A delicate flower was one thing Bonnie was not, but she found herself playing the part just so Kol would leave her alone. She was in awe on how quickly she healed compared to when the Salvatores brothers had ever fed her their blood. It made her alert and full of energy. After a few minutes, she got up and dressed. The event made her feel powerless and unable to deal with the gentle look of her lover. He had always treated her like an equal and now she felt like the damsel in distress in his eyes. The silent lie was made without thinking as she pretended to sleep until he left the room.
His plan wasn't exactly wrong she told herself, but his paranoia was unnecessary. The last thing she wanted to do was to give her friends a death scare. Slight guilt began to build as she slipped out of the hotel room. It bothered her more and more as she got closer to Elena's house; she had to keep telling herself that this was right thing to do.
The soft light of the early morning light cast a shadow on the home. The home had lost all sense of comfort in her return. The two-story home was located in the small forgotten forest, hidden away from the prying eyes of the locals, but stood out by the nature surrounding it. It reminded her of the witch house in more ways than she wanted to admit to herself. The overwhelmed witch wonder how she had ignored the gloomy atmosphere of the home. Bonnie found the Victorian mansion Stefan and Elena called home made her body scream to run.
"I'm being paranoid," she kept whispering to herself. She knocked tentatively on the oak door. Stefan was at the door before she could knock again.
Stefan crawled out of the bed that he shared with his wife. The last few years seemed to slip away from them as they ran and found themselves in many tight situations. He was tired living from problem to problem and now with the arrival of his children, he vowed to never let them feel that way. Maybe the road had gotten to him or it was the love he felt for his family, but he would watch the world burn for them to be safe. With that thought he ran downstairs to find out the source of noise in this early morning.
"Bonnie?" Stefan asked hesitantly. "What are you doing here?" He said as he roamed her unmarked body. Bonnie pulled on the cardigan that she was wearing nervously. Stefan's squinting eyes made her want to crawl into her skin. Something about his piercing stare made her crave for Kol's presence. The thought shocked her so much that she bustled past him as she tried to push it away.
"Something happened tonight, someone poisoned me. I almost died," Bonnie stammered as she pushed past the stoic figure. Stefan's frozen body gave little resistance. He looked into the empty forest, looking for anyone else or even Damon to appear.
"Do you know who could have done it?" Stefan asked quickly, yet he closed the door slowly behind him. The soft click of the door and its lock was unnoticed by Bonnie. Stefan in the dim-lighted room began to view Bonnie more as prey than friend.
"I don't know," she responded looking down at the floor. The shoes she wore she had bought with Kol on a trip out of Mystic. Bonnie shook her head violently trying to focus on the question rather than the past. The event had left her shaken.
"Do you think that you can find out who could have done it?" Stefan continued.
An empty bed was a rare occurrence in the Salvatore's home, which shook Elena from her light sleep. Elena groggily walked into the living room as Stefan continued his interrogation of Bonnie. Her eyes and mind had to adjust to the fact that her friend was in her living room.
"Bonnie?" Elena murmured "What are you doing here?"
Bonnie glanced to her sleepy friend with a weak smile on her face. She was about to speak when she was interrupted by the over eager Stefan.
"She was poisoned and she doesn't know who did it," He interjected. Bonnie grimaced at the interruption.
"Yeah, I almost died," Bonnie added slowly as she stared at Stefan. Maybe it was the fact he was a new father and the news he just heard, but Bonnie felt that something was off with Stefan. She could detect an hint of disappointment in his voice that disturbed her, but all thoughts was forced out of her head as Elena embraced her friend.
"Oh my God, Bonnie I can't believe it," Elena muffled into Bonnie's hair. "How are you standing here? I mean what happened exactly?"
"My uh…umm friend saved me," She choked out. Her mind was going through lies that she could tell, furiously looking for an out. She moaned in disappoint when she realized how much of a hole she had dug herself
Elena let Bonnie out of her hold pushing her slightly away from her. "What friend?" Elena said, concerned. Elena racked her mind to see if she had missed the mention of a friend. She stared at her uncomfortable friend, inquisitively beckoning to speak.
"He is just someone who has helped me with some problems in Mystic Falls. He just happened to be in town," Bonnie mumbled. She turned away from her friend in an effort to hide her face. After what had transpired this night, she had found that friend no longer felt proper. Bonnie admitted to herself for the first time that she may love the fool that saved her. It made her instantly protective over her newfound secret.
Elena and Stefan looked at each other with disbelief. "Do you think she has some boyfriend?" Stefan mouthed to Elena.
"This is not the time to ask, let's just find out what happened. I mean it, Stefan," Elena mouthed back angrily. Elena was confused at Stefan's attention to insignificant detail and rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"I'm sure you will tell me about him another time but who tried to kill one of my oldest friends," Elena declared with a weak smile. Elena took Bonnie's hand into hers and squeezed lightly.
"Can you make us some tea, please?" Elena asked her husband softly so she could speak with Bonnie in private. Stefan took the cue and went to the kitchen to kill time. He stayed by the door after he put on the tea kettle as the girls talked.
