A/N A little late, I know. Sorry you guys. I got caught up in Selwyn Kane and Bree Matthews, so forgive me. But here we are at last, the conclusion. EnJoy!
The Reunion
"Brother, so nice of you to join us" Luke voices and then flicking a look at Liv, who Bonnie totally forgot was even here, the other woman had been so quiet listening to her twin tell the tragic tale of Malachai and Delphine that she'd gone completely unnoticed, "For a minute there I thought you finally delivered up on your promise of killing him"
"Too bad" she states, flicking impassive eyes at Kai's struggling form. Luke finally rises from his spot beside her, making his way over to his brother who is currently trying to get out of his bindings.
Kai tosses a dirty look at his brother. "Untie me and I promise to not blacken your other eye"
Luke glares at him, not moving an inch to help the other man out. "I don't think that's a good idea" he says instead.
"We need him" Liv argues from her spot across the room, glaring. Her arms are folded over each other like she's not going to take no for an answer. It was apparent she wasn't down with tying Kai up to begin with.
His mouth pinches tight and then he's saying to his sister in a carefully controlled voice. "It's not yet time for the ritual" And then he's drawing the next words out as if explaining something to an idiot. "He'll only try to rescue her. If we wait to the last minute, he'll have no choice but to go through with it"
How manipulative. But this was the same person to hug and snuggle and kiss on her even though he was gay and planning on murdering her.
"How about-" Bonnie begins, making her voice sound pleasant. Maybe if she didn't growl at them, they'd actually considered what she had to say. "You just don't do the ritual at all, hm? You let me go. I quietly go back to Whitmore. Forget I ever met you guys. We all go on with our lives" she sing-songs then allows a wide smile to stretch along her lips.
"Nice try," Luke tells her with unimpressed eyes. "Doing the ritual is not an option. Too many unknowns. We've been living for close to two hundred years. What if stopping now means we die tomorrow? I don't know about the rest of you" he says this speaking directly to his siblings, "-but I'm not going to take that chance"
"The ritual won't work" comes from Kai beside her, grabbing everyone's attention, even Bonnie. Especially Bonnie.
"And why the fuck not?" Livs spits out, glaring at him.
"Because" he drawls, finally managing to sit up. "The ritual calls for a virgin"
"You didn't" Luke's blue eyes are piercing through Malachai. Bonnie can tell he's trying to keep his cool until he knows for sure that Kai's telling the truth.
And duh, she hadn't even considered the fact that the ritual would call for a virgin. Why hadn't this crossed her mind? She almost feels like an idiot, her mouth hanging just as low as the twins.
And then Luke's taunting voice is infiltrating her mind, recalling what he'd said earlier about his motives,
"That wasn't the plan at first." he said in regards to her accusation of him plotting from the very beginning. "I was just curious about you, so I decided to get to know you. But then some things came to light and my motives changed."
Some things came to light being her admission about being a virgin. He must have thought he won the lottery coming across his brother's doppelganger and she was a virgin. Jackpot.
And when Kai just shrugs the best that he can with his arms tied behind him, Luke snaps his venomous eyes to Bonnie. "You fucked him?" he whips at her, tone sneering. Like she's the one who betrayed him. "You hate him" he continues on, gritting out the words nastily, his blue eyes ice.
"Turns out not so much" comes from his brother beside her.
She snaps her eyes in Kai's direction, cutting him with a frosty look.
He offers up as much as a smile as he can considering the circumstances, "Sorry." he murmurs, quietly. "I couldn't help it"
She rolls her eyes because this isn't a joking matter to her. They had her at their mercy. Maybe she wasn't a virgin anymore rendering her useless here but was that a good enough reason for someone like Luke who was a diabolical psychopath to release her? She wasn't so sure.
Her eyes snap to the twins as for they are now huddled in a tight circle talking to each other in whispered voices. Bonnie strains her ears and catches some of the words being said.
So typical of him
And, What are we going to do now?
And then, We should just kill her
Her heart sinks at the last suggestion. Kai must have heard it too because he lets out, "You think I would just leave you guys high and dry? What kind of brother do you think I am?" he says in a cheery tone. They don't acknowledge him, just continue on with their whisper-yelling.
"I have someone else for offerance" Kai sings the words out enticingly, refusing to give up.
Which would have been sweet if saving her life hadn't meant someone else would have to die instead.
Luke finally turns around, glaring hard. "You're lying" he accuses but Bonnie notes a sliver of hope crossing his features.
"I'm not." Kai denies, shaking his head, clearly spotting it too. "We can make a deal." comes that cajoling tone again. "Let Bonnie and I go and I tell you where she is"
The man who just suggested they kill her, says, "No. You tell me now and I'll think about letting her live"
Liv pulls him to the side again, lowering her voice, but Bonnie's ears are like foxes and she can hear the other girl nearly perfectly, "What choice do we have? Let her go. It's almost midnight, we don't have time to find another virgin in four hours"
Luke balks like the suggestion is ludicrous. This is the same guy who opened doors for her, binged netflix shows with her, spent the night at her apartment, in her bed cuddling with her. "She'll go to the cops" he bites out, his face reflecting clear irritation.
"We own the cops." Liv whips back, sounding annoyed. "Besides, who would believe her? A family performing satanic rituals in order to live forever" she deadpans. "No one. Besides even if they do, I'm sure there's a spell for that"
Luke still isn't convinced about letting her live and Liv throws out logic at him, "He's not going to tell us where the offering is if we don't let Bonnie go. And then what? We're screwed"
He finally considers it, taking a deep, frustrated breath, "We should discuss this with father first"
Liv doesn't look too pleased about the suggestion but she agrees anyway, "Yeah, okay" And then they're both making their way up the stairs and out of the dungeon, leaving her and Kai alone.
The moment she hears the sound of the door closing shut, she's frantically speaking to Kai, "Can you use your magic to get yourself free?"
He levels her with a look. "Oh, you think this is Harry Potter?" he lets out sarcastically and she glares at him, not finding his comment funny at all. "Yeah, let me just summon my magic wand from out of my asshole and we're out of here." He chirps happily then deadpans, "It doesn't work that way" he informs her, not bothering to elaborate on the matter.
But she refuses to just sit there and not do anything. They had what a minute or two maybe before the psycho twins were back? They had to try to do something. "Well, how does it work? We need to get out of here"
"Really? I didn't know that" comes another sarcastic response, his gaze hardening on her.
And she realizes something. "Wait, you're mad at me?" she balks, disbelieving. "You're the one offering virgins up as sacrifices but I'm the one that deserves attitude here?"
He sighs in a way that tells her he's truly truly exasperated. His jaw working as he grounds out the words. "You should have listened to me instead of pulling a knife out on me, threatening to slit my throat earlier. We could have been half across the state by now. Now we're both probably going to die"
She laughs an incredulous one. "Sorry for not wanting to get into a car with a two hundred year old vampire. Oh my bad, not vampire because vampires are actually cool and have super strength and speed and stuff, you're just a hundred and seventy pounds of uselessness"
She flicks her eyes away from him, listing them on the ceiling above, trying to calm herself, slowing her breaths. She can feel her pulse starting to ramp up at the overall gravity of the situation she's in. Because the fact was, she could be dead within the hour. And like that the Bennett line would cease to exist. She wants to bury her head in her hands and sob. But she can't. All she could do is wait. Wait for them to kill her. Was this how death row inmates felt like waiting for their execution? It was torturous.
It's quiet for a while. Neither of them speaking to each other. Him, because he blames her for why they're in this situation to begin with. Her, because of the obviously killing innocent people stuff. She huffs out a breath and finally voices what's been on her mind since she found out the real reason she was invited here. "You were going to let them kill me" Okay, so he hadn't known her at the time but still she looked just like the love of his life and he was still going to allow his siblings to sacrifice her. Cold world.
"I was never going to let that happen" he denies. He's not looking at her though. Jesus, he must truly be furious with her.
She snorts out a laugh. "Funny because, looky, here we are"
This gets a look out of him. A very annoyed look. "Hey, I tried everything to get you to leave, insulting you, actually telling you to leave, making up shit about ghost, drugging you-"
"You drugged me?" she blurts, aghast.
"Yeah," he admits, not at all looking ashamed about it either. But why would he? This is the same person who offers up people to Satan on a normal basis. "You thought it was the duck." he continues in a bored tone. "I wanted you to think someone was trying to poison you. So you'd run for the hills but" he emphasizes the word. "-you stayed" and then comes the weighted sigh.
"You could have killed me" she clips out, eyes blinking rapidly at him.
"Relax, it was never going to kill you or truly harm you for that matter. The dose wasn't strong enough"
"Wow, you sound like this isn't your first rodeo" she throws out in the same exact sarcastic fashion he had been on a roll with earlier.
And it's clear to her now that that was the reason he'd sat next to her that day, when he hadn't that whole time. She thought he was trying to irritate her but in truth, he only wanted to be close enough so he could poison her. He must've slipped it in her drink when she wasn't paying attention. That explains why no one else got sick. Geez, she should have known something was up.
And then she remembers something else.
Anger sparking in her eyes, she grits out, "The fried chicken thing..was that you?"
"No," he says adamantly, looking pained. And then his jaw is flexing, his expression turning black. "And I'm sorry about that. It's why I left dinner early and why the chef for even suggesting it is now missing a tooth and currently unemployed."
Wait, he'd knocked someone's teeth out and they covered it up?
And she recalls Luke's voice in her ear after she'd asked him about Kai's whereabouts.
He said, He threw a hissy fit and left. Yeah, for good fucking reason. And now she wonders if the chef had even been black like he claimed.
Silence descends again as she ponders over everything he's said. Because they'd still allowed fried chicken to be served to her even after Kai stormed out, knowing how he felt about it. Her body was flaring with rage, turning her insides red hot. She was so furious. She doesn't think she's ever been so mad in her life. How could these people be so vile? And then her thoughts get even more depressing because if this was how they operated, there really was no hope for her. She knew what time it was. What her fate would be when Luke and Liv got back.
"They're not going to let me go" she lets out a groaning exhale, stating what she's sure he was thinking as well.
But he surprises her with his response, the angst bleeding away from his pupils, "Don't worry. They have no choice but to let us go" his tone is soothing. A clear attempt to comfort her.
But she's not moved by his compassion, "You mean let me go. I'm not going anywhere with you. You're a murderer." Because that was still a thing despite the fact he wasn't a racist like his kin. No, he was a psychopath. Or wait, was it sociopath? She always got the two mixed up. Whatever, the fact remained, he killed innocent people. She couldn't allow herself to forget this. "You murdered no telling how many people" Because seriously, the count had to be in the hundreds somewhere. And her voice doesn't even sound angry when she relays this to him. And she is mad, the fire tunneling her veins proof.
"I did it for-"
"I don't care why you did it." she flings at him, her voice bellowing, effectively silencing him. He snaps his mouth shut, something moving over his face. "You killed innocent people, Malachai. " she says purposely using the name he hates. "You shouldn't be here. None of you should"
"You're right. We shouldn't" he voices, spiritless. A laden look in his eyes. She's not going to lie, she was expecting another round of justification from him.
