A/N: Thanks to all the reviewers, followers and favorites! You guys make my day!
Okay, I understand some people didn't like my killing Kol off, but it needed to happen for Andy. Plus, who said I can't bring him back?
Poison & Wine - Chapter LIII
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"I don't get why you went," I grumbled into the phone as I paced around Klaus' mansion. It had been a day since everything had gone done, and I had no where else to go after that night so I came here. I was on the phone with Rebekah right now, and she had left with my 'family' to go retrieve the cure. Needless to say, I wasn't happy about it.
"Well, you certainly weren't going to come, given you want all of them to burn in hell for all eternity,"
"Yeah, well, they did kill your brother," I sat myself down on the couch and took a swig out of a bottle of whiskey. I had reverted to drinking, yes, but it was to numb the pain. I didn't want to think about any of that. "Have you spoken to Elijah? I mean, my old phone got destroyed, but I got a new one... H-He's not called me since before―" I choked up and had to stop. "I'm just worried, Bekah. What if something happened to him?"
She sighed. "Andy, sweetheart, I'm sure Elijah is fine. He's probably just busy with Emmeline... Which you probably did not want to hear. Anyways, why don't you go visit Klaus? This lot said that you had to be drug away from him."
"Well, 'that lot' killed your brother and they have you there with them... I need Elijah, Rebekah. I mean, his brother's dead, how am I suppose to tell him my brother is the one who did it?"
"I do not know, Andrea. You'll figure it out. I've got a cure to find, okay?"
"Your brother's dead, Rebekah! You shouldn't care about some stupid cure! You can burn in hell as far as I'm concerned!" I shouted before I hung up the phone. I downed the rest of the bottle before I got up and grabbed another. Popping it open I started drinking it, until I was interrupted by my phone ringing. Figuring it was Rebekah, I picked it up without checking. "What do you want now?"
"Andrea?" I heard Elijah's voice said in the speaker, causing me to freeze up.
"Elijah?" I asked in shock, my voice breaking. "Elijah, what are you doing there?! Why haven't you called me?" I bursted into tears. I couldn't handle this, I felt like I was breaking.
"Well, I knew that your family wouldn't be willing to take along two Originals with them, so I decided to follow without their knowledge," He explained in a calm tone, as if he didn't know. "I arrived at your house just as they were dragging you away from Niklaus. I had a brief conversation with him before I went to find them. At first I was going to do what I thought necessary, but then heard them mention the cure, so here I am."
"They don't know you're on the island?"
"No, and they won't until the cure is discovered,"
I felt fear for my family's lives rise up in me, but I pushed it away as best as I could. I didn't want to feel anything for them. "You've got to be careful, Elijah, I'll never forgive myself if you die on that island,"
"Don't blame yourself for Kol's death, Andrea, he brought it on himself. He shouldn't have been stirring up trouble,"
I swallowed and tried to stop crying, but it didn't work. "I helped him though... " I had helped Kol get himself killed. It was my fault. If I hadn't encouraged it, if I had gone with him, he would still be alive.
"Andrea... "
"Just, be careful, okay? I can't handle it if something happens to you,"
"I will be," We hung up and I immediately picked up the bottle and downed the rest of it.
"Andy?"
I didn't turn to face Tyler. I don't know how he found me here to why he was here, but I really didn't care. I just wanted to drink and forget everything. "Come to gloat about Kol's death?"
"Are you drunk?"
"Not just yet, but I got a buzz," I said as I took a swig out of the bottle.
"You do realize alcohol is a trigger for seizures? Which I've been informed you've been having lately," He said right before the bottle was swiped from my grasp. I just got up and grabbed another.
"I just want to mourn, Tyler, and I'd prefer if it was away from you guys," I said as I popped it open. "Is it too much to ask for?"
"Klaus bit Caroline, Andy, and he refuses to heal her,"
I chugged half the bottle before I looked at him again. "Life for a life is what he's doing, eh?"
