Best Friend
Part 26 - Concrete Rose
R-M
Confusion about last chapter and Damon's triggers for PTSD, which are his accidents. Only his accidents, and being in vehicles trigger his PTSD. Those are separate from his generalized anxiety behind Bonnie, and it's also separate from his pain, involved in both Shiela and Baylee's death. He never coped with it, the way he should've, because once it happened, his marriage and relationship with Bonnie started to fall apart. Damon may have had some selfish tendencies with Bonnie. But it doesn't take away that he had insecurities, and pain behind all that was happening. He and Bonnie both have faults in their relationship. He's never tried to hurt Bonnie, she's never tried to hurt him. But their lack of communications and young ages, is what made them fall apart. Damon is learning he deserves to grieve, and Bonnie realizes, that she wasn't the only one hurting. She feels awful not realizing he was hurting so bad. What you come to realize about Bamon in this story, is they love each other very deeply, no matter where they are in life. They hate seeing the other in pain. Just to clear up last chapter.
Hope you enjoy this update!
Bonnie sat nervously in the Doctor's office. He was adjusting his glasses, and sitting down, after making some adjustments in his office. He opened his blinds, and sat out the tulips Bonnie brought to the office. He smiled, briefly and took his seat. "Thank you, Mrs. Salvatore. These are beautiful."
"Yes, they are my favorite. Damon planted them for me years ago."
"He seems to pay close attention to you. And you pay very close attention to him as well."
"Yes. We've looked out for each other a long time." Bonnie smiled dimly, feeling slightly nervous still.
"Would you like to talk about that?"
"What do you mean?"
"How you've looked out for your husband for so long."
"Well, I don't regret it, if that's what you're wondering." She looked at him en around the office. "I've known Damon for years. As long as I can remember. He was always... troubled. From his young age. There was just, all this pain inside of him. He seemed so lonely. I mean he has Stefan, his rather, but Stefan was such a daddy's boy. When Damon's momma left, he just... seemed like a loner...ya know? So lost."
"Did this strike you in a way?"
"It did. I felt this connection to him. I always had this hole inside of me, and I felt like he had the same hole. When I was spendin' time with him, I feel like, we both felt this connection, and those holes were gone." The Doctor listened as she began to get comfortable. "I mean, there was something about him, whether I was thirteen or seventeen. He was the bright spot in my day, even when he was angry. He was always gentle with me."
"Was gentle, new to you?"
"Yes. I mean all I had was my momma, and she was very hard on me. My daddy, he was never around. When he was, he wasn't fully present. He was busy engaging me and my mother in gifts, and visiting whatever place he lived. Ya know, we... lead a separate life from my daddy. He was absent, even when he was present."
"His absence affected you, and impacted your idea of family?"
"I mean, at a young age, for me, he was the fun parent... the happy one. We go see him, and we had fun and momma was happy. That's where the idea of my daddy was misrepresented. He was the good in my momma, and me, therefore, I wanted him to be there. But as I became older, I realized, he wasn't fully present. He was just keeping from spendin' time with momma. He was leadin' another life. He was not the man I thought he was."
"Do you believe, you found something in Damon, you didn't find in your father?"
"I don't know. Damon needed me, as much as I needed him." The Doctor remained quiet and took some notes. "Maybe in a way, he gave me what my daddy didn't, and I gave him what his momma didn't. I don't know." She twiddled her hands and wanted to cease talking. But she became curious. "You don't think I'm a mother figure to him, and he's a father figure to me do you doc? Because maybe that's all kinds of screwed up."
The doctor laughed. She didn't laugh though. She was afraid of what he might say. "It's not uncommon, Mrs. Salvatore, that isn't as uncommon as you might think. People, tend to find qualities in their significant other resembling either what they had in their parents or what they lacked. This is, many relationships."
"But, Damon and I... are we okay?"
"Well, today is about you. And I've not made any assessments. I'm just here to listen." He paused a bit. "I find it interesting the idea that you, want to take care of your husband, in all ways. But, do you feel you do this, to neglect dealing with yourself?"
"No, I don't need to deal with myself. I feel like, my purpose is to take care of others."
"So, tell me about dealing with pain. How do you deal with pain."
"I pray about it. Talk to God, or my daddy, I guess."
