51

The chill that surrounded me drew me out of my sleep. The pounding in my head grew as I woke up. The drunken haze from last night rushed through me, making my body flood with heat. I sat up as I recalled the events from last night.

I covered my eyes with my hands, trying to block out the light around me. Soon enough, I realized that there wasn't very much light to begin with. The realization was accompanied by the memories of last night.

I lifted my head and looked up. The only light that flooded into Kai's room was from the cracked door that led out of the bedroom. The burning feeling of vomit crept up my throat. I practically threw myself into the bathroom.

After flushing my vomit, I stood up slowly, steadying myself by grabbing the bathroom sink. My eyes met my own in the mirror. My hair was disturbingly messy. My eyes fell to the clothes - or shirt, rather - covering my body. It's Kai's shirt.

Why did I put on his shirt? Why did I choose to stay here? In his bed?

I fixed my hair and brushed my teeth before leaving the bathroom. I found my clothes at the foot of the bed. I pulled the shirt off to put my clothes on. I looked for my phone, not finding it.

I whipped around, hearing the bedroom door creak as it opened. I immediately regretted the motion, struggling to push away the urge to vomit. I closed my eyes for a moment before looking at Kai. My breath caught in my throat, and I swallowed it down.

"Are you okay?"

I struggled to get my words out. "Yeah, I'm... I'm fine."

I glanced at his boots as he stepped closer. I returned my eyes back to his. "Are you sure?"

"Mhm." I glanced at the nightstand as I pushed my hair behind my ears. I looked at him again as I crossed my arms. "Why am I here? I mean," I sighed. "How did I get here?"

His brows pulled together for a passing second. "Last night you were really drunk. I tried to take you home, but you said you..." He paused as if to think of what to say. "I brought you here to make sure you were okay."

I tried to keep my expression neutral. "Thanks, um... I didn't call you, right? I mean, you just happened to run into me?"

He nodded once. "Yeah. I saw you drinking and-" He stopped abruptly and then cleared his throat.

He pulled my phone out of his back pocket and handed it to me. I looked at it as I stepped closer to take it. As I took my phone, his thumb pressed against mine. I looked at his face as I pulled my phone from him. I stepped back as I checked my phone. There were seven missed calls from Care and five texts. There were three texts from Stefan. All of the messages were demanding my location and for me to come back. I assume that's what the calls were for, too.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I looked up at him. "I have to -"

The sound of the front door being knocked on interrupted me. The strength of the knocking made the sound echo through the apartment. Kai looked over his shoulder and then looked at me again. "Sorry."

He turned to walk to the front door. I put my phone in my back pocket as I walked out of his bedroom. I stopped behind the couch, holding my hands together behind me. I could see Miles and Steven begging Kai to come with them. Steven's eyes wandered past Kai and landed on me.

The grin that spread across Steven's lips was accompanied by a gasp, then a howl of excitement as he pushed past Kai. "You didn't tell me the lady of the night was here." He stopped next to me, throwing his arm across my shoulders and pulling me against the side of his body.

"It was never relevant," Kai stated flatly.

My eyes moved to Steven as he started talking. "Yes, it was. Is she the reason you haven't gone out with us?" He looked at me, "Are you the reason he's locked himself in here?" His eyes flicked to my lips before looking into mine again. "I insist on a visual and physical demonstration of how you got him to stay in."

I smiled as I moved my hand to his. "If you insist." I quickly pulled his arm over my head and used my other hand to push him forward and press his head against the back of the couch while pulling his arm behind him, nearly breaking it. He groaned in pain, whining. I could see blood spilling from his nose.

"This is not what you did," he groaned.

I furrowed my brows. "Oh, right, I'm forgetting something." I moved closer, pushing his arm further and kneeing him in the dick. There was a muffled scream of agony that slipped from his lips.

"Kai, your girlfriend's insane! Get her off of me."

"No, I think I'm okay." There was a hint of amusement in his voice

I gripped his hair and pulled his head back, making him look up at me. There was blood spilling out of his broken nose. The skin around his eye was starting to blacken. His adam's apple bobbed in his throat as his mouth fell open. His eyes begged me to stop, but he didn't say anything.

"Next time, try to keep your mouth shut."

A cocky grin spread across his face. "Next time? What are you thinking? Chains?"