There's a lull in their conversation after he's spoken, otherwise known as Kai effectively avoiding getting chewed out by her by not saying more dumb shit. She finally breaks the silence to say, "There's not like a spell that can erase my memory or something, is there?"
He stills and then asks after a long suspenseful moment, "You'd want that?" he questions, dark gray eyes studying her closely.
She doesn't even have to think about it. Hell, they could have her spleen as long as they let her live. "Yes, if it will get me out of here" she admits, grouchily.
He looks hurt and she knows why. Kai had done everything in his power, including kill, to hold on to the precious memories he had of Delphine. And here Bonnie was willing to give hers up so readily, memories of them, their first everything. He must think she must not have cared much for him at all if she'd erase her memories of them without a second thought, when Kai on the other hand would never.
"So?" she prompts when he'd gone quiet again.
"They exist." he finally sighs out. "But memory spells are tricky, unpredictable. The intent could be to wipe away the last twenty four hours only to erase away everything." he states with emphasis. "It's not recommended"
"It's not recommended or you don't recommend it?" she whips at him. Because there was a difference and she thought she knew which one applied here.
She watches as his jaw tenses. She knew that he knew what she was trying to say, his opinion couldn't be trusted on the matter because he had rather ingrained beliefs that affected his decision making skills.
He strategically avoids the question. "You'd really risk it? You could lose everything. Memories of your childhood, your parents, your Grams, everything" she was sure he included himself in the everything he spoke of.
And now he was using the things she told him last night, little details about her family, how her parents were killed by a drunk driver when she was a kid. How she felt responsible for their deaths because they had been driving to one of her swim meets when it happened. Her Grams, how she had to move in with the older woman after they died. How close they became because of it, both of them grieving her mother. How Grams had died over a year ago from a heart attack, how Bonnie had fallen into depression because of it, which caused her to drop out of school, give up her scholarship. He was using all these things to manipulate her.
"I want to live, Kai" Because what isn't computing?
"I know and I want that too more than anything but trust me when I tell you, they'd never allow it. Too many unknowns. The biggest one being the spell not actually working"
So basically she was screwed then? She lets out a frustrated growl and he's rushing to assure her, "I told you. You're not going to die. I won't let it happen" How could he say these things when the fate of her life rested with the deciding yes or no from his father. A father whom she's to assume blames Kai as well for the deaths of his sons. Yeah, the odds definitely weren't in her favor.
And of course, it's at that exact moment that the sound of the door being pulled open is heard from above. It echoes throughout the chamber.
Bonnie flicks her gaze to the stairs that lead down into the underground dungeon, not three but six sets of feet come bounding down in tandem. And why would the entire family need to be down here? Unless they were here to witness a murder.
"Jo, hey, my darling twin, you wouldn't mind untying the brother you shared a womb with for nine months would you?" Kai requests of his sister when they've made it down the stairs, the hood of their red robes pulled over their heads, having formed a single formed line facing them.
Yeah, this definitely wasn't good.
"I will do no such thing" And damn, even Jo, bubbly fucking Jo, who'd she'd thought to be the nicest person ever was speaking in clipped tones, her face a hard wall of stone.
"Welp, thought I'd ask" Kai throws out, not looking at all worried by the fact that Jo's response was pretty much confirmation of the decision that was made.
"Malachai" his father's voice sounds, clear and booming, grabbing both she and Kai's attention at once. "What is this your brother speaks of? Have you defiled this girl?"
Woman she wants to grit. And defiled? Who says that? But she guesses he couldn't very well say, Have you fucked this girl? Now could he?
"If you want to know if she's no longer fit for the ritual then yes" She's shocked at how tame Kai's response is. She was expecting some crass reponse from him because this was the same person who'd told her, It's just racing Bonnie, I didn't offer to eat your pussy within a few days of knowing her. But then she remembers, he'd been trying to irritate her to death so she'd leave. She'd wish she'd had. If she had any sense she would have bolted out of here that first night he'd made the T.V. dinner comment. If only there was a time machine..
His father doesn't respond right away but when he does his voice is quite terse, "You violated your own rule Malachai. You do realize that right?"
"Yes, I'm aware of the irony father" Kai huffs out, sounding bored.
Wow, she wished she could have such a blase attitude about death.
"And your expectations of us are to let her go" It wasn't phrased as a question.
"She's of no use to you anymore. And she won't say anything" Kai is sighing out. At least he is trying to save her albeit poorly.
"Oh? And how do you know this?" his father asks and not in a sarcastic way, his hazel eyes filled with genuine wonder.
"Because I know her" is all Kai says.
"You know her" Luke scoffs and the bitter way he says it makes Bonnie's teeth grind.
"Yes," Kai remarks, his voice even, then announces in a confident cadence, "I know my Delphine"
And then Bonnie's listening to the audible breaths taken around the room. Including her own.
"She's not your dead lover, brother. She's a doppelganger. That is all" Luke is the one to burst his brother's bubble. Of course he is.
"She isn't." Kai responds, he doesn't even raise his voice while denying it. But wait, hadn't he been the one to tell her she was Delphine's doppelganger? Was this a part of his plan to rescue her, convince his family she was his dead love reincarnated so they'd let her go?
And now his words are replaying in her head, taking her back to his bedroom when she prompted more from him on the doppelganger matter,
That's the technical term for it but I think- And now she wishes she'd never cut him off. What had he been about to say, that he thought even though 'technically' she was considered a doppelganger, he however, believed she was his reincarnated love instead who happened to look exactly the same as she had in her past life? And then there had been that slip up, when he called her Delphine, maybe that wasn't a slip up at all, maybe all the other times he called her Bonnie was what had felt strange to him, something he was forcing himself to do, and that last time, with everything that was going on, he simply forgotten about the ruse?
"She's my Delphine. I know it. I've known it since the moment-" but he pauses, a flush forming over his cheeks, he looks away from his father and just doesn't finish. And Bonnie's left wondering what he was about to say.
Apparently, his father does too, demanding of him in a rough tone, his gaze sharpening. "Prove that she is who you say she is"
Kai gives his father a look. One of the condescending ones he used to throw Bonnie when he was still pretending to hate her. His words leave his mouth in a patronizing drawl, "That's like asking me to prove there's a God." And then he's pushing out a frustrated breath, brows furling together. "There's nothing I can say to convince you that she is who I say she is. Because you haven't had the pleasure of loving her. Or waking up next to her in the morning. Or holding her in your arms. Or being able to recognize every single similarity, from the way that she speaks down to the most minuscule mannerism. My soul knows her." he relays passionately, eyes alight with conviction. "My soul will always recognize her. She's finally come back to me after all these years." his gaze lands on Bonnie and his eyes are so incredibly soft, the warmness in them suffuses her. But then like that, they're back on his dad, pleading once again for her life, "And would you really deprive me of this father? I've only ever asked you for oh, I don't know, nothing ever"
"You're just trying to save her" Luke comments blandly, looking like he's over the talking aspect and wants to get straight to the punishing part. Bonnie notes how he's now clutching a dagger in his hand. The very same kind of dagger she discovered in Kai's room. She wonders if it's the same one or his own. Maybe they all had matching daggers. She feels sick at the thought. It seriously takes all of her will not to vomit right now.
Kai's words are cutting into her thoughts. "Tell them" he's looking to Bonnie now, his gray eyes soft, pleading, but also filled with a touch of worry.
Despite the nausea cartwheeling her stomach, she doesn't waste any time offering up the words they needed to hear, because this might be the only chance she'd get to save her life. "He's right," she tells them all. However, she allows her gaze to settle on his father since he seems to be the one in charge here. "There's a pull here that can't be explained. I love him and I can't justify why. My soul must recognize him too. That's the only explanation for why I feel the way I do" She doesn't believe him one bit, that she's Delphine Boudreaux. He sounds like a nut. But if saying she was could get her out of here then that's what she would do.
"Where's this other offering you speak of" Joshua questions, directing his gaze to Kai, that stern look on his face having softened a bit.
Wait, did this mean he believed them?
"You let us go and I'll tell you" is Kai's even response.
She's so glad he's playing it smart and not giving up this offering before getting them out of there. Because then what incentive would they have to spare her life? Plus, hopefully if they both got out of here maybe she could convince him to not give them anything. Their days of sacrificing innocent people needed to end.
"I will let you go once you've told me where this girl you speak of is."
Yeah, right. She doesn't believe it for a second. She hopes Kai doesn't either.
Luke isn't taking any chances though, "Father with all do respect," he intones, cutting in like the slimy rat he is, his voice that she suddenly realizes now is super annoying fills the room, "We can't simply let her go. Delphine or not, she knows too much. Plus, the rules are set in place for a reason. If one person starts breaking them, everyone's going to want to. And we haven't survived this long by being so reckless. We have to set an example here. She has to die."
This mutherfucker.
Joshua's face is a blank mask but his next words tell her that Luke's rat ass' plea had gotten through to him, "Bring the girl to me" he orders, speaking to nobody in particular.
Bonnie feels a shuddery breath leave her lungs, panic rise in her abdomen. She's tossing a frantic look at Kai but he isn't looking at her, his eyes are on his father, black with venom. "If you lay a hand on her. I swear to God I'll murder every single one of you" comes the venomous threat from Kai.
No one is seeming to take his threat seriously because Rafe is stepping forward, the brother Bonnie had liked the most out of all of Luke's brothers, the brother who always managed to make her laugh. But here he was, no longer smiling like the joker, his expression, a blank canvas as his father's had been, still is Bonnie notes, as he volunteers to hand her over to her murderer.
Bonnie feels dread flood her system as he approaches her. Were they really going to kill her? All because they wanted to punish Kai? Bonnie eyes flick up to the blonde, staring into his shuttered face. His lack of expression letting her know that he doesn't seem to give two fucks what happens to her.
Where was the compassion? Because this was just psychotic to her. They spent a whole week with her, laughing and joking, playing board games, singing karaoke, yelling at the projector screen when someone in the marathon of horror movies they watched were about to get offed because they did something idiotic like hide in the closet when they should've been headed for the front door. They had gotten to know her and she them. Did none of that matter to them?
Clearly not.
"Really, Rafe?" She feels her brows dip low on her forehead, speaking in a low voice only he can hear as he bends to the ground and starts to saw at the rope bindings. In the background, she hears Kai's venomous voice spitting all kinds of obscenities at everyone.
She blocks him out, pleading to his brother, "Please don't do this"
He doesn't even acknowledge she's spoken, just continues with getting her free. "This is wrong, you know it" she voices in another attempt to get through to him.
Again, no acknowledgement. After the rope around her ankles are cut off, he maneuvers around to her back and starts on her wrist. They're off in seconds and then he's hauling her up, leading her to the silver haired, shark eyed man who is now nearly foaming at the mouth, dagger drawn.
