SURPRISE! Two chapters in one day! I just love writing this story so much and your guys' comments have seriously made my day.
I was wrong. This is the last chapter before Enzo! I'm seriously thinking about posting that chapter for you guys. What do you think? :)
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Elena and Charlie were at the Boarding House. Elena was on the phone with Caroline and Charlie was just listening in.
Ever since her breakdown yesterday, she'd been really quiet. Elena wanted to be there with her friend but she didn't know how. She didn't even know what had Charlie so upset and she didn't know how or if she should even bring it up.
"Please tell me I wasn't out of my mind leaving Damon in charge of Vampire Amnesia 101?" Elena asked Caroline who was still at Whitmore.
"What did he say exactly?" Caroline asked.
"One text – 'So far, so good.' Which in Damon speak…"
"Means that they probably devoured a troop of Girl Scouts by now." Caroline suggested.
"Caroline!" Elena scolded.
"I'm kidding… kind of. Although it's not uncommon for patients with retrograde amnesia or other traumatic brain injuries to turn volatile." Caroline said.
"Okay, Dr. Forbes. Since when do you know so much about amnesia?" Elena asked.
"It's possible I studied up on my chem, biochem, applied microbio, molecular bio, and Grey's Anatomy – the real one and the television show." Caroline told her.
"You did all that for Stefan?" Elena asked surprised.
"Of course I did. I'm also trying to impress Dr. Maxfield. I figured without Charlie here we need someone to be in his class and see what else we can find. Although it's not really working. Charlie's probably going to be able to find more than I can, but I don't think she's coming back to school for a while so I need to see what's up with him." Caroline said.
"Yeah…" Elena trailed off.
"How is she?" Caroline asked, concerned for her friend. Elena had told her what had happened yesterday.
Elena looked over towards Charlie and noticed she wasn't really paying attention to the conversation. "She's been really quiet. I don't know what to do for her. I don't want to bring it up though. Damon couldn't do anything either. He only sat there holding her saying how sorry he was and that it was gonna be okay."
"Well we need to have a girl's day soon. Party it up." Caroline said walking into the classroom. "Hi, Dr. Maxfield. Are you ready Jesse?"
"Jesse? Dr. Maxfield's incredibly hot, funny, and miraculously single lab assistant?" Elena said suggestively.
"I'm dragging him to our hometown graveyard bell-ringing ceremony."
"As in creepy first date?"
"As in a study date." Caroline defended. "While I'm there, I might as well ring a bell for Tyler and me considering our relationship is on its death bed."
"See you Monday, Doc." Elena could here Jesse in the background.
"Stay out of trouble." Dr. Maxfield told him.
"Will I see you there?" Caroline asked Elena. "You could bring Stefan. I mean, it is ironically called 'Remembrance Day.'"
"I hope so, I really do. It just depends on how Stefan's handling the whole download of his dark and stormy past."
"Alright. Well, I'll talk to you later." Caroline said and hung up.
A bell rung at the grill gathering everyone's attention. "To Uncle Steve!"
"To Uncle Steve!" Everyone said in unison and drank a shot, including Stefan and Damon.
"Yeah!" Damon said after his shot.
"Wow. Ahh. This town always so upbeat about dead people?" Stefan asked his brother. This town has some weird traditions.
"Well, in the theme of morbid town tradition, you go back to the 1820's when everyone was so paranoid about the cholera thing that they would occasionally bury a body a wee bit before its time." Damon argued.
"So, we have a holiday dedicated to burying people alive?" Stefan asked.
"Well, they were so paranoid that they would actually request to be buried with a string attached to a bell above the ground, and then the whole family would hang around the grave for 24 hours in hopes of hearing the bell and that their loved one would come back, but now it's just really – it's really a kick-ass excuse to get hammered." Damon defended.
Charlie and Elena made their way to the grill and caught up with Damon and Stefan. All Charlie wanted to do was drink herself unconscious. On top of everything she was feeling, her twin brother also didn't remember her. Talk about, 'kick a person while their down.'
"And there I thought catching up on nearly two centuries would be a drag." Elena said and Charlie sat down at the table.
