⌠ 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙁𝙊𝙐𝙍𝙏𝙀𝙀𝙉 ⌡
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John Gilbert had told Rory to go to bed, telling her that he'd explain tomorrow. Rory knew that he was hiding something, and both Elena and Stefan were definitely in on it, but there was nothing she could do—she was way too tired to argue and she just wanted a good night's rest. So, she told them that she'd retire to bed and talk to them in the morning. Now, at about 9 am, she was sitting at the dining table on her own with a cup of coffee in hand.
Her laptop was open beside her, her eyes skimming through the reading material that was emailed by her lecturer. She paused as Elena descended from the staircase. "Good morning," Rory greeted. Elena paused in her steps, eyes flickering towards her older twin sitting in front of her. She swallowed nervously. Rory raised an eyebrow, taking in her unsure demeanour. "Everything okay?"
Elena bit her lip, before sliding into the chair across from her. "Rory, I have something to tell you—"
"Does it have something to do with our tool bag uncle asleep in the guest room?" Rory interjected. "If it's about the fact that he's probably going to disappear after being a shithead, then don't bother; I already know."
"Rory, no," Elena shook her head. "It's, um... it's something else. Something about our parents," Elena paused as Rory took another sip of her coffee. Rory gestured for her to go on. "Rory, our parents weren't our real parents."
Rory set the cup of coffee on the table calmly.
"Is this your idea of some sick joke?" Rory asked.
"I'm... I'm telling you the truth. We were adopted—"
"Don't," Rory intervened. "If you're going to tell me what I think you're saying—"
"John is our father," Elena finished.
Silence befell the dining room. Rory pursed her lips as her hands clenched into tight fists at her side. She could feel her nails digging into her palms, piercing through her skin. Elena fidgeted in her seat nervously. "How long have you known?"
"Last year," Elena confessed.
"Fuck you," Rory spat, pushing herself into a standing position.
"Rory, please—"
"If you touch me, I will kill you," Rory snarled, whipping towards her sister as she attempted to reach out. Elena immediately backed off, holding her hands up in surrender. Rory swallowed, finally registering her harsh words. She let out a shaky breath. "You've known since last year and you never bothered to tell me."
"It wouldn't be good for you, Rory..." Elena whispered. "You were finally going to therapy—"
"Elena, I'm doing better. I came back here because I was doing better. On the first day I arrived in itself John was here, and you didn't even think to mention that he's our real dad?" Rory gave her an incredulous look. "Don't you dare pin it on my mental health, because it's not my fault. It was just you being irresponsible."
"Rory, you were never a fan of John as a person—"
"Neither were you!" Rory talked over her. She pursed her lips. "Our real mother. Do you know her?" she asked. Elena kept quiet. "Because you obviously had the time to figure out that we were adopted, which probably meant that your Sherlock Holmes ass probably tried to find her, right?"
"Rory, you have to promise me that you won't freak out—"
"I will promise that if you do not tell me I am getting into my car and leaving this house and I'm never coming back," Rory responded. Elena pursed her lips, running a hand through her hair. "Tell me, Elena. You owe me this."
"Her name is Isobel," Elena finally said. Rory clenched her jaw. "She was Alaric's ex-wife."
"I think I'm going to be sick," Rory mumbled as she covered her mouth as tears gathered at her eyes. Her head was spinning, and she felt like everything she knew about herself had fallen into pieces around her. She crouched on the floor, letting out sharp, short breaths as she tried to calm the pounding in her chest.
"Rory..." Elena's voice sounded like white noise in her ears as her hearing went fuzzy, her eyes squeezing shut. She felt her sister's hand fall on her shoulder, and Rory roughly pushed her away. "Rory, I'm so sorry."
"Aurora?" John's voice came from the doorway. Rory felt her ears pop as her eyes peeled open slowly, her head turning to face John. Rory scowled at the older man. Realisation dawned in John's face as he attempted to walk towards her. "Aurora, before you get angry—"
"Don't," Rory demanded as she pushed herself into a standing position. "Don't you dare talk to me. Don't you dare say my name."
"I did it to protect you," John pleaded.
"Everyone in this fucking family thinks I need protecting!" Rory shouted. "I'm not some fucking China doll—I am a human being! I am capable of making my own decisions. And I am so deathly tired of all of you trying to save me from myself just because I have a mental illness. I don't need saving; I don't need all of you to play hero," Rory fumed. "You say you want to protect me, but you're all so fucking selfish. You didn't want to "protect" me. You just didn't want to deal with the consequences from when I would inevitably find out. So screw you."
"What the hell is going on?" Jenna suddenly voiced from the doorway, Alaric standing behind her. Rory swallowed at the ashen look on Alaric's face as he realised what was happening. "What the hell is he doing here?"
"You know, I'm, uh... probably just going to take off," Alaric hesitantly said.
Rory clenched her jaw as Alaric turned to leave. "I'm still confused here," Jenna frowned.
"I decided to come back and stay here for awhile," John responded.
"Like hell," Rory spat venomously.
"Not here, you're not," Jenna added.
"Actually, you can't stop me from living here,"
"Actually, I can, as legal guardian,"
Rory scoffed out loud. Jenna turned to face the teenager with a confused glance. Elena swallowed thickly. "Sister dearest, do you want to explain the situation, or would you rather me do the honours?" Rory asked, sarcasm and venom dripping from her tone. "Actually, never mind. I'll do it. John is our biological dad, Jenna."
"What?!" Jenna exclaimed, pure shock written on her face.
"I hate this fucking town," Rory snatched her coat from the couch, storming out of the house. She didn't even listen to Elena and Jenna's calls, begging her to return.
