Chapter Ten
I smiled as I woke up with the sun beaming in my face. I rolled over to come face to face with—nothing. I sat up, looking around my dorm. "Stefan?" I called out. I glanced again, our mess of take out food had been cleaned up. So he just left?
I grabbed my phone on my nightstand, checking all zero messages. What the hell, Stefan? Who comes over uninvited with dinner? Flirts with a girl all night, stays for a movie, cuddles her and then leaves without a word so she wakes up alone? Oh, yeah. My friggin husband.
I hadn't spoken to him in a week until he showed up last night. The only thing we even talked about over delicious Thai food was saving Bonnie and Kai being on the loose. And how Kai was MIA probably because he was plotting everyone's demise while getting used to the 21st century.
Our only other conversation was three days after we has kissed... and kissed. It was a terribly awkward texting situation though. Nothing but small talk. It
turns out he left me that day to go back to Atlanta, which where he was when he finally decided to reach out to me. And that was the only interesting thing we talked about. He was only in Atlanta to finally finish Damon's car, which was going to be Damon's Christmas present. He told me he was getting the blue Camaro shipped to Mystic Falls because he couldn't drive both cars back. Cue dry laugh. So yeah, that's what he had to talk about. And I didn't say anything of my own until I said I had to go to work to put in volunteer hours at the hospital. Since then it was radio silence until he showed up yesterday at my dorm room at 7pm. We've officially been married for... eleven days as of today, and we've made no progress in the last ten.
***
I let myself into Elena's house, pausing when I saw Damon at her dining room table. I held back a chuckle as I realized he was sleeping. A bunch of books spread out in front of him.
I walked over to the table, putting my own finished books down. Then I crossed my arms, staring at Damon's back wondering if I should wake him or just leave. I had a few things I wanted to do today. I could talk to him and Elena later. Hmmm. Maybe I'll wake her.
"Are you watching me sleep?" Damon asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.
"No. I'm watching you drool all over Ric's textbooks, and considering you're already on his bad side..." I trailed off teasingly.
"I don't drool," he said and I scoffed. He sat up, turning to look at me and wiped his mouth of said drool. "Hmm. Oh, well... What time is it?"
"Time for Ric to get a new reference library," I stated. "I read the two books I assigned to me. Did you finish yours?"
"Book five," he said.
"Oooh. Over achiever," I smirked. I went into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. "Want coffee?"
"With bourbon."
"Does Elena have any bourbon here?"
"I brought some last night when I came over with more books. It's in the cabinet closest to the fridge," he told me and I nodded.
"Gotcha. You take cream and sugar right?"
"I'm a sane person, aren't I?" He smirked, ruffling his messy dark locks as I shot him a pointed look.
"Morning," Elena croaked. We both looked to see her coming into the room with Maverick. She looked exhausted and like she was sleep walking. She was in grey pajama pants with ducks and a black t-shirt that suspiciously looked like it belonged to Damon. I glanced at him briefly and he caught my eye. He shook his head as if answering my question and I squinted at him, unsure if I believed him.
"Hey," Damon finally greeted her. She walked over to him and he sat up, taking my nephew from her. Then she leaned down and kissed Damon's cheek.
"Hi, Kenzie," she mumbled, walking into the kitchen where I was. I watched her open the fridge, grabbing a carton of milk.
"Hey, sis," I said. "Late night."
"Again," she groaned. "We've been looking all night, every night, reading. I swear I haven't found anything that even remotely resembles an ascendant."
"Well, we haven't looked hard enough. Let's get to it," Damon said, tapping the small stack of books none of us had gotten to yet.
"After breakfast," Elena whined.
"Okay, okay," Damon agreed.
"Can I ask you guys a question?" I spoke up, turning my back to the coffee I finally got together. "So Stefan and I haven't like talked much... At all. Since we kissed that day... Then last night he shows up with food, we watched a movie and fell asleep on it. But I remember him cuddling me. And then I woke up this morning alone... So just wondering, should I buy him something for Christmas?" I asked them, scrunching up my nose and furrowing my brows in confusion. I stared at them both helplessly. "Yes... no?" I questioned as they both remained silent.
"Yes," Elena said at the same time as Damon's, "no. For what?"
"Thanks guys," I said sarcastically.
