Poison & Wine - Chapter XLII

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"No!" I screamed and started to head toward them but Tyler rushed over and held me. "Klaus, no! Stefan, Damon, stop! You're killing him!" He slowly became more and more desiccated as they held him. His wide, teary blue eyes were on me, and they made my heart shatter a million times.

They slowly laid Klaus' body on the ground and I heard a faint voice. "Andy…" It was Klaus's.

I shoved Tyler away from me and ran over to Klaus. "No, no, no, you're okay," I touched the hole in his chest and got my hands covered in blood.

Klaus's blue eyes had tears in them and they had so much pain and fear in them that made me feel that as well.

"You're not alone, I'm right here, I'm here," I touched his face, getting blood on there. Slowly the life disappeared from his beautiful eyes and they slowly closed on me. "No, no, no!" I started sobbing but there were no tears. "You promised me," I cried out as I hit his chest. "You said you'd never die… I hate you, I hate you!"

"Andy," I heard Stefan's voice but didn't care.

I had Klaus' blood all over me and I started sobbing all over again.

I felt a scream rise in my throat and I was crying when I woke up. "Klaus!" I called out for him, but he didn't come. Instead, Elijah appeared next to me and he held onto me tightly, whispering comforting words. "I killed him, didn't I?" I cried softly into his chest, clenching the shirt in my hands. "This is all my fault. If I had just let him leave town, if I hadn't tried to stop him."

"No, you are not the cause, Andy," He stroked my hair. "Niklaus was the cause of his own downfall, he acted irrationally and attempted to kill your sister." I pulled my face from his shirt and looked out the window of Elijah's bedroom to see the sun was almost at its highest peak.

It hadn't even been a day since everything went down. After he revealed that Elena was in transition I forced him to bring me to Klaus's mansion because he wouldn't let me leave town with what happened to Elena; I couldn't see any of my family or friends right now, it would destroy me to see them this soon after everything they did to me. I know I should be with them, but I couldn't force myself to want to see them.

I had Elijah since he had promised me that he would stay with me for as long as I needed him to and I gratefully accepted that. He had also revealed to me that Kol planned on coming in for a few days to see us since he hadn't been here when Klaus had died.

Emmeline finally told me the truth about why I wasn't hurt at all. She said that she had been looking for a witch down in New Orleans that had a mixture of vampire blood that could heal me and she had been successful in doing so. She said that she had one dose left for me and that I needed to be careful or that I would have to endure my injuries, but I didn't really care. My new priority would be the Mikaelsons, and now that Alaric was dead because Elena had died, they were safer than they were before, but they were still at risk with my family and friends here and wanting all the Originals – except the one who originated their bloodline – dead and something told me they would desiccate whoever did like they did to Klaus…

I started gasping for air as I thought about Klaus again. I felt like I couldn't breathe and I extremely was light-headed. What if Kol, Elijah and Rebekah was killed? I mean, I was angry at Rebekah, but I understood why she did it. She wanted her family to be safe, and they wouldn't be with Alaric around, but my sister and I were in that car.

"You're having a panic attack, Andrea, breathe. Just breathe," Elijah took my face in his hands. "It's okay, everything's okay. You are okay. I am here."

Slowly I calmed myself down but my breathing was still heavy. "It hurts so much, Elijah, knowing he's gone forever and that I'll never see him again… "

"He wouldn't want you to cry, Andrea, he wouldn't want you to be so broken up over this."

"I don't care what he wanted, Elijah! I hate him for doing this to me, for getting under my skin, for making me care so much about him, for making me actually debate on giving him a chance and then leaving me! For making me feel something for him…" I hid myself under the covers, pulling myself away from Elijah as I did so.

"Andrea," He murmured then sighed when I didn't uncover myself. "Do you want to know what the last conversation I had with my brother was about?"

I slowly uncovered my head and peeked out at him. "I don't know if I want to…"

"We spoke about you."

"Me… You spoke about me? Why?"

"I saw your interaction and the way he looked at you. We had a dispute over whether or not you would ever be able to love him after everything he has done to you, your family, and your friends," He reached out and stroked my cheek. "Looking back, I think I was the one wrong."

