4:25PM flashed at her from the clock across the room, slightly hazy looking from the waves of exhaustion that kept hitting her every twenty minutes. Staying up all night; always seems like a decent plan until you actually do it, and then you're left in half a dream state acid trip where you're either too tired or too loopy to make sense of anything.
"Hey sleepy bones," he strolled into the room with a plate of eggs and bacon in one hand, OJ in the other.
"Isn't it a little late for breakfast?" she asked as he set the food in front of her.
"Do you know what time of day it is right now? Light or dark out, can you even tell?" he waved a hand in front of her face.
She pulled herself out of her daydream haze and focused on the food, going for a piece of bacon and feeling her insides sigh in gratification.
"Mmm, bacon," she hummed, eating the entire piece before opening her eyes. "One of God's greatest gifts," she laughed, going for another piece.
He laughed with her, seeming to enjoy her blasé state and went to grab the keys on the table next to the front door.
"I was going to ask if you wanted to join, but seeing how you don't seem like you can keep your eyes open let alone walk around I'm gonna head to the store to pick up a few things. Want anything in particular?
She hummed, thinking about all the delectable meals he could make but not wanting to put much effort into making a mental list.
"I dunno, everything," she shrugged, picking up another piece of bacon. "Bacon!" she said through a mouth full of eggs. "And chicken, maybe some tuna. And drinks! We need lots of drinks, regular and alcoholic alike."
He nodded as he twirled the keys around his finger, listening to all of her suggestions and headed for the door.
"And quesadillas!" she yelled and heard him laughing as he shut the door.
-x—x—x—x—x—
She felt her heavy eyes ache from exhaustion, noticing a beat later that her eyes are in fact closed. She opened them and saw the TV playing in front of her realizing she must have fallen asleep after Kai went to the store. She moved her head slightly and felt she wasn't flat on the couch or against a pillow. She lifted her head and looked behind her seeing Kai sitting upright on the couch watching a show, one arm slung across the top and the other holding the remote against the armrest.
"Oh hi," he smirked as she pushed her head off of his lap and sat up straight, facing him.
"What the hell, Kai?" She ran a hand frustratingly through her hair. "You're unbelievable."
"Calm down," he laughed, arms raised momentarily. "That was all you. After I put away the groceries I came in and you were in a little ball in the middle cushion. I gave you your blanket and sat down to watch something – then you stretched out across the entire couch and landed in my lap. What was I gonna do, wake you up? Come on."
"You could have moved my head!"
"Huh, that thought never came to mind." He shrugged. "Oh well. You've only been out for about an hour, you can continue your nap I won't stop you."
"Mm that just doesn't sound so appealing anymore." She yawned and stood trying to shake off her achy muscles. "I got to get the hell out of here, my bed misses me."
"I agree, this house is starting to get a little stuffy." He looked over at her, "When do you think that will be?"
She pushed her hand through her hair again, avoiding his eyes. Bonnie had high hopes that Damon would have found a way to save her by now without letting Kai loose. That this past week and a half of constant thoughts wondering where, when, how and having Damon and Kai's face surrounding her every waking moment, and apparently some sleeping ones as well. She could feel her throat getting scratchy and dry, a nauseous feeling raising that happens every time she lets herself think about this. She has her magic ready to go, her sub conscious screaming at her to hall ass out of this place but factoring in Kai Parker to the equation brings her back to square one. Her optimistic light of Damon will save me tomorrow is slowly but surely starting to dim in this dark vortex and her other options are dwindling.
"Sooner the better," she said lightly, hoping the topic would be passed over.
"Again, I agree, and you may have noticed I'm a little antsy to get out of this place. I haven't threatened, attacked, or stabbed you since Damon left, and that's pretty impressive! Considering how badly I want to go home and you are the key to making that happen."
He drummed his fingers against the armrest.
"Not to mention you hid the ascendant on me, which yes I will agree was funny the first few days but now I'm feeling a little Indiana Jones and may have to go on a quest to find my treasure."
"Forgive me for not trusting you with the one thing that controls our – my – destiny and freedom. It's safe, secure, and in a place well-hidden."
She glanced over at him and saw him looking back with an intense but expressionless stare. She saw his jaw tick as he worked through whatever thoughts he was having and a blink later his carefree expression was back.
"Interesting," he mused, "okay, as long as the plan's still a go. Besides, there are still plenty of ways for us to pass the time."
"Ugh," she groaned, turning away from him.
"Not that you little dirty bird! But nice to know what's on your mind. I was thinking more along the lines of getting to know each other better."
"Why?"
"Because, I want to know more about you, and I want you to know more about me."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head, laughing at the thought.
"Come on, Bon! You know I'm not all bad. A little twisted who knows my way around sharp objects – sure, but who doesn't?"
He patted the seat next to him.
"Ask me anything, do your worst."
A part of her told her to head for door, but she was grateful for the distraction, and her curiosity was eating away at her causing her to sit instead.
"Were you always a killer?"
"No," he smirked.
"I mean, did you always have those thoughts, about your family – or in general? Was it something that got worse as you got older?"
