***

It had to be the stupidest idea ever, but it was for a good cause. Hope and I made this plan to take the Hollows inside of the both of us. It wouldn't be as bad if it was split between the two of us. But I just kept thinking back to how bad it was when we were possessed by them... I couldn't let Hope go through that again. So I did the spell by myself and I now have both of them inside of me. It was torture, but I couldn't show it. I could handle this myself, everything is fine.

Hope was so mad when she found out. She called me stupid for thinking I could handle all of that darkness, but I wouldn't change what I did. My twin wasn't suffering and that was what made me happy about what I did. She eventually calmed down over it and we made up, but I could still tell that she was upset.

It was the morning and Hope had "woken" me up. I hadn't gone to sleep, at all. I just pretended to be asleep so she wouldn't worry. I tried my hardest to go to sleep, but the voices wouldn't shut up. Every time I would get close to falling asleep, they would just get louder and louder. I eventually gave up trying to sleep. I used makeup to cover up the dark bags under my eyes.

I sat at the table with Dad, Aunt Freya, and Hope. Dad was giving this speech, "The curse that plagued our family for seven years has taken its toll on all of us. On our city. On our home. On our family. The consequences of us being together were grave, but today, thanks to you," Dad looked to me. I smiled at him as a headache hit me. My smile never faltered, though, "We celebrate a new beginning. One in which we have the freedom to stand side by side. And whatever trials may come, we will face them together, as a family. Always and forever." All of us held up our drinks and drank some of it.

Hope spoke to Freya, "Would you please pass the beignets?"

"Of course." Aunt Freya grabbed them and placed them down in front of Hope. I reached over and grabbed one for myself. I could never pass up a beignet. They had to be my favorite food, I wouldn't be able to live without some in my life.

Dad looked to Hope and me, "So, Rebekah will be back in a few days. She's just tying up some loose ends overseas."

"It'll be nice to have her here," Hope said while I smiled and nodded.

"It'll be good to have all of us under one roof again." Freya agreed. I couldn't wait for that moment. I feel like I haven't seen them in forever.

Footsteps came towards us, "Good morning," I recognized that voice anywhere. I looked up to see Elijah standing there, "Obviously, there is a lot for us to discuss. Hope, Skye, let me begin by telling you how truly sorry..."

I noticed that the fork in my hand started to bend. My eyes widened slightly before going back to normal. I couldn't cause alarm. I smiled at the three at the table, "I have to go. I forgot that I have some homework that I have to do. Um, thanks for breakfast." I stood up and went the opposite way of where Elijah was standing.

***

I sat in my room in front of a canvas that I was currently painting on. It was a painting that Hope and I have been working on. It was just some trees and grass, nothing too big. We took turns painting and adding in our own details. It was supposed to be Hope's turn, but I needed to do it. I needed something to get my mind off of everything that was happening.

I heard noise coming from the doorway. I let out a small sigh and turned to the sound, "You can come in, Dad." He had been hanging around there for about two minutes now. I was expecting him to just come out and talk with me, but it didn't seem like he was going to. So I just decided to call him out.

His voice was quiet, "I didn't want to disturb you."

I went back to the painting but still spoke to Dad, "You can just say something if you're worried, Dad. I don't think you're very good at Helicopter parenting." Dad was certainly not one to be a Helicopter parent.

He slowly made his way over to me, "You bent a fork in half."

I smiled sarcastically and shrugged, "What can I say? It happens," I glanced over to Dad to see him giving me a look, "Well, it was either that or hurting Elijah with it, so-"

"He wasn't himself, Skye." Dad was quick to defend him.

I added some more detailing to the painting, the leaves needed a little more work, "Is that supposed to make me feel better? Because it doesn't. I don't care if he wasn't himself, it's not like that fact alone will make me forgive him."

"So, it's just Elijah, then? Nothing more?" Dad asked me.

I could feel myself becoming more and more annoyed. I slowly placed the brush in a cup of water and turned to face my father, "Yes, okay? Other than that, I'm completely fine. There's nothing to worry about," I thought I was done with what I was going to say, but something else popped up, "Also, you might think that I made a mistake doing that spell, but I thought it through a million times. I'd do it again if I have to because for once in my life, I'm actually in the same room with you and nothing is going horribly wrong." I was now standing directly in front of him.

Dad's eyes locked onto my own, "You know, every day I marvel at your strength and your grace, all of which certainly came from your mother." This alone brought a smile on my face.

