2010 ― Mystic Falls, Virginia
Skyler Salvatore was walking down the stairs to the parlor room of her home. Stefan had just come and woke her up. He said that Caroline was here and she had important information to share. "This better be good since you woke me up," Skyler said.
"Here," Damon said as he handed her a glass of bourbon, but he had mixed some blood in it because he knew that was his sister's favorite. She noticed that Caroline was shaking. She took down the drink in one gulp and then she looked at Damon and nodded, appreciating that he had mixed some blood in it.
"I'm still shaking," Caroline said.
"What happened?" The Salvatore twins asked at the same time.
"Go ahead, tell them. You're going to love this," Damon said.
"I saw Katherine today," Caroline said.
"Where?" Skyler asked.
"At The Grill... I just stopped to gawk and kinda stalk Matt," She started her story, but it was all about Matt and how he wasn't speaking to her and she started stumbling over her words. Skyler held her hand up to stop her.
"Save the teenage drama, Caroline. We don't actually care, no offense. What happened?" Skyler asked. She nodded her head and explained that while she was in the bathroom, Katherine ambushed her, and said she wanted Caroline to deliver a message to Skyler, Damon, and Stefan.
"What was the message?" Stefan asked.
"She wants the moonstone, or she's going to rip this town apart until it rains blood," Caroline said. Skyler rolled her eyes, that was a bit melodramatic, even for Katherine.
"Tell them the rest of it," Damon said.
"Tonight... at the masquerade ball," Caroline said and Stefan sighed.
"She wants to do it in public. Killing Mason threw her off guard," Stefan said. Skyler's head quickly snapped up, and then she looked at Damon.
"Are you serious? You killed Mason? You fucking idiot!" Skyler snapped.
"That's beside the point. Katherine is running scared. What she did to Jenna... well tried to do was desperate. She's out of tricks," Damon said.
"We can't underestimate her. We have to play smarter than her," Stefan said. Skyler rolled her eyes.
"Can't I just kill her already?" Skyler asked.
"Or we can just give her the moonstone and she'll leave," Caroline said.
"No," Skyler immediately responded.
"What?" Caroline asked.
"No. Under no circumstances does she get the moonstone. Katherine doesn't deserve to get what she wants. The only thing that bitch deserves is death," Skyler snapped. Caroline frowned and tried to reach out for her friend, but Skyler shook her head and took a step away.
"As Skyler said, Katherine isn't getting anything. I've had it. I'm going to the masquerade ball and I'm going to kill her. Tonight," Damon snapped.
"You're not going to kill her," Stefan said.
"Now is not the time for your goody-goody-two-shoes attitude," Damon said.
"You're not going to kill her," Stefan repeated.
"Oh, really? Why?" Damon asked.
"Because I am," Stefan said. Skyler started laughing as she shook her head. She was laughing so hard to the point that everyone was looking at her in concern. "Skyler?" Stefan asked.
"Oh, I just find it hilarious that you and Damon think that one of you is going to be the one to kill her," Skyler said.
"And why is that?" Damon asked. Skyler stood up from the chair she was in and walked over to her brothers.
"I'm only going to say this once, so listen well. That bitch sat me down while I was in our mother's wedding dress, compelled me to write a suicide note, and then compelled me to slit my throat, slowly to drag out the pain. The only person who is going to kill Katherine Pierce tonight is me."
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"Hey, come on in," Caroline said. Stefan had called Bonnie and invited her to the house. He asked her to bring a grimoire, so Caroline was letting her in. The plan was to trap Skyler, Stefan, and Damon in a room with Katherine. Stefan and Damon's jobs were to catch her off guard and then Skyler was going to kill her.
"I got Stefan's message," Bonnie said as she joined them in the living room, and then she saw all the weapons on the table. "What's going on?" She asked.
"We're going to kill Katherine," Jeremy said. Bonnie looked appalled as she looked at everyone in the room. Skyler didn't even know when Jeremy got here, that's how focused she was on killing Katherine.
"I can explain," Stefan said.
"Please," Bonnie said. Skyler rolled her eyes.
