A/N: Welcome back, loyal readers! I hope you enjoy this next chapter instalment.
Like always, please review. No flaming will be accepted.
I don't own The Vampire Diaries. All characters (except for Grace) belong to author L.J. Smith.
Thanks, and enjoy xx
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
"Whatever you do, don't get stuck on the one thing that ruins your day.
Smile and be grateful. Life is too short to waste on negativity."
~Unknown.
~: Gilbert Residence :~
I was standing in the Gilbert's kitchen, fetching myself another glass of water. I really needed one, after giving a full and detailed explanation about the 'long' trip down memory lane Jeremy and I had embarked on.
Needless to say, no one had been happy with the memories we mentioned seeing. Nik kicked things off with:
"I don't recall giving permission for strangers to view our more private memories, love." He admonished me.
I sighed in frustration, "Well, it's not like we could control what memories we could see, Nik." I had defensively explained to my boyfriend. He and Rebekah looked at me with frank disapproval. They were even less thrilled when they learned Jeremy and I had unwittingly witnessed their rebirth as vampires.
"How could you have let him see that?!" Rebekah had exclaimed out of horror, falling back on her maternal instincts.
That of course, got Jeremy's back up.
"He is sitting right here, you know." He piped up. "Plus, it's really not that big of a deal." Jeremy insisted, trying to come to my defence and protect me from their anger. But it was obvious enough that you could tell he was lying, and that it was kind of a big deal.
"Besides, it's not as though we were free to head for the exit. We were sorta trapped." I admitted, sheepishly.
This eventually lead me to excuse myself, and make a bid for freedom to the kitchen. I turned from the sink and took a sip from the glass; still listening to the raised voices coming from the living room belonging to both Nik and Damon, and on occasion, Rebekah.
Rolling my eyes, I lean against the counter glancing about the Gilbert's immaculate kitchen with interest before I spotted something out of place out the corner of my eye. It was sitting on the floor near the back door, and it looked like whoever had dropped it there, had been in a hurry. Setting aside my glass, I wondered over to the object and picked it up.
It was a bracelet.
"What you got there?" I glanced up to see Jeremy and Henrik walking into the kitchen. I frowned, questioning what was going on and realised that the raised voices were still continuing away in the living room, but increasing in volume. Jeremy must've interpreted my frown, because he suddenly said: "Damon's being a dick as usual, and causing too much drama." I nodded, understanding, and rolled my eyes. "We figured that they wouldn't miss it if we wondered out of the room." He explained, gestured between Henrik and himself with his thumb.
"So what's that?" Henrik asked, smoothly changing the topic and indicating towards the bracelet still lying in my hand. Jeremy's eyes widened.
"That's my vervain bracelet. Tyler must've dropped it when he took off when you and Klaus showed up." He said, and I reached over and dropped the leather band bracelet into his hand. Jeremy curled his hand around the bracelet, looking betrayed and momentarily glanced back at the living room.
I immediately stepped into his path.
"Don't, Jeremy. You've already struck up a truce with Nik, don't ruin a good thing. Just let it go." I urged him.
"He still used me in his plans."
"And in his own way, he's already apologised for that. Be the bigger man and let it go." I insisted, firmly.
"I can't just let it go." Jeremy argued, but then suddenly a look of clarity appeared on his face that put me on alert and made me frown. "But I know one way to help me deal."
He immediately ran from the kitchen, and both Henrik and I followed. I was worried that Jeremy was about to do something stupid.
"Jeremy, what are you doing?" I demanded. He seemed to ignore me as he made a beeline for a large wooden trunk that I hadn't noticed before and immediately pushed the heavy lid open.
"Woah..." Henrik blurted out, his eyes widening at the amount of deadly weapons concealed inside. Jeremy sifted through the weapons available before pulling out a large, complicated looking crossbow. "What are you going to do with that?"
Jeremy straightened up, checking that the bolt was in place before firmly closing the trunk. He had a look of determination on his face as he headed back through the kitchen and walked to the back door.
"Where the hell are you going?" I demanded, again stepping into his path.
"Getting some answers." Jeremy replied, simply.
"Before or after you shish kabob Tyler?" I asked, as I put two and two together and grimaced at the answer I got. Jeremy ignored me and moved passed and out the backdoor. Henrik and I glanced at each other before quickly following him.
"Jeremy, stop! Tyler's too strong!" I yelled, running after him through the woods behind the property. But it seemed that there was no stopping this stubborn kid. "Shit..." I cursed, raking a hand through my hair.
Henrik darted forward.
"I'll go after him." He decided, as I looked at him like he was nuts.
"What? No! I protested, already hearing Rebekah screaming into my ear about the fact that I had let her [dead] baby brother traipse after an angry teen, carrying a dangerous weapon, who so happened to be Nik's very first hybrid ever created.
"Grace, I'm already dead and he can't hurt me." Henrik pointed out. "I'll call you when I find them and keep you informed." He promised, pulling out his phone and showing me.
He smiles at me reassuringly before taking off at a run to catch up with Jeremy. I yelled out in frustration and kicked a nearby log, wincing when pain ricocheted up my leg.
"Damnit!" I growled, and started limping back to the house. Nik, Rebekah and Damon appeared at the back door, having obviously realising that Jeremy, Henrik and I weren't in the house.
"Grace, where'd the hell did you go off to?" Rebekah demanded, before they realised that I was limping and in a rather foul mood.
"Are you alright? Why are you limping?" Damon came over to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders to support my weight.
"I took out my frustrations on a fallen log. Needless to say, the log won." I replied flippantly, as I took Damon's hand and allowed him to lead me up the garden path over to a iron-wrought bench in the Gilbert's backyard.
Nik sighed, coming over to ease off my shoe and sock to examine my foot for me. "May I ask why you decided to kick a log?" I winced as he pulled off my sock and gently twisted my foot around in a circle and flexed my toes.
"Jeremy raced off to confront Tyler." I explained, eyeing Nik carefully and narrowing my eyes a little when he visibly stiffened for a split second before relaxing, confirming my suspicions.
"What's his reason now?" Damon wanted to know, sighing with exaggerated patience. Both Mikaelsons looked at us with confusion.
"Jeremy and Tyler have this animosity towards each other." I explained, before answering Damon's question. "Jeremy discovered that Tyler had managed to get him to take off his vervain bracelet."
"What for?" Rebekah asked, confused.
"So Klaus could compel Jeremy." Damon replied, looking both irritated and begrudgingly impressed at Nik's plan; which he figured was what my boyfriend was going on about back at the Boarding House when Nik was trying to persuade him to help him find the four coffins. "Good job." He commented, sarcastically.
"Really, Nik?" Rebekah scolded him. I quickly and immediately jumped in to stop the sniping.
"Okay, that's enough. We've established that Nik made a mistake, but nothing serious happened so let's just let it go." I hissed a little when Nik managed to aggravate something in my foot.
