Disclaimer: I do not own the vampire diaries.
09
Butterfly effect.
The atmosphere in the kitchen was jovial, filled with aunt Jenna laughter, whose face was as red as the blouse she wore thanks to the many glasses of wine she had drunk during the night.
The general mood was filled with happiness and giddiness as the Gilbert-Sommers girls moved around the kitchen, each girl assigned to complete a different task for today's dinner.
It was a special occasion. Or so their mother had told them, this month's family night was going to be the best one they had so far, Miranda had vowed to that the week before.
Said woman was sitting on a stool, leaning on a counter, paging around great grandma Sommers cook book with great concentration trying to find the right recipe for tonight's dinner after their first attempt was currently resting in the trash can, burned and not safe for human consumption. She flipped another page, almost halfway through the book and losing hope about finding a proper replacement. There were some questionable ones that left her nauseous by just reading the ingredients list, but there were also really appetising ones, like the one that just caught her attention.
"How about this one?" Miranda asked aloud and her girls stopped their tasks to usher to her side, "It sounds good," she mumbled, "Granny's steak supreme!" She turned the old book towards them pointing at the blurry drawing in the top corner.
Jeremy shrugged, opening the fridge to grab a juice box, "It's fine by me."
"Sorry Jer, no cooking, no opinion." Elena said, resting her elbows on the counter with a smirk.
Alex shook her head at their antics, turning to her mother, "Do we have all the ingredients for it?" She asked, eyeing the windows with caution and the storm raging outside, "Because I'm not running to the store with this rain."
"I think so?" Miranda answered, going to check the fridge for confirmation, "Yep, we do. Well, not all of them. We're missing some of granny's secret spice mix, whatever that is."
"It probably has coke on it." Jenna said, receiving a questioning glare from her sister, "What? It was the 50's! Everything had coke on it!" She defended herself, "I swear I'm not making it up."
"We believe you, Aunt Jenna." Elena patted her shoulder.
"I swear it's true!"
"I'll go finish the salad." Elena said.
"I'm going to put the cake in the oven." Alex said.
"And I'm going back to my game." Jeremy said, jumping over the couch, sitting on the floor as close as he could get from the T.V.
"Jeremy, too close." Miranda called, without looking up from the book in her hands.
"Yeah, yeah." He answered dismissively, but still moved.
Alex was done putting the cake in the oven and setting the timer up to 45 minutes before she started to clean the mess she made on her assigned area.
She was in the middle of stacking the dirty utensils on the bowl she used for the batter when Elena spoke.
"Mom, where's the ibuprofen? My head is hurting a little."
Miranda shared a look with Alex who quietly retreated in the background, dirty utensils forgotten on the counter.
"Is on the bathroom cabinets, where it always is." Jenna said, frowning at her niece's sudden mood change. She had seemed alright seconds ago. What happened?!
"Why don't you go sit down? I'll make you a cup of tea and bring it over in a bit." Mom offered, making her way to grab a bag of chamomile tea from the top cabinets.
"Actually, I think I want to lay down for a bit, if that's okay?"
"Yeah, is okay honey. I'll wake you up when your dad arrives."
Elena grimaced and nodded, before she retreated upstairs.
"She's totally faking it." Jenna blurted out, taking a sip from her glass, "She needs to work on her acting skills."
"Oh, I know she is. Very weird that she starts to feel unwell around the time that party in the woods I heard so much about is about to start." Miranda commented, starting the electric kettle, "But as a mother, I can't ignore my sick child, can I?" She smirked.
"Nope. I don't think you can't." Jenna chuckled, shaking her head, before putting a cube of cheese in her mouth.
Elena moved quietly around her room as she changed into something more 'party in the woods' appropriate clothes, flinching at every little sound that came from downstairs.
She did feel a little bad for lying to her family, especially after Alex made her pinky promise not to go to the bonfire, but since her sister failed to provide a proper explanation for her weird request... Elena didn't feel so guilty about sneaking out. There'll be plenty more family nights to share.
Also, the fact that Alex herself had skipped more than a handful of them to do whatever she did when she snuck out at night only served to fuel Elena's determination even more. They could discuss Alex's hypocrisy once she was back from the party.
She took one last glance at her vanity mirror to check her makeup before she headed out in a hurry as she needed to leave before dad arrived or else it would be impossible to escape his over- bearness. He was a Doctor, of course he would want to check on his 'sick' daughter himself.
Elena shot a text to Bonnie, telling her best friend to wait for her two streets away from her house as she pocketed her keys in her back pocket and crossed the shared bathroom to reach her sister's room as Alex was lucky enough to possess the only room in the house that was close enough from the big tree in the patio that they used to climb for their nightly escapades.
