A few days had passed since the argument with my father and I hadn't seen him since. Lucky for me, my mother hadn't tried to force or guilt me into going to see him.
Then again, she hadn't really talked to me about much of anything since that day. She was out of the house more often than she normally was and at times even avoided me.
Subconsciously I wondered if it had anything to do with what she had overheard from my fight with my father, but I was reluctant to talk to her about it; I didn't want to start something with her too.
Aside from that, I had started training with Kol to help prepare me to fight Collin, or any other vampire for that matter. A precaution.
I decided not to tell him about my plans to kill Collin myself since I wasn't even sure if I would get the chance. Plus, I knew he would end up saying something along the lines of "You can't fight him yourself! You're not strong enough and you could get killed!"
Kol was pretty protective of me, which was something I was used to thanks to my mother.
Once the school day had ended, Kol and I got in my car and I drove to the place he had been training me all week. It was a secluded spot in the woods a mile or so outside of town.
I parked the car on the side of the road since we would have to walk the rest of the way.
When we got out of the car, I looked over to Kol. He had the playful smirk on his face that I loved. "What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
He glanced at me for a moment before looking out into the woods. "What would say to a little race?" he asked as he rounded the front of the car and stood next to me.
I laughed and shook my head. "I would say that's absolutely mad." I paused for a moment. I glanced over to Kol, the corners of my lips twitched up into a grin. "But...let's do it anyway." I said quickly before I sprinted off into the woods as fast as I could.
The wind blew my hair back as I ran. I was surprised that it didn't get caught on any branches as I darted through the trees. I loved running like this. I felt free, limitless, like I could do anything.
I suddenly felt someone run past me, someone who was at least twice as fast as I was. Kol undoubtedly, I could smell him and I heard his laughter and he flashed through the trees.
After a few seconds, I came to a stop, or rather I was forced to a stop; Kol shoved me up against a tree. I glared at him. "Arse." I pouted. My heart was hammering in my chest and my breathing was slightly ragged.
He chuckled. "I win." he said in a low voice. He had me pinned against the trunk of a tree with one hand placed gently on my waist and the other moved up to my face to tuck some loose hair behind my ear. He leaned in closer, I could feel his breath brushing against my cheek. "What's my prize?" he whispered, running his fingers along my jaw line.
I had one hand resting on the trunk of the tree and placed the other on the nape of his neck. I turned my head to the side slightly, smirking as I looked into his eyes. "Whatever you want." I said quietly. A smirk played at his lips.
Before I could even blink, his lips were on mine. I tangled my fingers in his hair, pulling him down closer to me.
A few seconds later, someone cleared their throat, a man. I had been so distracted that I hadn't even noticed that anyone else had arrived. Apparently neither had Kol.
He groaned as he pulled away from me. We both returned our hands to our sides and turned to face the person that had so kindly interrupted us.
Surprisingly, there were three people who had entered the little clearing, Klaus, Damon, and Alaric, umm I mean Mr. Saltzman. I wasn't in school, so I guess calling him Alaric would be fine.
"Really, Nik?" Kol spat, rolling his eyes. He was He took a few steps closer to his brother.
Klaus stood with his hands behind his back, trying to look imposing, which clearly didn't work on Kol. He ignored his younger brother's annoyance.
Klaus shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I just wanted to make sure you two weren't up to any shenanigans." I rolled my eyes at that comment. "After all, we don't need to be wasting any time what with a psychotic vampire on the loose and all." he insisted as he paced across the forest floor.
Kol narrowed his eyes. "And what's with them?" he asked, tossing a condescending glare at Damon and Alaric.
Damon through his hands up defensively. "Hey, we're just here to help out. You know, vampire boot camp and everything." he retorted in a slightly mocking tone.
"And what makes you so damn sure that I want or need your help?" I asked Damon, taking a few steps forward with my arms crossed over my chest.
He shrugged. "Klaus is the one who asked us to. Plus I'm sure you could use all the help you can get right now. No offense, but you're not exactly Buffy The Vampire Slayer." he replied, slipping his hands into his pockets.
I rolled my eyes. "Blatantly." I muttered. He was really starting to get on my nerves.
"If you lot are done bickering like children, I'd like to get going." Klaus interjected. He turned to Damon and Alaric. "You two," he pointed a finger at them for a second. "Keep her focused and do what you were told." he ordered.
Damon looked like he was about to say something snarky back, so Alaric answered. "Yeah. Sure, we'll do that." He nodded.
Klaus then turned to Kol. "I would advise you to come back with me so we can continue searching." he urged, giving Kol a stern look.
Kol rolled his eyes. "Since when do you make my decisions for me?" he spat.
Klaus took a few steps closer, now engaged in a stare-down with Kol. "I didn't say you had to; I simply suggested it," he shot back. "Unless you want to miss out on a potential opportunity to finally end all of this."
An eerie silence passed between the two of them for a few seconds. Both men exchanged icy stares. The air was thick with tension.
Eventually Kol gave in. "Fine." he spat, still glaring at Klaus. He turned around to face me. "You'll be fine, won't you?" he asked, turning away from Klaus and taking a few steps toward me.
I nodded. "Yes, don't worry about me." I insisted, looking into his slightly unsure eyes.
He nodded sternly, still a little unsure. He turned back to Klaus and they darted off in the other direction.
