Our Demons {Kai Parker Book 1}

chapter thirty-nine: In Which They Bond

Four days passed since she last saw him. 

Now, I could be cliche and describe how each hour felt like a thousand years. That she was missing him, so much that she was beginning to forget everything that she knew to be true. But then I'd be lying. 

For Ria time was the same. Four days felt exactly as that, four days. 

She didn't resort to locking herself in the guest bedroom the Salvatore's gave her. Nor did she spend hours crying and blaming herself. She wasn't angry. 

Stefan had said something to her that was one of the most truthful and honest things she had heard in a long time. 

"You're holding on to the past, Ria. All the lies, all the mistakes, all the misconceptions and deceptions. These are the things most people remember about in relationships and in themselves- the bad. But this type of thinking doesn't change anything. You just waste days, weeks, years, letting the future pass as you sit there and think back to the past. It doesn't change anything."

So, on Tuesday she stayed home with Damon and Elena and Stefan. Her cousin decided to cook and celebrate her return, and she watched from the stool as Damon and Elena prepared the meal and told her stories about their adventures.  

On Wednesday, Caroline and Bonnie attacked Ria with loud screams and quick jabs to her sides in an attempt to wake the sleeping beauty. They had planned a day of shopping and were not going to take 'no' for an answer. 

On Thursday, Damon and Elena left Mystic Falls for a little getaway leaving her and Stefan at home. 

"What do you feel like doing today?" Stefan asked when Damon's car turned onto the road. "Would you like to watch a movie? Go for a walk?" he held up a board game, "play monopoly?"

Bemused, Ria shook her head, "I am terrible at board games. Ask Elena, last time we played monopoly I had to use real money."

"Then how about we just talk."

"Talk?" she repeated as a quizzical look overtook her face. 

"Sure, let's talk. We're friends now, I want to get to know you. More so about the powers you have, because I will admit, they are pretty cool."

She dropped down on the sofa beside him, facing him with a smile. 

"They are pretty cool, aren't they?"

"So you can read emotions."

"Energies," she clarified. "Every emotion has a colour attributed to it. Anger is red, grief is a dull blue, yellow is deceit. It also depends on how vibrant the colour is; the duller the colour, the less that person feels a certain way."

"What colour am I right now?"

His question caught her off guard. She blushed looking away and this caused him to grin. 

"Ria," he nudged her shoulder, "come on, I want to know what colour I am."

She looked at him but once again fell shy under his intense gaze. His eyes were a marvellous forest green, almost hypnotizing. And the energy she could see from him was of a similar tone. She felt renewal, and growth, and safety. There were no undertones of red or black or orange to suggest Stefan was hiding anything, nor were there taints of blue to suggest that he was feeling sorry for her. 

From what she could tell, Stefan wasn't with her because he felt sorry for her or because of an ulterior motive. He was with her because he could be. Because he cared. 

"Well?" he pushed. 

Ria blinked, "pink."

Stefan narrowed his gaze playfully, "What do you mean, pink?"