"I'm not in love with your brother, Elijah, it hadn't gotten there for me," I sat up and I put my hand over his.

"He was certainly getting there himself, if he hadn't already."

I shook my head. "No, he wasn't in love with me. He was unwilling to fall in love, I can tell you that. He wants – wanted – kinship more than anything else and wanted to feel like he belonged. He might have been fond of me, but not in love."

"He was my brother, Annie. I knew him better than anyone else," His voice broke slightly but he acted as if he didn't hear it. Instantly I felt guilty for being a wreck.

"Here I am, mourning like a widow and I didn't even ask you how you're handling this," I wiped my tears away and then grabbed his hands in mine, leaning slightly towards him. "How are you? What can I do for you?"

"I'm concerned with you more than myself."

"Klaus was your brother, Elijah. Plus, don't worry about me, I'll make it through this like I do everything… It'll take some time, though. You always focus on everyone else and never on yourself," I exhaled, wishing I could burst into tears but I wanted to make sure he was okay before I broke down. I sounded a lot like Elena right then. I cringed at that thought. "How long did it take you to be okay after Anastasia?"

"Centuries." He admitted after a moment. "Even now I still feel some of the pain from it."

"You must have loved her a lot."

"I did," He looked down at my hands, his thumb circling. "I loved her so much that I never thought I would be able to love again."

"I can't even imagine a love that strong," I admitted, watching as he turned my hands around and studied them.

"I couldn't remember it either until..." Elijah's eyes briefly flickered to me before leaving me quickly again.

I pulled one of my hands back and, before I could stop myself, ran it through his soft hair. It was really soft, just as looked. I wondered if Klaus's hair was that soft. Elijah's gaze finally met mine and stayed. I swallowed slightly and felt my hands begin to tremble slightly. We stared at each other for the longest of times without any words passing. I could see that his eyes mirrored my own pain and it made me want to stay here forever. He understood what I was going through unlike anyone else.

Emmeline entered the room after a while, her yellow sundress swishing at the knees. "Stefan's been calling all morning. I can't even eat a sandwich without hearing that incessant ring. He says that Elena has been asking for you all morning."

I bit my lip and looked over at her. "What did you tell him?"

"The truth," She folded her arms and popped a hip out. "I said that you need time to mourn away from the people that desiccated Klaus which that ultimately led him to be unable to defend himself against Alaric."

"Did you pretend to be me?"

"No, I'm better than that," She flipped her straight hair over her shoulder.

"Thank you," I ran a hand through my hair and looked back at Elijah. "What do you think I should do?"

"I can't tell you what to do, Andrea."

"I can't think about it myself now; if I do, then I'll break down," I pulled my knees to my chest.

"I think you should do what you want to," Elijah finally answered. "Don't you, Emmeline?"

"Yes," Emmeline nodded, looking over at Elijah. I watched something unspoken passed in between the two before they turned their attention back to me. I wondered if something was going on between them… The selfish part of me hoped not.

I moved to the edge of the bed, placing my feet on the carpet. I held my face in my hands. I didn't know what to do or what to feel; I mean, I wanted to break down and cry until I was put out of my misery, but I knew I should make sure Elijah, Kol, and Rebekah are okay first. "Rebekah's in Klaus' room, by the way," Emmeline said to me.

Slowly I stood and headed toward the door. I glanced back at Elijah, silently asking permission, and he nodded to me. I looked at him a moment longer then limped from the room. I wasn't sure what I would say to Rebekah, but I would definitely apologize for Klaus.

When I got there, she was looking at pictures Klaus had drawn. She picked one up and began to choke up, then threw the picture down and knocked the rest of them off the table in a fit of rage. "Rebekah?" I said in a small voice. She slowly turned toward me, tears in her eyes. "I am so sorry about Klaus."

She in front of me in a second and hugged me. "I was so afraid that I had killed you."

"Death favors me, I guess," I murmured, hugging her back. We stood like that for a long moment before she spoke up again.

"You should know better than to sneak up on a lady," She said and I pulled back with confusion.

"Good advice. Have you seen one?" Damon said, making his presence known from behind me. He was clearly drunk and upset.