I slammed his head into the couch with as much force as possible, catching his eyes on the corner of the couch. I pulled his head back as he gasped for air. "Don't think for one second that you're taking up any space in my mind."

"Is that why your hand is still in my hair?"

The rage that was slowly taking over me caused me to pull his arm further, breaking it while simultaneously crushing his face into my knee. Before I could try to kill him, I felt Kai pull me away. At first, I struggled to get away from him, but after a few seconds, I stopped to stare at Steven.

My hands were resting on Kai's forearms as his hands pressed against the front of my stomach. The slight move of his hands shifting downward made a rush of emotions flow through my head.

Miles pulled Steven to the couch. Kai moved his hands to my hips. For a moment, I let myself relish in the feeling of his body against mine, his hands sinking into my skin. His breath fanned my neck, sending chills down my spine.

My heart was pounding in my ears, drowning out the noise of Miles talking to Steven. His fingers brushed against my skin.

"Let me take you home." His soft voice brought me back to reality.

"Mhm," I answered. I forced myself off of him.

Steven and Miles left to go to the hospital, and then I followed Kai out to his car. He drove slower than normal. It felt like he was trying to force me to talk to him without trying. The thoughts in my mind were making it harder for me to stay quiet.

"If you hadn't done what you did, I would've killed him."

I looked at him, "What?"

He glanced at me. "You heard me." He focused on the road again.

"Well, he would be dead right now if you hadn't pulled me away, so..." I looked out my window.

"You're okay, right?"

I breathed in slowly. I opened my mouth to answer, but for some reason, no words came out. My prepared answer was to say yes. Lying to him has never been easy, and I've never wanted to lie to him. Lying to him now feels impossible. The urge to tell him every feeling and thought in my head became overwhelming.

I felt the car stop as he parked in front of my house. As I reached for the door handle, he locked it and grabbed my seatbelt, keeping me in my seat. I dropped my hand and looked at him. He was closer to me now, his arm resting on the console as he stared at me intensely.

"Answer me."

I furrowed my brows. "No."

"Evelyn, come on."

"Just let me go."

"Not until you answer me."

"I'm fine. Now let me go." I pulled the seatbelt from him.

"You're lying."

I scoffed as I unlocked the door and got out. I slammed the door before taking a step away from the car. The front door was open, and Caroline was walking with Elena and Stefan out of the house. Kai's door shut before he walked over to me. He rushed in front of me before I could get away, "You need to tell me what's wrong."

I scoffed, "I don't owe you anything." I started to move around him, but he mirrored my steps, stopping me from walking away from him.

"You're upset. I need to know why."

"No, you don't. My life is none of your business anymore. You decided that the second you fell for someone else."

"I didn't fall for her. I never loved her. You would know that if you let me explain!"

"No! I don't want an explanation! I don't want anything from you!"

He tilted his head, "Evelyn, come on."

"No."

Before I could move around him, he grabbed my hands. "Just listen to me! I need you to know what happened! You have to understand why I-"

"Stop." I released the breath that was helping keep the tears in my eyes.

"I was never in love with her. Everything with her was to protect us."

"Us," I breathed. I shook my head once, "Kai -"

"Nothing that happened with Taylor was real. I compelled her to believe I was part of her life. Once we were together, and I got to know her, we got closer."

"Stop," I repeated. I could hear my heart beating in my ears.

"But I never had any feelings for her. You have to believe that. You know I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you."

I stared at him, unsure of how to respond. He has hurt me before. A lot. "Go home." I walked past him, going to the house.

"Evelyn, wait-"

I pulled my arm from Caroline's reach and continued my way to my room. I locked the door behind me and walked to my bed. I want to be with him and work things out, but it feels like self-sabotage.

Why should I put effort into a relationship with him when he obviously wishes for something I don't have? Why would he try to protect "us" by getting into another relationship? He should've known it wouldn't fix anything. It just made our relationship seem impossible.

I ignored the knocking on my door and crawled under the blankets. I stared at the door, watching the shadows of the people on the other side move as they talked about me.

My phone started ringing. I pulled it from my pocket and glanced at the screen. I ignored Ryan's call, powering off my phone and sitting it on the nightstand. I rolled to my other side and stared at the window seat.

The sudden urge to want to be happy made me feel even worse. Why can't I just pretend everything's fine and get over it already?

I laid there long enough for the day to pass and watch the sun rise again. Every knock on my door made my heart jump. Part of me hoped it was Kai.