Elena shut the door quietly behind her, navigating around total darkness towards the closed window. Her fingers grazed the lock when someone cleared their throat behind her.
"Going somewhere?"
She froze, slowly turning to face whoever caught her, an excuse ready to leave her lips before she sighed, giving up and jumping on Alex's bed, facing the roof.
The outline of her sister's figure could be seen clearly from her spot on the bed and once Alex turned on the lamp on the nightstand, Elena couldn't help but snort at the sight.
Roger was on Alex's lap and she was stroking his fur like she was the guy from the godfather.
"Bunny's got your tongue, Elena?"
"How did you know?"
"I've known you for the past 16- soon to be 17 years, Elena. I know you like the back of my hand." Alex said, "You're so predictable. I knew you'll dishonour our pinky promise, which by the way, what kind of monster breaks a pinky promise-"
"I get it. You caught me. Congratulations." Elena said sarcastically.
"How were you planning on sneaking out? I mean, what were you going to do once mom's came upstairs?"
"I left my doppelganger in my stead to cover me." Elena grinned, oblivious to the way Alex flinched at the word.
Alex stood, rushing to Elena's room and ripping the covers with more force that needed finding the thing she hated the most on this earth resting innocently on her sister's bed.
Rosy lips grinned at her in a permanent smile that haunted her nightmares since she first saw it years ago one Christmas morning when Elena gleefully unwrapped her presents.
Alex growled, grabbing the beat up life size American doll by its awful brown synthetic hair, (that was the exact same shade as Elena's) and shoved it in the closet.
Gosh, how much she hated the damned doll. It was as ugly as sin, missing an eye and face covered with blue ink lines and a curly moustache, (courtesy of Jeremy). It was terrifying from head to toe. Even at her age, a few months from turning 18, Alex couldn't help but shudder at the mere sight of Molly, the doll from hell. Especially as in recent years both Elena and Jeremy found it funny to hide the doll around the house for her to find at the most inconvenient moments. She still had the scar on her elbow from where she slipped in the bathroom after she slide the curtain open and found Molly sitting on the toilet seat, her one eye, lifeless stare boring into hers.
She still didn't know who had been responsible for that one as Jeremy and Elena had a no snitching policy that they followed strictly when it came to messing with their elder sister.
"I still don't understand why you hate Molly so much." Elena commented, standing by the door about to head downstairs.
"Because she's evil!" Alex said, "I swear one of these days I'm going to see her running around the house with a butcher knife like Chucky." She grunted while fixing Elena's bed sheets, "Get your butt down stairs before mom's comes to check on you."
Elena bobbed her head, chewing her lip, "Yeah, you're probably right. You think she knew?- that I was lying?"
"Oh definitely. Now chop chop." Alex said to her, pushing her out when her phone buzzed in her back pocket.
It was another message from her father.
'Almost done.'
'Just waiting for my ride.'
'I'm starving :c'
Alex chuckled, typing a short reply, 'Hurry up. Dinner's almost ready.' Pressed 'sent' and tucked her phone in her back pocket.
It was May the 23rd of 2009.
Alex had been nervous throughout the whole day ever since her father bid them goodbye earlier on the day. He had to work, had an important surgery scheduled for today that needed to be done today, yes or yes as the patient's insurance plan would change in a few days and Grayson's schedule was full for the rest of the month.
He had no other choice but to leave, promising to arrive in time for family night so he could kick Jenna's butt at Pictionary like he always did.
Both her mother and her had stood by the porch, seeing his coworker's car disappear in the distance until it was completely out of their sight.
"It's going to be okay." Miranda had said in a firm voice, patting her daughter's shoulder.
Alex could only nod along, because what else could she say? They had taken the necessary precautions. Grayson had arranged to be picked up and dropped home by one of his most trusted friends and co-worker, Dr. Fitzgerald, so he wouldn't have to drive and Alex and her mother had promised to keep an eye out on Elena and any possible sneak out attempt she might pull during the night.
If put on perspective, their 'solution' was rather simple. To avoid danger as much as he could during the day and then return home to the arms of his loving family. Easy-peasy.
But Alex was anxious and would be for the rest of the night until she saw her father arrive home safe and sound.
A thunder echoed in the distance and the rain intensified.
Perhaps, she was asking for too much.
Alex was brought back to the present with the sound of Elena's voice trying to dissuade their mother from sticking a thermometer under her armpit.
"Are you sure, Elena? I think your forehead is a little hot." Miranda said, face etched with worry as she pressed a hand on her daughter's forehead.
They all saw through Miranda's act, even Elena, (who now had a cold compress on her forehead) had to pretend she didn't, as to not expose herself and her own fraudulent act of being sick.
'Elena won't be meeting Damon nor Stefan tonight.' Alex mused as she looked at her sister's pouting face.