Rebekah stepped to the side of me. "Tragic about Elena. Not to make a grey cloud greyer, but does Matt even have automobile insurance?" She turned back around.

I watched with horror as Damon rushed at her with the indestructible white oak stake. Thankfully she anticipated an attack and easily grabbed his wrist, preventing him from killing her. She pushed him against a dresser, causing him to drop the stake. Suddenly the windows were shattered and I felt a sharp pain in my arm. I was grabbed by someone and was rushed off. When the blurring of everything went back to normal, I saw I was in the woods next to the mansion I was just in.

Emmeline stood before me, holding a finger to her lips. "Sh," She whispered before looking back over to the house. "They've got Rebekah and Elijah. Damon made it out."

I started to go toward the house for Elijah and Rebekah, but Emmeline stopped me, telling me it was a foil's errand strong as I was badly injured. I looked at my arm to see there was profuse bleeding.

I heard Emmeline sigh before she grabbed my wrist. "Close your eyes," She instructed and I did so, feeling her grab onto me completely and then the wind hit my face. When I felt that we had stopped moving, I opened my eyes to see we were in front of my house. "No, Emmeline—" I protested, but she silenced me.

"I need you to be safe, and this is the place," She tossed me a vial of blood. "I need you to dig that bullet out of your arm. If it gets too bloody, drink this. I know it will only heal for a few minutes, but it will tide you over until I can go back to New Orleans. Go, now."

Begrudgingly I did as I was told and entered my old house. Instantly I was greeted by Stefan. "You came," He said in relief. "Elena's—"

"I came here for only a few minutes, and certainly didn't come to see Elena," I snapped before going into the kitchen. I got a spatula and bit down it sideways in my mouth. I gathered up some towels and a first aid kit.

"Andy?" I heard Elena say from behind me but I ignored her. "What happened?"

I, with a cry, reached into the wound and dug out the wooden bullet in my arm. Guess I could be thankful that it didn't go through me and pierce my heart. I cursed the bullet, tossing it in the trash before grabbing the kit and heading to the stairs to go my room.

When I got to our front hall, I was shocked to see that Stefan was surrounded by officers and Pastor Young. The officers all had their guns pointed towards him. Elena was standing nearby, her jaw dropped. It hurt me to see her and made me want to break down again, but now wasn't the time for that.

Well, it appears I am facing the people who shot me. Crap. I dropped the towel, holding my hands up in surrender.

Pastor Young ended up separating Stefan from Elena and I, but kept my sister and I together. He ended up bringing us to his cattle ranch where he had stitched my arm up quite well. Elena and I were sitting in the kitchen of the small house that was on the property. She was chewing on her fingernails and I was gently running my fingers over my ribs that were wrapped up.

I watched as the Pastor turned the fire on the stove on. "You still want to be a writer, Elena? I remember how you'd read your short stories to my daughter when you'd babysit. She still loves writing because of you. And you, Andy, you painted her pictures. She still has those, I think." He smiled over at us. I'd never particularly liked the man, but his daughter, April, was nice. I hadn't seen her in years, though.

"Why did you bring me here?" Elena asked him through her nervousness. What was up with her? Was transition really that difficult?

"My deputies can watch out for us here. No vampires have been invited in," He explained, turning toward us. "Look, girls, I know it sounds crazy, but years ago it was your parents who were advocating having an emergency plan like this. I never thought we'd actually have to use it." Pastor Young and I watched as Elena begun to panic. "Elena? Elena, you okay?" He asked.

Elena collected herself, glancing over at me then back at him. "Where's Stefan?"

Right after I asked, "Where's Elijah?"

"Where they can't hurt you," He answered.

"He would never hurt me. You have no idea what you're talking about," Elena said defensively.

"Well, I know that wherever you go, Salvatore vampires seem to follow, and wherever she goes, Original seem to follow," He turned toward the stove. "You girls hungry?"

"No," Elena sneered.

Pastor Young pulled out a tray from the fridge. "Andy?"

"No, I'm good," I tapped my fingernails on the wooden table. I couldn't even think about food without feeling sick.

Pastor Young started explaining his entire plan, like an old Disney villain. "So, we'll hold Stefan until Damon comes searching for you two. We'll use Rebekah and Elijah to lure their final sibling back into town. You'll give us the white oak stake and then we will exterminate the entire vampire race for good."

