Trigger Warning: PTSD flashbacks, general PTSD angst, and mature language. Read at your own discretion.
The Return - Part 2
"Katherine."
"Victoria," Elena, or rather, Katherine said with a charming smirk that seemed to ooze sex appeal. It was like looking at a female version of Damon from early Season 1. She dusted off her hands and then placed her hands up on her hips. "I must say, you're not panicking as much as I thought you would."
Victoria took a wheezing breath and flinched, which made her want to flinch again. Her skin felt like it was falling off. Was that normal? "I-I can't even think w-without pain. A-At this point, if you k-killed me, I-I probably would throw you a p-party."
"Well, you're no fun today, Ria," Katherine hummed, quirking an eyebrow up.
"E-Elena doesn't call me that," Victoria wheezed, coughing painfully. "S-She doesn't have a cutesy nickname for me like Lee," cough "or Lexi," cough "or Damon. She just c-calls me Tori like everyone e-else."
"That's a pity," Katherine grunted, flopping over onto the bed. It bounced underneath her weight and Victoria let out a cry as her bones jostled together. "You have a very nicknameable name. Think of all the ones you could use! Vee, Vicki, Tori, Ria, Vic, Tor, Toria. The possibilities are endless. It deserves to be nicknamed."
"I-I'll send that PTA announcement out t-to my friends as soon as possible," Victoria hissed, twisting slightly in place.
Katherine twisted her head back and forth as she observed the room with a quiet and calculated gaze. "I see the Salvatores have kept their interior design pretty basic. Hasn't changed much since the War, though Damon seems to have embraced the 'black, black, everything black' mentality." She picked at the comforter covering Victoria in disdain (coincidentally, also black).
Victoria chose to ignore her, a decision she would probably regret in the future, and she whispered, "I-I have questions."
"You wouldn't be Victoria LeBlanc if you didn't," Katherine smirked, shifting on the bed a little to tuck up her legs underneath herself. She gestured for Victoria to start.
"W-Why did you pull me out of the m-morgue?"
"Say it was the calculating bitch side of me," Katherine replied lazily. She rolled her eyes and added, "Plus, someone was bound to hear you eventually and, knowing your luck, it would be a pesky human who would ask questions about why an alive person, with no suture marks from an autopsy, was found in a body bag. Figured I'd save you some trouble."
"Puts me in your debt," Victoria grunted, her mind already seeing where Katherine's train of thought was taking her. She knew she had hit the nail on the head when Katherine gave that signature smirk again. "W-What were you doing in the hospital, anyways?"
"Causing mischief," Katherine smirked.
Victoria rolled her eyes, gritting her teeth to stop the whimper that threatened to escape. "W-Why am I not surprised?"
"I'm very predictable like that."
Victoria snorted. "If there's anything you aren't, Katherine, it's predictable," Victoria snipped. "O-Okay, next question: w-why did you t-take the time to bring me back? You could have j-just left me there."
"That's a little extreme," Katherine commented, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow. "Do I need to start acting differently? Is that how all of your friends treat you?"
"W-We're friends?" Victoria coughed, shivering painfully again. "C-Could've fooled me."
"If you were my enemy, Ria, you'd know," Katherine snipped, cocking her head at Victoria. "I don't drag unconscious bodies through the woods, secure myself an invitation into the house using said unconscious body as my ticket inside, and then help a human take care of the unconscious body if they were my enemy. Besides Sweet Caroline, you're up next on my shopping list of besties."
It was like a shot of adrenaline hit Victoria's bloodstream. With a strength that she didn't realize she still had access to right at that second, she pushed herself up onto shaky arms to glare at Katherine. "D-Do not touch Caroline. K-Keep away from her!"
Katherine just reached forward and pressed a finger against Victoria's forehead. That strength alone was enough to topple Victoria back onto her side. She hit the pillow with a thump and moaned as her body told her just how much of a bad idea it was to be upright.
"Cute," Katherine drawled. "But not that intimidating." Katherine flipped her hair behind her shoulder in a very Gigi Hadid moment. "Since I heroically saved your life and everything, I need you to do something for me."
"G-Go to hell, Katherine," Victoria murmured, grabbing tightly to her covers. It seemed to be the only thing that could help steady herself.
"I'll add it to my list of vacation spots," Katherine fired back, not at all dissuaded by Victoria's snide remarks. "A certain someone has just come back to Mystic Falls -"
"- Mason Lockwood," Victoria interrupted. "Yeah, I remember -"
"- and the Lockwoods are going to be having a little 'Huzzah, our patriarch didn't die in a horrendous fire started by a racist asshole' -"
"- Watch it," Victoria snapped, narrowing her eyes at Katherine. "B-Bonnie wasn't the one who t-turned the watch back on. She told me herself and h-her heartbeat didn't change at all. S-She wasn't lying."
Katherine's eyes hardened and her posture tightened up. "Oh Baby Bear, you really don't know, do you?"
"K-Know what?"
Katherine's lips pressed together in a thin line and she just let out a large, almost disappointed sigh, through her nose. "As much as I like to stir up drama, that's one line I do not cross. You'll have to confront your mama to get more details there."
She paused and then her almost caring expression disappeared, replaced by one of sadistic joy. "Oh goodie. Sounds like boy-toy is here. That would be my cue to disappear." Katherine leaned over and surprised Victoria by dropping a big, heavy kiss on her forehead. Katherine pulled back from the forehead kiss with an audible smack. "Be at the Lockwood party. Don't be late."
