[4x15; Stand by Me]
The stone was cold under Stefan but he didn't care. He didn't care that Katherine had taken the cure, he didn't care about Silas disappearing, and he didn't care about the fact that he could smell three different scents of blood wafting up from Silas' chamber. He didn't care about anything. He couldn't.
He was past the point of tears. His eyes ached as they anchored onto Lucy's body, watching blankly as Rebekah hovered over her little sister, tears silently falling down her cheeks as she choked down her sobs and held Lucy's pale and limp hand in her own.
He could faintly hear Elena's own cries, devastated from the loss of both of her younger siblings. Damon was by her side, trying to comfort her, but he was striking out as Elena denied that Jeremy was actually dead. She thought that the ring would save him but he was supernatural when he died. Just like Lucy was.
They had found their bodies only a few feet apart from one another, both sets of hazel eyes glazed over with death. Elena had sped off when he heard her brother's screams, not waiting for him. By the time he was in the chamber, Elena was on the stone floor, sobbing and cradling Jeremy's dead body to her chest.
He noticed that there were no other heartbeats in the room and that was when he saw Lucy. He almost collapsed when he saw her propped up against a wall, head bloody, body bruised, and neck twisted sharply. Her beautiful eyes were still open but there was none of her usual warmth in them.
His feet felt like lead as he walked over to her and gravity finally won when he fell to his knees only an inch away from her. Her body was still warm but the warmth would fade soon. She was gone.
Lucy was dead.
"Lucy," his voice came out as a rasp, his hand reaching to cup her lifeless cheek. His heart started to pound in his chest and he struggled to breathe, his stomach twisting violently. "No, Lucy, please."
Sobs erupted out of his chest as he leaned his forehead on her own, tears dripping down his face and landing on Lucy's. He closed his eyes, unable to look into her blank ones, and thought back to the last time he had seen her smiling face. She was telling him that she loved him and he had told her to be careful.
"I'm so sorry," he choked out, chest shuddering. "I'm so sorry, Goofy. I'm so sorry."
She would never reply, would never call him Broody again. The realization of what that meant made him want to throw up whatever little blood he had in his stomach.
He pulled his forehead away from hers and studied her face. Her dimples weren't visible other than the little lines where they usually appeared, her lips were turning slightly blue, and there was no flush to her cheeks. He couldn't stand the way her eyes stared blankly at him; it would haunt him for the rest of his damned life. He carefully shut them.
He had known grief; for so long it had been a major factor in his life, starting with the death of his mother. And that grief hurt, but this? This was the worse pain that Stefan had ever felt in his one hundred and sixty-three years. There wasn't an exact way to describe it but he knew he was lost, that he'd never find happiness again without Lucy by his side.
He didn't raise his head as more people sped into the room. He didn't raise his head as Rebekah broke out into sobs next to him, dropping next to Lucy's head. He didn't raise his head when Damon placed a solemn hand on his shoulder.
"Stefan…"
"Stefan, can you hear me?" he looked away from Lucy's body and met his brother's sharp-blue eyes, worry and sadness swimming in them. "Are you all right, little brother?"
If Stefan had the emotional strength, he'd give his brother an annoyed look. Damon seemed to get that without the gesture.
"Right, sorry," he sighed, squeezing Stefan's shoulder. "How did this happen?"
"I'd like to know as well," Rebekah's voice was hoarse as she walked over to Stefan and Damon.
Stefan cleared his throat weakly. "It was Katherine," he said quietly, drawing outraged looks from his brother and Rebekah. "She must have been following us this whole time. By the time we got there, they were already…"
He couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence. Both of the vampires before him knew exactly what he was talking about. Lucy and Jeremy's bodies were more than enough proof. Rebekah swallowed back her emotions loudly while Damon looked down for a few seconds.
"Listen," Damon continued the conversation, his hand leaving Stefan's shoulder as he stood to his normal height. "Elena's waiting for the Gilbert ring to bring Jeremy back to life. I'd figure that we'd just wait with her…"
"Jeremy was one of the Five," Rebekah shook her head, looking over to where Elena was sitting vigil at Jeremy's side. "The ring won't work anymore because he was supernatural…"
She trailed off, gasping in realization; thoughts about the Gilbert ring and it brings the human wearer back to life had veered back to her sister. She thought about one of the last moments they had together before she disappeared, when they were looking for Jeremy. She had been hit by that arrow; Rebekah was the one to take it out and Stefan…Stefan had been the one to give her his blood.
