So here is my newest chapter, this one is a little longer. I had been thinking of making it into two chapters but it didn't feel right.
Ava woke feeling refreshed. She took a moment to relax in the bed and contemplate the happenings of the day and what was needed to be done.
Jenna had pulled up to the entrance of the hospital right as Jeremy had rolled out of the doors. He had anxiously watched as ava had gotten into the back seat of the car. After he had rolled the chair back to the nurse, he had given the door to the back seat a long look. It had seemed to Ava that he had been trying to decide if he wanted to sit in the back with her or not he had ultimately decided on the front seat. Along the way to the Gilbert home, there had been a brief stop at the pharmacy to pick up some pain pills. The drive had been quiet, Jeremy had glanced back at her a couple times, never saying anything, seemingly just needing to assure himself that she was there. Jenna too seemed to check the rearview mirror more than once, just to look at Ava and not out the rear window. At the house Ava had honestly claimed tiredness. Jeremy had helped her up the stairs, Jenna had followed soon after having gone to get a glass of water for her to be able to take the pain medication, they had then left the room Jeremy closing the door behind him. She had ultimately decided to forgo the medication. There was just too much she had to take in and learn, she couldn't risk being impaired by the pills. Even without the medication she had fallen to sleep quickly. She looked at the door, still closed, noticing that she heard nothing from the reset of the house. Should she start a search of the room to try and draw out Elana's memories with her room and things, or should she start with a shower to wash away the remains of the river. If she showered they may hear the water running and know that she is awake, if she searches she could possibly get some answers to Elana's life before the show. Search she finally decided.
Ava stretched wincing slightly at the movement and the pull of sore muscles. She sat up slowly in the full-sized bed, glancing around the room trying to decide where to start in her search for information into Elana's life. She looked to her right at the nightstand, where the glass of water had been left next to the bottle of pills. She grabbed the glass drinking nearly all the water it contained before setting it back down where it had been. Ava reached down and opened the door on the nightstand leaning slightly to look inside. She saw few things there, and none that would help her. She threw the covers back swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. Ava stood, feeling stronger than she had at the hospital but knowing that this body hadn't had enough time to fully recover, and knowing that her strength might not last as long as she would want it too. She would need to do something about that sooner rather than later. Ava remembered that Elana had started a workout regimen to learn how to fight vampires, but that wouldn't start until around season 3, about a year and half from now. She should start with walks, she thought, if she started soon enough, she might be able to get Jeremy to go with her and slowly build up to going for runs. She had a good excuse to start working out right now, building her strength up after the accident and getting Jeremy to go with her would help strengthen the bind between siblings.
Ava took a couple of steps to reach the built-in bookshelf. She read the different certificates and plaques scattered on the shelves, noting the reason Elana had received each. Trophy's as well sat on different shelfs proclaiming that Elana had been a highly active and involved child and teen. This Ava knew had just ended, no more trophies would be added, and the only certificate that could be added would be a high school diploma. Although if this life followed the show exactly then this house would burn before that could be added. That is something she would like to change, she thought pausing, not just the burning of the house but staying active in things having a life outside the supernatural drama to come. Ava did not want Jeremy to die the way it had happened in the show, and the events that follow aren't something she would want to happen either. She wondered how much of what was to come was avoidable. She would need to take some time to write everything down and note the reasons some events happened. Ava added that to a mental to do list she was starting.
She continued looking at the things gathered on the shelves in front of her. She noticed the few pictures placed on one shelf. A small green bear sat on a book next to one of the certificates on the self above. The bottom shelf held a couple binders, one looked to be a photo album, that one would need to be looked through she noted. She moved the certificate on the top shelf so she could see the books hidden behind it, memorizing the titles on the different shelves. Most Ava had read throughout her different lives, a few though she had never heard of, she knew each world had somethings that could only be found there and wondered if those books would be part of that list. A few candles and Knick knacks were scattered on the shelves, she then noticed a ceramic mermaid on the second shelf. Suddenly remembering a scene from the show where Elana had mentioned hiding things, she moved the mermaid. She found nothing, replacing the mermaid she then pulled out the photo album, walking over and placing it on the bed before walking to the closet to continue her inspection of Elana's room.