"What happened? If I did anything to cause this…" Elena choked out but Bonnie but a finger to her lips.
"I do have my fair share of enemies, who knows who it could be?" Bonnie interrupted.
"But the timing means it has to do with me, why not kill you in Mystic Falls. No offense, Bonnie but you are basically alone," Elena pointed out.
The sharp pain in Bonnie's heart was not dulled by the customary beginning. Everyone knew that she was left alone to deal with the mess that she felt they had caused. A fire of anger was sparked at the statement that Bonnie tried to smother.
"I am my own person and I have made my own life. When you left things did not get any easier," Bonnie snapped back. Elena was in shock of the tone and receded her grip on Bonnie's hand. "I'm sorry. I am just stressed out," Bonnie said, quickly apologizing for her statement.
"Maybe it has to do with Klaus?" Elena suggested. Klaus was often the source of many problems in her life and especially Bonnie's. Sometimes she thought it was one of the few ties she had left with her old friends.
Bonnie nodded in agreement and wondered what Kol was doing right now. She had rarely seen Kol in any type of vulnerability but tonight shook him. Was it possible that Kol was with Klaus right now? Would he get hurt? Bonnie thoughts raced and began to hyperventilate.
"Are you ok" Elena asked concerned.
Bonnie quickly exited the room to the bathroom, mumbling apologies as she dashed out of the room. In the comfort of the bathroom, she cried for the first time that night. She sobbed more for her love of Kol than even herself. She hoped and prayed that Kol was safe; she couldn't deal with being truly alone again. In the small bathroom in Elena's house, Bonnie finally confronted her feelings about Kol. She loved him and wanted him in her life for as long as possible. Her friends could never know she said to herself as she rocked back and forth on the floor. They would never understand their love; she barely understood other than the fact that his absence left holes in her soul.
"She needs to leave now," Stefan demanded in hush tones. "We don't know who or what is after her."
"I can't believe you! She is our friend not some stranger on the street!" Elena responded back ingdignatly.
"When are you going to realize that you can't save everybody?" Stefan snapped back
"Not today," Elena said, slowly emphasizing each syllable. Elena whipped around to see how Bonnie was doing, ignoring her husband. "Of all times to pick a fight…unbelievable," she muttered loudly, throwing her hands into the air as she exited.
Bonnie threw hot water on her face to calm herself down. She reached into her bag and took out her phone, dialing his number quickly. No service, it kept telling her each time she tried to call. In a last ditch effort, she sent him a text just in case the phone went into service at any point. She hoped he would see it soon, but if not, at least she tried. The knocking on the door shook her out of her thoughts especially as Elena entered slowly. The friends' mutual feeling of confusion made the silence a bit unbearable. Bonnie bit her lip and spoke first.
"Are you okay? I am so sorry for coming here,"Bonnie apologized
"Don't! I'm sorry if Stefan was rude to you. I have no idea what has gotten into him," Elena sputtered out.
"Rude? I don't about that, but if he is worried about the kids and you, I can do a spell." Bonnie offered.
"You can? Maybe that will lighten him up. No vampires can find us, I am sure of it," Elena peeped out.
The two women left the room holding hands and Elena lead Bonnie to what she called the "witch closet". Located in the basement it had many ingredients needed for any spell, many times on the run they found themselves in need of help from witches and it became as natural as a first aid kit to have a cabinet full of ingredients in the house.
Bonnie nodded in approval as she looked at the vast array of material in the basement. It made her life so much easier to have these things. Kol was probably worried sick right now, but looking at the items gave her renewed confidence. She was perhaps in the safest place she could be right now.
Caroline found herself running down the desolate streets of the beachside town. The images of blood and Klaus made her run even faster. Blood loss slowed her down immensely, but there was no time to stop. She had to warn her friends of the danger, that her old lover had murdered Bonnie. Caroline beat herself up in her head as she ran in the direction towards Elena's house. Maybe if she had said something to Klaus, Bonnie would be alive.
The memories of the night were blurred between the brutal torture and shock. No matter how much she ran, she found herself pausing to sob for a moment. The torn blood-soaked pajamas made it impossible for her to do anything but run. It was halfway to her friend's house that she felt the burning rays of the sun on her skin. The pain jumpstarted her adrenalines like nothing else, fueling her to dig deeper. When she reached the door, she kicked it down in her haste.
Caroline slid into the living room and quickly wrapped herself in the rug that lay in the middle of the room. Stefan jumped on her quickly, ready to attack until he saw her face. The pair stared at each other in silence until the patter of running feet broke the tense moment.
"Bonnie's dead," Caroline sobbed repeatedly underneath Stefan.
"What are you talking about?" Bonnie shouted from across the room.
The room became filled with confusion as Caroline told her story. Bonnie sat in the corner with a cup of tea in her hands. She let it become cold as she dazed out while looking at the enraptured trio. The cold chill she felt froze her inside as she took in her tattered friend look. From the outside everyone thought she was shocked at the events but in truth Bonnie knew who had done it. Why, Kol? she chanted in her head as tears fell. The group hug that enveloped her only fueled the voice.