The burdens of family

30

The weekend had gone by pretty quickly. Bonnie and Arkyn spent most of their time talking and laughing, with him telling her tales of what the world had been like centuries ago. He mostly spoke of his human life, of Kol, and Henrik. He even had a tale or two of Rebekah. He listened to her as she told him of how human her life had been, the mother she didn't remember, the father who was almost always away. The grandmother who'd been more of a parent to her than either of her real parents. She told him of her friendship with Elena and Caroline, how she first found out she was a witch. But the weekend ended, and Monday morning Arkyn had to go pick Xavier and Alexis. He promised to be at school by lunch, though maybe not with Alexis if she felt too tired.

The car ride home was silent.
"So." He started, glancing at them through the rear-view mirror. "Have fun?"
"What do you think?" Alexis scowled.
"Ark, she gave me a bottle of vervain and a stake." Xavier scowled.
"Well the vervain'll be useful, at least. And we three know a stake won't kill me, so what's the problem."
"Why do you insist we still go?"
"You know your mother wanted you to. And no matter what, she's your family."
"Well, Elijah and Klaus are your family."
"Your grandmother is not an evil vampire."
"No, just an evil witch."
"Alexis!" Arkyn scolded. "Look, your grandmother harbours negative feelings towards me, sure. But she's still your grandmother. And she's a good woman."
"She's prejudicial."
"She raised your mom."
"The same mom who never saw her again."
"Look, your family has had bad experience with vampires. Her grandfather was a small child when he saw his parents murdered by a vampire." Arkyn explained. "Your grandmother was raised with the belief that all vampires were evil."
"She won't ever give you a chance."
"Tell me you guys didn't argue with her over me." Arkyn realised the cause of their bad mood. They were silent. "Look, just six days a year. Six days out of three hundred and sixty five you gotta play nice."
"Look, we tried. We bit back all our pro-vampire retorts, all our pro-you comments. But then she wanted us to stay, and I told her we'd just moved. Alexis had just gotten settled into her new school and she made it all about you."
"What did you say?" Arkyn asked.
"Why?"
"Answer the question."
"She said you were the reason mom died."
"And I told her mom died of cancer. She said it was the spirits punishing her for playing house with a vampire." Alexis rolled her eyes.
"Uh huh." Arkyn nodded, keeping his eyes on the road, glancing over to the two every once in a while.
"She said if we didn't stay away from you, she couldn't protect us."
"That's when I kinda lost my temper. I told her that was fine because you protected us just fine." Xavier said, sheepishly.
"Uh huh. Then what happened."
"She said you're a murderer, and no family of hers was going to care for a murderer. She said she couldn't believe we couldn't see you for what you are."
"Yeah?"
"I told her you were a better person than she could ever hope to be, and we left." Alexis added.
"Well, compared to the last couple visits, this one seems mild." Arkyn shrugged.
"Why are you so adamant we get along with her?"
"Because she's the only family you have left. You never really got a chance to get to know her. Come on. Before the disastrous ending, tell me you didn't have fun." He challenged and they stayed quiet.
"She had horses. That was the only reason I had any fun." Alexis muttered.
"I'll talk to her. Before you go to her next time and ask her to be considerate of your feelings, okay?"
"We still have to go?"
"Oh, absolutely." Arkyn grinned, parking in his driveway. "Alright, get out. I have school to get to."
"Why's Lex staying behind?" Xavier turned on his sister.
"Well, it's either take the day off or she'll end up in detention. Better she come back tomorrow when she's calmed down. And you need to sort out your college application, figure out where you wanna go. You've got the grades, Xave."
"Yeah, I was thinking of going to Whitmore. It's not too far away."
"And if we end up moving?"
"I don't think that's happening anytime soon."
"Discuss in more detail later. I gotta go." He sighed. Alexis and Xavier got out of the car, and he drove away. He parked in the school car park and sat in his car. He got out his phone and dialled a number. There was a pause as it rang, before a reluctant voice answered.
"Arkyn."
"Ruby." He greeted. "Glad you picked up."
"What do you want?"
"Xavier and Alexis are home safe. Don't you worry."
"What do you want?" She repeated, irritated.
"Look, you and I have our differences. But Xavier and Alexis are your grandchildren. You can't take your frustration over me out on them."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Like it or not, I am a part of their lives. And they're a part of mine. I will do whatever it takes to keep them safe, surely you know that by now."
"You can't always be there."
"You want to blame me for Aly's death? Fine. You want to hate me? Okay, go for it. But whatever you do, you gotta do it quietly or you'll push away the only family you have left, just like you pushed Aly away."
"Don't turn that on me."
"You know it's true. I admit, I'm not exactly the poster boy for all things good and pure, but Aly was my friend, and I was hers. Your refusal to respect that is what drove her away. And if you're not careful the same'll happen with Xavier and Alexis."
"What right do you have to lecture me about my own blood?"
"Because I've always been there for them, and if you continue down this path, you'll lose them." Arkyn sighed. "I have to go. Alexis said they did have fun with you, up until the end. And that was when they decided not to take anything you said about me to heart. Imagine how much you could truly bond if you stopped insulting me, and focused on them. Pleasure talking to you, Ruby, as always." He said.
"Wish I could say the same." She hung up on him. Letting out yet another sigh, he sent Bonnie a text and got out of his car. His phone chimed with a message from Bonnie, telling him where she was.