I'm posting this now since I thought I would see about the response this gets. Since there are only very few chapters of Tribrid Salvatore left, I don't think this is too soon. Anyway, I might wait to post more until I actually finish Tribrid but we'll see how it goes.

I hope you like this. Also, the cover (like most of the covers I have) was made by Brookie Twiling. I constantly forget to shout you out and that's my bad but I really do appreciate everything you did for me so far. So, thank you again.

Enjoy,

Nick

Thea looked out of her bedroom window silently, waiting for her father's truck to leave. Ever since Mason started to hang out with Jules and her… pack, they were the most important thing in his life along with his girlfriend. Thea didn't really like Kathy, the older woman didn't feel right somehow. Mason practically forgot that Thea existed most of the time and he didn't even notice when she stopped talking altogether. The only person who was taking an interest in her was Brady. The older werewolf scared her… He was so aggressive and hurt her more often than not. That's why – as soon as Mason was gone – the sixteen-year-old ran for her bed. She pulled out the bag she had packed some time ago and quickly threw in some more things. There weren't many things that she wanted to take. Only a few changes of clothes, her laptop along with the school stuff she had, the stuffed animal that her mother had bought for her before she was born and a photo album.

Before leaving the room, Thea looked around one last time, a tear falling from her face as she remembered all the fun she had with her dad when she was younger. He had been the most amazing father that she could have wished for but now? Now he was only interested in being with his friends, shoving his daughter aside for it. Maybe he was trying to make up for lost time since he had to change diapers and take care of a newborn instead of partying when he was younger.

A hand trailed over the furniture as she passed it, smiling as the memories played inside of her head. Thea had been thinking about running away ever since Brady started to… She shook herself, trying to get the images out of her head. She wouldn't let that weigh her down anymore. This was for herself… For once, Thea was going to be selfish and do something that felt right to her. She had always tried to be a good child for her father because she knew that he was struggling. With the gene, with the loss of her mother and with the fact that his brother didn't want to see him anymore. He had enough on his plate without adding a teenager with more issues than she was worth.

"I'm sorry, daddy," Thea mouthed, placing the letter she had written down on the coffee table in the living room before leaving the house. She had a long way to go and no clear destination… Thea had been thinking of going to her cousin in Mystic Falls but she wasn't sure whether they would send her straight back here. She hadn't seen Tyler or her aunt and uncle in over five years and she was scared that they wouldn't want her to be there. A part of her was scared that she would be sent right back to her father whether it be by the police or by her family but Thea was willing to take the risk. Anything to get away from… him. Thankfully, she was going to online school since she had gotten bullied pretty badly, so no one would know that she was gone until her father got back home… Whenever that was. To be honest, Thea would rather go to jail than to spend more time around the man who was making her life miserable.

It took her over a day but she finally made it. After six busses and a rather long hike from Charlottesville to Mystic Falls, Thea was exhausted and dirty but she felt freer than she had in months.

The sixteen-year-old licked her lips nervously, looking around the town she had visited so many years ago. Back then, the girl had come here every summer to spend time with her other family. She had no idea what happened but five years ago, Mason had a falling out with his brother about something and they never went back again. Mystic Falls still looked mostly the same. The Grill was still there and the Town Hall was the same glaring white that she was used to. Some stores seemed to have closed and others opened but it was nothing that she noticed too much. Thea swallowed nervously, quietly opening the door to the Grill. She froze when she saw how many people were in here. There were a lot of students which wasn't surprising, seeing as it was already around four in the afternoon.

On the other side of the Grill, Matt looked up at the door and blinked in surprise. He leaned forward, getting Tyler's attention "Hey, isn't that your cousin?"

"What?" the Lockwood boy frowned, turning around to look at the girl Matt had seen. He got up immediately walking over to Thea who was still standing by the door awkwardly "Thea? What are you doing here?" The sixteen-year-old jumped, whirling to face the voice she heard. She relaxed a little, seeing her cousin standing in front of her. He was taller than she remembered but that was to be expected and he looked even more like her Uncle Richard. Tears welled up in Thea's eyes and she threw herself into his arms, hiding her face in his chest "Hey," he murmured, trying to calm the younger girl down. When that wouldn't work, he whipped out one of the childhood nicknames he had given her when they were younger "It's alright, Kitten. Come on." Tyler picked up the bag his cousin had dropped and lead her over to the booth Matt was still in. He prodded her onto the bench, sitting down next to her "You remember Matt, don't you?"