Her movements are slow, her heartbeat pounding wildly, drowning out all other sounds in the room. She can feel every eye on her as she's led to the Parker Patriarch, but hers zero in on one in particular, Kai, whose face is red with anger, she can see him literally shaking, every muscle on his face tightening.
But when his words flow out, his tone bellies his expression, the words, they're a lot gentler than his previous ones. He must realize flinging obscenities and threats at them wasn't the way to go here. "Let her go"
Tabitha is the one to speak, which surprises Bonnie. She hadn't said a peep, letting her husband do all the talking until now. It's so jarring seeing her draped in this red ominous robe instead of her usual skirt suits. "You know the rules, Malachai," is said in a musical lilt. "And you broke them anyway. You put us all at risk. This cannot go unpunished" she drawls in that refined accent of hers.
Bonnie sees true desperation bleed into Kai's pupils, tension pulling at the outer edges of his eyes. "Kill me instead. I'm the one you want to really punish anyway. She's innocent. She doesn't deserve this. I'm begging you, let her go and you could do whatever you want with me"
Jesus Christ. He was actually offering his life in exchange for hers. She'd be touched if she could feel anything other than debilitating fear right now. Because judging by the looks on all their faces, they're unmoved with his offer.
"The decision is already made." is Joshua's response. And his expression is finite.
"Wrong answer," Kai remarks, shooting up from off the ground, revealing hands that were no longer bound.
The fuck? How did he get out of them? Had he been working on them the entire time unbeknownst to everyone, while all the attention had been directed on her?
"Livvy, you're getting sloppy." he tsks, his eyes sliding to his baby sister, its gray depths filled with colossal disappointment. "I told you about your shitty knots. Remember, you have to double knot"
And then two things happen at once. Joshua, has gained possession of her, yanking her with lightning speed until her back is pressed against his robed front, holding the knife up to her throat, causing her breath to stall in her lungs.
Kai has done the same thing with Luke, having somehow managed to wrestle the dagger from the other man, he has it jammed against his brother's neck, issuing off threats, his voice slicing through the air, "Let her go now or I'll slit his throat"
Tabatha who had been so smug just a moment ago with that wicked smirk is speaking now, her tone incredibly gentle, placating, unlike two seconds ago when she'd told him he was pretty much wasting his breath trying to save Bonnie. "Malachai sweetie, this is your brother," she says carefully, trying to get through to him, her cornflower blue eyes beseeching.
Oh, now it's Malachai sweetie..
"I'm aware, mother." he remarks flatly, his gaze on everyone at once. Ensuring no one makes any sudden moves.
And no one does. They're all too afraid he'll make good on his threat.
And suddenly Bonnie realizes Luke truly is the golden child. It was always known he was well liked. But this went far beyond that. He was irrefutably the favorite. The baby boy. The one absolutely nothing could happen to. And Kai knows this, it's why he chose Luke to barter for her.
"Put the knife down" Joshua bellows in her ear, trying for commanding and she jumps at the sound, causing the blade to knick against her neck. The sharpness of the blade has her body stilling. She's so afraid, she doesn't even breathe in fear of moving.
"Let her go" Kai grounds out, unbending, uncaring of their distraught faces. His voice darkens, dropping several notches, "I will run this blade across his neck and let you watch him bleed out. You know I will."
There at a stand still. Both parties, uncompromising. Bonnie still hasn't taken a breath. She doesn't know how long the two men stand there watching eachother, waiting for the other to do something.
And when it goes on for too long. Luke is saying, his tone vulnerable not smug like it had been minutes prior. "Dad" It's a plea to his father to let her go. The same person who was so gung-ho about killing her in the first place. And at that moment, she can tell he's genuinely frightened for his life. And she sees why, a line of blood starts to trickle down his neck.
Everyone else must see it too because Tabitha is now addressing Joshua in desperate, pleading tones, "Honey, let her go" Bonnie watches the older woman, noting how frantic she looks. Those pale blue eyes of hers blown wide with fear, oscillating between Joshua and Lucas, the lines creasing her brows, the quivering of her Juvaderm injected lips. Of course nothing could dare happen to the little prince, she thinks bitterly.
"Please" And she's practically sobbing now. And like that, Bonnie feels the blade let up on her flesh.
She finally breathes.
Joshua shoves her away. The action nearly making her stumble but she manages to keep herself upright.
"I released her, now let him go." He's gritting out to his eldest son, a snarl covering his heavily lined face.
"Not yet." Kai says unrelenting, then he's barking orders at them, "My car keys. Whoever has them, give them to her." He nods at Bonnie who's made her way over to the stairs, ready to embark them, nearly shaking with fear that someone will try to snatch her up again.
Liv makes to move but Kai is shaking his head, "Ah. Ah. Throw them" He takes a page out of Bonnie's handbook on how not to get duped.
Liv does what he says, tossing them to Bonnie and this time she actually catches them.
"Thatta girl" comes from Kai, "Now get out of here" he shoos her, jerking his head towards the exit.
Her feet are hesitant to leave. Scanning their snarling faces, knowing what will happen if she leaves him down here. "But-" she's saying but he cuts her off, tone abrupt. "Don't worry about me"
Bonnie feels her breath stall in her lungs. She watches as his hold tightens on his brother. Lucas winces, as more blood trickles down his throat and then her gaze is back on Kai whose pupils is drilling into her own. "I can't leave you" Because she couldn't. How could she leave him with these people?
"Yes, you can" he's telling her, eyes demanding for her to get the hell out of here but she's hesitant still.
"Go. Please. Get in the car and get the hell out of here" he nearly blares.
Flicking him one last look, she does what he says but by the time she's out of the gate, guilt is starting to really set in, she can't just leave him.
He's a murderer, she thinks.
But he saved you, inner Bonnie is reminding her. Now go save him.
So she backs up, leaves the car running and heads back inside the Manor. The first thing she notices is that all the lights are out. Which is probably why the gate stopped mid close. And now it's making her second guess her decision of even coming back. What if they were hiding in the shadows waiting to jump her? This thinking has her scurrying to the kitchen for a knife. If she was going to be wandering around here, she would at least have a weapon. Grabbing the biggest butcher knife she could find, she makes her way back to Joshua's office, the one Alfred kept locked up, the one that apparently led down to the underground chamber. She'd discovered this when she was set free.
She tries for the door but it won't budge. Weird because the knob would turn. Why isn't it opening? She tries again, rattling the knob hard. Still, it won't free itself, almost like it's jammed.
"Bonnie?" And the lead weighing down her stomach lightens. Kai. He must have heard her trying the door.
"Yeah, it's me" she answers, eyes still glued on the handle, trying it again. "What's going on? The door won't budge"
Was he the reason for this?
But he doesn't answer her question, throwing one of his own at her, "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to leave."
She finally drops her hand from the knob, sighing before saying, "I couldn't just leave you here. You saved me. That would have made me a horrible person"
"No, it would have made you a smart person" he remarks, nearly groaning the words.
She ignores the chastisement, asking instead, "What's going on? Why is the power out?"
This he answers. "I don't know. It just went out."
Just went out? She frowns at this. It's not like it was storming or anything. Nor could there have been an overuse of power going on, inturn, causing the breaker to shut off because of it. But she doesn't say any of this, questioning him about the door instead. "And the door? Is it jammed?"
"Yeah. Same with the one that leads down to the dungeon" Wait, was he saying.. "They're trapped in there" he confirms for her.
"So they're trapped down there and you're trapped in the office? How?"
There's a moment before he speaks, "I think the house is trying to protect you Bonnie."
Wait, what?
"From you?" she blurts, blinking, not understanding.
Because he was, well, not the good guy but he was legions better than them.
"Well, with my track record, can you blame it?"
He had her there.
"You have to leave. It's the only way I'll get out of here" Probably is what he leaves off.
But she doesn't leave. She stands there. And he must know it.
"Did you hear me?" he's saying in a low steady voice.
She nods but realizes he can't see the gesture, "Yes" she answers, forcing the words to come out steadily, feeling tears starting to well.
"Don't tell me where you're going, okay? Just go"
"Kai-"
And another, "Go" is said incessantly before she listens.
Bonnie's mind is going a thousand miles a minute as she travels down route 69 in Kai's borrowed Tesla, correction, traveling would have meant she was going at safe speeds, no, she was flying down that sucker trying to put as much distance as she can between her and the house of horror. Thankfully, she seems to be the only one out on the road tonight.
She turns on the radio, trying to block out her thoughts. Because there were so many.
Had she really just spent an entire week with a family who was plotting to offer her up as a sacrifice to Satan just so that they could continue to live forever? Dated her potential murderer for six months as he pretended to be straight and fully into her all so he could get revenge on his brother for his slain family members? And had she really fallen for her potential murderer's brother who she thought hated her but really didn't, he actually loved her but only because he was convinced she was his dead love reincarinated?
And the most important thought, had she really managed to escape without being slaughtered?
Yes, you did. You're alive. You're out of that sick fuck of a house with its sick paintings and its creepy cemeteries, and murdery psychopaths.
Because of Kai.
And she left him with those people.
Those sick vile people who took pleasure in murdering. Who would do God knows what to him the moment they got out of their trappings.
Kai is included in those sick vile people, she reminds herself of the fact that he'd been murdering right along with them.
Yes, but he's a sick vile person who saved you. Who didn't care what happened to himself just as long as you got out unharmed.
That's because he thinks you're his dead love..
Who cares why? You're out of that fucking house, that's all that matters..
Except, it's not because she feels awful. She left him. What if he-
And she doesn't get to finish the thought because out of nowhere a figure is speeding across the road so suddenly she nearly doesn't have time to hit the breaks before-
Screeeeeech.
And the car is coming to a grounding halt but not before colliding into the person.
Panicked, she freezes for a moment, unbelieving she just hit somebody. But then her senses are kicking in reminding her again that she hit somebody and suddenly she's hurriedly putting the car in park and getting out, racing to the front of the car where a man is lying on the ground, groaning. Thankfully the impact wasn't too forceful.
"Oh my God." she lets out, rushing up to him. "I'm so sorry"
She bends down on the ground, checking to see if he's okay but his face is buried in the ground, making her unable to see his face, she gets only the back of his head. So her eyes take in what she can see, flicking them up and over his person, making sure there's no obvious signs that he's dying or anything. She doesn't see any blood or protruding bones, but that doesn't mean much, he could have internal injuries.
Shit. She probably should be calling 911 by now, except her phone isn't on her, she'd left it in her room back at the Manor she thinks or maybe it was sifted off of her when they tied her up, she's not sure, getting struck in the back of the head will really fuck with your memory. "I didn't see you until it was too late." she relays to the crumpled man, her voice panicked. "You sped across the street so fast. Are you okay?" she asks, because honestly, that should have been the first thing she said.
"No, I'm not" he groans, burying his body deeper into the asphalt.
Shit shit shit.
Fuck.
"Do you have a phone? I can call an ambulance"
He's shaking his head vehemently. "No ambulance" he tells her, the words muffled and she frowns.
"But I hit you. You need to be taken to the hospital"
"I said no ambulance" is said in a growl. And she pulls back at the tone.
