A/N: If you want to get in your feels, listen to Let It All Go by RHODES ft. Birdy before you read this chapter ;)
- - -
Ella's P.O.V.
When I woke, Cain's warm embrace was gone.
The room was still dark, leading me to believe I hadn't slept past dawn. This didn't surprise me due to the fact that I'd slept enough in the past twenty-four hours to get me through the next three days.
I sat up in the bed to see that the fire in the fireplace had burnt out, only glowing embers remaining in the hearth.
The bedroom door was just barely open as I got out of the bed and wandered over to it, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I did so.
I opened the door slowly to see the living room was barely illuminated by the hauntingly blue glow of the coming dawn.
My guess was that it wasn't even five o'clock yet.
"Surprising to see you up so early."
I turned to see Cain standing at the counter, one arm crossed over his bare chest and the other raising a stainless steel cup to his lips.
"Are you though?" I asked, walking over to him. "I think I've gotten my fair share of sleep for a while."
I made my way next to where he stood, reaching for the coffeemaker that sat on the counter.
"You're up early too," I noted.
"I don't sleep."
Oh... right.
I found some coffee grounds and filters in the cabinet above the coffeemaker and I filled the reservoir with water before adding the filter and coffee.
I pulled out a coffee mug and went to the refrigerator for cream out of instinct as Cain watched closely. I opened the door to see that it was completely bare.
"Is there sugar?" I asked him.
He shook his head.
"There's nothing here. We had to make a stop on the way here to get the ingredients for the soup. That's why Daniel went into town for supplies."
I sighed, coming to the conclusion that black coffee was better than no coffee. I would just have to drink it slow.
It finished brewing and I poured it into the mug, relishing in the smell.
I held the ceramic mug for a few moments as I let it warm my hands.
"How long are we here for?" I asked.
Cain finished his drink before answering.
"I'm making arrangements for you to leave today."
I felt my heart sink into my stomach as he said this, but I couldn't find the words to protest.
"I know I said that I wouldn't leave you alone again," he started, "but you're better off away from me and all of this."
I felt myself let out a long breath as I stared at the coffee mug in my hands, now feeling like it was burning against my palms rather than warming them up.
"Where am I going?" I asked him, my voice shaking.
He peered down into his cup as he spoke.
"Wherever you'd like to."
I took a deep breath and sighed.
"I'm assuming you're not coming with me."
Cain shook his head.
"This is how it has to be, Ella."
"But, Cain-"
"Stop."
He put his cup down and stood in front of me. Placing his hands on either side of me on the countertop, Cain left nowhere for my attention to be except on him.
"That thing was after me. So was the man who attacked you before that. I'm not going to risk it a third time."
I gulped as he looked at me with an intense stare.
"Please don't make this harder than it has to be. I don't want you to leave anymore than you want to go, but this is what is best."
For a moment, as Cain stared at me with those pleading lavender eyes, I tucked away my emotions.
He was right.
This was what was best and I had known it all along.
"You've got a bright future, Ella. I can't let myself be what dulls it," he said, backing away.
Cain began to walk away from me before I spoke.
"Just answer one question for me."
He turned his head in my direction, giving me his attention.
"How long have you known that we couldn't stay together?"
I saw him take a deep breath before he turned away again.
"Since I held you while you cried yourself to sleep last night," he said.
Everything I wanted to say was lodged in my throat, unable to be spoken.
With a heavy heart, I watched him walk away. He closed the door gently behind him as he left the cabin.
I couldn't bring myself to follow after him.
I spent the rest of the morning alone packing my suitcase, which I found under the bed.
I changed into my own clothes but packed Cain's t-shirt away in my luggage. He wouldn't figure out it was gone until I was, so it didn't weigh on my conscience to take it. I wanted to take as much of him home with me as I could.
I rolled the suitcase into the living room when I heard voices outside.
The front door opened and Daniel stepped in with two, large brown paper bags in his arms.
"It's okay," he said to me sarcastically. "You can stand right there, I've got it."
He set the bags down on the counter with a huff.
"I knew you had it in you," I told him.
Jai walked through the front door, holding another bag.
"That's the last of it," he said. "That should hold us over until we leave tonight."
"Where are you going?" I asked him.
Daniel looked at me with a smug smile.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
Jai looked at Daniel warily before he turned to me, his expression remaining stoic.
"I'm taking you to the airport in a few minutes," he said. "I've already bought the ticket."
I nodded, feeling my stomach twist at the thought.
