scared all of the time. It would do me a favor. I just wanted you to know.. And even if you don't trust Kai, trust Luke. Luke would never let anything happen to me."
Tyler didn't know how to respond to Kai suddenly being a "good guy" and back in good graces with his family. And he heard Bonnie visited the guy, and he's just wondering where everyone's right mind had wondered off to. But he knew that both Bonnie and Liv could take care of themselves.
"I won't let anything happen to you either," he finally responded. "But you can also take care of yourself.." He rubbed his hands down her arms, sending shivers down her spine. "I trust you'll be fine." He smiled at her.
She smiled back. "So you know how I said I didn't come here to make out with you?" He nodded. "Well, that doesn't mean we still can't do that, right?"
He grinned devilishly and took her hand, pulling her into his house, making her squeal in delight.
...
"Those nurseries look beautiful, Katherine," Jenna grinned as she and Alaric followed Katherine into her living room.
"Thanks, Auntie Jenna!" Katherine smiled. She has only known she has an Aunt for eight years, and she doesn't usually call Jenna "Aunt" like Jeremy and Elena do, but she says "Auntie Jenna" as an affectionate nickname from time to time. Just like she (and basically everyone in the town) call Jeremy "Little Gilbert" or Rebekah "Barbie Klaus" or Kol "Mini Elijah."
"So, how's everything going in your pregnancy?" Katherine asked Jenna as the three sat down on the couch.
Alaric rubbed Jenna's lower back affectionately as she spoke, "We're doing good. I'm about ten weeks now."
Katherine smiled. She was never so close with Jenna, but now that they're both pregnant at the same time, they have something to bond over. Of course, they could have both went to Elena as she has already had her son, but they wanted to talk about things together.
"How about you, Katherine?" Alaric asked. "It must be exciting to be having twins."
Katherine nodded. "I was honestly really nervous at first.. But now the more I think about it, I'm getting more excited by the minute."
"Do you know your due date?" Alaric asked.
She nodded. "November 15. Do you guys know yours?"
"Sometime in February," Jenna answered.
Katherine internally groaned. "No. Not another February birthday! We have way too many of those."
"Hey, my birthday is in February," Alaric defended.
"Yeah, and so is Matt, Bonnie, Kol, Rebekah, Tyler, Liv, and Luke."
"February is the shortest month, and yet it has the most birthdays from our circle.." Jenna added.
"Alaric, Jenna!" Elijah greeted when he entered the living room. "How's your pregnancy feeling, Jenna?" He asked.
"I'm doing good," Jenna answered.
"That's good," Elijah smiled as he leaned over the couch to kiss the top of his wife's head. "Do you wish to have a boy or a girl?"
"It doesn't really matter," Jenna answered. Alaric nodded in agreement, but mouthed to Elijah,
"I actually want a boy."
"Typical," Elijah joked as he sat beside Katherine on the couch. "Any names?"
"Ric wants to name the baby 'Thor,'" Jenna said.
"Thor?" Katherine coughed. "Like.. From the Avengers?"
"Exactly," Alaric nodded.
"Why?"
"Because."
"My nickname was Thor," Elijah said. The other three adults turned to look at him. "Finn used to tell me that when my mother was pregnant with me, she would let him feel when I kicked, and they would call me Thor because I kicked hard just like Thor and his hammer," he explained.
"That's cute," Jenna smiled. "Do the twins kick?" She asked her niece.
Katherine nodded. "They do. Although, not so much, yet. They do it once in a while. And of course, it's when I'm trying to sleep or do something important."
"Sleeping is very important," Alaric said, which made Katherine smile.
"I think it's great that you're both expecting because then the kids will have someone to play with," Elijah said.
Jenna laughed. "Yes. But they'll both have that Gilbert blood in them. They'll be trouble."
"Don't forget Mikaelson. I think that family is more crazy than the Gilberts," Ric said. He turned to Elijah and said, "No offense."
"None taken," the other man smiled. "My siblings are very.. Out there."
"Hopefully the twins take after their father, and not their Uncle Klaus or Uncle Kol or Aunt Rebekah. Or Aunt Elena or Uncle Jeremy," Katherine added. "Or their mother for that matter."
Everyone started laughing, and continued sharing hopeful stories about three little blessings waiting to join them.
...
Anna walked into Jeremy's bedroom and saw him sleeping upside down, hanging over his bed. She giggled and ran to his bed, jumping up and slamming into his side. He woke with a humph! and turned to glare at her. She smiled sweetly.
