"Look Mom, I'm sorry for skipping game night for some stupid party. Just please, talk to me," Elena begged from the back seat of the car as they drove onto Wickery Bridge.
She regretted going to the party especially considering she had gotten into a fight with her boyfriend, Matt Donovan, about the future. He had it all planned out, she wasn't so sure.
It wasn't anything he had done. Quite frankly, it just wasn't meant to be.
Elena and Matt were those friends that owed it to themselves to see if it would work and for Elena it just didn't.
Slouching back into the chair, the girl let out an exasperated sigh realizing it was no use. She would try again tomorrow.
The car suddenly slid, as though it were on ice, off the bridge, straight into the water that had previously laid still except for the few drops of rain that fell as the aftermath of the storm.
After many failed attempts at getting them out of the car, the parents looked back at their daughter, taking in the sight of the beautiful woman she had become, knowing this was most likely the last time they would be seeing her.
The girl, although afraid of death and what would come after it, smiled a sad, but comforting smiles at her parents, and mouthed, "I love you."
They both smiled as well and mouthed it back as her vision began to go dark, she passed out.
[4 months later]
Dear diary, today will be different. It has to be. I will smile, and it will be believable. My smile will say "I'm fine, thank you." "Yes, I feel much better." I will no longer be the sad little girl who lost her parents. I will start fresh, be someone new. It's the only way I'll make it through. The Junior wrote in the journal her mother had bought her oh so many years ago.
Closing the journal, she placed it on her nightstand next to her bed. She headed downstairs into the kitchen, to see her Aunt Jenna scrambling around the room.
Upon seeing her niece, she offered up a breakfast option, "Toast. I can make toast."
"It's all about the coffee, Aunt Jenna," she said walking over to the coffee machine and pouring herself a cup.
"Is there coffee?" Jeremy, Elena's younger brother asked as he walked down the stairs.
"Your first day of school and I'm totally unprepared. Lunch money?" Jenna asked the two, holding up some money.
"I'm good," Elena spoke. Jeremy on the other hand, took the money from his Aunt.
"Anything else?" she asked, "A number two pencil? What am I missing?"
"Don't you have a big presentation today?" the teen asked remembering something she had mentioned to her the other day.
"I'm meeting with my thesis advisor at..." Jenna began, looking down at her watch, "now. Crap!"
"Then go. We'll be fine," she said reassuring her Aunt, who nodded with a smile before walking out.
"You okay?" Elena asked her brother.
"Don't start," he said before walking out the door.
Elena let out a sigh as she followed him out ready to start the first day of Junior year, or at least as ready as she could be.
The day had gone almost as bad as she had expected, if not worse. She headed to the cemetery, where she had tended to spend her afternoons ever since that night almost 4 months ago.
Opening her journal, she began to write: Dear diary, I made it through the day. I must have said, "I'm fine, thanks," at least thirty-seven times. And I didn't mean it once. But no one noticed. When someone asks, "How are you?" They really don't want an answer.
She looked up from her writing when a crow flew on top of her parents' grave stone. "Okay. Hi, bird. That's not creepy or anything," she said cautiously, "Shoo!"
"That's what I thought," Elena said as it flew away.
The crow came back and fog began to form around her, an outline of a man appearing behind a gravestone. Elena, panicking, ran, but before she could get anywhere she fell.
Standing up, she was surprised at the sight of Stefan.
"You okay?" he asked in concern.
"Were you following me?" she asked accusingly.
He grew flustered at this, "No, I-a, uh, I-a just — I saw you fall."
"Uh-huh," she raised an eyebrow, "and you just happened to be hanging out in a cemetery?"
"I'm visiting," he explained, "I have family here."
"Oh. Wow. Tactless. I'm sorry. It's the fog, It's making me foggy," she placed her hand over her stomach for emphasis. "And then back there, there was this, this bird, and it was all very Hitchcock for a second," she said regretting her earlier assumption of him being a stalker, "That is the bird movie, right, the Hitchcock?...I'm Elena."
"I'm Stefan," he replied with a smile.
