It was about twenty minutes later when Emily found herself sitting in the middle of the leather couch inside the Lockwood mansion. Emily was completely zoned out as she stared across at the blank TV screen in front of her. The Gilbert girl's thoughts were still all over the place, so it was no surprise that Emily was spacing out.
Emily felt completely helpless at the moment. The Radkova witch hated that she couldn't do anything for Stefan, who was currently fighting his demons. Emily absolutely hated that she was stuck here in Virginia while her boyfriend was probably somewhere in Tennessee, hurting and afraid.
The Gilbert girl felt extremely guilty that she hadn't been truly looking for Stefan all summer. Emily knew she should have been doing all the searching by herself or should have led the charge. Emily regretted it so much for putting all of her trust in the elder Salvatore vampire.
Emily took a back burner on the search for her boyfriend because she didn't want Klaus to find out that she and Elena were still alive. However, the Radkova witch wished she would have done something, anything to bring Stefan back home.
Now, this was the worst case scenario for the Gilbert girl. It was going to be even more difficult now that Stefan didn't have his emotions on. However, Emily refused to give up, no matter if she had to walk through the pits of hell to bring her boyfriend back.
Emily knew it was going to be a long and hard journey but for now, the Gilbert girl needed to clear her mind. A lot of things had happened in the last twenty-four hours. Emily knew she needed to relax and clear her mind for the night before she could come up with a solid plan with a leveled head in the morning.
Thankfully, Emily got her wish of getting away from the terror that is her thoughts when the Gilbert girl noticed Tyler heading her way with a large grin displayed across his lips and a plate of Pizza Rolls in his hands.
"I hope you weren't expecting some gourmet shit," Tyler joked before he muttered, "you know I can't cook for the life of me."
Emily lightly chuckled as she moved her body to the left to make room on the couch for the Lockwood werewolf. "Pizza Rolls are perfect," the Gilbert girl assured her best friend. Emily honestly wasn't even hungry after the night she had but she appreciated Tyler's need to make sure that she was okay.
"Good," the Lockwood werewolf murmured before he placed the plate of Pizza Rolls down onto the glass coffee table. Tyler shot the Gilbert girl a playful grin before he plopped down on the couch beside her.
Emily silently shook her head in amusement before she leaned over and grabbed a single Pizza Roll from the dark red plate. The Gilbert girl slowly leaned back into the couch with a heavy sigh before Emily began nibbling on the cheese and sauce filled snack.
The Lockwood mansion's living room was quiet while Tyler silently observed the Gilbert girl as he tried to figure out what happened tonight. However, when Tyler couldn't think of a single reason for Emily's saddened mood, he decided to give it another try of asking.
The Lockwood werewolf gently placed his warm palm on top of Emily's thigh to grab her attention before Tyler worriedly asked, "you doing okay?"
The Radkova witch grimaced at the question after she swallowed the rest of her Pizza Roll. "Ask me again in a few days," Emily mumbled. Emily was honestly still trying to understand how she felt herself after what she found out tonight about her boyfriend.
"What happened tonight?" Tyler gently asked as he stroked his thumb across the Gilbert girl's thigh. "I thought everything was going good," the Lockwood werewolf muttered in confusion.
Emily let out a heavy sigh as she leaned her head on the back of the couch. "Can we talk about it tomorrow, please?" The Radkova witch desperately begged. "I don't have the strength to relive it again," Emily mumbled as she slowly shook her head.
While the Gilbert girl knew Tyler just wanted to help her, Emily wasn't ready to talk about what happened in Damon's bedroom tonight. It was still so difficult for Emily to come to terms with the fact that her boyfriend was now a dangerous and unhinged vampire.
The Radkova witch definitely didn't want to hear what negative things that Tyler had to say about her boyfriend at the moment. Emily just wanted to forget everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours, at least for the rest of the night.
"Of course," Tyler quickly agreed as he didn't want to be the reason for the Gilbert girl to feel even worse than she already did. "What do you need?" The Lockwood werewolf asked as he gently grabbed Emily's hand in his own, "is there anything I can do to help?"
Emily nibbled on her bottom lip for a moment before her gaze drifted to the silk emerald dress that was wrinkled against her body. "I could use a shower," the Gilbert girl mumbled, "and a change of clothes."
"You got it," Tyler quickly exclaimed before he jumped up from the couch. The Lockwood werewolf leaned down and grasped Emily's hands to help her stand up. Tyler slid his fingers through the Gilbert girl's before the werewolf led Emily up the staircase.