"Your father?"
"Yes. I've always talked to him."
"You have a spiritual, connection to him?"
"It's the closest connection I've had to him. We were close when he was alive, I was able to reach out and call him to talk. But that's the extent of it. When he died, I continued to reach out to him."
"You managed to create a relationship with your father, even after his death. How do you feel about his death?"
Bonnie looked at the doctor in shock. It was as if the question was inappropriate. "What do you mean?"
"How did his death affect you?"
"It didn't. I just, I cried once, and I moved on. Why dwell on something I can't change?"
"Is that how you see it, as dwelling?"
"I mean, sure. It's wasting thoughts and unnecessary tears."
"And are there other deaths, you've relayed this idea in your brain, to avoid dealing with."
"I don't avoid dealing with death. I deal with it."
"We spoke the other day, about your grandmother and daughter. How would you say you dealt with the deaths of both of those people?"
Bonnie looked up, in almost disgust, and she felt her lip begin to shake, she felt emotions hitting her, in a way she hadn't hardly dealt with it. With the exception of she and Damon's argument, a few months back, she had pushed those things to the back of her mind. "Oh wow, Doctor Fell. I, I don't think I can do this. I really don't. It's not that I can't, it's just that..." he sat calmly waiting for her to finish her thoughts. "Ya know, I should go." She stood up and headed towards the door. She wondered if the doctor would stop her but he didn't. She stood at the door and stopped. She turned to him, "The thing is Doc, I can't deal with things I can't fix. Because, I'm used to pain."
Bonnie headed out again and the doctor spoke out. "But I can help you, if you let me." Her body walked out, but her hand held the knob, pausing when he spoke again. "Dealing with death is a part of life. It can happen again, someone you love may die, and you will ask yourself, are you strong enough to get through it? One day, you will look yourself in the mirror, and say, 'I can do this.' And you will. Just know, I am here for you Mrs. Salvatore. Whenever you're ready."
Bonnie let what he said, slowly sink in, and before a tear drop could fall, she slowly shut the door, and left.
...
Bonnie walked into the house to see her husband teaching their son how to say 'please.' He was holding an apple slice, and a repeating himself. "Say, 'Please, Daddy."
His son gave him a puzzling look. Then he kept, reaching for the apple slice.
"Ah, ah ah. Say 'Please' first baby boy." Bonnie grinned. She stood silently at the front door, and watched as Dimitri, furrowed his eyebrows underneath his bushel of hair. The young boy pushed his hair back out of his face.
"Gimme." He whined. "Daaaad-deeee?" He kept whining.
"No. Say 'Please.' Don't be stubborn." Damon sat the apple slice on the cabinet and looked up at his wife. She stood there, in her horizontally stripped, dress. Her hair was in a ponytail. She rarely wore ponytails. But she refused to wear it down on such a warm day. Her caramel skin, and green eyes, and pearly smile, lit him up. "This boy, is doggone stubborn." He rolled away, while the two-year-old, fell to the floor whining, and being licked by Puppy.
"I wonder where he gets it." She said looking up at the ceiling, smiling.
"Oh, you know, he gets it from you. I'm hard-headed. You... are stubborn." He smiled. "You hungry?"
"I don't know. Nothin' sounds good, but I think I'm hungry." She said. He looked at her awkwardly. "It's just, nothin' sounds good. Except maybe some fruit. I don't have an appetite, really.
"I'll cut you up some fruit."
"No, I can cut it, baby. Don't worry."
"Stop, Baby girl. Let me cut the fruit. Tell me how you think things went today, you got back kind of early."
She frowned when he mentioned that. "Yeah, I left. I needed a break."
"Why, what happened?" He asked surprised.
"Just... I needed to." She cut it short. He could tell when she had a hard time dealing with things.
"Okay, we don't have to talk about it. Whenever you're ready. No pressure. You're goin' back next week, right?" She gave him a long hard look, and it worried him. "We benefit from this. Our son benefits from this. You will benefit from this. I know it ain't easy at first, it was hard on me. But I promise, it gets better." He saw her tears try to fight falling, but a couple slipped out of her eyes. He reached for the counter top, and stood his body up next to her and pulled her in for a hug. She tugged her arms underneath his, holding upward towards his shoulders, while he wrapped his arms around her neck, put one of his hands in the back of her head and kissed her forehead. "I promise you, it gets better." He put his chin on top of her head, and just held her. They remained there silently a few minutes holding each other.
