delicate

28

I finished pouring my coffee. I took a sip before walking into the living room. Before sitting down, I looked out the window. The SUV was still there. My eyes wandered to the car sitting in front of my house. He stayed.

I walked outside, shutting the door quietly behind me. I sat on the porch steps and balanced my cup on my knees, keeping my hands on the sides. I looked up and watched Kai walk toward me. He sat a few steps lower than me and leaned back, holding his arms over his face.

"How was your night?"

He groaned. "They never moved."

"I told you so." I stared at his body, relishing in my ability to do so. "You should've come inside." I looked at his covered face.

"I'm far too noble for that. Sharing a bed with a young lady such as yourself. Quite the scandal." The sleep in his voice made my head feel light.

"Well, nobility is your middle name."

After a minute of silence, he lifted his arms and sat up, moving to the step I was on. He looked over at me, "How's Caroline?"

"I'll let you know later. She's still asleep." I held the coffee out to him. He looked at it for a few seconds before taking it. I crossed my arms over my stomach and stared at the stalker around the corner.

My thoughts wandered to Stefan. His priorities are obviously fucked. Letting Caroline go shouldn't have even been an option for him.

"What's on your mind?"

I glanced at Kai, acknowledging that I heard him. I looked at the sidewalk. "I don't understand how he could do something like that. I know he loved her; you can't be in a relationship for that long if you don't love the person, but I don't know how he could hurt her if he loved her. I mean, when you love someone, you do everything you can not to screw up. Somehow, he achieved the exact opposite."

"Well, I mean, there could be more to the story that neither of them told you."

"You're defending him?" I looked at him.

"No, I'm just saying that there's always more to the story. Maybe he didn't try to hurt her on purpose, but he did anyway."

"But he knew it was bothering her. He could've stopped being so close to Valerie and respected Caroline, but he didn't. He didn't want to screw up whatever he had with Valerie, so he sacrificed his relationship with Caroline."

"I know Stefan wouldn't ruin his relationship with Caroline without a good reason, and you know that too."

I could see the certainty in his eyes. He has a point; I just don't want to agree with him. Especially since he's right. I could hear voices inside. I glanced back at the door, then looked at him again. "You should go home. Get some sleep."

"Are you sure? I can stay longer if-"

I put my hand on his. "You've done enough."

He furrowed his brows for a passing second then nodded. "I'll see you later." He handed the cup back to me.

I held it close to my body and watched him stand. He walked to his car. He glanced back before getting in. I took a minute before getting up and walking inside. I walked into the kitchen and rinsed out the cup.

"Hey."

I turned to see Bonnie and Elena in the doorway. "Hey." I shut off the water then dried my hands.

"Caroline won't get out of bed."

A weird feeling passed through my body as a memory flashed through my mind. Not being able to leave my bed for a few weeks. I turned to face them. "Why?"