She had weighed her options, fantasised with the possible outcomes of allowing her sister to go to the party in the woods and maybe had someone else drive her back or have Alex herself pick her up. But ultimately, the safety of her family had won over the future of her sister's complicated love life.
'I know Stefan is in town and Damon will show up before the school year starts.' The three of them will have to cross paths a little later than they were supposed to, but it was a small price to pay and one she could afford.
The oven's timer dinged, signalling that the time was up. 45 minutes had passed in a blur while she was lost with her thoughts.
Jenna was the one to get the steaming cake out of the oven as Alex seemed to be rooted on the spot.
"Cake's done!" Aunt Jenna cheerfully called, setting it on the counter to chill.
'45 minutes.'
She swallowed thickly, 'Dad should be back by now.' Alex started to panic, 'Why isn't he back- I should call him-'
She must've been making a face because her mother had quickly rushed to her side.
"Alex," her mother whispered, pulling her aside, "What's wrong?"
She took her time to answer, glancing at the door worriedly, "He's not back."
Miranda gave her a tight smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, clearly anxious as well, "He probably got held up. You know how much he likes to talk." She lamely excused.
But they both knew it was highly unlikely. He had promised to return home as soon as he was done with the surgery no matter what. Grayson wasn't the type to break his promises, especially the ones that could cost him his life.
"You're probably right." Alex conceited at last, "I'm just being paranoid. That's it." She forced a smile on her face.
Her mother opened her mouth to speak when a mix of blue and red washed over their living room.
Time seemed to freeze as they heard a car park outside and a set of heavy footsteps headed towards their house.
Someone knocked on the door.
One.
Their cheerful voices died down slowly.
Two.
Her heart skipped a beat as her family exchanged glances amongst each other for an answer.
Three.
Her mother fell to her knees, almost pulling her along.
Aunt Jenna reacted first, the colour drained from her face, any trace of her alcohol induced happiness was now gone as she crossed over the living room, shooting a worried glance at her sister before she opened the door.
Sheriff Forbes stood on the other side looking grim and more tired than she'd ever been. Liz opened her mouth, words failing her at the moment as her eyes welled up.
"Is he dead?" Miranda asked, raising her teary gaze towards the Sheriff.
Alex's stomach dropped, 'No!- he promised- he just sent me a message!'
Liz clenched her jaw, lowering her gaze to avoid theirs, she seemed to be waging a war with herself to find the right words. She had delivered this very same news over and over again many times during her career, but for the first time in her twenty years of service, she was at a loss for words.
But they needed answers.
"Tell me, Liz. Is my husband dead?" Miranda pressed, body shaking and tears streaming down her face.
Someone dropped something in the kitchen but Alex could not move to see what it was. She was rooted in place, watching it all play out like a mere bystander.
"There was an accident..." Liz began as her own eyes glinted with tears, suddenly realising Miranda wasn't the only one listening to her, she could save the more gruesome details for later, "He's at the hospital right now." She said, "He's in surgery, I believe."
Miranda let out a heart wrenching sob that pulled Alex out of her stupor. 'He was okay.' That realisation brought her soul back to her body.
She blinked slowly, kneeling by her mother's side to hug her. Miranda's arm's locked instinctively around Alex's neck as she sobbed on her chest.
Alex rubbed small circles on her mother's back to calm her down. For a moment, it was just the two of them, holding each other for support. Alex's body felt like putty, she had no strength to keep herself upright, there was no doubt in her that if it weren't for her mother's hold, she'd be on the floor.
They had done it.
He was okay.
Her father was alive.
Above them, the lights flickered wildly before the light bulbs exploded and tiny pieces of glass rained on them, Alex's magic being the responsible one.
Outside, another thunder roared loudly as the rain drops poured heavily.
She had been careless and very naive with her assumptions. This wasn't a T.V show, this was real life, and life was filled with the unexpected.
It was very stupid to think her life would follow the plot as if she hasn't been constantly messing with it since day one.
But he was alive and that was all it mattered.
(...)
He was unrecognisable with the many tubes and machines connected to his body. Grayson's pale skin was pretty bruised, tints of purple and red marred his flesh from head to toe from what they could see peeking from underneath the bandages covering most of his body. The worst one was the long, diagonal line across his chest caused by the seat belt. It had saved him, keeping him inside the car and stopping him from hitting his head against the glass like Dr. Fitzgerald had. But it also broke two of his ribs, bruised one of his lungs and fractured his spine to the point of needing another surgery. It was a miracle he was still alive, the doctor had told them, before he, as kindly as he could, told them that all they could do was wait and hope that the surgery turned out alright.
Somehow, those words or reassurance made them feel worse. Hope? That was all it came too? It sounded like a joke but at the moment they couldn't do much but wait. It was nerve wracking, to sit there in silence as they waited for the surgery to be over.
