Waking the next morning with a long sigh, I rolled over in the large bed to be met with a cold, empty space. I frowned when I realised that Klaus was nowhere to be seen.

"Charming." I moaned before sitting up straight and stretching until I felt my bones crack.

Once again, I was pleasantly surprised that it was a nice day outside. The birds were out singing and the light breeze created a calming sound as it passed through the trees. As I walked around the bed, I instantly felt sad as I noticed that the suitcases were gone.

He's gone.

I was a little peeved that he didn't say goodbye before he took off, but I guess that was just his way of leaving without having to talk about last night. I could settle with the fact that he was only out of the state and not dead this time. Where he was though remained a mystery. He didn't tell me much about his plans when we chatted last night in bed. Much like before, I didn't question him.

Once I was freshly showered, I made my way down the hall and entered into my room to change. Blue denim shorts and a long sleeve, yellow top was the choice for today as the weather was nice. I made my way to the grand staircase and hovered at the top as I watched two men replace the shattered window in the door. Giving what happened yesterday with random men, I walked down the stairs cautiously.

"Hello?" I called in a small, weary voice.

"Ohh, Miss Forbes," I jumped and turned around to face one of the housekeepers approaching me from the kitchen. "Mr Mikaelson has left a note for you in the kitchen." She smiled as she informed me.

"Uhh, thank you." I replied and made my way to the kitchen.

Once inside the kitchen, I took notice of the red, wax sealed sheet of paper in the centre of the island. I slid into one of the stools and broke the seal to the letter and began to read,

'Forgive me for leaving unannounced, love. You looked too peaceful to disturb. Should you need me whilst I'm away, just give me a call. No matter the time or reason.

Love, Klaus.'

I smiled and placed the note back onto the counter top and made my way to the fridge and pulled out a glass bottle of orange juice before decanting it into a small tumbler.

Maybe he wouldn't be gone as long as I thought.

As I took a seat at the island, a news bulletin flashed across the screen on the TV. The anchor man stated that there had been an explosion at the Young Farm during the night. According to local authorities, it was a faulty gas line that caused the death of twelve people, one of which was Pastor Young.

"Oh, man." I sighed and sipped from my glass, not thinking much of the matter at that time.

The subtle 'ping' from my phone on the counter top caught my attention as I turned the TV off. It was a message from my mother asking to have lunch at the Grill in thirty minutes. I responded that I would meet her there before I placed the orange juice back into the fridge and downed the rest of the orange liquid in the glass. Stopping only to take one last look in the mirror to freshen up my appearance, I gathered my bag and stepped over the new glass panes before heading to my car.

Maybe this was the perfect opportunity to clear the air with her and get some more answers about my past.

As I walked up to the entrance of the Grill twenty minutes later, I was surprised when I saw my mother walking out of the door with an unknown gentleman. "Mom?" I stared at her in confusion.

She stopped and sighed at the sight of me. "Lunch." She shook her head knowing that she had forgotten our plans.

"Yeah," I smiled, "You messaged me about thirty minutes ago. How could you forget that quickly?"

"It's just with this whole gas explosion, honey. It slipped my mind."

I nodded as she looked genuinely sorry about forgetting. "Of course. I didn't even think of that. Sorry."

"I know we haven't seen each other much but I'll make it up to you." My mom said as she cupped my face.

"It's fine, honestly." I sighed softly.

"It shouldn't take long," The man beside my mother stated. "I'm Conner." He held out his hand for me to shake as he smiled, eagerly waiting for me to take it.

I eyed his hand sceptically before I raised my hand and placed it into his palm, "Jessica."

The apprehension that was on his face dissolved as he shook my hand, "Nice to meet you, Jessica."

My lips pressed into a fine-line at the awkwardness between Conner and I before my mom intervened.

"Why don't you find a table, as Conner said, this shouldn't take long."

"Sure." I smiled once more before I entered the Grill but not without taking a final look at this mysterious man. He smirked at me before he began walking with my mother across the parking lot.

"Creep." I murmured under my breath as the door swung closed.

Once inside the Grill, I cast my eyes over the scene, looking for a free table that I could wait at for my mother to return. Not only did I find a table, I also found Damon sitting at the bar, a half empty bottle of bourbon held tightly in his grasp as he poured another drink. I thought over whether or not to just leave and meet my mom elsewhere, but I had to face them sooner or later. Although, I wasn't quite up for a drunk Damon and what he might say to me.