"It's not broken. Just a bad sprain." Nik reported, straightening up from his crouch in front of me, and looking irritated about being reminded of something he had called off at the last minute. "Just put some ice on it, and it'll be fine, love." He instructed, gruffly.
"Thanks, Nik." I grumbled, feeling annoyed with myself. I attempted to get to my feet so I could hop towards the house, and let out a startled little yell when Nik wordlessly swept me up into his arms, like I was a damsel-in-distress. "Nik..." I let out a strangled groan out of embarrassment, as I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck.
"Oh, just shut up and deal with it, Grace." Rebekah bit out, as she and a smirking Damon followed us back into the Gilbert's house and Nik gently deposited me onto the couch, stuffing a couple of pillows underneath my foot. "By the way, where's Henrik?" She asked me, looking about for her wayward baby brother.
I sighed. "Part of the reason why I sprained my ankle; he took off after Jeremy and I attempted to stop him."
"He did what? How could you let him go?" Rebekah fretted, looking at me accusingly. I responded with an equally annoyed glare.
"Did you miss the part, Bekah, where I said I attempted to stop him; and got this as a trophy?" I retorted, pointing towards my foot which Damon had placed an ice-pack on. Rebekah backed off, but still looked upset. Nik was sitting on the coffee table in front of me, staring off into space with a calculating frown on his face.
"Well, this has been a colossal waste of time." Damon bitched, as he headed for the front door. "I'll call you later, Grace."
My phone chose that moment to start ringing, and I shifted a little to tug it free from my pocket. All eyes glanced at the screen, and read the name 'Henrik' written there in block letters.
"You were saying?" I responded dryly, before hitting the accept button. None of us said a word, as we heard the sound of footfalls crushing dried leaves and twigs underfoot. Then suddenly, a familiar voice spoke up:
"Don't do it, Jeremy." It was Tyler. Nik was about to reach out and take the phone from me, when I pulled it out of reach and shook my head.
"Why not? You stabbed my back, I stab yours." Jeremy retorted, angrily.
"I didn't stab you in the back!" Tyler protests almost immediately, but neither Jeremy nor any of us believed him.
"Is that why you wanted to hang out? To get me off the vervain?" Jeremy stubbornly persisted.
Tyler let out a defeated sigh, "Klaus asked me to. I never thought he would try to kill you."
"Kill me? Klaus didn't try to kill me. He called whatever it was off at the last minute." Jeremy stated. "Besides, it's Klaus, Tyler! What did you think was gonna happen?"
"He doesn't care about you!" Tyler insisted, and I noticed Nik wince a little. Rebekah looked surprised by her brother's negative reaction. The sound of something flying through the air at break-neck speed was heard; indicating that Jeremy had shot the bolt at Tyler. "What the hell?!"
"If Klaus didn't care, then why the hell would he give Grace permission to reveal his and Rebekah's memories, not to mention her own to me?" Jeremy challenged Tyler, who went into stunned silence. "Unlike you, Elena and everybody else; Klaus, the guy who when he wants something, causes people to sometimes disappear, is willing to tell me the whole truth about the supernatural? And according to Grace, Klaus rarely trusts anybody!" Nik and Rebekah look at me, surprised that I remembered this little factoid. Tyler seems to snap out of his shock.
"Jer! You should get home. Stay inside. Klaus isn't gonna stop until he gets all those coffins back. You can't trust him!" Tyler insists, frantic.
Jeremy snorts, "Yeah, that's probably true. But I'd more likely believe and trust anything he'd have to say, over anything you and my sister are likely to tell me in the future." He responds, before the following footfalls indicated that Jeremy was now walking away from a protesting and very concerned sounding Tyler.
"Did you get that?" Henrik's voice came over the line.
"Loud and clear, mate. Come straight back!" I instructed, before hitting the end button.
"Well, well, well. That's a very interesting development." Nik observes, still looking surprised that I had told Jeremy about his trust issues, but also the fact that the Gilbert boy had stuck up for him. "Hope you haven't made a foolish mistake in trusting him, Grace, with our life stories." Nik warns me.
"I'm not sure if I should be commending him for being brave or pitying him for being extremely foolhardy." Rebekah frowns, before getting up from where she had perched on the armrest above my head and started to pace.
I shrugged, "As the saying goes: 'nothing ventured, nothing gained'."
"So what happens now?" Damon spoke up, breaking the silence. Rebekah scowled at him, and I couldn't help but agree with her.
"Thought that this was a 'colossal waste of time'?" She stated, scathingly. Damon rolled his eyes.
"Changed my mind. Free country and all." He retorted, with a mocking sort of smile. Rebekah didn't like that and moved to retaliate, but was stopped when Nik reached out and grabbed her wrist; aiming a warning glare at his sister in the process.
"We wait for Jeremy and Henrik to come back, and I bitch Jeremy out for taking off half-cocked." I responded, briskly. Both Damon and Nik looked at me with disapproval.
"Not your greatest planning there, Grace." Damon stated, dryly.
"Well, I'm sorry then. Please, tell me some of your great ideas then." I snapped back, losing a bit of my patience with my pessimistic best friend.
"Hate to agree with Salvatore-" Nik stated, surprising everybody in the room. "-But I do have other things that I need to accomplish today, if we are to get the coffins back from Stefan. Talking with Ms. Gilbert, being at the top of the list-"
"Then your best bet would be sit tight, Nik." I interrupted. He turned and scowled at me, impatiently.
"Oh, really? Why pray tell?" Nik demanded. I gestured about the place, while also trying to make myself comfortable on the lumpy couch with my elevated and iced foot.
"This is Elena's house. Odds are, that she will return. Then you'll get your chance to interrogate her for the information you require, Nik." I pointed out, and he looked like he was getting very annoyed with me. "I'm not trying to be a pain in your arse, Nik. But my instincts are telling me that staying put is the best option right now, if you want to get what you require from Elena." I explained, trying to be reasonable.
"Well, whatever you decide; count me out of it. I'm going to head back to the apartment." Rebekah decided, heading for the front door. "Take care of our girl, Nik." She called back, before vamp-speeding away. Nik paused, contemplating exactly what I had suggested … before letting out a heavy sigh.
"You're sure that we should stay here, Grace?" Nik questioned me.
"Yes, she's sure. She's only said it twice." Damon piped up, also getting annoyed.
"When I want your input, I'll happily ignore it with a song in my heart." Nik retorted hotly and sarcastically back at Damon without taking his eyes off me. Instead of being intimidated, Damon merely smirked.
"Hmmm, now where have I heard that before?" Damon pretended to give this some thought. "Oh, right. My baby bro. He always did have such a 'holier-than-thou' attitude." Damon babbled on.
"As opposed to enjoying one's own grating voice?" Nik retorted, dangerously. Which should've signalled to most people to back off while their heads were still attached to their shoulders. Damon was not one of these people. "Tell me, Salvatore. Do you actually have anything relevant to input, or are you just here to waste everyone's time?"