"Did anything besides cuddling take place last night?" My twin asked me and I shook my head.
"No," I answered. "Hell, we barely talked. We both mentioned we hadn't found anything in the books about how to save Bonnie. Then I turned on a movie. We sat on my bed, and then I was sleeping in his arms, laying on his chest... woke up cold and disappointed."
"In his defense, I'm sure you would've woken up that way if you had sex and he stayed," Damon smirked devilishly. I gave him a dirty look, flipping him off.
"No. He's great in bed—" I was saying.
"Are you sure? Hasn't it been awhile?" Damon teased and I rolled my eyes.
"Shut up," I spat, turning around as the coffee maker beeped to tell me the half a pot was done brewing. I grabbed two mugs then stopped. "Want any coffee, Elena?" I asked.
"Please," she said. "Three sugars. And hazelnut creamer. In the fridge."
"Okay. Now again, do I buy him a gift?" I asked.
"Again. Noooo," Damon dragged it out. "He's acting stupid again. You don't avoid or ignore the girl who wants to be with you unless you don't want to be with her. He can't just come over one day with food and then ditch you in the middle of the night and expect a Christmas gift. No, forget him. Get Damon two gifts."
I rolled my eyes, chuckling. "No. I already got you a gift. You're going to haaaaate it!" I grinned. I then walked over his cup of coffee, "bourbon with your coffee."
"Thank you the worst secret Santa ever," Damon smiled widely at me.
"How come we're not doing secret Santa this year? Has anyone spoken to Caroline, the group's fun organizer?" Elena frowned.
"Nope. Not talking to her," I stated. "Back to me. Do I get Stefan something or not. Seriously. Like what if he gets me something?"
"Then he proves he still cares cause the rest of his actions have said otherwise," Damon said.
"I thought you supported Stenzie getting back together," Elena pouted. "Thanks," she added as I handed her, her cup.
"Kenzie and I already spoke about this weeks ago. I said I support her being happy. I will support whatever guy she wants to pursue and wants to pursue her. Stefan's barely pursuing," Damon retired and I sighed. He had a point.
"I think you should get Stefan something anyways. Your relationship is awkward now so I feel like a little gift will help break that tension up and let him know you're still willing to work things out. And with the magic of the holidays... You guys will get the push you need to finally work it out," Elena smiles blissfully.
Damon snorted, "what type of fairytale is that?"
I laughed, pouring myself a cup of coffee. "She might be right though," I admitted. "Plus I feel like he's going to get me something just cause it's a Stefan-y thing to do. Like hey, I know we're not together right now but I still care about you so I got you something. And he probably won't care if I don't get him something but I don't want to feel uncomfortable and make things more weird between us when I say I didn't get him anything."
"You're overthinking it," Damon said. "Have you even thought about your other boyfriends?"
"Enzo I'm still mad at. Tyler is dating Liv. Neither one is my boyfriend," I said, rolling my eyes.
"What if they both get you gifts? And then Stefan gets you a gift?" Damon gasped dramatically. "Then you can pick out which boy you want based off of who bought you the best thing."
"Essentially buying her affection," Elena said, "which is wrong on so many levels. She's not picking a guy based off a material thing."
"What if it's sentimental?" Damon retorted.
"Then Stefan has an upper hand," Elena argued.
"What? No," Damon said. "Tyler has known her the longest. And Enzo, he's very passionate when he wants something or like someone. I haven't seen you two together but from what Elena and Ric have told me... And how jealous Stefan is about it, I say team Kenzo has a good chance."
My phone ringing interrupted the fight. I answered the call, "Hey, Ric."
"Have you seen Jo?" He asked immediately
"No, not since yesterday at the hospital," I said, frowning in concern. Alaric sighed on the other line while I looked at Elena and Damon.
"Why?" Damon asked loudly.
"Because she's missing. We had plans last night. She said she'd be here in an hour. Never turned up," he informed us all.
"We're on our way," I stated then I hung up.
"I can't. I have a baby. And if Jo is missing... can't be good news. I need to keep Mav safe," Elena said.
"Right," Damon said, standing up with the baby. He then walked around the table to place my nephew on Elena's lap. "Ready then, kitten?" He asked.
"Yup. Elena I'm taking the coffee mug to go," I said as I walked towards her. I kissed her cheek then Maverick's before following Damon out of her apartment.