Here goes nothing.

As I approached the bar and ordered a coffee, the subtle snigger from Damon caused me to roll my eyes.

"Well, if it isn't little-miss-road-kill." He drawled.

"What does that even mean?" I snapped back as I retrieved my coffee from the bar tender.

"It means Elena told us everything," Damon said as he faced me head on. "It means that you are the reason she's dead!"

"There was no other choice, Damon." I spat back. "If we hadn't done what we did, all of us would have been dead."

"Sacrifice the one for the many."

I nodded slightly, "Something like that. Do you really think I wanted to do that to my best friend?"

Damon shrugged.

"Of course I didn't! There was no other way to stop Alaric from coming after us all when the sun went down." I said confidently as I knew I was correct. "Besides, I can't go back and not stand on that bridge now."

"Doesn't mean I forgive you." Damon said sluggishly in his drunken state.

I looked towards the table before sighing deeply, "That's your choice," I picked up my coffee and looked at him one last time. "I've not forgiven you. Besides," He lifted his head slightly to meet my gaze as I spoke. "You seem to forget, I've known Elena all my life, you've known her, what? A few months? A year?" I sniggered, "Get over yourself, Damon."

I walked away and headed for the empty table by the windows and waited for my mom to show up. Sure enough, it wasn't long before she walked through the door just like she said she would.

"Hi sweetie," She greeted with a kiss on the cheek, "Thank you for waiting."

"I said I would." I replied with a smile.

"So, what are we having to eat? I'm starving."

I laughed lightly, "I was thinking of getting the BLT and some fries." I said as I looked over the plastic-covered menu.

"That sounds good. I think I'll have the same." My mom said before ordering the food.

As we waited for the food to arrive, we participated in a light conversation. Discussing what had been going on the past few days. She also made it clear that she wasn't disappointed in me for what had happened that night on the bridge. Caroline filled her in on everything that had happened between then and now, which I was thankful for. I didn't want to have to relive that again. Once the food had arrived, we continued to have a much needed conversation. She told me more about why I was kept a secret. That they never intended to keep it from me for as long as they did. She actually couldn't apologise more if she tried. Later into the conversation, she informed me that there would be a memorial held for Pastor Young in a few hours.

A few hours later and I was dressed in a black, knee length dress ready for the memorial service. I was apprehensive about whether or not I should go, giving the people that would be in attendance but Caroline talked me into it. Now, as I stood outside of the church with her and Tyler, we watched as people entered inside the lovely building

"I knew there was something off with him!" I said in a hushed voice.

While Caroline was talking me into coming to the memorial, she also told me about Tyler being shot by the same guy that was with my mom. I knew back when I met him that there was something about him that I didn't like, and I was right.

"Just keep your cool, we'll figure out what's going on after the ceremony." Tyler said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and led me inside of the church.

The pews were filling up fast as we slid into a row in the back together. I reached into my bag to make sure that my phone was on silent as to not interrupt the service. As I had my hand in the bag, I jumped at the sound of Stefan's voice as he spoke to Tyler beside me.

"What are you doing here, Tyler?" Stefan asked in a quiet, yet commanding tone.

Tyler shrugged, "Being sensitive to the community's loss." He said as he stared straight ahead towards the podium.

I tried to avoid his line-of-sight, but it was hard because he was leaning beside me to talk to Ty. I shuffled awkwardly in my seat as they continued talking to each other.

"With a hunter out to get you?" Stefan asked.

"I'm not letting a hunter stop me from where I'm supposed to be." Ty said as he glanced at Stefan.

"Also, if he shows his face, I'm gonna kick his ass." Caroline whispered with a smile.

I chuckled lightly at her 'tough-guy' act, knowing full well that she could take him if she really wanted to.

Stefan straightened his back and fixed his tie before he moved into the row in front of us and took a seat. I followed his line of gaze as he watched Elena, who was sat a few rows in front of us. I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat as I looked at her. She didn't appear to be doing well at all, and I couldn't help but think that it was all down to me.

Hell, it was down to me.

"Do you think I should go and speak to her right now?" I asked Caroline before the service started.

She shook her head, "Maybe now isn't the time." She said and motioned towards Mayor Lockwood as she approached the podium."

I nodded my head as my sister squeezed my hand as the Mayor began to speak. I zoned out for most of the speech, but when a familiar brunette stood from the pews I held my breath. Watching her closely as she made her way towards the podium.