"It's almost noon and you looked like you were about to fall off," she teased. "So it was time to wake up the sleepy head," she ruffled his shaggy brown hair.
He crinkled his nose. "But you didn't have to do it so brutally. I think you broke a rib."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure I did. I can call your friend Caroline to check out your injuries."
"Well, actually, Caroline's studying to become a pediatrician. Stefan is the one that's a heart doctor so he looks like our best bet, as Lexi is studying to be a veterinarian and I'm not a dog."
Anna laughed and leaned her head back on the pillow.
"So.. Have you heard from your mom?" Jeremy asked. He traced circles on her shoulder.
Anna shook her head. "She's trying to apologize, but I know my mom. She won't get over it. Eventually, maybe, but not so soon. Don't worry. I'll give it until the end of the summer, and she'll be fine."
Jeremy nodded. "I just don't want you to lose contact with her because of me.. She's all you have."
Anna kissed his cheek. "Now that's not entirely true. I have you." Jeremy smiled.
"I love you," he told her.
She leaned in to kiss him. "I love you, too."
...
"Woah, hold up." Stefan couldn't contain his laughter. "You had a crush on Tyler?!"
Lexi hushed him to keep his voice down. "Shut up! And so what if I did? It lasted ten minutes. I'm seriously over it. Besides, he's with Liv now."
"Who's with who now?" A perky blonde asked.
Lexi and Stefan were hanging out at the Grill, and Caroline and Klaus were walking in because they saw their two friends sitting at a booth.
"Hey Care! Nik," Stefan smiled at his friends. "Wanna sit down?"
The two nodded and Caroline sat beside Lexi, and Klaus next to Stefan. Klaus reached his hand across the table and took a fry off of Lexi's plate, which made her glare at him and slap his hand.
"Don't touch my fries, Klaus," she growled.
He held up his hands in defense. "Geez, this girl's got a low tolerance."
"Oh shut up, Nik," Caroline smiled at her fiancé. She turned to Lexi and bumped her shoulder. "Now who's dating who, give me all the gossip!"
Lexi chuckled awkwardly. "Oh.. Uhm, Tyler and Liv Parker."
"Liv Parker? Kai's sister, right?" Caroline asked, completely unfazed by the fact her ex-boyfriend is in a new relationship. "What's the deal with Kai, anyway? Bonnie visited him in prison and he said all he wants is a new start. Anyone believe that?"
Lexi shook her head. "No. But Liv and Luke believe him, and that's good enough for me. She asked me and Tyler to stop searching, and since we couldn't find anything to begin with, we agreed. But Liv can take care of herself, Luke too. And Kai's getting help, so I guess that benefits everyone. I'm sure it'll all be fine." Caroline nodded as she listened to her friend.
Klaus nodded in understanding once Lexi finished speaking. "Ahhh.. I get it."
"What do you get?" Lexi raised an eyebrow.
"You and Tyler spent all this time sleuthing and spying, that you developed a little crush."
Caroline gasped. "You had a crush on Tyler?! Oh my god!"
Lexi hung her head in shame. "Okay, fine. But he was into Liv the whole time, so it doesn't matter. But I have a date next weekend so I'm moving on very well, wouldn't you say?"
"Yes, good for you," Stefan patted her wrist.
"I just can't believe you had a crush on Tyler," Caroline muttered.
"Why? Jealous, love?" Klaus smirked.
"Yeah, as if," Caroline rolled her eyes. "But, aww Liv and Tyler are dating now? That's cute!" She saw Lexi's glare and stuttered, "No, wait. Bad couple idea, sorry."
"Well, I think they're adorable," Klaus added, not caring about Lexi's feelings.
Stefan laughed and shook his head. "So speaking of cute couples.. Have you two decided on a wedding date?" He asked Klaus and Caroline.
"Ugh," Lexi pretended to barf.
Caroline glared at her before turning to Stefan and grinning. "I want to do it sometime in either the next summer, or maybe Valentine's Day of 2016. But Klaus thinks that's too cheesy."
"I never said that," Klaus lied.
Caroline rolled her eyes. "He totally thinks that."
Klaus sighed. "I don't care when or where we get married, as long as we do get married."
"Ew," Lexi stated while Stefan said, "Aww."
Caroline smiled before saying. "That's so sweet, and I feel the same way. But I actually do care about the little things. So.. Beach or chapel?"
...
"Hey Matt!" April waved to get the blonde's attention. "Catch!" She threw the bag of Cheetos in the air. Matt caught the bag with one hand. He smiled at his friend.
"April! What are you doing here?" He asked.
