It's been almost a month without Kai.
Almost a month since my best friend betrayed me.
I haven't talked to Bonnie since then. Or Elena or Caroline. I can't even look at them.
It will be exactly a month since he's been gone in two days.
What a celebration.
The only thing that has happened that is exciting is the proposal.
Alaric proposed to Jo two weeks ago. A few of us thought it was too early but they're clearly meant to be.
We're going to have the wedding in guess when?
Two days. I'm still going to go, but all I'll be able to think about is the pain.
I turn around in bed, turning to my nightstand. My phone reads 3:26am. I turn back around to the empty space next to me. I run my hand over the cold sheets that used to be warm.
All I can imagine is Kai sitting here while we laugh together. I try to swallow the pain from the thoughts.
I decide to go to the kitchen to get a drink. I walk down the stairs quietly, not wanting to wake the other people who live here.
I go into the kitchen opening the cabinet and grabbing a glass cup. I go to the freezer and get some ice. I head over to the sink to get water.
"Noelle?" I hear a whisper. I jump and let out a yelp. I see Stefan walking into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes.
"You scared me." I whisper, setting the cup down. He walks towards me standing near me.
"I'm sorry. I just- I heard you earlier, and I saw you walking down the stairs, so I wanted to see if you were okay." He says.
"Heard me doing what?" I ask like I'm stupid.
"Elle." He states. "I heard you crying earlier."
Something else?
The only thing that helps me actually get some rest is crying myself to sleep.
"I just really miss him." My voice cracks. Tears threaten to escape and one rolls down my cheek. Stefan notices it and pulls me into a hug to comfort me.
"It's okay. Let it out." He whispers. The tears fall down my face, but I don't let it go too far.
I hate crying in front of people.
"Thanks, Stefan. You should probably get back to Caroline, though." I say quietly, grabbing the glass to put water in it. He nods.
"Just let me know if you need someone to talk to. I'll be here. And Bonnie keeps telling me to tell you she's sorry, but I can tell you're not ready for that. It's perfectly fine to be mad at her. Even I don't like what they did to you. Goodnight, Elle." Stefan turns around.
I say something that we've said to each other so many times in the past: "Love you, big bro."
He turns back around and smiles.
"Love you, too, little sis." He whispers before he walks away. Stefan is probably the first person who has cared about what I'm going through right now.
Well, he's the first person to show it.
I didn't sleep for very long after that, but when I got up, I saw everyone standing in the living room with Lily. I walk over to Jeremy immediately.
"What's going on?" I whisper.
"Lily's finally telling us about what she left behind. She trying to get us to go back for them." He whispers back, pointing at Lily. She's talking in little spurts. From what I hear, she's talking about family.
"Them?" I ask. Jeremy just points to her again.
"We need to go back for them. They're my family, I love them. They won't hurt anyone. They're just harmless heretics!" She says. I move into the middle of the circle and go towards her.
"What are heretics?" I ask, speaking up.
"They're siphoners who have been turned into vampires. They're basically witch-vampire hybrids. They're able to siphon from themselves, so it makes them more powerful than most witches." Damon says.
Kai's a siphoner.
"They were desiccated when we got there." Stefan adds making me shoot up.
"That means they need blood. No. Kai is still there. They can drink from him if he gets close enough. You know how curious he is. I say we get her heretics and Kai." I state watching as a smile appears on Lily's face.
"Elle- he's probably already dead." Bonnie whispers.
"No. You don't get to have a say in this. You know why? Because you're the one that put him there in the first place. So if he is dead, it's your fault." I blame.
"He's probably not dead, Elle. But we cannot go back there." Damon says, turning back to his mom. Lily looks full of rage, leaving the room.
"Why not? Why can't we go back there? Because of a few heretics? What could they possibly do? Lily seems truthful. I'm sure she's telling the truth. We can at least get Kai out of there." I continue, practically pleading with all my heart.
"It's too dangerous. No." Bonnie says, heading for the front door.
"Oh, fuck you. What do you know? You know what? Just leave. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm definitely not enjoying your company." I spit out. Jeremy is holding in a laugh, and Elena hits him. I roll my eyes at them. Bonnie stops in her tracks.
"Fuck me? Fuck you! All I have ever done is save your ass. Time after time. I am only trying to protect you from an abusive relationship." She says, pointing at me.