"I know," she smiled, "We have History together."
"And English and French."
"Right," she said, nodding slowly.
Stefan reached over and pulled something out of her hair, holding it up and showing her it was just a leaf.
"Thanks..." she said with a small smile, "Nice ring.
"Oh," he said looking down at his hand, "um, It's a family ring, yeah. I'm kinda stuck with it. It's weird, huh?"
"No, no. It's just, I mean, there are rings and then there's that."
He looked as though he just realized something, "Did you hurt yourself?"
"Hmm?"
"Did you hurt yourself?" he asked again.
"Oh, uh, I don't know."
She puts her leg up on a stone and pulls up a pant leg, revealing a cut that's gushing blood.
"Oh! Would you look at that. That is not pretty."
Stefan turned away, confusing her greatly.
"Are you okay?" she asked in confusion.
"You should go. Take care of that."
"Really, it's nothing," she said looking down at her leg.
She turned back around but Stefan had disappeared. She sighed and turned around but was surprised to see a mirror reflection of herself.
"Boo," the girl whisper shouted, amusement evident on her face.
"Evelyn!" the girl squealed hugging her sister tight.
"Kind of need to breathe," Evelyn said taking a dramatic breath between each word. Elena let go and allowed her sister to breathe once more.
"Hey lil' sis, how's it going?" she asked with a smirk.
"Where have you been?" Elena asked, "How did you know I would be here? Does anyone else know you're here? How long have you been here? Why haven't you called?"
"I've been everywhere and nowhere, because I know all, I haven't been here too long, only since this morning, nobody knows I'm here, and I did, multiple times, you didn't answer," Evelyn answered each of the questions, "Now enough with the interrogation, I have a question for you."
"Okay..." she trailed off, clearly wary of what her sister may ask her.
"Who was the McHottie I saw you with?" Evelyn asked wiggling her eyebrows dramatically.
She blushed slightly, "He's no one."
"He didn't look like no one," she countered.
Elena wrapped her arms around her stomach, "I just met him."
"Well if you don't want him, I'll take him."
Elena shot her sister a look. Holding her hands up in mock surrender, Evelyn responded, "Okay, okay, he's off limits, sorry."
"Let's go home," Elena suggested rolling her eyes at her sister.
"Sounds like a plan," she said, linking arms with her.
After a few minutes of thought, Evelyn couldn't help herself but ask, "Do you think he has a brother?"
[4 months earlier]
"Where are they?" Evelyn shouted as she ran over to Sheriff Forbes, needing answers. She had received a call a few hours earlier telling her there had been an accident. Luckily, she had already been on her way.
"Evelyn..." the Sheriff began but Evelyn shook her head.
"No, no," she began, the Sheriff grabbed her hands to steady her, "They have to be okay. Where are they?"
"Your parents..." the Sheriff started, "They didn't make it." Evelyn felt the news was over her like a ton of bricks. She had just talked to her mother this morning. She was meeting up with her parents at the lake house as a surprise for Elena. Her mom was so happy to hear that Evelyn was finally coming back home.
Evelyn focused on her breathing as she looked up at the Sheriff, "Where are Elena and Jeremy?" Her only longing right now was to get her twin and brother and tell them everything would be okay.
Sheriff Forbes guided her to a hospital room where Elena laid in the bed and Jeremy sat in the chair next to her, both asleep.
Evelyn's breath hitched in her throat and she turned to take a seat on the couch against the wall but stopped in her tracks. Looming in the corner was a figure and she wavered, "Hello?"
She waited a moment, secretly hoping it was just a lamp. The outline shifted slightly before stepping into the light. He stopped when he saw her, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion, "Katherine?"
"Who are you?" Evelyn demanded, stepping closer to her siblings. "What the hell are you doing in my sister's room?"
"Sister," he repeated as though suddenly everything made sense, "Right." He glanced at Elena before looking back at Evelyn, "I was the one that saved her."
Evelyn raised an eyebrow at the boy. He told her this as though saving someone's life was a casual occurrence and no big deal. "You saved her?" she asked in confusion, "How?"