"Doodle, I hope that you feel as though, I don't blame you for anything. And if you ever feel hurt, or questionable about Grams or Baylee's death, then you feel you can reach out to lean on me. I may not always seem like I can handle talking about it, but you deserve my support, should you need it."
"that means a lot to me baby girl. I'm sure, as I get more comfortable dealing with it. We can deal with it together." He spoke sincerely.
At some point their son's cries let up and he came tugging on Damon's clothes. Damon looked down at his marble shaped grey eyes. Welding with tears that stopped falling, and he looked up at his daddy, feeling defeated.
"Peeeeeze dad-dy." He bit on his index finger, hopeful. Bonnie let go of Damon and picked him up, sitting him on the cabinet. She smiled, with relief.
"Oh, my word. He said it." She gleamed. Damon smiled back at her. She walked to get the apple slices and handed them to Damon. Damon held the apple slice, and looked at his son.
"Peeeeze."
"Here baby boy. I'm so proud of you." He rubbed his son's wild hair, and kissed his forehead. "Come on let's cut some fruit for your momma." Damon hobbled around, and grabbed oranges, apples, and grapes, and cut it up in an assortment for Bonnie, while she stood by their son. "His hair is getting wild."
"No, it's fine." She said.
"Baby girl, he needs a cut."
"Doodle, don't start. We will cut it one day okay? Let me just enjoy this little mess for a while."
.x.
A week later Bonnie was in Doctor Fell's office talking, when the subject of death came up again. She caught herself trying not to walk away, and to sit and deal with it. The question came again. "How do you think you dealt with Sheila and Baylee's deaths?"
She took a long minute of thought and it wasn't like she didn't know what to say. Because all week the question ran through her mind. All week she had been plagued by this question and she gave so much thought to it, that she realized she did t have a real answer. "I don't know."
"Do you remember crying, or shutting down?"
"I cried. Once. Then I didn't know how to deal with it. I wanted cry everyday. I wanted to scream, throw things, break things, yell, punch walls. But, when it really came down to it, after my daughter died, I felt dead inside. Doing those things were secondary to just feeling nothing. It was easier to feel nothing."
The doctor took more notes. "And Sheila?"
"I expected it. My grams prepared me for her death whether I wanted to deal with it or not. She spoke about it, she wanted to make me okay with it. After what happened to Baylee.
"And were you?"
"I don't know, because I still had this emptiness from my daughter dying. Then, I left and finished school. I had a friend, a kind of boyfriend... work. I was able to escape it, when I was in LA."
"This kind of boyfriend?"
"We'd just broken up. But were still friends."
"Did he know about your grams and your daughter?"
"Yes. He knew my grams. He was at the funeral. But, we had broken up, and I thought I needed Damon. But that's when I found out he was more serious with this other woman than I thought."
"Other, woman?"
"A friend of mine. Well, a mentor. She's not my friend. She used me."
"To get to your husband?"
"I believe so. And eventually, she got him. He was stupid enough." The doctor took notes, and took his time this time. He knew he'd come back to this part later.
"So, he was in a relationship, and you were forced to deal with, Sheila's death alone?"
"It gets complicated Doc. My husband and I conceived, our son the night of the funeral. I went my separate way, he went his. When I found out I was pregnant, I knew it was Damon's. Kol and I were always protected. And it had been a short while after my break up also. So, I thought to tell Damon, and it's when I found out he was engaged. So, I didn't tell him. I blocked him out of my life. At that point, Baylee, Grams, and Damon, were no longer a part of my world. I had my career, my life in LA, and eventually, I met Ginny."
"Ginny?"
"My best friend."
"Okay, so, Ginny, knew about grams and Baylee."
"No."
"You understand, you deal with a classic case of avoidance Bonnie? Can I call you Bonnie?"
"Yes Sir."
"Bonnie, its known as Avoidance coping. Or escape coping. Avoidance, is..." he had to be careful with his words. "Well, it's a not really coping. It's a maladaptive mechanism, used for coping. You protect yourself from psychological damage, by avoiding it. If you avoid it, it didn't happen. It's not uncommon, but it's not common, and it really hinders progression. It actually creates more, long-term damage. You become closed off and shut people out."