"I-I can't even get out of bed."
"You'll find a way to be there," Katherine ordered, smirking. "See you in a while, Baby Bear."
And in a flash, Katherine was gone, the door to Damon's room from the hallway left wide open, leaving Victoria alone.
All alone.
Always alone.
Alone.
That was for a second.
Because, in the second second (haha), Damon was standing in the doorway.
And just like that, it was like a switch had flipped. No longer was she frustrated and angry, no longer was her bones killing her (keep in mind, they still were, but just not that bad). Her eyes sprung with tears and she struggled to push herself up. She didn't get far before Damon threw himself at her from across the room.
Damon lifted her up like she weighed nothing (comparatively to him, she probably did weigh nothing) and held her close to his chest. To keep her balance, Victoria wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging to him like a little koala. The two of them both hid their own faces in each other's necks, unabashedly breathing in the other as they held each other tightly.
"Don't you ever fucking do that again, Baby," Damon growled into her neck, his grip tightening on her to an almost painful degree. Her skin erupted into deeper goosebumps. "I don't want you anywhere near that bitch ever again. I hope you like this room because I'm going to wrap you in bubble wrap and hide you away in here, where you will never see the light of day again unless I am glued to your side, got it?"
"Hi, Damon," Victoria murmured, her voice cracking pathetically. Not exactly the first impression she wanted to make to one of her closest friends after awakening from having a house dropped onto her head.
Damon's grip on her loosened exponentially and it felt like the tension had literally dropped from his body as he whispered back, "Hi, Baby." His lips brushed up against Victoria's neck and she shivered again. He continued gently, "Did she hurt you?"
"N-No," Victoria answered honestly. "N-Not purposefully. She jostled me a little, and t-the fever made it hurt. S-She actually helped Ms. Gibbons fix me u-up, or so she says."
"Don't trust anything that demon says," Damon ordered her. "Ever. Understand?"
"Crystal clear," Victoria slurred, suddenly feeling really exhausted all of a sudden. Even the subtle thought of movement made her bones feel heavy. She slumped farther into Damon's arms and made it very clear through her body that she had no intentions of being set down.
Damon just chuckled at her mannerisms and he pressed a gentle kiss to her temple. "Okay, I got the hint, Mama Bear. All aboard the Damon Express. Next stop, my bed."
He turned, then paused, and his body tensed up again. Victoria sniffed and Damon seemed to sense the mental question she was asking him. "It's nothing. Just a message."
Victoria's brow furrowed in confusion. She snuck her face out of Damon's neck and propped her chin up on his shoulder. She found the mirror he used typically for preening from across the room and actually saw her reflection for once, not Vicki.
She saw a tired teenager staring back at her, the visage of exhaustion manifested into a real person. But it wasn't the severe dark lines under her eyes that caught her attention, nor the feverish red glaze that was painted all over her face.
It was the faint (so faint that people without enhanced vision wouldn't be able to see it) lipstick kiss mark on Victoria's forehead that caught her attention.
"Blankie, if you won't stay still, I will keep you still." Vicki threw a punch so fast that Victoria didn't see it coming, and a wave of black descended on Victoria faster than anything she had ever seen.
The desiccation reached the top of her head and her whole body was gray and limp within Zach's arms. And yet Victoria couldn't help but squeak out painfully, "V-Vicki?"
There was no response.
"No, no, no, no," Logan muttered under his breath. He inhaled deeply and Victoria let out a squeak of discomfort. "There's something else. Something much more...delectable."
Victoria's eyes widened in distress when the feeling of his nose was replaced by the feeling of his lips, brushing just barely against her throat. Tears sprung to her eyes and she took a shaky breath, biting her lower lip again as she struggled not to cry.
"You are a weakling, Victoria. A weakling, and a liar, and a selfish bitch. You're a failure. Everything your mother said was true -"
"- Shut up!" Victoria screeched, and her instincts took over. She pulled a hand back and threw it towards the mirror as hard as she could. Over and over again. She ignored the pain in her hand; she ignored the smell of her blood filling the room more than it had before. Victoria pounded her fist against the mirror, enjoying the way she heard it crack and shatter underneath her fist. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
There, sticking directly out of her chest, was the wooden pole-turned-stake that Elena had tried to use on Noah. Except now, it was stabbed into her chest. Her blue velvet dress was already beginning to stain as blood leaked and poured from her chest. Every breath felt like a thousand.
Victoria couldn't hold herself up anymore. Her legs shook and collapsed underneath her. Something tapped her cheek and Victoria breathed in a shuddering gasp, her attention snapping back. She let out a pained sob as her brain began to rapid-fire process the pain she was experiencing. It was the worse feeling in the entire world.
The glittering of Sheila's pocket knife caught Victoria's eye. Before Victoria could say anything or attempt to dodge, Sheila was kneeling down beside Victoria. With a sharp jab, the knife was in her stomach and Victoria was letting out a pained cry, tears immediately jumping to her eyes. Sheila dragged the knife, still inches deep into Victoria's stomach, towards herself; the ripping of flesh and clothes filled the air and Victoria couldn't stop the scream that tore from her throat. It was like the night of her Immortalis death. Tears fell from her eyes as her body threatened to collapse. Everything hurt. Oh gosh, everything was in pain.
Instincts in Victoria told her to dive out of the way. She threw herself to the right, out of the way of the stairs. Before her body hit the floor, she curled in on herself and landed the roll. A loud crack rang through the house and Victoria froze when she arose into a crouch. Her back was to the door and she couldn't move. She didn't try to breathe. She just remained still.