"You tell me, you're the one who recruited me to partake in 'mission: impossible'." Damon replied back with cheek, and a 'pleasant' smile on his face. But his blue eyes flashed with a challenge: one that Nik was all too willing to accept.
"Oh, believe me; I'm already regretting that poor decision." Nik stated with a nasty smirk on his face.
And that was where I reached my limit for stupidity and recklessness.
"Okay, enough!" Both of them snapped their heads in my direction. I struggled unsuccessfully (but with a large amount of determination) to get to my feet. "I'm not gonna stay in this room and listen to you two bicker and make attempts to insert your dominance." I declared, as I finally get to my feet and start hobbling through the double doors blocking the entrance towards the main hallway.
"And just where do you think you're going?" Nik asked, looking concerned.
"To the bathroom." I responded, not stopping. "When I get back, I don't want you two to still be squabbling like children. It's extremely depressing." I stated. I didn't need to look back to know that both Nik and Damon was blinking at my back with bewildered and probably sulky expressions on their handsome faces.
Several minutes later, I emerged from the bathroom and limped back into the living room; relieved that I had had some minutes to myself that didn't involve the childish bickering from the two main men in my life.
There was an unusual silence in the house that concerned me; as I still half-expected to hear either irritated muttering from Damon, or Nik pacing impatiently. Something that I noticed that he tended to do when there was something that needed his attention and he was being kept from it.
"Nik? Damon?" I managed to grab the back of the couch as I glanced about the room, thinking that they might've moved out of sight of the main hallway and relocated to the Gilbert's dining area. But alas, my searching was in vain; both of them had disappeared. "Where'd the bloody hell did you both go?" I spoke out loud, feeling annoyed that I seemed to have been abandoned without an explanation.
That's when I noticed a notepad lying on the coffee table with a hastily written note scribbled on it. I limped around the couch and flopped gracelessly onto it, before reaching for the pad of paper which had Nik's neat, but spikey old-fashioned handwriting scrawled across the faded blue lines:
'Salvatore and I decided it would be safer if you stayed behind and waited for Elena, while we both took care of a couple of personal errands-"
"Figures..." I grumbled, before reading on:
'Won't be long. Should be back before she arrives, but just in case Ms. Gilbert does return before we do … call me.
I won't be too far away.
Keep your foot elevated, and don't do anything stupid or reckless.
I love you.
N. x'
I tossed the notepad back on the coffee table and fell backwards onto the lumpy couch with an irritated groan. Since I was technically stuck in this bloody house because of my injury, I decided to make the most of it and just wait until one or other of them returned.
And if Elena came back before they did, I could always come up with a white lie about why I was randomly there, lying on the couch without anybody in the house with me. I reached over for my purse and plucked my book free, turning to the bookmarked page and making myself comfortable. However, I must've fallen asleep on the couch, as I immediately snapped my eyes open when a loud noise suddenly roused me from a dreamless sleep.
It turned out to be a crabby sounding Elena, who had only just returned from wherever she had been, and had let the front door open and smack into the wall with a loud bang. I was surprised that the force of the door opening the way it did, did not shatter the panes of glass in the front door.
Cautiously, I peered over the backrest of the couch and saw Elena closing the door behind her and stomping her way over to the staircase. Only she immediately paused when she saw my head appear over the backrest and glanced at me with confusion, then irritation.
"What are you doing in my house?" She demanded rudely and suspiciously, stomping into the living room and glaring at me as she folded her arms across her chest in a protective shield. I struggled to sit up to address her properly.
"Re-cooperating." I responded, simply. Elena frowned deeper and came over to the couch to see why I was struggling.
"What happened to your foot?" She asked, curiously.
"I went out for a walk, and somehow managed to have a klutz attack and sprained my ankle." I improvised a believable white-lie. "Jeremy found me, and graciously offered me some assistance. He brought me inside and gave me some ice for my foot." I continued my tale.
Elena glanced about, still suspicious but concerned as well. "Where is Jeremy?"
"Haven't the foggiest, actually." Elena's eyes narrowed. "He must've forgotten I was here, and ducked out of the house when I fell asleep here." I stated. It was obvious that Elena was wanting to pick a fight for whatever reason, but because my story didn't sound ridiculous, Elena decided to let me be.
"Whatever. Let yourself out when your foot feels better." Elena requests, heading back out towards the staircase. However, she only made it a few flights up before the front door opened again and Alaric walked in, looking tired and unwell. "Ric, hey! Where have you been all day?" She was immediately pleasant, and I rolled my eyes at Elena's bi-polar mood.
Alaric smiled weakly at her, "Oh, I've been around." He closed the door behind him and walked in my direction, stopping when he noticed me on the couch. He raised a curious eyebrow. "Hey Grace. What brings you here?" He asked, pulling his satchel over his head and setting it aside. I frowned when he winced as he did so.
"Recovering. I sprained my foot, and Jeremy was kind enough to help me." I responded, going with the story I had just fabricated to Elena only moments ago.
"Oh, wow. Are you alright?" Alaric hissed sympathetically.
"I should be asking you that question." I retorted, concerned.
Alaric brushed aside my question, "I'm fine; just tired." He turned towards Elena and smiled a little at her. "How's Jeremy?" He asked her, as Elena came back down the stairs. She had a concerned look on her face as well, now that I had pointed out Alaric's less than stellar condition. But she disguised it with a fake smile.
"Hating me. Hating life. Hating the fact that we can't even have a family dinner without somebody dying before dessert." She responded to his question. Alaric screwed up his face, and stumbled a little; alarming both Elena and myself. I eased myself off the couch, ignoring the pain in my foot. Something funky was going on here. "Are you okay?" Elena repeated my question from before. I limped over as Alaric suddenly coughs violently into his hand, spraying it with blood. "Oh, my God!" She exclaims as I swore and darted forward.
"Something's wrong! The ring!" Alaric managed to croak out before collapsing on the floor. I caught him before he could impact on the hard wooden floor, and Alaric began moaning in pain. Elena and I crouched down beside him, with Elena on the brink of freaking out.
"Ric, hey..." Elena called out to him, but he barely responded.
"Elena, look at me." I ordered with a firm voice. She looked up at me, for once without any venom reflected in her eyes and looked genuinely vulnerable. "Call 911. I've got this!"
She nodded, rushing from the room for the cordless in the kitchen. Alaric tugs insistently on my sleeve and I glanced down at him.
"I died earlier today." Alaric croaked. My eyes widened in horror.
"What?"
"I only just woke up, thanks to my ring." He explained, as I forced him to lie on his back with his knees bent. "But this hasn't happened before. I think there's something wrong with it." He stated the obvious.
"What the fuck happened to you, Alaric? How did you die?" I demanded, as I crawled over to the couch and snatched off a blanket and immediately covered Alaric with it to keep him warm.
"I think one of Klaus' hybrids ran me down with a car." I snapped my head at him, looking at him aghast. "I didn't get a good look at him, but I'm pretty sure it was one his hybrids." Alaric confirmed, coughing up more blood.