***
"So I asked around the hospital. No one's seen Jo since last night at the ER. A bunch of stab victims came in, and one of them's missing, as well," I updated Ric and Damon.
"It was Kai. Jo knew he'd come after her, and he did," Ric sighed.
"Not to give you boyfriend lessons or anything, but if you knew Jo's whackjob brother was out on the loose and after her, don't you think that keeping an eye on her would have been a smart move?" Damon asked.
"And what would you have had me do, Damon, ask you to compel Jo to stay put?" Ric quipped angrily.
"Guys, if Kai has Jo, we need a plan," I stated, walking around Damon to take a seat next to Ric on his couch.
"Plan's easy. Find Kai, kill Kai," Damon said with a tight lipped grin. "And he's probably in Mystic Falls where vampires can't get in. So I'll call Donovan."
I rolled my eyes, pulling out my phone. I debated on texting Stefan. Maybe someone should update him on what's going on. My phone buzzed in my hand before I could even type out a message. It was a text from Enzo. I sighed, opening it. "I'm meeting Matt because he said he had info on that Monique girl and that Sarah Salvatore story," it read.
Oh no. Maybe I really needed to talk to Stefan. "Why would Matt help you?" I responded to Enzo, playing it cool.
"Don't know. I don't trust it. Which is why I'm telling you my whereabouts in case something happens to me and you know who to blame."
"Well, where are you guys meeting?" I asked.
"Tripp's torture warehouse. I'm here now. Call me in an hour. If I don't answer or get back to you in an hour, come save me, will ya?"
"Okay," I agreed. "Be careful. Matt's angry. It could be a trap. But please don't hurt him, I'd hate to have to come find you just to kill you myself."
"Really? Matt over me?"
"I'm not leaving my nephew without a dad."
"I won't hurt him, love," he texted. I didn't respond after that. I was hoping they would play nice because I had a lot on my plate already with Jo missing.
"...Just think sociopathic Ryan Reynolds," I heard Damon on the phone.
"Haven't seen him," Matt said on the other line.
"Grunge vibe, annoying as hell."
"Still no idea."
"Well, if he has half a brain, he will be hiding where vampires can't find him. So in between levels of Mario Kart, can you and little baby Gilbert maybe keep an eye out?" Damon asked.
"Yeah, got it. If we see him, we'll let you know," Matt practically grunted before hanging up.
"Well, Bevis and Butthead are on the lookout. Anyone else brimming with confidence?" Damon asked, joining the room again.
I frowned, sending a quick text to Jeremy. "Matt is up to no good. Do not get roped into it, Jer. Kai is on the loose. Peoples lives are at stake. We really need you guys to keep a look out. And also, I want you to watch Matt's back and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. And neither of you get yourselves killed," I sent.
"I mean, this just doesn't make sense," Ric was saying when I tuned back in.
"What could possibly not make sense about magical twins absorbing into one another?" Damon asked.
"Listen. Jo needs her magic for the merge to work, ok, and she got rid of that back in 1994."
"Jo doesn't have magic because it's stuffed in a knife that was stolen and hidden by yours truly. Kai won't find it."
"Yeah, unless Kai does a locator spell."
"It's impossible," I told Ric. "Kai was born without the ability to do magic."
"If the only way to restore Jo's magic is to reunite her with that knife, Kai's gonna come for it," Ric said and I nodded.
"Ric's right. Even if Kai can't do the locator spell, he's gonna make it his mission to find it," I sighed.
"Kai finds it. Great. Love it," Damon shrugged.
"Why aren't you more concerned?" I frowned, crossing my arms and narrowing my eyes on the blue eyes man. He slowly began to smirk. "You have the knife, don't you?"
"Mhm. The knife is right where I hid it," he said, grabbing a painting off of Ric's wall. He placed it against his chest, facing us. Then he pulled the top to reveal a hidden compartment. "Tada!"
"It's empty," I growled. Damon looked inside and frowned. "He's already got it."
"Well, thats not good," Damon said. I shook my head at him, ready to say something smart when my phone started ringing. Caroline.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Kenzie!" Caroline said frantically. "It's my mom. I'm at the hospital. Can you and Elena please get here?" She asked.
My eyes widened and I nodded my head, "yeah. Of course. I'm on the way."
