Eight o'clock that morning found us all on the driveway. Tyler and Bonnie finished packing up Matt's SUV while Elena and I tried to convince Matt to take the Gilbert ring. No matter the argument we used, he simply refused. He had seen what happened to you, Ric, and didn't want that for himself. He said that after years of dealing with the supernatural, he had resigned himself to the possibility of dying at a young age.
Ric, I swear if you breathe a word of this to anyone, I will stake your ass the next time I see you. I never told him, but Matt Donovan was one of the strongest people I've ever known. Even after all of his friends became witches and werewolves, hunters and vampires, he stuck around. He could have left Mystic Falls and started a new life away from the craziness that seemed to permeate this town. But, he never gave up on us, on them, on her. He would do anything for Elena, even risk his own life time and time again. I should have thanked him for that. If I had known what I know now, I would done more than just give him a slap on the back before I walked away to say goodbye to Tyler and Bonnie.
I wrapped Bonnie up in a hug, once again amazed at how far we had come. We had both changed in the eight years since I had returned to Mystic Falls. I was no longer the serial killer I had professed to be. Bonnie had become a lot less judgey when she realized everything wasn't just black or white. We were all swimming in a sea of gray. It was either accept it or drown in it. She chose to accept it, accept my place in Elena's life, accept my part in Elena's happiness. Not that she didn't call me out if she thought I was wrong. She did, a lot. But, I had lost the urge to kill her years ago and I couldn't remember the last time she hit me with a witchy migraine. Before I released her, she whispered that she would take care of Elena and made me promise to watch my back. I didn't say anything, just gave her a kiss on the top of her head and pulled away.
Tyler and I had never become close. Maybe it was the inherent distrust between werewolves and vampires. Maybe it was all of the times he had hurt Caroline. Maybe it was because he bit me all those years ago. The reason didn't matter. At that moment, the only thing that mattered was his commitment to protect Elena. He swore to me on him mother's grave that he would keep Elena safe. I muttered my thanks and shook his hand.
I turned to where she was standing, waiting for me. This was the goodbye I had been dreading and I didn't know how I would get through it. I stiffened my spine, steeled my resolve and walked to her. I knew this would be part two of her campaign to go with me instead of the others. One look at the tears gathering in her eyes and my resolve started to crumble. I wasn't sure that I was strong enough to tell her no, to send her away. I reached her just as her tears started to fall, as she began to beg, plead with me not to send her away. She said I needed her to watch my back, to keep me safe. That we hadn't been apart in years. That she would never forgive me if I didn't come home to her. Every tear that fell from her eyes, every word that fell from her lips broke my undead heart just a little more. With more courage than I knew I had, I pushed her away from me. I needed her to really see me, see that I wasn't going to give in.
"Elena, baby, you have to go. I can't take down Klaus if I'm worried about keeping you safe. I need to know you aren't in the line of fire. And you need to help Tyler keep Matt and Bonnie safe. Try to get Matt to wear the ring, at least until you get back home. Don't let Bonnie bad mouth me too much."
Yeah, I smirked at her. I had to lighten the mood somehow. I needed her to be okay before she drove off in that SUV. I needed us both to be okay before then.
It was time. I had to let her go. I pulled her in and kissed her like I might never see her again. That wasn't the plan, but our plans always seem to go to hell. I couldn't help but think it might be true.
Before she had time to react, I had hustled her into the SUV, buckled her in and slammed the door shut. With a tap on the hood, I sent them on their way. Just as I had promised, I stood and waved until they were no longer in sight.
Damned hindsight is always twenty/twenty, and right now, I just wish I was blind. I wish I could look back and not see all of the mistakes I made, the wrong decisions. I never should have sent her away. I should have kept her with me. I should have listened to her.
The five of us had been up early, gathered around the kitchen table talking strategy, if you could call it strategy. We agreed that I wouldn't know exactly where they were going and they wouldn't know where I was headed. We planned to check in with each other at least once a day, although realistically, Elena and I would be in touch more often than that. I thought it was safe to assume that Klaus would have someone following both of our cars as soon as we left Mystic Falls. As long as I was headed towards him, I thought his guys would leave me alone. I had to hope that I was the one he really wanted and wouldn't tell his minions to harm the others.
Checking the time, I decided I need to leave. I grabbed my bag and cooler and stopped to take a last look at the house before walking out, locking the door behind me.
I drove through the day, stopping in Montgomery, Alabama, to get some sleep before driving into New Orleans the next day. I talked to Elena, unable to sleep until I heard her voice. Once I was reassured that she was fine, I let my guard down and just enjoyed talking to her. We both faked it, pretended that there was no dark cloud hanging over our heads. We felt the limits, what we could or could not say, not wanting to give away locations. Small talk exhausted, words of love and longing exchanged, we said goodbye. Sooner than I would have thought possible, I was asleep.
I arrived in New Orleans around noon the following day. I checked with some of my contacts. After being passed from one vampire to another to another, I finally got the name of a witch, Cecile, who might be willing to help me with Klaus. When I called her, she gave me the name of a little café in the French Quarter to meet her at. It felt we would be right under Klaus's nose, but maybe hiding in plain sight was the right answer.
I arrived an hour early, checked the place out before grabbing a table in a back corner. I felt a little relief at the sound of all those human heartbeats. There seemed to be no vamps, wolves or hybrids in the place.
The television above the counter caught my attention. One of those twenty-four hour news channels was showing traffic cam footage out of Chicago. Normally, I wouldn't have paid attention to a story like that. It wouldn't have affected me. But there was something about it I couldn't put my finger on that grabbed me around the throat and wouldn't let ago.
The video was horrific, even to my less than delicate sensibilities. It showed a vehicle stopped at a railroad crossing. Behind it, another vehicle came into the picture and rammed the first vehicle. It didn't stop there, it kept pushing and pushing the first vehicle, a SUV, until it was on the tracks. Before the occupants ever had a chance to think about jumping out, a freight train struck the SUV, pushing it hundreds of yards down the tracks until finally coming to a stop.
It was then that I saw the caption at the bottom of the screen – Two Dead in Train/Car Collision. The picture changed, two smiling faces looked down at me, faces that I recognized. Victims: Matt Donovan and Bonnie Bennett of Mystic Falls, Virginia.