CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
CAROLINE'S P.O.V
When I woke up I felt horrible. My back ached, my head throbbed, and I felt like I was going to burst into tears any second.
The reason for my feeling horrible was obvious. Today was the day that I would be saying goodbye to my best friend.
Rolling out of bed, I tried not to dwell on anything to long, as I turned on the faucet and began to fill the bathtub. While the tub filled up I brushed through the bird's nest that was my hair, and then walked into the room to get my clothes from my bag. I had chosen just a simple black dress, with black tights, and ballet flats. I wasn't ready just yet to brave wearing heels.
Laying the dress down flat on the bed, I felt the soft material between my fingers. Tears prickled my eyes, and I sighed before rubbing my hands furiously again my face. I didn't know if I could do this today, but I was going to push myself no matter what.
I made quick work of bathing, I usually would have chosen a shower over a bath, but with the aches and pains I thought a bath would be more beneficial. Once I was done I blow dried my hair, applied barely any makeup, not needing to look like a model today, and put on my dress and shoes.
Before I left the room, I stopped to look at myself in the mirror, staring at how different I was from the last time I attended a funeral, even though it wasn't that long ago in the scheme of things. Everyone always seemed to die in Mystic Falls.
Making my way down the flight of stairs, I was unsure if Klaus would be down there or up in his room. When I turned into the lounge room that lead off of the main room, I found him sitting on the couch, glass of bourbon on the table, and a sketch pad resting in his lap.
He looked up as I entered the room, and a small hesitant smiled filled his face, making his dimples appear. I returned his smiled, fighting down the sorrow that filled me.
"Good morning, Love." He said, placing the sketch book down on the coffee table, beside his half-finished drink.
"Morning, Klaus." I walked closer to him, catching a glimpse of the sketch in his book before he flipped it closed. Me.
"When will your mum come to pick you up?"
"The…" I paused on the word that caught in my throat. "It starts at 10:30. So she should be here soon."
Sitting down on the opposite side of the couch that he sat on, I crossed one leg over the other, and leant back against the soft chair. Closing my eyes as I tried to mentally prepare myself for the day ahead of me. Not only would I be burying my best friend, my friends would be find out that I was cured today. Something that I had wanted to keep to myself for as long as possible.
There were going to be so many questions that I wouldn't want to answer. So many things that I wanted to say to them, but was too scared to do so.
My eyes shot up at the feel of Klaus wrapping his arm around my shoulder. He had shifted across the couch and was sitting directly next to me now, pulling me closer to him as his arm wrapped around me.
"It'll be alright." He whispered. "Just remember that you can call me at any point, and I'll be there to pick you up."
"I know. I just, I feel sick to my stomach."
Not even five minutes later, Klaus stood up from the couch and headed towards the front door. My mum was here. I stood up and followed behind him, pulling at my dress in my nerves.
My mum surprisingly wasn't wearing her uniform today. She wore black pants, and a nice black blouse, with her short hair hanging loose. She smiled at Klaus and greeted him politely, and then her smile turned sad as she took me in.
"Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be." I replied, stepping out the front door. Turning back to Klaus I gave him a small smile. "I'll see you later, don't get up to too much trouble."
I fidgeted the whole drive to the Salvatore's. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't sit still. Mum had the radio playing quietly, but no matter how closely I listened to it, my brain always strayed back to our destination.
It didn't take up too long to reach the Salvatore's. My heart raced in my chest as I looked at the cars parked in the driveway. Elena's, Matt's…Tyler's. I sighed and ran my hand through my pulled back hair. I hadn't heard from Tyler since the day I had broken up with him. Mainly because I had ignored every message he sent me, and he ultimately gave up. Today was not going to be fun.
My mum pulled in next to Matt's car, and I wringed my hands in my hands as she turned the ignition off and opened her door. Looking towards the front door, my stomach churned as I saw Stefan open the door and look out towards my mum's car.
"It will be alright, Caroline." My mum said as she climbed out.
I followed behind her as we walked towards Stefan. A smile had broken out on his face the moment he saw me, and when mum and I got close enough he rushed forward to wrap me in a bear hug.
"Caroline, I'm so glad you could make it." He said, squeezing me tight. I hugged him back, looking over his shoulder as Elena came walking out of the house.
I could tell the exact moment that Stefan realised that I was human. His whole body tensed, and he took a deep breathe in through his nose. I winced as he pushed me away and looked at me with his mouth open in shock.
Elena came walking around him, pushing him out of the way as she wrapped me in an equally as hard hug. I prayed that the strength behind their hugs wouldn't set my back off any more than it already was. All I needed was to be in pain all day.
"What?" Elena gasped as she pushed me back and stared at me just as shocked as Stefan still looked.
I stood up straighter, shorter than Elena because she was wearing heels, but holding my head high. I didn't have anything to hide or be ashamed of. I hadn't done anything wrong.
"It's a long story." I said, meeting Elena's eyes steadily. "We can talk about it later on."
Elena didn't look like she wanted to let it go, and I wondered if she had told anyone what she had intended to do to Katherine. Stefan seemed to accept my brushing it off, and wrapped me in another hug.
"How has your holiday been?" He asked, leading me into the house with my mother and Elena coming in behind us. "Have you liked seeing the world?"