She opened the closet door, and on the floor lay the few pairs of shoes that Elana had had, one pair less as of today. That was going to change, Ava thought, she had a thing for shoes she would need a shoe organizer before too long if she had her way. Hanging in the closet were some dresses, although none of the ones already hanging appeared to be the dresses she remembered from the show. Ava wondered how Elana had been able to keep the amount of clothes she had so limited. There had been few lives that she had lived that she had been able to restrain herself from building herself a wardrobe big enough to have an outfit for every occasion. With a closet this small there wouldn't be enough room to expand Elana's wardrobe too much. Ava noticed the jackets hanging as well, happier about the selection already there, most she remembered from different episodes but a few unseen before, The last thing hanging was a cheer uniform. A shelf sat above the clothes, a couple hats sat on one side of it and next to them were a couple purses and bags. The other side held a medium sized box, jackpot Ava thought. Where else to store old thoughts and memories you don't want everyone reading, then up and out of sight. She reached up moving the box slightly testing its weight. Finding it to be on the lighter side, she pulled it down. She closed the closet door before carrying the box towards the bed, placing it on the chest positioned at the foot of the bed. She opened the box hoping to confirm her suspicions about its contents.
In the box there was a couple journals, also a small diary one that had to have been Elana's first foray into the world of writing down her thoughts, started when she was young. Its bright colored cover and small lock, reminding Ava of a similar one she had received in her first life. Ava had never been one to write her thoughts however, and hoped she didn't struggle too much to find something to write in the journal she had caught sight of on the desk on the other side of the room. She couldn't use it to make her lists, in the show Jeremy had read it so she knew it wouldn't be a secure location to write down all that was to come. In the box was a shoe box, opening it Ava saw little mementoes Elana had gathered. Ticket stubs, a few trinkets, and a couple notes folded into different shapes, Ava would take the time later to open and read them, maybe after looking through the photo album she would find what memories the different items in the box represented.
Around the room she continued, pausing in front of the full-length mirror to look at her new reflection. Elana's long straight brown hair was a mess of waves and knots, in dire need of a good washing and a brush. The color of her skin seemed to look better then it had in the hospital mirror. The clothes Jenna had brought to the hospital were more like pajamas then everyday clothes. Ava turned from the mirror to the dresser, a mirror above it, with pictures stuck along the edges. Ava inspected the pictures, a few were of Elena Bonnie and Caroline, one of Elana and Matt, even one of just Elana and Jeremy, and one of their parents, and lastly a family photo all four of the Gilberts. Looking at the photo's now she recognized the parents from the car. Ava hadn't remembered seeing these faces in the show except in flashes, and if they had shown them for any length of time it had been during a point she hadn't been looking at the screen. Ava looked at the things on top of the dresser, A framed photo of Elena in her cheerleading uniform and underneath that a round box with a few items of makeup inside, a lamp on the opposite side, a statuette of a ballerina, a small ring dish, and a small jewelry box containing a few necklaces and earrings. On top of the dresser also stood an oval vanity mirror with hair clips attached to the sides, and the normal everyday sundries, a stick of deodorant a hairbrush and some ponytails scattered across the top.
Ava started opening the drawers of the dresser, browsing threw the clothes contained within, checking for anything Elana might have hid in the drawers. She noted the things she liked and the things that she couldn't see ever wearing and making another mental list of clothes she would need to buy and ones she would get rid of to make space for the new. Finished with the dresser Ava looked to her left and saw a door, she had remembered seeing the door in the room during the show, but it had never been revealed what was behind the door. Ava walked over, undoing the latch and opening it. Behind the door it appeared to be just a storage space, it didn't look like Elana had used it much at all. Ava re-latched the door and kneeled to open the drawers under the window seat. They simply held sheets for Elana's bed. She scooted along the floor to look in the stacked boxes next to the desk, they looked like they were meant mostly for display, although one was filled with what looked like old papers and a graded assignments from school.
Ava stood and moved the box that she had placed on the chest for a moment. She lifted the lid of the chest and saw it contained extra blankets and pillows, she figured they must have been used for when Elana had her girls nights with Bonnie and Caroline. She closed the chest and placed the box back on top of it. She moved to finish her examination of the room with the desk, pulling out the backless chair she sat. First thing she noticed on the desk was the journal she recognized from the show. A lamp stood to the right back corner of the desk. That was the fourth lamp she counted in the room, one on the desk, one on the dresser, one on the nightstand, and a floor lamp in the corner by the smaller storage door. She looked to the ceiling realizing that the room contained no light or light switch except for the closet, the lamps would be the main light source in the room at night.