"Abusive relationship? Seriously? At least Kai actually cared about me. And he might be gone. And he is the first person who I think I might actually love," I whisper, walking towards her. "So if I figure out he's dead, you can bet your ass I'll send you right down with him." I run upstairs, tears filling my eyes. I hear a knock on the door as soon as I close it.
"Go away, Bonnie!" I yell.
"It's not Bonnie." I hear Stefan reply. I let out a sigh and open the door, wiping away my tears. I look up at him and hug him.
"What if he's gone? What if he's dead? What if he-" I worry out loud.
"I'm sure he's fine. Let's just think about other things. Alaric and Jo's wedding." He winces as he says the name Jo realizing the connection. We let go of each other, walking to sit on the edge of my bed.
"No, it's fine. Yeah, let's talk about that. How is the wedding supposed to go down exactly?" I ask with a smile. Stefan laughs.
"I don't know, but they do have news." He whispers, and I look at him confused.
"Jo is pregnant." He states while raising his eyebrows.
"What?" I ask as the news is very surprising.
"You weren't supposed to tell anyone!" Caroline yells from downstairs.
"She is? Do they know what they're having yet, or is it too soon?" I ask.
"All they know is that it's twins." He replies. Caroline speeds up here a second later.
"Enough! Stefan, can I have a word with Elle, alone?" She asks, looking at me. Stefan nods and closes the door behind him. I sigh as Caroline sits down next to me.
"I may not enjoy him, but I want you to know that I tried to talk Bonnie out of it. I could tell how happy you were with him, and it was the first time I had seen you genuinely happy in a long time." She states. I turn to face her as she places her hand on mine.
"I'm not trying to leave them in the dust, but I just didn't want you hating me for something I tried to stop. And Elena may have been included, but she was only helping because she thought it was right. She doesn't think it is anymore. You don't have to talk to her right now, but I think you should soon. She wants to be on good terms, too. I just hope you'll forgive me?" Caroline's voice cracks near the end.
"I forgive you. Thank you for telling me the truth." I whisper, hugging her. She smiles, pulling away after a few seconds.
"Okay, okay. We need to choose your dress for the wedding!" She exclaims, making me let out a laugh.
"Oh, Caroline, I may forgive you, but let's not take it too far." I respond as we start laughing together.
Most of us are at the dining table, figuring out plans. The guys: Alaric, Stefan, Damon, Matt, Jeremy, and a few others are in the living room, sorting out the men's side.
The ladies: Jo, Caroline, Elena, and me are here moving between the kitchen and the table figuring out the details of the women's side. Bonnie isn't here. I heard her storm out earlier.
I don't even feel bad.
"Okay, what are the colors going to be?" Caroline asks.
"I think a light pink would compliment everything else very nicely." I speak up. I haven't said much, wanting to avoid conversation.
"Yes. That would be perfect!" Jo exclaims. I smile.
"Okay, pink with the white, and the wedding dress...?" Elena asks, writing things down before looking back up at the bride. Jo smacks her hand to her forehead.
"I meant to go get that one from the store down the street. Caroline, can you check online and see if it's in stock?" Jo asks. Caroline nods, picking up her phone. I see her type and then a disappointed look pops up on her face.
"It's not... I'm sorry." She whispers.
"No! I loved that dress." Jo slouches down on the bench.
"It's a good thing I already picked it up then..." I smile. Jo's face quickly lights up, looking at me.
"Seriously?" She asks. I nod.
"I hid it in my closet." I say. It's been there for almost a week now. Jo gets up and wraps her arm around my neck from behind.
"I love you so much! Thanks so much, Elle! This means the world!" She smiles.
"It's really no big deal. Anyways, we still have to deal with the venue." I add. Jo groans.
"I actually already have it set up." I hear a voice from the doorway.
Guess who?
The one and only Bonnie Bennett.
"Oh... thank you, Bonnie!" Jo says. You can tell she's surprised. I don't think she thought Bonnie would be involved. Bonnie sits across from me.
"It's not too far from here, about 20 minutes. It's beautiful, just look at the pictures." She says, pulling out her phone. We all huddle around her. It's a beautiful venue. A great choice.
Stop. You hate her.
"I love it! Please, book it!" Jo says. She claps her hands together.
"But we still need to get the bridesmaids dresses ready." Elena says.
"You know what? Just wear your own. Any dress, just have it be light pink." Jo says, smiling at me.
This will be great.
