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-ˏˋ𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙁𝙄𝙁𝙏𝙀𝙀𝙉 ˎˊ˗ ════ ⋆͛♡⋆͛ ════
Burying a body that wasn't there was harder than Rory thought, but thanks to her powers of compulsion, finding space to put Jeremy's tombstone within the family plot was easy enough. She had ended up doing it alone -- it wasn't fair for her to ask Elena for help (not that she would've helped anyway, now that she had her emotions off) and she preferred to do it alone. Because she cried. A lot. She hadn't remembered the last time she felt this lonely. Sure, she had Klaus and she had her sister and she had her friends, but she didn't have Jeremy. She didn't have her brat little brother that loved her unconditionally and was always there for her.
"I know you hate roses and they might be on the cheesy side, but I don't care," Rory spoke up, wiping a stray tear from her eye. She sniffled as she placed the rose over the freshly buried grave, knowing that she wasn't talking to anyone in particular. Jeremy's spirit was probably with his body that was burned to ash alongside their house. "But, hey. I balanced it out by bringing the one thing you hate the most -- books."
Rory placed the Sleeping Beauty book right beside the rose, a bitter smile forming on her face. I like Princess Aurora from the Sleeping Beauty the most, baby Jeremy's voice filled her head. Because you're named Aurora too, and that means that you're both princesses.
"I miss you so much, Jeremy," Rory sputtered out. "I'm so sorry that I wasn't there to protect you. I feel like I didn't do my job as a sister. You were in so much danger and I just... I didn't see it. And I feel so terrible for it. I wish that I could go back in time and make everything right. You deserved better. You deserved a family and kids and everything you want in life. You didn't ask for this. You never did. I hated Elena for compelling you away, but... but I think that's the one thing she did right. You should've stayed in Denver. I'll hate myself forever for not seeing that."
She leaned forward, placing a kiss over Jeremy's name engraved into the tombstone. She stood up on shaky legs, brushing the dried leaves off her dress. She refrained the urge to sob as she pressed her hand over her mouth, turning away to walk out of the cemetery.
"Hey, princess," a voice spoke out from behind her. Rory turned around to see Damon, standing behind her in a tuxedo. Rory raised an inquisitive eyebrow, wondering why he was so dressed up. "I heard you were hosting a funeral. Why wasn't I invited?"
"It's a private event," Rory responded with dryness.
"A private event hints to at least 10 people. You're the only one here," Damon gave her an amused smile as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You managed to find a place for Jeremy, huh?"
"It's easy when there's not really a body to bury," Rory shrugged. "How's Elena?"
