Hayley Marshall / Andrea Labonair

The first few months were the hardest. They were all traumatized, and trying to explain to Hope how and why she lost the family she'd spent her whole life waiting to meet wrenched Hayley's heart. She regretted, deeply, how she and Elijah had left things. Even if she'd known that she had to get Hope away, that was a secret sin--what had come after with the Hollow had taken that choice from her, never voiced outside of her head, but the guilt still ate at her.

The regret and guilt mingled for a long time--there were things she'd wanted to say, things she'd needed to say...Elijah had come back from the dead and she'd pulled away, no words, no explanations, let him think that she was afraid of him, that what she'd seen had changed how she felt, rather than her horror being at herself--that it hadn't mattered what she'd seen. It should have, for Hope's sake.

For those months, Hope became her sole focus. No other mission, no other quest, just getting her settled in to Mystic Falls, to the school. The practical parts of finding her own home nearby were easier than one might expect--apparently a lot of the town had gotten tired of the frequent gas leaks. Money wasn't an issue--the Mikaelsons made sure she had full access to the family funds for both her and Hope. Hayley didn't have to work, but the long hours Hope was at school wore on her as they left her alone with her own thoughts.

So she picked up shifts bartending at the refurbished Mystic Grill and, after a particularly annoying conversation with Caroline, who might have mellowed with motherhood but Hayley still found mostly insufferable, she decided she might as well enroll in Whitmore, model good education appreciation for her daughter. The hour commute each way could have been annoying, but she managed to get her classes on just two days a week with going part time.

Slowly, but surely, life stabilized. Hope was thriving--she missed her father, but discussion with Vincent had confirmed that the issue was physical proximity, and so Klaus Skyped in daily, sometimes even helping Hope with her more mundane, less magical homework. Freya visited regularly, and Rebekah called often. Elijah...didn't. Marcel told Hayley what he'd done, and at first she'd been furious at Elijah for asking it, but later...why wouldn't he, the way she'd treated him? But, still, that he'd cut her out so completely, so easily had broken her heart. She slid back to her more guarded ways, flirted distantly at the bar, and slowly let her dreams go of always and forever.

One day, Hayley found herself laughing over something silly, smiling more naturally, and looking forward to the future, whatever it might bring.

However, that did not include her car dying on the side of the road on her way back to Mystic Falls. As tomboyish as she was, her knowledge did not extend to fixing vehicles. Then again, the only time a car had died on her had been thanks to magic, so. Like then, this time, her cell phone was dead, as well, but that was normal along the back roads she took home from Whitmore. Cursing under her breath, she kicked the tire. Yes, fine, she could use vamp-speed to get back home, but that was kind of hard to sustain--there was a reason vampires actually tended to drive. Best bet was to just get to cell signal and call for a tow.

With a sigh, she grabbed her backpack, shoved her keys in her pocket and set out walking down the road. When headlights shone behind her, she breathed a sigh of relief, turning to hold out her thumb. Maybe not the safest move for a girl the age she looked, in this day and age, but she figured she was far more dangerous than anyone likely to be driving down the road.

Got something you want to say about how I'm doing with Hayley? Concrit is welcome, if you think there's something I should work on. Of course, praise is always welcome, too, for anything I'm doing well. ;-)

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