She'sdeadshe'sdeadshe'sdeadshe'sdead, echoed through her brain. It was the only thought that Victoria could think about. There was no heartbeat from Trudie. Besides Victoria's own heart, which was pounding something fierce, she was completely surrounded in silence.
In a quick jolt, everything turned numb.
Victoria could see, but not see, you know?
Everything was starting to blur, but if she was correct, there was a heart being held above her. Her heart, Victoria supposed. It would be weird if it was anyone else's. A woman was holding it, but it hadn't been Lexi. Who was it again...?
Ah yes, Bethanne. Bethanne was holding her heart.
"Good luck in hell, vermin," Bethanne hissed, looking rather pleased with herself.
Frederick's hand moved like a flash of lightning and an all-too-familiar numbness started to spread throughout Victoria's body. She blinked her eyes as darkness started to set in on the corners.
Oh.
He was holding her heart.
"Stop, please, please, stop!" She cried over and over again, only to be ignored. The pain in her eyes, the pain in her mouth. It was all too much. Too much, too soon. Frederick just gave her a sadistic grin as his fingers dug tighter into her eyes. Too much, too soon.
Jeans, graphic shirt covered by a long black trench coat. Dark brown hair that was sparse around the top and black framed glasses. The man stood at the foot of the Founders' Hall, his hands placed in the pockets of his trench coat. He gave Victoria a single nod and she felt her knees give out. If Zach hadn't been right beside her, she would have faceplanted into the ground. Her jaw clenched shut. Her breathing restarted and started to pick up and up.
The man in front of her just tilted his head and sighed. "Really, Ms. LeBlanc. I thought we were past this. Are you not going to greet me in return?"
"Y-You're dead."
The pain hurt, yes, but the moment that her eyes landed on his form, tears sprung to her eyes and her heart cried out in pain. A gut-wrenching wail of pain, sadness, and pure agony came ripping from her mouth and she screamed, "Zach, no!"
It was over. She could step off. Damon was there and everything was fine. It was all finally fine.
Victoria turned her head over her shoulder and gave Damon the brightest smile that she could, to show just how grateful she was for him. Her balance as a dancer was the only thing that kept her from falling over the edge as she twisted around. Lee was standing on the pavement, his hand held up, ready to receive hers. She reached a hand out for him...
...just as both of her feet slipped off of the wet concrete railing.
Victoria let out a panicked scream as her friends and the bridge disappeared from view.
Her body hit the water a second later.
"I love you, Victoria," Noble whispered as his hand drifted to the back of her neck. His grip tightened and he added, "I love you so much...so please...forgive me."
Noble suddenly yanked Victoria forward, his anchorage being the hand on the back of her neck. Victoria let out a startled gasp as she fell forward into Noble's arms.
Two things happened at once.
First, Victoria landed in a heap on Noble's lap, but Noble repositioned her head so he could give her a solid, teeth-clattering and mind-numbing kiss.
Second, the building fell down.
"I am already dead," Noble replied and Victoria let out a wail as those four words started a fire. Literally. The courtyard was up in flames in the blink of an eye, the fires licking at the heels of Noble's feet. Vicki tugged harder at Victoria's waist, but Victoria couldn't tear her gaze away from him. "You are the best thing to ever happen to me, Victoria LeBlanc -"
"- Shut up -"
"- I will treasure the time that we've spent together -"
"- Make it stop; I don't want hear this again. No -"
"- You meant everything to me -"
"- Noble, stop it!" Victoria sobbed.
"Victoria Khalida LeBlanc," Noble whispered just as the flames caught his trousers on fire. He barely managed to whisper, "I love you."
And then his entire body was up in flames.
And Victoria screamed.
Her nightmares about the EMTs' deaths and her time spent trapped in a body bag (even for the short amount of time that she had been kept in there) had finally stopped just a month ago.
And now she was trapped again.
"No, no, no, no, no!" Victoria screamed out as her panic started to take control. Her panic told her to start punching, anything and in every direction. Her fist hit something hard, metal it seemed like, and the sudden impact against it made Victoria cry out in pain. Her hand started to throb and Victoria twitched at the sudden bursts of pain it was sending to her brain. She started to kick her legs around, flailing around this way and that. "No, no, no, no! Help! Somebody, help me! Please, I'm still alive! Somebody, get me out of here! Damon, Zach, anybody! Help me!"
"HELP ME!"
It was warm.
And dark.
And very cramped.
And she didn't know where she was.
Holy shit, Victoria didn't know where she was.
Where was she?
She didn't know where she was.
SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHERE SHE -
"- Easy, Baby. I gotchu."
She knew that voice.
Soft.
Gentle.
Honestly? Annoying as hell, but her kind of annoying.
Safety.
Comfort.
"Your body broke the fever an hour ago, but you still need to rest. Go back to bed."
The warmth that covered her waist tightened and dragged her backward in the dark, though not far. The warmth of the darkness covered her like it was a little cocoon and she was its caterpillar, about to transform and emerge as a beautiful butterfly.
Yeah.
She didn't think she was ever going to become that butterfly.
There came a moan from behind her and it sent chills up Victoria's spine. The warmth behind her shifted and she felt something else warm and hot press up against her neck. The darkness behind her breathed words into existence against her skin, "Your brain is too loud. Turn it off and go back to bed. You can still get a few more hours of sleep before the world needs you."
"I-I don't know where I am," Victoria whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut. If she was going to be stuck in darkness again, she would rather be stuck in the darkness of her own creation.
