Sorry if this turned out too sugary.
Chapter 32
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
"Can you fix her?" Kol asked impatiently.
Elijah sighed.
"First of all, she is a human, not some machine and second of all, I am not a doctor."
"There must be something you can do."
Elijah looked at Selene who was sitting on the couch like some robot.
"I can try something but that would mean that I have to touch her", he said looking at Kol.
"Yes, yes, do what ever you have to do", Kol said tensely.
Elijah sat next to her and gently touched her face.
"Selene, everything is alright. You are safe; no one is going to hurt you."
He caressed her hand softly and continued talking to her. She was just staring in front of her. Elijah turned to Kol.
"What does she like? What kinds of things make her happy?"
It suddenly hit Kol that he really didn't know. He had never bothered to find out.
"She…she likes to swim. And I think she likes chocolate ice cream. Reading maybe and movies."
Elijah looked at him expectantly waiting for him to continue.
"I don't know, ok?" Kol snapped. "But I'll find out. Just stay here with her."
Kol went to his bedroom looking for his phone. There was at least one person who would know these things.
"Hello?" a sleepy voice answered.
"Is this Derek?"
"Yes, who's asking?"
"It's Kol, I'm… a friend of Selene's, we met in the hospital…"
"Yes, I remember", Derek interrupted him. "Is Selene alright?"
He sounded worried. Kol bit his lip.
"Listen, I need to ask you something, I know it probably sounds weird but please just answer."
"Yes?" Derek asked cautiously.
"I need you to tell me what Selene likes? What makes her happy?"
"What?"
"Please just tell me."
"What's going on…"
"Dammit, if you care about Selene at all, tell me!"
There was a moment of silence.
"She likes flowers, especially sunflowers and white roses. And classical music, Moonlight Sonata is her favorite… Poems, anything by Emily Dickinson. Balloons, Chinese food, history, art, especially paintings of some nice scenery… Fantasy books and movies, pastel colors, fluffy animals, but definitely not spiders, she's afraid of them. Night sky, stars and the moon… Candles, Winnie the Pooh, funny videos from YouTube. That's the first that comes to my mind. Now would you mind telling me what's going on?"
"Thank you very much for your help, I'll call you soon."
"But…"
Kol hung up before Derek could say anything else. He went back to the living room. Elijah was still stroking Selene's hand and talking to her calmingly.
"I think she needs to feel safe before there is even a chance that she gets better", Elijah said. "What ever caused this condition must have been deeply traumatizing…"
"Yes, I'm a jerk, I know that, thank you very much", Kol snapped.
Elijah raised an eyebrow.
"You better calm down, that is not helping."
"I did this to her, ok? I broke her because I was so fucking blind and selfish!"
Kol walked back and forth running his fingers through his hair. Elijah looked at him closely.
"You really care about this girl", he said quietly.
Kol laughed bitterly.
"Sure, I care so much that I suffocated her. How the hell couldn't I saw how much she was suffering? Well, of course I didn't see when I only concentrated on what I wanted."
Elijah stood up and placed his hand on Kol's shoulder.
"I have to fix this", Kol murmured desperately.
Elijah nodded.
"We will think of something. As I said, it is best to start with a safe environment. Did you find out what she likes?"
"Yes… She shouldn't be here; this is probably the last place where she feels safe."
"Alright, where do you want to take her then?"
"The sea… She likes the sea so I need a house near a beach."
"Ok, I will see what I can find", Elijah said and took his phone.
...
1 week later
"I am sorry Mr. Smith, but there's no change", Mrs. Barker said. She was a private nurse who Kol had hired to take care of Selene. "Mrs. Smith's vital functions are good but there is still no reaction to anything. Forgive me for asking but are you absolutely sure you don't want to send her to…somewhere else? I can recommend some very upscale private hospitals…"
"No, she stays here."
"Yes, of course", Mrs. Barker said quickly. "I must say that I truly admire your dedication to your wife. She is lucky to have a husband like you."
"Hmm", Kol murmured tensely.
He went to Selene's room. It was decorated with pastel colors, there were paintings on the walls, flowers, balloons, stuffed animals, classical music. Selene was lying on the bed wearing her Winnie the Pooh nightgown. Kol had bought her two others similar nightgowns. There was a book by Emily Dickinson on a nightstand. Mrs. Barker had read it to her. There was also a framed picture of Selene and her brothers. Kol touched her cheek gently.
"Would you like to go to the beach and look at the sunset?" he asked.
She was just staring in front of her, silent as always.
"Ok, I think we should go", he said and lifted her up.
He carried her outside. The house was right next to the sea and there was a private beach. Kol had already put a blanket on the ground. He sat down and placed her in front of him wrapping his arms around her. It was very peaceful; there was only the sound of waves and some seagulls. The sun was about to set so the sky was almost pink.
"You are not cold, are you?" Kol asked and held her tighter. Her back was leaning to his chest. "Do you like this? You like nice sceneries, right?"
There was no answer. Kol sighed.
"Listen Selene, I really need you to come back. Could you do that darling?"
She remained silent.
"Ok, I know you must hate me, you definitely have every right, but please… I need you. Not just your body, you. And you are not an object or puppet or anything like that, you are…beautiful. Every part of you. I know I don't deserve you and you sure as hell deserve someone much better than me but… The first time when I tasted your blood I felt your light inside of me. Ok, I probably shouldn't have said that last part but this isn't exactly my specialty so please cut me some slack. But the truth is that I always knew I didn't deserve you so I tried to own you and make you eventually want to be with me, which was stupid and I'm an idiot but please believe me when I say that I never wanted this. And I would have never really taken your memories. Please Selene… I can be better I swear."
He turned her around gently and touched her face.
"Please…"
Suddenly she looked straight to him. She seemed confused.
"Selene? Selene! Are you there?"
She looked even more confused.
"Oh right, you're not talking to me, just a second."
His pupils dilated. She tried to turn her head away in panic.
"No, no, I'm not going to hurt you. You can talk to who ever you want. There, now please say something."
"Where are we?" she asked looking around her cautiously.
Kol had never been so relieved.
"On the beach, darling."
"Yes, I can see that, but how did we end up here? I can't remember…And why am I wearing a nightgown?"
Kol smiled and wrapped his arms around her. Her body tensed immediately.
"Sorry", he said and pulled away.
"What's going on? Why are you being so nice?"
"Ok, we need to make some new arrangements", he said.
Selene looked at him cautiously.
"What arrangements?"
"For now on I want to make things easier for you so tell me what you need."
Selene looked suspicious.
"And what do you want in return?"
"Not much just that you stay with me."
"You make it sound like I would have a choice. I'm your property, right?"
Kol shook his head.
"No, you are not property. I know you must hate me after how I've treated you but things will be better, I promise you."
Selene didn't seem convinced.
"Well, thank you, I guess… Could we go back to the hotel now, I would like to get dressed."
"Yeah, about that…"
"You are not going to give my clothes back", she said quietly.
"No! I mean yes, but we're not staying at the hotel anymore. We're staying there."
Kol pointed the house.
"What? Are you serious?"
Kol took Selene's hand and helped her up.
"It's complicated. You were…sick. But you're alright now and that's all that matters."
"Right…"
She was still looking at him cautiously. But it wasn't like he could just suddenly ask her to trust him. Thankfully she didn't seem to remember all those things he had said to her. That would have been embarrassing. Feelings… It was bad enough that he actually have them, whether he liked it or not. She definitely didn't need to know that.