Every few minutes or so, Miranda would excuse herself to the restroom which they all knew was just an excuse to cry at peace. She was trying to be strong for her children. But as the minutes went by and no news came, she was starting to look worn down, her frame hunched over the plastic chair, staring at a wall, gaze unfocused and glossed over.
Jeremy was sitting on the ground, lost with his thoughts. Elena was by her side, leaning against her for support, eyes bloodshot and watery. Aunt Jenna was gone, trying to get a hold of John on their behalf.
No one said anything. They just waited and hoped, letting or wanting, that the sound of the busy hospital quieted their thoughts.
The clock above them ticked softly, the double door leading to the operation room opened suddenly, jolting them from their zombie-like state. They jumped to their feet, circling the man anxiously.
Dr. Chung's eyes squinted, the wrinkles along them becoming more evident as he did so. He was smiling when he said, "It was a success." He chuckled, delighted.
"Oh my dear God," Miranda breathed out, a hand over her chest pressing down on her erratic heart.
Alex laughed, tears in her eyes, she pulled them for a hug that they also dragged Dr. Chung into in which he happily participated.
(...)
"-Lex... Alex!" Caroline bumped her side, almost making her drop her vanilla swirl cone.
"Hm?" She answered, watching a group of kids run around the park, playing catch without a care in the world. She envied them and their blissful ignorance.
"I've been calling your name for a while now." She said, a bit exasperated, then she sighed, shoulders slumping, "I was asking you if you think Elena is coming to cheer camp? Becky Richards, a girl from our class," She said and Alex nodded, "Well, she asked if she could join us next year seeing as she's going to be a senior and-" she sighed again, "You're not paying attention."
Alex smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, Care bear. Just got a lot in my head right now."
"I know, Alex. I get it. You and Elena had a lot going on with your dad and all but the world doesn't stop just because yours did-"
"Caroline," there was a warning in her tone that made the blonde halt abruptly mid speech.
"Sorry," Caroline said a tad ashamed, "I'm sorry. That was super insensitive of me." She licked her lips nervously, leaning closer, "How is he by the way? I've been meaning to stop by since yesterday but I've been busy preparing for cheer camp."
Alex shrugged, mood soured, "He hasn't awakened yet." She said, voice shaky with emotion, "Is not looking good, Care. I don't think he's going to make it."
"Don't say that!" Caroline jumped in, grabbing her shoulders, forcing her friend to look at her, "He's going to be okay, you know why? Because he's a strong man and I know he's going to pull through this just fine."
She smiled sadly, "You think?"
"I'm positive that's going to be the case." She affirmed, beaming, "Now wipe that sour look off your face if you don't wanna traumatise these poor kids."
Alex laughed, "Okay, okay," she frowned at them, looking at the ground, "You made me drop my cone." She pouted.
Caroline rolled her eyes, "I'll buy you another one." She grabbed her arm as Alex ringer went off.
"Mom?" She asked, hearing a sob and feared the worst, "Mom?" She insisted again, Caroline's blue filled with worry.
"He's-" she sobbed again.
"Mom, You're scaring me!"
"Give me that-" someone said in the background. It was aunt Jenna, "Alex, honey. Get your butt to the hospital asap."
"What- why?" her heart was about to burst with anticipation.
"He's awake, Alex!" Jenna cheered, "Awake!" She giggled, before adding, "Well, he's still a little off. Mumbling nonsense and such. Talking about vampires... Anyways, we'll be waiting. Oh, and can you get Elena? I promise I would pick her up but I don't want to leave your mom alone.``
"Yeah, sure. No problem." She mumbled.
Alex was still registering what she heard when she hung up, turning to Caroline, smiling like an idiot before throwing her arms around her friend in a tight hug.
"What is it?" The blonde laughed, returning the embrace.
"He's awake!"
Her mouth was agape, eyes round, "Holy sh- Alex! That's great!" She hugged her again, then pulled them apart to question, "Why are we still here?! Let's get moving!"
"We need to get Elena first."
"Well, move it!" Caroline pushed her back, guiding her out of the park and towards the parking place where the blonde had left her car.
Caroline drove as fast as she could, dodging cars left and right and ignoring the honks and insults that were thrown at her from angry drivers. Being the sheriff's daughter has its perks seeing as no one had asked them to pull over yet.
In the back, Elena exchanged a look with her, lips pulled in a nervous smile that Alex copied, holding her arm up to grab the 'old people' handle as the seat belt wasn't enough to keep her in place.
"You're both so dramatic," Caroline huffed, looking at them from the corner of her eye, taking a sharp turn to the left.
"Easy now, Toretto." Alex said, glancing around, "Slow down. We're almost there."