"There is no explanation. Jeremy said what he said. Except instead of saying, 'we,' he should've said my name. Because I am going to kill Katherine," Skyler said as she shrugged her shoulders. Then Alaric was giving a rundown on how to kill a vampire with a stake, but Skyler was half-listening. There were multiple ways she could think of killing Katherine, she wanted something that was the most painful.
Just like Katherine had done to her.
"This works with compressed air. The trigger mechanism is up here. I have two of these in different sizes. For you, I recommend this; it fits nicely under the jacket sleeve. You use the trigger when you're ready," Alaric said as he showed the motion as if he was going to stake a vampire. Damon and Stefan shared a look, and Ric noticed it too. "You wanted me to show you how to kill a vampire," Alaric said. Bonnie shook her head and looked at Stefan.
"I know you love Elena and you want to be with her, but it's risky. Too many people could get hurt," Bonnie said. Skyler rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry about that, Bonnie. When I kill someone, I never miss my target," Skyler said as she looked at her. Bonnie looked over at her, but she didn't say anything.
"Look, I want Elena back, yes, but it's more than that. What Katherine did to Jenna crossed a line, and if Skyler hadn't redirected her aim, Jenna really could've killed herself. Katherine has to be stopped before it happens again," Stefan said.
"I don't know, Stefan," Bonnie said, and Skyler rolled her eyes.
"So you were willing to take out your own best friend, Caroline if she hurt someone... but you can't give us help to take down Katherine, who is the actual enemy in this scenario and if given the chance, will kill you before you can even beg for mercy? You need to rethink some of your priorities little Bennett witch," Skyler said.
"Katherine knows me, right? She knows all of us. She knows Skyler will kill her no matter who is around, whether it's public or private. But, Katherine also knows that I wouldn't let Skyler do something like that when the risk of casualties is too high, that gives us an edge. We could catch her by surprise," Stefan said.
"I could do a spell to trap her. Like the tomb spell," Bonnie said. Problem solved. They were already going to try and isolate Katherine into a room so they could kill her, and if Bonnie spells them all inside, makes it even better.
"Right. We can isolate her, away from the others... please, Bonnie," Stefan begged.
"Okay," Bonnie said.
"Are you sure that you guys don't want me there tonight?" Alaric asked us. They all shook their heads. They needed someone to keep an eye on Elena to make sure that she doesn't show up. Although Skyler wasn't sure how well this was going to work.
"No, we need you to stay with Elena, she doesn't need to know about any of this," Stefan said. Alaric nodded.
"Okay, I'll make sure she doesn't leave my sight," He said and they all nodded.
"Alright, if anyone wants to back out, do it now. I have waited 145 years to kill this bitch for what she did to me, and I have neither the time nor the patience for anyone to have cold feet," Skyler said as she looked around the room.
"Yeah, as Skyler said, we don't need this going wrong if someone decides to chicken out, Caroline," Damon said as he looked at her. Skyler rolled her eyes.
"Damon... Katherine killed Caroline just like she killed me and Skyler. We're the last three you should be looking at for cold feet," Benjamin said. Caroline nodded.
"As long as no werewolves are running around," Caroline said.
"Oh, I took care of Mason," Damon said.
"Don't worry, that will come back to bite us in the ass eventually," Skyler said.
"And as long as Tyler doesn't kill anyone, he won't activate his curse," Jeremy said. Skyler smiled, Jeremy remembered the information he gave her.
"Bonnie, are you with us?" Stefan asked. Everyone turned to look at the witch.
"And no one gets hurt?" Bonnie asked.
"No one but Katherine. Tonight she dies a slow, painful, excruciating death."
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The Salvatore Siblings entered the masquerade together. Skyler was standing between her brothers, her arms linked through both of theirs. Benjamin was with Caroline, and it was going to be easy for them to spot Katherine since they knew Elena wouldn't be there.
"Do either of you see her?" Damon asked. Stefan shook his head.
"Nope," Skyler said.
"Are you sure you can do this?" Stefan asked.
"Who are you talking to?" Damon asked.
"Obviously, you," Skyler said.
"Oh, I had the chance to kill her and I hesitated," Stefan said. Damon shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, this is the fork in the road between you and me, my friend. I don't hesitate," Damon said. Skyler laughed a little.