Tyler silently led the Gilbert girl down the hall to his room. The Lockwood werewolf released Emily's hand once they walked into his bedroom before Tyler headed to his closet.
Tyler looked through his clothing for something the Gilbert girl could wear that was comfortable enough for her to sleep in. The Lockwood werewolf ended up settling on a pair of loose fitting sweatpants and his grey MFHS football shirt. Tyler then moved over to his dresser before he grabbed a pair of black boxers.
The Lockwood werewolf placed the boxers on top of the sweatpants and t-shirt before he headed back to Emily, who hadn't moved from where Tyler had left her in front of the entrance to his bedroom.
"Come on," Tyler softly murmured as he placed his hand on the Gilbert girl's lower back before he began to lead the young witch down to the bathroom at the end of the hallway.
The Lockwood werewolf pushed open the door and led Emily inside. Tyler removed his hand from the Gilbert girl's back before he placed the stack of clothing on the edge of the sink. "You still remember where everything is?" Tyler asked once he turned around and faced the Gilbert girl.
Emily let out a tiny chuckle before she nodded her head. "Towels and rags are in the top shelve," the Radkova witch recalled as she pointed her finger in the direction where she knew the towels would be located.
It wasn't Emily's first time having to take a shower at the Lockwood mansion, so it was no surprise that she knew where everything was. Emily used to use the shower quite a lot when she was younger when she and Tyler would run around in the woods playing tag, no matter the weather condition.
"Good," Tyler murmured as he shot the Gilbert girl a grin. The Lockwood werewolf slowly began to back out of the bathroom as he informed Emily, "while you take a shower, I'll put on a movie in my room, then we can just relax for the rest of the night."
"That sounds nice," Emily murmured with a small smile slowly appearing on her lips. That was honestly all Emily wanted right now. She didn't want to talk about anything that happened tonight. Emily just wanted to relax and forget everything that is her chaotic life.
Tyler lazily leaned against the threshold of the bathroom with that same wide grin glued to his face before he reminded the Gilbert girl, "I did say I would always have your back."
"Thank you for that," Emily whispered as she stared over at her best friend. The Gilbert girl slowly crossed the bathroom until she was standing in front of Tyler. "Thank you for always being here for me," Emily murmured before she wrapped her arms around the werewolf's neck for a tight embrace.
"Of course," the Lockwood werewolf softly murmured as he slid his arms around Emily's waist before he pulled the Gilbert girl against his warm chest.
Tyler would do absolutely anything for the Gilbert girl, that would never change. The Lockwood werewolf just wished Emily would tell him what happened tonight. It was killing Tyler to be in the dark like this. However, Tyler trusted the brunette girl with his soul, so he knew Emily would tell him everything when she was ready to talk.
"I will always be by your side whenever you need me," the Lockwood werewolf whispered against the side of Emily's head as he ran his fingers gently through her brunette mane, "my arms will always be open to pull you in and keep you safe. If you ever want to run away from this place, I'll happily drive you out of here. Tell me what you need and I'll do it to keep you happy."
Emily immediately smiled against the werewolf's chest from his words. It meant a lot to the Gilbert girl that she had Tyler there always to keep her safe and happy no matter what was happening in their crazy world.
The Radkova witch slowly pulled away from Tyler's chest before she looked up at him. "Thank you. Thank you for everything," Emily murmured before she leaned up and placed a gentle kiss onto the werewolf's cheek.
Tyler carefully grasped the side of the Gilbert girl's face with his right palm before he began to stroke her cheek with his thumb. "It's us against the world," the Lockwood werewolf whispered before he placed a soft kiss onto Emily's forehead.
Emily shot the Lockwood werewolf a small smile as she watched him slowly walk out of the bathroom and closed the door behind him. However, once Emily was all alone for the first time tonight, the Gilbert girl let out a heavy breath that was filled with a mixture of emotions.
Emily honestly didn't know what to think after she found out the truth about what her boyfriend had been doing this summer. The Gilbert girl felt her life was a mess right now, so she happy to have Tyler back her side.
While Tyler may be a werewolf, he wasn't completely wrapped up in the supernatural mess that is Emily's life. The Gilbert girl was glad for that because it made it easier for Emily to forget all of her problems when she's with the Lockwood werewolf, and that was exactly what Emily needed tonight.