"Andy, she's your friend, you can't just let her die," He pointed out.
I stared over at him with a blank expression. "Yes, I actually can. Besides, do you really think Klaus will listen to me, Tyler? He'll know you got me to ask him the moment I walk through that door."
"Just... Just do it for me,"
"You tried to kill him! And he retaliated but killing your mother! What do I owe you?"
"You don't, but you'll regret it for the rest of your life," He walked up and put his hands on my shoulders.
"No, I wouldn't, and you know I wouldn't," I said in a dead tone. "But I'll see what I can do. I make no promises." I grabbed my bag and tossed a new bottle in there and kept on drinking the one I had. "You should probably drive."
Tyler was carrying a weak looking Caroline in his arms. She had attempted to talk to me in the car, but I shut her down. As we headed towards the house, I threw the empty bottle of whiskey on the ground, causing it to shatter everywhere.
"Can you be careful?" Tyler asked me and I flipped him off before opening the door for him; he carried Caroline into the living room and laid her down on the floor. I reluctantly followed but stayed out of eyesight from Klaus. My eyes stayed glued to the burnt body in the kitchen.
Tyler glared at him from outside that barrier. "You want to be in control, Klaus? Here. Now you get to be in control of her life. If you want her to die, fine. But then you can sit here and watch her die yourself."
Tyler left the house then without a second glance at Caroline. I heard Klaus speak, "Nothing personal, love. If I cure you, that means victory for him. Don't worry. It won't be long now."
I walked past the doorway, not bothering to glance over at them, and went to Kol's body. I kneeled by it and gently touched where his face should've been. Tears slipped from my eyes. Kol's death was my fault, I had encouraged it. I should have convinced him that it was going to be fine, that Silas probably didn't even exist...
I opened the new bottle of whiskey and took a long swig. Kol's body stunk but I didn't want to leave his side.
"Andy?" I heard Klaus from behind me but I didn't move.
"What can I help you with, Nik?" I snapped.
There was a short pause. "Did he suffer too badly?"
I looked over my shoulder, our gazes meeting. I felt his grief through the bond between us, and I empathized with him. This was his brother. "For a few seconds," I said in a whisper, tears spilling over my eyes. "But it went away after a while." I had told the truth, but I had left out the fact my skin had felt it was on fire the entire time Kol's body was on fire. I was keeping myself drunk so I didn't have to deal with the strain of feeling like I was dying once again.
I turned back to Kol's body and felt tempted to place a kiss on where his forehead should've been, but I didn't. Instead I stood and walked to the barrier Klaus was trapped behind, glancing briefly over at Caroline before looking over at Klaus. "You don't owe them anything," I begun with. "And I certainly don't owe them anything, but you, as a breathing person, should save her life."
He looked at me in shock. "Save her? She mocked Kol and me! She got what she deserved, and Tyler is going to get what he deserved."
My bottom lip quivered and I had to tear my eyes away. "You remember when they desiccated you? How you felt?" He didn't answer so I continued. "I felt every moment of it, and every other time someone tried to kill an Original or succeeded in doing so. I've died three times... And every time it gets scarier and scarier because I know that's what I'll feel when it happens to me, and those feelings aren't pleasant."
I started choking up and started sobbing, but I tried my best to continue. "I told everyone I love I hope they die, but I don't. I hate them for what they did to Kol, but I could never wish death on anyone. Not even my worst enemy."
For a long moment, the only sounds were Caroline's heavy breathing and my calming sobs. I could see that Klaus wanted to grab me, but as I was on the other side of the barrier, I was just out of his reach.
"And Elijah seemed as if he was hardly affected by Kol's death," I whispered. "He even followed them to the cure! Why does it seem like I'm one of the only two who cared about Kol?" I knew it wasn't true that their were only two people who cared for Kol - I was referring to Klaus and myself - but I was hurt by the fact Elijah hadn't ran here the moment he found out and that Rebekah had gone with the very people who had not only killed two of her brothers, but had the stake that could kill her in their possession.