Don't hold it against him, you just hit him with your car. Correction: Kai's car.
She couldn't understand it though, he must have been hurt really badly if the strangled way he spoke is any indication but he doesn't want her to call for help?
"I can't just leave you here." she's saying, worried eyes flickering over him. He still hasn't unburied his face yet. "You could have internal injuries, broken bones, a concussion." she lists off things that could be wrong with him. "Please let me call the ambulance. Where's your phone?" And then she tries to search his person, because dammit she wasn't taking no for an answer.
"I said no" he roars, a hand moving up to push her away, and then in a much calmer tone albeit a bit ragged, "I could use a ride home though"
"A ride?" What the hell? Was he actually trying to hitch a ride? He needed to be in someone's hospital.
And when she doesn't respond, "It's the least you could do, you nearly killed me" he reminds her, tone admonishing.
But that was an exaggeration. She injured him for sure, was he knocking on death's door? No.
She expels a breath, deep within her lungs, eyes flickering around the atmosphere, there was a spine-chillingness to the air that had goosebumps raising on her forearms. The dark, desolate stretch of road ahead combined with the eeriness that exuded from the woods surrounding them has her agreeing, "Okay" Normally she wouldn't consider picking up a stranger off an unlit barren road in a billion years but he was right, she hit him. She couldn't just leave him here. Plus, If he wanted to die at home that was his business and she much rathered him do that than die on a darksome road.
And then he's finally turning towards her and that's when she is finally able to see his face full on.
An immediate gasp leaves her lips, her eyes horridly taking in his injuries. His face is bleeding. Badly. There's jagged lines running down the front of it but not from the crash, she could tell. These almost look like something clawed at him.
"Oh my god. What happened?" she burst out, her eyes flickering over every inch of his mutilated face.
"You hit me" he says in a 'duh' sort of way, bright blue eyes manic.
But that couldn't be true, she thinks, eyes narrowing. She barely hit him and these injuries don't coincide with injuries sustained by someone who was hit by a car. He cannot be serious, so she utters out, "No, your face. Did you get mauled?" she can't help the gasp that follows because the thought was so stomach churning.
"Yeah, a bear mauled me. Now can you help me up, please?" he grunts, managing to roll himself onto his back.
Definitely sarcasm. And the annoying kind. She goes to help him up anyway, though she really doesn't think he should even be moving. What if his spine was fucked up or whatever? Wasn't it always said to never move the person, just wait for professionals who knew what they were doing to help? But professionals weren't here and they weren't going to be if road dude had anything to say about it. So she crouches down low and lets him sling his arms around her shoulders, grunting at his heavy weight that's now all her burden. "You're heavier than you look" she states offhandedly and the comment has him tilting his head slightly to peer into her face. And with him up close and personal, she's able to get a better inspection of his injuries, noting right away, they weren't as savage as she initially thought. They were bad but not candidate for face transplant bad. The grooves that cut into his skin weren't deep enough, so these definitely weren't injuries an animal could cause, not that she believed the bear comment for a second. But also, this wasn't a fall down a rocky incline injury either. Something isn't sitting right with her, so she utters out, "A bear, huh?" to get down to the root of it, hoping she could pull the truth out of him but when he just looks at her strangely, she voices in a calm tone, making her voice sound inquisitive rather than probing, "How did you get your injuries?"
And then he starts to drawl, seemingly pissed, wincing as he comes to a full stand. "Does it matter if I was mauled by a bear, a mountain lion or-"
"A person" she blurts, unthinkingly. Not meaning to say it aloud but it was what was crossing her mind and had just come up like word vomit. Someone had clawed at his face. With the purpose of trying to take his eyes out. Why would someone have tried to claw out his eyes unless..
They were fighting for their life..
And then Kai's words are playing against her eardrum, like he's right there beside her,
"These woods aren't safe at night"
"You really think I'm going to let you run out here all by yourself. I told you there were monsters out here"
It's crystal clear to her what's going on now, he attacked someone and they attacked back.
Bile rises in her throat. Panic floods her system. Her feet stop in their place as they both realize what she knows.
His eyes are starting to darken but then he's rearranging his face into a look of pure passivity. It's too late though, she'd seen the sinister look reflect in those arctic pools before he managed to cover it, "A little help please" is his cajoling response to her freeze of actions, trying for a smile and she could tell if he wasn't disfigured it would be quite attractive. It's obvious by the way he's readily using his charm that he normally gets his way.
She yanks herself away from him, effectively causing him to stumble backwards, falling onto his ass.
He groans at the impact and she blares out, "How'd you get your injuries you sick fuck?" she snarls, letting him know she's got his number.
"I told you how" he's spitting back, a scowl overtaking his face.
Fucking liar. How many gotdamn liars were she going to deal with today?
"Now help me up." He grunts out, extending out his hand for her to take. "You can't just leave me here. That's a crime, you know?"
She feels her nostrils flare, venom pump through her veins as the words expel out frostily, "No, what's a crime is whatever the fuck you were doing before you came running out those woods" God, if she was anything like the Parkers she would have no problem slitting his throat right now. Ridding the world of another psychopath. But she isn't a killer also she doesn't actually have a knife on her.
Which brings light to the fact that she's pretty much defenseless here. He was the monster in the woods that Kai warned her about and here she was enraging him.
You stupid stupid girl.
Realizing she needs to leave now. Like right fucking now. She starts to back away but not taking her eyes off him, announcing, "You know what? I don't think I can give you that ride" There's no way in hell she's letting him in the car, so he can try the shit he pulled on whoever it was he planned on hurting before his sick plans went left.
But before she can sprint her way back to the car, he's lunging at her, face twisted in rage, a growl exiting his lips. But his actions are slow due to his injuries which means she's faster, managing to get to the door before he can get his hands on her, nearly taking his fingers along with her as she slams it close.
She hears him yelp but blocks it all out as she focuses on locking the door before he could try for the handle. Once she's securely locked inside, she starts the car back up, by then he's banging on the driver side window trying to shatter the glass, using all his strength. And where the fuck did he get so much of it from? He was just lying on the ground helpless minutes ago, unless he'd been exaggerating his injuries so she'd let her guard down. And she did. She'd fallen for the helpless act. Thankfully, she'd wisened up, albeit at the last minute. To think her surviving a ritualistic sacrifice only to be taken out by a demented rapist minutes later.
Her ears register a fissure in the glass but she speeding off by then, her feet slamming down heavy on the gas, flooring it and leaving the sick fuck in the dust. She checks the rearview window watching his angry form become smaller the further distance she puts between them.
Chest heaving from the adrenaline induced breath she's taking, she's replaying what just happened in her head, had she really almost got fucking murdered again?
She'd always thought she had shit luck but geez this just confirms it.
You survived two attempts on your life in one day, I'd say that's luck, her contrarian mind supplies.
Before she can decide if she agrees or not she sees a figure on the skirts of the road coming up just now on the right of her. A girl with long brunette hair limping in the direction Bonnie is headed.
Her instinct is to immediately stop but she's been fooled so many times today she's hesitant if she can even trust her gut at this point.
The girl now having registered an oncoming car approaching stops and whirls around, immediately waving her hands in the air in a plea for Bonnie to stop.
Bonnie zooms past her and she sees the girl face crumple in the distance. She looks devastated.
And that disheartened look pulls at her heart strings.
But she can't keep putting herself in these situations. What if this was another trick? What if this was his accomplice looking for another mark?
Don't be stupid, you know this is his victim.
That has her slamming down hard on the brakes and then putting the car in reverse. She pushes down hard on the gas, backing up and the girl immediately stops waving her hands, one going immediately to her side, clutching at it, a grimace on her face. She must be injured.
When Bonnie finally has backed up to where the girl is barely holding herself up, she hops out of the car, rushing to the girl's aid, noticing right away the huge bloodstain beneath where her fingers are pressing.
Jesus.
"You have to help me." the brunette is saying with widened panicked eyes, tears streaming down her face. "There's someone after me. I was just attacked"
"Of course, get in" Bonnie tells her, opening the passenger door for the girl and helping her situate herself inside.
Once the brunette is settled in, she closes the door and rounds towards the driver side, yanking the door open and plopping back down in the driver seat. She wastes no time getting the gear out of park and taking off.
"What happened?" she blurts, flying down the road, adjusting the volume on the radio to where Beyonce's Halo could barely be heard.
"A guy I had been seeing, well, it was our second date." she corrects herself then continues on in a soft anxious laden voice, "He invited me out to the woods which I should have known was a red flag" she relays in a way that says she partly blames herself for the attack. "-but I let him take me there, thinking he was too hot to be a murderer. Anyway, he attacked me. We were just about to.. you know.." she can't seem to get out the rest, clearly embarrassed. But Bonnie understands what she's too ashamed to say; they were about to have sex. "-and all of a sudden he's pulling out a hunting knife and stabbing me" she tips her head down, indicating her gut to which she was still clutching. "I fought him off but just barely" and now she's bursting into sobs.
Bonnie goes searching through Kai's glove compartment, trying to find a tissue or something for the other girl but also for anything that can help with the bleeding.
"Dark hair? Really blue eyes?" she asks, tossing a quick glance at the girl.
The brunette's eyes widen to astronomical proportions, "Yes. You've seen him?"
Bonnie nods glumly, closing the compartment when she finds nothing of use in it, her eyes back on the road, letting up on the gas a bit. She didn't want to scare the girl even more by driving like a bat out of hell. "I just ran into him a fourth of a mile back. He tried to attack me too after I wouldn't give him a ride. But I knew something was wrong from the scratches on his face" she voices, glancing over to the dark-eyed girl who had to be her age at least. "You got him good" she tells the brunette, trying to lift the other woman's spirits.
And when the other girl is looking at her doubtfully, she amends, "Good enough for you to be able to get away"
And then there's a sliver of a smile that touches the brunette's lips. It's not much but she knows it helps her feel like less of a victim to know she fought back and didn't let him snuff her life out so easily.
Bonnie slides her eyes back onto the road and then she's feeling the other woman's gaze on her, "Do you have a phone?" she queries in that soft tone of hers. "I left mine in woods, I should have grabbed it but I was too busy trying to get away"
Oh she knows first hand about that, she left everything she owned back at the Manor. The only thing she had on her was her ID and debit card that she managed to tuck inside her bra before heading to Kai's room. And now that her memory is coming back, she knows for sure she had her phone on her. She placed it in her pocket. They clearly found it. Thank God they hadn't searched her boobs, not that they had a reason to.
"No, I don't," she admits shamefully, suddenly feeling useless.
"You don't have a phone?" the other girl blurts, panic rising again.
"I lost it" she lies and it comes out believingly she knows because the girl sulks. Looking like all hope was lost.
And then she's saying, her tone sullen. "Damn, it. We need to report this. We need to report him. He could hurt someone else"
She's right. What if someone else stopped for him? Actually let him into their car, thinking his injuries were something else rather than karma for his depraved deeds.