"I had no idea there was a such thing."
"There is, and it can be damaging to your relationships. Ideally, your husband, should be the closest person to you. If you shut him out of your honest feelings, and don't deal with them, he begins to feel like he's failing you. Then, he doesn't know how to deal with the conflict, so you begin to feel like he doesn't care. You feel as if he's neglecting your feelings. The problems become circulatory, and the two of you are creating problems within the marriage, that you don't realize."
Bonnie looked confused, and relieved at the same time. She put her hands in her face wanting to cry but refraining. "It's hard for me to vocalize my needs or feelings."
"Why do you think that is?"
"I don't know. As a young girl, I don't think it mattered what I felt. No one asked me. No one except Damon. But, by the time he was askin' I was used to, I guess as you say, avoiding."
"Well, a repercussion of that type of coping, can result in so much internalized anger, that it becomes, passive aggressive anger, until you have an explosive episode. You don't want that to be a result of internalizing your anger, by avoiding your feelings."
"It's crazy, because when we were younger, I used to tell Damon, how angry he was and how unhealthy it was. And I was wrong." She sounded disappointed in herself.
"No, you weren't wrong. Anger is healthy, but maybe it was the way he dealt with it, in which it became unhealthy for him. You and your husband have learned, a lot from each other. In actuality you see each other faults, but not your own. And that is normal in many relationships."
She nodded her head, and didn't say anything to him.
"Are you okay, Bonnie?"
"Yes Sir. Does this mean, my husband and I aren't failures?"
"Of course, you're not failures. Listen, it's hard to know how to work on things unless we identify the issues. We still have a way to go Bonnie. You and I, you and your husband, and your husband and me. But, I'm very determined to help you two. Veterans and their families, deal with things differently, and not all therapists have this understanding. I have military experience and I have an emphasis on veteran studies, and I have a civilian wife, who was where you are before."
"I mean, it's weird, ya know? Talking about things, is not my comfort zone. I just, didn't have a momma who talked about things. She blocked things out. My grams did the same, but she had a soft spot for me and Doodle. I mean Damon."
"It's important to know, that by avoiding, you're not dealing, in a healthy way. Your feelings and pain is valid. Your hurt is valid. And there is nothing wrong with hurting. There is nothing wrong with being angry. It's healthy. Get angry sometimes, and express with words, how you feel. This will help you, to deal with your pain, in a constructive way."
"I can only try Doc."
"Okay, try something for me the next few weeks. If you feel tension in your household, or a disagreement happening. I want you to voice it right away. In a calm manner. Calm yourself by counting to ten or taking ten breath, I want you to mention it, and how it makes you feel. Then accept a response in return. Avoid arguing, unless, it becomes necessary. But make sure you listen as much as you speak. Afterwards, write down what happens, and tell me."
"Oh geez. I'll see what I can do. I can't make promises."
"All you can do is try. And maybe there won't be conflict. But just try this exercise, if there is one. We can talk through it together."
"Alright Doc." She nodded her head, and he felt her slight relief after this week's session.
"I feel like we've barely scratched the surface. Next week we can talk about your pregnancy. Your life in Los Angeles, as a single mother."
Bonnie realized so much more needed to be said. She wasn't sure how to approach that, let alone the situation with Mason. She just nodded her head and grinned. "Certainly Doc. I should go. My boys, are making dinner tonight, and I don't want the kitchen to burn down." She and the doctor laughed.
"Certainly. You're doing amazing Bonnie. Tell Damon I'll see him tomorrow. You two have a good weekend."
"Thanks. 'Till next week Sir."
She shook his hand and this week, left the room, feeling more confident than the previous week.
.x.
Another week later and Bonnie was talking to the doctor about her life after Damon.
"I thought Mason was everything I needed. He wanted me to be independent. He helped me work towards my career, he thought I was capable of doing so much."
"You don't think your husband believed in you?"
"I don't know. He relied on my morally, and had this old-fashioned idea of me, just staying home. After my grams and daughter's passing, sitting at home just made me think about it. then I meet Mason, and he was the opposite."
"It sounds like, you were ready for someone who didn't really on you for Moral support or to just be their wife?"