I shushed him, "Try not to talk, mate. We'll take care of you, just hold on." I reassured him.
About twenty minutes later, there was a sudden and urgent knock on the front door. Elena answered it before I could get up to do so myself. Two paramedics barrelled in, carrying their med-kits.
"What happened?" The first paramedic asked, taking in the sight of me crouching protectively over a slowly paling Alaric, trying to calm him down by stroking his hair. Elena hesitated, unsure what was going on.
"He got hit by a car-" I relayed to both men, as Elena's eyes widened at what I said.
"What!?" She screeched.
We ignored her, "Alaric managed to stumble back inside, before he collapsed and started coughing up blood." I improvised, before moving both Elena and myself out of the paramedics way as they went to work assessing Alaric's condition.
"Get his vitals." The second paramedic instructed his colleague, who immediately grabbed Alaric's wrist. A couple of minutes passed before the first paramedic looked gravely at him.
"Pulse pretty weak." He announced. "Looks like internal bleeding. We gotta get him outta here."
The second paramedic nodded, "Let's move!" Both paramedics began prepping Alaric for departure. The first paramedic headed for the front door, presumably to get a stretcher bed, but was unexpectedly stopped by Tony – Nik's hybrid – who appears without warning in the doorway.
"Let's not and say we did." Tony suggested, with a crafty smirk on his face. Both paramedics looked at him in confusion, before Tony compels them. "Why don't you two meet us at the hospital?"
"What?" Elena blurted out, shocked, as the paramedics automatically start packing up the med-kits and leave. "No, no, no, wait. No wait!" She yells after the compelled paramedics. "You have to help him! What are you doing?"
I narrow my eyes at Tony. "What the hell are you doing here, Tony?" I demanded, surprising the hybrid who blinks at me in astonishment before recovering when he recognises me.
"Oh, hey Grace. Don't mind me, just following Klaus' orders." He responded casually, drawing Elena's attention.
"This is Klaus' doing?" She yelled, before glowering at me. I avoid looking in her direction, knowing how bad this looked. Tony focuses his attention on Elena.
"You can still save his life, Elena." He tells her before ripping into his wrist with his fangs. "Here, take my blood." He raises and offers his bleeding wrist to Elena. I immediately push it back down.
"What do you mean you were following Nik's orders, Tony?" I asked, urgently. "What did he tell you to do?"
"He ordered me to run down one of the doppelgänger's friends to help prove a point." Tony responded, shrugging.
Elena was incensed, "What point?"
"On how easy it is to get to one of your friends, if you don't keep your end of the deal and find Klaus' coffins."
I groaned in exasperation and massaged my temples. "Jesus, Nik..." Alaric suddenly grabs at my wrist, grabbing my attention.
"Grace, help me..." He slurs, as Tony takes another bite out of his wrist.
"I can't get in. You're gonna have to invite me." He stated, matter-of-fact.
Elena bares her teeth at him, angrily. "No! Why are you doing this?"
"Klaus asked for his family. You didn't deliver."
"Or he forgot to call this off..." I muttered underneath my breath, grabbing Tony's attention.
"What's that?"
I glowered at him at Alaric starts coughing again, "Never you mind!"
"Ric!" Elena yells out in fear. "Oh, my God! I'm right here." She rushes over to him and kneels next to him. Tony looks unmoved by what is happening in front of him, as I feel helpless and cursing my boyfriend for putting me in this position.
"He's gonna die. Might want to invite me in, Elena." Tony taunts her.
I was about to grab my phone and dial Nik's number to bark at him to get his sorry arse down to the Gilbert's house toot-sweet to fix up his mess, when Tony is suddenly hit in the back with an arrow and falls to the ground. Both Elena and I rush to the door and we immediately see Jeremy with the crossbow, standing a few yards away, with a concerned and nervous Henrik standing beside him.
"Jeremy!" Elena calls out to her brother with relief. However her face falls when he deliberately ignores her, focusing upon me.
"He's not dead yet." He stated; although I wasn't sure if he was referring to Alaric or Tony. Jeremy enters the house and passes by Elena, as I turned to Henrik.
"Where the hell have you both been?" I demanded, urgently. Henrik hesitated as he came over and crouched down beside Alaric, looking worried.
"After he confronted Tyler, he went for a walk. It appears that his anger towards his sister is more extensive than we first believed." He said, as Jeremy reappears carrying a meat cleaver and goes out of the house again.
"What are you doing?" Elena asks Jeremy, worriedly. Without a word, Jeremy swiftly and cleanly decapitates Tony; spraying both himself and the porch with blood. Elena screams in horror, while both Henrik and I stare at what Jeremy did with shock. The sixteen-year-old looks up at me.
"Now he's dead." He confirms the kill, before getting to his feet. There is a stunned silence.
"Feeling better then?" Another bemused voice chimes in, and we all turn to face Nik, who had returned from whatever errand he had to attend to.
Jeremy stares at him, blankly. "Now we're even for the compulsion." He declares to Nik, who nods in confirmation.
"Noted." Nik glances at the four of us for an explanation, apparently unconcerned that one of his hybrids had been taken out. "May I have an explanation, please?"
"Apparently, you ordered Tony to run down one of Elena's friends with his car to prove a point to her." I supplied, unimpressed; but somewhat mollified when Nik winced in realisation, especially when I stepped aside to reveal a fallen Alaric who was still coughing up blood. "Alaric paid the price."
"I knew that there was something that I had forgotten to do." Nik admitted, sheepishly.
'No kidding...' I thought, with irritation. Jeremy dropped the cleaver and goes back into the house, while Elena continues standing where she was in shock.
"We've gotta get Alaric to the hospital now." He stated, urgently. I nodded, and turned towards my boyfriend.
"Care to do the honours?" I asked, as Nik begrudgingly nodded in agreement and moved towards the door. Elena immediately recovered from her shock and smirked defiantly at Nik.
"You can't come in. You haven't been invited in." She stated, triumphantly. I rolled my eyes as Nik merely gives her a look, before easily passing through the threshold and scooping Alaric – blanket and all – into his arms and heading back out of the door. Henrik quickly follows his brother, opening and closing the car doors upon request.
"You invited him in!?" Elena shrieks at Jeremy, outraged.
"Shut up, Elena." Jeremy snaps back, taking aback Elena who looks hurt. "As of right now, you've lost the right to even talk to me." He states, before turning towards me as I winced from the pain in my foot which was growing roots. "What happened to you?"
"I sprained my foot, no thanks to you." I grumbled back at him, as I gathered up my things. Jeremy frowned in surprise.
"Me? What did I do?"
I limped over to the door with difficulty, until Jeremy came over and looped my arm over his shoulder, allowing me to lean against him for support.
"I'll tell you more in the car on the way to the hospital." I told him, as he helped me down the porch steps towards my car, leaving behind a shocked Elena on the porch.