"No! You can't kill Elijah, Kol or Rebekah!" I cried out.

"I can and I will," He said as placed a giant steak in front of Elena and I. Elena took one glance at it and started to breathe heavily. "Is something wrong? Elena, are you okay?"

I saw Elena's eyes go to Pastor Young's neck. "Yeah," Had she fed already, or was she taking the path Caroline's father did?

I could see the panic in her eyes. "Elena?" I questioned.

"No, I've got to get out of here," Elena abruptly got up and ran out of the house. Pastor Young and I followed her, but we stopped on the porch. She was running across the yard, shielding her eyes from the sunlight.

"Get her!" Pastor Young yelled.

Elena continued to run but was acting as if she was blinded by the sunlight. A man ran at her and smacked her in the face with a wooden object, she fell unconscious to the ground. I sighed realizing that she hadn't fed yet. What the hell was she waiting for? Also, how had she not attacked me when I was bleeding profusely in front of her?

"Take her to the barn with the others," Pastor Young ordered. I looked over at the barn, wanting to run over to it but also not wanting a wooden plank in my face. I lost my opportunity to take off pretty quickly and the Pastor forced me to go back into the small house. We once again went into the kitchen. "When did your sister become a vampire?" He demanded as soon as I sat down.

I yawned, acting as if I were tired. Maybe if I played the right cards I could go climb out the window to save Rebekah and Elijah. "Uh, last night she drowned. Had vampire blood in her system. Boom, she's a vampire, or at least in transition still."

"You don't seem very concerned."

"She was hanging out with vampires, Pastor, should I be surprised?" I asked wearily.

"I suppose not," He gestured to the steak. "You should go ahead and eat."

I shook my head. "I'm not hungry."

"Why is that?"

"I'm just not hungry, I'm tired," I pushed the plate away from me. Even if I was hungry, I wouldn't be able to eat knowing that Elijah and Rebekah were being tortured in the barn next to me.

"You're worrying about those vampires, aren't you?" He asked.

I shrugged. "They've become a part of me, Pastor Young, you wouldn't understand that."

"You're right, I don't understand how a sweet pair of girls can befriend murderers."

"They're connected to me more than you realize, so even if I didn't want anything to do with them, I'd have to deal with them," I looked down at the wooden table.

"I know you have had a troubled life, Andy," the Pastor moved to sit next to me. "You were addicted to painkillers twice at the age of fourteen and then you became a drug addict and alcoholic after the deaths of your parents, and you made several attempts on your life. You were sent to a rehab center for nine months until you were deemed fit for the world. I know you had to go through that, but that does not give you a free pass to befriend those monsters!"

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Pastor," I snapped, turning away from him. "I'd really like to be left alone now, if that's okay."

He consented and left me be in the kitchen. I sat in there for hours, just staring into space; I wanted to mourn, but I knew this wasn't the place for that. After a few hours passed, I heard someone outside say, "Yoo-hoo! Anybody home? A big, bad vampire out here!"

Damon. Of course.

I ran to the front door to see Pastor Young had already beaten me there. "Let him go. The boy's innocent," He said to Damon. I walked up beside him to see that Matt was on the ground, bleeding.

"Well, that's the point. Give me Stefan and Elena, he's all yours," Damon picked up Matt by the scruff of his shirt.

Looks like I'd have to save Elijah and Rebekah myself. I ran out of the house before Pastor Young could grab me and bolted toward the barn. Thankfully I made it there without getting smacked in the face by a wooden plank.

I ran through the open doors, my eyes immediately finding Elijah and Rebekah in cages that were separated by a wall. I ran over to them and reached through the bars. Vervain was coming down on them in a mist. "Elijah? Rebekah? Are you two okay?" I asked.

"Andrea," Elijah scooted over to me, cupping my face in his hands. "We're both fine. Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," I smiled reassuringly at him as I put my hands over his. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Andy!" Stefan said from behind me. "Elena's going to die, you have to let her feed from you."

