˙ ˙ ˙
"I lay in tears in bed all night, alone without you by my side."
˙ ˙ ˙
I HAD FALLEN asleep last night the way I always fall asleep, by not falling asleep at all. I'm usually up several hours after I plop into my empty bed, my mind still racing with thoughts and memories and by the time I actually manage to close my eyes, it's time to get up again.
That's the only thing I hate about this normal life job. I have to get up early every single morning, even before the sun comes up. In my book, if the sun is down and you wake up, you are allowed to fall back asleep. Apparently the real world doesn't go by the rules of my book which means I am forced to drag myself out of my non existent sleep and get the house running again.
By the time I manage to wake Theo, get him dressed and ready and drop him off at preschool, I find myself struggling for time as I board the elevator of the office building. I have no idea what kind of appearance I have on right now, as I don't even remember what I had for breakfast. Or if I had any breakfast for that matter.
I walk into the office once I step off the elevator, keeping my head down to avoid attention as I walk to my desk. Logan and Christina are already at their tables, drawing away with their heads down giving me time to sit down without being noticed.
"Oh hello, Blair," Logan greets, not looking up from his work.
"Morning," I say, pulling out my sketches for a new CD cover I'm working on for a client.
"Hey, have y- ahh," Logan says, trailing off as he lifts his head up to look at me. "What the hell happened to you?" he questions, his brow raised in curiosity.
"What?" I ask, scrunching my brows in confusion.
He gestures around my face, circling it with his finger in the air. "That," he explains jokingly.
I scoff and pull out my pocket mirror from my purse, flipping it open and cringing at the sight in front of me. My hair is frizzy beyond belief, my black eyeliner is slightly smudged from where a few tears escaped this morning, and my lipstick is in patches, missing colours in a few spots. It seems getting ready at six in the morning when the sun is not up is never a good idea.
"Oh honey," Christina gasps, looking at me in horror. "What's got you in such a mess?"
"Nothing, I'm fine," I assure them, waving them off with a smile before turning back to my work, but they know me better than that. To my luck, they keep on pushing.
"Like hell you're fine. I can see the tear stains. Why you so upset Bee?" Christina asks, rolling her chair beside me as Logan leans in across his desk to inspect me further.
I shrug, trying to act casual. "Just thinking," I say.
"Thinking about what?" Logan asks, biting on the tip of his pen.
"It doesn't matter," I say, desperately trying to change the subject. I don't want to talk about this any more.
"Come on, you can tell us. What are you thinking about?" Christina pushes, practically testing me to my limit of how far I can hold in my anger. Thanks to Katherine Pierce, my patience tolerance is pretty high.
"I was just thinking about someone, and it got kind of emotional this morning. That's all I swear," I reply honestly, hoping that's enough information to satisfy them. Logan nods but Christina on the other hand presses further.
"Who? An ex?" she asks, wanting to know all the gossip she can.
"Tina," Logan warns, noticing my uneasiness around this topic.
"What? It's a simple question," she defends herself. "Who was this guy? As your friend I deserve to know what kind of guy would hurt you like this."
"Christina-," Logan says but I cut him off.
"He was my boyfriend, and he died, okay? He died and he's gone," I snap, slamming my pencil on the table, my face turning red as everyone stops and looks at us.
Christina's face softens as she leans back in her chair. "Oh Blair, I-I didn't know. I'm so sorry," she says, placing a hand on my arm but I wave her off. I feel the bridge of my nose well up with pressure again, and I know all too well I'm about to break into tears.
So I get up and grab my bag, heading to the washroom. "Blair I'm sorry!" Christina says.
"I know," I say to her before storming into the washroom.
I drop my bag and head over to the sink, spraying water on my face to fix myself up. I bite my lip to prevent myself from crying, but I end up biting so hard I draw blood. As I taste the blood on my lips, all I can think about is what James would say. He would tell me to stop it, to stop being so hard on myself. He would take my hand in his and he would bring it to his lips to distract me from biting my lip. Then he would cup his hand around my cheek, before pressing his lips to mine. I can imagine it in my head perfectly, which only makes me cry.