Rebekah appeared behind April, hooking her arm around her friend's shoulder. "We were just going to have a movie night. Want to join us?" She joked.
Matt shrugged. "I have nothing better to do."
April laughed while Rebekah feigned hurt. "Nothing better to do? I am so offended, Matthew Donovan."
The trio of friends all sat on the couch in Matt's living room.
"Okay, first things first," April spoke. "You two can be a couple, but not too mushy-mushy, because then that'll gross me out and make me feel like such a third wheel."
"You do realize that you're marrying us, right?" Matt clarified.
April nodded but shrugged. "It's a movie night. But you guys have to watch the movie."
"Well, I definitely want to watch this movie, so don't get any ideas, Matt," Rebekah said.
"What movie are we watching?" Matt asked.
"The Wizard of Oz."
"Awesome! Bringing back childhood memories. I'll go get the popcorn!" Matt exclaimed, leaving to go into the kitchen.
Rebekah and April shared a laugh. They both grabbed a blanket from the chair and settled on the couch. When Matt came back with the popcorn, Rebekah was putting the movie in the DVD player. Matt took a seat next to April, and threw popcorn at her face. She laughed and grabbed a handful, stuffing it in his face.
Rebekah turned around and shrieked at Matt, "You're in my seat!"
"You snooze, you lose," Matt teased.
Rebekah rolled her eyes and flopped down on Matt's other side. She reached over and snuck her hand in the bowl of popcorn.
"We have Cheetos, you know," Matt nodded at the big, orange bag.
"I know. Those can be for later."
"Guys, shut up, the movies starting!" April hissed.
Matt chuckled and lifted his arm around his fiancé. He kissed her hair and she snuggled into his side as the movie started.
April scoffed, "Guys! This is what I mean. All mushy-mushy." Rebekah and Matt both rolled their eyes, but Matt could see April smile softly out of the corner of his eyes.
...
Damon sighed, running his right hand down his face. Another person was killed last night. Summer Deyes. What does this person have in common with Jacob Fell? Damon was wracking his brain trying to figure out this murder. The killer was damn good at hiding their tracks. The specialists could not find anything relevant to anyone in this town. He almost wanted to throw something out the window because he could not stand by while someone else gets hurt. The next person could be someone he cares about, and he will not allow that to happen.
"Damon?" Enzo knocked on his friend's office door. "You ready for our lunch break?" He grinned.
Damon shook his head and continued flipping through papers. "Not hungry."
Enzo's smile faltered. "Come on, you can't just bury yourself in work.."
"There is a serial killer on the loose, Enzo! We can't just sit back and do nothing!"
"Damon's right." Both men turned and there was Sheriff Forbes standing behind Enzo. He moved out of the way to let his boss into the office. She shut the door behind her and motioned for Enzo to follow her to Damon's desk. "We found another victim this morning."
"You're kidding," Enzo said.
"Afraid not," Liz answered.
Damon sighed. "Who is it now?"
"Jamie Wilson."
Damon's eyes widened. "Bonnie's step-brother?"
"Wait, Bonnie has a brother?" Enzo asked.
"Her mom got remarried two years ago, and her husband died last year, but Bon's not that close with the son," Damon quickly answered.
"All three victims were killed the same way. Twenty-two stab wounds." Liz opened all three victim's autopsies.
"What's with the number?" Enzo asked.
A light bulb suddenly went off in Damon's head. "They aren't connected.."
"What?" The Sheriff motioned for her deputy to elaborate.
The wheels kept turning in Damon's head as he started to explain. "This killer.. If it's who I think it is.. Then the three victims have no connection. It was random. Or they could have all just pissed off this person at one time or another. But they picked twenty-two for a reason. They're going to kill twenty-two people. They've already gotten three, there's still nineteen people in danger."
"Who do you think is the killer?" Enzo asked.
Damon sighed. "This guy named Markos. And if I'm right about him.. I just have a feeling that I'm next."
When Liz took a group of officers to Markos' house, he had broke down and accepted responsibility for his crimes. He apparently holds terrifying grudges on people, including Kai, and knowing all about the Gemini Industry, he wanted to use the number 22 to frame Kai. His plan didn't work out. He didn't even get too far in his operation. But it's a good thing that nineteen people were saved for being murdered out of cold blood.
When Damon heard they arrested Markos, he breathed in relief. Another mystery down, and the town can go back to being safe and happy. He thought about all of the people in his life, and how everything seems to be going well. There was nothing he needed to fix. There's nothing necessarily wrong, and everyone can finally breathe. All loose ends are being tied up.