The smile was replaced by a frown as I started getting more and more lost in the whispers that didn't seem to want to leave me alone, "Everything would be a lot better if she were here. I wish she was here with us."

"Yeah, so do I," He looked around the room like he didn't want to meet my gaze... Until he finally did, "More than you know," He held his arms out to me, "Come here." I walked straight into his embrace and squeezed my eyes closed as the whispers got louder and louder.

***

It was a bit later and I hadn't left the room once. Nobody came up here to bother me either which I was grateful for. I sat on my bed with my hands gripping my head. I pulled at my hair, hoping the pain would distract me from the overlapping voices that have yet to leave me alone. So far, it wasn't working at all. I wanted to scream, but it was like I couldn't.

I was so distracted that I didn't notice Dad sitting beside of me, "I need you to put this on." He was holding a bracelet in his hand. It looked like the ones Hope and I had when we were younger.

I shook my head and gave him a small smile, "I'm okay. I don't need it. I'm perfectly capable of handling this." I shouldn't be bothering him with this. He doesn't deserve to be dragged into my mess.

"It's not a request, Skye." He told me.

"I can control myself!" I exclaimed without meaning to. My eyes widened as I realized that I raised my voice at him. I didn't mean to do it, but I was just so upset. I spoke softly to him, hoping that he would just forget what I just did, "Like you said, I'm strong. I have this all under control," Dad didn't look convinced, "I can control myself, Dad, I swea-"

He cut me off, "No, you can't, not with this. I lived with that darkness for seven years. I know how awful it can be. When I was in proximity to my siblings, it was almost unbearable, and now you... You're carrying all of it inside you."

As the whispers got louder, it got harder and harder to breathe. I looked like I was panting. I looked from the bracelet to my father, "Will you stop hovering and worrying over me if I put it on?"

Dad shook his head, "I'm your father. I'm always gonna worry."

"Fine," I held out my wrist and he put the bracelet on me. Just like that, the voices stopped. It was like a breath of fresh air. I could finally breathe again. I tried to hide my relief, "There, I did it. Are you going to continue hovering over me until the end of time?"

"Well, the end of time is a bit extreme." He said.

I laughed slightly and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Thanks, Dad," I walked out of the room and started making my way down the stairs. A burning sensation caused me to stop and I looked down. The bracelet was burning my skin. I ran to my room and the first thing I did when I closed the door was throw the bracelet away from me. I watched as the bracelet burst into flames. The whispers started up again, louder than they were before. I gripped my head, "No, no, no, no. Stop! Stop... please stop! Just stop it!" I slid down to the floor.

***

The whispers didn't stop as I walked to where we kept all of the alcohol. I didn't take my hands off my ears until I looked through the bottles. I needed some absinthe for a spell that would, hopefully, stop the whispers. I don't care if the spell doesn't last forever, I needed something to stop it for now.

"You're not wearing your bracelet," Dad spoke from behind me.

I nodded, "Yeah, I know," I avoided looking at him and continued looking for what I needed, "Um, I need two drams of absinthe. Do you know where any is?"

"You're fifteen." He sounded amused by what I said.

"Yes, Dad, I know my age," I turned around and looked through all of the drawers and cabinets, "I need to use it for a spell."

"What kind of spell?" It sounded like he was interrogating me now.

For the first time since he saw me in here, I met his gaze, "I tried with the bracelet, but it didn't work," I stopped in front of him. Although I was standing still, my body kept moving. My hands were fidgeting, I was glancing around the room, "It wasn't enough to stop it, Dad."

"Well, then we'll find something that does work," He tried to reassure me. It wasn't enough to soothe my mind, though, and he could tell. I had some magic powder in my hand that would knock him out for a little bit. I opened my hand and blew it in his face. "Skye..." He fell to the floor.

I didn't mean to, but I yelled, "No! This is my fault, okay?" My voice was softer now as I tried to make it seem like I didn't need help. I wouldn't bother him with my problems. It was my job to worry about them, not his, "This is my mess which means that it's my responsibility to take care of it, not yours." I stalked out of the room with one destination in mind.

***

I was at Rousseau's because surely they would have absinthe. I was wanting to bang my head into a wall at this point. That was how much they were bothering me. I don't see how I'm supposed to deal with this anymore. There was no way I was spending the rest of my life like this. No! I had to stop complaining. You're complaining about all of this while your family lived through this a lot longer than you.

I walked into Rousseau's and called out, "Declan, I need a favor from the bar."

"Skye," Declan stated.