Morning of the wedding
We all got here at different times, some of us getting here as early as 7:00 a.m, others not getting here until 1:00 p.m. Others being me. I didn't mean to sleep in, but I couldn't fall asleep last night. I had a nightmare.
I'm starting to see a pattern.
First, I had nightmares about Jackson. Now, I'm having nightmares about Kai.
Surely, he's alive. Right?
I need to stop thinking about it.
The ones who got here at 7:00 include nearly everyone but me. I know it makes me look bad, but Jo wasn't mad. She may dislike her brother, but deep down she just wants him to be happy.
She wants me to be happy, too.
She talked to me when I got here, telling me that if I didn't want to be here, it would be fine. She knew that I was having a rough time. I told her that I was fine and that I just had a few problems I needed to deal with.
Jo is a sweet person. She cares for me like an older sister. It almost makes sense considering I'm dating- possibly dated- her brother.
All the guys are in a dressing room downstairs, while the girls are huddled upstairs. All of our dresses really compliment each other, but Jo's dress exceeds ours by a million.
After everyone has gotten ready, getting makeup done and hair styled, we go downstairs.
Well, the bridesmaids.
Alaric is already downstairs, but he can't see Jo until the wedding.
The wedding is at 6:00 p.m, but some people are already here, and it's only 5:00. I'm sitting by the buffet table, fighting the urge to eat my heart out.
Everyone is talking to each other and having a great time.
All except the depressed girl who's eating all the pigs-in-a-blanket.
I get up, wandering near the alter, touching the delicate flowers that surround it.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Alaric asks, scaring me a bit. I turn around, giving him a small smile and a nod.
"You really didn't have to come. I know it's been rough for you. We would have understood if you wanted to stay far away from here." He adds, stepping onto the alter.
"No, I wanted to be here. And you guys don't have to pretend that you like Kai just for me. I know you hate him, Alaric. And that's okay. And I'm probably crazy for wanting to be with him, but I'm even crazier for letting it ruin everything I have with all of you. Because I love all of you with all my heart, and I can't have him getting in the way of that." I say, going into a slight rant. Alaric doesn't have anything to respond with, so he just gives me a smile and motions for me to come closer. When I do, he pulls me into a hug.
"Will you tell my bride-to-be that I'm ready to marry her?" He whispers. I'm surprised because I thought it was still 5:00, but I nod. When I'm walking away, I check the time. It reads 5:48.
How long was I eating? Jesus Christ-
As I'm walking towards the stairs, I turn around and see everyone getting their seats. I knock on the door, and I hear a quiet come in.
"We're ready for you, Jo." I smile. She stays there on the small couch.
"I'm nervous." She whispers. I sit down next to her.
"It's okay to be nervous, but just know that you are going to marry the man you love the most in this world. And he loves you just as much. You can do this." I reassure. She smiles and hugs my neck.
"Thank you. Go get your seat, I'll be down there in a second." She orders, and I nod in reply, leaving the room.
I walk down the stairs, trying to hurry to get to my seat. I sit down next to Elena and Caroline. I chose a good seat because they're sitting between me and Bonnie. I can not sit next to her.
I hear the music start to play as everyone turns their heads around. I see Jo in her stunning wedding dress, only looking at Alaric. She steals a quick glance to me, and I give her a thumbs up, to reassure her everything is okay.
This will be a great wedding.
She makes it to the alter and stands in front of Ric, holding his hands. The priest recites the usual and then asks if they're doing the vows themselves. Of course they say yes.
"...And so, I promise to be with you and love you for the rest of our lives." Alaric finishes his vows. I can see a few people with tears in their eyes. It was so beautiful. He truly loves her.
"Josette?" The priest asks, signaling for her to continue with her vows.
"Oh God, that's a tough act to follow," Jo laughs, wiping the tears away from her face. "Here it goes... Alaric Saltzman, you are-"
She's cut off.
"Jo? Jo?" Alaric asks. Jo gasps, blood puddling around her stomach. She falls into Ric's arms.
Then the last person I would expect to see appears.
"I was gonna wait till the death do us part bit, but it seemed a little on the nose." Kai states. My breath gets caught in my throat, and I start to stand up.
"Am I right?" He asks with a smile.
His father starts to get up, but then a high pitched noise starts ringing through the room. Everyone starts groaning in pain, but it doesn't affect me.
"Miss me?" Kai asks, breaking all the glass around us. It makes me fall to the ground before everything darkens around.
What happened to him?