~: Mystic Falls Hospital :~
It was difficult sitting in the waiting room with Nik and Henrik flanking me either side, watching Elena attempting to get back in Jeremy's good books and failing dismally. Eventually, Elena gave up trying to curry favour with her brother and got up in search of some coffee, throwing both Nik and I dirty looks as she went.
"I think now's as good a time as any to go have a little chat with Ms. Gilbert, don't you?" Nik whispered into my ear. I nodded absently, still focused upon Jeremy; who was sitting slouched in his chair and scowling at the wall, while picking dried blood out from underneath his fingernails. Nik leans down and pecks my forehead affectionately with his lips, before disappearing after Elena down the corridor.
I sighed, drawing Henrik's attention.
"You okay?" He asked me, worriedly. I glanced at my little brother for a moment, before shrugging.
"At this rate, I'm just taking things in my stride." I responded, before indicating towards Jeremy. "It's him that I'm worried about mostly. He's just a kid; he shouldn't be dealing with all of this." I muttered, as I got up and walked over to where Jeremy was sitting, only dimly conscious that Henrik was following me. I sat down a seat away from the brooding teenager, trying not to overcrowd him, and Henrik followed my example and sat beside me.
Several uncomfortable minutes passed, before I finally decided to speak to him. "How you holding up?" I asked him, cautiously.
Jeremy scoffed, "I'll live. Mostly worried about Alaric, though." He admitted.
"Don't blame you." I agreed, before frowning. "Can't believe Nik did this though. What the hell was he thinking?"
"About his family." Jeremy said, surprising both Henrik and me with his response. "Nothing wrong with that. Sure, he went the wrong way about it; but I think all he wants is to keep them safe, and I kinda respect him for that." He admitted.
"That's a good way of putting it." I praised him.
"And I guess, in a way; that's what Elena is trying to do with me. But I don't think I can trust her anymore if she is willing to keep me in the dark about the supernatural." He stated. "Don't know if I can trust anybody anymore, to be honest."
"What about me?" I piped up, feeling a little hurt.
"What about you?" Jeremy looked at me, questioningly.
"Have I given you any cause not to trust me?" I pointed out. "You've said it yourself, you barely know me. So I really don't have any reason to keep things from you." I said. "And if I have to keep something from you, mate, I'll at least attempt to give you a reason you can understand and accept, instead of leaving you in the lurch."
Jeremy made a face, "That's not really inspiring. But you did tell me the whole truth about all the weird stuff that happens in this town, and despite the fact that your boyfriend just happens to be the dick who killed my sister to free himself."
"All valid points." Henrik agreed, smiling a little and looking pleased that he hadn't shut me out like he did Elena.
Jeremy sighs. "Yeah, okay. I guess you're one person I can trust; but if you're expecting me to trust Klaus and the rest of his crazy family, don't hold your breath." He warned me, sternly.
"Hey!?" Henrik faked offence, knowing that Jeremy was smart about not completely trusting his siblings, but was attempting to gain at least a smile from his friend. Jeremy glanced at Henrik, then grinned a little; causing Henrik to mentally punch the air in triumph for his efforts.
"Okay, you're the exception, Henrik." He conceded, but frowned a little. "But it's gonna take a bit for me to not want to kill Klaus for killing Elena, changing Aunt Jenna into a vampire and attempting to kill both me and Alaric." He stated, stubbornly.
I laughed a little. "Fair enough."
I gingerly got to my feet, with Henrik's help, supporting my weight on my newly bandaged foot. Not even a second after Nik had finished his first compulsion, did he compel a nearby triage nurse to strap my foot so it was easier for me to get around without assistance. I offered a hand to Jeremy, who eyed it with a raised eyebrow.
"C'mon, let's get you cleaned up. I think you're making a lot of people in here uncomfortable." I pointed out.
Jeremy nodded, and took the offered hand. I casually wrapped an arm around his shoulders as he, Henrik and I turned and wondered down the corridor towards some nearby restrooms.
"So, do you think Alaric's gonna be okay?" He asked me, sounding a bit vulnerable. I winced, unsure how to properly answer the question. It was certainly weird that the ring Alaric was wearing apparently wasn't working.
"I really don't know, Jer. You gave me the basics about how that ring works, so I can't imagine what could be making it misfire all of a sudden." I replied, truthfully. He smiled, before pushing open the men's room. "Hold up!" He paused and looked at me, curiously. "May I have your phone for a tick?" Jeremy looked confused, but reached into his pocket and handed over his smartphone.
"Why?" He asked, a little apprehensively.
I smiled reassuringly at him, "I'll show you in a minute. Go get cleaned up."
Jeremy frowned, but moved to obey my instructions and disappeared into the men's room, followed by Henrik just as Damon walked around the corner and came over to me when he spotted me.
"Apparently a lot of excitement went down while I was away." He surmised, before looking at me strangely. "What are you doing in front of the men's room?" Damon asked.
"Waiting for Jeremy and Henrik. Jeremy's getting cleaned up." I replied, accessing the boy's contacts and adding my phone number to it.
"Wanna catch me up?" Damon asked, looking confused.
"As long as you tell me what you got up to after I disappeared to the bathroom back at the Gilbert's." I requested, sternly.
"Deal." Damon nodded.
I filled Damon in on what went down after he and Nik buggered off and abandoned me at the Gilbert's house temporarily. Everything from when Elena burst in and bitched me out for being in her house, to when Alaric arrived home and started vomiting up blood and collapsing and needed medical assistance that neither Elena or I could provide.
"Hold up. Why did Alaric start coughing up blood?" Damon interrupted, immediately looking alarmed and concerned that his best male friend was somehow critical. I let out a weary sigh.
"Apparently, Nik ordered one of his hybrid's – Tony – to run down one of Elena's friends to prove a point to her, that if she failed to get the goods about Stefan there would be serious consequences. Alaric happened to be the unlucky candidate and paid the price." I explained.
"So why didn't his ring kick in?" Damon asked.
"It did. But for some reason we're still trying to figure out, it didn't completely heal him. Thus why we are here cooling our heels in the hospital." I answered. Damon looked pissed, and immediately looked like he was going to retaliate against Nik. I placed a restraining hand on his rock-hard chest. "And before you go and be a vigilante and attempt to kick Nik's arse, you're too late; I already chewed him out." I said, probably bursting Damon's bubble.
"Why are you always defending him?!" Damon whisper-yelled at me, and I narrowed my eyes at him defensively.
"On this occasion, Damon, like I said; I took him to term about this. But if I do defend him, it's because I love him unconditionally ... even if he does tend to be a moron at times." I explained. Damon went to walk past again, but I stepped into his path.
"What now, Grace?" Damon growled.
"You forgot to reveal your side of the story about why you did a bunk and ditched me at the Gilbert's." I reminded him.
"Did a what?" Damon looked blank.
"Did a 'bunk'. It's a British slang term for 'leaving without permission', or telling a person where you've gone." I explained. "So spill."
Damon sighed, "I went back to the witch house, to see if the coffins were actually there." He admitted.