"Thank you," she said softly. I hung up and stood up quickly. I met Damon's concerned face.
"Liz is in the hospital. I have to go. You guys work out a plan and keep me posted," I said.
"Okay," Ric replied.
"Go. Make sure she alright. Call me and let me know what's going on," Damon said and I nodded.
"I will," I promised.
***
"Hey! Over there," Elena said pointing. I looked to see Caroline down a hall. Finally. We both walked over, my twin pushing Maverick in his stroller.
"Hey," Caroline frowned.
"What happened?" I asked her.
"I don't know. She just collapsed. One second, we're decorating, and then the next, she's just on the ground. Maybe she forgot to eat. You know, sometimes, she skips breakfast," Caroline rambled.
"And when was the last time you ate, Caroline, as in fed?" Elena asked.
"Oh, God. Now you sound like Stefan. He just went to go find something to take the edge off," she informed us. Stefan was here? I guess she called him too. But I thought she was still mad at him. "They have her sedated. She's going to be asleep for a while. Can you guys just come and distract me?"
"Of course," Elena said. My twin nodded to a seating area further down the hall. A few benches were there so we sat down.
"How's the search for the new Ascendant thingy?" The blonde asked us.
"Not good. Damon, Kenzie and I have spent over a week looking for something," Elena answered.
"God. Poor Bonnie. Do you think she knows it's Christmas time? You know she never liked being away from us at Christmas," Caroline frowned.
"I don't know. It's probably better that she doesn't know, though," I said.
Caroline nodded before looking solely at Elena and smiling a bit, "So are you and Damon...?"
Elena chuckled, shaking her head. "I know what you're thinking, and no."
"Actually, I was going to say that I think it's great how he's always been there for you when it mattered, you know, through thick and thin, good times and bad times. Maybe I haven't given him enough credit," the blonde said.
"You're clearly malnourished," Elena responded and we all three laughed.
***
I slipped my phone into my pocket. I called Enzo. No answer. Now I was worried about him. And then I called Damon so we could update each other. He said Tyler, Liv, and Luke were working with Kai. Tyler's idea so Liv and Luke don't have to merge and neither die. Damon said the only one he found was Luke who cracked under pressure and told him where Jo was. So Damon and Ric were headed to rhe cemetery to save her.
"If you hurt Enzo, I will hurt you, Matthew," I warned Matt through text. Enzo said give him an hour to call me back. But what if he didn't have an hour? What if something happened to him? In an hour I'd have to go to some sketchy warehouse looking for his body.
I sighed, walking towards Elena who was now outside of Liz's room with Stefan. "Caroline could really use whatever's in that cup," my sister commented on the coffee cup in his hands.
"Hey," I said awkwardly as I joined them.
"Hi," Stefan said. "Um... want some?" He offered me his drink. I shook my head. Elena grimaced on the other side of him at our awkward exchange. I ignored her, turning to look through the window where I could see Liz in her room.
"Is it just me, or does that look really bad for somebody who just fainted?" I asked quietly.
Stefan sighed next to me, turning towards the window too, "That doctor just came over from radiology. I overheard her say 'glioblastoma' so..."
"Glioblastoma?" Elena frowned. "No, but that would mean... what? No. Just no."
"We brought her in a couple of weeks ago after Tripp's guys grabbed here. Doctors ran some tests, and apparently they found something suspicious," my husband said and I gulped.
"No, but that doesn't make sense, Stefan. Caroline would have said something," I replied. I was sure she would've told me if her mom was sick.
"Or maybe her mom hasn't told her yet," Stefan whispered and I shook my head. Oh, my god. This was not good.
"What are we going to—?" My twin was speaking but I flashed over to the doctor coming out of the room.
I placed my hand on the lady's arm. "What's going on with Liz Forbes?" I compelled her as she made eye contact.
"Her recent MRI showed a lesion on her brainstem. We think it's metastasized to her spine," the doctor answered.
My jaw dropped for a moment. Fuck. "C-can you operate?" I questioned.
"If the tumor's already spread, it would be impossible."
"No," I said. "But that would mean..." I trailed off before scoffing in disbelief. This was absolutely unreal. And unfair. Liz was a good woman. Kind and brave. She was amazing. "Does she know?" I asked.