Bonnie's assuring her right away in a comforting tone. "We'll stop the first chance we get and then we'll call the police"
The other girl nods, not completely pacified but her words do have her brown eyes letting up on some of the anxiety reflected in its dark depths.
Bonnie's staring out the windshield again when she hears, "I'm sorry, I've been so rude." the brunette says with a sigh. "I didn't even ask your name"
"It's Bonnie" she supplies, tossing a quick glance at the girl then back at the road, squinting a bit, there's a fog to the air that hadn't been there minutes ago.
"I'm Elena." she intones, introducing herself officially. "Thank you Bonnie for stopping and helping me. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come along"
Bonnie doesn't either, she doesn't even want to think about that and neither should the other girl so she reaches over, touches the other girl's hand, squeezing gently. "It's okay, we're going to get help"
She pulls into an all night diner, ten miles down. Elena resting heavily on her side as they amble inside.
All eyes are on them as they step through the door, the bell sounding behind them. A black girl in the middle of Hickville and an ambiguous looking brunette clutching at obvious injuries. They've definitely garnered everyone's attention. The diner suddenly becomes a lot quieter. The only noise that can be heard is the jukebox playing of Elvis Presley's Hound Dog.
"Excuse me," she pipes, her voice clear and urgent, drowning out the music, approaching a heavy set older woman in an apron behind the register. "Do you have a phone? We need help, she's been attacked"
The red head widened green eyes get even larger as she examines Elena more closely, taking note of the messy hair, rumbled attire, huge blood stain in the middle of her shirt. "Oh, my lord. What happened?" she says in a southern lilt that was far from the refined drawl the Parker's spoke with.
Bonnie speaks on behalf of the injured girl beside her, taking some of the stress off the other girl of having to relay the horrible events she endured tonight all over again. "Some guy attacked her in the woods. Stabbed her. He's still out there."
"Jesus," the woman says, clutching her ample bosom in horror. "I'll call 911" she announces, hurriedly heading for the phone, a rotary dial one that's hanging on the wall. She hasn't seen one of those in ages.
Turning away from the woman who's now alerting an emergency response team, she faces the patrons in the diner, speaking loud enough for them to hear her, clear and confident, "Is there a doctor here, she's bleeding really badly"
A blonde pops up out of her seat, leaving a preteen boy who's blinking widely at them at the table, "Nurse here, Hi" she greets, approaching them.
A wave of relief spreads through Bonnie, "Oh, thank god" she releases, assisting the woman with laying Elena out on the floor so she can examine her properly. After seeing the state of the brunette's injuries, she's saying to a waitress who'd stopped to stare, "Towels? I need to apply pressure to her wounds. Do you have them? Or maybe there's a first aid kit here?"
Bonnie doesn't get the rest of the conversation because seated way in the back at a table to himself, having paused eating what looks to be blueberry pie is a rather familiar face staring back at her.
Alfred.
Bonnie nearly gasps.
He's staring at her with a wonderstruck look on his face, like he can't believe he's seeing her outside of the mansion.
Bonnie blinks, stunned for a moment then turns to Elena who's currently being treated by the nurse, towels are pressed against her abdomen now, aiding to help stop with the bleeding.
"Elena, I have to go" she announces, grabbing the other girl's attention.
Elena nearly shoots up in panic, "Wait, what? You're leaving?" and then is immediately wincing at the strain it must have caused on her injuries.
"Easy." the nurse is saying gently, motioning for Elena to lie back down. The brunette listens, giving a minuscule nod then proceeds to recline again down on the ground, her eyes however haven't left Bonnie's. She looks so scared but the hazel eyed woman cannot stay here. It wasn't an option. Alfred is probably alerting The Parkers right now where she is.
And then there's that line Liv declared about owning the cops, so it's not like she could stay and report them to the authorities. The best thing to do is for her to leave.
"You'll be fine, help is on the way." she assures, plus, the nurse here seems more than capable to assist while they wait for help to come. "I need to go though" she rushes out, tossing a quick glance back at Alfred who's still watching her with those scrutinous eyes of his.
"Oh God," comes the croak. "You think he'll be back don't you?" Elena is nearly sobbing now. She's clearly referring to her attacker, her pretty face stricken with fear, looking like she's on the verge of hysteria.
Jesus. This girl would have PTSD from this shit.
You will have PTSD from this shit.
"No," Bonnie begins in a soothing voice, trying to calm the other girl down before she could get too worked up, having a panic attack she was sure was not good for her current injuries. "I don't think anyone will pick him up, not with his injuries. And even if he did manage to make it here before the cops, I don't think he'd try anything, there's too many people here. I'm pretty sure he's going to try to lay low" she tells the other girl, not to placate her but because she truly believes it. That psychopath wouldn't dare come in a public place looking for her, them.
Because she was pretty sure she was on his hit list now as well.
Elena nods, this seems to calm her, the worriment on her face dissolving a bit. She, gathering as well how he'd be a fool to come in here and try something.
Bonnie crouches down low on the ground, grabbing up the brunette's left hand into her own, "You take care of yourself, okay?" she intones, giving her hand a gentle squeeze, exuding warmth in her expression as her words filter out.
Elena's eyes are beginning to water again. "Thank you for helping me." she says, tone wobbly but grateful, clutching at Bonnie's hand or trying to, her grasp, limp, "Truly. You saved my life" and then there's the barest of smiles touching her lips.
And Bonnie can't help but return the gesture, letting her lips spread apart for the first time in what seemed like ages. "I'm glad I could help"
That little sliver of merriment doesn't last long because when Bonnie is starting up the Tesla, ready to back out of the parking lot and get back onto the road before the cops could show or before the Parker's butler could alert them of her whereabouts, she spots silver hair at the front window of the diner, her body freezing as the pale blues eyes of Alfred peers back at her.
She doesn't pull over until she's nearly falling asleep at the wheel, deciding she needed to call it quits on driving for tonight before she kills herself which would be ironic if she was the one who did herself in after surviving two murder attempts.
She ends up pulling into a Super 8 along the interstate.
It had cost seventy bucks for a one night stay and usually she wouldn't have cringed at the cost but the fact that she couldn't go home back to Whitmore, to her apartment, her job, meant she wouldn't be coming into any extra cash anytime soon. She hadn't had to think about money much lately because Luke had paid for literally everything, the one thing he was good for, lying bastard.
Anyway, she needed to preserve her cash. She didn't know how long she would be on the run and after using the hotel phone to check her balance she winces as she listens to the amount, just under a thousand dollars and the only reason she had even that is because she hasn't paid her rent yet, which was looking like it wasn't going to get paid for this upcoming month or any thereafter. Oh well, her credit was shit anyway. Plus, why waste money when she wasn't going to be living there?
She sighs. Her life was screwed all because she looked like some dead girl and because she met a psychopath. Largely, because she met a psychopath.
Bonnie showers, ignoring the filthy tub, washing all the worry and anxiety away. Or attempting to at least. She keeps getting glimpses of snarling faces as she'd backed herself up to the staircase in that creepy dungeon, making a retreat from that deranged family. The only one who hadn't looked at her with disdain was Malachai. He only wanted her safe. Which has the tears welling.
She cries in the shower and then she gets in the bed and cries some more. The tears doesn't stop streaming until her eyes finally drift closed.
A week and a half later..
Bonnie's strolling the aisles of the local Piggly Wiggly, dropping top ramen into her basket when a tingle crawls up her spine. That feeling of being watched. Immediately, her head is swiveling around, but when she's managed to scan the vicinity, no one is there.
No one is ever there.
This is the fourth time this has happened since she's been on the run, she'd thought it was her gut alerting her of danger but turns out she's just paranoid.
Shaking the anxiety and fear away, she continues with her shopping, glancing down at her list on the notes app on the new cell phone she purchased for fifty bucks, one of those cheap burner phones. It was all she could afford. After ditching Kai's Tesla, she'd purchased a five hundred dollar clunker. She couldn't risk them tracking her in Kai's car and there's no way she could drive her own, which was a 2003 Volkswagen Beetle, not run of the mill as far as cars went in the least. Plus, she wouldn't put it past Luke to know her plate number, he'd probably had the cops he owned put an APB out on her ride. So a new car it was. Well, new for her, just like she considered the thrift digs she bought, clearly used but new to her. Because frankly this car was a piece of shit. And that piece of shit brought her funds down to a measly three hundred dollars. Three hundred dollars would go like that. Between food and gas, her funds would be gone by the end of the month. She needed to find a job fast, most likely waitressing or bartending, since she's sure this small town she'd settled in probably wasn't looking for any nude models. She hadn't headed back to Whitmore, nor Mystic falls, for the past week and a half. She's been staying at one of her Grams old work colleague's cabin in the woods. Going back to her old life in Whitmore was absolutely out of the question. Luke knew where she had lived, worked. He'd also known about the house that she'd inherited from Grams, though that house was occasionally being used as an Airbnb. Hotels weren't an option because that would have seriously blown through her savings. So her only option was contacting one of her Grams old friends and asking if she could stay at his cabin for a while. She'd known previously from Grams that he barely used the place. Only for a few months in the summer when he'd go there to write. Disconnect from the world. He'd said yes, no hesitation. And thankfully he was the type who hid keys under rocks, she always thought that was so idiotic but in this instance she's grateful because that meant she hadn't had to make a trip up to Whitmore. So yeah, here she is hiding out until she hears from Kai. Though she didn't know how he would get in touch with her, he had no contact info for her and that's assuming he is even alive. She's been doing internet searches everyday, trying to find if any murders have been reported. Any missing persons. There were a ton of the latter, turns out Halloween usually brought out the sadistics so it was hard to know if any were connected to the Parkers or not. But with all that was going on, would they even have had time to go through with the ritual, assuming they even got out of the house?
Bonnie is dumping generic Cheerios that she was sure tasted like cardboard into her basket when the feeling of being watched sweeps over her again. She whips around and sees a tall figure in a tan overcoat and medium brown hair just exiting the aisle.
She's struck still for a moment before her brain is registering things. Finally catching up with her eyes.
Kai.
That was definitely Kai, the height, the hair, the impeccable taste in overcoats, that suave gait.
Abandoning her basket, she flies down the aisle to catch up with him. When she gets to the front of the store she sees he's headed out the automatic sliding doors.
Fuck.
Bonnie speeds up to catch up to him, calling his name but he doesn't turn around.
"Kai" she repeats after having exited the discount store just seconds behind him. Still nothing. He's trying to get away but why? She doesn't care that he's following her. She's relieved.
She tails him, watching as he whips a phone out of his pocket and starts talking on it. He's headed for a silver Audi.
But she's rushing up to him before he can climb into the car and peel off. He is not leaving her here. Not alone. Never again. "Hey" she calls out, gruffly, placing a hand on his shoulder when she's caught up with him, whirling him around.
And when he's finally facing her, he gives her a startled look. Of course he does, because this isn't Kai, this is some random white dude who slightly resembles him.
Her mouth falls open. Not only is she shocked it's not him, she's disappointed. So much so, it's taking all of her will to not cry.