I glanced at the clock on my bedside table. Realizing I spent the entire day laying here makes everything feel worse.

There was a knock on my window. I looked over to see Jeremy staring at me. He gestured toward the lock on my window. I forced myself to get up and let him in. As he climbed through, I stepped back and crossed my arms.

"What are you doing here?"

He sighed as he sat down. He pulled the window shut and looked up at me. "I happened to hear that you locked yourself in here."

"So?"

"So I wanted to see if you were alive. I knew you weren't letting anyone through the door, and I knew you wouldn't leave me stranded in a tree." His eyes scanned my body, then looked into mine again.

I walked to the bed and sat down, pulling a pillow against me and hugging it. "I'm fine. You can go away now."

He laughed softly as he turned his body to face me. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

I looked down at my hands, "Unfortunately."

After a minute of silence, he started talking. "I heard Elena and Care talking about how you disappeared for the night, then Kai brought you home, and you started arguing."

I looked up at him, "It's none of your business."

He tilted his head, "That's what Kai said."

I furrowed my brows, "Why are you talking to him?"

"I wanted to know what happened. He didn't give me any answers so I came here."

"You need to stay away from him."

He raised his brows, "Really?"

"He's not a good influence."

"He seemed pretty good to you."

I rolled my eyes and then looked down at my hands again. "You obviously haven't been paying attention."

"Nope. I've been busy dealing with my own shit like everyone else."

I looked up at him with an annoyed look on my face. "If that's the only thing you came here for, you can leave because you're not helping."

He tilted his head. "I didn't come here to help, I came here to talk."

"Well, I don't want to."

"Then why'd you let me in?"

I stared at him, unsure of what to say. Maybe he has a point. Why would I let him in if I didn't want someone to talk to? Or company, at least? "What do you have to say?"

"Well," he stood up, "you need to stop moping around. I get that he's the love of your life or whatever, but he screwed up. How can you still be in love with someone who proved they don't value you the same way you value them?"

I tilted my head, "You had sex with a ghost. Why would I take relationship advice from you?"

"That was years ago, and I told you that in confidence." He stepped closer. "I just want to know why you're being so depressed here when he's the one who messed up? He's out there happily living, and you're boxed up in your room crying yourself to sleep. Doesn't that piss you off? I mean," he shifted his weight from one foot to another, "It makes me feel capable of killing the bastard."

I stared at him as I thought. He has a point. Why does Kai get to keep going and acting like everything's fine, and it's not as bad as it is, and I feel like my world ended? The despair subsided as anger filled me. I should be the one who's fine. Laying here and crying about him is embarrassing. He's just a guy. A guy who cheated.

A smirk formed on Jere's face. "There she is."

I tilted my head. "Tyler was throwing a party tonight?"

He nodded, the smile remaining on his face. "Yes, ma'am."

I pushed the pillow to the side and got up. "Great. You're taking me."

He nodded once. "I'll be back in a few hours."

...

The sound of a car horn outside pulled my attention away from my reflection in the mirror. I finished putting in the second silver earring before giving myself one last once over. I checked to see that I curled all of my hair before grabbing my phone and walking out of my room. I started toward the front door.

"You're going."

I stopped and looked at Caroline, who was standing next to Bonnie. I nodded. "Yeah. Aren't you?"

She had a confused look on her face. "Yeah. I just thought you were... Who's outside for you?"

I glanced at the door. "Jere." I looked at them. "I have to go." I made my way outside.

Matt was in the driver's seat of his truck, Tyler was in the passenger seat. There were a few people in the back with kegs, and Jeremy was one of them. Jeremy stood up at the end of the tailgate and offered me a hand. I took it, and he helped pull me up. I sat across from Jeremy, leaning back against the side of the truck.

The wind and music blaring from inside the truck made it impossible to hear anything. I watched as one of the guys offered a bottle of tequila to Jeremy. After he took a drink, he offered it to me. I took it with little hesitation. The liquid burned my throat as I swallowed the drink I took. I passed the bottle off to the guy next to me.

Once the truck was parked, Jeremy jumped over the side and put the tailgate down. He offered his hand to me, and I took it and then jumped down. I pulled my hand from his and then walked over to Matt as he stood at the front of the truck. He looked up from the ground to my face. I let my hand rest on the hood of the truck.

"Aren't you the sheriff? You're not supposed to promote underage drinking or public intoxication."

