On My Own (TVD Series)

Eremophobia

A FEW HOURS LATER

Leaning over the island counter with a coffee mug engulfed between my hands, I couldn't help but keep thinking about Lauren. Her deafening screams crawling their way out from inside her, pouring her emotions and pain into the air as I stood there and watched her feel again. It was a never-ending scene playing in my head, that even as I allowed myself to lose my train of thought into anything other than this, I still couldn't help myself.  

We had cleaned up everything back at the cemetery, Aurora and her family were back into their mausoleum after Matt had found her pendant which led the way. Caroline adventured off, trying to find Bonnie deep in the caves before returning back with her body as well as Qetsiyah and Sheila.

They had followed us back home, getting some rest in the living room while Caroline and Elena walked in and out of the house bringing some clothes for Lauren. Damon, on the other hand, was slumped over sitting beside Lauren's door like a guard. He too hadn't said a word, not even to Elena or Caroline when they offered him something to drink. 

"...hey...how are you feeling?" Caroline asked, setting two mugs on the counter from the living room.

"I'm...I still feel like it's a dream, but Qetsiyah and Sheila are sitting in my living room so..."

"She told me what happened when I came back. Silas had Bonnie under this hallucination, she said that he would release her if he didn't find Lauren but..."

"I'm sorry about Bonnie, Caroline," I mumbled, standing up straighter.

"Sheila also said something else..."

"What?"

"...that everyone who crossed over would be gone once Bonnie died, but they're still here. Do you think Bonnie did something, maybe said the wrong spell?" She asked, leaning on the counter.

"I don't know...but she's probably still here if the veil never went back up."

"Then why hasn't she come back?"

"Maybe she needs time...after everything, she's responsible for this...but she was also manipulated by Shane." I sighed, finishing the rest of my cold coffee.

"Got any more?" Elena asked, stepping into the kitchen.

"Yeah..."

Pouring her a cup, the three of us just endured the silence in the house a little bit longer before heavy footsteps ran down the stairs, down the corridor, and into the kitchen.

"She's awake." Damon blurted out, hanging onto the pillar.

Making quickly glances at one another, I could feel the hesitation vibration from my hand as I slowly put down my mug.

"I'll go..." I whispered, cleaning off my hands before I headed down the corridor and up the stairs.

As I turned the first corner on the second floor, I quietly wandered my way over, passing the guest room and then Damon's before I hit the second corner in front of her door. With a faint ray of light peaking from under her door, I could already feel how fast my heart was beating only to imagine how she could hear my every move as I reached the doorknob when it suddenly creaks open an inch.

Pushing the door gently, I caught a glimpse of her body wrapped up in her covers on the farthest side of her bed through the mirror in the corner of her room. Her hair was hidden away under the hood of her blanket as she stared off at the closed curtains before she slides them open.

"...Morning. We cleaned up a little after you left...um, Caroline and Elena brought some clothes for you?" I asked, changing the question only to be left with silence.