Salvation

Chapter 16

Sophia

This was the place I first laid eyes on Kol. The place where I bumped into him. It stirred up a mass of emotions and feelings. All too raw. All too real. I sat in the exact spot I had the day I met him. The day he was there, observing me, watching me. I looked up but he wasn't sitting there. We ordered our hot drinks and I sat there in silence. It was somewhat a pleasant time, sitting with them and speaking, though I barely spoke. They in fact have been keeping up with my life, no thanks to Rebekah and her bad habit of live streaming anything and everything. Over a thousand years old and she still seemed to be fascinated by the ways of social media.

"Your brothers are well fit. Didn't even know you had brothers. They're all fit you know! Who knew there were fine men like them!"

I rolled my eyes at them. "If we're getting technical, they are my half-brothers. And Rebekah...she's kind of a family friend and we get along pretty well. The man you saw is her eldest brother-"

"Her recent story was that guy who was staring at you the last time we were here. What a coincidence, he's her brother too. She said he's madly in love with you and he said yes. You never told us you had a boyfriend?"

Recent story?

"I what?" I muttered almost choking on the drink. "How did you even find her insta? She adds anyone."

"By the way you looked gorgeous in that dress. Amelia went searching high and low for one. We couldn't find it." The thought of Amelia squeezed my heart.

I smiled. "It's a Mikaelson thing, curtesy of her other brother Klaus." I felt extremely uncomfortable discussing the Mikaelsons with my friends. It was an odd thing. I was baffled and at a loss for words. "Excuse me, I need some air...you guys carry on, I'll be back." I rushed out the shop in need of that air. It was restricting inside there. I certainly did not want to talk about him, let alone think about him. I didn't want my heart to break all over again. I didn't have the strength for that. I leant over the terrace, the stone wall pressing into my core. The tower was visible from where I stood, although, partially obscured by a large tree. Yet under the moonlight it was magnificent.

"Hello, darling." It was his voice. Extra smoky. Even with my back facing him I abhorred how it made me feel. Shaking my head, gripping the terrace ledge harder, almost laughing hysterically at the ridiculousness of the situation. Fighting against my better judgment I whipped around to face him.

"What are you doing here?!"

He stepped closer, trapping me. My lower back pressed against the concrete wall. "How could you leave without telling me! You are so reckless! How could-"

"Excuse me! Who are you to question me? Why do you care if I ran off! You. Betrayed. Me. YOU BROKE MY HEART!" I was incredulous and raging. "You do not get to come here and ask why I acted reckless! You are the reckless one after what you did!"

He grabbed my arms furiously. "I thought I lost you! The barrier fell and you-"

"You did lose me. So what? Why are you pretending to care?! I expect this from Klaus and my brothers, but you...shouldn't your face be buried in some poor souls' neck?" His grip tightened, face a centimetre from mine. His peppermint breath caressed my skin, and I had that urge to sink into him and just give in. Remembering what he did, I shoved him back. The anger dissolved from his face, and his mouth pulled down in a frown.

"I didn't want to break your heart, but I thought you'd be better without me-"

"What d-"

"Oh, for god's sake let me talk!" He impeded, rolling his eyes. I stared at him, taken aback by the sheer abruptness.