His vampire blood.
Damon looked over at his, quirking a curious eyebrow. "What?"
Rebekah didn't bother answering him; she immediately looked down at Stefan. "Stefan, Lucy was hit by that arrow, remember?" she reminded him. "And you gave her your blood."
It took a moment for Stefan to work through the haze of his grief to figure out what she was talking about.
"I gave her my blood," he repeated, his body stiffening and his heart racing. "She'll be a vampire."
For the second time in a week, Caroline sat at Lucy's bedside, waiting for her to wake up. Waiting for any sign that would tell her that Lucy would wake up and start her undead life. It had been only twenty minutes since Elena and Stefan got home with Lucy and Jeremy's bodies but it had been a four-hour flight…Caroline woke up less than two hours after Katherine killed her with Joel's blood in her system.
Down the hall, she could hear Joel and Elena whispering to each other. Despite the fact that Joel tried to convince Elena that Jeremy wouldn't wake up, she was still in deep denial, insisting that the Gilbert ring would bring him back to life. She was sure he was going to wake up like Lucy was.
When she got the call about Lucy and Jeremy, Klaus was still trapped in the house. Tyler had long since left to run from the Original hybrid, leaving her on the porch, and Joel and Klaus had been speaking about the Brotherhood of the Five since the younger vampire didn't hear the full story. She didn't have time to break down about the youngest Gilberts' deaths when she had Joel inside the house, about to hear the devastation of what went on during the others' trip to the island. Lucy had vampire blood in her system and she would come back but Jeremy…Jeremy wouldn't and Joel was going to be devastated.
And he was. It was the most emotional that she had ever seen Joel, even when his parents, Aunt Jenna, and Alaric died. He yelled at her, telling her that it wasn't funny to joke about Jeremy and Lucy like that. And when he realized that she wasn't joking, he had dropped to the floor, sobbing about how he had failed them. That he should have been there to protect his baby sister and brother. It was heartbreaking to see; even Klaus stared sadly at him, tears filling his own eyes.
Joel's breakdown didn't last long, though. When Caroline told him and Klaus about the vampire blood in Lucy's system Joel had paled dramatically and Klaus drew in a sharp breath, both of them relieved that she would come back, even if it was as a vampire. Joel's eyes were still flooded with tears but after she told him about Elena and how she thought Jeremy would wake up, he had become determined not to shed another tear.
In the four hours it to for Elena and Stefan to get back to Mystic Falls, he had pulled himself together in order to be there for Elena—when she realized that Jeremy wouldn't wake—and Lucy, who would wake up as a vampire.
A shaky breath reminded Caroline that Stefan was in the room with her. He sat stoically on the other side of Joel's bed, staring at Lucy and waiting for her to wake up, just like she was. For once in her life, Caroline didn't have anything to say and normally that would be a relief to some people, but in that moment, it looked like Stefan wanted anything but quiet.
"When I started kindergarten, I was so nervous," she started quietly, capturing his attention, nonetheless. "My parents were still together then and I was such a daddy's girl. I didn't want to them to leave me with a bunch of kids I hardly knew. I threw a fit, a full-blown tantrum, until they gave in and sat with the other parents who wouldn't leave until they were sure their child was okay," she smiled fondly. "The teacher gave us an alphabetical seating chart, two kids at one desk, and I remember that there was one boy between me and Elena, leaving her and Lucy to sit together."
"Just as everyone was in their assigned seats, Elena and Lucy started arguing and pushing each other. They were trying to both get their elbows spread out on the desk but there wasn't enough room for both of them. Elena was already pulling Lucy's hair by the time the teacher could separate them. Miranda was horrified but quickly conferred with the teacher so she would know that Elena and Lucy fought a lot and it was best to separate them."
"I was surprised when I heard that Lucy and Elena used to fight a lot," Stefan mused, tapping his fingers on his jean-clad knee. "They seemed to get along when I came to Mystic Falls."
"It was, like, the end of freshman year before they settled down," Caroline told him before going back to her story. "Anyway, the teacher switched Lucy with the boy that was sitting with me. She beamed at me and complimented the stupid bow in my hair and I told her that I loved her multicolored nail polish. We immediately clicked."
"And a lifelong friendship was born."