"It's been great. I've seen some pretty interesting things so far." I said, making sure to edge around the truth. I didn't want anyone to know that I had spent half of my 'holiday' unconscious, and the other half living surrounding myself with people who had tried to kill all of us at one point or another.
"That's good. I miss travelling."
Our small conversation ended as we stepped into the parlour where everyone was sitting and having a pre-service drink. My throat instantly dried up and I wished I could get myself a stiff drink, but I couldn't with the pain killers Kida had me on.
Damon stood next to the bar, a drink in hand. Jeremy and Matt sat together in one corner of the room, talking quietly together, with Tyler not too far away from them, looking like he didn't want to be here at all. Alaric was near the bar with Damon, talking to Abby who looked distraught. I hadn't been sure if Abby was going to come today, but I was glad that she had come.
Everyone looked up Stefan, Elena, my mum, and I entered. Tyler jumped up from his seat and made his way over, moving to wrap me in a hug. I held my hand up, I had had enough hugs for the day. I didn't need any more bone crushing. He looked crestfallen as he greeted me. Matt was next to come up, and I let him give me a short one-armed hug, knowing that he wouldn't be able to hurt me.
"Caroline, I'm so glad you could make it." Abby said as she stepped forward. I smiled sadly at her.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world. No vacation is worth more than this."
I ended up sitting down next to Matt and Jeremy, joined by Stefan. They both asked me questions about my trip, and I tried to edge around the truth as best as possible, giving them hazy details about not having left America, and seeing 'all the sights'.
"We're going to head into the woods now." Elena announced, speaking to the whole room. "There's a place not too far from here which we've set up for the ceremony.
Staying with Matt, we started to make our way through the thin tree line, I was glad that I had wanted to be practical today. We came to a stop at the clearing that had a tree stump in the centre of it. I looked around as the sunlight flittered through the trees, casting a nice glow on the space. There was a photo of Bonnie in the centre of the stump, resting on a thin blanket.
We all stood around the stump and my chest constricted as if a dart had penetrated it. This was it. We were saying goodbye to Bonnie. She was really gone.
Jeremy walked up the front, looking extremely nervous as he looked at us all. I knew why instantly why he was chosen to speak. He wasn't speaking at all. Bonnie was giving him the message that he was supposed to convey.
He cleared his throat, looking beside him before he spoke. "Bonnie doesn't want anyone to spend too long mourning her. She had a great life, and she got to do things that no normal person would ever be able to do. She got to spend an amazing eighteen years surrounded by people she loved, both friends and family, and she got to use her power to save those people, even at the cost of herself.
I sob wracked in my chest and Matt wrapped him arm over my shoulder, pulling me closer.
"Bonnie wanted me to give you all a message. Abby, she wanted me to tell you that you did what you thought was right, and that Bonnie doesn't blame you for that. Matt, she told me to tell you that your more than just a bus boy. She said that you know what you want to do with your life now, and to not hesitate when it comes to achieving that. Alaric, she wanted me to tell you that giving up her life to save both you and me, she wouldn't take it back even if she could. Sheriff Forbes, she wanted you to know that she was always grateful for all that you did for her and everyone, how you were always there to help with any trouble that arose. Damon, she wants you to stop being a dick. Stop taking shit for granted, and treating people like their nothing. Tyler, she wishes you luck in the world, and wants you to know that your path can always alter. Stefan, she wants you to know that you shouldn't let the bloodlust control you. Don't let that dictate how you live your life. And she wants you to know that you don't have be chained to this place out of obligation, you should go and do the things you want to do without your ties here stopping you from doing that. Elena, she wants you to know that she'll always love you, and that she wants you to go to college and become to doctor that you always wanted to be, because being a vampire doesn't change the fact you can save hundreds of lives…and Caroline. She wants you to know that you there is so much more to your situation than you even know. That you are precisely in the place that you need to be in, and that you shouldn't hold back if what you're looking at is what you really want."
Jeremy turned to the empty space besides him, and tears filled his eyes. I wiped at my own as Bonnie's words sunk in. she knew where I had been, and she knew what had happened between Klaus and I. She wasn't angry that I opened myself up to the prospect that Klaus and I might one day be together.
Matt pulled me tighter to his side and grabbed a tissue from his pocket, handing it me. I rubbed my eyes and blew my nose on it. My body tensed and aching.
"She also wanted me to let you know that she doesn't want everyone searching for a way to save her. She died for a reason, and she doesn't want anyone else endangering themselves to bring her back." He paused, a tear running down his cheek. "That she died at exactly the right time, and that now it's time for her to spend her time on the other side waiting for us to join her there."
After Bonnie's speech, we all laid roses down on the tree stump, saying a few quiet words that we all knew she would be able to hear.
We walked slowly back to the house, the sunlight now high in the sky, heating up the day. Sweat started to run down my forehead and back, making me feel even more uncomfortable than I already did.
We all sat down in the same places we had been before we had walked out to the woods, my mum stopping next to me to ask if I was okay. I told her that I was fine and then sunk into my own thoughts.
Klaus was on my mind. And Bonnie's words made me think over every second I had spent with him in my time in New Orleans. He and I were fated together, and I had been spending more time with him growing to understand what all of that meant. Getting to know him, his family, and his werewolf feelings towards me. I had effectively given him the green light in regards to our future, but I hadn't thought about the 'when' or 'how' of it.