My Original Family

Fruit of the Poisoned Tree

"So, this is what you do the first time we're back together as a family? Vampire book club?" I heard Bekah ask from the living room. I followed her voice to see both Elijah and Nik reading books with a dead girl laying on the coffee table between them.

"Reading edifies the mind, sister. Isn't that right, Elijah?" Nik asked his older brother.

"Yes, that's quite right, Niklaus." Elijah agreed.

"And what about the dead girl? That "edify the mind" too?" I asked them.

"This is a..." Elijah gestured as though he was searching for the right word. "...peace offering."

"I presumed, after so much time desiccating in a coffin, that my big brother might be a bit peckish." Nik said.

"And I explained to my little brother that forgiveness cannot be bought. I'd simply prefer to see a change in behavior that indicates contrition and personal growth." Elijah finished saying. Nik rolled his eyes guiltily and Elijah gestured to the girl on the table. "Not this nonsense."

"Well, I couldn't very well let her go to waste, could I?" Nik asked smirking.

"Well, I suppose I'll go fetch the rubbish bin, because she's staining a two hundred-year-old carpet." Bekah said making Elijah look up from his book to see the girl bleeding out onto the table and the blood dripping onto the floor.

"Ah, yes." Elijah said and I shook my head before walking into the kitchen my hand resting on my pregnant belly drawing small circles. I was rooting through the fridge looking for milk and getting irritated that I couldn't find it.

"Good morning." Elijah said and I peeked around the fridge to see Hayley enter the kitchen.

"Hey." She said smiling. Bekah entered through the back door, dragging a trashcan behind her.

Hey, so, I know I'm the only one of two people in this house that actually drinks milk, but would it kill anyone to make sure it's on the grocery list?" I asked looking through the fridge again.

"Speaking of, add bleach." Bekah said and I watched her stomp through the kitchen and into the living room to clean up after the boys. I closed the fridge and opened the freezer pulling out ice cream and dug out a spoon from the drawer and was about to move to the table when Elijah took them from me and put them away.

"You know, I do hope my siblings were hospitable to the two of you in my absence." Elijah said.

"In your absence, as you like to call it- which is a way-too-polite way of saying that your brother put a dagger in your heart—" she said as Elijah brought out a couple bowls, another spoon, and a bag of cereal to the counter. "We have been attacked by French Quarter vampires, we've had to live in a house with a secret dungeon full of coffins, and Nikky was nearly murdered by witches who are convinced her baby is Lucifer." Elijah smiled at her sympathetically as he pulled out orange juice and milk from the fridge and made us a bowl of cereal. I smiled embarrassed and took a bowl from him.

"Milk." I said. "We've been fine. Your siblings are very protective of us."

"I'm just happy to see that you're in one piece. Both of you." He said smiling at her, handing her the cereal. "So, back to the murderous witches. I have some concerns."

"They're evil. And, my life is still magically linked to Sophie Deveraux, which is still not very comforting to me." I told him.

"Yes, I think it's time we took care of that little problem." Elijah told me. Bekah suddenly re-entered the kitchen, dragging the corpse of the girl Nik killed behind her.