The exhaustion washed over me after I took a shower last night. The shock of seeing Joshua shook me up. On her way home last night, Caroline called. I told her to go stay with Stefan. It wouldn't be much fun to be with me anyway.
Ryan handed me the coffee mug. I took it gently. "Thanks."
"Damon's on his way. He wanted to hang out while I'm in town."
"It's sweet that you have a boyfriend." I took a drink from the cup before sitting it on the coffee table.
"Yeah. We're going to Jamaica, and we're going to get matching monogrammed towels."
I tilted my head, "Cute."
"So will you be fine here by yourself?"
I nodded and rested my hands on my knees. "I should be, yeah. If I need anything, I'll just call."
He nodded. There was honking outside. He looked over his shoulder before leaning over to me. He kissed the top of my head.
"Don't drink and drive, and don't let Damon either."
He nodded before rounding the corner and leaving the house.
I listened as the car drove off. I sat back and stared at my phone on the coffee table, waiting for it to light up with a text or call from Kai. I sat and stared for five hours before realizing it's pointless. We haven't spoken in a year. Why would we speak now? It doesn't matter that he admitted he had feelings for me or that he asked me to stay, right? Because that's easily forgotten. It never happened to him. It was just a game.
I forced myself to stop thinking about that. I grabbed my phone and slid it in my back pocket. I walked over to my shoes and pulled them on. I walked out of my house, going to my car.
Last night, Ryan took all the boxes and put them in my room. He wanted to unpack them, but he had already done enough for me.
I started driving, unsure of where to go. I wound up at the Salvatore house. I got out and made my way to the front door. I was unsure if I should knock or just walk in. I decided on the latter. I shut the door behind me. I walked toward the living room.
"Hey. What are you doing here?"
I sat on the couch opposite of Stefan. "Ryan's with Damon, and I don't have a boy to play with anymore, apparently."
A look crossed his face before he nodded. "Right."
I looked at the mantle above the fireplace. "So where's Caroline?"
"With Elena and Bonnie."
I looked at him again. He was holding a paper above others that were laid out on the table. There was a brooding look on his face as he read the paper carefully. The very old paper.
"What are you doing?" I moved to the edge of the couch and looked closer at the papers.
"Research."
"For," I inquired as I looked at him.
He looked up at me. He studied my face for a minute before dropping the paper on the table. "You really have no clue what's going on."
I furrowed my brows, "About what?"
"These are entries from a journal that Joshua gave me. It's about other prison worlds - every prison world, actually."
I shook my head, "Your point?"
"When Bonnie came back, she didn't just come back. She was sent to a different prison world before coming back home. In that prison world, she found something." He looked down at the table and grabbed a small, double picture frame. He reached it across the table, and I took it.
I stared at the two pictures. "Who is this?" I analyzed the pictures of the two young boys.
"Me and Damon."
I looked at him. I laughed. "You're kidding."
He kept his serious face on. "About a week ago, we went into that prison world." He didn't keep talking.
I brought my hands down to my lap, keeping a hold of the picture frame. "We, as in..."
"Bonnie, Damon, Elena, me, and Kai."
Confusion consumed my mind. "What? Kai wouldn't go within 100 yards of someone if it meant he would go back to a prison world."
"We asked him for help, and he helped us."
"Where is he now?"
He stared at me for a few brief seconds before answering. "He left town for a while."
I shook my head, "What?"
"He had to go back to Portland for something."
"He's coming back, though." I sat the picture frame on the table. "Right?"
He nodded slowly. "Yeah."
I don't believe him. I didn't want to have more detail, though. I feel like if I do, I'll regret it. "The prison world. What else did you find?"
He glanced at the table. "This." Once he was looking at me again, he explained. "And some heretics. They're basically witches and vampires."
"Excuse me. Stefan."
I was startled by the voice of a woman. I looked over to see a woman with dark hair and familiar features. I breathed out shakily. I looked at Stefan. "Who the hell is that?"
He sighed and looked at me. "Lillian."
The name sounded familiar. I looked at her again as he walked over to her. The familiar features are Damon's. Lillian Salvatore. She stared at me for an uncomfortable amount of time before Stefan walked back over to me and pulled me toward the door. He was inches from me, and his hand was gripping my arm tightly.
"I'll explain everything later. You should go home," he whispered.
The words knocked around in my head. "What?"
"She's a guest, Stefan. You never offered her a drink."
I pulled away from him and looked over at her. Before I could speak, Stefan did. "She was just leaving." He turned to her.
"Don't leave on my account." She smiled. "I would love to meet some of my son's friends."
I could tell how much this is bothering Stefan. Luckily, I don't have to make him happy. I took a few steps toward her. "I'm Evelyn."
