It's been a week and I still can't meet my own eyes in the mirror. Just thinking about the things I said to her makes me sick, but I had to do it; there was no other choice.
I hear the door open at the front of the house and stand from my desk, tucking the picture into my breast pocket. Her scent is long gone, the image is the only thing that remains.
They are in the sitting room when I emerge from seclusion. There is a split second of silence and then the questions fly, and I know she texted Rebekah, but the nature of the message must have been vague.
"What did you do?" Her eyes flash.
For a moment I'm afraid of my baby sister. Against all odds she and Rebekah had become friends.
She surges forward, shoves my chest.
I let her. I deserve it.
"She said she is never coming back!"
"What the bloody hell have you done?"
I watch Niklaus pour himself a drink. He's never voiced an opinion about my relationship before; I suspect it's because it kept her close.
"I broke up with her," I shrug, masking the pain in my voice.
Now it's Kol's turn to interject. Disapproval is written on his face when he approaches and it's such a strange feeling. She would have called it a freaky Friday moment because the roles have clearly been reversed. I am meant to be the one scolding Kol, not the other way around.
I know what he is going to say and for a second I consider the merits of lying. I'm an excellent liar, we all are after a thousand years of practice, but they know the same tricks I do. I may be able to school my features, perfect my tone and hide my emotion behind my eyes, but I can't control my heart; they know how to interpret the beats. It whispers the truth I try so hard to hide, and I thank anyone who listens that she couldn't hear the sound.
They all know I'm in love with her. She knew it too, at least she did until I uttered the only words I knew would send her running from town, from me and from anyone that she would have associated with me.
"I had no choice," I look over my siblings; it's the first I've uttered the truth aloud. "Our enemies are circling. She's human," my eyes land on Niklaus, "she wasn't safe here."
I can't remember the last time my little brother showed shame, but it passes over his face at my wordless accusation. I would have turned her in a heartbeat with her consent, but he would never allow it. Turning her would have put a dagger in my heart and a target on her back.
"She's got no sense of self-preservation. She would never run off for her own safety; someone she loves, sure, but not her own." Rebekah's voice is a low growl. "She wouldn't leave just because you told her she wasn't safe…"
Rebekah trails off and it draws the eyes of the others.
Kol turns back to me and I square my shoulders. They all know her insecurities, they know what I've done. They know I had to break her heart.
"You didn't tell her she wasn't safe," Kol's eyes shift. He likes her too and considers her a friend of sorts; as much as Kol is capable of having a friend anyway. "Why?"
I'm expecting Rebekah's indignation, but Kol's is surprising. I shouldn't be surprised because she is warm and full of light that draws others to her; she compassionate and kind and cares for people with her entire being.
"I broke her. I know that, but she is better off shattered and alive than dead at my feet…"
I grunt and rub my jaw; it stings from Rebekah's slap.