"That's not important right now," he replied, taking a step closer to her. His green eyes bore into her ordinary brown ones as he continued, "You won't remember this, you came into this room to find your sister and brother fast asleep and you waited for them to wake up, no one else was here."
And with that, the mysterious man disappeared, leaving the girl in confusion as she took a seat on the couch and waited for her siblings to wake up.
[4 months later]
"Evie, is that you?" Jeremy asked as he walked down the stairs.
"Yes it is," she responded, "I heard you're a pothead now, is that true?"
"You told her?" Jeremy asked turning toward Elena, "Why?"
"We had time to talk, it was a long drive, it doesn't matter," Evelyn pointed out, her arms crossed over her chest, "The real question is: Why didn't you tell me? I know I was gone but we talked every night, you could have told me."
He let out a sigh to her response before speaking. "I know you're my big sister but you left, you didn't care. You got better while the rest of us were stuck here suffering without you, so sorry if I didn't care to explain my coping mechanism," he finished before turning to walk back upstairs.
"Oh, hell no, you do not get to talk to me like that," Evelyn told him sternly, "Get your sorry ass back down here." He turned back to her reluctantly, making his way to his eldest sister.
Evelyn grabbed her keys, jingling them to inform Elena that they were leaving before taking Jeremy's hand.
"Where are we going?" Jeremy asked as Evelyn turned down the radio as they drove over Wickery Bridge.
Her response was immediate, "We're almost there."
After a few minutes, she pulled onto a grassy area next to the water. Jeremy looked over and saw the bridge they were on only moments earlier.
Confusion etched in his voice, he asked, "Why are we here?" She hopped out of the car, not answering his question and Jeremy soon followed in suit.
"Have you been here since the accident?" Evelyn asked already knowing the answer.
"No..." he replied slowly, clearly not understanding the point of being here.
Evelyn sat down at the edge of the water, her hands propping herself up as she looked at the bridge. She patted the spot next to her indicating for Jeremy to sit and he did.
"Before mom and dad died, I was ready to come home. My doctors said that I was healthy, as long as I kept taking my medicine and checked in with them weekly. Mom and Dad were supposed to make sure I kept up with that. I was actually coming to meet Mom, Dad and Elena at the lake house when the accident happened. When I arrived at the hospital and Sheriff Forbes told me what had happened, I was sure that I wouldn't be able to recover. And that's why I left."
She shifted, adjusting herself into a criss cross applesauce position before continuing, "I went back to the school. Back to my doctors. I got a job, I made friends, I got better all over again. I didn't leave because I was better again Jer, I left because I needed to get better again."
Turning to look up at her brother, she spoke, "I know it's hard to get through something like this, it hurts like hell but sometimes you just have to keep going. So yes Jer, I left, but I still felt the pain and hurt, and it sucked, but after awhile it got better. I knew Mom and Dad would have wanted us to be happy and keep going. They wanted you to be the best you could be, so keep drawing, keep listening to music, be inspired, but do not throw your life away by filling your body with drugs. They would not have wanted that."
"I've missed you," he said, giving her an appreciative smile and slinging his arm over her shoulder, "it's been a long four months."
"Oh, I know," she said with a small smirk, looking back up at the bridge where a black crow had appeared.
[3 months earlier]
Evelyn had been working a 14 hour shift and exhaustion was evident on her face. 30 minutes until closing and nobody had come into the bar. Seeing as she was 16 and unable to legally work at the bar itself, she was currently wiping down tables. The owner left her alone knowing that there would most likely be no one else coming.
As she went behind the bar to count, the door opened and the bell rang signaling that someone had come in. A relatively young man walked in, no older than 23. He was slightly built and looked as though he were ready to kill.
His black hair and impossibly black eyes accentuated his facial features. To put it simply, Evelyn thought to herself with a smirk, He was hot. She placed the rag she had been holding down on the counter, "It's almost closing, you have to be out of here in 30."
"I just came for a little-" his voice cut off as though there was something caught in his throat, "Katherine?"