It's almost the end of summer, and it's a new beginning.
...
"Hey Freya," Elijah smiled as he knocked on the guest room door. He noticed she had been making herself at home, and he was eager to have this conversation with her. She looked up from her bed and grinned.
"Elijah! What's up?" She turned her body around and stood up so she could talk to her brother.
"I need to talk to you.." He walked into her room.
"About what?"
He sighed. "Well, you know how I've been working with lawyers and child care and adoption centers to get full custody of you?"
She nodded warily. She knew she had put the situation on a weird opening, and that it was going to take a while for her to be fully safe. She felt bad about putting so much pressure on Elijah, but everyone reassured her that he'd be able to pull it off.
"We have a break through!" He cheered.
She stared at him trying to process what he was saying. "You.. What?" A big smile spread across her face.
"Yes! I guess there was a call made to your previous foster home, and one of the mothers gave a good word.. You are off the hook for leaving the country unexpectedly. One of your Foster mothers paid the feredal expenses and everything is ready to go. But.. there's only one thing left to do. And this might be the hard part now."
"What is it?"
"Once your identity had been proven, custody over you fell directly to our mother, because it always goes right to a birth parent unless they had signed over their rights. Our mother never did that with you. She still has her rights. And I haven't spoken to her since I kicked her out of my house, so I don't know how I'll do this. I feel bad asking Finn because he did such a good job with telling her to leave us alone for good.. And I couldn't ask anyone else to do it. Once she does sign over her rights, we can-"
"Who has to sign over their rights?" A voice from the hall asked. Finn came into the room with two bags in his hands. "Are you talking about visiting mother?"
Elijah didn't answer. Instead he just stared at the two bags and asked, "What are you doing here, brother?"
Finn glanced at the two bags. "Oh, Sage and I bought a few gifts for the twins. I was just dropping them off.." He shook his head. "Never mind about that. You can't go see mother!"
"And why not?" Elijah stood.
"Because she's not expecting us to ever see her again.." Finn's voice trailed off.
"But she needs to sign over her rights so one of us can get custody of Freya," Elijah stated.
"I get that. But.. Mother is a complicated subject.."
"I know that. Trust me, I don't want to see her."
Before Finn could respond, his cell phone started ringing. He gave an apologetic look to his brother and sister before pulling his phone out of his pocket. He went into the hallway to take the phone call, leaving Freya and Elijah to speak more about her adoption.
"You could always send one of your assistances to get the paper signed if you don't want you or our siblings to go there," Freya suggested.
Elijah nodded numbly. "There's something more than what Finn is telling me. He acted weird for weeks and now all the sudden he's completely fine. And then we mention our mother and he just acts all weird and crazy and distant again..."
"Is it because of the money?" Freya asked.
Elijah stared at her. "What money?"
"Him and Sage were fighting over how Esther asked for money to leave you guys alone. I think they took care of it," she explained.
Elijah glanced toward the door. He wondered why Finn never told him about their mother manipulating him again. He felt bad that he couldn't do anything to help. He'll have to ask how much he can pay Finn back when he gets the chance.
Finn walked back into the room and Elijah didn't hesistate to break out his speech. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Finn was still staring at his phone in shock. He heard Elijah's voice and snapped out of his trance. "What?"
"Mother asked you for money. You paid her off, didn't you?"
Finn sighed. "She asked for money, yes. But we didn't pay her. Me and Sage figured out another way, and Mother suprisingly listened to us. She's out of our hair.. For good, actually."
"What do you mean?" Elijah asked.
Finn took a deep breath, looking between two of his siblings. "That was her nursing home on the phone.. They, uh, Mother has taken a turn for the worst."
"What does that mean?"
"She died in her sleep last night."
Phew. I have wrapped up all the loose ends. Guess what that means? Time jump! And more drama! Seriously, I'm pretty sure most of you will be angry with what I have planned. Or really sad. Either works.
So this was just a quick little chapter (it's not that short now that I think about it) to wrap things up so I can do a time jump, so tell me what you guys thought! And what do you guys predict will happen next chapter? I will be fast-forwarding to October, by the way.
So tomorrow is my birthday! And I'm pretty sure I got a job today! So I'm pretty happy. Although, I have to finish this really stupid book for English class, and I have to go back to school in two days, and now I'm sad. I just want to sit at home and read Percy Jackson. And watch One Tree Hill.
Anyway.. Now that I have school again, who knows when I'll next update? I have already started the next chapter, so hopefully it'll be up very soon. But until then, byeee! :)