"Technically, this is private property. Tyler's parents purchased the property before they died, and it got passed on to Tyler."

I nodded once as I looked over at the lake. I could see the cliff where I died. "Right." I looked at him again. "Why do you seem so upset?"

His gaze that had returned to the ground was on me again. "Just worried about this party. I have a feeling something is going to go wrong. Someone's going to get hurt."

I tilted my head. "I get that." I looked over my shoulder at the back of the truck. The bottle had been abandoned. "You're off duty, right?" I looked at him. "You can drink."

He tilted his head. "I'm supposed to drive."

I put my hand on his arm, "Come on, live a little. You're like 24." He sighed as I pulled him with me. I grabbed the bottle and took another drink before handing it to him. He was hesitant to drink it, holding it with a smile on his face. I put my hand on the bottle, pushing the bottle to his lips, "Drink it."

He started to drink as I tipped the bottle up. I pulled my hand away as he swallowed the drink.

"Ev!"

I turned to see Jeremy waving me over to him. I glanced at Matt. "Don't be a wallflower. Go help Tyler with the music." I turned away from him and walked over to Jere. He pushed a cup to my lips, making me drink. I shut my eyes as I chugged it without thinking. He pulled the cup away as I finished swallowing. I looked at him. He laughed as he refilled it.

I looked around, taking in the number of people. They've all been here for a while. There are a few people hitting a ball around in the water, and others are splashing each other. There were tons of others scattered around the place. There were also hoards of people surrounding the kegs. I felt Jere grab my arm. I turned to face him.

He led me closer to the music. He moved his hands to mine and stepped closer. "Turn your mind off." He pulled my hands to his chest.

Before I could say anything, his hands were on my waist, pulling me against his body and swaying me to the rhythm of the music. His soft smile reached his eyes that were staring at our bodies. His hands were soft and warm, sliding my shirt up just slightly for his skin to touch mine.

The heat of his body surrounded me. His breath fanned my cheek as he leaned closer. I slid my hands to his neck, leaning into him. His head was pressed to mine, bringing his body closer to mine. Getting caught up in the way his body felt against mine made me lose track of time.

The touch of his hands was firm and needy. I felt his nose brush against mine as his hand pressed against my lower back. The effects of the alcohol were starting to set in. I slid my hand into his hair as I slightly tilted my head. I parted my lips as he leaned closer. His lips were a hairsbreadth from mine.

I pushed up on my toes to close the distance between us. He moaned softly into the kiss. His hand slid to my ass, squeezing it gently as his arm wrapped around me, keeping my body firmly against his. I moved my hand to the side of his face as he kissed me harder.

The realization of what I was doing set in. I can't start kissing other people. It's a bad idea. It will just cause more drama. I'll get Jeremy killed.

Why am I letting him affect my decisions still? We're not together.

I still shouldn't be kissing Jeremy. He's hot, and he's a good person, but kissing him feels wrong.

I pulled back from the kiss, and a sigh left his lips. His eyes opened, finding mine. "Sorry," he mumbled. His lips were still centimeters from mine, making him much more tempting.

"It's okay. I just... need a drink."

He nodded, a small smile spreading across his lips. "So you liked it?"

I laughed as I pushed away from him. I could feel him following me.

"That wasn't a no."

I looked at him as we walked side by side. "It wasn't a yes." I looked at the keg.

"You liked it."

I hit his arm and looked at him. "Stop."

He laughed it off as he handed me a cup. I took it from him. As I brought it to my lips, Caroline, Elena, and Stefan staring caught my attention. The horrified and shocked looks on their faces made me giggle to myself. I took a drink of what was in the cup to taste what it was. After realizing it was vodka, I drank it slowly.

"You good?"

I turned to Jere, smiling. "I'm great."

He returned the smile before taking a drink. A different song started playing, and the music got louder. It circulated around us, surely waking everyone in a five mile radius. I felt a hand grab my wrist, and I turned to see Tyler's face.

He pulled me with him toward the speakers. He lifted my arms and spun me in a circle. His hands landed on my hips, pulling me back against his body. His chest was against my back. I put my hands on his, laughing as he swayed my hips back and forth along.

"Are you having fun," he whispered in my ear after a few minutes.

I let my eyes fall shut as I nodded. "Mhm."

He kissed my cheek. "I'm glad."