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A choked sob left Rory's lips as she pressed her back against the brick wall of the alley, palms pressed against her eyes. Her hands were still trembling, and so was her body. As soon as she left the Gilbert household, she had sprinted as fast as she could, stopping only when she couldn't take it anymore. She rubbed at her eyes, attempting to soothe the pain in her chest. She felt like she had no tears left to cry anymore, and her chest ached from heaving so much.
She shakily reached for the cigarette pack in her coat, placing the unlit stick between her lips. She hastily lit the edge, taking a deep inhale. She rested the back of her head against the wall, letting herself rest against the gravel floor as she tilted her head up to look at the sky.
Your uncle is your biological father and your biological mother is your aunt's current boyfriend's ex-wife.
Her life was a fucking joke. She angrily kicked her leg out, slamming her foot against the wall in front of her. In a childish, frustrated tantrum, she started kicking against the brick wall. She ended up with aching toes and sliding halfway down the wall. She wiped the tears that started to fall yet again, mumbling profanities under her breath.
Profanity at the world, at herself, at her life, at her sister.
"Fuck this fucking town," Rory whispered as she stubbed her cigarette against the ground. She tossed it across the alley. "Fuck Mystic Falls."
"Rory?" Tyler Lockwood questioned, pausing by the entrance of the alley. Rory turned to look at him. Tyler's eyebrows pulled together into a concerned frown as he walked towards her, taking in her bedraggled state. Rory's eyes were bloodshot and swollen, dried tear tracks down her cheeks. "What the hell happened to you?"
"Nothing," Rory lied, turning to face the wall. "Life is just ass sometimes."
"Tell me about it," Tyler muttered. He swallowed after a second, "I'm... I'm sorry to spring this on you, but have you seen my uncle Mason lately?"
Rory pushed herself into a standing position, her knees wobbly. "Sorry, Ty. I haven't," Rory mumbled as she pushed past him. "Then again, I could have known exactly what happened to him, but I can't remember because my memories were compelled away. Again."
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By the time Rory had gotten back home, she reeked of alcohol and looked a lot less pretty. She swung open the door, feeling her head spin as she stumbled into the house. John and Elena both left the kitchen, concerned frowns on their faces as they saw the state of the older twin. Rory mumbled drunkenly to herself as she tugged off her coat, letting it fall to the ground once she couldn't spot the coat rack.
"Aurora, where have you been?" John asked.
"Stop calling me that," Rory slurred as she shoved past him towards the kitchen. "My name is Rory. Actually, don't call me that either," she yanked open the fridge door, grabbing the jug of cold water. "Don't call me anything at all. In fact, why don't you do us all a favour and drop fucking dead?"
"Rory!" Elena exclaimed, aghast at her words.
John swallowed thickly at her harsh words. "Aurora, I came here to protect you and your sister,"
"Yet you somehow made everything worst," Rory deadpanned. "How do you do it? It must be hereditary."
"We're family. I came back here to make sure that you don't fall into Klaus' hands—"
"Oh, so he knows about vampires?" Rory gave Elena a frazzled look, "John Gilbert, our tool bag, annoying uncle, knew about vampires before I did. Even funnier—he knows about Klaus. You can't make this shit up." Rory shook her head, a sardonic smile on her face as she filled a glass of water. She then added, "And you're not family, John. You may be my real dad—because, of course you are. Everything in my life at this point is a punchline to some fucked up joke—but you will never be my family."
"I understand that," John finally said. He let out a sigh before holding his palm out, a bracelet resting in his hand. "This was your mother's."
"Isobel?" Rory rolled her eyes.
"No. Your mother. Miranda," John corrected. "I remember her wearing it when she was young. I found it in a box, with things that your dad left me. Here. It's yours now."
Rory didn't make a move to take the jewellery from John's grip. He placed it on the counter with a sad look.
"Miranda and Grayson were your parents, Elena, Rory. And I know I'm nothing to you. You have no reason to believe or trust me. I've done so many horrible things, but when you lost your parents, I lost my brother; I lost my family. I lost my way. I know that I probably won't ever make things right with you, but I'm going to do everything I can to protect you two and protect this family," John finally said.
He gave Rory one last fleeting look before he turned around, leaving out the front door. Rory quickly wiped the tear that trailed past her cheek, clenching her jaw.
"Rory," Elena said quietly. "I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am."
"Then don't," Rory cut her off. She clasped the glass of water in her hand, turning to walk up the stairs. "Just don't say anything at all. I can't even look at you."
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Rory was wrapped in a thick, fluffy blanket as she stared at her laptop screen. The Skype app was pulled up, Nik's face shown in the small box in front of her, fuzzy and slightly unclear. She had called him as soon as she shut her bedroom door, requiring comfort from someone that wasn't involved in what was going on in Mystic Falls.
"Are you feeling better?" Nik inquired, referring to the fact that Rory had downright sobbed over the call for the past half an hour, and now was simply resting in a blanket burrito.
"No," Rory responded truthfully. "But I will be."
"Of course, you will," Nik smiled in a reassuring manner. "Because you'll be able to get through this. You're strong, you're full of light. You'll be alright."
"I feel like I don't know what's true about my life anymore, Nik," Rory confessed quietly. "Everyone I love has lied to me. Nothing that I thought I knew about myself is true. I feel lost and alone."
"You won't be alone. You have me, remember?"
"Yeah, Nik," Rory smiled. "I'll have you, at least."
A/N: I ACTUALLY FEEL SO BAD RN DAWG LIEJKKDSJS THE WAY SHE'S GOING TO HAVE SOOOO MANY TRUST ISSUES AFTER FINDING OUT ABOUT KLAUS. did not think this story was going to be this dark sided