She really wasn't looking good.

"I, uh - when I talked to April earlier she was kind of nervous about coming up to speak. And now that I'm up here, I'm kind of nervous too." Elena spoke in a shaky voice and I felt the tension between us all seated in the pews as she gripped the sides of the podium tightly before continuing. "The worst day of loving someone is the day that you lose them."

My pupils suddenly dilated as a familiar scent reached my senses.

"Do you smell that?" I gasped under my breath.

"Blood." Tyler whispered.

I watched as Elena began to breath heavily across the room.

"Nobody move," Damon said so that only we could hear, "Don't turn around, it's a trap."

I kept my sights fixed on the podium ahead like everyone else. That was until the sound of what I thought was water dripping to my right caused me to look at the stand which contained the holy water. It was now a washed out pink colour as blood dripped into it from above. I snapped my head forward and swallowed hard as Stefan approached the podium. I watched as he helped Elena down and walked her back to the pews. I caught his eye briefly as he looked just as worried as I.

Not a moment too soon, the Priest appeared and instructed us to stand and take part in the hymn that began to play. Everyone stood and began to sing together. Near the end of the song, Tyler suddenly shimmied past me and began to walk towards the stage.

"What is he doing?!" I asked, panicked as to what may happen.

"I don't know." Care whispered.

"Excuse me," Tyler said as he spoke into the microphone, "I just wanted to say a few words about Pastor Young." He waited until everyone took their seats before continuing. "Back in first grade, I was a brat who couldn't be bothered with team sports. Didn't care much about anything that didn't affect me. But he was the one who made me understand how important it is to be part of a team; a community. Of giving yourself up for the sake of..."

Tyler's speech was suddenly cut short as a gunshot sounded off inside the church and hit him. He spun on the spot before collapsing to the floor in a heap. Everyone began to scream and frantically race for the exit, apart from us. Caroline grabbed my hand as we waded through the crowd of people rushing in the opposite direction until we made it to the podium.

"Oh, my god!" Tyler's mom yelled before dropping to her knees beside her son. Stefan and Elena appeared on the stage the same time as Caroline and I. Care leaned down and rolled Tyler onto his back, and in one swift movement she removed the wooden stake protruding from his chest as he groaned.

"I'm gonna kill that bastard!" Tyler said between painful coughs.

"Damon's way ahead of you," Stefan told him, "Stay here. I have to help him."

As he was about to leave, Elena grabbed his hand. "What about April?"

"I got it. Go." Caroline said from the floor and Stefan ran towards the exit.

"I have to call an ambulance," Carol said.

"No, he's fine." Caroline announced as she shook her head in disagreement.

"The whole town just watched you get shot. I'm calling an ambulance." Carol whispered under her breath before walking off in a rush to find a phone.

I did a 360 on the spot, "Elena?" I called for her once I noticed she was missing. She was nowhere in sight as I looked around at the empty church hall before turning to Caroline and Tyler, "Stay here. I'll find her."

I rushed to the place where I knew she'd be. As I appeared on the landing where April's body lay bleeding. My eyes snapped towards Elena as her face began to transform before she rushed towards April, fangs bearing.

"Elena, stop!" I yelled as I grabbed her.

"Let go of me!" She yelled as she tried to slip from my grasp.

"Elena, she's your friend!" I said as I turned to face April. "It's April. April Young. She's not a warm body for you to feed on. She's your friend." I watched as Elena's face slowly began to return to normal. "Believe me, Elena. I know what you're feeling right now, I do. But she needs you right now." Once her face returned to normal, I dropped my hands back to my side and looked at the brunette in front of me with sadness. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Elena." Tears began to fill my eyes as I looked at my broken friend, "I can't even begin to explain how sorry I am for what I did. You were the last person on this planet that deserved that."

Elena reached out and grabbed my hands, "Jess, I-It's okay."

"It's not. Not even close." I turned to face April who was bleeding out on the floor. She gasped and moved away from me as I pulled her body forward.

"Please, don't hurt me. Please."

I stood back up while reassuring her, "No one's going to hurt you." I looked straight at Elena, "You can make her forget all of this." I said in a low tone.

Elena shook her head, "No I-I can't, Jessica."

I smiled, "Elena, believe me, you can. The only way you're going to learn is by doing."