Alaric let out a sigh. "Alright, let's get this over with." he mumbled, trying not to sound as irritated as he clearly was.
I guess it wasn't much fun having Klaus bark orders at you like you were his little bitch. I figured they were just helping him to help keep the peace.
Damon chuckled. "That's what she said." he joked, nudging Alaric's arm.
Alaric rolled his eyes and shot an annoyed look at Damon. "Dick."
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "This is going to be fun." I muttered sarcastically to myself.
After over an hour and a half of listening to Alaric and Damon bicker whilst trying to train me, I was exhausted - both mentally and physically. I had to hand it to them though, they knew what they were doing. Well, for the most part anyway.
I ran back to my car and drove home as the sun was just beginning to set. I hoped that my mother wasn't worried about me; I hadn't told her that I would be home a little later.
When I got home my mother's car was in the driveway. I was actually relieved to have her at home with me, not just because I didn't want to be alone, but because she hadn't been home much for the past few days.
I walked through the door and saw my mother sitting alone on the couch with the lights turned off. I sat my keys down, cautiously flipped on the lights and walked over to her.
She had a glass of red wine in her hand and a blank expression on her face. I could tell from her eyes that she was worried.
"Mum," I said quietly, going to stand in front of her.
She took a sip of her wine. "You're home later." she stated plainly, keeping her eyes locked straight ahead.
My eyebrows knit together slightly. "Sorry I forgot to tell you or leave a note. I went out right after school." I said, trying to put her worries to rest.
However, that didn't seem to do the trick. "Were, were you with Kol?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly. Her face was pale. Her hands shook slightly as she brought the glass up to her lips.
I carefully reached out to take the glass from her hand to keep her from slipping it, causing her to jump. I carefully took the glass from her and sat it down on the coffee table. "Yes," I answered cautiously. "Why?" I asked, taking a seat next to her.
Her eyes flashed to me for a second before she looked away. "Did he," she hesitated, her voice shook slightly. "Did he take you to feed?"
My eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "What?" I asked, a little taken aback.
"Did you kill anyone?" she demanded, getting up from the couch and standing in front of me. She was nearly livid; I had rarely seen my mother angry before.
"No!" I said quickly. I thought for a moment. Why would she jump to that conclusion? "Is, is that why you've been avoiding me?" I demanded, trying to hide the hurt in my voice.
"I haven't" she started.
I rolled me eyes before I cut her off. "Yes you have! What, now that you found out that I've killed a few people since I turned you just assume that I'm going around killing everyone like maniac?" I asked in disbelief. I scoffed. "Do you think I'm just a bloodthirsty monster now?"
"I don't know what to think anymore." she said sternly, shaking her head at me. "You lie about where you are, you sneak out of the house, you stay out late,"
"It's not like I didn't do that before." I interrupted defensively.
"Yes, but you weren't a vampire before. I didn't have to worry about you putting anyone's life in danger other than you're own. And now, I just don't think I can trust you." she said, looking me in the eyes. I could hear the judgement in her voice and see the disappointment in her eyes with was mixed with sadness and a hint of fear.
I stood up and started pacing across the floor. I ran a hand through my hair, frustrated. "It's not like I wanted this." I spat. I turned to face her, though I couldn't bear to look into her eyes. "I didn't want to be a vampire, but I'm trying to handle it the best I can. I don't need you making things worse for me." I nearly screamed, holding back tears.
"I'm not trying to make things worse for you, I'm trying to help! You aren't this person and I know it." she insisted, now on the brink of tears.
"Yes I am! This is who I am now and you need to accept that!" I screamed, my voice broke and a few tears slipped out from my eyes.
"How can I when you keep acting like a" she began.
"Like what?" I demanded, taking a deep breath. I wiped away a tear from my cheek. "A monster? Is that what you think I am?" I asked in nearly whisper.
She saw the hurt in my eyes and tried to apologize. "Juliet, I'm so" she started, her voice pleading me to listen.
I didn't stay to hear the rest; I was too angry. I grabbed my keys and ran out the front door at a human speed, getting into my car and driving away as quickly as I could.
I didn't want to stand there and listen to her try to apologize for the things she had said. I didn't care, even if she really was sorry.
I glanced into the mirror and wiped away a few remaining tears, taking a deep breath to calm myself. She had hurt me, my own mother. "She hates me." I whispered to myself. "She thinks I'm a monster now."
Well, if a monster is what she wanted, then that's exactly what I would give her.
A.N.- Hopefully this was a pretty good chapter. I tried to make Damon and Alaric in character, so hopefully they came off that way. Dalaric is my favorite TVD bromance so I wanted to include a little of that. And in case anyone is wondering, I don't watch Buffy The Vampire Slayer, I just wanted to give Damon a snarky smart-ass line since he always has those in the show. Anyway, thanks for the support so far. It's getting closer to the end of the story now! I'll try to update again this week since I'm going on vacation soon, but I can't make any promises. Please continue to follow, favorite, and review! Thanks :)
Responses to recent reviews:
FanFicChikk: haha thanks! And yeah, I guess she kind of does. I didn't think about that.
xxMadison143xx: Thanks for both of your reviews! I love cheesy romantic things too. And yeah, I'd probably be like him too. I'm glad you can find the time to read this; I know you're busy.