Elena happily joined me at the kitchen table and started making herself breakfast.
"I take it things went well between you and Stefan," I commented at her good mood.
"Actually, we're together now," Elena told me with a goofy smile.
I nearly choked on my cereal.
"Really?"
In my head I was chanting: Stelena! Stelena! Stelena!
Elena nodded with a smile. "Isn't it amazing?"
That's when my half-awake mind remembered that Elena and Stefan being together wasn't such a good thing. I still didn't know if Stefan was a trustworthy guy; I wanted to talk to him before I could fully approve of the relationship.
"Are you sure about this?" I asked. "Maybe you should take it a little more slow."
"Slow?" Elena asked incredulously. "I thought you were on team… What did you call it?"
"Stelena," I muttered.
"Right. I thought you were on Team Stelena. Why aren't you happy for me? Why isn't anyone happy for me?" she complained. "Bonnie was telling me to take it slow, too. What is with you guys?"
"Of course I'm happy for you!" I said quickly. "But… Are you absolutely sure you can trust him? I don't want you to get your heart broken."
"Of course I can trust him," Elena argued.
But how did she know? I frowned, thinking of yesterday. I really didn't want her to get hurt. This was the first time after Mom and Dad she was putting herself out there again. I didn't want it to blow up in her face.
I arrived at school too early, but it didn't bother me much. I found an empty table on the quad and sat down, letting my thoughts wander freely.
Vicki's attack kept returning to my mind. The way Jer and I had found her had been gruesome, and… well, mind reading was one thing, but I could swear my bad feeling had been trying to warn me about it. It felt crazy to even entertain the idea. I mean, what was I, one of Bonnie's Grams' witches? It was too crazy to think about.
I couldn't tell Elena. She was finally starting to move on from the accident, and I doubted she'd believe me. Jer had enough going on, too. I felt reluctant to tell my friends, especially Caroline. I couldn't explain it to them properly, because I barely undertstood it myself. Maybe I was just going crazy. Maybe it was nothing.
My gut, however, told me that that wasn't the case. I couldn't let it go.
But speaking of Caroline, I hadn't spoken to her in a while. I wondered what was going on with her.
"Hey," someone huffed when they sat next to me. I looked up, and there was Bonnie. She looked concerned, confused and defeated.
"Hi, something wrong?" I asked, eager to hear someone else's problems and forget all about mine.
"What, why would you think that?" Bonnie asked, startled.
"Because you look like something's wrong," I informed her, and waited patiently for her to start talking.
"You know I've been…seeing things lately," she started, a little hesitant. "Well, last night when I touched Stefan I got this really bad feeling."
"A bad feeling?" I repeated. I wasn't the only one? Then again, back at the bonfire, when Bonnie touched the beer bottle and had her vision she'd said she had a bad feeling. I was having one then, too. Maybe it wasn't a coincidence. Maybe me and Bonnie were going through the same thing?
"Yeah, like dangerously bad," she insisted. "I told Elena but she just kind of blew it off. I'm worried about her, Melanie."
"Me too…"
"I don't know what's going on with me," Bonnie went on. "I feel like I'm going crazy! I'm seeing things, feeling things..."
"You are not crazy, Bonnie Bennett," I told her sternly. If anyone was crazy here in Mystic Falls, it was me. Not Bonnie. She was my friend, and going through practically the same thing. Surely I could tell her.
"Bonnie, listen—"
The bell rang.
Bonnie smiled at me. "You know what? Just forget it, I'll be fine. I've gotta get to class."
With that, she hurried off, and with her any shred of confidence I had. Guess I'd tell her another time. School wasn't the right place for this, anyway. What if someone overheard? People would call me a freak, and they'd probably be right. Not that I ever really fit in, anyway. Most of the cheerleaders disliked me because of my smoking phase, and every other clique disliked me because I hung out with cheerleaders.
There was also the issue that no one knew how to treat me after Mom and Dad. They thought it was awkward, so they didn't bother. Everyone except my friends. Bonnie was my friend. She'd stuck by me through a lot. And now she was struggling, and I had no idea how to help her.
With a sigh I made my way to towards history class. Once I was in class and seated I began to ponder about what could be happening to Bonnie. Everyone was brushing her bad feelings of as nothing, even Elena. What could be going on with her?
"Hey, Mel."