"You guys can't handle a little adrenaline," Caroline said, as she complied, entering the hospital parking lot, "We're here! Safe and sound." She announced, killing the engine.
"Barely," Elena muttered, throwing the door open in a haste, followed by her sister.
"So dramatic." Caroline commented under her breath, shouldering her purse and going after both sisters with quick steps, catching up to them, "Wait- Hey!" She cried, rubbing her nose after crashing into Alex, "What are we stopping here..." Her voice grew quiet as she looked around them.
The medical staff were giving them sympathetic looks, some of them straight up refused to acknowledge them.
"What's going on?" Elena asked and Alex placed a hand over her shoulder.
One of the nurses approached them warily, looking nervously at them, "I'm sorry girls."
'Sorry? Sorry for what? Their father was awake, wasn't he?'
Besides them, a door opened and a distressed Miranda emerged from it, being supported by Aunt Jenna, who held her firmly. Both women walked past them without noticing, coming to a stop several steps ahead.
Her mother gasped, "I can't," she rasped, "Jen, I can't..." Her face paled, legs giving under her.
Jenna muttered a curse under her breath, keeping her hold on Miranda's arm, "Miranda! What's wrong?"
"Can't... breath..." Her mother managed to say in between short breaths, clutching her stomach.
Alex was by her side in a blur, placing her fingers on her temples, sending a pulse of her magic to calm her down when a nurse took over, moving her aside.
"We'll take it from here," the same nurse from before told her, "She needs space." She said and Alex and her Aunt backed away as another nurse appeared by their side with a wheelchair in which they helped her mother up and took her away.
"What's going on?" Asked a bewildered Jeremy who just arrived at the scene, "What happened to mom? Where are they taking her?" He asked just as agitated, abruptly turning Alex around, demanding for an answer, "Alex?"
"He's gone, Jer." She answered, dazed, "Gone."
He shook his head, tears falling freely down his face.
Alex pulled her siblings for an embrace. Words escaped her in that moment, the knot forming in her throat wouldn't let her talk even if she wanted to.
Elena sobbed in her arms, burying her face on the crook of Alex's neck. Jeremy was in the same state of shock that she was, the redness around his eyes was the only indicator that he had heard what she had said.
Jenna had joined their embrace shortly after, unable to fully wrap her arms around them but trying her best to comfort them, muttering empty promises that everything would be okay.
They didn't quite reach Alex's ears, she was staring at the floor for what seemed like an eternity as they waited for their mom to return.
At some point Caroline had managed to convince them to move onto the waiting area as she went into the cafeteria to get them some coffee, teary eyed and sniffing.
Elena was holding onto her for dear life, softly questioning what had happened to their father. Jeremy remained quiet and Alex took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She wanted to disappear, to stop feeling like this, like she wanted to die too.
(...)
The morgue was quiet and cold. A very fitting atmosphere for the occasion.
Everywhere she looked she saw white- white walls, white tiles, white lights- everything but the red puddle a cleaning lady was currently mopping- with a far too wet mop- that was making a mess, watering down the deep maroon colour into a pale rosy colour that was spreading and setting between the crevices in the tiles.
She couldn't stop looking, wondering if that blood belonged to her father or someone else.
Alex was sitting on the cold floor, back pressed against the wall and hiding her face from view with her hair.
She was overwhelmed with the need to see her father one last time.
Her spirit had slipped out of her body in search of her father's before she could realise what she was doing. Alex searched everywhere she could think of. Their home, the lake house, the old Gilbert building and lastly, the area around Wickery Bridge.
The image of the destroyed bridge was burned into her brain. Both sides of the rails were still destroyed but the two vehicles were long gone.
It had been a car crash instead. He had been bruised and broken, underwent surgery, fell into a coma and died because of a blood clot that reached his heart.
Grayson had suffered a worse death because she had interfered.
A mix of emotions bubbled within her, sadness, fear, and guilt threatened to swallow her whole. In a frenzy, she had spawned at the morgue.
Watching his corpse disappear behind the heavy metal doors, unable to follow after him.
Her need to see her father was just as strong as before, but she didn't move. She didn't want to ruin the last memory she had of him, smiling brightly at them, promising to return to them.
She had stayed for some reason she couldn't quite comprehended-
She woke with a start, heart racing and mouth dry, she tried to sit up.
Someone gasped by her side and Elena's crying face entered her vision, "Alex!" She cried out, relieved, throwing her arms around her, "I'm so glad you're awake-"
"What-"
"Elena, give her some space." Jenna said and Elena backed away reluctantly.
Alex cranked her neck up and realised she was resting on her Aunt's lap and that they were moving.
"What happened?" She tried to sit up again but her Aunt held her in place.
