Reminiscence {Book Two of the Vengeance Trilogy}

Chapter Twenty Eight: No Hope For The Weary

Bridget and I walked down the road that was at the front of the house. All around us was farmland that seemed to stretch out forever. It was all covered in snow that glistened in the moonlight from the now clear skies. The first few moments of our walk were silent, with only our footsteps crunching in the snow. Before we had left, Bridget lent me a pair of her beaten up boots. They were a bit big, but I didn't mind. My feet were practically screaming in those heels. I still had the venom band on my wrist, which meant that I was still fine to walk in the cold.

"I've missed you, Caroline. I know it might be a bit weird to hear that since you just got your memories back. It's a lot to take in," Bridget finally said, breaking the wall of silence between us. I thought back to my memories of Bridget. She was always so kind and soft spoken for a girl who could take down anyone with a single look. I remembered the day when she healed a scrape on my hand as if it never happened. She was probably the strongest out of everyone in the pack.

"It's not weird at all. Actually, it makes me feel a bit better about all of this," I scoffed as the two of us continued down the road.

"You've changed. Not in a bad way, but you aren't the same person you were when we left," Bridget said, causing my head to snap towards her. She had a soft smile spread across her face as she looked forward.

"I wish Elliot would see that. He expects me to go back to who I was before," I sighed. It was strange to not see my breath in the cold air. I had almost forgotten that my body temperature was probably lower than the air around us.

"That's something they didn't think through too much, did they?" Bridget scoffed as her smile slowly disappeared. "All of this showed us a side of Emmet that I don't think we've ever seen before. It's like once he got a taste of power, something changed in him. I know he wanted to help Elliot be a little bit more assertive, but he took it too far. I didn't know that he had this in him."

"Glad to know I'm not the only one who went through changes," I said, getting a little bit of a laugh out of Bridget. I smiled at her. It made me happy to hear her laugh. I knew that the two of them loved each other, even if Emmet was a prick. I didn't want to go off on a tangent about how angry I was with Emmet, but I could still feel my frustration swirling within me. It had nowhere to go, so it was just stagnant inside my chest. Part of it came from the fact that I had venom flowing through my veins, but I knew that some of it just came from me. It came from the fact that I hated my memories being so fucked up.

"Bridget, I'm so confused," I blurted out, taking a moment to stop. Bridget stood next to me as I felt tears beginning to stain my cheeks. "I...I feel like I'm two separate people at war. I don't even know who I am anymore."

"Caroline..." Bridget sighed as she began to lightly rub my back. Before I had a moment to think. I pulled her into a tight hug, letting my tears fall. I had let some spill before, but this was different. Although I couldn't explain why, I felt comfortable crying in front of Bridget. It almost felt like an involuntary action at this point. I could feel my body tremble from all of the emotions that were trapped inside me. Instead of being shocked, Bridget simply embraced me, her arms holding me tightly.

"I'm not that person anymore. I'm not!" I cried as more and more tears fell. Bridget pulled away and held my face in her hands, wiping away my tears with her thumbs.

"Hey, hey, hey, listen, you're okay, love. You're alright," she said in a soothing voice as she pushed some of my messy hair out of my face. "The important thing right now is that you are safe. It doesn't matter whether you are the same person or not, and if Elliot really has an issue with that, he can piss off."

I let out a small giggle and took a deep breath, steadying myself. Bridget smiled as we pulled away. It was comforting to know that I had Bridget on my side through the bullshit that was now my life. No matter how crazy things got, I knew that she would be there. It was still strange to have someone other than Mel who would be there like she always would. Still, knowing that Melanie was lying to me for so long hurt. Like Elliot, she could have done something about all of this.