"You spent 145 years loving her and obsessed with finding her. It could definitely happen," Skyler said. Damon rolled his eyes.
"I won't hesitate," Damon insisted and Skyler nodded her head.
"Okay," Skyler said.
Stefan and Skyler went their separate ways from Damon. They were out on the dance floor together. Skyler had her hands loosely resting on his shoulders while Stefan had his hand on her middle back. They both had on black masks. "Elena's probably on her way," Skyler said.
"Hopefully not," He said.
"You know she always finds a way to ruin our plans. It's her superpower," Skyler teased. Stefan laughed as he shook his head. But he didn't deny it, because he knew that she was right.
"Dance with me," Stefan and Skyler didn't have to turn around to know it was Katherine. She came up behind Stefan, so Skyler was looking at her.
"No," Stefan responded.
"Fine, then tell me who I should kill. Him?" She asked as she looked off in a different direction. Then she looked to the other side. "Hmm, she looks delicious," She said. Katherine picked up a strawberry from the tray and I let go of my brother as he offered his arm to Katherine. "It's a beautiful night," She said.
"What's with the charade?" Skyler asked.
"How's Jenna? Or should I say... how are you, Skyler? I mean taking a knife to the gut, never would've expected that from you," Katherine said. Skyler rolled her eyes.
"Katherine," Stefan said before Skyler had the chance to say anything because he knew that Skyler was probably going to threaten her.
"Yes?" She asked.
"I don't want anyone to get hurt," Stefan said.
"Okay, then give me the moonstone, and no one will," Katherine said.
"Well, let's see. We don't have the moonstone on us, so I guess you'll have to come with us and get it," Skyler said. Katherine looked between the two of them with a bit of suspicion, which Skyler knew she would have. It wasn't their part of the plan to isolate Katherine, that was Caroline's job.
"Hmm. I have a better plan. The two of you go fetch it and I will try not to kill anyone in the meantime," Katherine said.
"Fetch? Are you mistaking us for your lapdog Mason?" Skyler asked. Katherine rolled her eyes, which made Skyler smile. "But, it's either our way or you don't get it at all," She said.
"Hey, Stefan... I can't find Matt," Some girl said as she walked up to them. Then she turned to Katherine and her eyes lit up. "Oh my gosh, Elena! You look so pretty. I love that dress. You look gorgeous," She said.
"Thank you. I love your necklace," Katherine responded with a fake smile.
"Oh, thanks," She said.
"Oh, it's twisted. Here, let me help," Katherine said. She walked behind the girl and Skyler noticed she didn't grab her necklace, but then she heard her spine snap. "Paralyzed from the waist down," Katherine said as she snapped her spine again. "And dead." She said and then she threw the girl into Stefan's arms. "The moonstone, Stefan... tick tock."
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The Salvatore siblings were now in the empty room of the Lockwood Mansion that Caroline would be tricking Katherine into. Bonnie already put the spell up, so whatever vampires come in will not be able to leave back out. Stefan was telling Damon about what happened. "I put the body in the trunk for now," He said.
"We'll dump her when we get back," Damon said and Stefan sighed.
"This is exactly what I didn't want, Damon," Stefan said.
"Stefan, it's collateral damage," Damon said.
"Right, which is why we need to call it off," Stefan said. Skyler stood up from the couch.
"Are you serious? Who's hesitating now?" Skyler asked.
"This woman murdered our sister. She ruined our lives, she destroyed us! Tonight it ends. The three of us can do it together. We got your back, okay" Damon said. Skyler couldn't help it. A genuine smile came onto her face. When Damon first came back, he was determined to make Stefan's life miserable, but now he was keen on them working together to get rid of their common enemy. Skyler could see Damon was getting rid of some of his animosity.
"Alright."
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"Why do you keep dragging me into this? I don't want any part of it!" Skyler could hear Caroline fake crying as she and Katherine got closer to the room that the siblings were in. Skyler and her brothers were now hiding because Jeremy had told Katherine we were waiting for her by the lake; it was all part of their plan.
"Shut up!" Katherine snapped back at her. "Which room is it?" She asked.
"It's that one," Caroline said and she knew Caroline was pointing to the room that they were in.
