" Alex ,Uncle Charlie is here ", Elena Gilbert older twin of Alexandra Gilbert said from where she stood in the doorway of her sister's soon to be empty room.
Alexandra looked up from where she was busy packing her last suitcase.
Their Uncle Charlie were their for the funerals of John Gilbert and Jenna Sommers .
Afterwards he'll be taking Alexandra with him to his home in Forks, Washington to live with him and his daughter Isabella .
Elena and their brother Jeremy didn't like this idea , but
it is Alexandra's choice and they couldn't just let Stefan or Damon compel her only for such a reason as them not liking something that Alexandra had decided to do.
" I'll be right down,Lena . I just have a few things left to place in my suitcase ,then I'll go and greet him . How does he look ?. Is he okay?."
Elena knew that her sister didn't want to know their Uncle's character or what he looked like. She actually wanted to know what his emotions were because of the death of his half brother John Gilbert .
He'd been there at the funeral of Grayson and Miranda Gilbert all those months ago when they died and now here he was again for John's . Alexandra and Elena kind of felt sorry for him because once again it was their fault that he had to come for a funeral.
They are responsible for this new heartache in his life . They had to feel remorse . It was a given.
" He's sad ,but he's trying to hold himself together for us I guess ,you know?. He's our only older family member left, afterall."
" Don't forget Bella ", Alexandra reminded her twin ," She's our cousin ."
" Don't worry ,Alex. I remember. I just meant old people wise ,ya know?".
Alexandra smiled and nodded . She understood now .
She doesn't actually know the whole story ,but Uncle Charlie's mother divorced his Dad after two years of marriage and married Grandpa Gilbert and had Grayson a year after that and John a few more years after Grayson.
Charlie's Dad got married again and he was raised by a very nice Stepmother instead of his own mother whom he only saw at holidays.
Their Dad, Grayson, used to tell them about his older brother whom he and John loved dearly and had a great bond with . Charlie had come to visit a few times over the years and they'd gotten along with him just fine even when he was kind of awkward and didn't talk much .
" Well, I'm glad he came", Alexandra said ," I just wish it wasn't under circumstances like this ."
Her face fell as the reminder of what have befallen them hit her square in the heart .
Would their suffering never end ?. Are they supposed to live everyday with the guilt and the hurt of who they are and what they were responsible for ?.
Elena passed over the threshold of the room to go hug her sister . She didn't want Alexandra to be sad like this anymore .
If she could ,she would've send Jeremy to live in Forks too ,to get him out of this crazy life that was theirs .
But Jeremy had refused her suggestion when she'd made it . He wanted to stay in Mystic Falls . For her and their friends .
" Everything will be okay ,Alex. He'll be okay . He'll have you and Bella and his life in Forks to keep him from becoming too sad . If I could I would've come too ,but my life is here . Stefan is here . And besides, we can't all leave and let Alaric handle his heartache alone. Jenna was his everything , remember?. "
Alexandra nodded . Yes, she understood , but she could still wish even when wishes don't come true .
She packed her last article of clothing into her suitcase before zipping it close and placing it on the floor with her other luggage .
Linking arms with Elena she said " Let's go see our Uncle . "
Elena gave her a soft smile before leading her twin out of the room towards the stairs and to their Uncle Charlie who sat on a couch beside their brother Jeremy .
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For Charlie Swan loss had become easier with time .
He'd experienced it throughout the years many times . First with his grandparents then with his own parents.
Losing two brothers was different , difficult even. He'd loved them more than life .
With Grayson's death it was hard ,but he had John ,but now John was gone too and all that was left was the kids. Grayson's son and John's two girls .
Oh he knew that Grayson had adopted the twins . He knew everything about Isobel and John's teenage affair .
John had asked him first if he wanted to adopt the girls ,but he had told him to let Grayson and Miranda have them because of them not being able to have kids .
If only he'd known that their existence would help Miranda get pregnant with Jeremy .
It was such a great miracle to him when Grayson called and told him the news about the pregnancy.
It saddened him to think that now the kids were completely orphaned .
They don't deserve this .
" Hello , Uncle Charlie ", a voice brought him out of his thoughts .
The voice belonged to Alexandra , the younger of the twins . Her voice wasn't completely identical to her sister Elena's and when looking at them he could always see who's who . Elena was taller and her hair was straight while Alexandra's hair was a slight bit wavy and lighter than Elena's.
Other than that the two were identical .
Getting to his feet from where he'd sat beside Jeremy ,he silently stretched out an arm to the twins who immediately ran to him to throw their arms around him , hugging him close to them .
He felt a bit awkward with them hugging him because he wasn't used to people, especially family, hugging him but he was content with it . They needed his help and support ,so there wasn't any other way ,but showing affection .
Before he could even blink Jeremy was there hugging him as well.
"I'm so sorry ", he said to them, the words slipping out before he could stop them .
They didn't reply. They only held him tighter .
No words can describe their pain or any feeling they had for that matter anyway.
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" Hey,Alex, do you really have to go?", Stefan Salvatore, the boyfriend of Elena , asked the girl earnestly, later on when she was busy in the kitchen , making dinner for everyone while Alaric Saltzman and Uncle Charlie were out to get the last funeral arrangements done .
Alexandra looked up from where she was stirring a small pot of gravy that she'd made for the rice she'd cooked .
" Yes , Stefan ", she said , her voice calm ," We've talked about this , remember ?. I can't stay . I need a new start . Mystic Falls can't give me that . "
Stefan sighed. He'd hoped that the girl would stay for his sake . Or if it must ,for Damon's. Yet here he was being disappointed by the sweetest girl he'd ever known and loved .
Yes , Stefan Salvatore loved Alexandra like he loved Elena . Damon had the same feelings , that was no secret. Elena know it and so does everyone of their friends.