I opened my eyes as he turned me to face him. I cupped his face in my hands. He was slightly blurry. I felt disoriented.

"Are you okay?"

I smiled as I nodded. "Just a little tipsy."

He laughed as he nodded, "Yeah, I can see that." He glanced at my lips before staring into my eyes. "Maybe you should go sit down for a minute."

I shook my head, moving my hands to his chest. "But I'm having so much fun." He opened his mouth to speak, but before I could hear what he said, I was pulled away from him. I tilted my head as I looked up at Kai. My smile dropped. "What are you doing here?"

"You're drunk."

"It's a party." I placed my hands on his chest. "That's what you're supposed to do."

He started dragging me away from the crowd of people. I let him pull me away because if I tried to make him let go of me, I would fail miserably. Being drunk never works in my favor.

"What are you trying to prove?"

I leaned back against the tree and stared at him. "Nothing. I'm just having fun."

He tilted his head. "I would believe that if you weren't surrounded by guys."

I felt a smile creep on my lips. "You're jealous."

There was a slight look of annoyance on his face. "I'm concerned."

I tilted my head, "Oh my God, you are!" I pushed off the tree. "You're upset that I'm dancing with other guys." I laughed, "You're such a hypocrite." I started to walk away, and he grabbed my arm.

He forced me to turn to him as he stepped closer to me. "You're going to get yourself killed. Being this drunk and still drinking isn't good for you. The decisions you make when you're drunk make your life worse. Let me take you home before something happens."

I stared at him, unsure of how to respond. The thought to snap his neck was getting louder.

"Everything okay, Ev?"

"It's fine," Kai answered.

After a few seconds, Jeremy spoke again. "I was asking Evelyn."

"It's fine, Jere." I looked at him. "Go back to the party. I'll be there in a second." He was hesitant to leave. He glanced at Kai before retreating. I turned to Kai. "I'm not going home, especially not with you. You have no say in what I do or who I'm with. If you want someone to control, go find someone else. I'm not your toy. I'm not your anything."

The sad look on his face morphed to exasperation. "Is that what you convinced yourself to think?"

My heart was beating ten times faster. "Kai -"

"You let me into your life. You let me do whatever I wanted to you. Why would I give that up?" He tilted his head. "No matter what you think, you will never get rid of me. You may not want to listen to me, but you will. Every part of you needs me."

"You're psychotic." As he stepped closer, I faltered back, my back hitting the tree. I stared up at him. I tried to keep my breathing steady. I sucked in a breath of air.

"You said we could never leave each other. You will never get rid of me no matter how hard you try. I will always be right behind you, watching you. I will always save you and protect you the way I see fit. If that means running away and faking a marriage, I will do it."

For the first time in a long time, I felt scared of him. The dark look in his eyes made it hard for me to breathe steadily. His jaw tightened as he looked at my lips. He moved his hands to my waist as he stepped closer. "Stop."

He looked into my eyes. There was a mock expression of worry on his face. "What's wrong, baby?"

He looked down between our bodies as he slid his hands up the sides of my body. I pushed against him as I started to scream. His hand clamped over my mouth, suffocating my cry for help. His other hand bound my hand together, holding my wrists tightly against my chest.

He leaned closer, lowering his voice. "I'm not going to hurt you. Be quiet."

I felt tears brimming my eyes. The tears in my eyes spilled over. I felt like I couldn't breathe. He pushed me harder against the tree, stilling me.

He moved his hand. He glanced to the side, checking for something. He stepped back, pulling me off the tree. He firmly gripped my upper arm, pulling me with him toward the flat top. I don't know why I can't run or scream. The thing I want to know most is why he's doing this.

He pulled me to the middle of the open spot. He looked up at the sky. His grip on me loosened. I took the opportunity to try to run. As I reached the edge of the treeline, I felt arms around my waist, making me scream out again. His hand clamped over my mouth to silence me.

"Stop, Evelyn. I'm not going to hurt you." I tried to speak, but his hand was still over my mouth. After a moment, I stopped fighting against him. He breathed out slowly. "I'm going to move my hand, but you can't scream. Can you do that?"

I nodded once. After that, he moved his hand to my shoulder. I stared at the escape in front of me. "Why are you doing this?" I tried to keep myself from hyperventilating.

"I need to talk to you."

My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. "No."

His lips were next to my ear. "I just need you to listen to me. You don't have to say anything. You can run away if you want, but I just need you to hear me first."