Speak of the devil…
I turned to my sister who was sitting behind me. "Hey. What's up?"
Elena frowned. "I just want to know why you're against my relationship with Stefan all of a sudden. Are you and Bonnie tag teaming to annoy me or something?"
"Of course not!" I protested. "Leen, you know I want you to be happy. I just…"
"You what?"
"I just think you should take it more slow. You just broke up with Matt last summer. Don't you think it's a little too soon?" I said.
I still hadn't had a single proper conversation with Stefan, other than the one where he'd acted all shady. I needed to talk to him again and figure him out. And I had to do it the old-fashioned way, because for some reason, Salvatores were immune to mind reading.
"Well, I don't need your help or advice," Elena told me.
I was about to reply when Tanner walked in, so I turned my attention to him. He began embarrassing everyone with how little we knew about dates.
I zoned out, thinking about Bonnie. Were we really going through the same thing? Could she read minds too, and did that cause her immunity? Did that mean Stefan and Damon were also mind readers?
"Ms. Gilbert?"
I startled, heard a high-pitched sound and felt a flush creep up my face when I realized the sound had come from me. I'd been so lost in thought, I was totally unprepared for Tanner's scrutiny. The class snickered. I was probably a tomato by now.
"Glad to see you're paying attention." Tanner rolled his eyes. "Now. Pearl Harbor?"
And of course he had to ask the one date I didn't know. Pearl Harbor happened sometime in 1941, but that was all I knew. Everyone was looking at me expectantly, which made me more nervous. It was like everyone was waiting for me to fail.
In all of my panic and embarassment, it didn't even occur to me that I could just read Tanner's mind for the answer and be done with it.
"December 7, 1941," Stefan said suddenly, coming to my rescue. I looked at him in surprise, while Tanner seemed less than amused.
"Thank you Ms. Gilbert," Tanner pointed out rudely.
"Anytime," Stefan responded, but he wasn't looking at Tanner, he was looking at me. I knew he'd probably done it because he knew it would win me over, but still. This earned some freakin' brownie points. He really saved me.
"Very well, the fall of the Berlin wall."
"1989. I'm good with dates, sir."
"Are you, how good?" Tanner asked, he loved a challenge. "Keep it to the year. Civil Rights Act."
"1964," Stefan answered.
"John F. Kennedy assassination," Tanner continued.
"1963."
"Martin Luther King."
"68."
"Lincoln."
"1865."
"Roe vs Wade."
"1973."
"Brown vs Board."
"1954."
"The battle of Gettysburg."
"1863."
"Korean war."
"1950 to 1953."
"Ha!" Tanner laughed. "It ended in '52!"
"Uh, actually sir," Stefan said as Tanner walked away from him. "it was '53."
I prayed he was right. It would really put Tanner is his place.
"Look it up," Tanner said, not wanting to be wrong. "Someone, quickly!"
"It was 19…53," a student said. The class broke into little snickers (I was glad it wasn't directed at me this time) and comments about how much smarter Stefan was than Tanner.
The rest of class was uneventful and boring, and I was glad when it was over.
I was stretching in preparation for cheerleading practice with Bonnie in silence. It was just the two of us; Elena rarely went to practice, and Caroline…strangely hadn't arrived yet.
I ignored (or tried to, anyway) a pointed stare from one of the other cheerleeaders. Judging by the way she and her little friend were staring at me, it was about me. Figures. I turned away, making sure they weren't in my line of sight anymore.
So, yeah, I wasn't kidding earlier when I mentioned the cheerleaders didn't like me. The only reason I was co-captain was because of Caroline. The only reason I still cheered was because of her and Bonnie.
As we waited for Caroline to arrive (I couldn't start the practice without my co-captain), Bonnie said, out of nowhere: "Is that Elena? In uniform?"
I looked up and sure enough, my sister was walking towards us dressed in her cheer uniform. I smiled at the sight. If Elena started to cheer again, it would be all four of us again. I missed that. I missed the way things had been before the accident.
"Oh my god, you're actually here!" Bonnie exclaimed as soon as the girl arrived.
"I can't be sad forever," Elena said. I grinned and managed to stop myself from embracing her, but barely. She had no idea how long I'd wanted to hear her say that. I wanted to ask what changed, but… I knew. "You're coming over for dinner tonight, by the way."
"I am?" Bonnie asked.
"She is?" I asked at the same time.