"For a few weeks now, but news like this takes time to digest," the doctor said and I nodded, letting her go. She walked away and I looked over at Stefan and Elena. My sister as devastated as me. What are we supposed to do? I was speechless. I had no clue how to fix this. I mean... we can't fix this.
I refused to walk over to Stefan and Elena. I needed to go outside. Fresh air seemed like a good idea. I mean... do I call Damon? He should be here. They were best friends. Ugh. Caroline doesn't even know. Do we tell her? Or wait for her mom to finally spill the beans?
I took a few deep breaths to calm down. This was not okay. But I didn't need to panic yet. I pulled out my phone and called the only person I felt I could talk to. Because Stefan wasn't an option right now. Not with how weird things were between us. And I didn't want to even think about that. We didn't matter right now. Liz did.
"Kenzie, if you're calling about Kai—" Tyler answered on the fourth ring.
"I'm not," I cut him off, voice shaky.
"Hey. Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah. Totally fine," I lied.
"You don't sound fine. What's going on?" He asked me and I sighed.
"Caroline's mom is in the hospital... She um, she collapsed. And I just found out that she has cancer. Caroline doesn't know yet. And I'm scared... And I didn't know who else I could talk to," I mumbled as tears filled my eyes.
"Oh, my god," Tyler said.
"I know. I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have said this over the phone nor told you before someone told Caroline, but... I'm freaking out," I said.
"Hey, hey. No. Thank you for calling me. Um... you don't sound good, Kenzie. Are you by yourself?"
"Um... I stepped outside alone for some air. Now I just want to cry. And I need a hug because I'm feeling really overwhelmed right now."
"Well... um, did you, uh, call Stefan? He asked.
I sniffled, "he's here... I just, don't even know how to talk to him right now. Cause things are weird and so confusing. Elena's here too but... I don't want to be coddled and have her judge me for being weak—"
"You're not weak," he cut me off. "This is a woman we've all known our whole lives. She's helped us all when things got hard."
"Yeah," I cried softly.
"Hey, I'm on the way. Okay? Just... don't cry."
"Okay," I sniffled, wiping my eyes.
"Hey, want some good news?"
"What's that?" I whispered.
"I had just got food. I'll bring it for us to eat. Okay?" He said and I let out a chuckle. "Yeah. You're hungry, aren't you?"
"Always," I admitted still laughing. "Thanks, Ty."
***
I was sitting alone down the hall again. I wasn't sure where everyone else was. But that was okay. I just wanted to wait until Tyler got here. I really just needed a hug and someone to tell me what we were supposed to do.
To my surprise Stefan was the one who found me. He took a seat beside me on the bench. "Hey," he said and I forced a smile.
"Uh, hey..." I mumbled, licking my lips nervously. I slipped my hands in my hoodie pocket. This wasn't awkward at all. "Are you okay?" I asked him.
Stefan let out a deep sigh and shook his head. He turned his head to look right into my eyes. "There's a 22-year-old sociopathic witch running around Mystic Falls right now. That we have a plan for. We've dealt with every kind of evil there is, and we always have a plan, but this... If Caroline loses her mom, it'll destroy her," he said.
"I know," I whispered, looking down.
"She doesn't deserve this, Kenzie. She's a good person. She's happy, she's kind," he continued. I wasn't sure if he meant Caroline still or Liz.
Either way I agreed, "I know."
"What do you want to do?" He asked me. I looked up at him shocked.
"I mean... we should tell her. It's only a matter of time before she compels a doctor, and I don't want her finding out from a stranger, you know? So... I guess, Elena and I can tell her together."
"Let me do it," Stefan said.
"No, Stefan. You don't have to," I frowned.
"One of you guys let Damon know. But I should tell Caroline. I haven't been there for her. And now she needs me... So yeah, I have to do it," he said.
I wasn't sure what to say. So I nodded my head. Then he stood up and my eyes widened. He meant right now then. Oh, wow! Okay. No this was a good idea. Sooner rather than later. Caroline didn't need a doctor telling her this while we waited until she could be in the room with her mom. "Okay, go. Do what you have to do," I said.
"You'll tell Damon then, ri—?"
"Kenzie!" Tyler calling for me cut him off. He came running down the hall with a bag of food in his hands. I stood up quickly and before I knew it he had tossed the food onto the bench and wrapped me in a tight embrace.
