Alone In A Crowded Room

Chapter 5

"Not working today?" Caroline asked as she joined Jenna and I, along with Matt and his brothers, for our walk back to the seam. I shook my head, taking Jenna's hand in mine. "How's that going?"

"It's good." I shrugged. "I mean. I'm enjoying it, I guess, even though I'm a terrible baker. And horrible with customers, apparently." Caroline laughed.

"Damon makes her clean everything." Matt said.

"I'm really good at that." I said, pointing at Matt. "I'm there to get Jacob to leave his room as much as actually help them out."

"You know, when I said that you denied it," Matt pointed right back at me. I turned my hand and flipped him off.

"How is he doing?" Caroline asked as Jenna pulled away from me, clearly bored with our conversation, and ran a few steps to catch up with Jeremy and Rick.

"Okay, I guess." I shrugged. "I don't really have anything to compare it to. He's not okay, but he has good days and bad ones. He's had a few good days lately."

"I saw his parents leaving the Justice Hall the other day." Caroline said as she made a face. "They were walking with about 20 feet of space between them, didn't even look at each other. I think the divorce is over. And good fucking riddance."

"Remember that time she caught us trading with him and threw an entire tray of muffins at us?" Matt smirked at me. I laughed. That was my first encounter with Mrs. Black. She had thundered down the stairs at the sound of our voices and grabbed the first thing she could get her hands on to heave at not just Matt and I, but Billy as well.

"And then chased us out with the tray still in her hands." I added, still laughing.

"That woman is a witch." Caroline frowned. "Maybe now that it's official people will stop talking shit about Billy and your mom."

"Why are they doing that?" I raised an eyebrow. "And what are they saying? And who's saying it, for that matter?"

"Elena, the two of them were, like, a thing." Caroline said, as if this were something I should have known. How could I have known? Mom barely even talked about Dad, let alone about anything that came before him in her life. "Before she ran off with your dad. She left him for your dad. Everyone in town knows about that. It was kind of a huge deal."

"Even I knew about that." Matt chimed in, draping his arm around Caroline's shoulders.

"Well, why the hell wouldn't you tell me?" I snapped.

"I thought you knew." He said, shooting me a defensive look.

"If your mom isn't hitting that yet, she should." Caroline said. "Billy's a catch."

"Ew." I narrowed my eyes at her. Matt leaned away from Caroline, cutting his eyes toward her.

"Oh, come on." Caroline looked up at him, her shoulders slumping. "Are you jealous? Give me a break, he's old."

"Whatever." Matt muttered. I tuned out of the rest of their conversation, fitting this new piece of my mother's history into my image of her. Were they serious? What made her leave? Did she love him? Did she still have feelings for him? I found myself thinking of the way Billy looked at her. I thought it had been gratitude, but the more I thought about it the more it seemed like love.

I went with them to Matt's, briefly saying hello to Hazelle before the three of us retreated to the loft over the living room that Matt had claimed as his bedroom. Hazelle shared with Vicki while Kol and Jeremy shared the other bedroom. I perched on the arm of the couch he slept on, my feet on the cushions, facing Matt and Caroline where they sat cuddled up at the opposite end.