"Mmhm," she let out a fond laugh before sobering. "We've been through everything together. First boyfriends, first break-ups, our parents dying…When I woke up as a vampire, one of the first things I thought of was what Lucy would think of me. I didn't know that she already knew about all of this," she waved a hand between her and Stefan. "and what I was but I knew that Lucy would be by my side."
"You weren't wrong."
"No, I wasn't," Caroline agreed quietly, giving him a melancholy smile. "She helped me just as much as you, you know? I just…I never thought that I would have to help her with the same thing."
Stefan nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed roughly. "Do you know if—do you know if she wanted to be a vampire? Did you guys ever talk about it?"
Caroline shook her head. "She never told me," she scoffed lightly. "We've talked about everything that's gone on in our lives but never about that. Do you know?"
"We never talked about it, either," Stefan sighed, looking over to Lucy's still form. "And when we got together, I found out about the cure right afterwards. We talked about what would happen if I was able to take the cure, but not if she became a vampire."
Caroline knew that; she remembered how excited Lucy had been when she told Caroline about what Stefan had said about the cure. There were happy tears in her eyes as she told her that Stefan wanted a human life with her. That he wanted to get married, having a family, and grow old with her by his side.
That human life was long gone now. And even though her heart ached for Lucy and Stefan and the life they could have had, she was happy that they'd still have each other. They wouldn't have to say goodbye to each other when Stefan stayed seventeen and Lucy aged. They wouldn't have to move on. They would have eternity with each other.
That is if Lucy woke up. God, Caroline hoped that she'd wake up.
"Why hasn't she woken up yet?" she asked Stefan. "I thought she'd wake up by the time you guys even came home."
"I thought so, too," Stefan sat forward, his fingertips brushing the back of Lucy's hand. "She could be siphoning the magic that's trying to turn her and that's why her transition is taking so long."
"So, she might not even wake up?" Caroline's heart jumped with panic as she turned her eyes back to her best friend.
"She will," Stefan said determinedly, his eyes boring into Lucy's face. "She has to."
"How long has she been like that?" Joel asked Stefan and Caroline as he walked into the kitchen. He looked as exhausted as a vampire could be, his eyebrows furrowed sadly and the corner of his lips turned down permanently.
Stefan assumed he was talking about Elena. "Ever since we found their bodies," he informed the oldest Gilbert. "She hasn't said anything except that she's waiting for Jeremy to wake up."
"But he's not going to wake up," Caroline pointed out needlessly, guilt bubbling in her chest when she saw Joel flinch. "Sorry…"
Joel inhaled deeply. "I think she knows deep down that Jeremy won't wake up," he stated quietly. "Elena…she's always felt grief stronger than any of us but…but she can't stay this way forever."
"Well, we can't break her out of it until Damon and Rebekah find Bonnie," Caroline twisted her lips.
"Or until Damon's here to calm her down," Stefan added. "He can use the sire bone to convince her that everything is okay."
Caroline and Joel nodded in agreement; none of them like the fact that Elena was sired to Damon, but maybe it would be an advantage in this situation.
"I'm not in denial," they all turned to Elena as she walked into the kitchen. "I know that he was supernatural, but his tattoo was gone. The tattoo had the spell that opened Silas' chamber so maybe it being gone means that he fulfilled his supernatural destiny. Maybe he's back to normal. I mean, it's—it's possible, right?"
Pushing aside her anger with Elena that had been present as of late, Caroline sighed in sympathy. "Elena…"
"It's possible, Caroline," Elena snapped at her firmly. "There's a chance. It may be miniscule but it's hope, just like Stefan's blood is hope for Lucy. So, I'm gonna hold onto that hope with everything that I've got because there's no way…" she faltered, a sob escaping her throat and causing her voice to tremble. "there's absolutely now way that my brother and sister are dead…"
She inhaled deeply and was quiet for a second before she finished, "I'm not in denial."
She walked out of the kitchen then, heading back up to sit outside of Jeremy's room. Joel gave Stefan and Caroline a sad, closed-lipped smile before he followed her so they could keep each other company while they waited.
"Hey," Caroline spoke into her phone, leaving a voicemail for Tyler. She hoped that he would answer but she knew in her heart that he wouldn't. Not after what they promised each other the night before. "I know I'm not supposed to be calling but something happened and I need to talk to you, Tyler. So, please call me."
Stefan stepped out onto the porch just as Caroline shoved her phone into her back pocket. "Do you know where he is?"
"As far away from Klaus as he can get," Caroline sighed, folding her arms over her chest. "Klaus said he wouldn't stop until he found him."