I was hesitant to agree, but I nodded once. "Okay."

He moved his hands to my waist, loosely holding me as he turned me to face him. I stared up at him, still slightly disoriented. He stared into my eyes. "When I left you, I didn't want to be with anyone else. I just needed to distract myself from living without you and protect us. I needed them to be convinced we weren't talking anymore. I used Taylor because she was alone. She had no one. I used her to help us. I know it was wrong, but I wasn't about to let them get to you."

I inhaled sharply. "They still got to me."

He nodded, "I know, but I needed some way to feel like I was helping you." He moved his hands to my face, stepping closer. "I needed you, and I couldn't have you. I couldn't live with myself, baby. I did what I had to do to keep going for you."

I put my hands on his forearms. "No."

He moved his hands to my hips, pulling me closer. I pressed my hands against his chest. "Evelyn, please. Just tell me you understand. I can't do this without you." His fingers dug into my skin as his hands squeezed me. His face was inches from mine. "Please, baby."

I pushed against him, "Kai, you're hurting me. Let go."

He pressed his head to mine, "I can't. I need you."

I moved my hand to his, scratching at his skin. A soft whine left his lips. "Stop! Let go of me!" Tears rolled down my cheeks as it felt like he was pushing his fingers into my skin.

I mustered up the strength I could and shoved myself away from him, stumbling back a few steps before tripping backward. I sat up quickly to see him. There was a possessive, lustful look on his face. I couldn't move as he took a few steps toward me.

"Hey!" I looked over as Jere was rushing toward me. He helped me to my feet and pulled me a few steps back from Kai. "Are you okay?" The worried expression on his face made me hold his hand tighter.

"What the hell were you doing to her," Tyler asked before I could answer Jeremy. His loud voice pulled all of our attention to him and Kai.

"Ty," I started. "Calm down."

He turned to me, walking away from Kai. "What did he do?!"

"Nothing! We were talking. I started to walk away, and I tripped. Nothing-"

"That's bullshit. Why were you yelling for help?" The anger in Tyler's eyes was building up.

"What's going on," Stefan asked as he and Caroline walked over.

Tyler started stepping away to try and calm himself. I turned my attention to Caroline, who was starting to inspect me. I swatted her hands away, "I'm fine, Care. Nothing happened."

"Why were you screaming?"

I tilted my head, "It was nothing. I'm fine."

Movement in the corner of my eyes caught my attention. I looked over to see Tyler turning into a wolf. Without a second thought, I ran toward Kai to try and knock him away. I collided with Tyler. I closed my eyes as I hit the ground. I groaned as a sharp pain started in my head just above my eyes. There was another sharp pain, much more excruciating shooting into my side. I pushed myself to sit up, looking up from the ground to a blurry, spotted nothing. I blinked a few times.

I could see Tyler making his way toward Kai, who had his back to the edge of the cliff. I could hear talking around me. I pulled myself to my feet slowly, ignoring the pain circulating through my body. The only thing in my mind was saving Kai.

For a moment, I thought of what to do. I remembered Tyler telling me once that he can't swim when he's a wolf. The choice between pushing Kai into the water or Tyler was a difficult one. I ran as fast as I could toward them. I pushed Kai over the edge, and he grabbed my arm, pulling me with him. I could hear screaming from above us.

The warm water engulfed me. The instinct to swim to the top didn't kick in until I needed to breathe. I started trying to swim to the surface. I used every ounce of strength I had left to try and leave the water. I felt arms wrap around my waist and then pull me to the surface.

I gasped for air once we were out of the water. I rolled to my side, coughing up the water that had gotten in my lungs. I looked over to see Kai next to me. He was sitting up, staring at me.

I pushed myself to sit up. "You could've run."

He tilted his head, "What fun would that be?"

I rolled my eyes as I looked away from him. "He was going to kill you."

"Yeah, I know."

"And you're just okay with that?"

"You're not?"

The frustration I felt was unbearable. "You're such a dick." The sharp pain in my side was still there, so I moved my hand to put pressure on it. "Why won't you let anyone care about you?"

"I did."

"And then you ruined it." I looked at him. "You threw it all away to 'save us'. We didn't need saving. You needed to stay and you couldn't do it. We could've figured out a way for you to stay, but you bailed. Why are you so afraid to be loved?"