I looked behind me to see a dead officer with a pool of blood that didn't quite reach Elena. She looked like she was on her deathbed. "Andy… Please," Stefan pleaded with me. Elena opened her eyes, her breathing heavy. "She's your sister, you can't let her die!" Stefan hit the steel bars caging him.

I looked to Elijah, silently asking him to tell me what to do. He nodded to me so I went over to Elena. I placed my wrist against her lips. "Drink," I said.

She stared at me for a few seconds before I felt sharp punctures. I looked away to see that Emmeline was in the cage beside Elijah. She was watching me closely, and I realized that Elena was the first person to feed off of me. I had never been bitten until now, and it definitely wasn't that euphoria feeling like it was in Vampire Academy.

I looked back at Elena to see she was now looking lively so I tried yanking my wrist back, but she wouldn't let go. "Elena, stop, you're taking too much. Elena, stop! Elena!" I put my legs through the bars and kicked her away from me. I scrambled away from her cage over to Elijah's.

"I'm sorry, Andy," Elena had my blood over her lips. It felt so wrong to give someone that part of me when I didn't want to, but it had to happen or she would be dead. I watched as Elena bent the bars on her cage and stepped through them. We all watched in silence as she took a few steps towards me before speeding off.

I breathed in relief. I had actually been afraid she was going to attack me for a moment. "Oh, my God."

"Andrea, there's a pair of keys on the officer to unlock the cages," Elijah said.

I went over to the officer and found the keys. Elijah told me to let out Rebekah before him so I did. I let him out and then he took the keys from me and let out Emmeline and Stefan. Once he had done that, Elijah picked me up. "What are you doing?" I asked him.

"I'm taking you home," He said. "Close your eyes." I did as I was told and heard the swishing and felt the wind against my face. When he told me to open my eyes, I saw we were on my porch, not Klaus's mansion.

"No, Elijah—" I started walking off the porch but he stopped me. I thought he had meant the mansion.

"You're in danger over there because any vampire can get in, but here you're safe," He pulled me back.

"Why do you sound like you're saying goodbye?" I started shaking as I stared at him.

"I will only be gone a few hours, Andrea, I have something to take care of first," He stroked my cheek. "Promise me you'll stay here where you're safe."

I looked out to the street, biting my trembling lip as my eyes began to water. "I promise."

"I'll be fine, Andrea, I promise," He moved closer to me.

"Don't promise me that," I quickly said, grabbing his hands as my gaze snapped back to him. "Klaus promised me he would, too, but we see how that ended."

"Then I promise you I will return to you," He said.

I put my hands on his cheeks and kissed him before I could back out. I don't know why, but I wanted to just in case.

Our lips pressed together felt really good, and I ran my hands through his hair as I kissed him. He responded instantly and pulled me close to him, cupping the back of my head with his hand as we began to explore the other's mouth. However, before it could go past anything else, I pulled away. "That's just in case you're running off with Emmeline," I whispered before going into the house. Once I closed the door, I slid down it.

I felt guilty for doing that, but I felt at the moment I needed to. Why was I feeling guilty for that? Klaus was the one who tried killing Elena and got himself desiccated which led to his death. I guess I don't want to move on from him so soon, but Elijah's lips did feel good… Maybe because I had kissed Elijah to make him stay or at the very least return to me quickly.

"Andy?"

I looked at the top of the stairs to see Jeremy. I pushed myself to my feet and he ran down, immediately pulling me into a bear hug. I didn't hug him back. "Ow, ow!" I hissed after a moment and he immediately dropped me, giving me a look of confusion. "I'm hurt."

"Sorry," He smiled sheepishly, but that smile dropped as soon as he noticed the bite mark on my wrist.

"Elena fed from me," I explained as I walked to the kitchen to get some gauze.

"You do look light-headed. Have you eaten?" He asked.

"Yeah, I did when Pastor Young was holding me hostage," I lied before I could stop myself.

"Are you okay, Andy? I mean, you look like the Grim Reaper."

"Thanks, lil' bro," I snorted as I wrapped up my wrist. "Good to see you too."

"You're not okay, are you?"

I turned towards him once I was finished. "You don't need to worry yourself with me, I'm fine." I walked past him and went upstairs. I could only think of one thing the entire time: No, I really am not okay.

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The End of Chapter XLII