The warmth around her stomach dipped until warm little pinpricks tickled her skin. Something slipped up under her shirt; not going too far as to make her uncomfortable, but rather, resting itself largely on her bare stomach. It was grounding, in a way, to feel that warmth directly on her skin.
The darkness spoke again. "You're in the Salvatore boarding house in Damon Salvatore's room. This is Damon speaking, presently."
"W-Where is Caroline?"
The darkness (Damon, a friendly voice reminded. Oddly enough, the voice sounded like it was coming from the wardrobe across the room. His name is Damon and you two are basically besties) made a sleepy yawn before cuddling back close to Victoria and whispering into the skin on the back of her neck, "She got out of surgery hours ago. Elena gave her some of my blood and she made a full recovery. Lee, resident Southerner and potential cowboy-in-training, though he's never disclosed that information to us, is keeping a close eye on her. She's safe."
"S-Safe?"
"Yeah, Baby, she's all safe. Just like you."
"Safe?"
"Yeah, Baby. All safe. Everyone's okay. We're all okay."
Victoria flipped herself around (though it was a bit of a struggle given how dead tired her bones seemed to be) and she snuggled herself closer to the darkness (Damon. His name is Damon. Besties, remember? said that random wardrobe again). There was a specific sense of comfort that she was trying to receive. It was different from the one that the darkness already provided her.
But the darkness couldn't give her this one little comfort.
And it destroyed her.
"I-I need to see her."
"We can see her before I leave for the Lockwoods, but that means that you're gonna have to wake up earlier than expected," Damon murmured, sniffing lightly. "You okay with that?"
"Mhmm," Victoria whispered sleepily.
"Okay. How about you get up, go and shower or do whatever you need to to feel comfortable, and then I'll go make you some breakfast?"
"Okay," Victoria sniffed, nodding her head.
"Okay. Be right back, Baby."
Victoria felt Damon's lips gently kiss her forehead and he was out of the bed in a flash. Victoria sighed, but slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. A quick stretch test on her body told her that physically, she seemed much better.
One would dare say she felt fine.
"You are not fine, Tori, and it's stupid to even think that way."
"No one asked for your opinion, Vicki," Victoria hissed, turning her head to glare at Damon's wardrobe.
The image of her dead friend was sprawled out lazily on the bed with Victoria. There was this smile on her lips that caused chills on Victoria's spine. It wasn't natural, not on Vicki. It was like a sadistic smirk, like Katherine's. But Katherine's smile was more mischievous, more trickster. Like she had a trick up her sleeve and she couldn't wait to pull it out.
The smile on Vicki's face?
It looked like she had just murdered a group of school children and was happy about it.
"In fact, for you, it's stupid to even think."
"What the hell?" Victoria breathed, her brow furrowing as she looked her friend up and down. "Vicki? If you're pulling some practical joke on me, I don't want it right now."
"What makes you think I'm pulling a practical joke?" Vicki drawled, twisting so she was lying on her stomach. She kicked her feet back up and they started to move back and forth lazily as Vicki continued on. "Maybe I'm just speaking the truth; the truth that we both know, but neither of us have ever had the balls to admit."
"Yeah?" Victoria scoffed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "I think I know myself pretty well. What is this thing that neither of us have been ballsy enough to admit?"
"That you're a monster."
Victoria froze.
All muscles locked up.
She couldn't move.
She couldn't breathe.
"You know I'm right, Tori," Vicki cooed, tilting her head to give Victoria a pitying gaze. "Your silence is an agreement with the topic. I mean, who else would know better than the person in your mind?" Vicki pointed a finger at herself and pretended to be surprised. "Wouldn't you know? That's me!"
"I-I'm not a monster -"
Vicki snorted. "Oh please, honey, you're not a saint. It's also why you're stupid. You're stupid to believe that you are anything other than a stone-cold murderer. You killed those poor defenseless EMTs, Derrek Shepperd and his team -"
"- Stop it -"
"- Sweet Sheila Bennett, who only wanted to right a wrong that had been done unto the universe -"
"- S-She tried to kill me -"
"- Frederick, who wanted revenge on you for murdering his girl; naughty, naughty -"
"- H-He tore my eyes and tongue out -"
"- So you tore his body in two. I saw. And then, our poor little Noble -"
"- Shut up -"
"- You killed him. You dropped a building on him, all because you weren't strong enough -"
"- Shut up, Vicki -"
"- You didn't want him enough -"
"- Shut. Up. -"
"- You weren't enough -"
"- Shut up -"
"- You are a monster -"
"- SHUT UP!" Victoria screamed, leaping from the bed. She was in front of the mirror a moment later and she curled her hand up into a fist. She drew her arm back and threw it forward, slamming her fist into the mirror. Her hand hurt, yes, and she could feel the bones in her fingers protesting the sudden use of force, but the mirror cracked underneath her fingertips, and that was much, much, much more satisfying. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
Over and over again, Victoria threw her fist into the mirror, watching with sick enjoyment as the mirror cracked more and more. More screams of pain, of anger, of distress, left her mouth, but her fist never stopped swinging.
Back and forth.
Back and forth, like a pendulum.
She vaguely recalls someone bursting into the room.
She vaguely recalls arms around her waist, dragging her away from the mirror while she kicked and screamed, Vicki's words echoing in her mind.
You're a monster.
You're a monster.
You're a monster.
You.
Are.
A.
Monster.