I lean against the sink and silently cry, careful incase anyone walks in. I put my hair into a pony tail and fix my make-up before looking back at myself in the mirror. Then I try something I haven't done in a long time.
"James?" I call out in my mind.
Some part of me buried deep inside me secretly hopes that one day he'll answer back. But he won't, because our link is dead. Unlike the time I was in the tomb and James was looking for me, our link still worked because we were both alive.
I realize now as he doesn't answer that I never again will hear his voice in my head, and never will I hear his voice in general. I'll never feel his hand in mine again, his arm around my shoulders or his lips on mine. Everything about him I won't get to see or feel again, and that is a concept that my mind just cannot seem to grasp. Every time I let it sink in that I'm never going to see him again, I feel like I'm going to die.
With shaky hands, I take one last look in the mirror while supporting myself against the sink, closing my eyes and praying that I'll get through today. And tomorrow, and the day after that.
∆ ∆ ∆
The day passes extremely slow, and the awkwardness between the three of us is incredibly uncomfortable. Christina keeps apologizing and I keep telling her it's okay, because I can tell how bad she feels. Logan on the other hand keeps quiet, lifting his head up once and a while to check in on me, glancing for a few seconds before returning to his work. This is exactly why I didn't tell them about James sooner, because I didn't want to be treated differently- to be treated weak.
Thankfully the clock finally ticks down, signalling it's time to go home. "Alright, I'll see you all tomorrow," I say, packing up my things.
"Blair, I-"
"Christina, I know. It's okay really," I say before she can apologize again. "Have a good night," I say, before walking out to the elevator. I don't look back because I know they're both looking at me, so I keep my head down until I reach my car.
I pick up Theo and as promised I'm not late. Ms. Pottsman seems pretty impressed which makes my head hurt a little less. "Have a good day, buddy?" I ask as we drive to the supermarket. Our fridge is incredibly bare, and food is something we desperately need.
"Ya," he says. "Mommy where are we goin'?"
"Shopping," I smile as I park the car and walk him inside the grocery store. I grab a cart and place him inside, pushing the cart down several isles.
I've only ever been shopping less then five times as usually I just order in, but I know Theo can't live off pizza forever. "Tee, can you grab that box of pancake mix please?" I ask, as I push the cart to the side of the isle. As he reaches across from his seat to grab the box, I walk across the isle to grab a bottle of syrup.
He throws the box in the cart and begins to laugh hysterically for no reason, making a smile form upon my face. I shake my head while smiling as we continue shopping, picking out anything that appears good and nutritious, but mostly just good.
"Mommy can we get phose cookies!" Theo squeals, pointing from the cart to a shelf of cookies.
I roll my eyes and sigh, before walking over to grab a box of Oreo cookies. "What do you say?" I ask.
"Thank you," he smiles, kicking his tiny feet against the cart happily.
I laugh as I turn around, hearing footsteps behind us noticing a man dressed in black pants and top, staring directly at us. I clear my throat awkwardly and push the cart to the frozen food isle, discovering tonnes and tonnes of possible meal ideas, all available at a cheaper price. "Pick one, Theo," I say, letting him choose from a wide selection.
As Theo glances at his choices, I notice the man in black in the corner of my eyes, his hood pulled over his face as he stares at the frozen food several metres beside us. My heart begins to beat faster as I can't identify his face, putting me more on edge. I turn my head to look at him, but he turns his head slowly too, our eyes meeting. As soon as we make eye contact, all the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, his gaze still on us. His face is hidden under his hood, his face appearing pitch black like he's the grim reaper.
"I want this one mommy," he says, pointing to a frozen pepperoni pizza.
I nod and quickly pop the box into our cart just as the man begins to walk towards us. I start walking faster, not wanting to put Theo in any danger as every instinct in my body warns me not to trust this guy. The way he has been following us, the way he made eye contact with me is creeping me out, so I head straight to the check out to pay for our things.
As the lady scans our things, I glance around looking frantically for the man but he's gone. I let out a sigh and turn to pay for our things before walking out and loading everything into my car. The only thing I can think about as I hop in my car and drive away is the man in black whose identity is unknown. And if there's anything that bothers me more, it's the unknown, because it's something I can't control.