"Where is she?" Katherine asked. Her voice was close, Skyler wanted to run out of the closet and get it over with. Although Skyler knows she can take her, killing Katherine will take a lot of discipline, she's older and has tricks up her sleeve. She couldn't be underestimated.
"I did it! I really didn't think that I'd be able to fool you, but I did it!" Caroline exclaimed. Skyler smiled a bit, she was happy that Caroline was able to pull the upper hand on something.
"What the... Stefan?" Katherine asked. Skyler smirked. It was almost time. Damon was going to come out next and once they had Katherine subdued, Skyler would go in for the kill.
"Hello, Katherine," Stefan said.
"Goodbye, Katherine," Caroline said. Skyler heard Katherine laughing and Caroline's footsteps walking away.
"You don't really think you can kill me with that now, do you?" Katherine asked.
"No, but they can," Stefan said. That was our cue. The closet opened; Damon and Skyler both walked out. Damon shot Katherine in her back with a stake, and then Stefan staked her in the arm. The two of them started to wrangle around with her.
She tried to stake Damon, but Stefan grabbed her from behind and he was choking her, so she couldn't move. That's when Skyler rushed over, her brothers had her subdued, and now it was time for Skyler to kill her. She didn't think it would happen this fast, but she was more than happy to get it over with.
When Skyler approached, she could see a bit of fear in Katherine's eyes, it made her smirk. Damon handed his sister a stake, and she placed it right on Katherine's neck. Katherine hissed in pain and Skyler smiled. "I had the tip of the stake soaked in vervain. This is going to be so fun," Skyler said as she pressed the dagger into her neck. Katherine hissed out in pain again as Skyler drew her blood. With the tip of the stake seeping in vervain, it would cause more pain and take the wound a slower amount of time to heal.
"Stop!" Skyler heard Jeremy yell. She had scraped the dagger against Katherine's neck and a small line had formed, but nothing too formidable. "You're hurting Elena! Everything you're doing to hurt is hurting Elena!" Jeremy exclaimed. Skyler rolled her eyes as she removed the stake from Katherine's throat. Katherine started coughing, but Skyler could see the smirk on her face.
"You guys think you're the only ones with a witch on your side? Wrong, and something tells me that my witch is better than your witch," She said. She took the non-vervain-soaked stake out of Damon's hand and Stefan turned to the doorway to look at Jeremy.
"Jeremy, go check on Elena. Make sure she's okay. Go!" Stefan exclaimed. Jeremy nodded and walked away.
"Let's all make sure poor Elena is okay. Just a little bit more pressure," Katherine said as she put the stake onto her palm and started to cut across it. Stefan quickly ran over to her and hit the stake out of her hand so it fell to the ground.
"This is really going to hurt," Katherine said. She picked the stake up off the ground and held it above her stomach. Skyler saw the panic set into her brother's eyes as Katherine brought the stake down.
"Wait!" Damon exclaimed. Katherine laughed as she sat down on the couch.
"Okay... so how about that moonstone?"
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"The four of us together, just like old times. The brother who loved me too much, the one who didn't love me enough, and the sister who never gave me a fair chance," Katherine said. Skyler rolled her eyes. She hated how much she's grown to care about the people in this town. Because she knew if this happened when they first came to Mystic Falls.
She would've killed Katherine and Elena with no hesitation if they were linked.
"And the evil slut vampire who only loved herself," Damon said as he rolled his eyes.
"What happened to you, Damon? You used to be so sweet and polite," Katherine said.
"You murdered his sister, and then he died," Damon snapped at her.
"Good. He was a bore," Katherine said. Skyler rolled her eyes.
"Can you two please stop antagonizing each other? It's making me want to kill myself," Skyler said. Katherine laughed at her words.
"So, where's the moonstone?" Katherine asked.
"What do you want with it?" Stefan asked.
"Does Elena enjoy having both of you worship at her altar?" Katherine asked.
"Kind of like how you did?" Skyler asked. Katherine turned and looked at the blonde with a smirk on her face while shrugging her shoulders. Stefan rolled his eyes.
"That was really desperate, Katherine. Don't you think that we can see right through you?" Stefan asked. Katherine shrugged her shoulders.