Damon got called to come to the Lockwood house sooner than he had anticipated (he was not a happy camper about that), so Zach became Victoria's official escort to go and see Caroline. Victoria didn't make a comment about the change of chaperones. She honestly was too tired to care. They got to the hospital quickly and safely, and Zach walked Victoria up to Caroline's room (since she had been in a body bag in the morgue when Caroline had come into the hospital). When they reached the correct door, Victoria didn't make a move to open it. She just stood there, her eyes peering down at the doorknob for what felt like hours, just frozen in place.
She just...couldn't do it.
She was stuck.
Staring at the doorknob in what felt like frozen terror.
Zach, bless his heart, seemed to sense her hesitance to open the door herself, so he reached forward and grasped the knob to Caroline's room firmly, before twisting it and opening it up. The breath in Victoria's lungs seized and she reached out with her hand to Zach's nearest hand, snatching it up in her palm. The random connection didn't even faze Zach; he simply opened his hand up more and interlocked their fingers. It brought a minimal sense of comfort to Victoria's anxious soul. Zach took the first few steps from the hallway to the room and he dragged Victoria forward after him.
Stepping into Caroline's room, Victoria didn't breathe at all. She just held the air in her lungs, ignoring the way they burned in a desperate cry for oxygen. Victoria didn't even notice the way that her body was physically shaking, not until she froze at the foot of her best friend's bed.
The blonde was looking at Victoria with caring and understanding eyes. They sparkled with unshed tears and the grin on her face was wide and toothy. "Hi, Tori."
That broke Victoria yet again.
Victoria let out a sob and broke away from Zach. She threw herself up onto the small hospital bed and into the arms of her best friend. She wrapped the blonde up in her arms as much as she could. Given the way Caroline shook underneath her and the way her breathing had turned into gasps of air, Caroline was also crying.
"I-I'm so sorry that this happened and I wish that I could have stopped it and I don't want you to hate me and never see me again and so much has happened and I'm just so glad that you're o-okay!" Victoria sobbed, her words turning into one long run-on sentence. Caroline didn't even respond, but instead, just gripped Victoria even tighter, which made Victoria cry even harder.
That was all that was said between the two girls for a long minute as they got all the tears cried and the hugs given. Victoria had been crying into her best friend's arms so hard that she barely noticed Zach quietly slipping out of the room, murmuring the excuse of "needing to find out where Pearl went to". If she had been in a better headspace, Victoria would have made a snarky remark about how close Zach and Pearl seemed to have become in such a short time period.
But to make such a comment would be to acknowledge the forming of a romantic relationship.
And to acknowledge that would be to acknowledge romantic relationships.
And Victoria didn't want to think about relationships.
That would just lead to thoughts about -
"- Elena told me about what happened with Noble."
"I'm okay," came the automatic words from Victoria's lips, but even she knew that they were flat and not filled with life. Victoria pulled herself up and away from Caroline, now sitting at the edge of her hospital bed while her best friend stayed reclined.
Caroline didn't buy it, but Victoria wasn't surprised about that. "That's a lie, and you know it. Have you even had time to process what happened last night?"
"I-I can't, Care-Bear," Victoria murmured, shaking her head. There was a hard ache in her chest, right above her heart. The mere thought of his smile...it made Victoria's eyes water just mentally seeing it. "I-I have other things to -"
"- Don't you dare say that there are other things that need your attention more," Caroline spat, pointing a finger towards Victoria's face. "There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that needs your attention more than this. You lost someone you cared about so much, and you think that you just need to brush it aside -"
You're a monster.
"- for some other, probably insignificant, thing -"
You're a murderer.
"- like a missing piece of jewelry of Elena's -"
You killed him.
"- which, if we're being realistic, would probably be the key to discovering Atlantis -"
You killed Noble.
"- in which we would learn that Elena's some long-forgotten mermaid princess or whatever -"
YOU KILLED HIM!
"- He said he loved me."
The words escaped Victoria's mouth like a whisper, but they had a good enough impact on the room. The voices in her head, the ones that had been shouting mean, nasty, and terrible words at her finally silenced.
And Caroline?
It looked like those five words had had an atomic bomb-like effect on Caroline.
Caroline's eyes widened in shock, her mouth dropping in disbelief, and Victoria could see multiple thoughts whirling around behind her gobsmacked expression. Her mouth opened and shut, and different sounds emerged from the crevice, but there were no concrete words or sentences.
"He told me he loved me, he loved me so much, and then he begged for my forgiveness before he broke my concentration and the building dropped," Victoria continued, her words coming out as a hoarse whisper. "I was trying, Care, so hard to keep it up, but he...he wanted to end it on his terms. He apologized for being greedy, then he admitted her loved me, he kissed me one last time, and then the building just dropped."
You killed him.
Victoria's eyes started to water again and Victoria cried, biting her lower lip, "I-I killed him."
"Victoria," Caroline whispered brokenly, not knowing what else to say in response to such a thing. "I-I..."
"H-He told me he loved me and I-I don't know what I would have said in response," Victoria sniffed as a couple more tears dropped down onto her cheeks. "W-Was I in love with him right then? N-Not necessarily, but I've never b-been in love. But...in time...I-I could've been. I could've been, but now I-I can't because I killed him."
"Tori," Caroline cooed and Victoria's shoulders shook as the sobs started to come out again. Victoria slapped a hand over her mouth to try and keep her cries quieter. Caroline pushed herself up into an upright position and she reached out for Victoria, but Victoria stumbled to her feet, out of the blonde's reach. She found her way to the end of Caroline's bed, not looking up to see the devastated look on the blonde's face. "I'm so sorry, honey. I am so, so, so sorry."