"Well, Katherine has been running from Klaus for five hundred years," Stefan reminded her, trying to keep her hopes up about seeing Tyler again. "It's not easy but it's possible. It's probably why she stole the cure. She wants to bargain for her freedom."
"Nothing she did was justified," Caroline shook her head angrily. "She killed Jeremy, Stefan. Lucy will be a vampire."
"I'm not saying that Katherine was justified," Stefan defended himself. "I was just saying that it's probably why she took the cure."
Caroline slumped and gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry," she sighed and changed the subject. "We need to start making plans."
Stefan raised an eyebrow at her. "Plans?"
"Yes," Caroline nodded. 'Plans, lists…we need a funeral or a cover story or a funeral and a cover story. I-I…" she paused for a second. "I should talk to my mom. I guess she'll know what to do."
"We should get Matt over here, too," Stefan suggested. "He'll want to know about Jeremy and Lucy."
"You're right," Caroline agreed, her mind racing. She was like Lucy in that way; whenever something tragic happened, they liked to plan. In this case, it was a funeral. "I will do that. I will call Matt and then I will go tell my mom and then I will make a list or a casserole or—I don't know. Whatever people are supposed to do or make in these situations—"
Stefan placed a calming hand on her shoulder, sensing that she was about to spiral. "Caroline…"
She shook her head, pulling herself together. "Sorry, I just—" she stiffened, her nose wrinkling. "What's that smell?"
They looked at each other with grave looks.
"It's Jeremy's body. He's started to decompose," Stefan stated solemnly. "Tell your mom to get Dr. Fell over here."
"I will," Caroline promised, already pulling her phone from her jeans. "Call me if Lucy wakes up, okay?
"I will."
Everything was bright—so, so bright.
Even with her eyes clenched shut, it did nothing to deter the light from flooding them and causing them to ache. She could see shadows behind her eyelids, a pink blob in the shape of a fan darker than the rest of the pink flesh except in the middle. It was a ceiling fan—it had to be.
She could hear the slightest sound and what she heard was dialed up to an eleven. What must have been a gentle breeze sounded like a wind tunnel. She could hear the fan's blade whirling around, the light's engine wheezing with age. She heard the slight breathing from the person sitting lightly to her right, with a thumping heartbeat to match.
Next came her sense of smell. The breeze carried that scent that made you know that rain was coming soon, maybe a day away. She smelt Joel's cologne—slightly sweet with a hint of coffee, cinnamon, and chocolate—and she smelt Stefan—musky bergamot, fresh laundry, and a hint of coconut.
Stefan.
Lucy opened her eyes, wincing from the light that was somehow even brighter than before. Without moving, she took in her surroundings; she was in Joel's room, on Joel's bed, and she was right about the ceiling fan hanging above her. That was all she could take in before Stefan's face was hovering above her.
"Lucy?" he breathed, a breathtaking smile crossing his lips. "You're awake."
"Yeah," she rasped. God, her throat was so dry. It was like she'd been in the desert for weeks without water. She hadn't been in the desert, though, she was on the island.
The island!
She sat up abruptly, moving so quickly that she almost catapulted herself off the bed and across the room. Luckily, Stefan was there to catch her, sending her a worried look when her eyes widened.
"Lucy…"
"What the hell is going on, Stefan?" she was panicked but it was more intense than her usual anxiety. She placed her hand over her heart. "My heart's racing. Stefan, what happened? Did you get the cure? There was only one dose and this hunter appeared. Is Jeremy all right? What's wrong with me? Oh, my chest hurts…"
Stefan sat on the edge of the bed next to her hips, grabbing her shoulders so she would quit rambling and focus on him. "Lucy, you need to calm down," he said soothingly. "Everything is going to be a bit heightened," she gave him a frightened look and grabbed his hands tightly, causing him to wince. "Just breathe. Breathe with me, pretty girl."
Lucy did as she was told, syncing her breaths to match his. Eventually her breathing calmed down but her brain didn't. There were so many unanswered questions and she didn't want to wait another second to know.
"Stefan, what happened?" her voice was still shaky with nerves.
Stefan's expression was too serious for anything good to have happened on that island. There was sadness in his eyes, along with relief. She just didn't know why. Finally, he inhaled deeply and told her exactly what was happening.
"Lucy, you're in transition."