"So, it doesn't really bother you that Damon is in love with your girlfriend?" Katherine asked. Skyler almost laughed because Katherine wasn't wrong. It was very obvious that Damon has feelings for Elena.
"Oh, stop it," Stefan snapped.
"Or what? You'll hurt me?" Katherine asked as she stood up from the couch and walked over to Stefan. "Come on, Stefan. Everything that I feel, Elena feels too, so go ahead," She said and then she looked at Damon. "Or better yet, kiss me, Damon. She'll feel that too," She said. Skyler started laughing because of how desperate she sounded. Stefan was sitting on his own and he was trying to put the pieces together, Skyler would tell.
"You know, this whole Mason thing has me a bit confused. Why a werewolf? The moonstone can break a curse that would help them destroy all the vampires so what's in it for you?" Stefan asked. Katherine looked at Skyler like she was waiting for her to put the pieces together because she knows information her brothers don't. Skyler sat up a little straight in her seat as she realized what it was.
She wants her freedom from Klaus.
She thinks that if she gives Klaus the moonstone, a werewolf, and a vampire so he can break his curse, in return, he'll grant her the freedom she's wanted for centuries. Skyler laughed a little because she knows Klaus, very well. And she knows that Klaus will happily take all the ingredients he needs, and he'll happily break his curse.
And he'll still happily punish Katherine for what happened.
"Sorry about your pet wolf, you probably should've kept him on a tighter leash," Damon said.
"I'll have to remember that for next time. He's not the only wolf in town," Katherine said. Skyler immediately knew what she was thinking.
She was going to make Tyler break his curse.
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"Damn it! Where's that witch?" Damon asked after they had been in the room for what felt like hours. Skyler didn't know where Bonnie had run off to, and since they weren't going to be killing Katherine while she was still linked to Elena, there was nothing for them to do.
"We could play charades," Katherine said. Skyler rolled her eyes.
"Please, shut up," Skyler said.
"You bargained the moonstone," Stefan mumbled. Skyler looked over at the same time Damon did. Skyler really didn't want him to put the pieces together, because it was going to come with a lot of questions.
"What are you mumbling about over there?" Damon asked. Stefan only looked at Katherine as he spoke.
"When you struck a deal with George Lockwood, to help you fake your death, you told me and Skyler that you gave George something he really needed. It was the moonstone, wasn't it?" Stefan asked. Katherine smiled a little.
"Good for you, Stefan. Two plus two... and it would've worked except that people found out that I wasn't in the tomb." She said and then she looked at Damon. "Thanks to you, by the way. Have I mentioned how inconvenient your obsession with me has been?" She asked.
"You and me both, honey," Damon said.
"Why do you need it back?" Stefan asked. Skyler remained silent. She knew if she put any input into this conversation, Katherine would say something snarky about the fact that she knows Klaus and then she would get questions that she didn't want to answer. Katherine's eyes quickly diverted to Skyler before she turned back to Stefan and shrugged.
"I love you in a suit, so dashing," Katherine said.
"What were you doing with it in the first place?" Stefan asked.
"You're wasting your breath, Stefan," Skyler said to him.
"Unless it wasn't yours, to begin with. In 1864, you faked your death. Who were you running from, Katherine?" Stefan asked. Skyler had to give it to him, he was smart, and he put the pieces together pretty quickly. But Katherine would never namedrop Klaus, Skyler knows that much.
"In 1987, you and Skyler were in Chicago, at a concert of all places with that wench, Lexi," Katherine said. Stefan looked shocked while Skyler rushed over to her, grabbed her by the throat, and pinned her to the wall.
"Do not ever say her name again. You got me?" Skyler snapped as she let go of Katherine's neck. Both of her brothers were looking at her in shock. "Don't worry... I wasn't going to kill your precious Elena," She said. Katherine coughed as she turned to Stefan.
"Don't look so surprised, Stefan. Of course, I checked in on you over the years. You were standing in the front row, dancing all night. You were watching Bon Jovi, and I was watching you," Katherine said.
"That's called stalking, you know?" Skyler said.
"Who were you running from?" Stefan asked. Katherine didn't say anything, instead, she grabbed Stefan's tie and pulled him closer as she mouthed to him.
