Third.
We walked to Bonnie's car that was parked near the tree line and headed back to her house. Caroline called Elena as we pulled into the driveway and Bonnie invited me into her house. We sat in the living room waiting for Stefan and Elena to bring me some clean clothes, my phone and my journal. Bonnie offered to let me stay at her house, it was the only one that Katherine wasn't able to access so I'd be safer here than anywhere else. I thanked her as Elena and Stefan came in the door. After everyone was satisfied that I was safe I excused myself to use the shower.
I walked into the bathroom, put my clothes on the counter and looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes looked red and sunken, my hair was greasy and limp. I peeled my clothes off, and stepped into the shower. I spent at least 20 minutes scrubbing my skin raw, shampooed my hair twice and then just stood under the water until I remembered that I was in someone else's home and my friends were all sitting downstairs undoubtedly talking about me so I should probably make an appearance.
I was dressed and trying to figure out what to do about my eyes when I heard a knock at the door. I said come in and Elena slipped through the door, closing it behind her. "Are you okay?" she asked as she leaned up against the counter.
"Depends, is Katherine still here?" I asked as she shifted her gaze towards the floor. "Yeah, I figured." She took the comb from my hand and ran it through my hair. In less than a minute my hair was brushed out and braided down my back. I handed her an elastic to hold it in place and turned to face her. I looked into her eyes still startled by her resemblance to Katherine but her eyes were different, softer despite the dark pigment, almost as dark as my own. Then to my horror I watched as her eyes flashed red and her face transformed, I felt my body turning to ice, my joints seizing up, almost unable to move. As a loud hiss emanated from her mouth I jumped back, but she didn't lunge at me, instead her face, still twisted and monstrous took on a look of concern.
"Norrah," I saw her mouth form my name around her prominent fangs. "Norrah," she called out. My back was against the wall next to the mirror, I couldn't back up any further. I slid down the wall and screamed, covering my head with my hands, my face shielded by my arms. If she was going to do something to me, I didn't want to see her first. I felt a pair of cool hands clamp around my forearms, heard my name, and took in a quick breath as my arms were wrestled from my face.
I stared up into Stefan's face, Elena, Bonnie and Caroline all looking down at me, frightened, as Stefan helped me to my feet, my breath catching in my throat as I rose, still stiff with terror. I looked into his eyes and then leaned against him for support, his hand cupping the back of my head, my tangled and wet hair cascading down my shoulders. I stood frozen as those images replayed in my head; but wait, my hair was still dripping and falling in my face, not neatly pulled back in a long braid. That meant it wasn't real, Katherine hadn't been standing in front of me moments before, none of it was real. I realized quickly that I was safe and surrounded by my friends. I was safe…I was safe.