"Hello Charlie." Stefan said. Damon had filled him in on the fact he had a twin sister. He may not remember her, but he felt a sibling bond between the two that was stronger than what he had with Damon. He could also see she was hurting, and that in turn hurt him.
"Hey, Stef." Charlie said to him with a smile that everyone could see was fake. She was usually so good at hiding her emotions, but some things run so deep you can't hide it.
"Remind me of your name again." Stefan said turning to Elena.
A look of hurt crossed Elena's face and she answered him, "Elena."
"Elena. Right."
Elena looked at Damon. "You haven't told him about me?"
"200 years is a long time." Damon defended.
The bell rang and Damon drank.
"Right. Well…" Elena muttered and took a shot for herself.
Damon went and grabbed the bell. "To those we've lost." He said and handed the bell to Charlie.
She and Damon shared a sad smile. She rang the bell and they all took shots.
Damon, Stefan, Charlie, and Elena made their way to the cemetery after they caught Stefan trying to drain the waitress at the grill.
"What kind of name is 'Honoria Fell?'" Stefan asked looking at the tombstone.
"Shh. You're kind of the one that killed her." Charlie told him.
"Oh." He muttered.
They all entered the Salvatore mausoleum and Damon spoke up. "Hindsight being 20/20, way too much temptation at the bar, so if this Ripper gene is biological, then we need to minimize human contact until we get your brain all witchy-wooed back to normal, so here it is."
"So, this is the family crypt, huh?" Stefan asked looking around. "Anybody in here I didn't kill?"
Damon rang the bell after mentioning each name. "Well, we've covered our father, who art in hell. *ding* Uncle Zach, my bad. *ding* On the bright side, our mother died of consumption. *ding*"
"Oh good." Stefan muttered.
"I didn't kill anyone in here." Charlie mentioned. "Although my track record is another story." She said to Stefan.
Damon smiled at his sister glad to see she was managing well and returning to her old self. He looked at his phone to see a message from Jeremy. "I got to go see a man about a witch. Party on without me. Brother – for you." He said setting down a bottle of liquor. "And this is for you." He handed the bell to Elena. "Sis, you gonna stay or…"
"Nah, I'm gonna go to grill. See how much Scotch I can consume before the days over with. Later Stef, Elena." Charlie said leaving the mausoleum. He totally understood.
"What you doing there brother?" Damon asked seeing Stefan throwing his journals into the fire. So much had happened in the last few hours he just wanted to get this day over with. But there was still the matter about Bonnie…
"Well, you know, just tying up a few odds and ends." Stefan said.
"You sure you want to do that?" Damon asked.
"Well, I know what I don't want. I don't want to be the person in these journals anymore. I don't want to live in this house. I don't want my brother's advice. I don't want to hear how I supported you, Elena, and I definitely do not want to continue this conversation." Stefan said.
"Stefan wait." Elena protested.
"Don't worry. I'm not gonna go on a Ripper binge. Besides, Caroline said she'd call me every hour to make sure I was okay and uh… I trust her way more than you two." Stefan said grabbing his bag and heading towards the door.
"So you're leaving again?" They heard Charlie say coming down the hallway.
"Charlie…" Stefan said turning towards his twin who had tears welling up in her eyes. It's not like he wanted to leave her, he just wanted to get away from Damon and Elena. Unfortunately, he couldn't leave one without the other, and he needed to figure himself out now.
"Are you leaving?" Charlie demanded.
"Yes." Stefan said guiltily and put his head down.
Charlie surprised all of them by saying, "Good."
"What?" Stefan looked up wide-eyed.
"You need to leave. You need to figure out who you are now. And you need to be away from here." She said. Stefan knew that by 'here' she meant Damon and Elena. As much as it hurt her to let her twin go, she knew this was the best for him. "Of everyone in this room, you deserve to be happy. Just… promise to call me. I can't go another three months without hearing from you."
"I promise." Stefan said and hugged his sister. He may not remember her, but he knew she meant a lot to him, and he to her.
After Stefan had left, Damon told them news that had everyone falling apart.
Bonnie was dead.
The group had gathered in the woods towards Jeremy where they were having a memorial for Bonnie. Just as they were about to circle around Charlie pulled Damon back.