"I-I can't deal with any of this," Victoria breathed, shaking her head rapidly. "T-They need me to be strong. I need to be strong."
"To grieve is to love," Caroline echoed, and Victoria closed her eyes tight as she felt a shiver run down her spine. Those were words she had spoken before, she was positive. "Tori, no one is going to shame you for needing to break down."
"Caroline Forbes, I don't want to even think about how many times I've cried since I came to this town," Victoria started. "I am so done, so tired, of crying all the time. I just wanted something good, something that made me warm and fuzzy inside, but all I've discovered is that I c-can't. I can't have that."
It's all your fault.
It should have been her!
You are just not cut out for that world.
It should have been her.
It should have been her.
It's all your fault.
You killed him.
YOU KILLED NOBLE!
"I'm a monster," Victoria whispered, and it was like her spirit rose a little. It was enlightening, to acknowledge and admit the thing that everybody tried to deny. How's that for balls, Vicki?
"Victoria Khalida LeBlanc!" Caroline gasped in shock.
"I-I have to go now," Victoria murmured, hastily wiping her eyes with her sleeves. She gave Caroline a watery smile. "Bye Caroline. Sorry for interrupting your rest. Thank you for being a friend that I needed here."
"Victoria, where are you going?" Caroline screamed at her as Victoria flipped around and walked out, back straight and her eyes locked on the door. "Victoria, get back here!"
She knew the truth now. It had taken Vicki pissing her off and a heart-to-heart session with Caroline to realize it, but she now knew the truth, and she wasn't going to let anyone else try to say it differently.
The Gilberts had died because of her.
Vicki had died because of her.
Raphael had died because of her.
Logan had died because of her.
Noah had died because of her.
Derrek Sheppard and his team had died because of her.
Ben had died because of her.
Sheila Bennett had died because of her.
Bethanne had died because of her.
Chrys had died because of her.
Frederick had died because of her.
Zach had died because of her.
Anna had died because of her.
Noble had died because of her.
She.
Was.
A.
Monster.
Victoria was heading up the driveway to the Lockwood Estate, walking alone since Zach was busy parking his car. She was really close to the front steps when she was quickly cut off by one Katherine Pierce. Katherine was on her like a hawk, her eyes narrowed, her arms crossed over her chest, and her lips quirked down in a frown. "You're late. And you're up on your feet."
Victoria pulled her jacket tighter around her body and grunted, "Let's just get this over with."
Katherine's eyebrow rose at Victoria's blatant dismissal and her lips puckered angrily. "Is it Baby Bear's time of the month, because she's being an unnecessary bitch this afternoon?"
"I'm not on my period, Katherine," Victoria snapped as she brushed past the vampiress, keeping her stride and her head down, and heading straight towards the house. "If I was, you would know."
Katherine jogged to keep up with Victoria and the vampiress let out a dark chuckle. "Don't try and outbitch me, Ria. You are not going to win that fight."
"Fantastic," Victoria sniffed, rolling her eyes.
"Victoria? Elena?" Victoria heard their names being gasped and Victoria paused at the steps of the house. She glanced up towards the front door. Sheriff Forbes stood in the doorway, her eyes wide with confusion as she looked down at the adult-turned-teen. "You're out of the hospital."
"Yes," Victoria said, drawing out the 'yes'. She glanced toward Katherine but Katherine just gave her a bewildered look that said that she was just in the dark as Victoria was. "I am."
"Sorry," the Sheriff apologized, not noticing the weirded-out looks being swapped between Victoria and Katherine. "Damon told me that you were in the hospital when I went to check up on Caroline. I guess I just overestimated the amount of damage you had."
Victoria threw on her best smile, which given the way she was currently feeling, probably came out more of a grimace. Victoria lifted her wrist, the one that she had bitten to get her blood, and twirled it around to showcase it to the Sheriff. "Just a little flesh wound and fever. I got released earlier today and Elena brought me home. Not that bad."
It wasn't as bad as other things.
It's your fault.
You were never meant for this life.
It's your fault.
He's dead because of you.
You're a monster.
He's dead.
YOU KILLED HIM.
YOU KILLED NOBLE.
Victoria let out a startled gasp as Katherine grabbed her free, uninjured hand, and the doppelgänger smiled up at Sheriff Forbes with an award-winning grin. "I brought her over from the hospital after she said hi to Caroline. I thought that seeing Mrs. Lockwood might help pep her up."
Sheriff Forbes frowned lightly and her brows pinched together. Victoria stood up straighter. That wasn't a good look. "Just...be cautious. Mayor Lockwood and Tyler both got into two different accidents last night, so Mrs. Lockwood is a bit...hesitant...towards people right now."
"She'll see Ria," Katherine stated, oh-so-confidently.
The Sheriff just gave the duo a tight-lipped smile and stepped out of the way to let the girls through. Katherine gently, but firmly, pulled Victoria along, not allowing the younger woman to slow either of them down. The three of them passed each other on the steps, as the Sheriff started heading down and away from the house.
Katherine and Victoria didn't make it that far before they ran into Bonnie Bennett, who looked ready to blow a fuse.
"Oh my gosh!" Bonnie growled, her face fuming with rage as she stepped out of the house and onto the front porch. She made a beeline for Victoria and Katherine, a look on her face that just simply said, 'I need to vent'. "Damon drives me crazy! He's walking around like he's some kind of hero for healing Caroline when it's his fault all of this happened in the first place!"