"Maybe. I mean, all I knew in life was how to be there for my momma, and my husband. Then I wanted a different life. Maybe I was wrong, but it's how I felt."
"Of course. That's natural. And many people don't understand the struggle of the military marriage. I get it."
"Yes, and Mason, he was... the opposite of it all."
"Was Mason, and answer or a problem in your opinion?"
"He was a solution. He was the opposite of Damon. I needed the opposite. He had qualities of Kol, but, much sterner in his ways. More established as a man."
"We've established, that Kol, was the boyfriend, who felt more like a friend. So was Mason, the boyfriend, who felt like the...?"
"He just felt like a man. He knew what he wanted, his life was planned. He thought, I could bring something to his life, on my own."
"He made you feel, like he didn't need nurturing, or fixing. He was fixed, in your mind, therefore, you felt 'fixed' also. With Mason, the pain, didn't exist. He was new, and fresh, and it helped you to block out the past."
Bonnie felt awful. "Oh gosh, when you say it like that, it makes me feel as if I used him."
"Did you?"
"I didn't think I did. I thought we were equals. I loved Mason."
"Were you in love with Mason?"
"Honestly doc, I don't think I ever was in love with him, but at this point I felt what Mase and I had was natural and normal. And equal."
"It doesn't sound like he thought of you as an equal. It sounds like he thought of you as a trophy. And you accepted this, because it changed your meaning of yourself. You accepted this, because you were no longer a 'problem' in your mind. You were a solution. Just like Mason, was your solution, you were his."
"Life is awful Doc. We treat each other awful Doc. Humans, are horrible. I include myself in that."
"Its human nature Bonnie. We use each other. We, gravitate to what we need. It's not awful, it's natural."
"Mason, and I never fully... ended things the right way. I mean, we needed things... but- it didn't have to be that way. I was perfectly willing to talk things out with him, but, once he proved after a while, he wasn't cut out to be a father to my son multiple times. He even said it once, my son wasn't his problem. That was the moment I ended things."
"It's safe to say, you and Mason, should have a talk next week when you go to Los Angeles."
"Of course, Doc."
"But you shouldn't feel guilted into anything. Be honest, and don't invest too much time. You know, short and sweet. Too much talking will definitely, open too many doors."
"I definitely don't want that."
Bonnie finished out her session with the Doc. Talking about Ginny, and Dylan.
.x. A week later .x.
Bonnie rolled her eyes at her husband and his brother as they stood there, looking at her. She was speechless. Damon went out of his way, and what could she really say? He had a point, but it didn't matter. "Really baby? You told Stefan I needed his help. You need Stefan back here, more than I do."
"Naw, I don't. They bar is being worked on, with those faulty pipes for the next two days. It's shut down for business for the next three days. Stefan hired, the contractors to come out tomorrow. So, G is gone pick me up and take me to the bar, where Matt and Zack will be during the work day. I can finish looking over paperwork, and G will have Dimitri during the day. I'm good. You need Stefan."
"Baby, I'm capable of dealin' with Mase. You need your brother."
Stefan interrupted with his bag in his hand, "Ya'll can quit fightin' over me. Seriously. Listen, Bird, D has everything on lock for the next three days. He's got people here. You and me, will work better together, with your things, and taking turns driving back. Besides, already bought my plane ticket." Stefan said. He looked at his brother, who was determined to send Bonnie with help. She insisted on taking care of everything, and it had only gotten worst since the new physical therapist began helping Damon.
"Stop tryna do it all by yourself baby girl."
"I can't believe you." She shook her head. She walked to her son and picked him up, while he was walking around playing with Puppy. "Baby boy, come here. Where are your socks?"
"It's seventy-five degrees in the house, baby girl."
"Still, he just got over a cold."
"Yup. And he had a fever, so I know, to keep his socks off."
"His little feet feel cold." She said rubbing his toes.
"Good. He needs them to feel cold." Damon said with an attitude. Bonnie snapped her green eyes at him sharply. "What? I'm bein' honest."
"You're bein' an ass."
"You're bein' paranoid."
She looked towards her son, and kissed his cheek repeatedly. She started to finger her hands through his wild hair. She moved it to the side to stare at his gravity pulling grey eyes. His caramel skin was still really sensitive, and his cheeks remained red, when he was either angry or over heated.