"Hold on" he says to the person on the phone then addresses Bonnie with scrutinous eyes, "Yes? Can I help you?"
She's shaking her head, numbly, feeling her heart drop into her stomach, plummeting really, then managing to utter out, "I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else" she's now backing away, feeling the burning sensation of oncoming tears.
He frowns then lifts the phone back to his ear, saying to the person on the other line, "Yeah, just some crazy person"
When Bonnie gets back to the cabin, she heats up a T.V. dinner and nearly snorts at the situation she's found herself in, eating a microwaved dinner like Kai teased her about two weeks prior.
What a sad situation.
She turns on the T.V., watches the evening news for a while, turning it up when she sees a familiar face on the screen, the news anchor voice, clear and professional as she reports, "Authorities are still on a statewide hunt for Damon Salvatore, who's also known as the coed killer. Suspect has been said to have lured dozens of young women into the woods and murdering them. Salvatore had originally been taken into custody for his attack on a college coed last week but however managed to escape police custody while being treated for injuries at Silver Springs General. Upon further investigation, the suspect has been brought up on additional charges including fourteen counts of murder of the first degree, assault of a police officer and evading arrest. Suspect is at large and considered highly dangerous, if you have any information on his whereabouts please call 555-TIPS.
Jesus, they still haven't caught this creep. She's been following this case very closely. Apparently, this sick fuck had been slaughtering college girls for two years now. The person she stopped to help was a fucking serial killer. Now if that wasn't shit luck.
God, she could imagine what Elena was going through right now, not knowing if the boogie man was right outside her door.
She shudders because it's the exact mirror of her own situation. Outside of her cabin could be any member of the Parker family, the monsters who wanted her dead, waiting, watching, plotting.
No one knows about the cabin, stop being so paranoid. It's going to drive you crazy.
Draining the last dreads of her wine, yes, she splurged on a nine dollar bottle of moscato, she needed something to make her feel the teeniest bit human, dwindling funds be damned. Thank god she hadn't been carded; she doesn't know how else she would have managed to cope with mistakenly seeing Kai tonight. She'd gotten her hopes up, only to be crushed. Letting out an expel of breath, she turns off the television and heads upstairs to take a shower. She spends most of her time in there crying.
Fuck you moscato.
She'd just come out of the shower and is exiting the ensuite bathroom, about to get ready for bed when her feet falters at the threshold.
Luke is sitting on her bed.
She blinks then stills, momentarily shocked. And when fight or flight has kicked in, adrenaline coursing through her veins, she whirls around to try and lock herself in the bathroom. Maybe she can crawl out the window, she thinks frantically. But he's on her before she could get the door closed. Ramming his body against the wood, causing her to stumble back and lose hold on the door knob. Once he's inside the bathroom, he's immediately grabbing her by the hair and yanking her out of it and into the bedroom. He tosses her on the bed, she nearly loses her towel in the process. She's pretty sure he got an eye full of her vajayjay.
"You've been a hard girl to track down" he announces as she situates her towel, a slow, false grin spreading across his face. Her eyes dart towards the door. Could she get past him? She didn't think so but she couldn't just sit here and wait for him to kill her..
"I tried your Gram's place a week ago." he says, sounding disappointed. "I was shocked to see you hadn't even dropped by. You really gotta check that mailbox. It's overflowing with mail."
She can't help it but her eyes flick again towards the door. He must catch it because he warns in an icy tone, "Don't even try it."
She tries it. She doesn't even get past him. He's got a firm grip on her upper arm, slinging her back on the bed like she's a rag doll. But she's up again, kicking and scratching and punching and just being a full on hellcat. He isn't a big guy at all, maybe there's a chance she could fuck him up. Except, her hits aren't doing any damage, he's able to easily restrain her, almost embarrassingly so.
He has her pinned on the bed again, body hovering as hers rests between his thighs, his hands having formed manacles around both of her wrist. Him having control over her arms doesn't stop her from fighting him, she tries to bite him on the forearm but he's quickly positioning their arms further away from her snapping teeth. "Calm down Bonnie or it'll be lights out again" he's referencing the time Liv knocked her in the back of the head at the Manor causing her to fall unconscious, only to wake up tied up in a dungeon pre-sacrificial ceremony. She doesn't want that and because she feels like her struggling is useless anyway, he has a vice-like hold on her, there's no way she's getting out from under him, maybe if he wasn't so little and situated so high on her she could knee him in the groin but he is so that's not an option.
She finally stops thrashing beneath him, and he peers at her for a long moment before he relays with false sweetness, "If I get off of you. Are you going to be a good girl?"
Though it kills her to do, she nods, "Try one more thing and that's it" he threatens politely, watching her with careful eyes. She doesn't nod again to assure him she'll be compliant but he climbs down her body anyway, releasing her wrist at the very last second. And now with him removing himself from her body, she notices her towel actually had come off this time. And for someone who was supposed to be gay, he sure was slow to remove his eyes from her goods. As if he hadn't seen enough their first meeting. And now that she thinks about it, she wonders if that had been the first time him laying eyes on her or if he'd spotted her previously and had been stalking her, learning her routine. Having premeditated their first run in at the Sip and Paint class. Internally, she shudders, hurrying up and pulling the towel back around her body the moment he's no longer lording over her. He settles himself at the foot of the bed coming up to his full five foot seven height. She sits up, perched at the edge, their bodies a foot apart from each other. He's too close for her to get away. So she stays put, she was good on him knocking her out, there's so many ways he could achieve this and she doesn't want to find out which method he would choose.
And because the conversation needed to get started by one of them she speaks first, "What do you want?" Her voice is way calmer than it should be right now. It should be rattled with fear, and though she does feel genuine terror with him standing over her so menacingly right now, there's something in her that doesn't want him to know just how much he frightens her.
"I want to know what it is about girls with faces like you that always has my brother so quick to turn his back on his family. Truly, it baffles me" his tone is light but his eyes are as black as night.
And she thought Malachai enjoyed insulting her.
No, he didn't enjoy that, remember? And she recalls how half the time he looked nauseous while doing it.
"You should ask him," This was her way of trying to fish for information. Because hell, Kai could be dead. They could have murdered him when they were released from the dungeon. It was after all eight of them to his one. And that could be the very reason he hadn't contacted her.
Or maybe he couldn't find you dummy, her mind throws out. But then she's thinking about Luke and how he tracked her down. It took him a week and a half but he did it. But Kai doesn't know her intimate life though. He doesn't know her friends or even the names of her dead family members.
So yes, As far as she knows Kai's dead. She needs confirmation of this though.
"Oh, I can't. He skipped out on town after he tried to burn the Manor down with all of us in it. And understandably, he isn't answering our calls"
Wait, he was alive? And he hadn't looked for her..
But Bonnie doesn't focus on that. She addresses his comment about Kai trying to burn the house down with them in it.
"I don't think that was him"
"Who was it then?" he grits out, his voice sounding suddenly angry.
"Some very pissed off souls" she answers woodenly. And one of those souls had to be the figure she'd seen at the foot of her bed that night. Maybe they had been trying to warn her, trying to get her out of there before whatever had happened to them didn't become her fate as well, too bad she was too scared to listen.
"Right," he replies, rolling his eyes. And Kai was right, not a believer of the paranormal this one. "Luckily we were able to get out without any casualties, thanks for asking by the way." And now she's the one rolling her eyes. "And perform the ritual, though it was hell finding somewhere to do it in such tight time constraints, we were cutting it real close" he looks annoyed by this.
Wait a minute, they went forth with the ritual?
"You killed another innocent person?" she says, growling the words at him.
He lifts his shoulder, affably, "Hey, don't look at me like that." he tells her, his eyes shining with a wicked gleam. "Blame vcard4sale dot com for allowing girls to auction off their virginities to the highest bidder"
Jesus Christ.
"You're disgusting" she tells him, complete and utter revulsion in her tone.
She watches his face darken before her. "Every ill feeling you feel for me, you should feel it tenfold for your boyfriend" How dare he imply Kai was worse than him. No one was worse than him.
"Why are you here?" she asks again, clipping out the words.
She wanted him to say it.
"I thought it was rather obvious. To do what I should have done two weeks ago"
And then he's taking a step forward, reaching up and letting the pad of his thumb brush along the curve of her bottom lip. She jerks her head away, growing nauseous at the feel of his murdery hands on her and he laughs at how uncomfortable he's making her.
"It really was fun. Me pretending to like you, you believing it like an idiot. I had you so fooled. It was my best performance to date. I honestly feel I deserve an Oscar"
"You're sick" she spits out disgustingly, a scowl tracing her brows, her mouth growing tight around the edges.
"Maybe." he shrugs, considering her words. And then with horror she watches as he pulls a dagger out of his back pocket, a dagger that looks similar to the one he was clutching that night she'd almost been murdered by his father. "But you're a future dead girl, so your opinion doesn't matter"
Her stomach hollows out. Here it goes, the beginning of the end.
"But that's enough talking. We should really get this over with. I have a Tinder date at eight and being it's our first time meeting, I don't think he'd appreciate me being late"
"I don't think he'd appreciate your lack of height" someone says approaching the open doorway.
Not someone.
Kai.
Her mouth literally hangs open as she watches the man she prayed was still alive for the past week and a half saunter closer. The one she'd cried over, agonized over, dreamt about every single night since that last day they spoke, when he ordered her to leave the Manor with him in it with his dreadful relatives.
He doesn't look like himself. He's still as handsome as ever, maybe even more now that sprinkles of gray dust the edges of his temples, giving him a more distinguished look. He'd aged at least twenty years. The other thing Bonnie notices, he had a gun in his hand, hanging casually at his right side. Lucas sees it too because in seconds he has her in his hold, situated behind her, knife at her neck. Yeah, she really hit her quota with being held at knife point this month.
"But who knows" Kai is saying, continuing on like Luke hadn't just drawn a knife to her throat. "Maybe he's the type to look beyond major physical flaws but that typically only occurs when the person with said flaws isn't a complete sociopath" He positions himself just beyond the threshold, giving her a better look at him now that he's flooded in light. She hated that at a time like this, where her life could be snuffed out like that, she was noticing just how gorgeous he was middle-aged.
"And I almost didn't recognize you brother." Luke is saying behind her, "I don't know if the salt and pepper look is for you though"
Kai laughs good-naturedly. He seems to be in no hurry to save her. What the hell?
"As far as the other thing," Luke is speaking again, his voice edging towards amused. "You say sociopath, I say charming as fuck.."
"Right," Kai nods, not once taking his eyes off his brother to look at Bonnie. "And you're so good at it, you convinced the entire family that I'm the problem child"
"Boo hoo, we hate your guts." Luke is droning in her ear, the grating sound making her molars grind. "You don't think it's at all warranted?" he asks, snippily. "The hurt you've afflicted on this family by your self serving antics, again and again. You're the most selfish person I know. If it wasn't for you, granddad and Jimmy and Robbie would have never been killed."