"You know they are there, Damon. I told you that before. I reminded him. Or are you going to ignore the words of your best friend and two dead witches?"
He snorted, "I'm more likely to believe what you say over some witches who'd rather see me burn and then dance around my charbroiled corpse." Damon confirmed.
"Nice image." I responded, making a face at the picture he had painted in my head.
"But I actually had reasons for checking up on Stefanie." Damon confessed, and I smirked at the name. "I wouldn't put it passed him to suddenly change the location of the coffins and pretend that they were still at the house, just to fuck with all of us."
My eyes widen in horror, "He hasn't, has he?"
"Nah, they're still at the house. Stef doesn't suspect that Klaus is on to him." Damon smiled at me reassuringly. I smiled weakly, but wanted to kick myself for not having the same amount of fears that Stefan could be so low.
Jeremy and Henrik chose that moment to step back out of the bathroom. The neutral expression on Jeremy's face immediately became alert when he saw our faces, while Damon's eyes widened at the amount of blood on Jeremy's shirt.
"Woah, what happened to you?" He sounded concerned.
"Decapitated one of Klaus' hybrids with a cleaver." Jeremy responded evenly.
"Nice." Damon sounded surprised and impressed by Jeremy's guts.
"What's going on here?" Jeremy demanded, then immediately looked alarmed. "Is it Alaric?"
I smiled at him, reassuringly. "No, there's still no news about him yet. Damon was just filling me in on something he discovered." I said.
"What's that?"
"The location of Klaus' coffins." I responded, easily. Jeremy looked surprised while Henrik looked nervous.
"You found 'em?" He asked, with relief.
"Ages ago." Damon replied, dismissively. He then walked by us both and down the corridor.
"Where you going?" I asked, a little warily. Damon rolled his eyes and smiled at me.
"Relax. I'm just gonna help speed up Alaric's healing process. You really gotta chill." Damon pointed out, disappearing around the corner. I headed back to the waiting room with Jeremy following closely. Henrik dawdled behind us.
"You coming?" I asked him.
Henrik hesitated, "Niklaus is taking a long time to come back from wherever he went off to. I'm gonna go and find him. I'll catch you later, okay?" He promised. I nodded, smiling and waving at him as he turned on his heel and headed down the corridor; in the same direction as Damon took.
Jeremy nudged me lightly in the ribs, grabbing my attention.
"Have you told Klaus about the coffins?" He asked.
I nodded, "The same day we first discovered them. Also the same day he threatened Damon with a 'negotiation tactic' that turned out to involve you." I added, sheepishly. Jeremy frowned, but didn't say anything as he took a seat. I glanced about, hoping that Elena wasn't coming back from getting coffee just yet and took a seat beside him. It would stuff up my plans to help Jeremy with his trust issues. "Here's your phone back." I placed the smartphone into his hand, he looked at me for an explanation. "I added my phone number to it; just in case."
He blinked at me in surprise, "Why?"
"Insurance." I confirmed, earning a confused look from the teen. "Call it a hunch, but I suspect that Elena won't take it lightly that Nik, Rebekah and I have been talking to you." I told him and a dark look passed over Jeremy's face.
"Yeah, no shit. She'll probably try and get Damon to compel me to forget again. It's happened once before." He said.
My eyes narrowed.
"Why am I not surprised?" I muttered. "Anyway, if that happens; I do have an option for you, if you're willing to listen."
"What is it?" Jeremy asked, warily.
"So long as you're wearing your vervain bracelet, you can pretend to go along with whatever your sister gets Damon to compel you with. Then you could give me a call and we'll figure something out." I said, earning a look of shock from the teen.
"You'd do that for me? Why?" He asked.
"I'm not trying to turn you against your sister, Jeremy. God knows I wish I still had family I could turn to if my situation suddenly turned to shit. But at the same time, Elena hasn't got the right to make your choices." I told him. "At least, you have another person you can go to or talk to if it comes down to it."
Jeremy frowned, "What's the catch?"
"No catch. But I'm almost 22-years-old, and I've been around the block a few times and witnessed situations like this before. And I've been a sixteen-year-old myself." I reminded him. "Just trust me on this."
A disturbed, but healthy looking Alaric suddenly walked around the corner and right towards us. Both Jeremy and I were immediately alert and got to our feet. "Alaric!"
"Ric!" Jeremy exclaimed.
"Are you alright?" I fussed over him like a worried mother and Alaric smiled at us, a little; touched by our concern.
"Hey guys! I'm fine honestly." He reassures us, trying to fend us off. I glanced about, looking for Damon.
"Where'd Damon go?" I asked, slightly concerned.
"Left to check on Elena." Alaric shrugged, as we gathered our belongings and started heading to the main entrance.
"She left to get coffee." I was a tad surprised, but then frowned when something occurred to me. "Mind you, that was a while a go..." I bit my bottom lip, sincerely hoping that my love wasn't doing anything stupid.
I fell into step beside Alaric, while Jeremy walked on his other side, still looking genuinely worried about the older man's health. It really did freak us all out when he suddenly started vomiting blood for no apparent reason.
"So the ring brought you back to life, but it didn't heal you. Does that mean it's broken?" Jeremy questioned.
Alaric shrugged, "I don't know. It's never happened like that before. I guess I have Damon's blood to thank for the fact that I'm still walking." He said, graciously.
"Oh, so he managed to save you then? That's great!" I beamed, happily. Then frowned slightly, wondering how he managed to pull that off without being sprung. "How did he get you to drink his blood without the hospital staff getting suspicious?" I asked, curiously.
"He walked in carrying a paper cup of what I assumed to be water. Then when the nurse left, he quickly slipped me the cup and the rest is history." Alaric explained.
"He said to say you owe him a drink." Jeremy piped up and I blinked at him with confusion.
"When did he say that?" I asked. Jeremy ignored me, as Alaric let out a snort.
"That's funny. I'd rather have head trauma." He joked, a little distastefully. Then he frowned at the irritated expression that Jeremy still had on his face. "Hey, Jeremy … you okay?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Jeremy responded, nonchalantly. "I shot a hybrid in the back and chopped his head off with a meat cleaver. Typical Sunday, huh?" He said, cavalier.
Alaric nodded, a little uncertainly and gave me a questioning glance.
"You can talk to me about this stuff. You know that, right?" He stated to him.
"Yeah, I know. Grace told me the same thing when she gave me her phone number before." Jeremy informed Alaric. "Besides, what could you tell me that I don't already know? This is the way things are. It sucks but … I just gotta get used to it." He stated, before walking off; leaving both Alaric and I watching him go with concern.
~: Gilbert Residence (Damon P.O.V in 3rd person) :~
It suddenly occurred to him right after he had finished discreetly donating a cupful of his blood to Alaric, that none of them had seen Elena from right before he arrived on the scene. Or Klaus for that matter either. Damon just hoped that that hybrid dick hadn't pulled a fast one and ditched the hospital with Elena.