"We couldn't wake you up!" Elena answered, tears gathering in her eyes, "We called your name many times but-" she sniffed, "You weren't breathing, and then your nose started to bleed..."
Alex touched the area under her nose, finding it covered with fresh blood. She blinked at it and then turned to her aunt, "Where are we?"
"Hospital." Jenna answered quickly.
'Still?' She was allowed to sit up this time, "Is mom okay?"
"Yes," Jenna said and didn't elaborate further, her lower lip quivered, "We should get you checked too."
Images of her mom's pained face filled her mind as she sat up straighter, "I'm fine." She rasped.
"Don't be so fucking stubborn!" Elena cried out, "You're covered in blood for god's sake!" She said, jaw clenched and added softly, "I thought you were dead too."
Alex said nothing for a while, she kept her gaze focused on the white ceiling.
"Sorry." She whispered but no one acknowledged her, "Where's Jeremy?"
"Outside. He needed a moment." Jenna answered, and at Alex's frown, she added, "Caroline's with him."
She nodded, saying nothing, she returned her gaze to the ceiling, wiping the remaining blood from her face, getting some weird looks from the staff as one of the nurses approached them with the intention of checking her.
(...)
Two days later, Alex stood next to her sister in their shared bathroom getting ready for the funeral service.
Alex studied her reflection as she dabbed a dot of concealer under her bags to hide the purplish circles under them. Sleep has been fitful these past days. She could only manage an hour or two of rest before she was back on her feet, spending most of her free time practising her witchcraft since Pearl had given her some time off work.
She ran a hand through her limp, dark hair to smooth it out, she hadn't done much to it besides brushing it. With the dark circles hidden away with makeup, Alex face was far too pale, she looked dea-
She dusted some blush on her cheeks and added some lipstick.
'All done.' She thought, running a hand down the fabric of her dress. It reached her knees and had long sleeves, it was a little loose on her frame as it was borrowed from her mom since none of the black dresses she owned were appropriate for the occasion.
There was a knock on the door and their mother entered the cramped space. She too, had tried to hide the evidence of her sleepless nights with makeup as Alex couldn't recall a time she wore this much.
"Let me help you, honey." Their mother reached to take the comb out of Elena's hand, "We need to look our best for your father." She said and both girls nodded grimly.
After Elena's hair was braided, Miranda moved onto her eldest daughter to fix her hair into something presentable.
"Your hair is getting long," Miranda commented, running her fingers along her scalp to start braiding her locks.
Alex hummed, noncommittally.
"All done." Her mother patted her back, and lowered her gaze to the ground, "I'm going to check on Jeremy."
Alex took that as her cue to leave, her heels echoed in the silent house as she made her way towards the kitchen to grab a quick bite.
Her stomach was in knots. She couldn't get past a few bite of any food before she felt sick.
That could also be the reason why the dress hung loosely around her frame.
The fridge was packed with Tupperwares full of food that their family friends had been dropping ever since the news about her father's death had spread around town.
Even Caroline had showed up briefly to drop off some of her famous lasagne that Alex had yet to take a bite of.
Everything looked unappealing but she knew she had to eat to avoid fainting and making a scene at the cemetery. She didn't need to worry her family even more about her health than they already were. Her little 'bloody face' episode had hardly been forgotten but with the preparations for the funeral the conversation had been put on hold for the time being. Though more than once she caught Elena staring at her.
Alex was in the middle of taking a bite out of an apple when she heard a commotion upstairs. She couldn't make out what they were saying, so she made her way out of the door, car keys in hand.
She finished her apple before she jumped into her car. Alex was about to start the engine when the passenger door flew open and an angry Jeremy entered the vehicle.
Alex turned her eyes to the road, "Seat belt." She said, buckling her own.
Jeremy scoffed, "The good it did to dad to have it on."
She didn't budge, "I'm not leaving until you buckle up."
He complied, pulling harshly at it, "Happy?"
"Hardly." She replied, driving away at the same time the rest of her family exited the house with Uncle John in town.
Jeremy tapped his finger on the dashboard impatiently, waiting for his sister to inquire about what had happened at the house. To his surprise, she didn't acknowledge it.
"Do you think I'm a bad daughter?" Alex asked suddenly and added, "For refusing to do the eulogy." She said.
She had written one. Three long pages filled with happy memories of her father's life that she couldn't read aloud without choking with her tears. Alex could barely read the first two lines before she erupted into sobs so the responsibility had fallen on Elena who did a better job at keeping it together than she ever could.
Her eulogy was safely folded and tucked inside her phone case and unbeknownst to her, Jeremy was clutching his own, tucked inside his jacket.
"What does it matter? You loved him and he knew it. You don't have to tell it to the world if you don't want to." He said, facing away from her, "He would've understood."