She walked closer and held out her hand. "Lillian."
I put my hand in hers, shaking her hand. Her hand was cold, but I didn't care. I pulled my hand from hers, and she took a step back.
"Evelyn, you should go."
I looked at Stefan. "I don't think I should." I looked at Lillian. "You mentioned a drink."
She laughed softly and nodded. "What would you like?"
"Whatever's easiest."
She smiled. She glanced at Stefan before walking into the kitchen. I turned to him. He opened his mouth to speak, but I put my hands over my ears. He grabbed my forearms and pulled them forward, "She hasn't been around humans in hundreds of years. You need to go before she kills you."
I stepped closer. "She offered me a drink, Stefan. She doesn't seem that dangerous to me."
"Neither did Kai."
I smiled, "And he gave me so much more."
He let go of my arms as he groaned in disgust. "Go home or something."
I tilted my head, "Come on, let me have fun."
He walked to the door after grabbing my wrist. "Go see Jo and Ric." He looked at me.
"Fine." I pulled my wrist away as I stepped outside. I turned to face him. "I'm telling Caroline you kicked me out."
"Tell her you harassed me first."
I rolled my eyes, "I did not harass you."
"Mhm. Goodbye, Evelyn."
I waved as I walked away. I got in my car and drove away. I drove to Ric and Jo's house. I got out and walked to the door. After two knocks and a few seconds, the door was open, and Jo was smiling at me. She welcomed me with a hug. We walked to the kitchen, where she made me sit at the island while she made tea. She sat beside me.
"I know this is late notice for you, but the wedding is tomorrow." She looked at me with a huge smile on her face. "Ric and I couldn't wait another week."
I smiled. "I'm really happy for you guys."
She sat her mug down after taking a drink. "Thank you." She looked at me. "Do you know anything about the bachelorette party? I know I told them not to throw one, but they're doing it anyway. Has Elena told you anything?"
I shook my head. "No. I haven't really talked to anyone."
She nodded once, "I'm glad I'm one of the first people."
I smiled, "Me too." Her smile faltered, and she looked down at her cup. I furrowed my brows. "Is something wrong?"
She shook her head. "I was just thinking about Kai." She looked at me. "I mean, I know I should hate him for everything he's done, but...." She sighed. "Before he was a monster, he was my brother."
"Before I left, Kai and I got pretty close." I shook my head. "I know he did bad things and everything, but I also got to know him and not just the things he did. Like, after the merge, he got some of Luke's traits. One of which was his ability to feel." I watched her expression shift to sympathy. "He was trying to change and make up for the things he did."
"He did some pretty terrible things."
I nodded, "I know." I looked at the tea. "I also know that everyone deserves a second chance. And that people can change. It takes a while, but they do. I'm not saying you have to forgive him for anything or that anyone should. I just... I wish everyone could see that he's tried."
After a few short seconds, she spoke softly. "Oh, honey."
I looked at her, "What?"
She swallowed. "You love him. Don't you?"
I laughed softly. "Love him? No." I shook my head. "He's arrogant and cocky. He's selfish sometimes. He's... He doesn't let anyone get close, and he doesn't show his emotions. He'll tell you he cares about you, then he'll take it back, then when you're about to leave town, he'll tell you he needs you, and you'll be..." I shook my head and looked at the cup. "I don't... I don't know how to feel about him."
She put her hand on mine. "It's okay."
A lump was forming in my throat. I looked at her. "I thought you would be the last person to ever tell me that about this."
She smiled. "I know what it's like to love someone who you think you shouldn't."
I furrowed my brows, "Ric?"
She laughed, "No. I had this ex-boyfriend." She shook her head, "It's a long story."
I nodded, "It always is."
She pulled her hand away to grab her cup. "Speaking of Ric, though -" She took a drink of her tea. She looked at me. "If you don't come to my party tonight, would you mind going to Damon's and checking on Ric at some point? I know Damon's an extremist when it comes to things like this."
I nodded, "Yeah, no problem."
She smiled, "Thanks."
...
Bzz. Bzz. Bzz.
I slapped my hand on my phone and answered the call, putting the phone to my ear. "It's two in the morning."
"Please tell me you weren't sleeping."
Ryan's voice drew me out of sleep. I rolled to my back. "I have things to do tomorrow. And you were supposed to be here earlier. The bachelorette party ended at 11."
"Okay, well, we had a lot of alcohol." His slurred speech made me nauseous.
"Why are you calling me?"
"Because we have more and more alcohol that keeps appearing. I need you to come and - and stop it."
I rubbed my eyes with my other hand. "Ryan, just go to sleep. All of you go to sleep."