He didn't answer. His eyes drifted just above mine. "You're bleeding." He seemed perplexed. He started to reach for my head, but I pulled away.

"You need to go." I glanced at the top of the flat spot. "If they weren't going to kill you before, they definitely will now." I looked at him.

There was a confused look on his face that passed after a moment. "You care about me now?"

I shook my head once, "When did I ever stop?"

He opened his mouth to say something, then stopped. He looked up, then at me. "I'm sorry, baby."

My chest felt tight. I hate the effect he has on me, still, after everything. "Please, go." I exhaled shakily. I looked at the water, watching the light reflect off of it. After a minute, I couldn't feel him anymore.

The pain in my side became blinding, making me feel lightheaded. I pressed my hand against it as hard as I could, hoping to stop it. My heart was beating faster than before. The pain stopped abruptly, making me feel like life was restored in my body.

After a moment of gathering my senses, I rose to my feet and returned to the top of the quarry. I removed my hand from my side, keeping my arm close to it.

"Oh my God," Caroline trailed off as she rushed over to me. She took my face in her hands. "Are you okay? You're bleeding."

I pushed her hands away, "I'm fine."

"Where's Kai," Jeremy demanded.

I glanced at him, "Gone."

"What was happening between you two?"

I looked at Caroline. "Nothing! We were talking. He didn't do anything."

"You were screaming for help, Ev," Tyler chimed. "That's not nothing."

Having forgotten his existence, I was surprised and angered by his presence. I turned to see him. I thought of what he did, images of what he did playing through my mind. "You could've killed him."

"He might as well be."

I furrowed my brows, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me." He stepped closer, "Kai, though..." A smirk played on his lips.

I shook my head, "What did you do?"

"Ty, don't," Caroline warned.

He glanced at her before focusing his attention on me, "You were too slow, Evelyn. I was able to bite him. He'll be dead within a week."

I furrowed my brows. I blocked him before he got to Kai. Both times. There was no way he got to Kai. "No, you didn't." I felt lightheaded. There was a sharp pain in my side after I tackled him. I was the only one who got close enough to Tyler.

"What is it," Caroline asked.

I opened my mouth to speak, not able to find the words. I watched as Tyler's expression faltered, soon taken over by confusion.

"What," Stefan's frustrated tone wasn't helping.

I looked at Caroline and Stefan. "Tyler didn't bite Kai. He bit me."

Caroline furrowed her brows, "No. He just said-"

"I was never close enough to him," Tyler said, defeated. "I couldn't get to him because you..." He sighed. "You were in the way."

"No, you're lying." Caroline's words were accompanied by her searching me for a bite.

I grabbed her hands and looked into her eyes. "Stop it."

She exhaled shakily. "Show it to me."

I was hesitant to let go of her hands. I pulled my hands from hers. I looked at my side as I pulled my shirt up. A rush of emotion filled my head, making me feel light. Seeing the sign of my death marked on me so clearly felt surreal.

"Evelyn," Tyler said softly. "I'm so sorry."

A rush of anger flowed through me; I dropped my shirt. I looked at Caroline. There was a look of fear on her face, "We can fix it. We can find a way to... to stop it."

"Care-"

She took my hands in hers. "No, it's just magic, right? It's venom. We can find an antivenom and reverse this. I mean, Damon was bitten, and he's fine now. We can -"

I pulled away from her, stepping back. "Stop, Caroline! You can't fix this. I don't want you to fix this!"

She pulled her hands to her chest, choking on a sob, "Evelyn -"

I breathed out slowly. I felt like I was put under a spotlight. The pressure made everything feel real. The tight feeling in my chest was closing in on my lungs. The thought of running away from them ran through my mind, and I didn't give myself time to think of anything else.

I struggled to breathe slowly and calm my racing heart as I stumbled my way through town. I was searching for something I didn't know. The tears rolling down my cheeks felt cold in contrast to my flushed cheeks. Everything was dizzy and blurred. I felt like I was spun around and then released on busy train tracks. I could hear my heart beating in my ears.

I took myself home, slamming the door after walking inside. I could feel the venom of the bite working its way through me now. I made it to the couch, collapsing onto it. I pulled my shirt up to see the bite. The skin surrounding it was darker, almost purple. The pain was blinding, making me feel lightheaded.

The black spots consumed my vision. I pressed my hand to my side as I laid back. I let the exhaustion flow through me, consuming every part of me.