"Theo, can you help mommy put these groceries away, please?" I ask as we walk into the house.
"Yup," he says happily, running towards the kitchen and opening the fridge.
As I plop the bag of groceries down on the floor, my phone starts ringing, an unknown number flashing across the glass screen. I furrow my brows before hesitantly answering it. "Hello?" I ask.
"Hello, Blair," a female voice says, but unlike any other female voice I hear, this one sounds oddly familiar. It sounds like a voice hard to forget, not because it's worth remembering, but because every time I hear it my blood boils with rage.
"Katherine," I snarl, gripping the counter to steady myself. "How did you get this number?" I ask.
"Oh I have people, witches and stuff. But tell me, is that really the first question you ask after all this time?" she questions, her voice filled with devious confidence although to me it sounds weak, almost like something is wrong.
"What's the matter kitty, has human you caught the cold?" I tease, remembering how Elena stuffed the cure down her arrogant throat.
"Of sorts I guess. I'm dying Blair, and I wanted to say one last goodbye to my old friend," she states, taking me off guard. Never did I expect Katherine Pierce to say those words.
"You're dying huh? How so?" I ask, watching carefully as Theo tries his best to place all the apples in the fridge.
"It's a bit complicated, but let's just say 500 years can catch up to you pretty fast and now I've found myself in quite the pickle. Taken over bodies and stuff, you know, the usual. Actually, I'm standing in a room full of all your friends and family now. Would you like to talk t-"
"No," I say immediately, fearing that she'll tell them where I am. The last thing I want to do is be found, especially when I've just gotten myself settled. I'm comfortable where I am, and I don't want to be dragged back to Mystic Falls. "No, but if this is you saying goodbye, I have to tell you one thing," I say.
"You were a bitch to me Katherine, but you are also strong, independent and deviously clever, and although I hate to admit it, without you I wouldn't have met James. You had the moonstone which brought him and Elijah to Mystic Falls in 1863, and without you I wouldn't have met the love of my life," I say seriously. I speak not for Katherine's sake, but rather my own as I put my hatred aside and think of what James would've wanted me to say.
"How poetic of you Blair, really. I'm sorry for your loss of handsome James, he was quite hot I must admit," she says, making me shake my head. "It's been one hell of a ride hating you Blair."
"Sure has," I agree, not knowing what else to say.
"Goodbye, Blair Salvatore," Katherine finally says. Just when I think she's hung up, she speaks one last time. "Oh, and I may or may not have told your brothers where to find you. They'll no doubt be calling you after I hang up," she says, and before I can say anything more I hear commotion on the other side, someone else speaking into the phone.
"Blair?" Damon's voice asks. He sounds desperate, and I can hear the pain in his voice.
His voice makes my body freeze, and my muscles tense. "Blair, we won't find you, but please don't change your number again," he begs.
I bite my lip and remove the phone from my ear before ending the call. Taking in a deep breath, I write down a reminder to call the cell service company to have my phone number changed, yet a third time. With the pen in hand, I take a shaky breath and try and process what just happened.
Katherine Pierce just died and a part of me wonders what else I have missed.
However, as I set the pen down I glance up for a split second at the back door which is opened just a sliver, but it's noticeable enough for me as I specifically locked it this morning before I left. My eyes travel up the door to the handle, which is completely destroyed, the whole handle crunched up as if something had broken in. It dawns on me that there is someone else in our house.
"Theo, come here now," I demand, waving him over.
"But I'm helping," Theo whines, taking the bag of apples and placing them on the bottom shelf of the fridge.
"Theo, now," I state more sternly, fear starting to take over.
This time Theo obeys, walking over into my arms where I pick him up and stand back, listening for any sign of any footsteps upstairs, but instead my ears direct my eyes to a man figure standing right in front of us. My heart leaps out of my chest for a sliver of a second until I realize who it is.
"Klaus?"
____________________
Please vote, share, and comment!
[completed & edited: 09/14/2021]