"Yep, you, me, Mel…" Why was I only hearing about this now? "…and Stefan," Elena finished.
"Tonight's no good," Bonnie said. "Have you seen Caroline? I texted her like a hundred times."
"Yeah me too, I'm kinda starting to get worried."
"Hey, don't change the subject you two! You're both going to be there, no excuses. No hiding in your room," Elena looked at me, before turning to Bonnie, "No canceling. No excuses."
Bonnie gave in. "Alright, I'll go."
"Good, Mel?" My sister turned to me.
I supposed it could give me a chance to get to know him better, finally get rid of the distrust. "Me too."
"Thank you," she said, satisfied.
"Seriously, where is Caroline though?" Bonnie asked.
"Yeah, this is so not like her," I said. Elena agreed and nodded.
"I'll try her again…" Bonnie trailed off when we noticed a blue camaro pulling up into the carpark. One of the passengers was Caroline, and the other? It was Damon. I felt my jaw drop when the two kissed. Caroline and Damon? A thing? Did not see that one coming.
"Oh my god, that must be the mystery guy from the grill," Bonnie said, awestruck.
"That's Damon Salvatore," Elena explained.
I watched Caroline run over to us. She turned to Elena and sang, "I got the other brother, hope you don't mind."
I looked back at the camaro, only to notice Damon staring straight at me. I stared back, lifting an eyebrow. A couple of seconds went by before he winked and took off.
"Sorry I'm late girls," Caroline announced. "I was, uh, busy. Alright, let's start!"
"And 5, 6, 7, 8. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8," Caroline counted as we did the cheer routine.
Bonnie wasn't too bad, but I could tell my sister was having trouble to pick it up. I felt bad for her, because we would probably have to put her in the back.
Caroline seemed to notice too. "Elena, sweetie. Why don't you just observe today, okay?" she said, as Elena moved to the back. "Okay, let's take it from the top! And 5, 6, 7, 8. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8."
"Okay, so I'm really starting to consider this witch thing," Bonnie said.
"Can witches read minds, do you think?" I asked, straining to sound casual.
Elena, who knew about my ability, looked at me sharply. Bonnie, who had no clue, laughed.
"No. I'm talking about witches, not sparkly vampires," she said.
"I thought we threw the witch theory out the window," Elena said, bringing a bowl to the center island in the kitchen.
I was certainly throwing my witch theory out the window.
I tuned out their conversation and started texting Caroline instead.
Melanie: Sooooooo, you and Damon Salvatore, huh.
Caroline: Smooth Mel
Caroline: But yeah he's so amazing
Melanie: So you guys are serious?
Caroline: Yeah definitely
Caroline: But I gotta go see you later
Well, I was happy for my friend. Finally picked by a guy she wanted. I hoped she felt less insecure now that that had happened. But what did 'see you later' mean? As far as I knew, I wasn't going to be seeing Caroline tonight.
I put my phone away.
"You know, putting it in a nice bowl isn't fooling anybody," Bonnie was saying. I snickered.
Elena paid us no mind, though, opening several drawers in distress. "Serving spoons, where are the serving spoons?"
"Middle drawer on your left," Bonnie answered before I could react.
Elena opened the drawer and gave her a surprised look as she picked up the spoons. She quickly shrugged it off. "Okay, so you've been in this kitchen like a thousand times."
"So have you, and you couldn't find them," I pointed out. Elena made a face but then the doorbell rang.
"Okay, he's here. Don't be nervous," she said to both of us. "Just… Be your normal, loving self."
Was she talking to us or to herself?
Elena skipped out of the kitchen, leaving me and Bonnie. We sat in silence until Bonnie got up. She didn't speak or look at me.
"Birthday candles," she spoke out loud, before opening the drawer closest to her. And sure enough, there sat a box of birthday candles. Bonnie made a face. I reached over to rub her arm.
"It's okay, Bonnie, it's all gonna be okay," I said in a weak attempt to comfort her. But I didn't even believe it myself. We weren't going to be okay. Weird stuff was happening to the both of us and we didn't know why or how.
The two of us made our way into the dining room and World's Most Awkward Dinner began. No one was talking and all I could hear was the loud cling noises of the cutlery. Another second of this silence and I was going to go insane.
"Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" Elena asked Stefan.
Ugh. Tanner. I didn't want to think about him while eating.
"Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right," Stefan replied modestly.
"You were trying out for the team?" I asked, trying to seem interested. I wanted to give this a shot, for Elena's sake. My sister's earlier 'I can't be sad forever' comment had to have been a Stefan-influenced thing. I wanted to give him a chance.
Elena smiled, elated. "Yeah. He's really good, too."
"Tyler must be furious," I said, lips curling into a wry smile.
Elena let out a relieved laugh at the ice-breaker. "Yeah. Bonnie, you should have seen him. Tyler threw a ball right at him, and—
"Yeah. I heard," Bonnie replied tensely.
I chuckled, trying to relieve the increasing tension. "I would have paid to see the look on Tyler's face."
"I take it you're not Tyler's biggest fan?" Stefan asked, his curious green eyes studying my face.
"The guy's a douche. Does anyone actually like him?"
Apart from the Donovans. But they're weird, so they don't count.
"Tyler and Melanie used to date, so it's a little awkward," Elena explained to her boyfriend. A dreamy look crossed her eyes whenever she looked at him. Boy, this girl was smitten.
"Ah, I see," Stefan said, nodding.
…And we went back to silence.
"Why don't you tell Stefan about your family, Bonnie?" Elena tried again after a few minutes. This girl just wasn't giving up.
"Um, divorced, no mom, live with my dad," Bonnie replied simply.
"No…about the witches," Elena said, a little annoyed.
Bonnie tried to close down the conversation at first, but Stefan was able to get her talking. He seemed impressed when she told him that her family were the Salem witches.
"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity," he told her, throwing fancy words out there.
"Yeah they are," Bonnie said proudly. Guess that had earned some brownie points with her.
I was startled by the sound of the doorbell. I glanced up at Elena. "Did you rope anyone else into this?"
"We're not expecting more guests." Elena went to the door.
Suddenly Stefan's entire demeanor changed. He went from smiling to wide-eyed and frowning. It reminded me of the way he'd looked the night me and Matt asked him about Vicki. He got up without a word. I looked at Bonnie, confused, before we both got up to follow him.
Standing at the door were Caroline and her new boyfriend. Great. Just…great. As if World's Most Awkward Dinner wasn't bad enough.
I just wanted to go to my room, watch some dvd's and eat Pringles; was that too much to ask? I realized I was glaring at them, when Damon met my gaze with a crooked smile. He did that a lot. I quickly schooled my expression into something more neutral.
"Hey Melanie and Bonnie! I brought desert!" Caroline said happily when she saw us, presenting her cake. Any hope I had that they weren't staying after all evaporated. "Damon, these are my friends. That's Melanie, she's Elena's sister, and that's Bonnie."
"Mm-hm. Melanie and I already met," said Damon. Jealousy crossed Caroline's face and I felt bad. Caroline thought boys were a competition. I didn't want her to feel like she was competing with me. "She was drunk and I offered to drive her home. Wasn't that nice of me, brother?"
"Very. What are you doing here?" Stefan asked Damon, and wow, I was taken aback by the venom in his voice. Did Stefan hate Damon or what?
"Waiting for Elena or Melanie to invite me in," Damon said as Caroline waked inside, but he continued to stand close to the treshold.
"Oh yeah, you can—"
"Well, we were just finishing up," I cut off my sister, who shot me an annoyed glance. I just wanted this stupid dinner party to end already! Plus, Stefan clearly didn't want the guy here. "Unless you wanna help clean up, there's really no reason for you to stay."
"Yeah, she's right," Stefan agreed, shooting a desperate look to Elena which she obviously wasn't getting.
"But I have cake," Caroline protested, as if the fact of having cake should instantly change our minds.
"It's fine, come on in Damon," Elena said. Oblivious idiot.
Damon stepped over the treshold, smirking all the while. His default facial expression, apparently. "You have a beautiful home."
"Thank you." Elena smiled.
I rolled my eyes at them. I wasn't staying. Hell no. I said yes to dinner with Bonnie and Stefan; I didn't know that included dessert with Caroline and Damon. "Well, I have homework to do, so I'm just—"
"Melanie, you promised you'd stay," Elena cut me off, frowning.
All eyes were on me. I frowned. "Well, yeah, but I didn't exactly—"
"C'mon Mel, stay, I promise the dessert I brought is delicous," Caroline insisted. I suddenly realized this is what she had meant with 'see you later' on the phone. Because she and her boyfriend were gonna crash our dinner party.