Jai reached out and grabbed my suitcase and took it outside with him.
As he went out, Cain came in.
We exchanged glances for a moment before Daniel coughed awkwardly.
"I'm gonna go pretend like Jai needs help," he said walking out the front door quickly.
It wasn't until a few seconds had gone by after the door shut that Cain spoke.
"Do you need anything before you go?"
I shook my head.
"Are you sure about this?" I asked, hoping that he was second guessing himself as much as I was.
To my dismay, Cain nodded.
"I'm sure."
When I said nothing, he walked over to where I stood and pulled me into his chest.
I felt tears brim my eyes as I closed them and sank into the embrace.
I paid special attention to the rhythm of the rise and fall of his chest with every breath he took, remembering how he smelt and what his touch felt like, gentle but protecting.
"Don't let the memory of me keep you from letting someone else love you," he said, his voice just barely above a whisper. "You deserve so much love. I'm only sorry I wasn't the one who could give it to you."
"What do you call this then?" I asked him.
Cain pulled away and took my face in his hands.
He sighed as he looked into my eyes.
"This wasn't love, Ella. It was hope."
I couldn't muster up the strength to disagree with him as long as his gaze held mine.
Against the better judgement of any sane individual, I pushed myself up onto my tiptoes and kissed him.
I took the short moment I had to remember the taste of his lips.
He pulled away slowly and my eyes opened.
The blueish hue that had invaded his normally lavender irises surprised me.
Before I could say anything, the front door opened.
I turned to see Jai walk in, stopping when he saw Cain and I.
"It's time to go," he said.
I turned back to Cain who nodded.
"He's right."
I felt a sharp pain in my chest as he backed away from me.
I began to follow Jai out of the front door, turning one last time to look at Cain who followed us out onto the porch.
"Don't forget about me," I told him, forcing a smile.
Cain didn't return the smile, his expression remaining stoic.
"I don't think I'll be able to."
His words made the walk to the car that much harder.
Daniel opened the passenger side door for me and I slid into the car.
"Check your suitcase whenever you get to the airport," he said in a low voice.
I nodded as he smiled and gave me a high five.
"See ya, kid."
I laughed.
"Bye, Daniel."
He closed the car door as Jai got into the driver's seat and started the car.
Cain had disappeared from the front porch by the time I had garnered up the courage to look over that way again.
All I saw was Daniel walking back towards the cabin, waving at us as he did so.
I waved back before we drove onto a gravel path into the tree line, leaving the cabin behind.
I kept my gaze outside my window, turned away from Jai so he couldn't see the tears in my eyes that threatened to fall.
God, I hate goodbyes.
Part of me wished that I had never followed those men to the cabin after my grandfather's funeral. It wished that I had left my nose out of where it didn't belong and kept my head on straight.
I should have never left with Cain. I should have gone home with Zak like I was supposed to.
Too often in my life, I found myself regretting the moments I stepped outside of the box. This was one of those times.
I wished I could take back those past few weeks.
But you would have never met Cain, a voice in the back of my mind reminded me.
I drew in a deep breath.
I have to live without him now. What would be the difference in never having met him? I would still be in the same place I am now, just a little less heartbroken.
A tear fell from my eyes and I immediately wiped it away.
"Don't hate him for this," Jai said.
I turned to him, feigning confusion.
"What do you mean?"
He gave me a side-eyed look before returning his attention to the road.
"I understand why he did it," I said sighing. "It needed to be done."
The look on Jai's face as I said this made me believe he didn't agree.
"You don't think so, do you?" I asked him.
Jai was silent for a few moments as we pulled out of the forest onto an empty highway.
"I think the vast majority of relationships between two people who love each other can be worked out," he said.
This response wasn't necessarily an answer to my question.
"Cain and I didn't love each other," I reminded him. "I barely knew him."
"Cain isn't easy to get to know. He's barely likable," Jai said. "But you would have found a way eventually."
I gave Jai a hard look.
"You don't know half of the things that stood in the way of a relationship with him," I said, crossing my arms.
"I'm assuming you're referring to the fact that he couldn't have sex with you," Jai said.
I turned to him quickly, shocked.
"I helped him bury the bodies of the women he killed," Jai said. "It wasn't hard to figure out."
"You knew about that but you still tried to convince me to stay when I found out what he was," I said, astounded.
He took a deep breath, keeping his eyes on the road.
"I'm one of the few people who is convinced he's more Lycanthrope than Vampire. I always thought you could help bring it out so everyone else could see it."