She looked back to the top of the desk, a candle sitting on the left front corner, a box sitting behind it. Opening the box Ava found pictures, she looked threw a few knowing she would need to come back later to examine each photo better. Along the back of the desk stood a pencil holder fulfilling its purpose, next to it was a crystal ball, Ava smirked at that. She saw a desk organizer that doubled as a phone charger, and finally she saw the laptop with a wireless mouse on top of it, a way for her to start getting a few things done. She grabbed the laptop, twisting as she placed it on the bed to use when finished. Turning back she looked above the desk at the cork board hung there. A blue ribbon pinned to it, another achievement Elana had received marking how different her life had been before the death of her parents than it had been depicted during the show. A few pictures pinned along the top, a flyer pinned to the middle, and a to do list was the final thing pinned to it. The desk had 5 smallish drawers, two on each side and one in the center, Ava felt along the bottom of each drawer. She looked for any hidden catches, or anything taped to the bottom for hiding, she had doubted that Elana had ever felt the need to hide something that way but Ava had to be sure. She went through each drawer finding the typical items, tape, ruler, calculator, extra pens and pencils, a small stapler, blank flash cards, plain paper, notebooks, and an empty journal, Ava assumed it was for when the one in front of her was filled. She stood and slid the chair under the desk, grabbing the journal and placing it on top of the computer. She suddenly remembered a scene from the show where Jeremy had found Elana's journal hiding behind a picture frame. Ava moved from picture to picture, checking behind each one in case Elana had hid something, she found nothing.
Ava turned to the bed reviewing everything she had found, the photo album, the box of mementoes and old journals, the laptop, the currant journal, and the box of pictures she had left on the desk. Ava grabbed the box and sat on the bed choosing to start with the old diary and journals, hoping that afterwards the photos and mementoes would correlate to the different entries.
Ava sat down the journal she had just finished reading, the second one from the box, rolling her shoulders and neck. She glanced around just now realizing she had no way of telling what time it was. There were no clocks hung anywhere, Elana didn't have an alarm clock, and Elana's phone had gone down in the car. The computer would have a clock on it but that would mean waiting for it to boot up and hoping that Elana hadn't put any sort of password on it. While she could hack past that, it would take more time than Ava wanted to use. She felt her stomach rumble and knew it had to be late afternoon, early evening. And the last time she had eaten was hours ago, between tests at the hospital. She would take a shower, and then hope that there was something in the kitchen to eat. Groaning she remembered that Jenna couldn't cook, Jeremy showed no inclination that he had any idea how to cook in the show, and she also remembered it had been mentioned multiple times that Elana hadn't known how to cook. Damn it, Ava thought it was coma's not amnesia that could cause someone to suddenly know how to do things. She would have to come up with some way to explain the reason she suddenly knew how to cook, maybe she could find some cooking classes to take and explain it away. Take out every night was not her favorite thought and would get old fast.
Ava opened the door between the bathroom and bedroom, she looked around hoping to see a towel somewhere she could use. Seeing a cabinet situated between the door to the hall and the toilet, she opened the doors and inside she found what she was looking for. She started the water and placed the towel on the bar above the toilet. She stripped and stepped into the shower sighing in contentment as the warm water ran down her body.
Ava grabbed the hairbrush and started with the hair closest to the lump on her head, trying to be as gentle as possible. She was still working on brushing out the tangles in her hair when she heard a knock at her bedroom door. "Come in." She called out. The door opened and there as she had expected stood Jeremy. She smiled at him as he walked in. He glanced at the things she had gathered from around the room, "What's all that stuff?" he asked.
"Well I figured how better to find out who I am, then from myself." She answered.
"Huh?"
"Well if something had been important to me, I think I would have kept something from the day or event or whatever. That or maybe I wrote it down in one of these journals, and just maybe, reading about it and seeing a picture or some keepsake will jog a memory for me." Ava explained. Jeremy nodded his head seeming to agree with her reasoning. He sat down on the chest at the foot of the bed next to the box of journals.
"When did you find all this stuff?" He asks, looking at her through the mirror.
Ava winces slightly as she grazes the lump on her head unintentional, "Before I got in the shower I took a look around the room, hey you wouldn't know if I had any secret hiding spots would you?" she asks.