Her first instinct was to laugh. "Nice joke, Broody," she scoffed. "There's no way I'm in transition. I didn't even die! That hunter hit my head and I blacked out or something."
"When we found you, your head was snapped," Stefan explained patiently. "your heart wasn't beating. And you have my blood in your system."
Lucy's stomach swooped and she felt like she was going to throw up. "Stefan," she barely whispered. "I-I can't be in transition. I can't."
"I'm sorry, Luce."
"No, I can't!" Lucy let go of his wrists and pushed at his chest, trying to get him away from her. Tears fell down her face as she fought against Stefan, though he held her tight and tried to tell her everything would be okay. "This isn't okay! I can't—Stefan, I can't—this isn't happening!"
Stefan cooed softly, trying to get her to stop fighting him so he could cradle her to his chest. "It's going to be okay, Luce."
"No, you were gonna be human!" she cried. "You were gonna be—and I—we were—it wasn't supposed to happen this way! This wasn't supposed to happen!"
"I know, baby, I know."
All their plans of being human together were gone. All her plans for her future were gone. She would never age past seventeen. She wouldn't be able to stay in a town for more than two years. She wouldn't be able to have babies. She wouldn't be able to grow old and watch as her kids and their kids grew up.
"No…" she sobbed, losing her fight against Stefan and falling into his chest; he immediately wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to the crown of her head.
When she first met Stefan and became friends with him, she had been adamant about not being a vampire. Slowly, as their relationship started to change and they fell deeper and deeper in love, her perspective on that changed. It wasn't like she absolutely wanted to be a vampire but the thought of living without Stefan as a human and out aging her brothers and sisters had her thinking about what life as a vampire would be like. And those points were still appealing, but before she hadn't realized what she would be giving up. Now she did and it was devastating to know she'd never have a choice.
Eventually her cries turned into hiccups and her hiccups turned to gags as she started smelling the gross garbage scent again. "God," she pulled away from Stefan, her face still wet as she gagged. "What's that smell?"
"Lucy…"
Stefan's voice was low again. She had heard enough bad news from him to know that there was something more wrong than her being in transition. One look into his sad eyes had her scrambling off Joel's bed, wincing when she felt some of the sun's rays prickle at her skin.
"Lucy, wait," Stefan called as she opened the door and followed the scent to its source.
It was coming from Jeremy's room—what, did he forget to throw away his garbage again? Only five steps away from his room, she heard Elena, Joel, and Dr. Fell speaking.
"Elena, it looks like Jeremy died of extreme blood loss," Dr. Fell was telling Elena. "His neck also appears to be broken..."
Lucy reached out and grabbed the stair railing to her left to catch her balance, crushing the wood with how hard her grip was. Stefan immediately went to her side but she waved him away, not wanting anyone to touch her.
Jeremy was dead. Her baby brother, only ten months younger than herself, was gone. Jeremy, who went to art museums and took art classes with her. Jeremy, who had struggled and lost so much in his sixteen-year life. Jeremy, who was growing into a great man. Jeremy, who she loved so deeply.
He had been killed on that island just like she had, only she was the one who survived. She survived and he didn't. He was dead and his ring wouldn't bring him back. Jeremy wouldn't come back.
"…The lack of blood explains why there's no lividity but his muscles have tightened past the point of Rigor Mortis."
"No."
"If he's left unattended to, soon he'll start to bloat. Within a few hours, his skin will discolor and—"
"No, stop, okay? Just stop! He's not dead!"
"I need you and your siblings to release his body to me. we'll get him to a funeral home and prepare him for a viewing where you and his friends can say goodbye to him—"
Lucy didn't focus on the conversation going on between Meredith and Elena. She didn't hear Elena pushed Meredith against the wall and she didn't hear Joel restrain her. All she could think about was Jeremy.
Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy.
"He's not dead, okay?"
"Elena, stop it."
"Now you're all about science? Where was your science when you used vampire blood to save my life, huh? There was no science here. It's just magic. We need magic. We have to find Bonnie. Bonnie can fix this. Somebody just get me Bonnie!"
Lucy pushed into Jeremy's room, almost ripping the door off its hinges. Elena, Joel, and Meredith stopped to stare at her but she didn't spare them a glance. Her eyes were on Jeremy. Jeremy's body.
All of her breath left her at once and she fell to her knees on the floor, tears blurring her vision until she could no longer see her baby brother. She pressed her hand tightly against her chest, hoping that pressure would fix the aching in her heart. It didn't, though. Nothing was helping.