Finally, I gave in. I didn't want Elena to be mad at me for bailing. Bitch could hold a grudge. "Alright, I'll stay, you needy people."
Caroline clasped her hands together, smiling at me. "I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that."
We went back to the living room, Caroline's cake in tow. They started talking about football and cheerleading.
"You know, you don't seem like the cheerleading type, Elena," Damon commented.
"Oh, it's just 'cause her parents died," Caroline cut off Elena's reply. I stared at her with disbelief, but she just kept talking. "Yeah, I mean she's just totally going through a blah phase. She used to be way more fun."
Wow. Just…wow. Sometimes Caroline's blunt comments could be really insensitive. Usually, I didn't take offense. It was just the way Caroline was, and I knew she meant well. But that comment…
It stung that she spoke about Mom and Dad in such a blasé tone of voice. Like they were just an inconvenience. Like their death was just an inconvience.
Noticing Bonnie's stern look, she added, "And… I say that with complete sensitivity."
I wondered when this stupid night would end.
"I'm sorry. I know what it's like to lose both your parents. In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die," said Damon. Yikes. That all sounded very tragic.
"We don't need to get into that right now, Damon," Stefan said, stiffening.
Boy, did this dinner suck. Caroline was being blunt as usual, and the Salvatores were creating a massive amount of tension. Upstairs, Pringles were calling my name…
"Oh you know what, you're right, Stef. I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was bring her up."
A loaded statement. I had absolutely no idea what it meant. I got out my phone, uncomfortable and bored with the conversation, and started texing Jenna.
Melanie: How's the upstairs life going? You join a gang yet?
Jenna: I'm watching tv. How's dinner?
Melanie: A mess.
Melanie: Caroline and her new boyfriend, who is also Stefan's brother arrived and it's very awkward. These brothers have some serious issues
Melanie: I honestly don't even know what's going on anymore
Jenna: Wow, am I glad I'm not in your shoes.
Melanie: I know right?
Jenna: You could always come upstairs. We could have our own dinner party. I have Pringles, your favorite flavor actually…
I smiled. Jenna knew me so well.
Melanie: I wish. Elena would kill me though
Jenna: Ah, sucks to be you then.
Melanie: It really does
Melanie: She'd probably make you help her hide my body so really, I'm doing you a favor
Melanie: Otherwise, you'd be an accomplice
"Mel, don't be rude," Elena scolded me. I glared at her.
Melanie: Gotta go. Don't want the sister to murder me in my sleep cause I was 'rude'
Jenna: Good, stay off the phone
Jenna: I'm too pretty for jail
I put my phone away and smiled mockingly. "Better?"
"Much," said Elena, returning the fake smile.
"So, Elena, I gotta ask," Damon started. "You and Melanie don't look much alike. How come?"
Unfortunately, Caroline spoke up before me or my sister could.
"Yeah, that's because Mel's adopted. Their mom thought she couldn't get pregant, though obviously that was a fluke." She laughed during the last part. "The whole town knows it, too. I think I once heard—"
"Caroline," Bonnie hissed.
Caroline opened her mouth, but I spoke up before she could even utter a single word, my eyes narrowing. "Let me guess. You say that with complete sensitivity?"
"…Well, yeah," she said. I saw guilt flickering in her eyes. I didn't care.
I think Elena could tell I was about to say something I'd regret. "Hey, Mel, why don't you go clear the table?"
I glared at her, not appreciating being handled like a bomb about to explode, but started gathering plates, anyway; I wanted to be away from the blunt blonde, I wanted to cool off.
I went to the kitchen to start putting the plates into the dishwasher.
I turned around to get another plate when Damon was suddenly right in front of me. I hadn't even hear him come in so I gasped loudly.
"Do you always do that?" I said, trying to calm my racing heart.
"Do what?"
"Sneak up on people."
He just smirked. Again: his default facial expression. "I brought you this." He held up a glass. I went to take it from him, but it slipped out of my hands. Damon caught it, though. Wow. Great reflexes, too.
"Nice save." I took the glass and turned around to the sink. "Sorry for the show back there, but hey. You did ask."
"To be fair, my question was directed at Elena," he said. I chuckled. "I like you, and your sister. You know how to laugh. And Elena makes Stefan happy, which is something I haven't seen in a long time."