The Radkova witch knew she would have to start from the beginning once she was ready to focus on bringing Stefan home since the Salvatore vampire wasn't exactly himself anymore. Emily knew it was going to be even more difficult when Stefan doesn't even have any emotion or care in the world for anything but killing humans. However, the Radkova witch absolutely refused to give up like Damon was doing.
Emily quickly shook her head when she realized that she was getting upset and her thoughts were getting too wrapped into what happened tonight. The Gilbert girl knew she just needed to forget everything that happened and relax her mind, at least for the night.
The Radkova witch sluggishly walked over to the cabinet above the toilet before she grabbed a matching ivory colored towel and rag. Emily placed the items down on the sink along with her cell phone that had been tightly squeezed between her fingers since she left the Salvatore boarding house.
The Gilbert girl walked over to the shower before she pulled the clear door open. Emily leaned inside and turned the water faucets to the warmness of her liking. It took Emily a few tries of turning the hot and cold faucets until she found the perfect temperature.
Emily closed the door before she walked back over to the sink. The Radkova witch slowly began to slide the deep green dress down her shoulders before Emily's cell phone began to ring on the counter.
The Gilbert girl figured it was just Elena trying to contact her since Emily had forgotten to tell her twin that she was leaving the boarding house when she was trying to get away from Damon.
Emily quickly fixed the straps of the dress back on her shoulders before she grabbed her cell phone from the counter. The Radkova witch glanced down to the screen before Emily's brows quickly furrowed when she didn't see her sister's contact name. Instead, the Gilbert girl's phone displayed a series of unfamiliar numbers and the ID said 'unknown number'.
Emily had no idea who would be trying to call her right now who she didn't already have their number saved to her phone. The Gilbert girl would usually just ignore an unknown caller but there was something inside of Emily telling her to answer the call.
The Radkova witch felt her heart roughly pounding in her chest as she slowly pressed the accept button before she brought her cell phone up to her ear.
"Hello?" Emily cautiously called out to the other person on the line.
The Gilbert girl quickly frowned after a good twenty seconds when she could only hear silence and nothing else. "Hello?" Emily called out once more but in a stronger voice encase the person didn't hear her the first time.
Emily heart was still pounding as she stood in the middle of the Lockwood bathroom with her phone pressed to her ear. It wasn't because she was afraid that there a psycho killer on the end of the line. No, it was because Emily felt like she knew exactly who was calling her.
Emily wasn't exactly sure but she decided to test it out. "Stef?" The Gilbert girl softly called out before she immediately heard the person's breath hitch on the other end of the call. That was all Emily needed to know that her instincts were correct.
"You don't have to say anything," Emily whispered as she slowly slid her back against the sink until she plopped down onto the fluffy ivory rug underneath her.
"It's going to be okay," the Gilbert girl told her boyfriend as she leaned her head back against the counter and stared up at the ceiling. "I know you don't think there is an end to this but please don't give up," Emily desperately begged with tears clouding her green eyes, "don't give up on me."
"I love you so, so much, Stefan," the Gilbert girl whispered as she closed her eyes to stop the streaming tears. "I need you to fight, okay? Whatever you're feeling, just fight it. J-Just think of us. Think about all of our happy memories together," Emily pleaded.
"You want to make more of those memories, right?" The Radkova witch asked before she quickly commanded since she knew the vampire wasn't going to respond, "then you have to fight, Stefan."
The Gilbert girl took a moment to take a deep breath and to the wipe the tears from her cheeks. "Please, come home to me," Emily begged before she assured the troubled vampire, "I will always be here for you. I will always wait for you. I love you, Stefan."
The Radkova witch couldn't help the loud sob that escaped through her lips after she ended the call and tossed her phone to the side. Emily wished for more than anything to have been able to hear her boyfriend's voice for only a second but she knew it just wasn't realistic.
Emily knew the Salvatore vampire took a huge chance from even contacting her tonight with Klaus always lurking around. The Gilbert girl just hoped Stefan would remember her words when things got too bad for him. Emily could only hope and pray that Stefan would try to fight the monster inside of him until she could find and bring him home.
Emily knew everything just got a lot worse after knowing that her boyfriend was doing all of these 'animal attacks' in his ripper persona but Emily refused to let that stop her. The Radkova witch wasn't going to give up until she brought the real Stefan back.
Emily didn't care about anything else but getting her boyfriend back. The Radkova witch swore that she wasn't ever going to stop until Stefan was back in the safety of her arms again.