I smiled softly, wrapping my arms around his neck. He squeezed me harder. "Thank you," I whispered, my mouth against his jacket cladded shoulder. I needed this. He was warm and comforting. Nothing like hugging Elena who felt sorry for me and like I was a poor child she had to take care of.
"Of course," he replied, letting me go. "Oh, hey, Stefan," he said awkwardly, stepping away from me.
"Hi," Stefan said. A frown on his face. He looked at me and I adverted my gaze. A scoff of some sort left his lips. Don't think he was happy I told or invited Tyler here. "Tell Damon, Kenzie."
"Okay," I said, looking up but he was already walking away from me.
"That was awkward," Tyler noted and I nodded. We both sat down on the bench, digging into the food he brought. I filled him in on Stefan telling Caroline. I texted Elena to come eat and join us. Then she and I discussed telling Damon. I told her she should do it. She looked surprised that I gave her that role. I guess she expected me to do it or to want to. And I did. But I felt like bad news sounded better when the one you love said it and could comfort you after.
***
Tyler sighed, sitting back down next to me. He had left to take a phone call from Liv. "Everything, okay?" I asked him.
He nodded. "Good news for both of us. Jo agreed to merge with Kai. Liv is going to train her on how to use her magic she got back today," he said.
I gasped, staring at him in shock. "They think Jo has a shot against Kai?" I asked.
"Apparently so," he said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I leaned against him, resting my head on his shoulder like before. His phone had woke us up from our nap.
"I'm so tired," I mumbled. He chuckled, his hand playing with my hair. "You're a nice pillow."
"Best compliment I've ever received," he laughed softly. "When I'm not good enough, you let me know. I'll go home and let you get home to your bed."
"Oh, compared to my bed? You're not good enough right now," I teased.
"Wow, that hurts," he said. "Just gave me love and then took it away. So cold hearted."
I giggled, "I'm a vampire."
"True. You're stealing all my body heat. Think we can get a blanket?" He asked.
"Oh, sorry," I said, sitting up. His arm slipped down to around my back and he tugged me closer.
"I'm just kidding, you're fine," he told me. I blushed, hesitantly laying my head back down on his shoulder. "You have really soft hair."
I laughed, "thanks."
"Liv won't even let me play with her hair."
I snorted, chuckling before replying. "Um, well, it's really kind of a weird request when you think about it," I started, pulling back to look up at his face. He looked down at me and my breath caught. There were only a few inches between our faces. Okay. This was weird now. "Uh, playing with a girl's hair. Some girls don't like people touching theirs. She's got nice curls so... maybe she doesn't want you to mess them up," I finished my thought.
"Y-yeah," he agreed. "You're probably right." Then his arm was gone from around me and he slid away to out some space between us. Our thighs no longer touching. I let out a breath. Thank god.
"Besides that she's great, right?" I smiled forcefully.
Tyler laughed, "I know you don't really like her. But... yeah. For the most part she's great. She's stubborn and feisty—"
"And you like that," I smirked.
He nodded, smiling sheepishly. "But I don't know... at the same time, she fights me over everything. Like, I'm not trying to be clingy. She's just so desperate to get herself killed. I'm trying to protect her, you know?"
"Yes, I know. And I get it," I said. "But I also get where she's coming from. Sometimes you feel like sacrificing yourself because it's for the greater good... I've been where she is."
"But you survived," he replied.
"Yeah, and I went through hell to do so," I said. "And she will too. Things are hard, but she'll make it out alive. And I'll help."
"Really?"
"You care about her. I care about you. And her problem is kind of my problem. Kai has to go," I said, shrugging.
"Thanks, Kenzie."
I simply smiled and stood up. "I'm going to check on everyone," I said.
"I think I'm going to get out of here. If that's okay. Or I can stay if you want me to," he replied.
"No, no. Go home," I told him. "Thanks for sitting with me and keeping me calm... and for making me laugh. Oh! And most importantly, the food." He laughed, rolling his eyes as stood up too. He gave me one more tight hug then he left and I went looking for Elena, Caroline or Stefan. Elena was in the hallway outside of the nearest bathrooms, talking on the phone. I'm assuming with Damon because she was smiling really hard.