Kai is pushing off the door jam now. The sudden move has Luke tightening his hold on her, gripping her closer to him. The knife sharper against her neck. Seeing this, Kai halts in his actions. So he doesn't want her to get hurt? She couldn't tell with the casual way he was slouching against door frames and all.
When he speaks again, his voice is pained, she thinks she sees tears fill his eyes. "You don't think that I don't think about that everyday of my life? You don't think that I don't know that they're dead because of me?" he asks, emotions warring on his face.
"And then I remind myself that I didn't force anyone to do anything. That they came on their own volition and the guilt it fades for all but a second before I'm feeling like absolute shit all over again" she can hear the grief in his voice, how it turned his words gruff with emotion, see it reflected on his face, the crumpled way his brows rest on his forehead, the downturn of his mouth, the anguish gleaming in his eyes, the picture of someone still in mourning.
Luke is sneering behind her she knows because his body is growing taut against her back, radiating with tension. She could fill the rage exuding from him spike the air around them. "Oh, please. You don't care. You made that very clear a long time ago"
Bonnie watches as Kai jaw clenches, and then he's saying in a dismissive tone, lifting his shoulders then clearing his expression, "Believe what you want, Lucas. No matter what I say, no matter how many times I apologize. Your opinion of me will never change. You'll always hate me because they aren't here. I accepted that a long time ago"
"You're right, there's nothing you can say." Luke states, his voice seeped of emotions however his body is still hard as stone behind her.
"Alright" Kai is saying, his head dipping into a resigned nod. "Let's get this over with then. We both know there's only one of us leaving here today"
The hand that isn't holding the knife against her throat, swoops over her clavicle, landing at the base of her neck, using his fingers to ghost over the skin there. "That makes me sad Malachai," he voices and it truly does sound like he's genuinely feeling the emotion. "-to know that you would really kill your own brother, your own flesh in blood. Over her. Because honestly, can we talk about how she's not even that pretty?"
"Shut your fucking mouth" Kai warns and although his tone hasn't raised in pitch, his words are chilled with frost, issuing a threat. Making it the first time tonight he loses even a semblance of his cool.
Luke just starts laughing. "If there's one sure fire way to piss you off, insult the girl wearing this face" the words had started off amused but somewhere in the middle there got corroded with bitterness.
"Drop the knife and back away from her" Kai demands, his expression no nonsense.
"But she's my girlfriend, remember?" the blonde man teases. "The one you stole from me and fucked" He's definitely bitter. Maybe he never wanted her but the fact that she could betray him clearly bothered him. The same way it bothered him that Kai could choose Bonnie over him, their family, the way he'd done over a century ago with Delphine. At least, that's how Luke saw it.
"Stop pretending like you care." Kai bites out, annoyed. She can see the tension in his jaw. "Like you didn't ruin her life just for the fun of it." Amen. Her life was never going to be the same after this. Assuming she would make it out of here alive. "Now step away." he tells his brother, demands it, voice stern.
"Or what? You'll shoot me" Luke delivers, voice flat. Going for the unaffected air his brother usually exudes so well.
"You seem to think I won't" Kai utters, his tone having reverted back to its casual nonchalance, however his hands are lifting the gun in the air and pointing its barrel at his brother's head.
"You seem to think I won't slit her throat" is Luke's rebuttal. Kai might but Bonnie doesn't think this. Not one bit.
Lucas hates her. He's itching to get rid of her.
"If you touch her.." Kai warns and his voice is suddenly deadly but Lucas doesn't take heed to the murderous look on Kai's face.
"You'll do what?" he dares as if gathering that his brother is bluffing. And Bonnie can just hear the sickening smirk stretching along his lips, like this is all a game to him but being he pretended to court her for six whole months she guesses it was. "Shoot me?" The words have a lazy amusement to the drawl.
And when Kai just glares at him. "Go ahead, Malachai" he urges and she can just imagine his blue eyes filling with fiendish taunting.
The knife presses deeper into Bonnie's neck causing her to stiffen against the blonde man. Kai eyes dart to the blade against her neck, his eyes filling with unfiltered rage, his nostrils flaring out wildly. He takes a step forward, his gun leveled with Luke's head. Luke's head which is way too close to Bonnie's head. And she wonders if this is the reason he wouldn't shoot or if it was because Luke was his brother at the end of the day and shooting your sibling wasn't something that could be done without pause. Luke seems to think the latter applies, giving him the ammo to keep taunting. He knows his brother won't kill him. He was smug about it. Because despite all the ill harbored feelings, they were brothers. Blood. And that's when Bonnie knew it was over for her.
"Drop your gun. You know you can't do it." he voices to the elder brother in a,'You're too much of a coward' way, "Just like you couldn't protect your precious Delph- "
Pow.
And then the sound of a body hitting the floor.
Other than Bonnie initially jumping at the sound of the gun going off, she's pretty much stuck frozen afterwards for she doesn't know how long. Because she's currently in heavy contemplation.
Luke is dead.
Kai killed him.
Kai killed his brother.
For her.
When Bonnie doesn't issue a reaction, because she should be doing something..gasping in horror, vomiting on the floor, scampering away from him, hugging him..when none of this happens, his feet are moving towards her. He's sure to move in slow cautious steps, not wanting to startle her. He didn't know if she's afraid of him.
"Are you okay?" he's needing to know, finally reaching her, ignoring Luke's dead body on the ground. He tosses the gun on the bed and then both hands are on her face, cradling it like a precious artifact, "I'm so sorry" he expels, his voice is gentle as his eyes lock in on hers, studying her carefully.
She manages to nod but the words are caught somewhere in her vocal box.
His face is a picture of distress. She wants to reach up and smooth every worry line away. "I had to. You know that, right? He wasn't going to let you live. He was just so bitter with resent-"
"I know" she stops him, finally able to find her voice.
Her understanding of why he'd done what he'd done still doesn't erase the worry from his features. "I am sorry though, that you had to see that"
"I'm not" she lets him know and doesn't feel an ounce of guilt for saying it.
After Kai's taken care of the body, or bodies, he'd told her how Luke hadn't come here alone. How he'd had two henchmen with him, waiting outside in case Kai showed. Which he did, because he had been keeping an eye on the both of them, he knew especially keeping an eye on his brother was a good idea in case he'd tried something like this. He told her how he and said henchmen ended up in a battle outside, two against one. Kai, ending up victorious, thankfully, taking them both out with a knife to the throat. The gun he'd used to kill his brother hadn't even been his, it belonged to one of the guard dogs. And now with all three taken care of, which she doesn't even want to know where he's disposed the bodies of, he joins her on the couch, taking a seat on the opposite end. Much too far away. She guesses to give her space. He's probably not sure how she's processing seeing him shoot a man right in front of her. A man that happened to be his blood.
She already called him a murderer. Said he didn't deserve to live. He probably thinks she doesn't even want to look at him.
He's wrong.
Because despite everything, she cared about him. That wasn't something that would just go away overnight. He'd embedded himself into her, made himself one with her soul.
She turns to face him on the couch, eyes taking in his gray flecked hair, the laugh lines and ones underneath his eyes. He's the picture of a middle aged man.
"You're dying." she voices into the quiet room.
She knows it's blunt but it's true. Two decades have been added on to his biological age. She doesn't see it stopping here. This was his body's way of trying to catch up with his true age after being on pause for so long. The spell clearly wasn't meant to be anything life long, they abused it and now he was paying the consequences. Or hell, maybe this was Satan's way of getting revenge on Kai for not participating in the offering unlike the century he'd done before..Who knows? What she does know for sure is that he's dying.
She watches as his cheeks round, revealing a dimple. At least that hadn't changed. "Noticed that, huh?" and his voice is still as honeyed as she remembered.
"How long?" she wants her voice to sound steady, to not reveal the anguish she's feeling but the words crack a bit.
And since she can't hold strong, he does it for her, "A week maybe, if that" he informs her in a composed voice, a tone she wished she could have relayed.
A week..
Her eyes start to water, really processing it. Kai would cease to exist in a week. How is this fair? She just found him. An overwhelming amount of grief floods her.
He's already comforting her before a tear could even begin to fall, sliding over on the sofa until they're practically sharing the same cushion, he has her wrapped up in his arms in seconds, comforting her. Her face tucked against the warmth of his chest as he shushes her and smoothes her hair, "Hey, it's okay. I'm okay." She feels a tear slip down her face. Then another. And then they're coming down at full force.
"Dont cry" he utters out, voice tender, using his free hand to drag a thumb over her wet cheek.
"It's time" he tells her as her eyes continue to fill with salt, body racking with sobs. "You were right. No one should live forever" And it was so clear now, he was trying to do the right thing for her, which made her cry even harder.
Bonnie sniffles and says, wiping at her eyes, "Did I say that?" and her words are muffled with grief. "That was a really stupid thing to say. I take it back"
He laughs and she loves the rumbling feel that comes from his chest because of it. But the joyous sound only lasts for a few seconds and then utter quiet descends. She doesn't like what the silence means. It means he's in heavy contemplation, most likely about him not having much time left. Bonnie peels herself from his chest, knowing her face is probably a mess, eyes red and puffy from the bawling, the little eyeliner she did have on today probably smudged and causing her to resemble a raccoon.
His eyes are watchful on her, studying. He looks like he wants to say something. She waits for it to come and when it doesn't, uncomfortable with the silence but also because it's something she's been curious about since Luke had mentioned it so casually, which felt like mere hours ago.
"Did you set the house on fire with them inside?" It wasn't lost on her that that was the way witches were dealt with during the witch trials.
"No," he says simply, his expression unchanging, "I barely got out myself"
"I figured" He hadn't even wanted to kill Luke, had only found it necessary, so him trying to off his entire family wasn't really on brand for him but she needed to know for sure.
"I let them know about Luke" his words immediately snaps her out of her thoughts.
There's a panic that flares inside her, causing her eyes to widen, her voice to fill with alarm. "Why would you tell them?" the words, accusatory.
That was the last thing he should have done.
That would only infuriate them. Only make them want to hunt him down. Her down.
"They should know" he tells her, unregretful.
Her mouth drops. Her heart drops. Why does he feel he owes them anything?
But then he's forging on, tone even. "Plus, I had to. Because they were going to find out eventually. And then they might get it in their minds to look for you and I wouldn't have been around to protect you."
Her eyes mist again at the reminder he would be dead soon.
"Don't worry, no one will come for you" he tells her, his tone so sure of this.
"How do you know that?" she asks, recalling the look on Tabitha's face when she thought her precious baby boy would be hurt. And now that her little princeling is dead, she'd hunt Bonnie down and rip her throat out. She wouldn't let this go. How could Kai not understand this?
"I put a contingency in place in case they got any ideas. I let them know just now if anything happened to you every single one of them will burn" and she knew he'd meant it literally.
"Geez, you don't play, do you?" He was willing to have his entire family slaughtered if any harm came to her. It was cutthroat for sure but also sort of romantic?
"Not when it comes to you, no" his words make her want to crawl into his lap and never get up.
They lock eyes for a long moment and the air charges around her. It's so hard not to lean in and kiss him.