"Uh no, not Katherine, I'm Evelyn." Even though she had never met him, she couldn't help but feel she had had this conversation before. "Sorry but, do I know you?"
"Um, no, no you don't," he answered, flashing a smile far different from the face that he had made when first coming in, "I'm Damon."
"Well, Damon, what can I get you?" she asked wiping the counter with a rag and placing a glass on it. "Bourbon."
After pouring the glass, she began cleaning up some more. "So, who's this Katherine chick?"
"She's...not important right now."
Evelyn raised an eyebrow, "Well obviously she is considering you called me her name."
"It's just an uncanny resemblance."
"Hmm," she replied, "Yeah, right."
"I think I'm going to like you," he said with a smirk.
She smiled knowingly, "I get that a lot."
[3 months later]
Running down the stairs, Evelyn addressed her sister, "Why aren't you ready for the bonfire?"
Elena looked up from the book she was reading, "I changed my mind about going."
"Oh no, no, no, you're going," Evelyn argued, "I'll drag you out on your ass if I have to. Get up, get ready, we're leaving in 15."
The twins had arrived at the party and had immediately joined their best friend, Bonnie Bennett.
"Just admit it, Elena," Bonnie suggested.
"Oh, okay," Elena shrugged, "So he's a little pretty."
"Oh, he is more than a little pretty El," Evelyn countered, "He's smokin', he's got that romance novel stare."
"So where is he?" Bonnie questioned.
"I don't know," Elena shrugged before adding jokingly, "You tell me, you're the psychic one."
"Right, I forgot," Bonnie shook her head, "Give me a sec. Grams says I have to concentrate."
"Wait," Elena interrupted before looking around, "You need a crystal ball." She picked up an empty beer bottle off the ground and picked it up, showing it to them.
Evelyn rolled her eyes, "You two are ridiculous."
Elena laughed a little before handing the bottle to Bonnie. Bonnie took the bottle and her hand touched Elena's causing her to freeze up.
"Bonnie?" Evelyn asked in confusion..
"What is it?" Elena asked, growing slightly alarmed.
"That was weird," Bonnie frowned, "When I touched you, I saw a crow."
"What?"
"A crow. There was fog, a man," Bonnie waved it off. "I'm drunk. It's the drinking. There's nothing psychic about it. Yeah? Ok, I'm gonna get a refill."
"Okay?" Elena replied in confusion as she started walking away, "Bonnie!" She huffed and turned back around to come face to face with Stefan, the boy from the graveyard.
"Hi," Stefan greeted with a smile.
"Hi," Elena replied shyly.
"I did it again, didn't it?" he asked and her smile grew.
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry," he apologized, "You're upset about something."
Evelyn looked between the two in amusement as the pair didn't even acknowledge her existence as they conversed.
"Oh, uh, no," she shook her head, "It's-it's just Bonnie. She's...You know what? Never mind." She smiled up at him, "You're...here."
"I'm here," he confirmed.
"And so am I," Evelyn spoke up from next to them, waving her hands to get their attention. Stefan turned to look at her before looking back at Elena and then doing a double take.
"I'll leave you two love birds to it," Evelyn informed them, wanting to escape the uncomfortable sexual tension as fast as possible.
Evelyn spent the next few hours being questioned by her classmates asking where she had been and how long she planned to stay around this time. Eventually, she managed to slip away and found herself next to Stefan, "Looks like you're having a grand old time."
He glanced over at her, "Your sister went for drinks."
She nodded understandingly, crossing her arms over her chest, "You better not hurt her."
"What?" he asked, turning to her fully and furrowing his eyebrows.
"Let me spell it out for you," she replied, "You break her heart, I break your face."
He raised an eyebrow, "You really care about her."
"Yeah," Evelyn nodded, "I do."
The pair fell silent, until something caught Evelyn's eye. "God, you gotta be kidding me," she muttered before thrusting her drink into a confused Stefan's hand, "Hold this."
"What is it?" he asked as she started to walk away.
She glanced back at him, "My brother."
"The drunk one?" he inquired, looking in the direction she had started heading.
"That would be the one," she confirmed. "Excuse me."