There was a muffled noise of the phone being passed. "Come on, Evvy, we need help, and no one else is answering." Damon sounded more drunk than Ryan.
I sat up. "That's because there's a wedding tomorrow." I got out of bed. "Aren't you the best man? You have more responsibilities than any other sleeping person."
"Hey, is-is-is- are all the girls there?"
I rolled my eyes as I pulled on the pair of jeans I wore earlier. "Yes. I was the designated driver."
"So you haven't -" He sighed. "You aren't drunk?"
I pulled open the door and walked out of my room. I walked down the steps quietly. I lowered my voice. "I was the driver. I don't drink and drive."
"You should come drink with us!"
I grabbed my coat and my keys before walking out. "Hand the phone to the person who isn't as drunk as you." I got in my car.
"That's an implausible tax."
I started driving. "An impossible task?"
"Mhm. Yeah. That's what I said." He started laughing.
There was a muffled noise coming from the other side of the phone. "What joke did you just make?" Ryan asked.
"A super funny one that I'll tell you if you do something for me."
"I'll do whatever you want if you're on the way here."
"Okay. I need you to tell me if Ric's alive."
"'Course he's alive. He's staring at the table. He's reminding me of... of... Hey, who's that guy who did that movie?"
I started driving faster. "I'm going to hang up the phone. Don't call anyone else. Don't move from wherever you are. Make sure no one does either. Goodbye, Ryan." I ended the call.
I parked the car in the driveway behind a car that had two open doors. I got out and walked to the doors. I shut them. I walked to the front door. I could hear music and screaming. Not angry screaming, though. I opened the door and walked inside. I shut the door before walking further into the house.
It smelled like a bar and sex. I took a small step forward as I took my jacket off.
"You're here!"
I looked at Ryan. "Yeah." I started walking around the living room, counting the bottles of empty liquor.
"What are you doing?"
I took off my coat. "Nothing." I walked back toward them, stopping at the end of the couch. I looked at Ric. He looked distressed as he stared at the table. I looked at Ryan, "What did you do to him?"
He stood up and started walking toward me. "I gave him a drink. A lot of drinks. A lot of drinks. Then he started babbling about Jo."
I looked at Ric for a moment. I looked at Ryan again. "Go get some water from the kitchen. And drink it."
He looked at Damon. "Let's go."
Damon stumbled with Ryan to the kitchen. I looked at Stefan, who was sitting back with his feet up on the coffee table. He was staring at the fire, watching it. I walked over to Ric. I put my hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me with a look, which meant he was going to cry soon.
"Hey, buddy."
He laughed softly. "I'm never going to sleep with another woman again."
I'm going to kill Ryan. "That's okay." I put my hand on the side of his face. "You love Jo. And Jo loves you. When you're in a relationship with someone, and you both love each other, you sleep together. A lot. And it's a lot better that way, too."
"How do you know that?"
I shook my head, "I just do."
"Are you lying to me," he whined.
I sat down next to him and grabbed his hand. "No."
"Then how do you know?"
There was the sound of footsteps, then a door closing. "Because I've slept with people I wasn't in love with, and I slept with people... someone I was in love with. It was better with feelings because it actually meant something."
"How do you know it meant something?"
I squeezed his hand. "Because loving him meant something."
"What," Stefan asked.
I looked at him, and then I was looking at Damon and Ryan next to him. I looked at Stefan again. "That I could love. Loving someone is hard, and it feels wasteful and wrong when it's not reciprocated. It breaks you down. But when you get it right, when you find someone who helps make that love mean something, it makes you feel loved."
None of them spoke. I looked at Ric. He blinked slowly, his eyes staying closed longer than usual.
"You should've told him that."
I looked at Ryan. "What?"
He waved his hand dismissively. "That speech. You should've told the 'K' word that speech. I mean, that's who it's about, right?"
I stared at him for a few seconds. "Yeah."
"That was really beautiful."
I looked at Ric. "You're drunk." I got up and started walking away.
I felt the weight of Ric's arms wrap around me, hugging me tightly. "I'm so sorry."
I pushed against his chest. "It's fine."
I felt arms around me from my other side, then Ryan's head resting on top of mine. "It's okay, Ev."
I pushed myself out of their attack of hugs, taking a few steps away from them. "You're both drunk." I pointed down the hallway. "Go find a room, and go to sleep."
After a few protests, they made their way up the steps. I walked back into the living room. I laid back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. I heard a sigh, then footsteps. The footsteps were coming into the living room. I looked over to see Ryan and Ric holding blankets and pillows.
I sat up, "What are you doing?"
"Sleeping down here. It's easier to find a place to throw up."
"Good point."