Permanently Damaged

Chapter 31: Talks With Rosetta

Allison also realized that this wasn't the jacket she had on for the sacrifice. This was the brown leather jacket that was worn out, but for some reason, it meant a lot to her. Growing up, she hadn't understood, neither did her siblings, but for some reason her parents were almost happy about it.

And now, Allison knew why. After so many of the memories and nightmares of when she was younger, Allison remembered Rosetta having this jacket as well, but never wearing it. Allison remembered that as a little girl, she used to ask her birth mother what was special about it, but Rosetta just gave in to the girl and told her that it was something to always remember.

Allison realized now, that this jacket had belonged to her father. Her real father. Whoever he was.

Then Allison realized that she was wearing a black dress, the same one she'd always wear to funerals. She wore it to her parents' funeral, Grams' funeral, and Mayor Lockwood's funeral. Never would she have imagined that this would be what she'd be buried in. Allison could also feel the heels she was wearing, but as she gripped the handle of the knife, the girl focused her attention on kicking those off because there was no way in hell she would be able to make it out of here with fucking heels on.

And that's when the girl fully, finally registered what she'd have to do. She was going to have to climb her way out. Preferably before her air ran out.

Allison looked up at the box coffin she was in, kind of happy that the group probably didn't have enough time or whatever to actually have a full and real funeral and get a normal coffin. Because if this had been an actual coffin, and not a box, then Allison probably wouldn't have been able to use the knife to begin prying away one of the planks of wood.

But when dirt fell, Allison quickly turned her head to the side, coughing as she dropped the knife, knowing that she was gonna have to do this quicker. And with the one piece of wood already opened, it made it easier for Allison to punch and claw and pull at the other pieces as she closed her eyes and held her breath as she continued literally clawing her way out of her grave.

It was nearly 3 minutes later at the empty graveyard, when a hand shot through the dirt. The hand then was accompanied by another, which desperately tried to grab ahold of something, before finally just gripping into the earth and pulling upwards.

Soon enough, Allison's head managed to get it out, and she pulled her way out of the grave, before laying on her back as she took in deep breaths.

A cool breeze brushed against Allison's bare legs, and she brushed some dirt away from her eyes as she looked up at the sunlight that managed to shine through the leaves of the trees. She closed her eyes briefly, wanting to take a moment to bathe in the fact that she was now above ground, breathing fresh air, with the sun shining down on her.

✘ ✘ ✘

It had been nearly two hours or three of Allison walking through the woods, knowing where to go. The girl's body ached and she was so tired and extremely exhausted. And she desperately wanted to take a shower. The girl was still covered in dirt, but along with that, she had scrapes here and there. Her hands and feet were the worst. Her hands were beaten and scraped up, her knuckles the worse from having to punch through the box, before she actually had to claw her way to the surface.

And walking through woods barefooted, was something Allison never wanted to repeat. Her feet were scraped up and bleeding, and her left pinky toe was bleeding badly after she stubbed her toe on a piece of log, which split her nail.

Allison's breathing had gotten better since she made it to the surface, but it was still hard and it didn't help that she'd been walking for hours. Allison was sure that she had gotten lost at some point, which wouldn't of been a surprise since she still seemed a bit out of it from coming back from literally being dead.

But then the girl finally walked out of the woods, and looked up at the Salvatore house, making her want to cry in happiness. She hurt, everywhere, and she was so close to fainting. Allison honestly wanted to just drop right there, in the driveway, but she pushed on.

Walking up to the door, Allison walked inside, her voice still weak and raspy as she called out. "Hello?" And as if actually speaking was a strain, Allison found herself nearly doubling over as she was sent into a coughing fit. Allison stumbled into the wall, clutching her stomach with one hand while the other clutched the wall, as she coughed up dirt and blood.

Stefan, really being the only one there, was instantly in the living room when someone walked in and called out. But seeing who it was, he froze. "Allison?" Then he registered and was suddenly by her side, kneeling down as he placed a hand on her back and a hand on her arm.

When her coughing fit was over, Stefan looked over the girl in disbelief, but Allison just leaned her head against the cool wall in exhaustion. Stefan looked over her, not being able to fully believe it. But he also could tell that it wasn't just some trick, and he could tell that she was still human due to her injuries. But then he registered everything, and his eyes widened when he scanned over the girl.

Her body was smeared with blood and dirt. Her dress, which had been black, was now a lighter color due to dirt, and actually had a couple smudges of blood on it. Her legs were dirty and scraped up, as were her arms, but not as bad since she was wearing the jacket. Her face was many just dirty, except for a couple small cuts that was on her cheeks and forehead, but they were barely even noticeable. Her lips her really dry and cracked, and she actually had a split lip due to how badly she was dehydrated.

Then his gaze went down to her hands, which definitely looked like she had been in a fight. Then he looked down to her feet, and that's when Allison opened her eyes again. She saw him examining her, and with everything that could've been said, the girl decided to try and lighten the mood. "Who's bright idea was it to bury me in heels?"

Stefan's eyes snapped back up to her face, where he saw her trying to crack a small smile, which made him smile. But then he registered her voice, and suddenly was gone, before a second later, he was back next to her and handing her a glass of water.

Allison drank the water desperately and fast, before placing the glass down and looking at Stefan, who was still in shock and looking at her in disbelief. So, she finally asked, "How long was I dead?"

He hesitated, "Today would be day three."

"God.." Allison breathed out, closing her eyes before looking back up when he pulled her into a hug. "I can't believe you're here."

Allison smiled, softly chuckling as she felt tears sting her eyes. "I can't either."

"How are you here?" Stefan pulled back, and Allison shook her head. "I honestly don't know." Then the girl remembered something, and she frowned as she looked up. "Klaus is alive, isn't he?"

Stefan frowned, his head bowing in shame, as if he blamed himself for everything that happened. "Yeah." He then looked up, shaking his head as he helped her to her feet. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." The two not wanting to actually say it, even though they knew.

Allison was now linked to Klaus.