I looked back out the window.
"It doesn't matter anymore," I whispered.
Nothing more was said as we drove for a while longer. It wasn't until we reached the airport that the pit in my stomach deepened.
It was a small airport, clearly meant to only flight out short distances.
Jai pulled into the parking lot and got out to help me with my luggage.
"You'll fly into New Delhi and from there you'll be on your way to Dulles International," he said, handing me my ticket.
I nodded and took the ticket from him.
"Thank you."
Jai pulled my luggage behind him as he walked me into the airport. We got up to the security checkpoint and he stopped.
"This is as far as I can go," he said. "You'll be good from here?"
I nodded.
"I've flown by myself before," I said, subtly reminding him that I wasn't a child.
He smiled and handed me my suitcase.
"Good luck with everything, Ella."
I took a deep breath and nodded.
"You too, Jai."
He shoved his hands in his pockets as I walked away towards the line to go through security.
After making it through, I turned around and looked behind me.
Jai was gone.
I drew in a deep breath.
It wasn't long after that that I was boarding the plane. Reminded of what Daniel had told me before I left, I opened my suitcase when I sat down and saw the sheet of paper that had been placed on top of my things.
'In case of emergencies' was scribbled next to a phone number.
On the opposite side of the paper was written, 'You're welcome, from Dan'.
I laughed under my breath before I heard someone clear their throat. Realizing that my suitcase was in the seat of the woman who was supposed to sit next to me, I apologized before standing up to put it into the overhead storage area.
I looked back down at the sheet of paper in my hands before shoving it in my jacket pocket.
The captain came over the speakers and I took a deep breath, feeling the heaviness in my chest return.
This was going to be a long trip home.
- - -
I landed in D.C. sometime in the early morning.
I was as jetlagged as I could be, especially given that Kashmir was around five and a half hours ahead of the east coast.
Hailing a taxi, I gave the driver the address and he was off.
Ignoring the monuments that whirled past the cab window, I looked down at the number on the sheet of crinkled paper for the thousandth time. I had long since memorized it.
The driver knocked me out of my daze, informing me that we had arrived.
I looked out the window to see the familiar ranch-style home and leaned forward to pay him for the drive.
The cab was gone as soon as I stepped out with my luggage, leaving me standing on the sidewalk of a dark street.
I walked up to the porch, my suitcase trialing behind me. I lifted up the vinyl cap on top of the porch railing where Zak left his spare key, exactly the same spot it had been hidden in our childhood home.
I unlocked the front door and walked inside the dark house.
A light came on in the kitchen as I shut the front door behind me.
I turned around to see Zak staring at me in shock.
"What are you doing here?"
My jaw fell open.
Did he just speak?
Now it was my turn to stare in shock.
"How long have you been able to speak?" I asked, baffled at the sound of his voice.
I saw him take a few deep breaths.
"You should not have come," he said, his hands shaking. "Why are you here?"
My eyebrows furrowed as I still tried to wrap my head around the fact that he was using his voice. My parents never did vocal therapy with him. To my knowledge, he had never learned to speak.
Before I could respond, the front door swung open behind me, slamming against the wall and scaring me half to death.
I turned around quickly to see a tall, thin man with the blondest hair I'd ever seen.
"You must be Ella," he said extending his hand. "It's nice to finally meet you."
I kept my hands by my side, staring at him in confusion as he spoke with a heavy German accent.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"Oh! How rude of me," he said, placing a hand over his chest.
"My name is Dr. Hans Weber."
I felt the air leave my lungs violently, almost bringing me to my knees.
"You're the doctor," I whispered, backing away.
He smiled, exposing brilliantly white teeth. His sharp, extended canines made my heart palpate.
"I heard you've been looking for me."
I turned back to face Zak, wondering why this man was standing in his doorway.
Suddenly, a cloth-covered hand slipped over my face, pinching my nose so I had no option but to take a deep breath through my mouth.
I pulled at the man's arms with my hands, clawing at his forearm with my nails.
A sweet, thick aroma entered my lungs and I suddenly found myself fighting for air.
All strength I had began to dissipate.
Darkness began to close in on my vision as my ears rang loudly.
The man let go of me, letting me fall to the ground.
I couldn't move my limbs as I laid there, staring up at him as he bent down to look me in the face.
"Sleep tight, don't let the dead ones bite."
Fear was the last thing I remember feeling before I felt nothing at all, slipping from consciousness.
- - -