Thea looked up, her eyes were red from crying and smiled shyly. She did remember Matt but not very well. They had never spent too much time together as she had always been shy and preferred to stick to Tyler's side as much as possible.

"Kitten, what are you doing here?" Tyler asked, sliding his coke and food over to his little cousin. Thea lowered her head, not looking at either of the boys. She didn't want to tell them about running away. As soon as Tyler knew, she was sure Uncle Richard would as well "Thea, does Uncle Mason know you're here?"

Matt looked at the girl who was fiddling with one of the fries with worry. They might not have been close but Tyler was his best friend. The fact that Thea had stopped visiting them hurt the other boy more than he would admit "Tyler… I think you should take her home. She looks tired."

"Do you mind?" Tyler questioned "I know we said we'd hang but…"

"Dude, I get it," Matt cut him off "Family is more important. I hope to see you again soon, Thea." She waved at him as Tyler placed down the money for his food and lead her out of the building.

Tyler glanced at his cousin out of the corner of his eyes "Thea, are you sure you're alright? Can you tell me what happened?" When he didn't get an answer, he sighed, his temper almost getting the best of him. The only reason why he tried to calm down was because the girl looked ready to pass out "You know that I can't help you if you won't tell me anything."

Thea twisted her sweater in her hands. She didn't know what to do. How would you explain that you didn't talk to the family you haven't seen in years? The sixteen-year-old made a split decision and pulled out the notebook she had gotten for writing down what she wanted to say. She scribbled down something and showed it to Tyler who had slowed down to read over the neat words 'I don't talk.'

"Wait. Since when? You were talking the last time you were here," Tyler frowned, looking over at Thea. He caught the shrug and hummed. This was getting more and more complicated and – no matter how bad that sounded – he was glad that his parents would take care of it. The seventeen-year-old had no idea what to do. This girl wasn't the Thea he had known and that was freaking him out a little bit. Another ten minutes later, the two pulled up to the Lockwood Mansion. Tyler grabbed Thea's bag from the backseat and watched as she carefully slipped out of the car "Mom?"

"Tyler?" Carol frowned "I thought you were going to the Grill with Matt." She walked out of the living room and froze when she saw the girl who was standing half-hidden behind her son "Thea? What are you doing here, sweetheart?"

Thea looked up at her aunt for a second before her eyes lowered to the ground again. Her hand reached out to grasp Tyler's arm in a tight grip. The older boy looked down at her and then at his hand "What is this about, kitten? It's just mom." His cousin looked up at him, the uneasiness in her eyes almost breaking his heart "How about you go up and rest? I'm sure we can all talk about this later."

"Tyler…" Carol started.

The seventeen-year-old shook his head "I'll tell you what I know but I think Thea should rest for a bit. At least until dad is back."

Carol sighed and smiled at his niece "You do look tired, honey. Go and bring her bag up, Tyler. I'll wait in the living room."

"Come on, Thea," Tyler murmured, ushering his cousin up the stairs and to the room she had occupied the last time she had been here "The bathroom is through here. I'll tell mom what I know but… I'm not sure what's going to happen."

Thea sniffed and nodded, raising her hand to her mouth to sign 'Thank you.'

"What does that mean?" the older of the cousins tilted his head curiously.

Since she was ready to fall asleep at any moment, she just mouthed 'Thank you' as clearly as she could.

"How do you say 'You're welcome'?" Thea's eyes lit up with the smile that crossed her face. It was the first time since she had arrived that Tyler had seen her smile a smile that actually reached her eyes. She extended her hand with her palm up, bringing it to her chest in an arch. Tyler repeated the gesture sloppily and huffed "This is harder than I thought…" He shook his head "I guess you'll just have to teach me then, will you?"

Thea threw herself into her cousin's arms. No one had ever wanted to learn ASL just for her. Her father wasn't around often enough to notice that she really stopped talking and no one else really cared. In school, she could just write in the chat and get around talking most of the time. The teachers at her online school were very accommodating in that aspect and she was glad that she had the opportunity to go there.

WARNINGS: This story has mentions of neglect, rape and sexual abuse. There will be nothing graphic but if you don't like these topics, then please don't read this story.

Nick