"Need some help?" he asked before she could make her way after him.
"Trust me, you're not going to want to witness this," Evelyn informed him before walking away. "Jeremy!"
"Jeremy!" she shouted again, "Where the hell are you going?"
"I don't want to hear it!" he yelled back as he entered the woods, Evelyn following right behind him.
"Yeah, well, it sucks to suck!" she replied, catching up to him. His foot seemed to get caught on something and he face planted on a relatively big object.
"Vicki?" he gaped, propping himself up. "No! he exclaimed and Evelyn's eyes widened. "Oh my god, it's Vicki!"
"We gotta get her help," Evelyn explained quickly and Jeremy got up. He leaned down and picked the girl up before they all rushed out of the woods.
As soon as they had returned to the party, Evelyn shouted for help. "Somebody help!" she yelled and people turned around to see them.
Matt was the first to really register what was happening, "Vicki, what the hell?" He managed to push his way past everyone, Tyler close behind.
"What happened to her?" Tyler asked once he was in front of them.
"Somebody, call an ambulance!" Matt yelled into the crowd frantically.
"Everybody back up," Tyler demanded, ushering the crowd away, "Give her some space!"
"What happened?" Matt asked.
"It's her neck," Evelyn explained, "Something bit her. She's losing a lot of blood."
"Put this on her neck," some random kid recommended handing Evelyn a cloth, with which she quickly applied pressure to the wound.
"Vicki," Matt tried, "Vicki, come on, open your eyes, look at me."
As soon as the ambulance arrived, Matt and Vicki hopped on and were escorted to the hospital.
Tyler had his hands rested on his hips as he watched the ambulance drive away. He faced Evelyn but did a double take, much like everyone else tonight, "You're back?"
Evelyn smiled tightly, "Just got back today."
He smiled back at her, "It's good to see you again."
"You too," she agreed before making a timely exit.
She found her way to where Bonnie and Elena stood, joining into whatever conversation they had been having prior to her arrival.
"Hey," Bonnie greeted, "We're gonna go to Mainline Coffee, wait for news."
"I gotta take Jeremy home," Elena replied.
"It's fine, I'll deal with him," Evelyn told her, "You go with them. You had a lot to drink as well, and we all know you're a lightweight."
"Look, there's no way I'm psychic. I know that," Bonnie explained and her wary expression caught Evelyn off guard, "But whatever I saw, or I think I saw, I have this feeling..."
Elena frowned, "What is it?"
Bonnie mimicked the girls expression, "That it's just the beginning."
Evelyn furrowed her eyebrows in thought as the two said a quick goodbye. When she had decided to come home, she had no idea things would be like this and she wasn't sure there was any way in hell things could get worse.
She made her way closer to the woods where Jeremy stood, drinking a beer. She leaned against the bench next to him, "How are you?" He remained silent and she looked ahead at the flashing lights, "Friendly reminder that those people in uniforms are the police."
She glanced over to see him taking another sip, "You know people are going to stop giving you breaks, Jer. They don't understand how the fact that our parents are dead still haunts us, they have their own lives, they don't care. The rest of the world has moved on. You need to try, too."
"Should I disappear for months to find myself then?" he countered. "How is what I'm doing any different from what you did?"
"We talked about this," Evelyn frowned, "Mom and Dad wouldn't have wanted this for you." She pushed herself off the bench, "Let's go home."
Dear diary, I couldn't have been more wrong. I thought that I could smile, nod my way through it, pretend like it would all be ok. I had a plan. I wanted to change who I was, create a life as someone new, someone without the past. Without the pain. Someone alive. But it's not that easy. The bad things stay with you. All you can do is be ready for the good. So when it comes, you invite it in, because you need it. I need it. Elena wrote sitting at her bay window.
Evelyn opened her sister's door, "Hey, how are you doing?"
Elena closed her journal and looked up at her sister, smiling, "A lot better."
"Sleepover?"
"Sleepover."
And with that, the two sisters laid in Elena's bed, not realizing that their lives were about to change forever, they closed their eyes and drifted off into sleep.