"See," his father said, "he's over heated!"
"That kid's got some wild hair." Stefan laughed.
"It ain't wild, it's adorable." Bonnie said. Her emotions were everywhere.
"He startin' to bump into things. I had to give him a man bun yesterday." Damon said.
"A baby bun." She corrected. "It was cute." She looked back at her son. "Wasn't it baby boy? Your little baby bun. I love this black hair. All this wild black hair. Your daddy used to have wild black hair, before the Army. But look, he's letting it grow back now. Mommy can't wait to run her fingers through it." She smiled.
"Baby girl, I'm cuttin' this shit soon. Well, trimmin' it, anyway."
"Why?"
"It's ticklin my ears."
"So. Look at me, my hair is getting long. I guess I'll cut it too. You know, I only let it grow out for you.
"Well, I love your hair long. Reminds me of when you were younger, and much, much sweeter." She rolled her eyes at him. He grinned, cunningly.
"Anyways, baby boy, give momma kisses."
"Kissy momma. Kiss-eeeee." He reached his little hands up to her face and pulled her to him by the cheeks. Then he planted a slobbery yet, delicate few kisses to her mouth. "Wub you momma." He was talking much better since his birthday a few weeks ago. Damon taught him a couple words every week.
"Oh," she got teary eyed. "I wub you too." Damon grabbed his son, slowly. "Doodle, don't forget no sweets after-"
"After six."
"I'm serious."
"I know. Give me a kiss, baby girl." Her eyes watered again. "You ain't never been good at this." He laughed. A horn sounded outside and Stefan looked out the door.
"Our car is here, Bird." He grabbed her bag, and his own headed outside.
Bonnie looked at Damon sympathetically. "Are tou gone be okay, baby?" She asked him, remembering the doctor said, he gets separation anxiety. Even if he'd never admit it.
"I'm perfectly fine. I have my son. The bar. And shit to do." She bit her lips as well as her tears back. She leaned down and hugged him. Shirtless as always. He lifted his face and locked lips with her. Then he looked her in the eyes. "Hurry up and come back to me." He whispered.
"I'm as good as back, already." She laid one more small press to his lips and stood up. She looked out to Stefan who was waiting on her, and she looked back at Damon, who wiped his eyes, but she saw no tears. Maybe he tried to do it, really quickly. But she smiled briefly, before walking out the front door and shutting it. She couldn't see that image again. Damon sat still a while, until he heard the car drive off. He then looked at his son who looked at him, and gave a sad face.
"S'okay daddy. S'okay." He put his small hands on his daddy's cheeks, and Damon couldn't help but to smile through his almost falling tears. "S'okay daddy." He held Damon's cheeks and immediately melded into his father's emotions. His little face, just held onto Damon's gaze, and when he realized he controlled his father's emotions at that point, he grinned from ear to ear, with Bonnie's chapstick shining on his cheeks, and mouth. Then, Damon laughed, and his tears never fell from his eyes. "Better daddy?" Damon nodded his head, in shock. Then Dimitri kissed his father's mouth, and Damon knew, he could get through the next three days.
"You're something, you know that, right? You are your mother's child. I swear, you have her touch Baby boy." He stood his son up on his lap, adjusted the young boy's shorts, as he was as shirtless as his daddy. They rolled into the kitchen, and he sat his son on the countertop and got ready to make them some food.
.x.
Ginny picked Stefan and Bonnie up from the airport. They decided to have lunch before stopping by the apartment. They went to In-N-Out burger. Stefan, had never been to California. Let alone, had an In-N-Out burger.
"What's so good about this place?"
"Well, aside from the fact that I don't eat red meat, but once in a blue moon," Ginny said, "they have a grilled cheese. Which is the burger without the meat, and it tastes exactly like the real thing."
"Oh, I remember you were weird like that." Stefan grinned.
"Shut up." She laughed. "You should get a Double Double, with animal style fries, and a milk shake. You'll love it."
Stefan looked at Bonnie, and she agreed. "Yes, big brother."
"Fine. But I ain't gone promise I'm gone like it."