"I love you."
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After a longer while, Damon was fixing himself a drink. One of the nice things about being trapped in the Lockwood Mansion is that booze is always around. Damon handed his sister a glass of bourbon first before he poured one for himself. Skyler just wanted to be free from this room.
"We're missing the party," Katherine complained. Then she noticed Damon pouring his drink after he had handed Skyler one. "I'll have one of those," She said.
"Right away, Miss Katherine," Damon said, mocking a servant boy. Skyler shook her head as he poured a glass for her and then handed it to her.
"Thank you," Katherine said. When she took her first sip, Damon had her pinned against the wall and had a stake lifted above her chest. Skyler rushed over and knocked it out of his hand.
"Damon, don't," Skyler siad.
"Yes, Damon, please," Katherine said.
"Go sit down," Skyler said as she pushed her brother away from Katherine. When he was gone, Skyler kept Katherine in place by her throat, and then she leaned down and whispered into her ear.
"The second this spell is lifted, I'm going to slit your throat open and then that trick you pulled on Jonathan Gilbert, I'll do that too, and then feed you your fingers before I rip your heart from your chest," Skyler said.
"You're more like him than you give yourself credit for," Katherine said with a smirk on her face. This time, Skyler wasn't going to back down from it.
"Who do you think I learned it from?" She said with a smile on her face.
"Katherine, the spell on this room has been broken, you're free to leave." The witch, Lucy said. Even though she was speaking to Katherine, Skyler was relieved to know she could leave.
"Thank goodness," Katherine said. Skyler noticed that Lucy had the moonstone in her hands.
"When I hand this over, my debt to you is over?" Lucy asked.
"Done," Katherine said.
"I owe you nothing," Lucy said. Skyler could tell by the way Lucy was trying to make sure she would owe Katherine nothing, that something else was going on with that moonstone.
"I said done. Give it," Katherine said impatiently. Lucy shrugged her shoulders and put the moonstone in Katherine's hands, right as Damon was saying.
"I wouldn't do that."
As soon as the stone touched her hands, she started to gasp for breath. Skyler had no idea what Lucy did to that stone, but she was enjoying seeing Katherine suffer. She began to fall to the ground as she was trying to inhale the oxygen that was not there for her. Lucy shook her head as she looked at Katherine on the ground.
"You should've told me there was another witch involved. She's a Bennett witch, Katherine, but I'm sure you knew that," Lucy said. Skyler looked at her and she could tell that Lucy was a Bennett witch as well. Emily's line is truly everywhere.
"Wait, Elena!" Stefan exclaimed.
"Elena is fine. The spell is broken. She'll heal quickly, Bonnie's with her," Lucy said. Katherine was still on the ground, choking because she couldn't breathe. Skyler thought this was more fun than actually killing her. "I'm sorry for my involvement," Lucy said and then she walked away. Skyler looked back down at Katherine.
She had fallen unconscious.
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"So, since both of my brothers are gone... I guess that means you're my ride," Skyler said as she walked up to Elena. Stefan and Damon went to trap Katherine in the tomb below the church ruins. Benjamin took Caroline home and Skyler wanted to check on Elena. The brunette nodded and smiled at her friend.
"Yeah, of course." She said and then when they started walking to her car, Elena looked up. "DO you want to just spend the night? Jenna won't mind," Elena said.
"Yeah, that sounds fine. Are you okay, by the way? I really wanted to rip Katherine's heart from her chest, but I couldn't kill my friend with her, now could I?" Skyler said and Elena laughed.
"Yeah, I'm fine... let me take this, it's Jeremy," Elena said. Skyler nodded as Elena answered her phone. "Yeah, Jeremy, I've got my car. Tell Bonnie whatever she did, I'm starting to feel better. Yeah, you can drive her home. I got Skyler and we're probably just gonna go straight to bed. Okay," She said, and then she hung up her phone. Then she unlocked the car doors. Elena saw someone coming up behind Skyler, and her eyes widened. "Skyler!" Elena exclaimed but it was too late.
Skyler was injected with vervain in her neck, a high dosage of vervain because the captor had been told she built up a tolerance to it.
She wasn't ready for what was coming next.
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elijah's hereeeeeee.
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