"No, I can't."

"Yes, you can. You just have to believe what you're telling her. Okay?"

I reached over and took Elena's hand as I eased her down to the floor beside April. She gently touched her shoulder, which caused April to start panicking.

"April, listen to me." Elena spoke softly as she gained her attention. "Everything's gonna be okay. You're gonna get through this. Just like I got through it." Elena looked at me for support and I smiled, letting her know she was doing the right thing. "I'm gonna help you. I promise."

"I'm gonna be okay. You're gonna help me." April repeated from her tranced state.

Elena looked at me once more and smiled before turning her attention back to April. "You watched the funeral from up here so that you could grieve alone. It was a beautiful service. People said really nice things."

I wiped away a stray tear as I watched April smile at Elena's words.

A while later, I walked into the Mikaelson mansion and headed straight for my bedroom to remove the dress I was wearing and change into something more comfortable. Once I was changed into a pair of leggings and an oversized jumper, I made my way downstairs to the kitchen to grab something to eat. With everything that had been happening these past few days, I've neglected to take care of myself. I didn't know if it was a symptom of becoming a werewolf, but I was hungry all the time now. As I broke open a packet of crackers, my phone vibrated on the counter top.

"Hello?" I answered the call.

"Hey, can you come meet at the school?" Caroline asked.

I frowned as I crunched on a brown cracker , "Why? Has something else happened?"

"No, Stefan just wants us to meet there and I want you to come with me." Caroline said.

I shook my head, "Caroline, what makes you think that I'll come there just because Stefan asked?"

"Well, he might have some more information about the hunter guy."

"That's something you can find out and then tell me afterwards, Care." I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Why won't you come?" She asked.

"The last people I want to be around right now are Stefan and Damon Salvatore, Caroline." I snapped back.

"I told you that they're okay with you now."

"Well, I'm not okay with them!" I yelled into the phone. "You seem to forget what they did, Care. I'm still pissed at them."

"I-I had no idea that you still felt that way, Jess." My sisters voice turned low. "If they can forgive you...Can't you at least try and forgive them?"

"I," I moved the phone from my ear as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I don't know."

"Just come meet us, please. Not for Stefan, but for me." Caroline said with a pleading tone.

"Okay." I whispered.

"Okay?"

"I'll head over now."

I hung up the phone and placed it into my jumper pocket before leaning my elbows on the counter.

Should I go? I don't know. It doesn't feel right being there with them so soon, but Care had a point. If they can forgive me then I could at least try. However, if what happened with Damon earlier was anything to go by, a grudge was certainly still in place.

I decided that I wanted to stay at my house tonight. I just wanted to be near Caroline and my mom right now, besides, Rebekah was no where to be seen since Klaus snapped her neck last night, so there was no reason for me to stay here all alone.

Pulling up in the parking lot in front of the school. I sat in the car for a few moments waiting until Caroline arrived. Once she pulled up beside me in her car, I climbed out to meet her.

"Hi." I smiled as I walked towards her.

"Hey." She smiled back and looped my arm. "Thanks for coming."

We walked across the grass to meet the others that were sitting at the table. I heard Stefan saying that all we were waiting on now was Bonnie and Damon, then we could begin.

As I took a seat at the table, Elena gave me a small, reassuring smile and I was thankful for it as I finally felt some tension leave my body.

"Stefan, what are we doing?" I turned around as Damon and Bonnie approached.

Stefan removed some paper lanterns from a cardboard box. "We're finishing the memorial we didn't get to have earlier." He handed Elena a lantern and then the rest of us took one. "We need to start healing, Damon. We've all lost so much, especially recently. I think we're numb to it. We push it away, we make a joke out of it, ignore how we feel. We've never just let ourselves grieve."

"So you're lighting lanterns?" Damon sniggered.

Stefan nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, we need to do this."

"What we need to do is find out who this hunter is and what he knows about the death of the council." Damon said frustratingly, "We have more important things to be doing right now than this."

"Not tonight, we don't." Stefan disagreed with his older brother and continued speaking as Damon scoffed. "This is for my uncle Zach and my friend Lexi and for Alaric." Stefan lit his lantern before passing the lighter to Matt.

"This is for Vicki." He said and lit his lantern.

Caroline got to her feet and rounded the table to retrieve the lighter from him and lit her own lantern. "This is for my dad. And Tyler's."