Alex gripped the steering wheel tightly, knuckles white, "I suppose you're right." She muttered while parking the car in front of the funeral house.
They sat on the front row, waiting for Pastor Young to finish talking. He read some passages of the bible and spoke about how good of a man Grayson Gilbert was and how much he deeply lamented his loss and then added the infamous 'God works in mysterious ways,' before he motioned Elena to come forth to read the eulogy.
Her mother just shook her head, tightening the hold she had on Alex's hand.
Elena stood in front of the crowd gathered before her. She could spot many familiar faces amongst the crowd that brought her comfort. The place was packed, it seemed the whole town had come to say their last goodbyes to the beloved Dr. Gilbert.
Elena got her speech ready, spreading the wrinkled pages on the podium and gulped before speaking, "My-"
There was a commotion nearby. Shouting could be heard coming from down the hall and getting closer to where they were. Heads turned towards the wide open door with anticipation.
"You should be ashamed- How dare you come here after you killed my daughter!" An enraged male voice shouted.
"I wanted to apologise-" came a weak reply.
"Apologise?!"
Uncle John went to Elena's side and helped her down back to her seat, "It seems there's a bit of a situation happening. We will resume shortly." He said and hurried outside followed by a bunch of people, including Mayor Lockwood for some reason. 'Well, he always had a streak for violence.'
Jeremy took a brief glance at their mother who had begun to sob uncontrollably and was being comforted by aunt Jenna. He debated his choice for a moment and chose to go after his uncle, what he had told him before they left the house echoed in his head.
'You're the man of the house now, son. Is your job to protect the girls.'
'You have such awful timing.' Aunt Jenna had snapped, as she helped him with his tie, 'This isn't the moment to say such things.'
Then, mom had arrived and they all started to argue about something pointless so he had left the house, glad to have reached his sister before she left.
Alex watched him go, already having an idea of what was happening. It seemed the affected families had decided to gather on the same day to say their goodbyes. How unfortunate.
She offered her mother a tissue, standing up with the excuse of needing fresh air when a rush of people invaded the area.
An old man, face red with rage strolled in, dragging a beaten man by the collar of his shirt. He came directly to them and Alex moved protectively in front of her family.
Behind the man, she recognised Dr. Fitzgerald's wife and their son.
"This is the piece of shit that killed your father." The man spat, dropping the man by her feet, who whimpered pathetically.
She looked down on the man.
The man that killed her father.
The drunk driver that caused the accident.
Sheriff Forbes had told them what had happened after some investigation. The man, Peter Tennyson, was having an argument with his girlfriend, while they were headed home after a party. Their argument escalated into physical assault as she tried to get control of the wheel and in the middle of it, they hadn't seen the car on the opposite lane before he swerved the car to the left, colliding with Dr. Fitzgerald's car and sending both vehicles in opposites directions and off the bridge.
That was what the woman testified before she died days later after the accident, the same day their father had. Her name was Linda Ross and she had a long life ahead of her, one that was taken away from her.
Peter had been the only survivor, and he was here, right before her feet without a single scratch besides the ones he got from Mr. Ross' beating.
Her blood boiled as she stared at his pathetic form, whimpering apologies at them.
Tina Fitzgerald glared at the man, body shaking with unconstrained wrath, "Shut up!" She yelled, "Your apologies could never make up for what you took from us!" She said, "My husband and Dr. Gilbert were good men. They didn't deserve to die because of your carelessness!" She spat, face red and cried out, "You left two families without a father!"
"-I'm sorry... sorry."
That just seemed to annoy Mr. Ross even more. He kicked Peter's ribs furiously before uncle John stopped him.
"Enough," Uncle John said but Mr. Ross tried to push him away, "I said that's enough!"
The man stopped fighting him and Alaric, who Alex just realised was also here, helped Peter up.
"I'll kill him myself!" Tina hurled herself at the man as her son held her back.
"Jeremy, get them out of here." Uncle John ordered, "Now!" He said when no one moved.
'No.' Alex thought bitterly, 'He can't get away with it- he can't-'
Peter started to cough violently, throwing Alaric off him as he struggled to grasp for oxygen. His bloodshot eyes turned to her as if he knew that she was the one behind it.
People were screaming around, moving in a rush to leave when Peter started to claw at his neck and long red lines followed after his fingers.
Someone pulled her back, grabbed her arm and dragged her outside and only when she was pushed on a bench did she realise who it was.
She smiled sardonically, "Hello, Stefan. You look exactly the same as you did 7 years ago. Tell me, what is your secret? A good skin care routine or your vampirism?"
Alex eyed his outfit, judging by his suit and the black tie he wore, he was also in attendance,'But why? Unless he...'