I left her to it, continuing down to Liz's room. I froze at the end of the hall. Sitting outside of her room was Caroline crying in Stefan's arms. I stared at them for a moment. Torn between being jealous of her getting his comfort then hating myself for being so selfish. I winced, feeling bad for my friend. This had never happened to me. I lost a lot of people. But not like this. I didn't know if it was better to know a loved one was dying or finding out they had passed. At least she wasn't being brutally murdered and she had a chance to say her goodbye.
I walked back to Elena, figuring that was better then watching Stefan and Caroline. "That was Damon," my twin said as she was putting her phone in Maverick's diaper bag. "We can go home."
"Huh?" I frowned in confusion.
"Mystic Falls. We can go back," she told me and I gasped. Her arms wrapped around me and I embraced her back. This was amazing news after a really sad day.
***
"Elena's in saying goodbye to Caroline. I figured you were going home too," Stefan said, joining me at the vending machine.
"Yeah, soon," I told him, selecting the M&Ms.
"So you told Tyler, huh?" He asked and I looked at him. I nodded slowly while studying him. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets and that uncomfortable look on his face.
"Yeah," I said. "I called Tyler cause... I don't know... I needed someone to talk to. I wanted a fucking hug. And well, I figured Damon was busy so... he was the only other person I could go to."
Stefan shook his head, "I was here, Kenz. You had me to run to. You didn't need to call anyone—"
I scoffed, cutting him off, "you snuck out in the middle of the night or this morning and left me alone. Sorry, I didn't feel like that meant I could turn to you when I needed someone." I shook my head in disbelief, grabbing my snack from the bottom.
"Look, I'm sorry about this morning," he said. I turned to face him, opening up my bag of candy. He sighed, moving closer to me. "I'm sorry, Kenz. I just didn't want to wake you. Liz had called me. She asked me to help her decorate Caroline's dorm to bring the holidays to her since no one can go to Mystic Falls for the tree ceremony. And I figured Caroline was still mad at me so I thought it was a good chance to try to fix things with her," he said and my brows raised.
"Oh, wow," I mumbled.
"You're upset."
"Yeah," I said, shaking my head. "And I shouldn't be. I'm upset because I'm still shocked when you do or say something so insensitive to me—"
"Wait. What?"
"I thought you left to avoid things being awkward in the morning. Or maybe my small bed was just too uncomfortable. Heh. And somehow what you said is worse than the worst case scenario I thought this morning was you didn't want to be... um, intimate with me."
"No, I wanted to stay," he said. "I wanted to wake up to your smiling face. To kiss you. Kiss your neck, your shoulders. You felt so good in my arms. I missed that—"
"I miss it too," I snapped. "Why didn't you wake me to say goodbye? Do you know how hurt I was? I couldn't believe my husband wouldn't fucking stay the night with me because I was repulsive and he made a mistake."
"How could you ever think that?" He frowned, stepping closer to me. I shook my head as he went to touch me. "Kenzie, I know things aren't the way they were before and... and we're still trying to figure out how to get back to that... but, I still care about you—"
"Care about me?" I asked. "Do you love me, Stefan?"
"Yes," he stated. "Yes, of course."
"Then how the hell did you leave me... again... to go fix things with Caroline while things with me are still broken?" I questioned angrily. He remained silent. I popped a few M&Ms in my mouth while he stared at me guiltily. "I'm saying goodbye to Caroline. And I'm going home. So just... stay away from me."
"Wait," he said. "Look, Mystic Falls is open again. How about we both go there? Go home. And if you'll let me, I'll make up for last night."
I pursed my lips, considering it. That sounded nice actually. Back in the Boarding House, in his large king sized bed. In his arms again. Waking up to him in the morning this time. Oh, that would be wonderful.
"You want a do-over?" I asked him to clarify.
"Yes," he said. "Please?"
I reluctantly forced out, "no." I didn't want him to think that he could just fix this by asking me to ignore the fact he put his relationship with Caroline before our own. "I can't do it. I can't pretend it didn't happen and that it doesn't hurt me to think about. I would love to spend the night with you. But not like this where you're just trying to make me feel better or to get rid of your guilt for hurting my feelings—"
"No," he frowned. "Babe, I'm asking because I genuinely want another night with you in my arms. Kenzie, let me make this right. I don't want falling asleep next to you to be an accident this time. I want to pull you up against me, feel you wrap your leg around my waist, your head resting on my chest. I want to hold you through the night. Then I want to wake up with you in my arms, and kiss you awake. And you'll whine about how it's too early then I'll make you breakfast... I want a chance to show you that things can go back to how they were. That I can make you happy. Please?"