My sister held out the lighter towards me as all eyes were now upon me as I was next. I cleared my throat and took my place beside Caroline. I picked up my lantern and clicked the lighter. "This is also for my dad...and Alaric and Tyler's." I lit the lantern and passed the lighter to Jer.

"I forgive you." He whispered in my ear as he took the lighter. I smiled and my eyes glazed over, trying to hold back the tears. "This is for our parents," Jeremy turned to face Matt, "For Vicki. Anna. Jenna. And Alaric." He lit his lantern before holding the lighter out to Damon, who refused to take it.

"No way," Damon scoffed, "I'm not doing that." As Damon backed away, he took one final look at me. "Especially not with her."

I dropped my head in shame at his words as he left the area. I felt everyone staring at me, and I just wanted to leave but Caroline gripped my hand tightly. I looked up at her and smiled, weakly, as she rubbed my arm reassuringly.

Failing to hand the lighter to Damon, Jer turned his body towards Bonnie. She got up and stood beside me, lighting her lantern. "This is for my Grams."

Everyone fell silent for a few moments as Stefan turned to face Elena. She got up and stood beside him as she lit her lantern. "This um - is for my mom, my dad, Jenna, everyone that you've all lost, everyone that this town has lost." She paused briefly, looking at each one of us before continuing, "And for me, I guess."

Once Elena had finished, she stepped forward and released her lantern into the sky. One at a time, we all released our lanterns and watched them float off into the night sky. As I watched the lights floating away, I couldn't deny that it was healing in some sort of way. Although, I knew that it would take a long time before the grief would fade completely.

As everyone went their separate ways, Caroline walked me back to my car.

"Are you going back to Klaus'" She asked.

I smiled at her, "Actually, I was thinking that I'd come home tonight."

Her face broke out into a grin, "Really?!"

"Really." I laughed as she slammed her body into mine and hugged me tightly. Smiling the whole time. "I'll follow you back." I said before climbing into my car.

We arrived shortly after and entered the house together. We had some food mom had cooked earlier before calling it a night and went into our bedrooms. It felt good being back home with my sister and mom. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed living at the Mansion but it felt empty without Klaus or Rebekah there, wherever she was.

Just as I switched the light off and climbed on top of my bed, my phone began to ring.

"Hello?"

"Jessica, love." I smiled as his harmonious voice struck my ears, "Are you alright? The housekeepers said that you haven't returned."

"Ohh, I'm fine. I just decided to stay home tonight." I replied in a chirpy tone.

"You should have called or let someone there know." He said with a long sigh.

"Sorry, I didn't think." I replied, "Wait, are you having the housekeepers watching me at the mansion?"

His small laugh came through the speaker before he spoke, "It's not like that, love."

"What is it like then?"

"Well, I like to know who's inside of my house at all times. You included." He replied.

"Fair point." I smiled as I rolled onto my back.

"Apologies, love. It's just precautionary." He said playfully, "How are you?"

I thought over whether or not I should tell him about the activities of today.

Would it be a good idea? Probably not.

"Jessica?" I snapped back to the present as Klaus called my name.

"Ohh, I'm good, you know." I tried to laugh it off, "We had a lantern ceremony tonight, for the ones we've lost."

"Sounds lovely."

"It was." I smiled as I remembered the floating lights in the sky. "How about you? Where are you?"

"I'm halfway to Chicago."

"Ahh, the windy city." I said with a smile.

"Indeed. When you join me, I'll show you it in all its glory." Klaus said enthusiastically. "Have you changed your mind about joining me, sweetheart?"

Yes!

"Not yet," I sighed, "It all sounds amazing, Klaus. I'm just not ready to leave here yet. I still have things to do."

He fell silent briefly before sighing himself, "I understand."

"Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about," Klaus reassured me, "I must be off, love. I just wanted to make sure you were safe."

I couldn't help but frown at the fact that he had to go, I was enjoying talking to him. Hearing his voice. I didn't want to say goodbye.

"Okay." I replied sadly, "Talk tomorrow?"

"You can call me anytime beforehand, if you need something. You know that." Klaus said, "If not, then yes, we'll chat sometime tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Klaus." I whispered into the phone.

"Goodnight, sweetheart." He cooed before hanging up the call.

I dropped the phone on the bed and leaned back against the soft pillows, gleefully smiling to myself in the dark. That night I went to sleep with only one thing on my mind. Him.