Jeremy included.
" Will you at least visit then?" ,he asked .
Alexandra shrugged . She didn't know if she'd want to visit . She just wanted to get away and quickly. She'll think of this another time when she didn't feel so hurt anymore .
" So , you're not going to give me a real answer then?", he pressed, looking at her sadly.
Alexandra sighed . Pulling the pot off the stove plate to cool off and switching off the stove ,she turned to him .
" Stefan,look. I....I can't handle this right now. All I want is to just leave this town and its problems behind . I want to be happy again . Here it can't happen . I...I am not strong like Elena . I'm sorry ,but I just have to do what's best for me . Mystic Falls had become a ....well...a place of heartache and misery . It has hurt me and my family too much already . I'm done with the supernatural stuff that's been plaguing my and my family's life for too long . I can't ... I just can't anymore , Stefan. I'm sorry ,but that's how I feel ".
Stefan nodded . Even if his heart was breaking he knew that he had to accept her reason for leaving .
" We'll call and text ,right ?", he asked ," You know ,stay in touch and such ".
She nodded her head . " Of course . You'll get so sick of me texting you that you'll drown your phone or something . We can Skype too . I'd like to see your face even if I'm not here ".
He laughed . She liked it . It wasn't very often that Stefan Salvatore laughed or smile . Damon called him Saint Stefan for a reason because of his broody nature as well as his way of never doing something like Damon ,which meant going all reckless and killing people without a reason .
" Okay . I'll text too and call . Every day if I get the chance ," he promised .
She smiled at him ." I'll hold you to that ", she said . But even as she said that she had a feeling that he wouldn't keep that promise because life had a very unwelcome way of messing things up . So she wouldn't hold her breath.
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" I take it that only Alexandra are going with you , Charles", Mayor Carol Lockwood said ,her eyes on the only remaining family member from the Gilbert side of the family .Well if you could call him that considering that he wasn't a Gilbert because of him being a half brother and all .
There were maybe cousins and such left of Grayson, Miranda and John,but Charlie Swan was the only direct family the Gilbert children have .
" Yes, Carol. The other two wants to stay and finish school here . I couldn't force them to leave with me . I think Alaric Saltzman would be a great guardian in my absence . Alexandra will be fine with me . That older Salvatore boy won't be far away from the two either . He promised to keep an eye on them for me as well as Alaric. I truly can't uproot them if that isn't what they want. I'm glad that Alex is willing to come stay with me . My daughter Isabella would be happy to see one of her cousins, at least."
Carol took a sip of her wine as her eyes roamed over her own private living room.
She'd wanted to speak with Charlie since he'd arrived earlier that day. She knew him because of the summers that he'd spend in Mystic Falls when his mother had still been alive.
Now that he was here she wondered if it was such a good idea to have spoken with him.
If she could force him to take the other two Gilbert children too ,she would have . But he was stubborn .
Mystic Falls wasn't a safe place for anyone anymore . What with all the supernatural stuff going on ,it's amazing that it still stands.
" Alright then . I suppose you'll be leaving after the proceedings of the funerals?. Will you come see Elena and Jeremy again sometime in the near future?".
Charlie nodded. " Of course. They're family . There's nothing that would stand in my if I have to come . Hopefully it'll be under good circumstances".
" I hope so too ", was all that Carol Lockwood could say .
It wasn't even a few minutes later when he left the Lockwood residence and went back to the Gilberts where he met Alaric and Damon at the front door as they were just about to go inside .
" What did the Mayor want ?", Alaric asked him as the three of them stepped inside .
" She wanted to know why I'm only taking Alex with me to Forks ", Charlie replied.
" And ?", Damon asked .
He didn't like the fact that Alexandra was going with her Uncle ,but it wasn't his decision to make ,so there wasn't anything other than mind compulsion that he could do to change her mind.
" I told her you and Alaric will watch them and that Alex will be fine with me".
Damon smirked his famous rueful bad boy like smirk and walked away to go see Jeremy who was playing video games . Leaving Charlie with Alaric who offered the Forks Chief if Police a beer which he thankfully accepted .
It had after all been a busy day for them both . A beer was very welcome just about now . Charlie wouldn't say no . Even if he could .
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" Take care of yourself and try not to het into trouble , okay?", Elena cautioned as she hugged her twin goodbye .
" I will . I can't promise anything ,but I can try , Lena . Take care of yourself too please ,Lena. I don't want you getting hurt or anything just because of ....um ... never mind. Just be careful every day and stay safe ".
Elena smiled at her sister tearfully before letting her go so she can say goodbye to the others .
She hugged everyone before coming to the Salvatore brothers.
" Stay safe ,Lex. If ever you wanna come back just call me and I'll come to get you ", Damon said holding her tightly against him.
" I'll do that Damon ", she replied then moved to Stefan who had nothing more than just a simple "Goodbye,Alex", to say .
He'd already said his piece the previous evening . He wasn't going to say it again .
Then Alexandra was off with her Uncle in his borrowed pickup truck because he didn't want to use his cruiser of which Alexandra was grateful for .
Which teen liked riding in a police cruiser?. Not her, that's fir sure.
Her phone pinged so she looked down to see a message from Stefan .
Stay safe ,Alex. And please come back to visit soon . Love you .❤️
She frowned at the last part . She knew that he loved her ,but he also loved Elena and he chose Elena ...... No ,it was best not to reply to this text until she could figure out what to say that wouldn't hurt him .
" I'll reply once I'm in safely Forks ", she thought to herself .
Putting her phone away she started conversing with her Uncle Charlie and soon enough Stefan Salvatore and his text was forgotten .
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This is my first story . Hope you like .