"I'm sorry, Bonnie," Katherine cooed, falling immediately into the Elena Gilbert act. "What Damon's done is just awful."
Victoria frowned at that and gave Katherine a dark look. The Damon that Victoria knew was a much different man than the Damon that should have started Season 2. Bonnie caught the look that Victoria sent Katherine and just sighed. "I'm sorry I'm venting about Damon and I know you two are close, but seriously, Tori, would it kill him to be nice to anyone besides you?"
"Apparently," came Victoria's succinct reply.
Bonnie's eyebrows shot up at the short response, and she simply pursed her lips before taking a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth. Bonnie dropped her shoulders and Victoria noted that there was a lightness in her body that hadn't been there before. "Okay, better. Hateful Damon moment over."
Bonnie reached out to grab both Victoria's and Katherine's arms, and the look that Victoria read on her face said that she was grateful for both of their friendships. However, the moment that she touched the two of them, she tensed up. Bonnie's eyes widened slightly and Victoria could sense the shiver that ran down the young witch's spine. Given the way that Katherine's grip tightened on Victoria's hand hard enough that it made Victoria's eye twitch, Katherine noticed it too.
Bonnie tried to play it off, naturally. "Um, I've got to find Tyler and see how he and his dad are doing. I'll be back." She sent a look toward Victoria, and Victoria wished that she could telepathically tell Bonnie to run and save herself, or to go run and grab Damon.
"Okay," Katherine said with a cheery smile.
Katherine didn't move from her spot until Bonnie was well out of eyesight of both girls. It was only then that she started to drag Victoria again, this time with purpose. They (Katherine primarily, followed by a reluctant Victoria who just wanted to fall into her bed and never get up) followed Bonnie from a distance, watching as the witch dodged and weaved between comers-and-goers of the party. Bonnie almost evaded them by ducking into one of the side rooms, but Katherine's eagle eye caught it. Katherine tugged them faster and then slipped the two of them into the room behind Bonnie.
Only once the duo was in the room with Bonnie did Katherine let go of Victoria's wrist. However, the sudden loss of connection sent Victoria stumbling into the nearest wall. The solid THUNK that her body gave when she ran face-first into it (followed by her subsequent cursing as she felt her nose collide with a hard piece of plaster) alerted Bonnie to their sudden appearance and she whipped around with a gasp.
"We haven't officially met," Katherine giggled, cocking her head and observing Bonnie with a malicious smirk. "I'm Katherine."
Bonnie, credit due to credit earned, stood up straight and tried not to showcase just how scared she was of Katherine (her heartbeat, unfortunately, gave her away though). "I know who you are."
"Of course you do," Katherine stated. "You're the best friend, right?" Katherine sauntered forward, as if this was something she did all day and she knew she was damn good at it. "I've been putting all the pieces of Elena's life together. Isobel told me it was a bit of a puzzle."
Victoria couldn't help but flinch at the mention of Isobel's name. It had only been a week since she had been forced to stand on the ledge of the Wickery Bridge by Elena's biological mother, and she didn't even want to think about her. She got chills when she did.
"I do know who Jenna and Jeremy are, and I met that delicious ex-boyfriend, Matt, who's sweet on the Care-Bear," Katherine mused. "Then there's you, the vampire-hating Bennett witch, not to be mistaken with Ria's mom, the other vampire-hating witch, but she's a White Witch, so she has a little bit more advantageous properties than you do. Then we have the Salvatore brothers: Stefan, who's obsessed with Elena, and Damon, who's obsessed with Ria." Katherine jerked her head to the side, gesturing towards Victoria, who was cradling her nose gingerly. "And we're not even done yet, are we?"
Katherine continued on, now starting to circle Bonnie like the witch was chum in the water and Katherine herself was the shark. "Moving on, we have Lexi, Stefan's best friend. Womb to tomb and all that lovely jazz. Lexi's ever-loving boyfriend, Lee, the very definition of ride or die, though personally, I would rather ride if you catch my drift. Then there's Zach Salvatore, the great something or other nephew of Stefan and Damon, by the baby brother the two never met. Zach's affiliated with Pearl, but she's kind of MIA at the moment."
Victoria's brow couldn't help but scrunch up at that. Pearl was MIA? Why hadn't anyone told her that?
Granted, there hadn't really been a time in the day to tell her any of that.
"Oh, then we have Alaric Saltzmann: school teacher by day, vampire hunter by night," Katherine teased, rolling her eyes. She then deadpanned, "Terrifying, really." Continuing on, she added, "Oh, and we can't forget Harper Vessey, Civil War vampire who's now really playing the part because of a bum leg. Then there's Ms. Gibbons, who seems like his caretaker. And, of course, we can't forget the ever lovely Amber Bradley, Mystic Falls' own Empath. Quite the collection of supernaturals you have in this little town. We should make a Bingo board of it. I think we could get a blackout."
Bonnie flipped around to try and rush out, but Katherine flashed forward and around her before she could ever get a shot. Bonnie whispered something quick and harsh under her breath, and Katherine's face scrunched up. A look of pain hit her and the vampiress let out a startled gasp. A cocky and confident grin formed on Bonnie's face, but it quickly dried up when Katherine straightened up and hissed, "I've been around a long time, Bonnie; you're gonna have to do better than that."
Katherine moved to lunge for Bonnie, but that was when Victoria had had enough.
Enough of Katherine.
Enough of Bonnie.