"What makes you say that?" I asked. Stefan seemed happy enough. I mean, sure, he was uptight sometimes, but whenever he was around Elena, he seemed pretty laid-back, so… Huh. Damon had a point.
"Elena didn't tell you?" he asked, to which I shook my head. I couldn't read his mind and find out, so I waited impatiently for him to start talking. "Stefan's ex died a couple years ago. Katherine."
My eyes widened with curiosity, because, no, Elena hadn't told me. I hoped I wasn't being intrusive when I asked, "If you don't mind me asking… How did she die?"
"A fire," he said. For a second, his eyes flickered with something resembling pain and heartbreak, but he quickly masked it. "Tragic."
It wasn't my intention to pry—it really wasn't, but I couldn't help myself. It was a combination of simple curiosity and the fact that I was unable to read his mind and find out for myself, the way I usually could. So, I asked yet another question. "What was she like?"
"She was beautiful," he admitted, glancing at me. "A lot like you in that department, actually."
Though I couldn't fight the corners of my lips quirking upward after the compliment, I had to hold back a scoff at the obvious flirt attempt. Had he forgotten about Caroline already?
"But she was also very complicated and selfish, and at times not very kind. But she was sexy and seductive," he continued.
"You both dated her, didn't you?" I said. It was pretty obvious from the way that he talked about her.
He gave a small chuckle. "Picked up on that, did you?"
"I'm smarter than most people give me credit for," I said with a small smile. Though the whole Katherine thing was kinda depressing. I wanted to change the subject, so I did, hoping he wouldn't comment on it. I cleared my throat. "Anyway… You and Caroline seem to be getting along nicely."
"Is that jealousy I hear?" he teased. My eyes widened. I hadn't meant it like that. Sure, I was currently kinda at odds with her, but that didn't mean I wanted to hook up with her boyfriend. I knew what it was like to be cheated on; I wasn't about to do that to someone else.
"Get over yourself. I was just trying to change the subject."
You know, away from your dead ex? But I didn't say that, because…insensitivity. Unlike Caroline, I had a freakin' filter.
"…I'm sorry." He tilted his head in confusion. "About Katherine," I quickly clarified. "You lost her too."
He looked me in the eye, less smug than before. "You're a very caring person, Melanie."
"Thanks."
It sounded like this Katherine girl was the source of most of the animosity between the two brothers. Love triangles, man. They sucked—both on tv and in real life.
"Hey, do you guys need any help in here?" Bonnie said from the entrance of the kitchen. How long had she been standing there?
"Sure, why not?" Damon replied before we all started cleaning up whatever was left. After we finished, Damon left the kitchen, not before throwing a wink my way. I felt annoyed. This whole flirting with me while dating Caroline thing was getting old. Caroline had crippling insecurities, and he wasn't helping.
That annoyance concerning Caroline was the reason my heart sped up—the annoyance, only. It wasn't like he was getting to me or anything. Nope.
Bonnie studied my face. "What was that?"
"What was what?"
"That look you gave him. You do realize he's dating—"
"Whoa, slow down, Bon!" I exclaimed. "There was no look! He's just…flirty. That's not my fault."
"Mmm. Right," said Bonnie, clearly not believing me. "And that longing look you gave him was certainly not your fault either…"
I huffed. "There was no such look, Bonnie."
"Right." Disbelief colored her voice.
"There wasn't!"
"Mmm." She was silent for a few seconds. The playful mood was ruined when Bonnie spoke again, carefully choosing her words. "Hey, Mel, listen. I know what Caroline said was way out of line, but I talked to her, and she's really sorry."
I looked away. "Right."
"She is," Bonnie insisted, but her words just made my previous anger resurface.
"Well, you know what I am?" I snapped. "Pissed off. She had no right to say those things, especially not the way she said them. It's not just the comment about me, either; it's the thing about my parents and Elena, too. It was stupid, and insensitive, and—"
"And that's just how Caroline is," she interrupted. "You know that."
This was true, of course. But I was angry, and hurt, and I needed to cool down before I could go down the forgiveness road. "Look, Bon, I appreciate you playing mediator, but I just need some space right now."
Bonnie nodded, sadness flickering in her eyes. "Okay."
I sighed and went upstairs, straight to my room, not bothering to say goodbye to anyone.