"Andy," Klaus breathed out, and tried to move towards me but he hit the barrier. "Come here, love."
I shook my head and clutched the bottle to my chest. "I don't want your comfort, Klaus, and I can't offer you any because I don't know how to. All I know is that I'm going to break at any moment, and when that comes..." I shivered before I took a sip and looked at him with a blank expression. "Why did you kill Carol Lockwood, Klaus?"
He stared at me a long moment before answering, "To get back at Tyler,"
"You didn't have to kill her," I whispered. "You had me. You didn't need your stupid hybrids anyway. You didn't need to seek revenge if Tyler couldn't have actually hurt you. You could've come home to me. Wasn't I enough?" Tears spilled over my eyes. Why wasn't I enough for anyone? Tyler sought out Vicki, Damon went after Elena, Elijah was still hung up over Anastasia and Emmeline, and Klaus just had problems.
Klaus once again tried to move towards me but was stopped. "You're more than enough, Andy. You're everything and more. Don't let anyone make you feel that way again, especially me." He practically growled.
I looked over at Caroline lying on the sofa. Her breathing was raspy now, and I knew she didn't have long. "If you don't feed me your blood, I'll die," She said, her voice weak and barely audible, at least to my ears.
Klaus frowned, obviously not happy she interrupted out conversation and didn't even bother looking at her. "Then you'll die, and Tyler will have learned his lesson the hard way," He said in a monotone.
Caroline barely managed to look over at us, but she continued to solely address Klaus. "How could you do this to him? To his mom? To Andy?"
Klaus looked over at her now with complete irritation. "I'm a thousand years old. Call it boredom,"
Caroline had to keep on pushing it. "I don't believe you."
"Fine. Then maybe it's because I'm pure evil, and I can't help myself,"
"It's because you were hurt. Which means that there is a part of you that is human," As she spoke, Klaus seemed to finally have his attention completely on her, though he remained close to me.
"How could you possibly think that?" He asked her, trying for a disinterested tone but obviously was completely interested.
Caroline continued wit grasping breath, her eyes closing. "Because I've seen it, when you're with Andy. Because... I know Andy wishes that she could forget all the horrible things that you've done... And I want to forget so I can be happy that she's with you." I knew what Caroline was doing, she was trying to play Klaus. She was giving me a stage to get him to save her.
Klaus shook his head at her. "But you can't, and she most certainly can't... Can she?"
Then Caroline said something that basically sealed the deal for her survival. "I know that you're in love with Andy. And she said anybody capable of love is capable of being saved."
Klaus, his eyes glistening, looked back at me. I kept my expression neutral and kept my eyes on Caroline, hating myself for going along with this stupid plan. I was just helping them when I should be digging their graves. "You're hallucinating," Klaus whispered.
"I guess I'll never know... " She said, and her breathing caught.
"Caroline?" I questioned and crossed the barrier, forgetting I was now within access of Klaus, and taking a few steps towards Caroline.
Her breathing was labored then weak and fading. "Klaus-" I turned towards him. "Don't let her die. Please."
For a moment longer Klaus looked torn, but finally he went over to her. He lifted her into a sitting position, sat behind her, bit open his wrist and put it to her mouth and she started drinking. Klaus smoothed her hair as she regained strength and continued to drink.
I stepped out of the barrier and backed away. I needed to get away from here, I needed to get fresh air and away from this place.
I ran outside and fell to my knees, sobs breaking from my lips. I felt like one more blow, and I would shatter. I just didn't know when that final blow would hit, but I had a feeling it would be soon.
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The End of Chapter LIII
So I wasn't completely happy with this chapter, it's really just a short filler but it moves some things along. Next chapter: Andy decides who she wants!
~ The Onceler's Unless