Enough of every single fucking person in the world.
"Enough!" Victoria shrieked, her voice echoing loudly in the spacious room. She threw her hands forward and her magic exploded from her hands towards Katherine. But this...
...this was different.
Her magic felt more volatile than before.
Wilder.
As the black ooze wrapped itself around Katherine's torso, halting her stride in the blink of an eye, it crackled.
Sparked.
There was something dangerous about it and it filled Victoria with both fear and sadistic pleasure.
It felt powerful.
She felt powerful.
You're a monster!
Victoria let out a gasp and her concentration fell apart in the blink of an eye. Katherine went stumbling, now that Victoria's magic was no longer holding onto her. She ended up stumbling straight into Bonnie, and the two girls went falling to the ground. Victoria's outstretched hands started to shake and she snapped them back to her chest.
She had to leave.
Now.
Victoria flipped around and stumbled out of the room, taking notice that neither Katherine nor Bonnie tried to come after her. Victoria slipped past guests, some she recognized vaguely and others she didn't.
It was too much.
Too much.
All too much.
She was almost there. Almost there...!
And, of course, she ran straight into another body.
"Shit," Victoria cursed under her breath as she stumbled backward, barely able to keep herself upright.
Two arms shot forward and grabbed her by the shoulders and she flinched, but the hands kept her steady. "Language, baby girl."
Multiple thoughts occurred to Victoria in that instant.
Thought number one: the person she had hit called her baby girl. Nobody but her mother called her baby girl.
Thought number two: this person was not her mother.
Not her mother at all.
"Mason Lockwood," Victoria breathed, looking up at the person who had helped her from falling backward. She wished that she could feel excited to see him, she really did. She had always liked him as a side character, but right now, she felt ready to pass out and throw up, all at the same time; if she was going to do that, she didn't want to have an audience for it. "I-I'm sorry, but I have to go."
"Baby girl, are you okay?" Mason asked, squeezing her shoulders in concern. Victoria flinched back again, not ready for the sudden squeeze on her shoulders. Mason yanked his arms back as if he had just burned himself. He held his hands up cautiously, and immediately said, "Okay, okay. No touching or squeezing." He gave her a charming grin (a grin that she would have thought was charming but she really needed to leave right freaking now and now her body felt too hot and too cold and shit, she probably was recessing back into her fever) and chuckled, "Can't blame a dad for trying. Haven't seen you in a long time."
What.
The.
Fucking.
Hell?
He couldn't have just said what she thought he had just said...
...could he?
"D-Dad?" Victoria squeaked in disbelief, her eyes roaming Mason's frame. She blinked rapidly. This couldn't be true.
Mason nodded and he opened his arms wide. "Why don't you come and give your old man a hug, huh?"
Just then, a scream tore its way from deeper inside the house.
It was raw, guttural.
And it hit Victoria right in her stomach.
All of a sudden, she couldn't breathe. Her legs and arms locked up, and an unbelievable pain hit her right at the center of her head.
Victoria didn't even hesitate.
She fainted.
A/N: To answer all the questions I know you're all asking, yes, it's Sunday. My boss at the frozen yogurt shop got COVID and so I am now covering two more shifts in addition to my two shifts, so this is gonna be a long week for me. Ch69, the chapter I am currently trying to write, is being a jerk and it being difficult to write, which is stupid, because I've been looking forward to this chapter for ages. Whatever.
New Followers!: dxmonsxlvtr, xxo-ji88yong, chaitanyajoshi1003
New Favoriters!: sally36147, dxmonsxlvtr, xxo-ji88yong, chaitanyajoshi1003
Onto reviews!:
DBZFAN45: Yes, welcome back! Yeah, I would definitely blame Victoria's lack of awareness on the fact that her lover died in front of her eyes just hours beforehand. I love Damon and Victoria's relationship. It so cutesy it makes me want to go 'aww' almost everytime I write an interaction between them. Here's the chapter for you on September 18th XD. Rehearsals have been going alright. It's hard watching somebody else play the part you really want as you just provide backup for them, but the dancing's been cool.
Child of Dreams: It will all make sense in time.
BrookeWorm3: Awww you're welcome! ;p. I like angst, what can I say? I've always liked it, but it really cemented itself to me today that I went "wait...like I like angst...like...a lot". There's a Twilight fanfic I've been reading called For a Reason: Inaugration by Mir Queen and there's a good angsty moment hidden deep within the fluff and I was like, "Dang, I like the Hurt better than the Comfort that comes with it." Katherine won't kill the Mama Bear. She's got better things to do with her time.
Kayumeee: Take all the time that you need. Victoria just has that gift (how did she make Season 1 Damon like her? Season 1 Damon didn't like anybody). Oh yeah, but the angst is not too bad realistically. Just dealing with PTSD instead of ignoring it, dealing with the deaths of loved ones, etc etc. Oh, and that Mason bomb. That too.
Elyse1821: Oh yeah, but as I told DBZFAN45 above, Victoria's kind of traumatized so she can't really be to blame if she doesn't recognize Katherine immediately. And yeah, the wyrmwood definitely didn't help. Probably dealing with the "Zach Salvatore, you...are the father." bomb from the Season 1 finale. I will ;p. Feel free to ask all the questions and I'll try to answer the best I can. Worst I can say is Spoiler. I can't wait for the Mikaelsons to arrive either. I hope I do them justice. I figured you would ;p.
Chapter 68 will be out on October 3rd.
Until then,
Stay healthy and stay safe!
BecomingFearless1F