"No, no, Lucy, it's fine," Elena rushed over to her, kneeling down to wrap her arms around her. "It's okay. It's okay. Bonnie will be here soon and she'll fix everything and it'll all be fine."
Lucy shook her head, her chin resting on Elena's shoulder as she faced Jeremy's bed. "No…"
"It'll be fine," Elena insisted. "It's all gonna be fine. Everything will be fine."
When her parents, Jenna, and Alaric had died, and Lucy was drowning in grief, she didn't believe those words. She didn't now, either.
Lucy couldn't even think about blood at the moment, no matter how much her dry and scratchy throat told her to. Everything was overwhelming her; her death, the fact that she was in transition, Kol's death, Jeremy's death. Her emotions were stronger than ever before and usually she'd want someone by her side to draw comfort from but not today.
She didn't really know why she wanted to be alone but she did. Maybe it was because her senses were so sharp that she wouldn't be able to focus on her thoughts. Maybe it was because she didn't want anyone to hover over her while she tried to decide if she wanted to drink blood and finish her transition or not.
With the sun set, she could wander outside without feeling like a dozen little curling irons were poking at her skin. So she went out to the front porch and sat on the swing, lightly pushing herself back and forth while she tried to get used to her new senses.
She ignored the ache in her gums and the weakness that was starting to settle in her limbs in order to stare across the dark neighbor and think. She thought about what her parents would say if she knew she was in transition—she knew that they were part of the Founders Council and hated vampires. She thought about how Esther made the spell to create vampires and how she left Luciana as human because she didn't want her to be a vampire like her siblings. She thought about Katherine and how she had told her she wouldn't make it as a vampire. She thought about the rest of her siblings, all of them now vampires. She thought about Caroline and how devastated she was just thinking of leaving her best friend alone. And she thought about Stefan and how she could spend eternity with him now.
So many conflicting thoughts and they were all a jumble, fighting for control over her emotions and sharpened sense.
She smelt Caroline before she saw her—rose and vanilla—and she heard her confident gait as she got out of her car and walked up the sidewalk that led to the porch.
With her new and improved eyesight, she was able to see that Caroline was much more beautiful than Lucy ever thought—not that she, in any way, thought that her best friend was ugly. She had noticed that about Stefan, too; how he had barely noticeable freckles and gold and brown flecks in his forest green eyes.
"Thank God!" Caroline exclaimed, rushing over to Lucy, picking her up, and wrapping her into a tight hug. "Luce, I was so worried about you. I'm so glad you're okay—well, you're not really okay, I know that, but—"
"Caroline," Lucy hushed her, burying her head into the soft fabric of the blonde's cardigan.
"Yeah, sorry," Caroline kissed the top of her head. "How are you feeling?"
"Not the best," Lucy admitted as their hug ended. She sat back on the swing with Caroline taking the place beside her. "Everything is so overwhelming."
"I know," Caroline took her hand. "It gets worse when you finish the transition but after a while you get used to it."
Lucy nodded knowingly. "Kit told me I'd be a horrible vampire."
"Don't listen to anything Katherine says," Caroline said sharply, wondering if Stefan actually told Lucy who had killed her and Jeremy. "You'd be okay. You'd have me, Joel, and Stefan to help you."
"Yeah…"
"Besides, you're a control freak just like me," Caroline nudged her playfully, trying to get her to laugh; Lucy didn't but she did manage a small smile. "Yeah, you'll struggle just like anyone else but that need to control everything and that stubbornness inside you? That will heighten, too, and you'll learn to control yourself."
Lucy nodded thoughtfully. Caroline had a point and she had seen for herself that Caroline got through the bloodlust just fine after Stefan gave her some pointers. But something still held her back from making a final decision.
Lucy and Joel stood side-by-side, staring at the family photo displayed on the fireplace mantel. It was only a couple years old, maybe three years before their parents had died. Lucy was twelve in the picture and the same height as Jeremy. They stood next to Elena and Joel, all four of them in a row in front of their mom and dad.
"It feels like a lifetime ago," Joel sighed, his eyes trailing over the faces of his family.
"Yeah," Lucy agreed sadly. Usually she could remember the memories behind family pictures but she couldn't this one. The Gilbert family had taken so many pictures together that it was hard to keep track. All she knew was that it was Christmas time because they were in front of the fireplace in their cabin instead of their house.