He looked away and took a deep breath before looking back into her eyes.
"Yes and no. No, I didn't always have these thoughts but yes they got worse as I got older and realized the truth behind my coven, and my birthright."
She stared at him hoping he would continue on his own.
"Do you really want to know?"
"Yes," she answered determined.
He blew out a breath. "Okay. I never had thoughts of killing anyone when I was young, but I always knew I was different. I didn't get along with people the same, couldn't fit in or do things like the others – like my sister – which made me stick out, especially to my father."
He clenched his hands together, seemingly stuck in a memory.
"He could be such a dick," he smiled. "No matter what I tried I just wasn't good enough; I was the freak of the family who devoured magic rather than give the world my own. As I got older my resentment towards my coven, and myself for not being normal festered until his rotten thoughts started to blend with my own."
He got up off the couch and walked over to the window looking outside.
"I think I pushed myself away from anyone who knew what was wrong with me in hopes it would make me forget, but it backfired."
He stayed looking out the window.
"My parents had another set of twins and after that everything changed. I couldn't… control this rage inside of me, couldn't stop hearing my father's voice."
He chuckled a sad, soft sound.
"I tried for years to find a way around his harsh words, my broken fate, escape the inevitable doom I was headed towards the closer I got to 22. I really tried to find another way."
He looked up at the sky and inhaled deeply before turning and walking back to the couch to sit beside her.
"My father was going to kill me." It rolled off his tongue like any other sentence but you could see the cold darkness in his eyes recalling the memory.
"On May 9th," he smiled "my perpetual day of Hell."
"No –"she breathed, not understanding.
"Mm," he said with a nod of his head. "Mr. Almighty Coven Leader himself always said – coven before blood – and it was no exception if you were one of his own, especially the disgraced black sheep."
"I overheard him," he continued clearing his throat, "the morning of in his study, talking to who was better known as his second in command, the one he confided to in his more ruthless actions."
She shivered as she imagined Kai living in this state of mind, trying to be good, and still having his family tear him apart from within.
"He told him that they had a monster in the coven that was going to destroy them all, and he had to be stopped before he got the chance. He said I would always be this evil thing and that it was out of my control."
He looked up and into her eyes.
"He told him I was dead the moment the other set of twins were born. He was going to kill me, so I killed his only beacon of hope. I couldn't end his life seeing how it would kill me and everyone else, but I could do what he loved doing to me every chance he got; teach him a lesson. I knew his coven meant more to him than a family ever could - but you can't have a Gemini coven without a family, and you can't be a leader without a coven."
She sat there frozen, her mind too consumed with all of this new information about the monster she thought she had a pretty good handle on. She looked over his features and wondered how he made it so many years having someone else's perspective cloud his own until you can't see through it anymore. He looked back at her and their eyes locked, neither wavering. He had the soft features of a young 17 year old boy but she could see the decades of life and torment he's had to endure in his eyes.
"I let the way my father thinks of me dictate my thoughts and actions for too long. It wasn't until after, that I realized I don't want to be normal. Normal people die, they do nothing extraordinary, and I am extraordinary. I can do things normal people only dream of with power that they couldn't even imagine. I like me; it just took me years and a few bad decisions to figure it out."
She wasn't sure how long she sat there staring at him in utter silence, trying to sort through what she's just been told in comparison to how she's viewed him as a person the past month. She honestly could not admit to herself if this information made this whole situation they are in better or worse for her. Do I want to breathe easier when he's around? Do I want to see him as a person and not a monster? Does this make living with him easier or more difficult?!
"Bonnie?" he asked, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Say something."
"I –"what is there to say? 'Oh.' 'That's tough.' 'I didn't know.' 'I don't know how I feel about this!' "I'm sorry."
His gaze softened, the knot between his brow that she didn't notice was there suddenly disappearing. He looked around the room and let on a long breath, eyes settling back on her with a smile so genuine her breath caught in her throat.
"I know this is cheesy and it's in every movie – but I never told anyone this before."
She looked down with a small smile on the side of her mouth.
"You're right, that is really cheesy. But no one's ever said it to me before so I think you get a pass."
He laughed and it almost sounded lighter, like it wasn't weighed down by so many dark secrets.
A thought still itched at the back of her mind.
"So knowing what you do now, if you could go back to 1994 would you do anything differently?"
"Honestly? No. I lived in that house for 22 years and I knew it was going to end badly for me before I aced my first spell. I grew up in a world where it's kill or be killed, and I'm a survivor."
As much as she hated to admit it, she could see where he was coming from. If she grew up in a world where it's survival of the fittest style and the most powerful make it out alive, she'd be lying if she said she wouldn't give it her all as well.
"See? Not all bad once you start peeling back the layers, which I plan on doing to you too," he remarked, undressing her with his eyes as he trailed her up and down.
"In your dreams," she smiled sweetly.
"Yours too," he shot back, feigning innocence.
She shook her head and stood up, not knowing where she wanted to go but feeling like she needed to be in movement.
He looked up at her with an amused expression.
"So," she asked casually, "what's for dinner?"
