Beauty of Darkness (Elijah Mikaelson)

Chapter 9

It had been an eventful night. I was covered in burns from the rope that I struggled in, and I could still taste the chemicals that were used to take me into that concrete prison cell. I didn't pay attention to my physical wounds much, though, all I could do was walk.  

I eventually sat down after aimlessly strolling the city, and pondered my next move. As the Quarter's fountain dripped, and the last, drunk partiers straggled off Bourbon Street, time stood still. I was just kidnapped, and all I could do was numbly stare at what surrounded me. The cracked, cobblestone streets and sidewalks; the ornate, metal framings of tightly-packed buildings lining the streets. It was on-brand for my personality, to block out my emotion, but this seemed like a jump: even for me. Not only was I neutral after a life-changing experience, I could not even think of myself. All I could think of was Cami. The one person who, in such a short time, started to show me that it was okay to acknowledge my struggles. There was no way I was leaving her with Elijah.

I made a pact to myself. I had prioritized my sulking for months: this isn't going to fly anymore. I was going to help Cami, darkness or not. 

It was apparent that this would be a relatively solo mission. Elijah obviously had organized-crime connections, or something of the sort if he had the ability to hear me looking for Cami earlier. This only means lots of eyes, some of which could be with the police. I couldn't trust anyone. Well, that part would not be too hard. 

As the sun started coming up, I rushed home, battered and starting to plan as much as I could. The massive, wooden door creaked as I turned my key, and I slowly it pushed open. I hoped that Danielle would not hear the massive creak; she actually has a personal life and schedule to worry about. My worries were in vain, because she was sitting on the one piece of unpacked furniture facing the door. She had no authority over me, but I still got scared like one of those teenagers who snuck out in a bad 80s movie.

"Wynter, where the holy hell have you been? You haven't picked up your phone, your location was off, and you weren't home for dinner. Did you get kidnapped or some shit?"

Oh, I wish she knew how right she was. I appreciated her concern, but she couldn't know just yet what happened. Not until I got further into what was happening.

"Well?"

"I'm sorry, I was out with someone I met..at work," I said quickly, lying through my teeth. "I lost track of time, and I forgot to charge my phone."

"Why do you look like you were in a fight then?!" Danielle asked suspiciously as she pointed to the burns on my arms. 

Shit, forgot about that.

"Danielle, I'm not one to kiss and tell."

There was no way in hell that she was going to believe that.

To my absolute surprise, Danielle's accusatory glare turned into a gasp. Without even remembering who I am, or anything about my personality AT ALL, she ran into my arms. She praised me; she went on and on about how happy she was for me and that she is so glad I've gotten over my "issues" (not how I'd call it, but okay). She asked for details, but of course, not wanting to get caught, I said I was tired and would tell her in the morning. I rushed to my room, attempting to avoid anymore lying. 

For a girl with a law degree, Danielle was not great at common sense. Not wanting to give my charade more thought, I locked my door to get to my research. Of course, research with my set of resources meant lots of Google searches. I cleared off the dust-pile on my untouched desk, clearing the way for my laptop. 

Thank god I had three days off.