That family in the picture in front of her was torn apart. Death, arguments, violence, and the supernatural had torn it apart until there was hardly anything left. Jeremy was gone now, she didn't even want a relationship with Elena anymore, and Joel was stuck in the middle of everything, having to balance his grief while worrying about his sisters. She couldn't even recognize the happy smiles on their faces. They hadn't been the way siblings should be for a while. Lucy wished she could change that but there was no way to repair the damage. Not with what Elena had done to her. Not with Jeremy dead and on the Other Side.
The Other Side…Damon had finally made it back to Mystic Falls with Bonnie by his side but she had spit nonsense at them as soon as she entered the house. She claimed that she'd be able to bring Jeremy and all of their loved ones back if she was able to kill twelve people, complete an expression triangle, and cast a spell that would make the wall that kept the Other Side at bay fall down.
They were all in agreement that they couldn't let Bonnie do that. Even Elena, who had insisted that the Gilbert ring was going to bring Jeremy back, and taken a stance against her. None of them could let every single supernatural creature that had died come back to life just because they lost loved ones. The needs of many outweigh the needs of one, or something like that.
Lucy was broken out of her thoughts when Elena came storming down the stairs. She had gone upstairs to say goodbye to Jeremy with Damon by her side and she had been upset but now she was frantic—it scared Lucy a little.
"Where's Bonnie?" she barked at Lucy, Stefan, Joel, and Caroline.
"We told Matt to take her home," Stefan told her. "We thought it'd be best."
Elena nodded slowly, tears falling down her cheeks, as Damon descended the stairs with Jeremy's covered body in his arms. Lucy was so focused on her brother being laid on the couch that she was surprised when she saw Elena started to drench everything in lighter fluid.
"Elena, what are you doing?" she asked her loudly, alarmed.
"We need a cover story, right?" Elena left the dining room and headed into the kitchen, bottle of lighter fluid faced down so it continued to pour over the floor. "You think I didn't hear everyone talking earlier? What are we gonna say? An animal attack, a tumble down the stairs?" she shook her head, squirting the accelerant all over Jeremy's bottle. "No. We burn the house down with him inside of it."
"Elena, stop it!" Joel raised his voice, eyes widening in panic as the lighter fluid ran out and she picked up a bottle of vodka.
"Why, because you want me to not be in denial?" she shot back at him as Lucy cowered into Stefan's side, eyes glassy with tears. "You want me to face the truth? This is the truth, Joel. I don't want to live here anymore. I don't want these sketches—"
"Elena!" Lucy objected, horrified as the alcohol soaked through Jeremy's drawings.
"I don't want this Xbox!" Elena continued as the vodka ran out; she grabbed a bottle of bourbon from Alaric's old hiding spot in the entertainment center. "Not gonna need this bourbon anymore. Alaric's not here to drink it. I mean, unless you guys are willing to bring back every supernatural creature on the Other Side to get him back?" she turned, staring at everyone straight on. "Would you? Because I wouldn't. I don't know, I mean, does that make me a bad person? I have no idea."
She removed the Gilbert ring from Jeremy's finger and tossed it to Joel, who caught it even though his eyes were quickly roaming around the room, trying to figure out what to do to stop Elena. "He's not gonna need that anymore."
"Elena, stop!" Lucy protested, gripping onto Stefan's waist tightly.
"What else are we supposed to do with the body, Lucy?" Elena roared at her, causing her to flinch back. "I mean, there's no room in the Gilbert family plot. Alaric took the last spot."
"We can figure that out—" Joel tried.
"There's nothing here for me anymore!" Elena cut him off. "Every inch of this house is fill with memories of the people that I loved that have died. My mom, my dad, Jeremy and Jenna and Alaric. They're all dead, everyone is dead. There's nothing left for me!"
"Do we look dead to you?" Joel demanded, stomping over to Elena and ripping the bottle of bourbon from her hand. He pointed at Lucy and then himself. "We are right here, Elena. Not everyone is dead and you're not alone. You have me and you have Lucy, you hear me?"
"No, no, stop," Elena shook her head, so inconsolable that none of them thought she even heard what Joel had said. She fell to her knees, breaking down in sobs while clutching her head so tightly it was a surprise that she didn't rip her hair out. "I can't, I can't, I can't. It hurts, it hurts. Just make it stop!"
Sobs erupted from Lucy's throat, choking her, as she watched Elena break down. It was one of the most heartbreaking sights she had ever seen in her life and that added onto her own grief over Jeremy and the fear she had of losing the memories of her family forever.