Bonnie and Ginny grinned at each other. They knew he'd love it. He stood in line with his boots, and his jeans, and his button up. He did t wear a hat as much as Damon, so, he had his hair, perfectly gelled. Women, couldn't keep their eyes off of him, and he felt like a king. "I can feel it going to your head country boy?"
"Don't be jealous, because city girls like fellas like me." Stefan said.
...
They were driving in Ginny's car on their way to Bonnie and Masons apartment. Bonnie already called and reserved the truck, and Mason got the U-Haul for her. They drove quietly, waiting for Stefan to admit he loved the food. He was sitting in the car, looking out the window at how beautiful and crowded California was, rubbing his stomach. He caught them staring at him. "Okay, it was fucking good. I admit it. Now, I need a nap."
"Well, you take a nap, for about an hour. So, I can talk to Mason." She said as they pulled to the front of the large building.
"What? Bird, I told my brother, I wasn't gone let you go there alone."
"Listen, I just need an hour. Ginny will entertain you for that hour. Then y'all can come back, and help me load the U-Haul, and we will sleep at Ginny's tonight, and start driving tomorrow."
Stefan looked at his sister-in-law, like she was crazy. Then he took a look at Ginny. "Don't look at me, I don't tell her how to live her life" Ginny laughed.
"What if he don't keep it friendly?" He asked Bonnie.
"He will."
"And if he don't?"
"You'll be by an hour later." She grinned.
"Fine." He said through gritted teeth.
"Stefan?" She called out softly. "Thank you. I love you. I'll be okay."
"Bird, don't make me have to come whoop somebody's ass." He said seriously, sounding like his brother. "I'm serious. You know you're my family."
"I know."
"Come on, Stefan, I'll take you to grab some memories for your short trip." Ginny said reluctantly. They waited until Bonnie made it inside of the building, before they pulled off.
.x.
Bonnie took a deep breath before entering the apartment. Fiddling the keys around a bit, so he would have fair warning she'd been there. She texted him, before lunch letting him know when she'd be by. As she began turning the lock, she felt it being unlocked and opened from the inside. So, when she met eyes of the person on the other side of the door, she was shocked to find the one woman, standing there, that she never wanted to see again.
"Oh, my God. You're kidding me, right?"
"Bonnie." She said calmly, with a calculated grin, and a casual attitude.
"What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I thought Mason told you."
Just then they were interrupted, by a tall man, with a deep voice and green eyes. "Bon, hey."
"Mase! What's Sybil doin' here?"
Excerpt Pt 27:
Damon watched, what he felt like was an over emotional, Bonnie, lose it. He didn't know if he should speak, or hear her out. "It is betrayal, baby. You did what you did with no concern to me. We are supposed to talk about everything now, remember. Not bulldoze each other's feelings or neglect them. Of all the things, you could've done, you did this! And you seem like you feel good about it. The arrogance. The disrespect. The lack of compassion. If I wasn't so damn sick," she leaned over, and clutched the toilet bowl with her hands, then as the cold porcelain pushed through the small bones of her fingers and then arms giving her the chills, her stomachs tightened beyond her control and she heaved up her insides and they left her body through her mouth, and he felt so bad for her. She was so angry, yet, her face wasn't angry, it was expressing disgust and nausea. "If I wasn't so damn sick... bwaaaaaah." She threw up again. They shouldn't have eaten that take out. He thought, watching her try to yell, and contain her vomit. "If I wasn't so damn sick, I'd probably kick your ass." She said, wiping her mouth. His blue eyes felt fear, helplessness, and slight humor. She was making threats from hugging the toilet seat. When she saw the twinkle in his eye. That same twinkle that meant he was about to laugh. She sternly said, "You have three seconds to disappear, until I calm down. Or you're gone wish you signed them divorce papers."
So, Mase and Sybil are they up to something? Or maybe it's innocent. Bonnie's understanding herself a little more. Talking to the therapist has helped her to understand herself some. And soon both she and Damon will be talking to the therapist. As the loss of Baylee and Shiela, felt both Damon and Bonnie had devastations about it. Last chapter I spoke about Damon's, this chapter Bonnie's. Also, helped to show why Bonnie is the way she is, and how it has affected her. They are both valid in how they feel, because these two people were important to them. Thanks for reading.
Ps, I wrote this chapter weeks ago, and only did one edit, so sorry if there's errors.