But just as quickly as he had gotten the thought, he dismissed it. As much as he didn't like or approve of it, Klaus was not likely to go anywhere without Grace, so he was pretty certain Klaus was just off doing business. But it didn't necessarily mean that Elena was not involved in that 'business'. And despite the fact that neither of them really cared for the girl, Damon was pretty sure that he'd be dealing with an irate best friend if he allowed Elena to be hurt.
With those thoughts in mind, the elder Salvatore brother immediately took off towards the first place Elena was likely to be: her house. And sure enough, Damon hit the jackpot when he closed in on the Gilbert Residence and immediately sensed that Elena was deep within the confines of the house; probably within the vicinity of their kitchen. His nose wrinkled with disgust when he saw the decapitated hybrid still lying on the Gilbert's black painted porch, and knew that he needed to get rid of the body post-haste.
Damon let out an impressed, if slightly disturbed low whistle at the brutality and the amount of blood there was. It seemed like baby Gilbert had really gone to town on this guy, and the amount of anger this kid exhibited was very clearly shown by the style of execution he had chosen.
What the hell did Grace show him? He couldn't help but wonder as he squatted down beside the corpse and effortlessly scooped it, and the head into his arms and quickly vamp-sped away to dispose of it.
A short time later, Damon returned and immediately noticed that most of the blood had been cleared away from the porch. It seemed that Elena had been waiting for somebody to get rid of the corpse so she could clear away the evidence that her - very obviously - pissed off brother had accumulated. He frowned with concern, and stepped into the house; making his way towards the kitchen. He found Elena at the kitchen sink washing out some bloodied rags.
"Did you get rid of him?" Elena asks, with her back to Damon.
"Yeah. Tony the headless Hybrid is down at the bottom of Steven's Quarry." Damon reported.
"What about Alaric?"
"Took care of him, too. He'll be fine." Damon leant up against the wall, and folded his arms across his chest as he eyed Elena cautiously. "How are you?"
Elena ignored the question, "I think I got most of the blood off the porch." She reported, with a shaky voice. Damon sighed and pushed off the wall, approaching the obviously upset girl. He wasn't heartless, he could tell that Elena was lost and looking for a solution to her problems. And Damon was willing to help, provided that it was reasonable.
"Elena. Look at me." She turns and looked at him, tears building underneath her eyes. "It's gonna be okay."
"I have to tell you something." Elena confessed, and Damon nodded; indicating that he was listening. "I think Klaus is on to us about the whereabouts of the coffins." She said, biting her bottom lip with worry.
And...? Damon thought to himself, but realised that he had to act his ass off to convince Elena that he knew virtually nothing about Klaus catching on about his four coffins being hidden in the old witch house out in the woods.
"Tell me you're kidding..." Damon demanded, his eyes 'widening in horror'. Elena didn't respond. That made him question what Klaus had actually said to her when he went after the girl back at the hospital. Whatever he said, had obviously unnerved her. "How the fuck did he find out the location?"
"I don't know." Elena confessed. Damon let out a frustrated groan and raked a hand through his curly mop of black hair, before slamming his fist down on the counter. That caused Elena to jump in surprise … and made Damon inwardly smirk, knowing he had successfully hoodwinked Elena into believing he knew fuck all.
But he still had a 'performance' to act out...
"Jesus, Elena! You gotta be more careful!" He chastised her. "One false move and your life won't be worth living. Barbie-Klaus is already out for your blood over the fact that you daggered her and assaulted Grace. Don't paint a target on your back!" Damon urged.
"No she won't kill me. Klaus won't let her because he needs me." Elena seemed confident, almost cocky about that. He frowned at her.
"He might look the other way if you keep targeting Grace, or keep getting in his way." Damon pointed out. "But are you seriously telling me that you trust him?"
"No, I don't trust him." Elena turned away from the sink and looked at him, almost offended. "But I trust him more than I trust Stefan." She looked up at Damon with large eyes that made his stomach flip over unpleasantly. "Do you think he's just gonna give up the coffins?"
Damon hesitated. His visit to Stefan was more insightful than he thought. "My brother is … sort of running his own show right now." He stated, looking flummoxed. Elena nodded in understanding.
"Yeah. My brother just chopped off someone's head!" She looked stressed out, and for once; Damon couldn't blame her. He'd been in her position many times (and sometimes had been the cause). "It's not right. It's not fair. He's sixteen-years old. He shouldn't have to live like this."
Damon sighed, partly out of sympathy and exasperation.
"Elena."
"There has to be another way. We have to fix it!" Elena insisted as she turned back to the sink to resume washing and wringing out the rags.
"We will!" Damon came over to her and grabs her face in his hands, startling the girl who had not expected this from him. "Hey Elena." She blinks at him in astonishment. "We will, okay?" He promised.
Elena smiled gratefully and curled up into a startled Damon's arms. He reluctantly wraps his arms around her as he attempts to bring her comfort.
~: Grace P.O.V :~
I offered to give Alaric a ride back to his apartment. But he declined, choosing to go back to the Gilbert's to help clean up after Tony's messy death at the hands of Jeremy, whom had left a few hours earlier. After giving him a lift back to the Gilbert's, I turned my car around and headed back to the town's square for my apartment, aiming to fill in Rebekah on what went down when she decided to bow out at the last minute. My phone rang, and I groaned and pulled over to answer.
It was Damon.
"Hey, Damon." I answered, yawning.
"Hey babe, was that you just now when you dropped off Alaric?" He questioned me, and I pulled my phone away from my ear; glancing down at it with surprise.
"Yeah, it was. Why?" I asked, reaching for my purse and pulling a stick of gum and unwrapping it.
"Just thought that you would be coming inside. We've got things to discuss apparently about Jeremy." Damon stated, and I chuckled.
"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm heading home to fill in Rebekah on what went down and to find out where Nik went." I responded, pleased that I had gotten to Jeremy first. It seemed that I was going to be expecting a phone call from him sooner than I suspected.
"Sounds fun." Damon responded, dryly.
"Don't be a hater, Damon. I'd rather not be around Elena unless I absolutely have to. Otherwise, I'm likely to rip her head off her shoulders." I explained to him.
"Don't tempt me with a good time." Damon complained playfully, and I chuckled at him.
"Gotta go. Talk soon." I rang off, and tossed my phone back into my purse, before popping my gum into my mouth and turning back onto the road. I had just pulled up to my parking spot, when unexpectedly, Rebekah pops open the passenger door and slides in.
"Took you long enough." She says, haughty.
"What are you doing?" I asked, surprised. Rebekah sighs, as she makes herself comfortable and fixes her slightly windswept hair.
"My brother called. He says he's got a surprise for the both of us." She explained, pulling a piece of paper from her pocket and brandishing it to me. "Nik would like us to meet him at this location." Rebekah said, and I take the paper from her hand and glanced down at her elegant handwriting, reading an unfamiliar address.
"Now?" I asked, dubious.