"Joel, help her," she pleaded, looking at her big brother through glassy eyes.
Joel couldn't help her, though. Elena wouldn't listen to him.
"Damon," Stefan spoke up quietly, looking over to his brother. "Help her."
Damon nodded and knelt down in front of Elena so they were face-to-face. "I can help you," he said soothingly. "I want you to let me help you. I can help you."
Elena looked at him with wet eyes, looking desperate. "How?"
"Turn it off," Damon ordered, brushing her hair back from her face.
"What?" Joel asked, alarmed. "No!"
"Just turn it off," Damon advised Elena, ignoring Joel's protests. "Turn it off and everything will go away. That's what you have to do. It's what I want you to do. Just turn it off!"
"Are you out of your mind, Damon?" Stefan gave his brother an incredulous look.
It was too late; Elena's blank eyes told them that her emotions had been turned off.
The air was still smoky when Lucy and Joel returned to where their home should have been. There was nothing left. No walls, floorboards, furniture, or porch. No family photos, history files, clothes, knick-knacks. All of the things that once belonged Miranda, Grayson, and Jenna that they stored in the attic were destroyed. Jeremy's sketches, home videos, mementoes from their lives. Lucy's old bedroom was gone and so was Joel's. Jeremy's body was unidentifiable…
A lifetime of memories gone because of one match.
Lucy's heart hurt as she stared at the wreckage of her childhood home. It had taken two hours for the firefighters to put out the fire, the coroners to collect Jeremy's body, and the police to conduct interviews about what had happened. Elena was nowhere in sight for any of the mess she caused, leaving a devastated Joel and a weak Lucy to take care of everything. It was one of the hardest things Lucy had ever had to do, including getting through all of the funerals for her dead family members.
Besides the few wisps of smoke and the crackling of the last embers of the fire, the street was somewhat peaceful. The neighbors had gone to bed after all the commotion, which left her and Joel the only ones awake on the block. She sat at the edge of the front lawn that managed to go unscathed and just watched the burnt rubble in front of her. Joel hovered behind her, pacing back and forth nervously.
Everyone was nervous at the moment; Elena had turned off her emotions and Lucy had only an hour or so before she had to decide if she was going to drink blood and finish her transition or let herself go and die like she should have on that island. In all honestly, Lucy was pretty much decided but she still wanted to make absolute sure. She would have gone to the area just outside of Steven's Quarry to make her decision under the stars but she was led here for whatever reason. It was like she needed the strength of Miranda, Grayson, Jenna, Alaric, Jeremy, and Joel to help her decide.
She'd go to the Other Side if she died and she'd be with Jeremy, Alaric, Kol, Henrik, and Finn. She missed all of them so much but when she thought of what she'd be leaving behind if she decided not to go through the transition, it hurt even more. She had Elijah, Klaus, and Rebekah. She had Katherine and Joel. She had Matt and Caroline. She had Stefan. She'd get to have an eternity with Joel and Caroline and Stefan.
A strong scent invaded her senses all at once, smelling delicious, mouth-watering, and addicting all at once. Her gums ached and her mouth filled with saliva as she turned, following the scent so she could get to whatever it was.
"Lucy," Joel warned her as she stood up to face the bloody human that Elena had brought to them. "Don't. You haven't decided yet."
"What's there to decide?" Elena spoke up sharply, dragging the barely-alive man with her as she approached her siblings. She wiped her bare hand against the man's slit neck, covering her skin with blood, and reached for Lucy, smudging it down her face.
Lucy growled at her, desperate for the blood in front of her. She didn't see a human being clinging to life. She didn't see a son, husband, father, or friend. She saw a five-star meal waiting to be eaten.
"Lucy."
"Go ahead, Lucy," Elena encouraged her with a smirk. "You know you want to."
Lucy couldn't resist; she lunged forward, ripping the man from Elena's hands and sinking her teeth into the other side of his neck. She moaned in ecstasy as the delicious blood flowed down her throat, soothing the irritation her throat had been in since she woke up in transition. The aching in her gums left and she could feel dark veins fluttering under her eyes as she let go of the man and allowed his dead body to drop to the sidewalk.
She wiped her mouth and looked up at her siblings. Joel looked horrified, knowing that her choice to transition was taken away from her and knowing that the guilt of killing someone would never leave her.
Elena smirked triumphantly. "My work here is done."