His eyes widened but Anna, who came out of nowhere, interrupted whatever he was going to say to defend himself.
"Alex, that's enough." She turned to Stefan, "Thank you for getting her out before-"
"Before what? Before I killed him?" Alex shot back, jaw clenching, and muttered, "I wasn't going to... I just wanted him to suffer." Her eyes glistened with tears that she quickly wiped away.
Then, something white entered her line of vision.
"Here," Stefan said, offering her a handkerchief.
"Ah, thank you." She said, suddenly ashamed at her outburst, "I'm sorry."
He nodded sympathetically, "It's okay. You just caught me by surprise. I didn't expect you to be the same little girl that I found wandering in the woods."
"Wait, you know each other?" Anna questioned, confused and she turned to Alex, "You just go around life collecting vampires for fun?"
Alex shrugged, "Unlike our meeting, I came across Stefan by accident when he was murdering Bambi's friend."
He winced, sheepishly, "So you saw me feeding and still chose to let me walk you home?"
"I'm not known for making the best decisions when it comes to vampires."
Anna nodded, "My mother and I can attest to that."
Stefan's head snapped in her direction, "Your mother? Pearl is here too- How?"
Anna pointed at Alex.
Alex raised her hand, "I'm the one to blame for that." She admitted shyly.
Stefan just seemed to grow more confused with each passing second, "So you opened the tombs." He said and Alex saw him struggle to ask the next question, "Katherine. Why- why is she out too?"
"Katherine?" Alex repeated in disbelief and then it dawned on her, "You must've been mistaking her with my sister, Elena."
He shook his head, "I know what I saw."
"Nope. She's right, Salvatore. That's not Katherine."
"Then why-" he paused to lower his voice as someone walked near them, "Why does she look exactly like her?"
"That's a bit too complicated to explain right now." Alex stood up, "I must get going, my family must be wondering where I am. Thank you for stopping me back there." She said sincerely, "And thank you for trying to save my dad."
He stiffened, looking down to avoid her gaze, "I'm sorry. I couldn't, " he looked at her, "I'm sorry I didn't make it on time."
"Is not your fault, Stefan. Unlike me, you didn't know what was going to happen." She said, walking away.
Even Anna was shocked by this revelation as she watched the girl walk away from them.
"Stefan Salvatore," Pearl said, appearing beside Anna, "I must admit that I didn't expect to meet you here."
He nodded stiffly, "Likewise."
Anna spoke to defuse the situation, "We have to go. The service is about to start again," she pulled her mother along, "We can meet up to talk some time this week if you want answers about Katherine."
He said nothing, just stood there before he made his way back inside and resumed his previous spot next to Zach.
Once again the girl that looked like Katherine stood by the podium, looking tired with the whole thing, she read only one of the many pages that she carried with her and quickly returned to her seat where Alex shot her a confused look that she ignored.
(...)
Once the whole affair was done and they were back home, the remaining members of the Gilbert family parted ways, each of them ushering to their rooms.
Jenna stood in the hall, staring at the closed doors conflicted as to where to go when a sob coming from her sister's room made the decision for her, 'I'll check on them later.' She promised.
Alex was on the floor, staring at the ceiling, replaying today's event like a movie in her head. She felt disgusted with herself. She had almost taken a man's life out of revenge. That's not who she was, who she was raised to be. Her father would be so disappointed.
The crushing weight of her guilt got her back to her feet and out of her room.
Alex knocked on Elena's door and poked her head in, "Come to Jeremy's room." She said, turning on her heels.
She barged into Jeremy's room with Elena trailing behind.
Annoyed, he asked, "What do you want? I want to be alone."
"The eulogy," Alex said, sitting on his bed, "Elena, you didn't read all of it."
"There was no point. The moment was ruined," she sat on the other end of the bed.
Alex sighed, pulling out the crumpled papers out from her phone case, "Do you mind if I read mine? I want to get it out of my chest and I'd rather that just the two of you saw me ugly crying instead of the whole town."
"...I'll read mine when you're done." Jeremy lied between them, pulling out his speech out of his jacket.
Elena's eyes watered, and muttered, "I'll suppose I'll read mine after you then."
Alex's lips trembled, "Sounds about right."
Unbeknown to them, Aunt Jenna was right behind the door, hand covering her mouth to muffle her sobs, touched with the heartwarming moment she just witnessed and determined to let them continue, she backed away slowly, her heart feeling lighter than it did before.
(...)
I know, that was very evil of me. But, it needed to happen.
Hello it is I, back at it again!
Sorry for the long wait but life got busy and I barely got time to write.
Next chapter will be up in a bit, just need a little editing and tweaking here and there.
Spoiler alert? (Kind of) I did a rough draft of the plot and realised the originals family will show up even sooner than expected lol.