I stopped in my tracks when I saw Elijah standing there, "What do you think you're doing here?" My anger grew and so did the volume of the voices. As I got angrier and angrier, the voices got louder and louder. It was like a never-ending cycle. "Killing my mother wasn't enough for you? So now you've come here for Declan?"

"That's not what I'm here for-" Elijah started.

"He killed her." Declan looked at me with wide eyes.

"That's not what happened." Elijah avoided my piercing gaze.

"No, but if you weren't there, she'd still be alive," The voices got louder. My hand was clenched into a fist and my nails dug into my palms. I let out a whimper as the voices were starting to hurt, "Stop it! Just stop!" I gripped my head.

Declan had a worried expression on his face, "Skye, what's going on with you?"

"Stop! Okay? Stop it!" The pain was unbearable. I saw Elijah push Declan out of the way and I put my hand on his arm, "Don't hurt him!"

Elijah slowly glanced over at me, "I won't," He turned his gaze back to Declan. He had his hand around Declan's throat, "We can't do this in front of him."

I looked back and forth between the two, "Okay, fine," I closed my hand into a fist and Declan fell unconscious. Elijah let go of him and he fell to the floor. "Just the two of us now."

It was then that Elijah started making excuses for himself, "My memory was gone. I didn't know who she was." He slowly shook his head.

I let out a small whimper as the pain hit me again. Elijah took a step toward me and I jumped back. I tried to bring myself back into the conversation, "That doesn't matter. You know who she is now, right? How does that feel?"

"Like the worst pain I've ever experienced." Elijah took another step towards me.

I couldn't stop my grimace and I grabbed my head. The pain was so bad that I felt my legs get weak. I could feel my body becoming more and more tired. The not sleeping was starting to get to me, as well. "I hate you... So much."

He spoke almost immediately after I did, "I hate me, too."

"You let her die. You took her away from me!" I shouted at him. My hands moved away from my head and I glared at him. I brought my hand down and he was brought to his knees. He thought he could just take her away from me like that? She was my mother and he took her from me! I moved my hand across my body causing a slash to appear on Elijah's body. The slash healed. My mother is dead because of him! I slashed him again, and again, and again.

This went on and on. It strangely made me feel better which scared me beyond belief. I wanted to stop, but I couldn't bring myself to. I just couldn't stop doing it. I was caught off guard when I heard my dad call my name. I left Elijah alone and instantly turned to him, using a pain infliction spell on him. My eyes widened as I realized what I did. I instantly stopped. I looked around the room and only saw the destruction I caused. This thought alone drove me away from the bar.

***

I walked all the way home and I could hear Dad following me. I just kept going, not looking back. I knew the guilt would hit me if I did. When we finally reached home, I thought that it would make things better, but it didn't. Dad took the opportunity to speak, "What was that? You won't take my help, you reject the bracelet, you're throwing Elijah around."

I stopped in my tracks and turned to him, "I didn't reject the bracelet, it just didn't work," I was right. The guilt hit me like a train, "And I did throw Elijah around, so what? At least it stopped the voices."

Dad looked surprised, "What?"

I took a deep breath and started the explanation, "My life after I took the power back has been hell. The voices never go away. They're always there no matter what I do. I want peace and quiet? They're there. I want to sleep? They're there. I can't think anymore! I can't sleep, I don't even feel like I can breathe!" My breathing sped up and I could feel the tears springing to my eyes. I tried my hardest to push them back, "But after what I did to Elijah, for the first time in what feels like years, it's silent. Is the only way I can feel this peace for the rest of my life through violence?"

Dad seemed like he was trying to find the right words. After a moment, he said, "Skye, if violence is what you need to feel better, then you have the perfect father."

***

Dad and I moved up to my room. The exhaustion was catching up to me. My body wanted to fall back onto the bed I was sitting on. I felt like I could barely even move my arms and legs. I was definitely going to sleep after this. I breathed deeply as I put my head in my hands. It was not because I felt pain... It was because I felt ashamed.

"I really thought I could handle it," I moved my hair out of my face with closed eyes, "But it's... Too much. I don't feel like I am handling it anymore."

"You're handling it as best you can," Dad told me. I sat up and glanced over to him. He was staring at me with a soft look in his eyes, "And I'm gonna be here with you every step of the way."

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I leaned my head into his neck and closed my eyes. My voice was faint and it sounded like I was on the verge of sleep, which was actually true, "Can you please stay?"

"Of course I will." These words were enough to comfort me.