A quick little drabble...I don't write Elena enough
The Art of Healing
Remember when…
The thought hit at the strangest moment and her fingers stretched towards the phone and as if ten years had not passed she dialed the familiar numbers and waited for the soothing voice on the other end. When the familiar tones started and the recorded voice chimed in, it almost hurt too much to bear. If she were still human, surely she would be in tears.
Things had changed in more ways than one.
Sensing her growing discomfort, Stefan grabbed her hand and slid his palm against hers and for a brief period of time, everything was okay. Until she heard it, a throaty laugh reminiscent of her alto and Elena could no longer deny that she missed Bonnie. She slipped her fingers from his grasp and turned her attention to the rain falling on the walkway just beyond the door.
Somewhere out west the witch made a home.
Elena envisioned bright and open, with flowers filling each and every room. She could smell the spices and herbs that comprised simple tonics and potions. Her mouth watered with the rare craving for pound cake and chocolate chip cookies.
Too much had changed.
They were sisters now, but closer to strangers.
Jeremy was happy and he quickly echoed the same sentiments for his wife during his conversations with his sister. Even now, Elena's fingers slid through the pictures of Bonnie's expanding belly on her phone. She was reduced to watching the lives of those she loved in texts and emails. Would she even have the chance to hold her niece or nephew once they were born?
Worry often accompanied the thoughts of her brother and his growing family. He embraced his life as a hunter and historian. Growing into a man in the shadow of the only decent father figure he'd known, Alaric. Then there was Bonnie, she had become much more than a witch, a healer and nurturer of all that was good.
Good.
Elena could almost accept the brevity of the distance between her and Bonnie; no longer could she be described as good. The change, her turning, had created a lust that she had just learned to control. There had been death in the wake of her maturity and acceptance of what life as a vampire would mean. Never had she expected one of the casualties to be the friendship she once shared with Bonnie.
"Call her."
Stefan's voice was gentle but insistent.
Her lips parted to argue with the simplicity of his statement and she couldn't.
Elena's fingers moved fluidly across the keypad, one ring, then two, and finally a third. When she moved to end the call, she heard that laugh, the one she'd missed for far too long.
"Hello."
The voice surrounded her and warmed her from the inside out.
"I miss you."
The three little words tumbled from her lips only to meet silence on the other end. Her finger hovered above the screen; disappointment ebbed and flowed through her veins.
"E," Her heart crumbled under the sincerity in her sister – in – law's tone, "What took you so long?"
And like that the healing began.