𝟎𝟒

☆═━ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 ━═☆

Pain.

Some say that to truly reach happiness you need to go through pain, to value and deserve the happiness, but what

does one do when all they had ever known was sadness, grieve, and emptiness...

Were those bound to eternal pain?

Charlotte didn't cry much, she usually expressed her feelings through writing, face expressions, or pouts. The times she had truly cried for a long time were almost counted in her life.

When her father died, when her sister had to leave them and get on with her life, when Henry died, and of course when the love of her life dumped her for what she liked to think of as his sister.

Angelina and Charlotte were both sleeping in Paulina's bed, holding on to one another. They weren't talking or crying, just neutrally staring into oblivion, the heartache too much for them to talk.

Needless to say, they had cried all of their tears and it was obvious if one took a look at the dried tears on their cheeks, or their soulless eyes.

"I made you two your favorite cookies...?" Paulina sighed, walking into the room with a plate full of the circular chocolate desert. She had never experienced the amount of heartache her best friends were going through, and in all honesty she didn't know how to ease the pain for Paulina, herself, never imagined that either of them would lose the loves of their lives at the same day, or in such ways.

"Well... Can you two at least leave a space for me? You know I like to sit in the middle," Paulina groaned, already on her way to squish herself between the two and just lay there. Charlotte and Angelina involuntarily moved over and after Paulina took her place, they rested their heads on her shoulder.

The Gilbert girl wanted to cry so bad but her responsibility was to make sure she was her best friends' backbone and that when both of them are doing perfectly fine, then she is allowed to let some tears fall.

"It won't be any better if you two stay this way... Talk, I mean let it all out," Paulina's eyes went over to the two before they landed on Charlotte. The Bernard hadn't spoken a word since she had left to meet Stefan, Paulina wasn't stupid and she knew it had to do with Stefan but what could have the Salvatore boy done that was that horrific?

"If he hurt you, I will go kill him now, Charlotte, I swe--"

Charlotte cut off Paulina's threat, muttering, "He didn't do anything."

"I am just sad that Henry is gone," Charlotte said before she moved to hug Angelina, she couldn't be that selfish so what if Stefan, the supposed love of her life, dumped her? Her best friend just lost her future husband and she had to be strong for her sake.

Paulina sighed, giving up, before just opened her arms for the two and the three girls hugged as Angelina cried out on her best friend's shoulder, Henry had just purposed a week back and everything was going perfect, until the sad truth hit her that morning.

Charlotte liked to think that in some way her situation was better than Angelina's so she needed to focus on that. Angelina had lost her love forever, and maybe Charlotte did too, but at least Stefan was alive.

The thought of him being alive and well but not in love with her was much more bearable that thought of Stefan dead but in love with her.

"Why did this happen to me... I never mean to hurt anyone and I never wished something bad upon anybody...," Angelina murmured, crying her heart out as Paulina rubbed her back, soothing her.

"It's just the way life works... Henry is in a better place, and he is watching you because he loves you," Paulina stroke her friend's hair as she spoke calmly.

Now those, those weren't Paulina's wordings to be honest. Those were the words Charlotte and Angelina comforted her with when her mother, Elizabella Gilbert, had passed away into what she would call a better place.

Charlotte sighed, adding, "And Henry never done something bad either, so he is probably at peace and happy. He wouldn't be as happy if he saw you that way..."

Angelina pulled away from Paulina's embrace, looking at the two brunettes, "But I can't... It hurts too much, Charlotte."

Believe me, I know.

Charlotte truly wanted to say that out loud but it come out as, "Grieve always does... Just think of how happy he would be if you brought flowers to his grave, talked to him daily..."

The Bernard girl wanted to add, move on, but she wasn't a hypocrite, Henry and Angelina were a lot like her and Stefan in the sense, except Henry was a few years older than Angelina, and she knew that if she, herself, can never move on from Stefan after he intentionally and brutally broke her heart, then Angelina can't move on from Henry either.

It would take time, patience, and a whole lot of comfort.

Angelina wiped away some of her tears, "I will go get him flowers, he used to love red lilies...," She stood up quickly, stumbling upon her feet before she walked out.

Paulina shouted after her, "Wait, Angie! We are coming!"

Angelina came back in, jumping over one feet as she put on her shoes, "You don't have to, really. I will come back soon."

Minutes passed and Angelina had left them, Paulina and Charlotte were sat in silence as the latter stared down at her fingers, and sighed.

"Talk, now. You have seven seconds to explain what the Salvatore did. Eighth second is when I will be on my way to kill him," Paulina said sternly, crossing her arms.

Charlotte sighed out, knowing that any stalling would be the start of an everlasting embarrassment at the Salvatores, "Stefan and I stopped seeing each other."

Paulina raised an eyebrow before responding, "If the assumption I have in mind is true then Stefan Salvatore is a dead man."

The Bernard shook her head, looking down, "No... it was just his choice... I mean he found someone who isn't as dull, boring, or embarrassing as myself. I am that normal town girl but she is the one from Atlanta who plays the boys' games and likes to be chased."

"True assumption then...," Paulina stood up, abruptly, furious anger burning in her eyes, "I am going to kill Stefan Salvatore."

Charlotte followed Paulina outside, "Lina! Please, Lina! Wait, do not make big trouble at the Salvatore house... If his father knew, he would beat him up and--"

"He deserves it! That sick bastard favoured a girl he met not two weeks ago over you! If you are that selfless to accept his choices... I am not," The Gilbert ripped Charlotte's hands off of hers.

"Do it for me, Lina. Because every time I think of him, I feel as if the problem was me... that I am just not enough... and it hurts like hell to admit that to myself," Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut as a few angry tears fell down and Paulina stopped in her tracks.

"You are enough, and he deserves to die and rot for making someone as amazing, compassionate and absolutely selfless as you, feel such way," She embraced her best friend and Charlotte hugged her back, holding on to one of the two people she believed that will never leave her.

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