"No, I don't think you really have a lot of thing to hide." He said looking concerned at my wince. "You ok?"
"Yah, the giant memory stealing lump is still a bit painful." Ava said assuring him. "It felt kind of weird going through everything. I know logically that this is my room, but I don't remember any of it and I'm not even sure I like some of the stuff I see." She continued.
"Like what?"
"Well for starters, why is there like three chairs in here? There is already a window seat, one I can understand for the desk and even the rocking one by the bookshelf. Why do I need a third one next to the door, do I host events in my room that I need so much seating?" Ava explains. "Also am I into horses or something, or was that a gift?" She asks turning and pointing at the picture of a horse above the bed with the hairbrush.
Jeremy let lose a half laughed half exhaled giving his head a small shake of amusement. "We never really discussed your design choices before, so no I would have no idea why you need so many chairs or why you have that picture."
"Huh, then I hope my memories come back soon so I can find out why. If they don't it's coming down and I'll find something else to put there." Ava said as she pulled the brush threw her hair for the final time. She put down the brush and turned to him. "So apparently I'm not a person big on knowing the time, I have no idea how long its been, and I don't know about you but I'm starving."
"Yah, I guess I should eat." Jeremy says as he stands leading the way to the door. As he descended the stairs, he moved slowly ahead of her, half turned towards her making sure she was ok as she made her way down. Ava followed him to the kitchen, glancing around her along the way. "Sit down, I'll get us something." He said as he entered the kitchen. Ava quietly watched him as he moved around the kitchen, contemplating the best way to help him in the months to come.
She already knew he had a protectiveness about the ones he loved, and he was more intuitive then Elana had given him credit for, plus he is smart and talented. She could not act judgmental at how he copes with his loss, Elana had in the show and it had driven a wedge between them. Ava remembered things from the show she was determined to change to try and avoid that distance and lack of trust they had between them in the first season. She would put into place her thought she had had earlier and ask him to go for a walk with her the next day if she felt up to it, starting to walk everyday she could slowly build to running and if she got him to go with her it would be something they could do together. That might also help keep him off some of the drugs, and lead to a lower chance that he starts dealing to Vicki. Since she isn't so much a journal person, she could spend less time writing and more time with Jeremy. She had to be careful though not to push him to spend to much time with her, he did just loose both his parents, and technically his older sister. He may not want to spend all his time with a person who doesn't remember who he is or the people he is sad about loosing, and the Elana that Ava remembered from the show is a different Elana then she had been before the accident.
Jeremy brought two plates to the table with a turkey sandwich on both, Ava gave him a small smile. "Thank you Jer." He simply nodded his head in acknowledgement of her thanks. They slowly ate the sandwiches in silence, Ava looked around between bites, noting things of interest. They had both finished the sandwich's when Ava decided to try and get Jeremy's opinion of their relationship. "What type of siblings are we?" She asks him. He gives her a confused look not answering. "There are a couple different types of sibling relationships and I want to know which one you think we are. Like there are the siblings who are too close, they have all the same friends spend a lot of time together, then there are the just kind of close ones who know each others friends but have their own and only spend time together every once in a while. The neutral ones who barley know each other or their friends and never hang out together, the ones who fight to show affection if they aren't fighting you know something is wrong, or the ones who hate each other and only ever fight and know absolutely nothing about each other." She explained.
Jeremy seemed to think it over for a second before answering, "I think we are kind of close siblings, I know all of your friends, and you knew all of my friends. We hang out occasionally, but not all the time." "Good" Ava responded. She looks behind her at the tv, "Can we watch a movie or play a video game or something?" She asks. "Do I play video games?"
"Not very often, your usually too busy. But yah we can watch something," He answered. He got up and walked into the tv room to pick a movie and get it all set up. Ava grabbed the plates placing them in the sink before settling on the couch. Jeremy sat on the other end of the couch as he pressed play. Halfway into the movie Jeremy had changed position so that his head rested in Ava's lap and her fingers had been unconsciously running through his hair in a comforting motion. Jenna enters the room pausing a couple of seconds in the doorway, she then walks over and lifts Jeremy's feet, sitting down she lays them across her lap, they finish the movie like this. When the movie ends, wordlessly Jenna gets up and puts in another movie, then returns to her position on the couch.