"Do you have some other place to be?" Rebekah raised an eyebrow at me. I rolled my eyes and accessed my GPS. "What's wrong with you?" My sister seemed surprised by my slightly feisty attitude.
"Just spent some time in the hospital tonight, after calming down a pissed off teenager and distracting him from his selfish sister." I replied, pressing the start button on the GPS. "Continue 2.5 miles down from your current location, and turn left." The GPS instructed, as I indicated and pulled out from the spot. Rebekah's eyes widened in shock.
"Are you alright? Were you hurt?" She demanded, worriedly. I smiled at her abrupt change from being bored and irritated, to concerned and overprotective.
"No. I wasn't hurt, but Alaric was." I responded, calmly.
Rebekah frowned, "The high school history teacher and amateur vampire-slayer?"
"Yeah. Apparently, Nik ordered one of his hybrids to run down one of Elena's friends to prove a point to her. Alaric was the unlucky victim." I explained. "He came home, looking rather beat up and tired. Then all of a sudden, he started vomiting blood and collapsed."
"Good lord." Rebekah breathed, horrified.
"Yeah. That's when Tony - Nik's hybrid - ambushed us and sent away the help that Elena had called us, and tried to get Elena to invite him in. Except he was shot in the back by Jeremy, who then decapitated him." I said.
Rebekah looked unimpressed.
"Sounds like something Nik would do."
"In one-quarter mile, take a right turn." The GPS suddenly chimed in and I immediately obeyed, frowning when I suddenly recognised the neighbourhood.
"I recognise this place." I said, surprising Rebekah.
"You do?"
"Yeah, I went for a walk and lost my way." I explained, as the trees surrounding us started getting denser. "Had to be rescued by Damon at one point the first time round. Second time, I was with Henrik." I added.
"Your destination will be on the left." The GPS announced, and my mouth fell open when I recognised the same McMansion I had sat beside and sketched in my sketchbook, or reminisced with Henrik beside. I pulled up to the electric gates, as Rebekah inspected the property with a mildly interested glance.
"Impressive, Nik." She complimented him. I turned my car into the driveway and stopped in front of the callbox. I pressed the button, and a static voice crackled over the line.
"Yes?" An unfamiliar voice responded, rather snootily.
"I believe we are expected?" I responded, all business.
"May I have your name, please?" The voice requested.
"Grace Williams and Rebekah Mikaelson." I answered, and almost immediately the electric gates began sliding open. I drove all the way up the expansive driveway and parked right outside the front double doors, cutting the engine. Rebekah was the first one out of the car, as she inspected the beautiful front garden and the exterior of Nik's brand new home.
"It's acceptable." Rebekah concluded, turning to me as I got out of the car and glanced at the mansion with slight trepidation.
I couldn't help but feel spooked, since this was my third visit to this particular property. Only this time, I was actually going to be setting foot inside. It couldn't be a coincidence that I kept continuously returning to this place.
"Are you coming in?" I glanced over at Rebekah, who was looking a little annoyed.
"Yeah, sorry." I muttered, closing and locking my car. My boot heels made a dull clack clack noise as I walked across the smooth stone porch and knocked twice on the heavy double doors. Rebekah and I didn't have to wait for very long before the doors were opened, revealing an excited looking Henrik; grinning from ear to ear at the sight of his sisters.
"You both gotta check this place out. It's phenomenal!" He chirped, seizing my wrist and dragging me inside; followed by an amused Rebekah.
Henrik wasn't kidding about the mansion.
The very second you stepped over the threshold, one is greeted with the view of an enormous circular main foyer that featured two large elegant staircases in a 'U' shape, with black lace wrought iron banisters. Everything appeared to be made of white marble, with touches of browns, beige and gold interior. The staircases were adorned with a light brownish axminister carpet that led to the upper-level of the mansion.
A gold and crystal chandelier hung in the central position of the foyer above an antique, polished dark brown entrance hall table with a large crystal vase of white Calla lilies. The rest of the foyer had antique chairs with a beige velvet upholstery, paintings and tapestries hung on the walls, and more vases of various white flowers decorated side tables and pedestals.
This was an obvious woman's touch.
Nik clearly had hired a female interior decorator to handle the finishing touches to the renovations he had done to the previously rundown, foreclosed mansion. I expected the rest of the mansion to look similar to what I was seeing at that moment.
"Welcome." Both Rebekah and I turned our heads towards an adjoining room to our left, which lead to what appeared to be a living room; similar to how the Salvatore's looked like, with a huge walk-in fireplace which was crackling away. Nik was standing in front of it, dressed in his usual casual attire, and holding a tumbler of scotch in his hand as he greeted us with a warm smile.
"Wow, Nik. This is really impressive." I complimented him.
"Yes. This is adequate." Rebekah agreed, earning an eye roll from Nik.
"High praise indeed, sister dear." Nik drawled, taking a sip from his drink as he walked over to us. Rebekah glowered at him for the comment. Henrik was still holding on to my wrist, and I gently disentangled his fingers from it. "But this is all for you and the rest of our family."
"I hope that my room is the biggest." Rebekah said, heading off to explore, as Nik came to a stop in front of me; ignoring what his sister had just said. I was still glancing about; taking in the opulence and felt him gently turning my face towards his so that we locked eyes.
"You really like it?" He asked, sounding a little vulnerable.
I smiled at him, "Like it? Absolutely. I'm just feeling a little intimidated. I've never set foot in a home like this before." I admitted, awkwardly.
"You'll get used to it." Nik reassured me, leading me to the living room. Henrik had disappeared somewhere in the mansion, giving us privacy.
"I'm sure I will. I'll try to visit as often as I can." I promised, taking a seat upon an overstuffed couch. Nik paused, hesitating a little.
"Actually. I want you to move in with us." He requested, indicating if I wanted him to fix me a drink. I shook my head as I looked at him with surprise.
"Pardon me?"
"I want us all to stay close together as a family. I'd feel more comfortable if you were nearby." Nik explained himself, and I bit my bottom lip.
"I don't know, Nik. The offer is an extremely generous one. But I've been taking care of myself for a long time." I countered. Nik frowned, but only slightly. It was clear that he had anticipated that I would be a little objective. "Is it really essential that I move in with you?" I asked.
"A thousand years ago, when you accepted my hand in marriage; everything that was mine, became yours as well. That applies even today, Grace." Nik felt the need to remind me.
I chose to stare into the flickering flames, as I deliberated my answer to his request. It seemed too coincidental that this came about just when my lease was about to expire. But I did have to admit, that I had always wanted to be reunited with my family. What better way to do that, than to move in with them in this admittedly beautiful mansion with all the luxuries available to me?
I smiled at him.
"When my lease expires, I'll move in with you." I agreed. That was only a week away, and it would also give me the opportunity to get used to the idea. Not to mention pack up my stuff, and possibly Rebekah's (if she needed help, that was).
Nik smiled triumphantly. "A fair compromise, love."
A/N: Thanks for reading. Please review! TTFN xx