"I can't." She told Damon with tears streaming down her face. "I can't let go of someone else. I'm sorry."
"I understand. Go home. I'll meet you there later." Damon said and hugged his sister understanding why she needed to leave.
"Set this by her picture for me." Charlie said pulling out a picture of her, Bonnie, Elena, and Caroline from a sleepover they had a while back.
"I will." Damon said.
Charlie sent one last painful look toward Bonnie's picture and took off at vampire speed.
None of them could see Bonnie smiling sadly at her friend, wishing she could tell her that she understood. That everything would be okay.
"Hey. You okay?" Damon asked walking into his sister's room after the memorial.
"Yeah, yeah. I just…" Charlie trailed off.
"Hey, I understand alright. It's okay. I know Bonnie would tell you she understands, that it's gonna be alright." Damon said quoting Bonnie without realizing it. Damon noticed a suitcase on his sister's bed. "You leaving?" He asked hesitantly.
"Um yeah. I'm gonna, take a time out. Spend some time to myself. I might stop by New Orleans. Rebekah said to come visit when I had the chance." Charlie said.
"I never understood the friendship you guys had. But I'm glad you have someplace to go when you need to get away. How long will you be gone?" Damon asked. Of course he was sad that his sister was leaving, especially after Stefan had left, but she needed some time for herself. Ever since the Salvatore's made their way to Mystic Falls, Charlie had been there to help clean up the messes, fight the villains, and take care of her brothers. It was time for her to do something for herself. She was wrong earlier. Of everyone in that room she was the one who deserved to find happiness.
"I don't know really. Not too long. No more than a month or two. I just… it's times like these that bring it all back you know? And I just need to take a break to get my head together. I'm no help to anyone when I'm stuck in my own world." Charlie said. She felt she had to explain herself. She didn't want Damon to think she was abandoning him.
Damon put his hands on his sister's shoulders. "Charlie, I understand. Give your mind a break, see your friend, and whenever you're ready, come back. We'll be okay without you for a week or two. But if you need anything you call me okay?"
"And if you need anything you call me. I love you." Charlie said and hugged her oldest brother.
"I love you too. Don't cause too much chaos wherever you go." Damon said returning the hug.
Charlie pulled away slightly and said. "Now you're just trying to ruin my fun."
The siblings laughed together for the first time in what felt like forever.
Charlie started walking towards the door, but before she could walk out Damon stopped her.
"I have to ask, when Qetsiyah knocked you out, what happened?" Damon asked.
Charlie smiled a real, genuine smile. "He was here. It was like, another world where he never died. I felt like I was reliving everything we've been through since we got to Mystic Falls, just with him. He was here when Katherine showed up, when Klaus came to town, when we found the cure. He was just… here." She said not really having another way to explain it. "Then I woke up and realized it wasn't real. He wasn't here. I know I shouldn't leave so much of my happiness up to him, I mean it's been 50 years, move on already right? I hate that I've turned into one of those people, but I can't help it. Don't get me wrong, I have been happy over the years, especially when I found out my brothers were in Mystic Falls, together, but I always felt like something was missing. I guess I just need to find a way to live with the fact he's not coming back… and move on."
It's true. Charlie never was one of those people. She was never one to let someone else decide how she lived or how she felt, especially after she turned. She always thought it was pathetic how girls let guys control their emotions. But it's not like he just broke up with her, he died. Maybe over time things will get better, but she will never forget him.
"I'm sorry Charlie." He said bringing her out of her thoughts. "I can't do anything to take back what happened. I can't do anything to make you feel better or take away your heartache. I can't deny the fact that it was my fault or that there may have been a different way. There might have been a ton of different things I could've done that day, but I didn't. I just need you to know that I love you, and I'm sorry." Damon said pain and guilt crossing his features.
Charlie smiled sadly at her older brother. "I know Damon." And with that she left.
Damon watched his little sister walk away. The only thing he wanted for her was happiness. If leaving Mystic Falls for a while did that, then yes she needed to leave.
Charlie needed this. She needed to get away. Away from Mystic Falls. Away from all the drama. And more importantly, away from Whitmore.
Review and let me know what you guys think! :)