She watches him swallow, she knows he's thinking the same thing. He's holding back. This she knows.
Before she could ponder on it harder, he begins to dig in his pocket and then he's handing something to her. She takes it from him and studies it. A USB drive. "This is everything I have on them. Every murder commited, every dirty deed done, use it if you need to." She nods, clutching it. If Bonnie wanted to, with this, she could go to the FBI, get them all sent to prison. She likes having this option rather than nothing. But he isn't done. "It also has the bank account details of an offshore account that I set up for you. My advice-" he offers, eyes roving over her face. "Start a new life, new identity, relocate to some foreign country. Actually live Bonnie. The life you've always longed for"
Her eyes widen. He was making sure she would be taken care of after his death. Giving her that chance to start anew. She could move to Paris like she'd always wanted. She doesn't even know how to respond to this. Was a simple thank you even enough? But that's what she settles with and again he nods.
And then he's looking like he wants to say something, she can practically see a million different emotions going to war on his face.
Just say it, she wills him. But whatever's gnawing at him stays inside his head, for now.
In effort to lighten the mood, she brings a hand up to his forehead, pushes some of his hair back, tipping her head slightly to the left, "I know Luke said the gray isn't a good look.." she continues to examine him more closely, her lips slightly pursed in thought, "But..It kinda is. Could you be approaching Zaddy status now?"
He groans but she can tell he's amused by the way his eyes are gleaming. "I hate your generation's slang. It's atrocious" he pretends to be disgusted, and the laughter that parts her lips is of the cackling variety. He crinkles his nose at her, like the sound disgusts him but she knows better. "I like it better when you say things like hoot" he tells her and she laughs but this time it's a normal sound, less witch-like.
"But you made fun of me for it" she reminds him of his taunting words to her that time they'd all gathered in their pool, he and every single one of his siblings. It seems so long ago now. So much has happened since.
"You know why" and the words are said low without inflection, though his eyes are soft, incredibly so, touching every inch of her face.
And she thinks about his words, nodding once, because everything he did was for a reason.
"Right, you were being super annoying because you wanted me to leave"
One of his perfect brows crooks up. "And what was your reason?"
She smirks then kicks him playfully. He laughs and catches her foot. She tries to wiggle it back but he refuses to let it go.
"Look at that" he responds, smiling a little, revealing that dimple again, "Miss 'I don't condone violence' is getting violent" he muses, chuckling. The rumble is such a deep, soul affecting sound. "Again" he adds, reminding her of the fact that she had slapped him once.
She sniffs at the comment, at his taunting eyes, "At least I didn't offer you up as sacrifice to the devil"
"Just so we're clear," he intones, eyes holding hers, some of the amusement in them starting to bleed away. "I wasn't the one who was going to offer you up as a sacrifice, that was all Luke"
"That was your entire family" she corrects him.
He's quiet then. Suddenly looking ashamed. Suddenly looking livid.
She hadn't wanted to cause this look on his face, she meant it as a joke.
So to lighten the mood again, she questions, "Why does your mom look twenty-five?" she exaggerates but seriously, unless Tabitha was dabbling in the dark arts before Kai had been, the math wasn't mathing.
"You can contribute that to hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on plastic surgery"
Her mouth drops and he laughs, "Wow, I need to know who her doctor is"
"My mom has a whole new face and no you don't, I already told you you're perfect" and the laughter is gone, the humor that was displaying over his features now replaced with adulation.
And this look gets her to thinking. Her mind going back to the dungeon, what he'd said there.
She takes this opportunity to ask him, "In the dungeon you told your father that I was..that I was your Delphine. Do you.." she pauses then starts again, voice inquisitive, "Do you really believe that?"
He doesn't answer verbally, or even right away, seconds tick by and then he's tipping his head down in a solemn nod.
"I'm not her, Kai" she relays carefully, watching his face closely for any signs of his mood changing because of her words. "I'm Bonnie Bennett."
He's shaking his head and the adamant way he does it, she knows is an indication of how deep his belief goes with the reincarnation mumbo-jumbo. Luke called it a load of crap when he'd relayed the story about Delphine to Bonnie, she hated having to agree with him about anything, but yeah, this, total nonsense. "She's you. You're her. Same soul."
And their conversation, that night after they'd made love are playing in her mind,
"That's crazy right? I don't even know you" she'd said after admitting she couldn't part from him, not even if she tried.
"But you do" he'd said so confidently.
"I just met you" she told him, only for him to follow up with, "Not your soul."
Yeah, his belief that she was Delphine was bone deep.
Bonnie shifts on the sofa, leaning more into his space, wanting to grab his hand but doesn't because she doesn't want him to think she's pitying him, "Kai, I get it. You want me to be her. It's understandable. You loved her and here I am waltzing into your life with her same exact face." she pauses then says, tenderness threading her words. "But I am not the reincarnation of your lost love" She makes sure not to say dead love like Luke had.
"You're wrong." he's telling her with a fierceness she's never seen come from him before. "You know how I know you're her?" he asks but it's rhetoric, so he doesn't wait for an answer. "Because when you look at me, it feels the same. Your touch. The taste of you. Your kiss, Bonnie" he stresses, eyes closing in remembrance. And then he's opening them again, explaining in thorough detail, expression filled with raw intensity, "That night we made love, you kissed me the same way you did the last day I saw you a hundred and fifty-five years ago." Her mouth parts. She pulls in a breath, listens with rapt ears. "You started off with little pecks," he tells her, smiling a bit. "At the corners first," he explains and then he's leaning in and kissing her mouth, right at the edge, "Here" He displays then moves to the other side, vetiver filling her nostrils, his breath as soft as a whisper against her skin, "Here," Kiss. And then he's back to her left side, kissing her again, his soft lips pressing the corner of her mouth ever so gently, sending delicious sparks down her spine. "And here" he finishes.
The feel of his mouth lingers for moments after he's pulled away. And then he's just hovering, his mouth torturously close to hers like he might kiss her again, but then he doesn't, just says in light, airy tones, shifting closer to her still, "And then you're drowning me in your mouth and I never want to come up for air" he whispers against her lips, causing her whole body to alight with flames.
They exchange breaths for a long minute before he finally pulls himself back, eyes flickering over her face as he gets the rest out. "You're the same, I know it," he pauses for a moment, looking thoughtful. And then he's speaking again, his eyes honed on her, "There are these sounds you make when we make love, sounds that are exclusive to you only." Bonnie's breath is stuck in her lungs, she can't get any air in or out. Her face, she's sure, a hot flushing mess. It made her embarrassed to know he'd noticed all the noises she'd made, she thought he was too busy enjoying her to notice. Her face flushes again at the memory of all the moaning and panting she'd done that night.
And then he's saying, eyes roving over her face, his knuckles skimming her arm, sending tiny electrodes over her skin. "Is there any reason you would know Creole then? Because you spoke it to me that night like you've done so many times before"
She gives a long blink then proceeds to shake her head because there had to be an explanation for this, she'd known he'd pulled some words out of her that night that weren't even apart of the English language but she'd thought maybe the good sex had her speaking in tongues. But he's wrong because she does not know Creole, he must have gotten it wrong.
"You said it out of your mouth that I was her doppelganger"
"Because I didn't want to scare you with talk of reincarnation. Not when you were already so frightened. My main priority was getting you out of there. I had plans to fill you in of everything later"
She doesn't say anything. For the first time tonight she doesn't have words for him.
He takes advantage of her silence, taking hold of her hand, his tone warm and tender, his fingers a port of warmth. "I feel exactly the same way I did our first go around in 1865. The same way Bonnie," he reiterates, a smile starting to bloom, his face filled with light and love. "In all of its unfiltered blessedness"
"Okay" She says, nodding, trying to smile. Because it was easier to do this than to argue with him. She wanted to believe what he was saying because he was so passionate about it. He wholeheartedly believed she was the reincarnation of his dead girlfriend and there was nothing anyone could say to convince him otherwise.
Her as well, she couldn't for the life of her get her brain around the un-logicness of it all. Despite her free spirit appearance, with her hippy clothes and wild hair, she was actually not so open minded about things like this. Maybe she could believe the thing about the ghost saving her from that house, because she was there when it happened. There was no way she could refute it but reincarnation? Your soul transfering to another vessel to live all over again? Now that is where she drew the line. Truthfully, it just sounded like a bunch of made up crap to make people feel better about the notion of dying.
"You don't believe me" he notes, almost somberly, realizing her 'Okay' was a way to end the conversation and not because he'd convinced her of anything.
"It's okay" he tells her with a wan smile but she can tell he's holding back on his emotions. "I expected this. For you to not remember anything. My only hope was that I got to be with you again. It wasn't for the time I thought it would be but it happened" he says, face suddenly brightening, "And for that I'm grateful. I can die a happy man now, Bonnie" he relays, looking too content for someone who supposedly just been reunited with the love of his life only to have to part from her all over again.
"Don't talk about dying please" She presses her eyes close, banishing the burning sensation behind her lids away.
She feels him touch her face, the caress gentle, loving, possessive. The feeling of home. Her lids flutter open to peer at him, his expression is serene, like a prisoner's visage after finding salvation before an execution, "Okay, I won't talk about dying"
And he doesn't. Not for the rest of the night.
It's decided he would live out the rest of his days here with her. To her it was the only option really.
He sleeps with her that night. Just in the literal sense, with her on her side of the bed, him on his. She wants him, wants his reverent touches, greedy kisses, deep strokes. She craves him so much that it's painful. There was no way she could rewire her mind not to but she couldn't allow for them to go there because what he wants she is not. So tucking her thoughts away, that longing she feels deep down. She manages to sleep for the first time she feels in a long time, having vivid dreams, dreams of gray eyes nearly expanding out of their sockets after locking onto hazel eyes for the first time as he's served dinner along with his brothers and the vile people who caused the cries at night, who caused the hopelessness. Dreams of secret meet ups in abandoned barns where frantic kisses were exchanged and promises made of meeting up later. Dreams of gunshots and devastation and despair and longing and prayers for it all to end. Dreams of rescue missions and immediate elation at seeing those gray eyes again and kissing and love making and ring sliding onto fingers with promises of marriage one day. And then dreams of pickup trucks and snarling faces and shot guns and ropes and Maple trees. And then nothing. And then now.
Bonnie eyes flick open, her hand automatically reaching for the man beside her. She shakes him until his eyes are fluttering open. Turning on his side, he faces her fully, their gazes holding.
"Mal" she breathes, soft as a whisper, that nickname coming back to her as easily as the memories did.
And then he's smiling, his visage knowing, worshipful eyes moving over her face lovingly. Then he's saying in that reverent way of his, "Hey"
A/N And that's a wrap folks. And now you know why this is really titled The Reunion. Anywho, thank you for reading, to everyone who's left a comment *virtual hug* Seriously, you guys are the best. Ughhh I cant believe I actually completed a fic, so yay for me! Anyway, back to the story.. thoughts? What are you guys thinking? I'm dying to know. Lemme know in the comments.