I bit my lip to keep from smiling, "okay. Yes."
"Yes?"
"Yes," I repeated, grinning. "I have to go to my dorm and pack a bag. But... I can meet you at the boarding house."
"Let's say an hour? I'll head there now to and start making us dinner."
"Okay," I agreed. He smiled and I rolled my eyes playfully. He took my hand, leading the way to Caroline's room so we could say goodbye.
***
I smiled, tapping the hood of Damon's blue Camaro. I guess Stefan gave him his present early. Elena chuckled from where she stood by the front door. I furrowed my brows and she pointed up. "Mistletoe. Clever," I smirked, joining her at the door. "That was definitely your boyfriend's idea."
"He's not my boyfriend," Elena said, blushing. She and Damon had a date tonight. So did Stefan and I apparently. Elena thought it would be great to make it a double date. The boys making dinner together and the two of us spending the night with them. And Elena was kid free because Jo and Alaric agreed to watch Maverick tonight.
I was awfully nervous about it all. I could only imagine how weird dinner would be. Elena didn't have her memories of Damon, Stefan and I were on the outs every other minute. I assumed Damon and I would do all the talking or bickering. Then I'd go up to Stefan's room, change into my pajamas. Best case scenario he sees I wore sexy red lingerie for him. And worst case being we just sleep—which was still a really good turn out.
"Are you going to knock?" Elena asked me.
"No. You," I said.
Elena rolled her eyes, knocking on the door. We shared a look before both giggling. This was like our first real double date. I never had a boyfriend before Stefan. And then Elena was single before she got back together with Matt but I either third wheeled them or we hung out in a group with all our friends. Now here we were, twins dating brothers. Goals.
Damon pulled open the door. He furrowed his brows, looking around. "Hello. Anybody there?"
"Damon, what are you doing?" Elena asked, chuckling softly. "Are you gonna let us in or...?"
Then he shut the door in our face. I gasped, banging on the door. "Who is it?" Stefan asked.
"There was no one there," Damon said then he pulled the front door open again.
"The girls should be here. You think they're playing a prank?" Stefan frowned in the doorway, looking around the yard behind us.
"Why can't they see us?" I frowned, looking at Elena in confusion.
"Guys!" Elena yelled, waving her hands in front of their faces.
"I may have put a cloaking spell on us," a new voice came. I whirled around quickly to face a complete stranger. "How genius is that?" He smirked.
"Who are you?" Elena asked right before he hit her in the face.
"Elena!" I yelled, dropping down to catch her. She was unconscious. I turned back to the boy. "Kai," I growled and he nodded.
"Mhm. Points for being the smart twin," he smiled before holding up his hand. Then a sharp pain came in my neck... and it all went black.
~Picture: Kenzie and Alaric sitting on the couch in his apartment while they discussed Jo missing with Damon
So interesting chapter, huh? Got a little bit of good and bad for #Stenzie. But it was Tyler she ran to for comfort because grief was finally knocking on the door, Liz Forbes is dying 😭💔 And Kai and the rest of the Parker Family is making a mess of everything. Newest concern being him going after the twins and ruining a nice double date. Who wants them to re-do that?
Who are we shipping right now?
1. #Stenzie or #Kyler
2. #Denzie or #Delena
3. #Kyler or #Kenzo
4. #Steroline or #Forwood
SNEAK PEEK:
"Is that you?" He gasped looking back at me. "Oh, and there's Bonnie. You guys look so innocent. Smiling, like nothing bad could ever happen to you."
"Ew, hell no. That's Elena. I don't do sports. And cheerleading is way to peppy for me," I stated, tugging on my chains as gently as possible while he was distracted.
"Whatever. Hey, do you mind if I try to turn your blood into acid again?" He asked, standing up straight and looking at me.
My brows raised and my eyes widened, "Again?" I questioned shocked.
Kai nodded, taking off his jacket. "Yeah, that's uh, that's kinda how I got you guys here in the first place," he said, tossing the jacket on the floor.
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